Strategic Information System: Woolworths

This literature review discusses the strategic information and accounting information system of Woolworths Supermarket. It covers the organizational structure, operational problems, system acquisition method, sales flowchart, control problems, accounting software packages, market size, and competitors.

Running head: STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEM
Strategic Information System: Woolworths
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Part A.....................................................................................................................................3
Organizational Background of Woolworths Supermarket.................................................3
1. Organizational Structure of Woolworths Supermarket..................................................3
2. Operational Problems in Woolworths Supermarket......................................................5
3. System Acquisition Method in Woolworths Supermarket.............................................7
4. Sales Flowchart of Woolworths Supermarket................................................................8
5. Control Problems in the System of Woolworths Supermarket......................................9
Part B....................................................................................................................................10
1. Accounting Software Packages in Woolworths Supermarket.....................................10
2. Market Size..................................................................................................................11
3. Market Leaders or Competitors of Woolworths Supermarket.....................................12
4. Relevant Recommendations for Woolworths Supermarket.........................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
Information systems can be defined as the organized system to properly collect,
organize, store as well as communicate any type of information or data. Any type of data
operation is very simple and easy with this information system (Arvidsson, Holmström and
Lyytinen 2014). Information system helps to produce information whenever required.
Strategic information system is one of the most important types of information systems that
mainly deal with the strategies of any specific organization. It can be easily defined as the
particular kind of information system which are used for the successful completion and
accomplishment of organizational goals and objectives (Laudon and Laudon 2016).
Competitive advantages are easily gained with particular type of information system. Most of
the organizations in today’s world have acquired the strategic information system for their
business. The services or products that the organization produces are delivered with low costs
and with better efficiencies. Any specific segment of the market is focused with the strategic
information system (Boonstra 2013). The most salient characteristic of the information
system or information technology is the strategic information system.
This literature review substantially discusses regarding the strategic information and
accounting information system of the most popular supermarket, Woolworths Supermarket. It
is located in Australia and is extremely famous. The complete organizational structure and
the various operational problems would be provided here. Moreover, the relevant and
appropriate system acquisition method and the flowchart of system would be provided in the
review. There are various control problems of Woolworths as well as the frauds in the system
and they are mentioned here. The second part of the literature review focuses on the
accounting software package of the organization with proper and relevant details.

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Furthermore, the leaders of the market and the major competitors of the supermarket are also
mentioned here. The literature review will be completed with an appropriate conclusion.
Discussion
Part A
Organizational Background of Woolworths Supermarket
The most popular grocery store in Australia is known as Woolworths Supermarket. It
provides various goods and services for its customers and thus it is widely accepted in the
entire Australia and suburbs (Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). Started in 1924, this
particular organization with another supermarket, Coles is responsible for forming a near
duopoly of the all the accounting of Australian supermarkets. They take about more than 80%
of the entire grocery market of Australia. The speciality of Woolworths Supermarket is to
deliver and sell groceries (Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). The main groceries that they sell
are all types of fruits, vegetables or packaged food. Moreover, apart from all these, they even
sell baby food, pet food and other stationery items. There are one thousand stores or branches
of this Supermarket within Australia and New Zealand. Amongst these one thousand stores,
nine hundred and sixty eight are supermarkets and other nineteen are convenience stores. All
of these are under the brand name of Woolworths. The shares of this supermarket have
always been on the higher side. However, recently, it has been observed to have a sharp
downfall in this (Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018). There are various reasons for this
downfall. The details are provided in the following paragraphs.
1. Organizational Structure of Woolworths Supermarket
The organizational structure of any organization can be defined the procedures of
various activities of any organization like allocation of tasks, supervision or coordination

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being directed to the proper achievement of the objectives of that organization (Galliers and
Leidner 2014). The organizations are absolutely effective, flexible and efficient for
successfully achieving the competitive advantages. The organizational structure is even
considered as the perspective by which all the individuals have an overview of the
organization and the environment. The structure could be created in various ways and it helps
to determine the modes from where the operations and the performance are done (Al-Hiyari,
AL-Mashre and Mat 2013). This structure is even responsible for enabling the responsibility
allocation of the employees of the organization. Following are the two parts of organizational
structures of Woolworths Supermarket.
Figure 1: Management Structure of Woolworths Supermarket
(Source: Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018)

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Figure 2: Corporate Structure of Woolworths Supermarket
(Source: Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018)
The above figures have properly demonstrated the management and the corporate
structure of Woolworths Supermarket of Australia (Dandago and Rufai 2014). The various
management bodies of the organization constitute the management structure and thus the
organization has become successful in its terms.
2. Operational Problems in Woolworths Supermarket
Woolworths Supermarket is absolutely successful in the market of groceries. In spite
of being successful and accepted by its customer, they cannot avoid various operational
problems within its system (Smith 2013). The several operational problems in Woolworths
Supermarket are as follows:
i) Employee Issues: The most significant problem within Woolworths Supermarket is
the employee issues. There are conflicts within the employees, the issues of supervisors and
the personal trauma of the employees (Bryson 2018). These problems have solely shaken the

