Business Report: Marks and Spencer's Strategy, IT and Competitive Edge

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marks and Spencer (M&S), a leading UK retailer. It begins with an overview of M&S, its history, and current business strategies, including Plan A and its brick-and-click approach. The report then examines M&S's products and services, covering clothing, food, home goods, and financial services. A key component is the application of Porter's five forces model to assess the competitive environment, analyzing the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, the threat of new entrants and substitutes, and the intensity of competitive rivalry. Furthermore, the report delves into Porter's value chain, focusing on primary activities such as marketing and sales and services, and support activities like technology and human resource management. The report also highlights M&S's strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the report discusses how M&S can deploy IT and innovative ideas to improve its business processes and enhance its competitive positioning.

MANAGING
INFORMATION AND
TECHNOLOGY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
1. An overview of Marks and Spencer...................................................................................1
2. Current business strategy of Marks and Spencer...............................................................1
3. Discussion of products and services of Marks and Spencer...............................................2
4. Competitive environment analysis of M&S by applying Porter's five forces model.........3
5. Analysis of two primary and two supportive activities in Porter's Value Chain................5
6. Strength and weaknesses of Marks and Spencer................................................................7
7. Summarization and reflection.............................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Information technology refers to the subset of information and communication
technology. It is used to perform various tasks by an organisation including; basic processing of
transaction, enabling consumers, distributors and suppliers to interact or communicate with the
company through different communication technology system. The study is based on Marks and
Spencer, UK's premier clothing, food and financial service retailer. The industry was set up in
1884 by Michael Marks with the partnership with Tom Spencer.
The report will start with an overview to Marks and Spencer and current business strategy
as well as products and services of the organisation will discuss. After that competitive
environment of M&S will analyse by using Porter's five forces model. Along with it, value chain
as well as their strength and weakness will be evaluate of the company. Lastly, the report will
reflect how M&S could deploy IT and use innovative ideas to improve the business process
based on the above analysis and how they can enhance their competitive positioning will be also
suggested.
TASK
1. An overview of Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer is one of the largest retailers of clothes in the UK with 979 stores and
361 retail chains across 40 countries (Anderson, Wipfel and Westerfield, 2015). The organisation
was originated by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in 1884 and it is headquartered in
London. M&S mainly deals with the sale of clothes, food items, luxury products and financial
services retailer. The industry's 914 UK stores in which 222 are owned and 349 are franchise of
food stores and 302 are full line clothing and home stores as well as they have an e-commerce
platform with 7 million registered users and the revenue of £5.2 billion.
During the financial crisis, Marks and Spencer continued its powerful brand momentum
by holding premium pricing and backing it through investment in advertising.
2. Current business strategy of Marks and Spencer
Strategy is a plan of action taken by managers of Marks and Spencer to achieve the
overall objectives and other subsidiary objectives. In the business strategy of M&S, company
needs well defined vision, mission and values that represents the organisation in the marketplace
(Saban, Mawhinney and Drake, 2017).
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 The vision of M&S is To be the standard against which all others are measured.
 The mission statement of the organisation is To make aspirational quality accessible by
all.
 The values of the company is Quality, Value, Services, Innovation, Affordability and
Trust (Arshed and Pancholi, 2016).
The business strategy of Marks and Spencer include;
Plan A
The consumers are becoming more conscious about environmental and natural issues, for
that Marks and Spencer launched a strategy called as Plan A, which consist of 180 commitments
to overcome the issues. In March 2010 M&S expanded plan A and add 80 more commitments
with the existing ones (Aversano, Grasso and Tortorella, 2016). The commitments mainly focus
on climate change, natural resources, health and well being, waste, fair partner. Through the plan
A; sustainable methods of trading are sought, bringing ethical value to customers.
Furthermore, Marks and Spencer used various strategy currently in the organisation:
The brick and click strategy of M&S focus on leveraging E-commerce to strengthen
brand awareness to reach across various countries. The company has followed a value pricing
strategy as they focus on middle class consumers.
