Business Strategies: A Case Study of Oz Supermarket Operations

This case study examines Oz Supermarket, a retail chain aiming to reduce checkout queues and improve customer service. The report analyzes the supermarket's implementation of the PayWave card system, RFID technology, and strategic placement of summary stations. It discusses recommendations for overcoming security threats, reducing costs associated with RFID, and mitigating RFID interference. Furthermore, the case study suggests additional options for enhancing customer service, such as employee training and feedback mechanisms. It also explores strategies to improve business operations, including product quality reviews, new business models like e-commerce, and the implementation of ERP software. The report provides a comprehensive overview of Oz Supermarket's innovative approach to retail and its efforts to enhance the customer experience and streamline business processes.

Running head: CASE STUDY ON OZ SUPERMARKET
Case Study on Oz Supermarket
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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CASE STUDY ON OZ SUPERMARKET
Executive Summary
The objective of this report is to analyze the various steps implemented by Oz Supermarket to
improve the business operations and also to eliminate the problems faced by the customers in the
queue for paying the bills. This report also gives recommendations about improving the business
service and operation. It discusses about various ways to improve the business process.

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Question One.......................................................................................................................3
Oz Supermarket...............................................................................................................3
Recommendations............................................................................................................5
Question Two.......................................................................................................................6
Additional Option to Improve Customer Service............................................................6
Suggestions to Improve the Business Operations and Services......................................7
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................9
References..........................................................................................................................10

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CASE STUDY ON OZ SUPERMARKET
Introduction
Oz Supermarket is a retail chain that is new and it aims to reduce the queues during the
point of exit. This retail chain only deals in household, non perishable and stationery goods. It
has adopted several methods to overcome the problems that other supermarkets face and to
improve its efficiency.
This report describes about the various ways that Oz Supermarket has adopted to improve
its customer service and to decrease the problems that they face by waiting in the queue. This
report also gives certain recommendations to further improve the customer service of the Oz
Supermarket.
Question One
Oz Supermarket
Oz Supermarket is a retail chain that is new. It has made a new type of set up in order to
remove all the problems that people face at the exit queues. They have taken several steps in
order to overcome this issue.
Oz Supermarket only sells stationery, household and non perishable goods. This is the
first step that is taken by the retail chain. The main step that they have taken is the use of an
electronic card called PayWave. This is a technology that is based on special RFID (Jia et al.,
2012). This supermarket does not give the facility to the customers to pay in cash. The customers
are allowed to pay via the PayWave card that is provided to them. The customer needs to wave
the card while entering the store. This allows their entry. The trolleys that are provided in the
Supermarket have special radio frequency identification reader installed in it. It works in a

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systematic way. Whenever any customer puts their selected items in the trolley, it gets queued in
the billing list. And whenever any customer removes any item from the trolley then that
particular item gets deleted from the billing list. Unlike any other retail store the customer does
not have to wait in the billing counter for paying the bill. Here the customers simply exit the
store after selecting the items. The total bill amount is deducted from the PayWave card as they
move out of the gate.
There are new customers who arrive at the store. They do not have the PayWave card.
They have to follow another procedure. They have to speak with the front desk people and
deposit cash on a temporary basis. They will be provided with a PayWave card for temporary
purpose like in the case of tourist and children. They will also get the facility to walk out of the
store without waiting in the queue. After the tourists or temporary customers leave the store
permanently their cash balance is returned to them. Or in other case the balance can be used by
the customers when they return to the store again. They can use that card again for the purpose of
shopping in the future. Every item in the store has RFID chip installed in it (De Marco et al.,
2012). The extra cost of the RFID is used for the interest of the customers who are in a hurry for
some reason.
The entire retail store has stations placed at regular intervals. These stations are known as
the summary stations. Here the customers can go and check their bill amount when they are in
any type of confusion. The shopping summary stations are placed in several locations in a
strategic manner. Oz Supermarket has also thought about the parking issues of the customers.
They have a system of charging the rate based on the time taken. In the non peak seasons, the
customers are charged a lower rate. The parking rate for the disabled people is free. The Oz

