An Analysis of Operations Management Practices within Sainsbury's

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the operations management practices implemented by Sainsbury's, a major UK retail supermarket chain. It delves into various aspects, including inventory management, supply chain optimization, and total quality management, emphasizing their impact on organizational efficiency. The report examines how Sainsbury's utilizes technology to enhance its operations, such as "We Supply" by IBM and various software solutions for inventory control, supply chain management, and customer relationship management. Furthermore, it evaluates the supporting functions, like human resources and IT, that contribute to smooth and efficient operations. The report highlights the importance of operational efficiency, the application of the four V's of operations management (volume, variety, variation, and visibility), and the role of technology in achieving Sainsbury's business objectives. The practices of Sainsbury's are evaluated to determine the impact on organizational efficiency.

BM563 OPERATIONS AND
SERVICE MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
1. Operation management practice within Sainsbury's................................................................1
2. Impact on operation management practice on the organizational efficiency..........................2
3. Embedded technology in the operations management practice...............................................4
4. Evaluation of the supporting functions assisting in the operations practice management......5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Operations management practice refers to governing the routine activities of the business
in order to generate the highest level of efficiency in the company. It is concerned about
managing the inventory, production, supply chain, distribution network and the quality
management in the company. The project shall be highlighting the operation management
practice that is carried out within Sainsbury's. Apart from that it shall be reflecting the impact of
these operations management practice over the organizational efficiency level and the growth
prospects thereby determined by Sainsbury's. It shall also evaluate that how technology can be
embedded to the practices ensuring the achievement of the organizational objectives. Lastly the
report shall be showing the supportive functions that will assist in the operations management of
the organization.
MAIN BODY
1. Operation management practice within Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's being one of the largest retail supermarket chain in UK has to perform its
operations with high degree of efficiency. They have the widespread chain of outlets, supply
chain which has to be coordinated against a single central system in order to derive
organizational performance. This can be ensured by practices that govern the operations
management in the company by managing the routine activities of the business. From managing
the inventory levels in the business, to stocking them up and delivering them timely and
efficiently to the end users as per their demand (Salehnejad, Ali and Proudlove, 2020). This is
challenging task for the company which it has to manage so that the competitive advantage can
be derived.
Sainsbury's has applied the “We Supply” by IBM which is playing the key role in
determining the rightful level of inventory that needs to be maintained by the business. There are
several stages through which the operations of Sainsbury's are passing starting from the
acquiring raw material and its stocking up in the warehouses. An effective system is designed for
the inventory replenishment at the various stores of Sainsbury's so that the products and services
are readily available to the customers (Amirudin, Nawawi and Salin, 2017). The major
operations management practice undertaken by the company is total quality management in order
to satisfy the needs and wants of the customer. This shall also build satisfaction in the consumers
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and will ensure the positioning of the brand in the minds of the consumers of products and
services of the company.
The quality and the efficiency level has to be maintained throughout the organization at
each and every level of the operations for the smooth conduct of the business. Some major
quality objectives of Sainsbury's are that it wants to provide healthy and safe food to the
customers and the fair prices (Support Functions & Operating Models, 2020). Customer loyalty
and the level of satisfaction are the major concerns of the business keeping in mind the future
prospects of the company. For managing the efficient quality in the business the standards are set
up which are to be met by the business so that the organizational efficiency level can be
determined.
The design of the supermarket is also established in a manner that the customers are
retained until they visit and pass from all the shelves. The cash and billing counter are placed at
the end, the arranging and managing the display of the products is part of operations
management (Davar and Pandey, 2020). The interdepartmental activities of the company are
highly integrated so that the coordination of the efforts can be ensured and the performance of
the company can be enhanced.
