Morrisons: Information Technology, Macro Environment and Innovation

This report provides an analysis of Wm Morrisons' use of information technology to gain a competitive advantage in the UK retail market. It begins by outlining the background of Morrisons, followed by a PESTLE analysis of the macro environment, considering political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors impacting the business. The report then evaluates Morrisons' value chain using Porter's model, examining inbound and outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales, and services. It highlights how Morrisons can deploy innovative IT strategies, such as expanding online sales, using e-tablets for staff, and implementing POS systems, to improve efficiency and customer service. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of continuous IT updates for maintaining a competitive edge, while also addressing the potential impact on staff jobs.

MANAGING
INFORMATION AND
TECHNOLOGY 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
BACKGROUND OF MORRISONS.........................................................................................3
MACRO ENVIRONMENT.......................................................................................................3
PORTER VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS...................................................................................5
DEPLOYING IT BY USING INNOVATIVE IDEAS..............................................................6
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Information and technology has conquered the whole world. Every day, there are new
technologies which are emerging in the market due to this reason; the firm are required to
adopt those technologies. This report focuses on the Morrisons retail organization that
provides different types of products to the customers. Further, with the need of IT in the firm,
it is required to analyze the business environment in which the firm is operating its functions.
On the other hand, the aim of the report will be on the technologies which can be deployed by
the organization in developing competitive advantage.
BACKGROUND OF MORRISONS
Wm Morissons is the fourth largest supermarket in UK. It is a public limited company
and its headquarters are in Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. The organization is famous for its
products and services which it offers to its customers. It is the huge retail market so it sell
products like food, beverages clothes etc. In one roof the individual can find all the day to
day items which are needed in the routine life (Chaffey and White, 2010). Besides this, in the
recent time, it has become famous for its kids wear products and further it provides services
online. Through providing the online services, they have provided convenience to the
customers. The organization has around 498 stores across London. Due to this reason it can
be witnessed that the firm satisfies its customers effectively. Besides expanding its business,
it also focuses on its marketing and branding activities. It has made its own logo and markets
the products and services with the help of various channels (Park, 2010). Further, Morrisons
has launched its online website through which they provide wine to all the over the world.
This is only possible because of the efficient information and technology system. Through IT
system only they are connected with the customers and because of this reason they have open
the online retail stores.
MACRO ENVIRONMENT
Macro environment consists of external and internal factors which affect the
operations of the organization. Further, with the increasing and upgrading technology, it has
been witnessed that information technology has huge impact on developing the competitive
advantage of the organization. For analysing the macro environment, PESTLE tool will be
adopted which will further aid in evaluating information technology used in Morrisons.

 Political factors- After the Brexit, the UK economy have been shattered and due to
this reason the retail organization is suffering. This has resulted in inflation of prices
because the pound has become weak (Galliers and Leidner, 2014). This has huge
impact on the business. This is resulting in decrease in profitability of the Morrisons.
But with the increasing need of the information and communication system, it has
become mandatory for the organization to install effective system to function
smoothly.
 Economic factors-According to the UK economic condition, it is witnessing the
increased in the food cost. Further, due to this reason, the impact is on the raw
materials, packaging etc. In case if the economic condition of UK is stable then the
organization can effectively adopt the new information and technology system
(Bulgurcu, Cavusoglu and Benbasat, 2010). In case of IT, it widely depends upon in
which country the firm is operating its operations. In case of UK as it is the developed
country, so there is high usage of technology. On the other hand, in case of
developing countries, they do not use different electronics so the Morrisons are not
required to adapt it. But as the firm is operating in UK so it is required to be updated
with the software which can make the work easier.
 Social factors- by analysing the social conditions of UK population, the individual has
the habit of buying through the online means. Due to this reason, the Morrisons have
opened its online website through which they can provide services to the people. On
the other hand, the technological advancement can be witnessed in the layout of the
stores (Sittig and Zuckerberg, Facebook, 2010). According to the needs and
expectations of the customers, the stores have been designed. Besides this, according
to the culture of the UK, the individuals as well as the youth are technological freak as
they use technology more than any other country. Due to this reason, the Morrisons
are required to promote its products and services by using different electronic media
(Jerman-Blažič and Tekavčič, 2012).
 Technological factors- By evaluating the business environment, it has been noticed
that develop the competitive advantage Morrisons is required to adopt the effective
technology. The organization has made the investment in retail sector by making it a
multichannel retail store (Park, 2010). Besides this, the reason behind introducing the
new technology is that the firm is competing with Tesco and Sainsbury and they are
far ahead in the technology. So due to the technological behaviour in the country, the
firm needs to focus on updating it services through technological advancements.

