Evaluating IT Systems and Their Impact on Sainsbury's Performance

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of IT systems within Sainsbury's, a major UK retail organization. It examines the application of IT systems across various functions, including marketing, accounting, and operations, highlighting their contribution to achieving business objectives such a...Read More

BUSINESS
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGYS
SYSTEMS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1.1. Analysis of use of IT systems with different functions of an organisation..........................3
1.2. Contribution of IT systems in achievement of objectives....................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1. Ways in which IT systems store and process data...............................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1. Evaluation of role of IT systems in supporting value-added changes for improving
business performance, operations and sustainability..................................................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
4.1. Practical IT solutions for organisational scenarios..............................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Information Technology means the usage of software and computers to manage
information effectively. It refers to a set of methodologies, processes, equipments and tools to
gather, analyse, process and distribute information (Information technology, 2018). This is also
used to analyse computer networks which involves overall systems in a company from software
to hardware. The following report is based on Sainsbury's, which is one of the biggest retail
organisation in the UK and involves value of effective IT systems in an organisation, It includes
analysis and use of IT systems with various functions of a company and analysis of ways in
which IT systems store and process data for knowledge management, customer relationship
management, data as well as communication management. It also involves evaluation of how IT
systems can be used to support value-added change and practical IT systems solutions for
various organisational scenarios.
TASK 1
1.1. Analysis of use of IT systems with different functions of an organisation
Information Technology is one of the most key aspect in the current business scenario for
a company to adopt. This is because with enhancements of technology, IT systems have
successfully been used to ease complex functions within an organisation. As per the scenario,
there are various functions which could use IT systems in Sainsbury's . These functions are
mentioned below:
Marketing:
One of the major function of a firm is marketing. With rise in customer awareness,
marketing has become one of the most effective measure to enhance this awareness about the
firm and the product is marketing. With enhanced IT systems like HubSpot Marketing and
Exponea, Sainsbury's could effectively market its offerings and services to the people.
Moreover, these software would help the firm to handle the marketing campaigns with ease.
There are various ways in which these systems would help the store: Creation of Content: IT systems would help the firm in creation of various graphical and
animated content that it could use in its advertising. It could also be used to make
compelling videos that would attract target customers easily (Laudon and Laudon, 2016).

 Advertising: IT systems would help the firm in advertising the content to the customers.
With various measures and techniques, it would help the firm determine the best medium
through which the firm must advertise its offerings. This would help the firm in
maximising the return of the campaigns as well as cost-effectiveness.
 Research: One of the most complex function of marketing that could be easily
accomplished by IT systems is research. The firm could identify customer trends, wants
and preferences as well as effective market opportunities that would help in its growth
and sustainability (Rajnoha and et. al., 2014).
Accounting and Finance:
Another major function that Sainsbury's must accomplish with ease is management of
cash. It includes effective cash flow engagement, budget allocations, sales forecast, investment
management and so forth. There are various software like FreshBooks, Xero, etc. that enable
effective finance and accounting management to companies. Sainsbury's must use effective IT
systems like these to ease this function. It would effectively help the firm in managing their
financial assets as well as would help the firm in record keeping. With proper authorisation, it
would even safeguard company's financial resources which could strengthen the firm internally.
Operations:
It gets quite hectic for any organisation to manage daily operations effectively each day.
There are various factors which could hinder this consistency such as underperformance of staff,
absence of managers and so forth. Various Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) handle the
activities at the operational level of the organisation. This means that it would eliminate chances
of such inconsistency and would keep the pace of operations in the organisation.
1.2. Contribution of IT systems in achievement of objectives
For assurance of a long run in the marketplace and to keep up the motivation of
employees, it is imperative that Sainsbury's achieve its objectives consistently and effectively.
IT systems could help the firm in achieving its objectives in efficient manner. Some of these
objectives are described below:
 Human Resource Management:
Any organisation, small or big, is required to manage their human resources effectively as they
are the drivers of the company (Xiang, Magnini and Fesenmaier, 2015). This is one of the main
objectives of Sainsbury's . There are various Human Resource Information Systems that would

