Impact of Supply Chain Management on Organisational Performance in UK Retail Industry - A Case Study of Waitrose

Dissertation
(Analysing the impact of supply chain management
on organisational performance in UK retail industry - A case
study of Waitrose)
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Contents
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................3
Background to the Research........................................................................................................3
Organisational Background.........................................................................................................3
Significance of the Problem.........................................................................................................4
Statement of Purpose...................................................................................................................4
Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................................5
Aim(s) and Objectives (Ideally, one main aim and four objectives)...........................................5
Research Questions......................................................................................................................6
Dissertation structure...................................................................................................................6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................8
The concept of supply chain management within the context of UK retail sector......................8
The different supply chain management practices adopted by Waitrose in order to improve
organisational performance..........................................................................................................9
To analyse the impact of supply chain management practices on the organisational
performance of Waitrose...........................................................................................................11
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background to the Research
Supply chain management is the business operation process where the management of flow
of goods, information, and resources are done. The main purpose behind managing the supply
chain is procuring the raw material in such a manner that they can deliver a quality of finished
goods in right destination. In current digital era, it is important for the company to manage their
supply chain in effective manner as it helps the business to earn high ROI on the products and
service they deliver (Hong, Zhang and Ding, 2018). The process of supply chain management
consists of four main parts which are demand management, supply management, sales and
operation planning and product portfolio management. Managing the goods, resources, data and
many more is important for the company as it impact the overall business performance. An
effective supply chain helps in fulling the expectation of the consumer and increase the sale of
the company. Higher the supply chain management in an organisation can lead the company to
gain competitive edge from their competitors (Van Weele, 2018). It has also seen when an
effective supply chain management is flowing in the business then this directly affect the quality,
cost and flexibility in positive manner. When the performance of the company improves with
the assistance of supply chain then it helps in reducing the operational cost of the organisation
and the pressure among the firm also gets reduced. Thus, in the current investigation a study is
made to analyse the impact which is crested on overall business performance while managing the
supply chain (Munir and et. al, 2020).
Organisational Background
To carry out the current investigation the chosen business organisation is Waitrose. It is
British supermarket brand whose headquarter is in London, United Kingdom. Waitrose was
founded in 1904 by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor. In the year 1937 the
company was owned by one of retailing brand that is John Lewis partnership and still the
company sale Waitrose product under their brand (Wang, Zhang and Zhang, 2020). Waitrose
supermarket store are located in 332 locations and the brand export their product in 52 countries
in middle east. Waitrose ranks twelve in the list of top grocery stores in United Kingdom.
Company deals in sluing food product either through super market stores or by online shopping.
The brands operate their business in two areas only which are United Kingdom and Channel
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Islands. The company was chosen for the investigation as to know the impact of managing
supply chain in their overall organisational performance.
Significance of the Problem
The key significance of the problem is to know the importance of managing supply chain
management in effective way in order to reduce the logistic cost of the business. If the logistic
cost of the company reduces then they will use this cost in improving their business performance
in sound manner. Supply chain management is important for retail sector as through this they can
deliver finished goods to the final consumer in right time as well as right place (Pettit, Croxton
and Fiksel, 2019). Delay in delivering can be mitigate and company can increase their market
image. Another importance of the present investigation is that it helps the organisation to
produce their goods and service in valuable and quality manner.
Apart from this the current research report is also important for different stakeholders.
These stakeholders are researcher, organisation and operational manger. The researcher will use
this report to gain basic knowledge about the topic and methods use to carry the investigation
(Zaid, Jaaron and Bon, 2018). For an organisation it is useful as they will identify the role of
effective supply chain management in a company and for manger this is vital as they will get to
know about different supply chain practices which they can use to manage their flow of goods,
cost, quality in flexible and effective manner and improve their business performance.
Statement of Purpose
The main purpose to carry out the current investigation is to gain deeper knowledge on the
topic supply chain management. In this research a detailed understanding is made on the topic
which helps in carrying the investigation in sound manner. Supply chain management is
important for the company because it helps them to deliver finished good at right place in right
time. With the current investigation different kinds of supply chain management practices is
learned that helps in improving the overall performance of the company (Del Giudice and et. al,
2020). Through these an insight is made about the importance of having an effective supply
chain management is acquired. The present investigation also highlights the challenges which
company faces due to poor management of supply chain. The present investigation has also
possessed great interest as it aids in attaining dual objective. These tow perspective which is
attained are personal and professional. With respect to the personal objective, the current
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