Unilever's Strategic Information Systems: An In-depth Analysis

This report provides an analysis of strategic information systems within the context of business development, using Unilever PLC as a case study. It examines Unilever's use of broad differentiation as a generic strategy and its global presence. The report details the three levels of management within an organization (top, middle, and operational) and the types of information used at each level, linking this to management system theory. It further evaluates the strategic importance of information systems, specifically Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Management Information Systems (MIS), in Unilever's corporate strategy, focusing on procurement, project management, risk determination, and supply chain management. The analysis also includes a Porter's Five Forces assessment of Unilever's competitive environment, highlighting the impact of various forces on the organization. The report concludes by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using Business Intelligence tools and techniques for effective decision-making.

Strategic Information
Systems

Table of Contents
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
3 levels of management in organization and type of information use at each level....................4
Management system theory.........................................................................................................5
Strategic pursued at three level of management..........................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
Strategic importance of information system with example.........................................................6
Evaluate strategic information system utilized by senior management for corporate effective
strategy.........................................................................................................................................6
Company's competitive environment uses with porters five forces analysis...............................7
Forces impacts on organization...................................................................................................8
Question 4........................................................................................................................................9
Tools and techniques....................................................................................................................9
Advantages and disadvantage of using Business intelligence...................................................10
QUESTION-5................................................................................................................................11
QUESTION-6................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

TASK 1
Unilever PLC is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in
London, England. Unilever products include food and retail products, services where retail
services are highly innovative. The brand uses broad differentiation as generic strategy, for
extending into competitive advantage paradigms where focus is to emphasize on features among
new extended products. Uniliver has been significantly increasing new end further critical
investments where headquarter is in London and company has 65 offices across 63 countries.
The company has been succeeding to bring on varied range of new scale market share services,
productive advanced goods where this further has been found to be competent. Description of
retail services, business goals of Unilever are widely diverse where consumer goods are further
pacing to bring on high range scale expansion within fundamental key criteria. Uniliver is the
second largest consumer goods within world, where it produces numerous brand name foods,
cleaning products and wide range of personal care items for extended range of customers.
Uniliver works in retail market, where sector has been competitively growing in recent time with
online marketing aspects for extended productive vision goals.
The sector holds huge competent pace to harness innovation significantly, where practical
goods varieties are increasing rapidly in recent time period for strengthening market pace goals.
It can be also analysed that Uniliver has been taken as company, due to high scale long term
business positioning and goodwill factors diversely expanding within recent time period scale.
The business services are further found to be strategically diverse, based on operative keen
phenomenon aspects in longer extended time period base on technical long term results. Unilever
has high end global reach among retail business services and products, catering to extensive new
end productive technical goals for critical functional expansion profoundly (Huang and et.al,
2022).
Company web address: https://www.unilever.com/our-company/
Homepage screenshot:

TASK 2
3 levels of management in organization and type of information use at each level
Different level has their multiple task and its essential for long term business
sustainability and management of work with great manner. Information management system in
Unilever organization. Mainly information system consider at higher level within in large size of
organization like Unilever, Tesco and many more who has play major role in stock exchange
market.
Top level of management: This management has power to make overall business decisions
because of they do have authority and senior position. It includes company CEO, director,
president, managing director and many more who has power and authority to guide meddle level
of management (Pedersen and et.al., 2021). They do have power to makes final and best decision
of company. Unilever company provide their services at international market so mostly this
department make decisions like which is useful for overall business growth. Unilever
organization seniors authorities includes like Chief Executive Officer, Chief marketing officer,
chief financial officer and many more. They all continuously evaluate performance with
application of MIS and ERP system application.
Middle management: It includes individual like mangers of different department. Expansion of
manger in business is essential term because they play major role in business success with
identification of instruction from senior authority and expansion of structure and planning for

distribution of information to lower level manager. Unilever has great position in retail sectors
because it provides services at good prices and daily essential goods to audience. Examples
includes of middle management like marketing manager, operation manager, sales manager,
supply chain manager, finance manger and many more who provide information to employee
for performing task with proper plan. Manger performance mainly depends on information
distribution from senior management.
Operational and lower level management: Its one of the most essential department. Without
having lower level department business has not capability it influences and develop greats
position at market and generate revenue. Operation level major work is to mange task with
sustainable manner with application and under the guidance of senior authority. Examples of
lower level management is operation employees, marketing employee, accounts and finance
employee and many more who has responsibility to complete task for organization goals and
object achievement. Employee performance manages from guidance and instruction of middle
management.
Management system theory
System theory: This theory is all above refers to include activities which provide proper
structure of information distribution and effective outcome from performance effectiveness. It
mainly includes three major components like input, process and output. Unilever industry
similarly follows this approach for managing their goods and services distribution and growth
expansion from revenue generate activity (Gurca and et.al., 2021). Input means involvement of
information and engagement of raw material then process where manager develops proper plan
to distribution of information to employee who perform activities for completion of task.
Unilever organization consider this approach for manage their task.

