Strategic Information System

This report provides an analysis of Woolworths' strategic information system, including external and internal environmental analysis, industry analysis, and competitive environment analysis. It also proposes an information system for Woolworths and analyzes the company's intangible and tangible resources, capabilities, and core competencies.

Running head: STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEM
Strategic Information System
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEM
Executive Summary
The report has helped in the overall analysis of the different kinds of aspects which is
inclusive of both external and internal environmental analysis. Furthermore, the different
kinds of information system analysis has been done in Woolworths which has helped the
company in gaining competitive advantage and this will improve the overall efficiency of the
firm. Lastly, the various aspects which is related to the opportunities and threats faced by the
company has been analyzed as well in case of Woolworths.

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Table of Contents
Part 1- External Analysis...........................................................................................................3
1. Overview of Woolworths...................................................................................................3
2. Overview of Retail Industry...............................................................................................3
3. Study of General Environment...........................................................................................4
4. Study of the Industry Environment....................................................................................6
5. Competitive Environment Analysis...................................................................................7
6. Threats and Opportunities Faced by Woolworths..............................................................9
Part 2- Proposal and Analysis of Industry..................................................................................9
1. Intangible and Tangible Resources of Woolworths...........................................................9
2. Identification of Various Capabilities..............................................................................10
3. Core Competencies Analysis...........................................................................................10
4. Proposed Information System for Woolworths................................................................11
5. Evaluation of Information System for Analysis of Recommendation.............................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

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Part 1- External Analysis
1. Overview of Woolworths
Woolworths Supermarket is Australian grocery store which is being owned by
Woolworths limited. The company was founded in the year 1924 which has taken over more
than 80% of the Australian market (Woolworths.com.au. 2018). The company mostly
specialises in various kinds of groceries along with selling magazines and health and beauty
care products. Woolworths currently operate in more than 1000 stores across the entire
Australia and there are more than 19 convenience stores which is carrying the logo of
Woolworths itself. The headquarter of the respective supermarket is situated in New South
Wales which is in Australia and the number of employees working in the organization is
111,000 till the year 2017.
2. Overview of Retail Industry
Australia has tried to occupy remarkable position in the global retail market wherein
the country has huge market potential, low economic kind of risk and there us moderate kind
of political risk. Australia is the world’s economy of the different consumers and this has
adopted more than 10% of the gross domestic product and there is solid growth of internet.
Furthermore, in the year 1880, this was being noticed that Australian retail industry has huge
potential in the B2B e-commerce market and the online market has come into the presence
which will be at par with the physical market as well. Lastly, the entire luxury segment of
Australia is expected to grow more than US$ 45 billion by the end of the year 2018 and this
will help in the overall increase of the retail market effectively.

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3. Study of General Environment
Economic factors- This is the first major aspect in which this has been seen
that Woolworths has been under significant pressure from the various economic related
changes.
From the PESTEL analysis, this can be analysed that there are various opportunities
which can be gained by Woolworths which is inclusive of the following:
 There is huge stability of the different major economies which is a huge opportunity
for the company Woolworths
 There is continued growth of the different developing countries which is again a
growth and opportunity for Woolworths in handling such matters in an efficient
manner
Physical Factors- There are various shares of Woolworths which can create huge
impact on the company. It has been seen that there are different physical stores of
Woolworths in Australia which will help in improving the growth rate of the company. The
different macro-economic factors will be helpful in driving the prices of the organization. The
different physical stores of the company have been a huge part of the profitability and
revenues of the company efficiently.
Socio-Cultural Factors- The different socio-cultural factors of the business
environment of Woolworths will help in influencing the perception and preferences of the
customers. There are different socio-cultural factors which might affect the entire growth of
the company Woolworths in an efficient manner. The various aspects are inclusive of the
following:

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 The automation of the business is increasing which is one of the major opportunities
and this will help in improving the overall business of Woolworths
 The other opportunity is related to business analytics is the other opportunity which
will help in increasing mobile device usage among the different consumers in the
market
From the above, this can be analysed that Woolworths can increase the overall market
share in the respective two factors which have been stated above. The online selling and
online marketing can increase the overall market share of the company in a proper manner.
Global Factors-The entire economic turbulence along with the different
environmental factors are required to be provided huge focus by Woolworths. Woolworths
need to mainly focus and provide attention on reducing the different kinds of carbon dioxide
emissions which will help in improvement of the overall company efficiently.
Technological Factors-This is the other aspect which is required to be taken into
consideration as this will improve and increase the overall efficiency of the organization in a
positive manner. Furthermore, this has been noticed that SAP implementation which is based
on merchandising will improve the effectiveness of the firm appropriately.
Legal Factors-This is the other aspect in which there are different kinds of legal
compliances which will be affecting the overall growth of the company. This has been seen
that there are various legal battles in Australian economy which can affect the growth of
Woolworths in the firm as well.
Demographic Factors- This is the last aspect which is inclusive of the various
households between the age group of 23-26 years of age and Woolworths target both middle