help the organisation in hiring, training and retaining effective and skilled employees that would
contribute in firm's success. It would also help to manage the performance of these employees
which could save cost incurred in training and development programmes of the company. The
firm could use software like Zoho People and SuccessFactors (SAP) as effective HR software.
 Customer enhancement:
Customers are the main reason for a company's existence, IT Systems would help the firm in
integrating efforts in maximisation of customers. IT systems would help the firm in providing
personal assistance to each customer. These help in distribution of personalised offers and
effective management according to their needs which would help the company in retaining its
customers. Freshsales and Bitrix 24 could help the firm in enhancing their customer experiences
to a great extent.
TASK 2
2.1. Ways in which IT systems store and process data
One of the main agendas of using IT systems in any organisation is to effectively store
and process data for various aspects that are necessary to run a firm. IT systems could be an
effective tool for Sainsbury's as it contributes in data storage and data processing for elements
described below:
 Knowledge Management:
Within an organisation, knowledge plays an important role in its growth and effective
management. Throughout the life of a company, different knowledge about customers, tools,
equipments, market, competitors and so forth is gathered, processed and implemented as an
when required (Urquhart and Fernandez, 2016). In case of Sainsbury's , few IT software like
Canva and Instacart would enhance this gathering and dissemination of knowledge necessary for
the firm throughout its organisational life-cycle.
 Customer Relationship Management:
To fulfil its objective of enhancement of customers, it is imperative that Sainsbury's effectively
follow Customer Relationship Management. It refers to the interaction and management of
company's existing as well as potential consumers. There are various software like SAP CRM
and Microsoft Dynamics CRM that would help the company in enhancing its relationship with
management. These software would allow the firm to collect personal data of customers, their

buying behaviour and patterns, their feedbacks regarding the products and operations of the firm,
etc (Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta, 2016). All of this information would be segregated, stored
and provided effectively and quickly by these IT system's that would help in the management of
the company. Data Management: One of the major aspects of an organisation is management of data.
It includes all the information regarding the organisation, internal as well as external. It is
crucial for Sainsbury's to manage this data effectively to avoid any limitations in the
working of the organisation. There are various databases and software like Oracle
Database and SAS which would help the firm in managing its data (Ismail and King,
2014).
▪ Storage: IT systems would convert the raw data into format that could be storable
and could effectively help the firm to store large data without wastage of space. It
would also help the firm to fulfil its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by
avoiding the use of paper for data storage.
▪ Management: For Sainsbury's , it is important segregate the data in order to
enhance its usefulness. IT systems would help the firm in perfectly sorting this
raw data so that it could be stored in a systematic manner. This in turn eliminates
wastage of time.
▪ Access: The access of data is an equally important aspect. IT systems provide
various security measure to secure this data and provide authorisation to certain
individuals in the organisation who would control its access.
 Communication Management: With enhancement in technology, it is fairly easier to
manage communication within the company. IT systems could organise and manage
ways in which communication could easily happen within as well as outside the
company. Through Emails, video conferencing and collaboration software, it could
provide a platform where communication within each department and within stakeholders
could happen with utmost ease (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson, 2014).

TASK 3
3.1. Evaluation of role of IT systems in supporting value-added changes for improving business
performance, operations and sustainability
Change is required in organisations in order to enhance its performance. There are certain
value-added changes in Sainsbury's that increase effectiveness in operations and ensure its long
term sustainability in the market. An organisation needs to adapt according to certain forces of
dynamic business environment. IT systems effectively support these value-added change to
ensure overall improvement in the organisation. This evaluation is discussed below: Technological Development: One of the most basic and value-added change in an
organisation in introduction of new technology. It is inevitable in an organisation to adopt
new technologies and equipments that ease their operations and enhance their
performance. IT systems could play a major role in adoption of new methods and
technologies as it would clearly articulate the induction and the instruction to make
employees familiar with the changes. Moreover, it could help the organisation to track
efficiencies of employees in working with the new technology (Chang, 2016). Strategic Changes: Formulation or modification in existing strategies is another value-
added change that is required by a company. In case of Sainsbury's , new strategies are
required to be developed in order to stay ahead of the competition as well as enhance its
profitability. Effective Strategic Information System would allow the company to acquire
knowledge about firm's offerings competitors, processes which would help the firm to
develop strategies according to these information. These systems would also help the
firm in implementing these strategy and monitor its effectiveness.
 Effective Training: Human Resource in an organisation like Sainsbury's is one of the
most important factor in ensuring its long term sustainability. It is required that their
performances increase consistently in order to enhance their competence. IT systems can
be effectively used to train these employees by tracking and monitoring their
performances and segregating them according to their performance. In this way, the
organisation would provide them training regarding their job roles. They could also be
provided training related to various IT systems that could help them enhance their
performances.

