BM627: Marks & Spencer Innovation Audit Report and Industry Analysis

This report presents a comprehensive innovation audit of Marks and Spencer (M&S), focusing on its business strategies and innovation competencies. It examines M&S's innovation history, existing performance, and capabilities within the retail industry. The report highlights the importance of innovation within a business, analyzing M&S's strategic planning, digital innovation, and investments in areas like automation and new technologies. It also explores the industry overview, including trends in 2021 and the impact of the pandemic, emphasizing the shift towards online business and digital investments. The analysis includes M&S's use of disruptive innovation, supply chain management, and automation to enhance customer satisfaction and productivity. The report concludes with an overview of the industry, highlighting the role of digital marketing, AI, and automation in shaping the future of the retail sector. This report is a valuable resource for understanding M&S's innovation journey and its strategic responses to industry changes.

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TABLE OF CONTENT
Executive summary-........................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
Purpose........................................................................................................................................2
The organization and industry overview.....................................................................................2
Organization and its innovation history.......................................................................................3
Organization existing innovation performance and capabilities.................................................4
Industry in 2021...........................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

Executive summary-
The report further examined focus on varied business strategies and innovation
competencies evolved by M&S where it is one of the best retail company productively
expanding functional working growth rise among services. Research concluded implementation
of strategic planning, working implementation of productive growth aspects vividly bringing on
large scale working efficacy goals. Study further concluded recent trends such as automation,
use of new technologies within retail industry strengthening wider growth targets based on
untapped consumer market and higher optimistic paradigms. Report further concluded analysis
based on structural innovations where M&S has been stringently investing to bring on rapid
growth, competent rapid diversity for larger scale expansion creatively.
M&S by adopting innovation concept has grown its business continually and gained
unexpected outcomes in term of increased customer base, brand popularity and profitability,
which opens new ways for its venture success in the future. Continuous innovation of company
has enhanced its productivity and consumer satisfaction for which a company effort a lot to do
so. Its attempts and hard work practices has provided desire outcomes to brand and also
contribute to achieve strategic goals as well as objectives.
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INTRODUCTION
Managing innovation involves the process of managing enterprise's innovation procedure
that helps to present itself in a unique manner. Also, it encompasses the decision, activities and
practices of implementing the innovation strategy over a business. The chosen firm for this
report is Marks and Spencer (M&S) which is one of the top supermarket who provide range of
home, furniture and clothing products to their customers at reasonable rate. The company is deal
under the retail industry and with its good quality of products, it is able to attract range of
customers as well. Further, the main aim of his report is to highlight the importance of
innovation within a business and understand the past, present and future innovation activities as
well.
Purpose
The purpose of the report is to conduct an innovation audit that explain the importance of
innovation audit within a business. Also, with the help of present study, it highlights the actual
performance of a company and make comparison from last year. Further, the report will explain
the industry overview by applying suitable framework and also present its innovation history as
well. Moreover, the study will explore the Marks and Spencer's innovation performance and
capabilities, along with this, it also explains the industry within 2021 and compare the ways
through which the business improve the performance as well.
The organization and industry overview
M&S is one of the best fashion retail company having large varied range of products and
services, accessories and fashionable clothing, home décor and grocery services within store.
Company is also known for competent long term business planning elements, stringent rapid
innovation among commercial platforms and further digital planning elements. This has been
found to be also variedly crucial for keeping up untapped new productivity at rise based on
global innovation standards (Seven trends for fashion retail in 2020, 2020). Retail industry has
been further expanding on commercial networks, higher paradigms of innovative business goals
actively and also strengthening digital market expansion factors. There is further advancement
coming up in recent trends within latest time periods, where M&S aims to further integrate
larger working optimisation growth scope dynamically. Brand has been further expanding to
bring on commercial business goals, based on corporate edge benchmarks rapidly which further
enhances scope for larger professional competitive growth.
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Organization and its innovation history
Marks & Spenser is one of those leading retailers in the world that has gained a lot of
success and popularity, by selling quality products to customers. Organization is capable to offer
range of goods to wide consumer base. It has varied categories of items that help management to
enhance satisfaction of their buyers and retain them forever with brand products purchase.
Company and its management has conduct hard work and a lot of efforts to make everyone
happy during and after goods purchasing. It may engage in retail of food, apparel, home and
other types of goods, by operating in the United Kingdom and global geographical segment.