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and higher income group individuals in the organization for buying variety of the products
from them at a reasonable rate.
4. Study of the Industry Environment
Threat from the various substitutes is high in nature in the Woolworths Company
wherein this has been noticed that there is huge indirect kind of competition in the market
which is inclusive of the convenience stores and the grocery stores as well. Furthermore, this
has been noticed that the customers in the market are applying their approach towards the
different kinds of healthy food habits and this is helping the different convenience stores of
Woolworths in selling various kinds of organic food items in the market and this can be a
huge potential threat for the entire company.
Rivalry among the different existing competitors is high in nature in which this has
been noticed that there is existence of rivalry and there is lack of differentiation as well. The
entire price is based on the entire price along with there are various competitors which is
inclusive of Coles which they offer the value which is helpful in managing the overall
ineffectiveness.
Bargaining power of the suppliers is the other aspect wherein the power is low and
this has been noticed that more than 85% of the Australian supermarket is being controlled by
both Woolworths and Coles. Furthermore, this has been analysed that there are different
kinds of local producers in the market which is making limited kind of selection of the
different intermediaries, both Coles and Woolworths are main kinds of producers (Hill, Jones
and Schilling 2014).
Bargaining power of the buyers is the other main aspect wherein the power is low
and this will increase the overall buying power of the various customers which will be

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increasing in future. The main aspect of the different buyers in the market is such that they
prefer the various kinds of products at a lower price but of same quality from the other
competitors.
Threat of new entrants is the last aspect which is low for Woolworths market as the
technological advancements of operations of the company has been able to improve their
overall market share in the company in an efficient manner and this will be helpful for the
company as well (Hill 2017).
5. Competitive Environment Analysis
The entire competitive environment of Woolworths is high and this is inclusive of the
various aspects which should be taken into consideration by the company that has helped
them in becoming most effective in nature (Galliers and Leidner 2014). There are different
other competitors of Woolworths in the entire Australian market which is inclusive of Target,
Kmart and Coles which are performing brilliantly as per the different operations.
Furthermore, this has been seen that the Woolworths is in the top position as the company
have introduced the self-check out system which helps the company in becoming more
effective as they are technologically advanced in nature.
6. Threats and Opportunities Faced by Woolworths
There are various kinds of opportunities along with threats which can affect the
company Woolworths in a negative or positive manner. The entire analysis of opportunities
and threats are as follows:
Threats-Firstly, this has been seen that there are various kinds of competition in the
entire market from various international players. The costs of the different raw materials have

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been increased which has affected the overall margin of profit of the company in a negative
manner (Bromiley et al. 2015). Lastly, the recession will be hindering the entire growth of the
company in a negative manner which will be reducing the opening of the different stores in
the entire market (Robson 2015).
Opportunities- The different kinds of opportunities in the marketwhich has helped in
promoting the brand of the company. With the help of the different kinds of sponsorships
along with advertisements, this will help in increasing the overall efficiency of the firm
(Frynas and Mellahi 2015). Woolworths can try to seek the growth with the help of different
strategic acquisitions with adoption of the different franchise models in the different
emerging kinds of economies (Wheelen et al. 2017).
Part 2- Proposal and Analysis of Industry
1. Intangible and Tangible Resources of Woolworths
Financial Resources- This is the first aspect which is required to be taken into
consideration at Woolworths Company. The different kinds of financial resources are being
properly built on the high amount of revenues which is being generated from the different
sale of the goods and services (Jarzabkowski and Kaplan 2015).
Human Resources- The entire base of employees of Woolworths is the huge support
for the company as they are the ones who provide proper support to the entire company and
the entire operations of the company is being provided in an effective manner effectively to
the different customers (Hitt and Duane Ireland 2017).
Physical Resources- This is the other kinds of resources which are being analysed by
the different number of stores which are present in all over New Zealand and Australia. There
are various stores which are being able to provide effective kinds of products along with

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services which are the part of the entire Australian economy (Schaltegger, Burritt and
Petersen 2017).
2. Identification of Various Capabilities
The main capabilities that have been gained by Woolworths in the retail market of
Australia is being built on the various kinds of models which are being offered to the various
customers of Woolworths (Ausfoodnews.com.au. 2018). The company is being able to
provide various products to the different customers with proper level of coordination with the
different local market farmers. The products are fresh in nature and the customer satisfaction
level is high in nature. The customer centric approach of Woolworths has helped the
company in becoming successful (Rothaermel 2015).
3. Core Competencies Analysis
The major kind of competencies of Woolworths are as follows:
Firstly, to improve their position in entire retail industry by providing fresh kind of
products in the market in an effectual manner.
 Valuable – Moderate
 Rarity – High
 Imitability –Moderate
 Organization – Yes
Secondly, the entire process which has been adopted by the firm is being able to
improve themselves in lean kind of retailer with implementation of end-to-end processes
and systems.
 Valuable – Moderate
 Rarity –High

