Supply Chain of Woolworths

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN OF WOOLWORTHS
SUPPLY CHAIN OF WOOLWORTHS
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SUPPLY CHAIN OF WOOLWORTHS1
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................1
About Woolworths:.........................................................................................................................2
Supply chain of Woolworths:..........................................................................................................2
Upstream supply chain:...............................................................................................................3
Downstream supply chain of Woolworths:.................................................................................4
Strengths of supply chain of Woolworths:......................................................................................6
Expansive and intricate:...............................................................................................................6
Promotes economic development of local population:................................................................6
Provides business opportunities among ancillary firms:.............................................................7
Weaknesses of supply chain of Woolworths:..................................................................................7
Expensive:....................................................................................................................................7
Environmental, ethical and legal issues:......................................................................................8
Quality issues:..............................................................................................................................8
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................8
References:....................................................................................................................................10

SUPPLY CHAIN OF WOOLWORTHS2
Introduction:
Supply chains are one of the most strategically managed areas of operations in business
organisations. Hugos (2018) defines that term supply chain as ‘the alignment of firms that brings
products and services to the market.’ Heckmann, Comes and Nickel (2015) define the term as the
collection of people, processes and methods which contribute towards movement of raw
materials, finished or work-in-progress goods from suppliers towards business firms and form
business firms to final consumers. They also point out that strong supply chains ensure
continuous flow of inventory towards companies for further processing and from companies to
final consumers. Thus, it is evident from this description that supply chains contribute towards
smooth business operations and generation of revenue. Thus, it is evident that any disruption in
the supply chains sets into action chains of reaction like disruption of manufacturing processes,
marketing of finished products to consumers and generation of revenue. Gelsomino et al.(2016)
point out that supply chains besides involving movement of immense amount of goods, also
involves movement of immense amount of money from companies to suppliers and from
consumers to companies. Thus, supply chains have impacts on the financial performances of the
business organisations as well. This immense importance of supply chains in the business
operations of business organisations has resulted in respective management bodies manage
supply chains very strategically. The aim of the paper would be carrying out a critical analysis of
the supply chain of Woolworths Supermarkets, the largest Australian retail chain. The research
would be initiated by first conducting a research about the retail chain and finally shifting its
focus on its supply chain. The second and third sections would delve into the strengths and
weaknesses of Woolworths respectively. The research would finally sum up the concepts learnt
from the discussion to conclude the study.

SUPPLY CHAIN OF WOOLWORTHS3
About Woolworths:
Woolworths Supermarkets is the leading retail chain in Australia having its headquarters
in New South Wales. The retail chain is a subsidiary of Woolworths Limited which is listed on
the Australian Securities Exchange. The firm operates under the leadership of Brad Banducci in
the position of director, Australian Supermarkets and Petrol. The retail chain employs over a lakh
employees and generated a revenue over A$ 56.726 billion as in 2018. The product line of
Woolworths consists of food products and non-food products. The food products consist of fruit
and vegetables, meat and seafood, bakery, dairy products, pantry, freezer and liquor. The non-
food product line products of the supermarket chain consists of health and beauty products,
household products, baby products and pet products. The official website of Woolworths also
markets financial products like insurance and credit cards. The supermarket also markets
branded mobile phones. The supermarkets in order to encourage customers to purchase more
products from its store offer rewards and gift cards. The place strategy of Woolworths consists of
both its brick and mortar outlets and online platforms. The supermarket chain in order to retain
its existing customers and acquire new customers, provides discounts and offers on its products
which are subject to certain terms and conditions laid down by the management of Woolworths.
It is evident from the discussion of the product line of Woolworths that consists of wide
ranges of food and non-food products. This means that the supermarket chain employs a huge
upstream supply chain to acquire inventory of products from suppliers and intricate downstream
supply chain to sell its goods and services to the end consumers.
Supply chain of Woolworths:
The supply chain of Woolworths can be divided broadly into upstream and downstream
supply chains. The following sections would discuss the supply `chain of Woolworths: