ASDA PLC Expansion: Project Management, Stakeholders & Risks

This report provides an overview of project management techniques applied to ASDA PLC's business expansion project. It covers the project lifecycle model, including initiation, planning, execution, and closure, with specific attention to the scope of the project in the context of international market expansion and the COVID-19 pandemic. Key tools and methodologies such as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Gantt charts, stakeholder analysis, and risk assessment are discussed in detail. The report also addresses challenges faced by companies in international expansion, focusing on foreign laws, international accounting, and cost management. It evaluates criteria and selection processes for choosing international markets, including marketing objectives, preliminary screening, market short-listing, evaluation, test marketing, and commercial production. The analysis aims to provide insights into effective project management strategies for ASDA PLC's growth initiatives.

Managing Projects in
the Organisation

Executive Summary
Project management refers to the procedures, skills, knowledge, and expertise used to
achieve specific project objectives while staying within project acceptance criteria. ASDA PLC is
being presented with its business's expansion project techniques to complete the study. This
research report includes a group scheme that accompanies various activities that the group
conducts through stakeholder review.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 4
Main Body.................................................................................................................................... 4
Project Life cycle model...............................................................................................................4
Project Initiation.................................................................................................................. 5
Project Planning.................................................................................................................. 6
Execution.......................................................................................................................... 11
Project closure.................................................................................................................. 13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 15
References................................................................................................................................ 16

Introduction
Project management refers to an effective strategy through which project firm can derive
better plans to attain respective business goals and objectives. Under the technique various
strategies are adopted by organisational firm in accordance to enable flexibility of approaches
and activities that are being performed in the workforce. For the given report document,
operational working at ASDA PLC will be taken into consideration. In the presented report given
report will evaluate on undertaken project of the firm i.e. Business expansion project.
Respective company operates as a retail grocery in various market regions. The said corporate
has its existence since 1949 and has its headquarters in Leeds, England, UK. The respective
company operates under operations of Roger Burnley as the CEO (Kasemsap, 2018).
Key project management techniques that will underpin the report
There will be use of variety of project management tools that will guide better function of
the project activities. Along with this under such techniques there will be significant usage of
effective management of business resources and dedications will be made in respect to develop
better productivity of the project organisation. Following are the project management techniques
that will guide the working of the project firm (Klun and Trkman, 2018);
 WBS
 Gantt chart
 Risk assessment
 Project scope
Main Body
Project Life cycle model
The main goal is to complete activities that will help the mission achieve its goals. The
project manager and project team are a common target. Then there's the initial project, followed
by a middle stage in which the project is completed. Initial, planning, execution, and completion
are the four primary stages of a typical project. The 'life cycle' of a project is made up of several
phases, which show how a project progresses from start to completion (Martinez, 2019).
Project Initiation
The goal or requirement of the project is identified during these initial phases; it might be a
business impediment or an opportunity. In a business case, a suitable solution to the demand is
recorded, along with proposed technique alternatives. A feasibility analysis is carried out to see
if each alternative meets the project's objectives, and a decision is made. The project will be

begun when the suggested solution has been accepted, and a project manager will be
designated for the authorised solution (Ubaid and Dweiri, 2020).
Scope of project
The scope of the given project refers to several technicality and approaches adopted in
the business firm to newly introduced project task or improvise previous aim. The given project
will dedicate its resources in respect to expansion of ASDA PLC in international markets
contrasting to aspects of COVID-19 pandemic. The project plan will be an inclusion of
considerations of pre as well as post pandemic scenario of the business working and essential
aspects of the operational firm.
Opportunities in the market
There are many opportunities are present in the market which the company can grab to
make their company success in the international market. The brief discussion related to
opportunities are given below.
 Increasing trend of healthy foods:- There are many difficulties faced by the business
organisation of the United Kingdom and also other organisation of the world due to the
COVID outbreak. There are many opportunities are also arises due to this pandemic is
that the preference and taste of customer shifted towards the healthy foods. The main
reason behind this is people become more conscious about their health. It is an
opportunity for the Marshfield bakery to develop the healthy bakery product and uses
creative methods of marketing in international market to achieve the goals and
objectives of the organisation effectively.
 Increasing trend of online shopping: - At the time when the all the government of the
respected countries restricts the passage of peoples from one place to another without
any proper reason and all the shops and business are commanded to shut their
business. One of the habit which develops in most people is shopping online with the
help of E-commerce websites to purchase the product services (Muratshina and Andal,
2021). This opens many opportunities in the market for business organisations related to
conduct their business online and become successful. It is an opportunity for the
Marshfield to develop online application which enables their customer to purchase their
product online and earns huge revenue from it.
Project Planning
The planning phase include creating project resolution and arranging the essential
measures to achieve the project goal to the best extent possible. The team will identify all of the
tasks that must be done. The duties and services for the project, as well as the strategy, are

developed. A project calendar lists events, activities, requirements, and deadlines. The project
manager oversees the creation of the project WBS including task, equipment, and product cost
estimates (Harmon, 2019).
WBS