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structure of the overall organization and hence the problems with the employees have solely
increased.
ii) Team Problems: For the higher performance of the organization of Woolworths
Supermarket, the teams or the departments of the company should be properly functioning
and thus the organizational success would be enhanced (Cassidy 2016). However, the
scenario is not similar in Woolworths. Since the organization is almost 100 years older, many
departments have become non functional and the organization is having problems in
mitigating those issues.
iii) Older Technology: The third important operational problem is the older
technology or the problem in acquiring new technologies within the business (Short et al.
2013). They still follow the traditional methods of technology and often face major
competition with the rest of the supermarkets in Australia.
iv) Wrong Strategies: The next important operational problem in Woolworths
Supermarket is the wrong strategies (Haines 2016). The strategies that they have developed
do not bring or fulfil the long term goals and objectives of the organization and thus they
suffer through several losses within the business.
v) Communication: This is another significant operational problem of Woolworths
Supermarket. There is a huge communication gap between the organization and the
customers and the customers, who are new does not wish to communicate with the
organization (Dibrell, Craig and Neubaum 2014). Moreover, the strategies are not shared
with the employees and thus it leads to a specific gap of communication within the staffs and
a major lack of cooperation within the organizational divisions.

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vi) Lack of Resources: The supply of the raw materials or resources is not equal to
the demand of the products of the customers and thus the customers are not happy with this
particular grocery store (Channon and Jalland 2016). They are opting for other supermarkets.
3. System Acquisition Method in Woolworths Supermarket
Woolworths Supermarket has undertaken the model of enterprise resource planning or
ERP within their business (Leon 2014). ERP is the category of business managing software,
which helps in integrating all the applications of the business properly, without any type of
complexity. The organization can easily collect, store, manage as well as interpret the data or
information from the business activities. The most important business activities like customer
relationship management or CRM, procurement management, financial management, human
resource management, production management, logistics management and many more are
solely integrated with this enterprise resource planning (Shaul and Tauber 2013). Moreover,
the business processes of any organizations are updated and integrated with databases and
this database is maintained and managed by the enterprise resource planning. Woolworths
Supermarket has to deal with various business processes and activities in its regular days.
ERP has been a major help to this organization. Although, this specific method of system
acquisition is much tough to maintain and is extremely costly, Woolworths still have utilized
this software in their business because of its vast benefits (Hoch and Dulebohn 2013). The
processes of Woolworths Supermarket have been properly streamlined with enterprise
resource planning and productivity is improved by increasing the efficiencies.

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Figure 3: Benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning in Woolworths Supermarket
(Source: Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018)
The figure provided above has provided the clear view of all the benefits of enterprise
resource planning that this organization is enjoying in its business (Nofal and Yusof 2013).
All the above mentioned business processes are being substantially and eventually integrated
with ERP.
4. Sales Flowchart of Woolworths Supermarket
The flowchart of sales in any organization refers to the processes of the sales of that
organization. It shows all the steps of the sales process and all the individuals involved in the
processes (Haines 2016). The particular outcome that is to be gained by the processes is close
to the organizational goals and objectives. Following is the sales flowchart of Woolworths
Supermarket with relevant details.

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Figure 4: Flowchart of Sales Procedure in Woolworths Supermarket
(Source: Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018)
The figure provided above has clearly defined all the processes and steps of sales
flowchart of Woolworths Supermarket. Five steps or processes are involved here. The first
process is the customer. The customer books the product or service, and then comes the sales
process (Cassidy 2016). The third process is the contracts where the agents of the
organization review the orders and request for approval. The fourth process is the legal,
where it is checked whether the order is legal or not and finally the last step is fulfilment,
where the order is fulfilled.
5. Control Problems in the System of Woolworths Supermarket
The control problems of Woolworths with their solutions are as follows:

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i) Quality of Product: The first problem is with the quality of their products and
services. They should focus on the product quality and thus their problem would be solved
(Smith 2013). They should balance the quality and the quantity of the products.
ii) CRM: The next problem is the maintenance of customer relationship management.
A proper strategy should be maintained for maintaining their customer relationship
management.
iii) Retaining Good Employees: They are not focusing on retaining of their
employees. The good employees of the organization should be maintained and retained.
iv) High Price: The price of the products of this organization is explicitly higher than
grocery stores (Hoch and Dulebohn 2013).
The major frauds or errors that are possible in Woolworths are given below:
i) Payroll Frauds: There is always a high chance of payroll frauds in the organization
of Woolworths Supermarket.
ii) Double Check Fraud: This type of fraud is possible in the accounting sector of the
organization and hence can reduce the revenues of the business.
iii) Lack of Supply Frauds: The supply of the raw materials is not sufficient for the
amount of demand in the organization and hence these types of frauds are available (Simkin,
Norman and Rose 2014).
Part B
1. Accounting Software Packages in Woolworths Supermarket
The accounting software packages are responsible for bringing simplicity to the
business and hence the business processes are substantially maintained and integrated with