To encourage suppliers they use efficient and most modern production techniques.
3. Discussion of products and services of Marks and Spencer
The product and service range is wider of the organisation that specifically include;
 Clothing products, home-ware and food (Basu, 2017). Marks and Spencer offer clothing
product for women, men, kids such as; shoes, accessories, slippers, bags, tights,
jewellery, socks, etc.
 Beauty products such as; hair care, bath and body, makeup, nails, perfumes, etc. as well
as men's and kids' toiletries, gifts, etc.
 Home and furniture products including; curtains and blinds, bedding home accessories,
lightning, sofas, divans, etc.
 They also provides various Technological products such as; TVs and accessories, gaming
and computing products, iPads, phones and accessories, CDs, DVDs, etc.
 Alcohol also offered by the industry with extensive wine and beer range (Chang,
Gurbaxani and Ravindran, 2017).
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 In the food and drink section; Bistro range, ready to eat meals, etc.
 Services provided by M&S are; financial services, online flower services, energy
services, etc.
4. Competitive environment analysis of M&S by applying Porter's five forces model
The five forces model is business strategy tool that is introduced and designed by
Michael Porter in the 1980s that is used to analyse the intensity and attractiveness of the
organisation structure (Harding, 2017). In the case of Marks and Spencer, the five forces that
influence or affect the industry are as follows:
1. Bargaining power of buyer- The bargaining power of consumers in the industry is high.
Various shifts such as; increasing price sensitivity of buyers, increasing preferences for
fashionable products are increasingly affecting the retailer. Consumer's switching cost is
low from M&S to other brands. Buyers are price sensitive and they want to buy the best
offering available by paying the possible minimum price (Porter's Five Forces Of
Competition Analysis. 2019). The all the factors put pressure on the profitability of the
company in long run. It had been seen that the more powerful base is of M&S the higher
the bargaining power of buyer and higher their ability to seek increasing offers and
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Illustration 1: Porter's Five Forces Model
(Source: Porter's Five Forces Of Competition Analysis, 2019)

discounts. The industry need to build up its loyalty and provide unmatched value and
convenience to its consumers that are difficult to match.
2. Bargaining power of supplier- Supplier have a major role in Marks and Spencer. They
have more than 90% of supplier are British(Lacity and et. al., 2015). The supplier power
is low in current position and they are in dominant position that allow M&S to earn more
in the market. However, industry was fully dependent on British supplier in 1990 and that
time supplier power was high but after expanding globally and work with overseas
supplier who offered more competitive pricing that provide significant competitive
advantage to Marks and Spencer.
3. Threat of new entrants- New entrants in the retail industry generally brings innovation,
new ideas and ways that put pressure on M&S through lower pricing strategy, reducing
cost and offer new value proposition to its customers. The threat of new entrants is low in
the case of Marks and Spencer because it takes high capital investment of entry to set up
against M&S and successful chain of stores and it is difficult for the new entrants to
break the loyal customers (Laudon and Traver, 2016).
4. Threat of substitute products- Substitutes are the alternative products and goods that
are present for the product offer by M&S in the market and they can replace their
products. In clothing business of M&S the threat of substitute is high due to imitating the
innovation and style by many local companies is becoming easier. In food businesses, the
four biggest supermarket in UK- Tesco, ASDA, Morrison's and Sainbury are threat that
offer high quality range of foods and weakens its competitive environment. The
organisations that are providing substitutes to the consumers that affect the profitability
and competition environment of Marks and Spencer. There are many reasons cause buyer
to switch to offered substitutes products such as; quality reduction, low price available,
substandard products, etc.
5. Intensity of competitive rivalry- Competition is strong for Marks and Spencer from
other supermarket chains for its home-ware, fashion products, clothing as well as for the
food products as the company operates in a very competitive retail industry (Orlikowski
and et. al., 2016). The competition for food business of M&S are; Tesco, Asda,
Sainsbury's and competition in clothing business are; Topshop, John Lewis and Zara. The
main reason for the rivalry amongst the competitors would be quality food, products at
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affordable price, etc. It can say that the intensity of competitive rivalry is high in the case
of Marks and Spencer.