M&S aim is to support to play a transformative role by enabling local economics to thrive
and building social connected societies. Its purpose is to improve local environment, which is
one of their initiatives towards environmental sustainability. Along with these, firm may also
focus on making loyal customer base, for which it may perform effectively and adopt new
approaches or concepts like innovation. With the help of this element, organization may grow
even better than its rivals that is quite important to do so. It is the best way to become a
competitor and be competitive within retail industry, as opposite to key competitors that may
have power to give competition of chosen firm (What 130 years of M&S history can teach us
about innovation, 2017).
In term of innovation, company may begin its practices in 1934 by setting up own research
laboratory to innovate new fabrics that individual customer prefers to buy and they may feel
comfort to wear it. It may adopt innovation concept from 130 years ago and continually to do in
effective and appropriate manner. From the history of Marks and Spencer innovation, it has been
identified that, organization was the first food brands in the UK that appoint a chief chemist and
technical executive to food department in order to introduce innovative food item and that is
chilled chicken. Furthermore, along with this creation, firm may also efforts to create something
new or unique relate to clothes that may transform high street and bring its target market soft
new textures, bright patterns and silky finishes at a cost effective price. In 1960s enterprise may
launch innovative seam free ladder resistant stockings, which made it the first retailer who
launched it in market.
It may also attempt to launches creative hub to expand plant based food items variety.
From beginning to current scenario, it may conduct a lot of efforts to keep innovation and be an
innovator (Marks & Spencer launches 'innovation hub' to expand plant-based food range, 2020).
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At this innovation hub, people may find out innovative things that management efforts to
arrange according to current market trend such as veganism. It may contribute to increase the
profitability of M&S and maximize its productivity even better than its rivals that has also
operated in similar industry. The creation of professional hub builds on organization history of
retail creation, such as creating refrigeration in the context of supply chain to offer first fresh
chicken to retail’s in earlier 1960s.
Organization existing innovation performance and capabilities
M&S as one of the most competent fast growing company has highly been expanding
innovation business performance goals, abilities for structured functional planning and effective
new scale growth plans. The retailer brand has best competitive business strategies, shaping
high scale commercial networks and range of productive innova6tion diversely based on
significant target. Digital innovation, in production and marketing departments have been found
to be highly essential aspect, where M&S aims to further extend new strengths and invest
dynamically based on functional long term priories. Innovation plays strong relation in fashion
industry, where competitive retail companies are widely investing to bring on rapid engagement,
higher diversity planning working roles.
The company has been expanding towards market environment, new operational management
strategies to further bring on competent retailer’s new access factors for greater income working
synergies diversely.
 The fashion brand retailer has been optimistically bringing on rapid scale expansion
strategically within key new products and services engagement, which extends
commercial working chain productively within longer time frame goals. M&S sells high
stylish, fashionable clothing and home products, new retailing strategies and further
evolving towards dynamic business goals performance (Upadhyay, Kumar and Akter,
2021). Disruptive innovation has further expanded new scale performance working
targets, for larger strengthened work productivity targets and larger cooperative
commercial vitality. Organisation has been successfully heading to indulge in rapid
competitive engagement among working expertise targets, new functional expansion
determinants and synchronise larger rapid keen standards.
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 M&S being one of the vastly evolving retailer has been using functional top innovation
strategies for strengthening commercial networks dynamically, based on corporate
functional standards. The company has also best home décor products, food and organic
grocery sections, which further strengthen up larger scale working targets for longer
proposition within consumer market. Supply chain management has high automation,
new structured working synergies and specific keen enlarged productivity targets for
keeping up significant commercial working focus. The usage of disruptive innovation,
further synchronises high scale working engagement and rapid commercial business
strengths for larger dynamic competencies. M&S is also known for fast automation in
structured working efficacy, higher consumers market optimisation goals and to
determine larger retail services widely (Seidu and et.al, 2021).
 M&S performance and innovation commercial abilities have been stringently growing
within recent time periods based on significant strengths, larger scale commercial
business plans vitally. The company investments are at shape bringing consistent
functional rapid engagement, new quest paradigms to further expectantly bring on larger
scale rapid fundamental growth. Retailer has been investing strategically towards best
expertise training, new workforce brainstorming determinants and to further connect
working goals dynamically. This further heads on focus practically towards new scale
corporate effective planning, higher dynamic work competencies and larger productive
strengthened growth dynamically (Ou, 2021). Investments in recent 2021 business plans
have been done keeping in mind pandemic situation, for further bringing on sustainable
new expertise working growth and to keep check on larger technical progression working
goals within longer time frame.