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these packages. However, Woolworths Supermarket does not believe in modern technologies
and have not taken any accounting software package in their business (Simkin, Norman and
Rose 2014). Rather they have taken the SAP or Systems Accounting and Processes model in
their business. SAP is the core part of enterprise resource planning. The most significant
advantages of SAP include decreasing extra costs, streamlining processes, increasing
efficiencies, improving productivity and many others.
Figure 5: SAP Hosting Services in Woolworths Supermarket
(Source: Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018)
The above figure shows the various hosting services that Woolworths Supermarket
like data centre management, service desk services, system management services, network
access management and SAP basis operations and database services.
2. Market Size
The market size of Woolworths Supermarket demonstrates the position of the market.

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Figure 6: Market Size of Woolworths Supermarket
(Source: Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018)
The shares have gone to 5 from 15 and the business is suffering through major
problems.
3. Market Leaders or Competitors of Woolworths Supermarket
The main competitors of Woolworths Supermarket are IGA, Aldi and Coles.
Sales
Other Supermarkets 8.10%
IGA 9.80%
Aldi 12.50%
Woolworths 36.30%
Coles Group 33.20%
Figure 7: Main Competitors of Woolworths Supermarket

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(Source: Created by the Author in MS Doc)
The graph provided has shown the market shares of all the competitors of
Woolworths Supermarket and thus showing that Woolworths is still the market leader in the
sector of grocery stores (Fosgerau and de Palma 2015). They have the maximum sales of
36.30% and is maximum amongst all others.
4. Relevant Recommendations for Woolworths Supermarket
The problems of Woolworths Supermarket are dangerous for the business and hence
they would be in grave danger. The various problems with suitable recommendations for the
organization of Woolworths Supermarket are given below:
i) Shares Downfall: The main problem is the downfall of shares. The
recommendation for this problem is to make new strategies.
ii) Higher Price: The second problem is the higher price of products and services.
The prices of the products are very high and thus the customers are not choosing them. The
recommendation is to reduce the price of the products by maintaining the product quality.
iii) Lack of CRM: The third problem is the lack of customer relationship
management. The recommendation is that they should focus on their CRM for mitigating the
problems.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above literature review, conclusion could be drawn that a
strategic information system helps the organizations alter the business strategies or structure.
It is eventually utilized for properly speeding up of the time of reaction to all the
environmental alterations and thus aiding it to achieve various competitive advantages for
that particular organization. The most significant characteristics of this strategic information

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system or SIS mainly include enabling decision support systems for the successful
development of strategic approaches for aligning the information system with all the
strategies of the organizations. The next characteristic is to integrate all the processes of
business for meeting the objectives and goals of business and also in making the best uses of
database systems for the purpose of production, marketing and promotion. A rapid response
of the maintenance of information system is also done by the strategic information system.
Accounting information system can be defined as the appropriate storage, processing or
collection of any type of accounting and financial data that are being utilized by the internal
users for explicitly reporting to the investors of the company. The accounting software
packages are utilized for the accounting information systems in any organization. This
literature review has focused on the popular supermarket of Australia, Woolworths
Supermarket. This particular organization comprises of an organizational structure and that
organizational structure is divided into two parts. One is the management structure and the
other is the corporate structure. Both of these organizational structures are provided here.
There are various operational problems as well for this organization and those problems are
also given here. These operational problems often become major problems for the growth and
development of the organization. The system acquisition method of Woolworths Supermarket
is Enterprise Resource Planning and it is properly explained here. The complete and the
exclusive flowchart of the sales procedure is also given here. Moreover, the various control
problems and various errors and frauds are also mentioned here. The various accounting
software packages help any organization to become successful and the most suitable software
for Woolworths Supermarket is SAP of ERP. Appropriate recommendations that would help
the organization are eventually provided in the literature review.

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References
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practice: A multi-dimensional view of strategic information system implementation and
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Boonstra, A., 2013. How do top managers support strategic information system projects and
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Management, 31(4), pp.498-512.
Bryson, J.M., 2018. Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
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Cassidy, A., 2016. A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. CRC press.
Channon, D.F. and Jalland, M., 2016. Multinational strategic planning. Springer.
Dandago, K.I. and Rufai, A.S., 2014. Information technology and accounting information
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Research, 67(9), pp.2000-2007.
Fosgerau, M. and de Palma, A., 2015. Demand systems for market shares.

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Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E. eds., 2014. Strategic information management: challenges
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CRC Press.
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Shaul, L. and Tauber, D., 2013. Critical success factors in enterprise resource planning
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Short, M., Baker, M., Carter, J., Jones, C. and Jay, S., 2013. Strategic environmental
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Smith, R.D., 2013. Strategic planning for public relations. Routledge.
Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2018. Woolworths Supermarkets - Woolworths Group. [online]
Available at:

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https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/our-brands/supermarkets/Woolworths
[Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].