Business Expansion of ASDA PLC
Project Initiation Project Planning Project Execution Project Closure
Project Scope
Opportunities in the
market
Stakeholder
analysis
Challenges faced by
companies in
international
expansion
Entering
international market
Risk assessment
Monitoring and
controlling
Gantt chart

Stakeholder analysis
The presented matrix takes into account a variety of stakeholders who have an impact
on the business firm's operations, either directly or indirectly. The firm recognises several
elements linked to stakeholders to be included as part of the analysis project and derives a
competitive advantage for the firm (Gonzalez-Lopez and Bustos, 2019).
 High power, low interest: This group contains stakeholders that have little interest in
operational work but have a lot of control over the firm's decision-making. In respect to
ASDA PLC, managers qualifies committee members under this category. High power, high interest: Individuals who have significant capacity to influence the
firm's operational workings and a strong interest in the firm's operational workings are
included in this group. This quadrant is inherited from the particular company's
investors. Low power, low interest: Stakeholders with a low interest in operational work as well
as low power to influence decision-making in the organisation will be considered in this
group. The project firm's quadrant audience is being considered for this quadrant.
 Low power, high interest: Individuals who have a low power to manipulate the firm's
operational workings but a strong interest in the firm's operational workings are included
in this group. The project firm's organisers are taken into consideration under this.

Gantt chart
A Gantt chart is a form of bar chart representation that shows a project schedule with
activities listed on it. With the help of the above illustration diagram, project managers may
maintain a reasonable pace of work in the project company and build better understandings of
how to achieve desired project goals and objectives to the required standard. Using this
strategy, the total project plan is connected, which aids in decision-making regarding the time
required to complete the project while completing a long list of actions (Fedorova, Mamaeva and
Yakunina, 2018).

Execution
The implementation of the project schedule and project preparation are the following
steps. To keep authority and communicate when appropriate, it is critical to wait for
implementation. Progress is often tracked, and modifications are made when needed to deviate
from the original plan. On each project, a project manager is in charge of this stage. Individuals
are responsible for this endeavour, and success is reported during team meetings on a daily
basis.
Challenges faced by companies in international expansion
There are many challenges which the organisation has to face to expand their business
in international market. The brief discussion related to these challenges are given below.
 Foreign law and regulation:- It is required for the organisation which expand their
business in international markets. There are many rules and regulations are developed
by the government of the respected countries to be fulfilled by the companies and the
non-fulfilment of these regulation makes the company liable for the huge penalties and
law suits.
 International accounting: - All the countries has different principles and techniques of
accounting which they follow in their business management to make the operations
effective. Companies face many difficulties to develop effective accounting framework to
deal with these policies.
 Cost management: - It is one of the most difficult challenge present with the
organisation to deal with. There are many factors which the company considers to
achieve the cost advantage in the new market such as demand supply, competitors
price, transportation cost and price of the substitutes.
Evaluate the key criteria and selection process to use when considering which
international market to enter
There are many criteria and selection process are present with the company which the
management of the organisation has to consider to enter in international market. The brief
discussion related to these are given below:
 International marketing objectives: - It is very important for the management of the
organisation to develop effective objectives to expand their business in the international
market. These objectives provides road map and direction to the employees and
management of the organisation to achieve them. The management of Marshfield
bakery has to develop effective business plan which contains clear objectives of the
business to enter in American market.

 Preliminary screening:- it is related to the screening of the international market where
they want ton conduct the business. This screening is conduct before the entry of the
organisation in international market. Under this method company analyses the
opportunities and threats present in the market and impact of these factors on the
company. It is the duty of managers of the managers of the Marshfield to screen various
threats in the market of America to establish their business without any difficulty.
 Short-listing of market:- Preliminary screening enables the organisation to analyse the
different markets of the country where they want to establish their business. All the
qualities and features of the different markets are analysed in screening. Under this
process company short list some market which they believe to be potential for their
product and services all the markets which company finds not potential are kick out in
this process. The management of Asda has to short list some market which they find
potential for their supermarkets.
 Evaluation and selection:- After the organisation short listed different market in the
above process then the management of the organisation start to evaluate and select the
most desirable market from the shortlisted market . Under the evaluation process the
markets are analysed on the basis of cost and customer reach and this criteria is
compared to the company. The management of Asda analyse the cost incurred by the
company to operate in particular market such as transportation cost, rent and wages of
the employees. All these factors impact the profit margins of the company and those
market which provides highest return to the company are selected to target the product.
 Test marketing:- Under this step of the international expansion the product of the
company are launches in the small part of the selected market in small scale. This step
is done to take the public feedback and suggestion so that the risk of failure can be
minimised (Anwar, 2017). It is very helpful for Asda to take the feedback from the
customers present in the selected market and then opens their supermarkets.
 Commercial production:- It is related to the establishment of the overall business in the
united states at large scale after clearing the doubts related to the product from the
market.
Project closure
During the final closing or completion stage, the goal is to uncover the final client
deliverables, give the organisation with project documentation, close the contracts between the
providers, release the service, and transmit the project to all interested parties. The final phase
is to investigate what went well and what was not taught. This technique of study returns