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Supermarket has taken several strategies in an intelligent manner to increase their efficiency and
improve the work of the store through customer satisfaction.
Recommendations
This report provides three recommendations outlining the business operations of the Oz
Supermarket.
Overcoming the security threats: In this era of information and communication
technology, security is a major issue. There are several security threats that can take place. The
PayWave card that is used by the retail store is based on information technology. It has cash
stored in it. Hacking can be one of the major issues that can take place in this case. Hacking falls
under the category of deliberate security threat. Hacking this system can cause loss of money for
several customers that visit the store (Coleman, 2013). Oz Supermarket can take several steps to
protect itself from any malware attack or any kind of hacking issue (Zhou & Jiang, 2012).
Security programs that are up to date must be installed in the information system of the store.
They should not use any type of Wi-Fi system. This can cause severe issue if the hackers get
access to the Wi-Fi. A signature authentication method should be followed for protecting the
PayWave card. A safe and secured process used in the market can help the customer satisfaction
to improve and to attract more number of customers. The system should install programs to
protect itself from any type of spyware (Agrawal & Smith, 2013). All these issues can be easy
solved by installing antivirus programs and having a strong security policy integrated in the
system.
Cost reduction: RFID tags that are used, consume huge amount of cost. Different types
of RFID tags must be selected depending on the organization needs and requirements (Choi et

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al., 2012). There are active and passive tags. Oz Supermarket should carry out a proper
investigation in order to determine the suitable tag for the retail chain. The speed and range of
the passive RFID is more. Active RFID on the other hand has a higher cost as well as
performance in comparison to the passive tags. A proper cost analysis should be done before
implementing the RFID (Fan et al., 2014). In order to reduce the overhead charge the
supermarket can use passive RFID. Cheaper tags will help the store to benefit in a cost effective
manner.
RFID interference: There can be certain interference that can cause problems in the
RFID tags. The noise or electromagnetic wave can block any wave from entering into the RFID
tags. This limitation can be resolved or minimized by the Oz Supermarket in several ways. They
must check the spectrum of frequencies that are used by the devices in the environment. They
should try to gain commitment from the suppliers on the protocols and standards. A trial
installation must be done before installing any type of tags (Krigslund et al., 2012). A
performance review must be carried out in order to understand the performance of the existing
system and the RFID components. The tags must also be aligned with the antennas for better
performance of the system.
Question Two
Additional Option to Improve Customer Service
One additional option that can be provided in order to improve the customer service in
the store is to hire more number of employees and to train them according to their needs. More
number of employees is required in case of helping the new customers like tourists to make them
understand the process of purchasing that takes place in the store (Sung & Choi, 2014). These

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employees can guide the customers to understand where several items are present. They can even
guide them to use the summary stations that are located in various locations. The management
team must find out the weak employees and then train them for improving the process of
customer satisfaction. More number of employees will reduce the workload of each employee
and they will be able to focus on a particular job at a time. This will improve their performance
leading to customer satisfaction (Ford, 2014). Engaging more staffs will help the customers to
get accustomed to the system and procedure in the Oz Supermarket. They will find it to be very
comfortable to access the systems and understand the procedure.
Suggestions to Improve the Business Operations and Services
Customer feedback: The purchasing behavior does not explain about their feelings
regarding the store. This method can be used in order to understand what the customers want and
what the area of rectification is. There can be online suggestion forms that can be filled up by the
customers to understand the weakness of the store (Olsson & Bosch, 2015). They can take
further steps to improve their quality of service and operations. They will be able to find out
what the local customers value. They can be asked questions regarding why a particular type of
promotion is attractive to them. Any kind of sensitive issue can be tackled in an organized way.
Consider a situation where a customer is unable to speak up to the management due to some
issue. The feedback system will make it easier for the customers to communicate with the store
authority. Strategic planning can be done in order to improve the services and operations of the
store. Any organization is able to grow because of their customer base. Customers bring value to
any business. Business deals are successful because of the customer satisfaction. Their feedback
is the most important thing (Nacif, 2012). The store will be able to minimize their weaknesses
and maximize their strengths.