 Legal factors-Legal factors in the retail sectors are major concern for the packaging of
the food and quality which they are providing to their customers (Tallon and
Pinsonneault, 2011). According to the government food safety act etc, the Morrisons
are required to comply with these acts so that appropriate quality can be provided to
the customers.
 Environmental factors- As global warming has become one of the major concerns for
the organization so the government is forcing the retail sector to use recycle bags so
that it does not harm the environment. In this case, huge technology is required to be
adopted by the Morrisons so that they can change their packages etc (Borghoff and
Pareschi eds., 2013). even the government of UK had made strict that people will not
buy the products and services from the organization who are not adopting the
environmental friendly practices. In this, the technology has to be adopted by the
organization.
PORTER VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS
Porter value chain analysis is the tool which evaluates the strategic process of supply
chain activities of the organization. As every competitors have a different supply chain which
helps in achieving the competitive advantage. In case if the supply chain of the organization
is strong it will help in providing products and services in the low prices. This is termed as
the important means for sustaining in the market. Value chain analysis of Morrisons can be
evaluated to identify the factor which can help in developing advantage over the competitors.
 Inbound logistics-The Morrisons is the big retail store so it has huge number of
reliable suppliers which provide effective food supply to the organization. Further, to
render fresh foods and products, the organization has unique storage concept which is
different from other competitors (Qian, Fang and Gonzalez, 2012). It has an open
market in which the food is stored and further it also helps in reducing the wastage
which can occur in the process. On the other hand, Morrisons deliver the food
products by using their own firm vehicles. This helps the organization in reducing the
expense which can arise from hiring the contractors.
 Operations- It is concerned with the manufacturing and packaging. For carrying out
the work in the organization, there are several people which are employed in the
organization. It consists of drivers, butchers, cashiers etc. they are the one who are

involved in the day to day activities of the company (Morse, Babcock and Murthy,
2014).
 Outbound logistics-In case of the outbound logistics, the Morrisons uses its own
vehicles to distribute the products and services. Due to this reason, no additional
expense has been added in the services. On the other hand, due to launch of the online
application, it has more become convenient for the organization to deliver the
products and services to the customers (Johar and Awalluddin, 2011). Even in case of
Morrisons the supply chain is also strong as they have huge distribution network
which help the firm to effectively distribute their products. This has been effective in
making the customers satisfied with the services.
 Marketing and sales- Marketing and sales are one of the most important primary
activities which are attached with the profitability of the organization. Through
marketing, Morrisons have effectively developed its brand which has developed
certain competitive advantage (Willcocks, 2013). The best advantage which the
customers get from the organization is that they get low priced product. The prices of
the competitor’s products are higher in competitors. So due to this reason, the
organization has gained huge market share which helps in increasing productivity and
profitability of the firm. In case of marketing, the organization has made the loyalty
card for the customers. This was the unique idea and Morrisons gained huge
customers because of this (Fang And et.al., 2012). This organization is competing in
the marketing activities with its competitors so that they can climb the ladder in the
retail store.
 Services- There are ample of services which are offered by the Morrisons to its
customers. The main service is that they are providing low price products and services
to the customers. Besides this, there are certain additional services which are rendered
to the customers which include cafe services, photo services, and dry cleaning (Aykin,
ed., 2016). These services are the additional services which increases the value of the
customers towards the organization.
Through the analyzing the porter value chain analysis, it can be witnessed that the
operations carried out by the organization is successful which can develop competitive
advantage of the firm.

DEPLOYING IT BY USING INNOVATIVE IDEAS
In the competitive world, the organizations are required to focus on the information
and technology system which can help in making the work easier. The innovative ideas can
only be developed, if the firm is adopting new technology. In case of marketing activities, the
Morrisons are required to adopt the new technologies so that they can produce the innovative
ideas in front of the market (Morrisons makes an IT step change, 2017). Besides this, most of
the organizations are focusing on developing the competitor advantage through marketing.
Facebook, twitter etc are the medium through which the firm can promote their activities.
Further, the organization is required to adopt new technologies in supply chain management
(Johar and Awalluddin, 2011). In case of distribution, the Morrisons can expand their online
sales market which can provide convenience to the customers an even the distribution
channel will expand.
With the introduction of e-tablets they can effectively increase the efficiency of the
staffs who are working in the organization. The store manager will get e-mails and
planograms through this way they can be able to manage the whole shop floor (Tallon and
Pinsonneault, 2011). On the other hand, Morrisons is required to focus on updating the
information technology because if he wants to develop the competitive advantage then it has
to fight on that basis. It is the number fourth retail organization and above all the three are
equipped with the latest technological systems (Morrisons playing retail technology catch-up,
2017). Further, according to the stated report the organization has spent around £27million in
its online technology. So in the future it can be seen that the firm will be adopting the latest
technology which can help in developing advantage over its competitors. But in this case, the
issue which will be emerged is that with the introduction of new technologies in the
organization, the jobs of the staff will be at the risks. In this case, it is regarded that to deploy
the new technology in Morrisons, the firm is required is to safeguard the job of those staff
members.
Further, by adopting the POS system which is basically point of sale, the staff will get
the data about the customer. They will be able to feed in their management system. This will
help in recalling the names of the person, contact detail etc. this is effective because it will
aids in developing the competitive advantage by giving the customer additional facility.

CONCLUSION
From this report it can be concluded that information and technology has become core
of the organization as without it, it is unable for the firm to function. In case of Morrisons the
vision is to expand its market and become the leader in the retail sector. This could be happen
only when it can beat other organization in terms of technology. On the other hand, the
organization value chain system is effective in developing competitive advantage in near
future.

REFERENCES
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Online
Morrisons makes an IT step change. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Morrisons-makes-an-IT-step-change>.
[Accessed on 26th April, 2017].
Morrisons playing retail technology catch-up. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<http://www.essentialretail.com/in-store-ops/article/5232d3709607d-morrisons-
playing-retail-technology-catch-up>. [Accessed on 26th April, 2017].