The four V's of the operations management that are followed by the Sainsbury's company
are volume, variety, variation and the visibility. These factors decide the operational
management practices that are undertaken by the company which are contributing to the
organizational performance of the business. The volume shows that its customers wish to
purchase the more goods from the supermarket that are offered at the affordable prices. The
variety discloses the huge range or portfolio of products and services that are offered to the
customers to meet the needs and expectations of the business. Apart from that variation in
context of Sainsbury's is concerned with the different modes of the delivery system that are used
by the company like the online, purchase from store or the home delivery. Lastly visibility
focuses on the display of the products in the shelves such that the customers are attracted towards
it.
2. Impact on operation management practice on the organizational efficiency
The operations management practices that are conducted within the organization is one of
the major contributors to the achievement of the organizational efficiency. This is governed
through the proper management of the routine activities in the business which are to be
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organized in a way to meet the expectations of the stakeholders of the company. The major
determinant of the organizational efficiency is the optimum level of inventory that is maintained
in the company. The inventory calculations must be made based on the EOQ model which
minimizes the ordering and carrying costs thereby managing operational efficiency of the
business. The excess inventory shall be costlier for the company in terms of incurring huge
storage costs and also the cost of damages. Apart from that if the shortage of inventory is there
then the demands of the customers will not be fulfilled thereby leading to shift in preferences or
the loyalty (Chowdhury, Alam and Habib, 2017). So, it is necessary to be maintaining the
optimum levels of the inventory in the business to minimize cost as well as maximize the
operational efficiency in the business.
Another major contribution could be in the form of applying the technique of total quality
management which is to ensure the desired quality and efficiency of operations. This approach of
the management makes sure that value can be derived by the money that is paid by the customers
(How can Operations Management Improve Efficiency in an Organization, 2021). In this they
shall be boosting the level of the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the brand and
increasing its reputation in the market.
The effective management of the supply and distribution network in the company is also
one of the contributing factors to the organizational efficiency. This can be done by proper
establishment of the supply chain ensuring the timely and efficient delivery of the product and
services to the customers (Khan and Qianli, 2017). This shall be enhancing the collaborations
with the business partners, trade suppliers and the associated companies. Better collaborations
and the on time operations can be helping in the attainment of the economies of scale and reduce
the cost per unit. Moreover, with the reduction in the costs the various other business risks shall
also be mitigated.
The process of conversion of the raw material into the finished products is called
production. The management of the operations in the business will be ensuring that the
production is optimized and the advancement of the technology can be used to determine the
operational efficiency. These modified processes shall be more effective for the employees and
shall be benefiting them in terms of increasing the productivity. It can also seen that better
techniques shall also be proving to be good in terms of the optimum utilization of the resources
in the business (Suryanto, Haseeb and Hartani, 2018).
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Overall it can be ascertained that the processes that are optimized in the business and the
operations are managed will be contributing to the betterment of the business. The operational
efficiency of the company can be governed through this and the business objectives can be
efficiently met by the company.
3. Embedded technology in the operations management practice
The technology these days is central to all the processes of the business that are
undertaken in a particular company. In the case of operations management and the associated
practices technology has been playing a significant role in the business. The various approaches
and the techniques that are used shall be conducted used with the help of assistance of digital
technology (Yang, Ishtiaq and Anwar, 2018). The practices like the determination of the
inventory levels, total quality management and the managing the supplies are all executed with
the help of technology. Apart from that there are different software that are used in the
businesses that can be used to determine the optimum calculations of the economic order
quantity. Also, the setting of the standards so that the operations of the business can be
coordinated effectively has to be undertaken by these softwares.
In order to control the operations Sainsbury's has been using the various control tools
with the help of the technology. The benchmarking, variance analysis, six sigma etc. are all
applied with the use of the software and the computer functions so that the company is able to
derive the faster and efficient results. The controlling function of the management also identifies
the deviations that are there in the operations and with the help of this the improvements are
made in the operations of the business.
When it comes to managing the supply chain of the supermarket chain then the process
gets very complex as the distribution network is wide and dispersed (Sevilla and Ellaga, 2020).
The technology can only assist these varied participants of the supply chain in smoothly
undertaking the business. This is because there needs to be common database where all the
informations is transmitted instantly with effective flow of communication. Also, the efforts of
the varied departments need to be integrated over the common portal so that they remain
coordinated and the organizational performance can be achieved.