By applying Porter's five forces model it can be analysed that the competitive
environment of Marks and Spencer in terms of supplier is low and the rivalry are also moderate
that ensure that organisation is able to maintain its position in the market (Rosemann and vom
Brocke, 2015).
5. Analysis of two primary and two supportive activities in Porter's Value Chain
The porter's value chain analysis is a marketing tool that was developed by Michael
Porter. Value chain is a collection of activities that are performed by an organisation to create
value for its targeted potential consumers (Value Chain Analysis. 2019). The value chain model
is categorised into two major parts i.e. primary activities and support activities. Where primary
activities include; Inbound Logistic, Outbound Logistic, Operations, Marketing and Sales and
Services and support activities include; Firm infrastructure, Human Resource Management,
Technology Development and Procurement.
Primary Activities
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Illustration 2: Value Chain Model
(Source: Value Chain Analysis, 2019)

Primary activities have major contribution to creating value in Marks and Spencer and
they are very important in building competitive advantage.
Marketing and Sales- These activities help in making consumer aware about the products
and services and convince them to buy the products (Rubin and Abramson, 2018). The marketing
strategy of M&S is to emphasis the quality and unique style of its products. To modernise and
simplify brand across its various offering, the company in 2014-15 created a unified storytelling
based identity of brand for its clothing and food markets. For effective marketing and sale and to
increase the value of their product and services the company utilize information system in
promotional and selling activities.
The organisation has traditionally invested in magazines and TV advertising as well as
in-store visual merchandising. Currently it has utilised its consumer loyalty data to organise
target marketing and various promotional activities and focus on high-impact marketing help as a
result in better value for consumers and increased sales (Saban, Mawhinney and Drake, 2017).
Services- This is the activity that is concerned with enhance and maintain the product
value. Marks and Spencer realized that maintain customer loyalty. The company focus on
providing best and valuable services that result in increasing value of the organisation. In
clothing sector, they introduce free delivery for purchases above £50, free returns up to 35 days
of purchase. The activity help in to improve and maintain the value of products.
Support Activities
Support activities are important to run the business of Marks and Spencer efficiently.
Technology- Technology within the M&S organisation is integrated to support all the
primary activities. Marks and Spencer's IT staff works with vendor to develop automated convey
to support distribution and marketing activity that benefits the company to utilize the advance
technologies that help in enhancing value of company as well as of products (van de Wetering,
Mikalef and Pateli, 2017). The IT staffs do technological innovation and improvements and are
responsible for development of new products based on new technology.
Human Resource management- It is the most important activity of the company that
excel all the primary activities of M&S. It encompasses overseeing the recruitment and selection,
retention, promotions, appraisal of staff. The human resource of M&S focus on hiring effective
employee and staff that improve the value by providing quality products and services. M&S as
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adopted strategy that would cultivate trust and loyalty of employees in all segment of business so
that they are engaged in operations in better way.
6. Strength and weaknesses of Marks and Spencer
The strength and weakness of M&S are as follows;
Strengths of Marks and Spencer
Strengths are defined as what M&S does best in its range of operations that can give it an
upper hand over its competitors (Anderson, Wipfel and Westerfield, 2015). The strengths are as
following of Marks and Spencer;
 High quality- Quality is the major strength of M&S that makes them successful. The
company offers high quality from food to clothes basically in every segment of their
products that help them to retain loyal and satisfied consumers.
 Shopping environment- M&S try every possible thing to make their consumer feel
convenient and comfortable. They make their store brighter and use modern design that
attract consumers towards the store.
 Customer services- Marks and Spencer have high reputation for focusing on customer
service. This is one of the most necessary method and strength of M&S that elp them to
build a good relation with consumers (Arshed and Pancholi, 2016).