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 Imitability –Moderate
 Organization –Yes
Proper development of the businesses related to drinks will help in providing
value to the company and this will increase the number of customers.
 Valuable – Moderate
 Rarity – Moderate
 Imitability – High
 Organization –Yes
 Resources Valuable Rare Imitable Organisation Advantage
Information
Technology
Integration
Yes No Yes Yes Permanent
Woolworths
Supply Chain
Management
Activities
Yes No No Yes Temporary
Workforce
Analysis of
Woolworths
Yes Yes No Yes Temporary
The format of the
Woolworths
Company is
Yes Yes Yes Yes Permanent

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unique in nature
Cost related
Efficiency
Yes Yes No Yes Permanent
Figure 1 – VRIO factor analysis
(Source – Created by author)
From the VRIO analysis, this can be analyzed that the company is efficient in the
different kinds of operations which are being undertaken by Woolworths. Furthermore, this
has been noticed that the efficiency related to cost is essential and this helps the company in
becoming more effective in nature in order to compete with the other competitors in the
entire market (Lasserre 2017). The uniqueness of the company inclusive of self- check-out
system helps the company in becoming more significant in analysing the strengths of the
company and applying them as the opportunity in order to become successful.
4. Proposed Information System for Woolworths
The kind of information system which is being used by Woolworths is done on the
entire implementation of management information system which will help in managing the
different activities (Helfat and Martin 2017). The process which is made on the decision-
making is used in the entire analysis of the entire information which is being based on the
entire profits and this will help Woolworths in analysing the choice of the different
customers. Furthermore, the MIS will be analysed and identified in such a manner which will
help Woolworths in maintaining confidentiality level and this will increase the security
related data as well in the entire organization as well.

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5. Evaluation of Information System for Analysis of Recommendation
Proper implementation of the accurate MIS will be essential and manage the
customer’s data in the effective manner. The entire system is required to be adopted by
Woolworths which will help in improvement of the performance of the organization. The
entire performance of the different employees will improve the overall management of the
organization and this will help the employees and organization in reducing the security which
will be implemented by Woolworths.
Conclusion
Therefore, this can be concluded that both internal and external analysis of
Woolworths have been done in an effective manner. Furthermore, the different kinds of
aspects have been taken into consideration which is inclusive of the VRIO analysis that has
helped the company in making their different activities more effective.
This has been noticed that the Woolworths company needs to focus more on the
information system which will help them in becoming more appropriate in gaining
competitive advantage in the market and this will improve the overall efficiency of the
organization as well. The information system along with management information system
will help the company in gaining competitiveness in the entire industry and this will assist in
managing their different kinds of operations of the company in a positive manner.

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References
Ausfoodnews.com.au. 2018. Ausfoodnews.com.au. [online] Available at:
http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2015/05/06/woolworths-announces-new-strategies-to-win-
over-grocery-shoppers-afn-reveals-full-detail.html [Accessed 31 Aug. 2018].
Bromiley, P., McShane, M., Nair, A. and Rustambekov, E., 2015. Enterprise risk
management: Review, critique, and research directions. Long range planning, 48(4), pp.265-
276.
Frynas, J.G. and Mellahi, K., 2015. Global strategic management. Oxford University Press,
USA.
Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E., 2014. Strategic information management: challenges and
strategies in managing information systems. Routledge.
Helfat, C.E. and Martin, J.A., 2015. Dynamic managerial capabilities: Review and
assessment of managerial impact on strategic change. Journal of Management, 41(5),
pp.1281-1312.
Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014. Strategic management: theory: an
integrated approach. Cengage Learning.
Hill, T., 2017. Manufacturing strategy: the strategic management of the manufacturing
function. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Hitt, M. and Duane Ireland, R., 2017. The intersection of entrepreneurship and strategic
management research. The Blackwell handbook of entrepreneurship, pp.45-63.

14STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEM
Jarzabkowski, P. and Kaplan, S., 2015. Strategy tools‐in‐use: A framework for understanding
“technologies of rationality” in practice. Strategic Management Journal, 36(4), pp.537-558.
Lasserre, P., 2017. Global strategic management. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Meyer, G.D., Neck, H.M. and Meeks, M.D., 2017. The entrepreneurship‐strategic
management interface. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, pp.17-44.
Robson, W., 2015. Strategic management and information systems. Pearson Higher Ed.
Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Schaltegger, S., Burritt, R. and Petersen, H., 2017. An introduction to corporate
environmental management: Striving for sustainability. Routledge.
Wheelen, T.L., Hunger, J.D., Hoffman, A.N. and Bamford, C.E., 2017. Strategic
management and business policy. pearson.
Woolworths.com.au. 2018. Woolworths.com.au. [online] Available at:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/ [Accessed 31 Aug. 2018].