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Product quality review: Various products can be reviewed in order to understand the
quality of the items. The products can be compared with those of the competitors in order to find
out the loopholes and limitations. Innovation is an important step in the quality improvement of
the product. In order to survive and grow in the industry the supermarket can improve the
products through the process of innovation. The process of continuous improvement is used in
this method. The quality of the product must be reviewed in a periodical manner (Goetsch &
Davis, 2014). A critical method of review must be done to find out the in process and finished
goods. The supply chain system of the company must be traced in a proper manner. The review
of the product needs to be done in six main areas. The legal areas must include the market
authorization of the products. The external complaints issues must be looked into and resolved.
The processes must be improved in order to improve the quality of the product. Testing of
products must be done in a proper manner. Any kind of deviations from the product can be
resolved in a proper manner.
New business models: The Oz Supermarket should include other business models also
like online retail websites. The supermarket can create a new website which will be an
ecommerce website. There they can sell their products over the internet. Customers can enter
their PayWave card ID and given password to log in to the website. Any new customer can
register their by applying for the PayWave card. Once they have registered, they can purchase
anything online (Laudon & Traver, 2013). They will get the scope to view all the products
available in the store just by using the internet. The customers will also be able to file any
complaint or give a good feedback over the internet through the website. These types of models
are implemented for the betterment of the business.

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ERP software: Enterprise resource planning software can be used in order to improve the
efficiency and the operations of the business. Oz Supermarket can use ERP software to reduce
the manual strain of the employees (Leon, 2014). It will integrate all the information and make it
available to the departments that need the information without any delay. Integrated functioning
of all the departments will help the supermarket to improve its efficiency in operations. Several
ERP options are available like SAP (Monk & Wagner, 2012). This is also a cost saving method.
Other software like CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software can be used to help the
store to improve the functionality of the store.
Conclusion
This report concludes that Oz Supermarket has implemented several steps to eliminate
the problems that customer face at the queues. They have automated the entire process through
the help of RFID technology. This report also discusses recommendations to improve the
business operations and efficiency.

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References
Agrawal, N., & Smith, S. A. (2013). Optimal inventory management for a retail chain with
diverse store demands. European Journal of Operational Research, 225(3), 393-403.
Choi, J. S., Lee, H., Engels, D. W., & Elmasri, R. (2012). Passive UHF RFID-based localization
using detection of tag interference on smart shelf. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man,
and Cybernetics, Part C (Applications and Reviews), 42(2), 268-275.
Coleman, E. G. (2013). Coding freedom: The ethics and aesthetics of hacking. Princeton
University Press.
De Marco, A., Cagliano, A. C., Nervo, M. L., & Rafele, C. (2012). Using System Dynamics to
assess the impact of RFID technology on retail operations. International journal of
production economics, 135(1), 333-344.
Fan, T. J., Chang, X. Y., Gu, C. H., Yi, J. J., & Deng, S. (2014). Benefits of RFID technology for
reducing inventory shrinkage. International Journal of Production Economics, 147, 659-
665.
Ford, J. K. (2014). Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology Press.
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Jia, X., Feng, Q., Fan, T., & Lei, Q. (2012, April). RFID technology and its applications in
Internet of Things (IoT). In Consumer Electronics, Communications and Networks
(CECNet), 2012 2nd International Conference on (pp. 1282-1285). IEEE.

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Krigslund, R., Popovski, P., Pedersen, G. F., & Olesen, K. (2012). Interference helps to equalize
the read range and reduce false positives of passive RFID tags. IEEE Transactions on
Industrial Electronics, 59(12), 4821-4830.
Laudon, K. C., & Traver, C. G. (2013). E-commerce. Pearson.
Leon, A. (2014). Enterprise resource planning. McGraw-Hill Education.
Monk, E., & Wagner, B. (2012). Concepts in enterprise resource planning. Cengage Learning.
Nacif, R. C. (2012). Online Customer Loyalty: Forecasting the Repatronage Behavior of Online
Retail Customers. Springer Science & Business Media.
Olsson, H. H., & Bosch, J. (2015, June). Towards continuous customer validation: a conceptual
model for combining qualitative customer feedback with quantitative customer
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Sung, S. Y., & Choi, J. N. (2014). Do organizations spend wisely on employees? Effects of
training and development investments on learning and innovation in
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Zhou, Y., & Jiang, X. (2012, May). Dissecting android malware: Characterization and evolution.
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