Some important software that are applied by the Sainsbury's are supply chain
management (SCM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management
(CRM) and the new product development (NPD) (Negron, 2020). These are the most significant
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ones without the use of which managing the operations of the business are highly impossible.
Nowadays technology has became a necessity for conducting the business smoothly and
efficiently. Using these software the optimum level of utilization of all the resources in the
business can be derived and this shall further boost the operational efficiency of the business.
Sainsbury`s has been one of the leading technological businesses that has achieved
optimization and customization of the customer services. This can be attained with the use of
efficient technology in the business which is also responsible for maintaining the operations of
the business. The various practices that are undertaken in the management of the operations are
embedded with the technology.
4. Evaluation of the supporting functions assisting in the operations practice management
The various supporting functions that are assisting the operations of the business are the
other departments like human resource, information technology, finance, administration and the
customer support services. The employees under these department's helps the company in
achieving smooth and efficient operations to ensure the achievement of organizational
objectives. The employees in the human resource department helps in motivating and boosting
the morale of the other employees in the business, we shall then be contributing to the
operational efficiency in the business (Liu, Bruins and Heberling, 2018). Also, the performance
appraisal that is undertaken by the HR department of the company shall be ensuring that through
the rewards and the recognition further the workforce will be optimizing their work to contribute
to the growth of the business.
Another function is performed by the IT department who is concerned with the technology
in the business. As seen earlier in the report that technology has been essential requirement in the
business and especially governing the operations management practices in the company. The
various techniques that are applied in setting the standards, managing the quality, minimizing the
cost, generating operational efficiency etc. The software that are installed maintaining the
capacity of the business and its operations are the assisting factors. The databases that are
managed guiding the flow of information in the organization are also supporting the operations
management. The details regarding when to order, inventory level, supply chain and where the
goods are to be restored.
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The other is the financial functions that are playing the major role in any organization. This
is because finance is the life blood of the business and all the operations can be successfully
performed only when they are efficiently financed and the funds are available with the business.
The finance assists in the performance management of the business. From the arrangement of the
raw material to its conversion into the finished product the funds are required at each and every
step of the process (Shahlan and et.al., 2018). Also post the production of the goods and services
it is transferred to the supermarkets of Sainsbury’s which again involves the usage of the finance.
So, it can be assessed that finance is been playing a crucial role in determining the operations and
its management in Sainsbury’s company.
The administration department is also one such department that is conducting the function
of supporting the operations of the company. It can be assessed that administration department
also plays the crucial role in analyzing the smoothness in the routine activities of the business.
The administration department shall be doing all the paper work regarding the transactions that
are taking place in the business. These documentations are also required to ensure that the
business stays protected in all legal battles.
One more function is the customer support services that are provided post the sales are
made by the company (Beluhu, 2020). These services determine the feedbacks from the
customer regarding their satisfaction of needs and wants and shall also determine the level of
satisfaction that is attained. These services shall be helping the future operations of the business
in the way that when the existing customers are satisfied then only, they shall be making the
repeated purchases with the brand. Sainsbury`s have always provided efficient customer support
services which is the reason behind it being the market leader in the industry.
All these supporting functions are equally important for determining the success of the
operations and also the business. With the complete assistance of these departments the company
can survive the competition in the market place governing the development of its future growth
prospects. These functions of the business are supportive to its functioning and is the essence of
the operations.
CONCLUSION
It can be summarized from the above project that Sainsbury's is applying the operations
management practices in the business to derive the organizational objectives and achieve the
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level of operational efficiency. This majorly involves the quality management of the goods and
services that are produced to ensure satisfaction level of the customers. Apart from that involves
the all round development of the organization from the acquisition of the raw material to the
consumption of the finished goods by the end user. Apart from that it also sees that the
technology plays an important role when it is embedded in the process if operations management
then further improves the performance. Lastly it can be concluded that the various supportive
functions further assists in the development of the growth prospects of the business.
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