TASK 4
4.1. Practical IT solutions for organisational scenarios
Information Technology has been consistent in recent years in covering business
problems that hinder the performance of organisations (Wagner, Beimborn and Weitzel, 2014).
Various situations are likely to arise in organisations in various sectors where information
technology play an important role in solving the issues. Some of issues and their practical IT
solutions are discussed below:
SCENARIO 1: INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Sainsbury's is one of the most effective retail organisation in the UK. It consists of wide
variety or products for its customers and has huge storage warehouses for storing their offerings
effectively. However, there might be some ineffectiveness and certain items could be stored in
different sections (Eason, 2014). These situations are could be a major business problem for such
a company. It adds to negative reputation in the market, as well as inefficiencies in its operations.
Software like QuickBooks and Odoo could help the firm in proper inventory management. Such
system would allow them in proper inventory management. These systems would provide proper
segregation of items, and effective management of each section at the time of allocation and
dispatch of items of their respective section. IT systems would also allow to manage the items'
expiration so that through automation so that customers get fresh and healthy products.
SCENARIO 2: CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
The Ledbury is a restaurant in London which entertains a lot of guests each day. It is
considered one of the best restaurants in the city as well as in the UK. However, the firm might
face issues in customer engagement due to such huge range of customers and limited staff. Here's
when the role of IT arises in the firm. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence, IT could help the
restaurant solve this problem effectively. The restaurant could employ in-built touchscreen
feature in each of their tables which could enable customers personally place their orders with
ease and without delay. It would also allow them to notify the staff regarding the estimated time
which could be a great help to the employees preparing the food items. Thus, such effective IT
system would help The Ledbury solve this problem.
SCENARIO 3: LOGISTICS
Logistics refer to the management of a firm's offerings from the manufacturers to its
customers. This process needs effective guidance as well as monitoring to successfully and

safely deliver the products to the customers. Jaguar is vehicles organisation which is one of the
biggest in the UK as well as in the world. The firm manufactures and provide luxury vehicles to
its customer all around the world. The biggest problem the firm could face in this is the threat of
stealing. The act of theft could definitely hinder its performance and the firm could suffer major
loss due to this one problem. IT could effectively solve this problem for the firm (Valacich and
Schneider, 2015). The firm could effectively track its vehicles and manufacturing products by
developing trackers that are effective and could help the firm in tracking the location of their
products. Software like Cloud Logistics could effectively help the firm in tracking and
eliminating this threat. It could also be used to determine the safety levels of their cars.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded by the report that Business Information Technology Systems could
be used to handle organisation's operations effectively. The report covers use of IT systems with
different functions of a company. These systems also contribute in achieving organisational
objectives. Companies could use IT systems to store and process data for knowledge
management, CRM and data management. It is necessary to evaluate the role of IT systems in
supporting value-added changes for developing a deeper understanding of its importance. Lastly,
IT systems effectively solve various organisational problems through efficient use by
organisations in various sectors.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chang, J.F., 2016. Business process management systems: strategy and implementation.
Auerbach Publications.
Eason, K.D., 2014. Information technology and organisational change. CRC Press.
Ismail, N.A. and King, M., 2014. Factors influencing the alignment of accounting information
systems in small and medium sized Malaysian manufacturing firms. Journal of
Information Systems and Small Business. 1(1-2). pp.1-20.
Laudon, K.C. and Laudon, J.P., 2016. Management information system. Pearson Education
India.
Pearlson, K.E., Saunders, C.S. and Galletta, D.F., 2016. Managing and Using Information
Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Piotrowicz, W. and Cuthbertson, R., 2014. Introduction to the special issue information
technology in retail: Toward omnichannel retailing. International Journal of Electronic
Commerce. 18(4). pp.5-16.
Rajnoha, R., and et. al., 2014. Business information systems: research study and methodological
proposals for ERP implementation process improvement. Procedia-social and
behavioral sciences. 109. pp.165-170.
Urquhart, C. and Fernandez, W., 2016. Using grounded theory method in information systems:
the researcher as blank slate and other myths. In Enacting Research Methods in
Information Systems: Volume 1 (pp. 129-156). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Valacich, J. and Schneider, C., 2015. Information Systems Today: Managing in a Digital World
Plus MyMISLab with Pearson eText--Access Card Package. Prentice Hall Press.
Wagner, H.T., Beimborn, D. and Weitzel, T., 2014. How social capital among information
technology and business units drives operational alignment and IT business value.
Journal of Management Information Systems. 31(1). pp.241-272.
Xiang, Z., Magnini, V.P. and Fesenmaier, D.R., 2015. Information technology and consumer
behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal
of Retailing and Consumer Services. 22. pp.244-249.
Online
Information technology. 2018.[Online]. Available Through: <https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/information%20technology/>