 Innovations- The main reason of success from a long period of time of 150 years is their
strength of spirit of innovation. M&S also state the synonym of innovation with
communication and creativity and people across levels and they are encouraged to tink
out of the box and allow them to put their ideas forward. This free spirit of innovation is
the biggest strength of company.
Weaknesses of Marks and Spencer
Weaknesses are refers to areas of the business of Marks and Spencer need improvement.
Some of the weaknesses of M&S are as follows;
 Supply chain scalability- The one of the biggest weakness of M&S has is poor scalability
of supply chain (Aversano, Grasso and Tortorella, 2016). Though company as been
trying to provide their products and services global access to their merchandise through
online store but they have been unable to scale up their supply chain to deliver to all
locations globally.
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 Stock control- This is the major weakness of M&S which force consumers to switch on
other brand. Consumers complaints about the out of stock problem they face and the
defect of online shopping and delivery services they face. It need improvement by the
company.
7. Summarization and reflection
Building an understanding gain by these activities
Marks and Spencer conducts value chain analysis by looking at every production step
that is required to create a product (Basu, 2017). The overall goal of these activities is to deliver
maximum value for the least possible total cost. It can be analysed that the specific activities of
M&S are essential for competitive strategies and information system are most likely to have
strategic impact. Information system contribute to the each part of company's value chain.
It can be understand by Porter's value chain analysis that marketing activities of the
company need modern technology and system to effectively enhance the value. Selling process
of the company is focusing on latest technological system and that enable them to serve their
products and services globally and allow consumers to track the purchase easily (Chang,
Gurbaxani and Ravindran, 2017). Services of the company are valuable and are able to gain
consumer's loyalty by providing quality services to them and company implemented technology
that help them in getting the queries or issues easily and they are able to resolve them
immediately and effectively.
The Technology of company developed and innovated by IT staffs of M&S to being in
the top from the competition and attracting consumers as well it supports the supply chain of
company that help them in creating value (Harding, 2017). It improves the efficiency and
effectiveness of value chain and supply chain by digitally connecting consumers, partners and
suppliers Human resource management of the organisation are responsible for hiring/recruiting
correct people on correct position that help company to gain competitive advantage with their
performance.
These activities are essential for;
 Creating or strengthening competitive advantage and brand value.
 The activities allow company to analyse that the value it's creating by the activities
exceed the cost to create that value (Lacity and et. al., 2015).
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 M&S use information system for customer profiling to analyse the purchasing pattern of
customers and direct targeting them.
Improving business process and competitive positioning with information technology
The quality of business process of Marks and Spencer and the associated information that
delivered over technology are in focus by the IT department of M&S (Laudon and Traver, 2016).
The company is planning to accelerate its digital transformation programme that aims to turn the
high street department store into digital first driven business. The plan includes various
innovative strategies and ideas to bring real vale to its customers and the overall company as well
as it improve the business process and enhance its competitive positioning. Organisation is
focusing on meeting consumers need with development of application for Human resource,
production, accounting, sales and marketing (Orlikowski and et. al., 2016).
 The Point of sale system used in the stores that gather information and it improves
ordering process, deliveries.
 They use PDA technology to gather consumers feedback and input.
 Marks and Spencer made considerable investment to improve its logistic system and to
develop its IT infrastructure. The company choose and implement just-in-time
manufacturing system in their business process as well as invest in sophisticated
telecommunication system (Rosemann and vom Brocke, 2015). The JIT system allow
them to improve quality, eliminate waste, increase productivity and ensure the better
relation with the supplier.
The strategies and innovative ideas with the use of IT allow organisation to gain competitive
advantage, help in to attract consumers and effectively position in competitive market. The
information technology affects activities of value chain and allow company to gain advantage of
competition and it bridges the gap between business people and technical people in the company.
The company use IT to view business issues and problems and provide valuable information to
understand the requirement of consumer.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has been concluded that the current business strategy of Marks
and Spencer mainly focuses on customer satisfaction by providing quality services and products
to their consumers. The strategies include their developed plan called Plan A that bring ethical
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