Industry in 2021
As per the current situation, it has been analyzed that there is a direct impact over the
retail business due to pandemic and this in turn, encourage business to change their operations to
meet their customer's need. As per the report of Deloitte, retail trends within 2021 proved to be
the toughest year due to second and third wave. Also, there is a sudden change analyzed among
customer behavior such that from 2020, range of business shift towards online business. From
Deloitte's Global Consumer Tracker, it has been analyzed that 1 in 10 consumers across Europe
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shop online for food and other items. This is because of safety of customers and UK customers
already shift to online mode as well. Moreover, there is a digital trend identified within 2021
retail industry that shows company must remain competitive by focusing upon the digital
investments and this in turn helps to improve the customer base as well.
The industry in 2021, is competitively evolving towards higher functional innovation
planned working targets where digitalisation and full automation holds future new scope for
evolving on towards higher new quality rise benchmarks. Globally retail industry is widely
expanding on new range of commercial growth standards synchronising advanced artificial
intelligence and larger rapid connective goals diversely. Online shopping and usage of digital
technologies are some of the recent trends, where commercial productive targets are working
dynamically. Rise of artificial intelligence, usage of virtual networks and fast rapid automation
has also expanded key business frameworks within recent trends in 2021 for higher stringent
connective goals imperatively. This further enables business scope to diversify in recent time
periods, where M&S as one of the fastest productively expanding company there has been best
innovations taken at company (The 5 Biggest Retail Trends In 2021, 2020).
Retail industry trends in 2021, has been competently being shaped to channelize new
resources planning essentially, be vital to shape up work potentialities diversely and to segregate
channels diversely based on larger working domains. Accelerated digital marketing strategies
and new vivid engagement aspects further enhance potentialities based on corporate benchmarks
diversely. Recent trends such as usage of robots and faster atomized working productivity
targets, further brings on larger scale connective rise on recent trends implementation. M&S has
been also stringently bringing best usage of new resources planning growth, actively investing
on keen productive edge benchmarks based on long term optimistic targets. With covid-19
pandemic recent changes and structural growth has to be further revamped, where resources
strategic functional planning has to be done competently based on long term efficacy
parameters. Artificial intelligence further opens up new business determinants, strengthening
higher scale functional planned elements and to strengthen up key long term goals profoundly
based on long term business goals (Alam and et.al, 2021). Revenue rise and higher customers
strengthened goodwill are also ideally enhanced, where M&S aims to leverage optimistic
resources atomisation. Furthermore, retail industry further has been also expanding based on
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automation plans and high specific key long term fundamentals where strategic innovation
further opens up new platforms.
CONCLUSION
From the above analysed aspects within report, it can be concluded that research within
report has examined M&S, as one of the most successful and competitive growing retail
company globally. Industry overview and organisation innovation history has enables us to bring
on detailed functional growth, based on usage of disruptive innovation, stringent collective
benchmarks and higher range of connective growth. Report has concluded further M&S
innovation capabilities within marketing, business competitive benchmarking opened up new
business platforms for larger consumer’s networks widely. The study also concluded based on
automation determinants, higher scale functional planning surging pace there is high scope
evolved based on competent larger work synergies. Retail industry in 2021, has been further
expanding towards digital working channels, innovative competitive marketing scenarios based
on larger scale vivid working paradigms diversely.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Seidu, R. D., and et.al, 2021. The UK retail industry and its effect on construction
sectors. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences.
12(1). pp.27-33.
Upadhyay, A., Kumar, A. and Akter, S., 2021. An analysis of UK retailers’ initiatives towards
circular economy transition and policy-driven directions. Clean Technologies
and Environmental Policy, pp.1-9.
Ou, J., 2021. Relationship Between the Big Five Personalities Traits and Customer Loyalty in
the Retail Industry.
Alam, S. S., and et.al, 2021. Factors Affecting Augmented Reality Adoption in the Retail
Industry. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity.
7(2). p.142.
Online
Marks & Spencer launches 'innovation hub' to expand plant-based food range. 2020. [Online].
Available Through: <https://www.cityam.com/marks-spencer-launches-
innovation-hub-to-expand-plant-based-food-range/>
Seven trends for fashion retail in 2020. 2020. [Online]. Available Through :<
https://insideretail.asia/2020/02/19/seven-trends-for-fashion-retail-in-2020/>
The 5 Biggest Retail Trends In 2021. 2020. [Online]. Available Through : <
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/11/16/the-5-biggest-retail-
trends-in-2021/?sh=40a8b8da26af>
What 130 years of M&S history can teach us about innovation. 2017. [Online]. Available
Through: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/ms-innovation
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