Strategic pursued at three level of management
Business growth and farmworker strategy:
Seniors authority manager has power to analyse growth, and they mainly consider
providing higher level of facts for growth expansion from identification and collection of
information from manger. This department mainly communicate with different department
managers. Company directors when makes decisions it defiantly makes more efficiency and
positive results.
Strategic planning:
This term mainly consider and prepares by middle level of management were manager
mainly concern towards with the expansion of appropriate decision for lower level management.
Proper guidance and explanation for work is major essential approach when Unilever
organization top-level manager inform to manger that they do have to complete this task within
in 5 weeks (Khanzode and et.al., 2021). So manger has responsibility to prepares planing for
completion of work, and then they provide information to leaders they distribute work to
individual employee who participate in organization for distribution of services to employees.
Supervision of work:
At lower level of organization in large organization is leaders and employee who mainly
consider operation work in large size of industry. In retail sector salesmen, marketing employee
performing task for effective sales development in company because it makes more sustainability
in income generate. Knowledge about this term makes sure business develop concern towards
with the right decision-making process with proper develop of different levels in organization for
expansion of effective performance.
TASK 3
Strategic importance of information system with example
Strategic information system is process which makes more constancy in distribution of
information and fact one to other level of organization like. Effective and power information

system makes more efficiency in knowledge distribution because it includes new approaches like
written, verbal, non-verbal and many more effective communication for exchange of knowledge.
It includes various tools and approaches for information exchange like Enterprise resource
planning which is very beneficial term for exchange of information in day to day activity. ERP's
software is all above uses of the exchange of information in daily bas where seniors authority not
able to meet with mangers. Like utilize provide their services at worldwide level so its essential
to effective system for sharing information.
Evaluate strategic information system utilized by senior management for corporate effective
strategy
Unilever industry has divisional organizational structure. It provides services in various
range of products so they do have to concern towards with information structure development
throughout the application of ERP. This company provide their services at international level so
for the management and control on business activities and performance of product services it
decides to engage software for information as well as company’s performance identification.
ERP: Its one of the most impressive and power system for information exchange within
one to other department it makes more consistency and develop proper system for information.
Its beneficial for company software management like it collects data from financial, operation,
commerce, human resource and many more. Exchange of information is essential because
without having this system people consider different source of information which influence
overall business performance. Unilever mainly consider and prefer tools for communication in
context of procurement, project management, risk determination, performance evaluation, and
supply chain management process.
This company identify procurement process firstly with uses of ERP system of
information where it effectively evaluates overall business process, legal consideration,
engagement of products and reliable services and many more. And mainly includes in this step if
planning.
Completion of this process organization management concern towards with the project
management and distribution, so senior authority distribute and makes different department for
distribution of work. It means structure and design expansion of different project plan. Unilever
Company mainly concern towards with the design process.

Third one is data migration where different project department evaluate data and analyse
which process is best. Unilever company project seniors evaluate and identify skills and then
collection of data they makes and create idea for managing their goods and services from
application of employees who has great sense of services distribution.
Fourth one is customize services means identification of customer requirement and
provide information to different department so they supply goods from supply team.
Completion of this process next and last process of information stem with ERP is
identification of overall business activities with live performance evaluation via uses of sales,
project completion, profit identification, performance evaluation of different department and
many more (Hajli and et.al., 2021).

MIS: Management information system is all above refers to includes various factors like moving
of data and manage information. MIS is computer based system where manger evaluate and
identify which important factors is beneficial for more effectiveness expansion in planning and
then perfect consideration of essential aspects f object then it provides information to employee
which means operation workers, employee who provide their services with great manner.
Consideration about this term makes sure Unilever perfectly uses MIS for business effectiveness.
So its essential term that this business consider and prefer best and sustainable approaches and
system for effective decision-making with online communication.
Company's competitive environment uses with porters five forces analysis.
Competitive
rivalry
Threat of new
entrants
Power of supplier Power of
customer
Threat of
substitute
Unilever faces
issues from
multiple retail
industry but it has
great source of
distribution of
products an
information
New retail
industry influence
performance of
overall business
activities. And in
case of Unilever
it has great
position in retail
This term is all
above refers to
that Unilever
company highly
face issues from
the performance
and bargaining
power of supplier.
Customer
bargaining not
highly affects
because Unilever
supply different
rang of products
in individual
essential goods
Unilever
organization
provide food,
daily essential
goods and many
more and multiple
other organization
and brands also

which makes
sustainability in
and develop
differentiation
from other
company.
sectors. But its
essential aspect
that it properly
evaluate other
company
performance and
engage new
approaches in
organization
activities.
Because supplier
products rate
influence from
external forces
which affects on
Unilever industry
activity as well.
like in soap they
have different
price, flavours of
products.
affects this
products and
services. But this
company threat of
substitute is low
because it
delivers good
range of products
with different
brands.
Forces impacts on organization
Factors highly income performance of overall business and mainly influence retail
industry performance because customer and supplier demands, rules and behaviour continuously
change and influence from various factors (Kalaignanam and et.al., 2021). Unilever supply their
products and services in so many countries. Strategic management is essential for management
of forces identification and new decision-making for management of factors which affects on
business activities. Organization managerial decision-making mainly require proper
identification of scientific tools because evaluation of appropriate decision can be possible with
utilization of methods and mathematics data collection. Unilever industry when consider taking
analysis approaches and information system approaches then it analyses that it makes more
impressive work because of easier distribution and analyse of different department performance
and work. Expansion of effective and powerful work flow management require proper and
impressive tools of information exchange application of this term makes more efficiency in
performance.

Question 4
Tools and techniques
Application of strategic information systems align with long term corporate strategy
parameters, where business at Unilever are using the best tools and techniques for bringing
functional rise on strategic information systems. The role of strategic information systems can be

found to be fundamentally essential within competitive business benchmarks, where corporate
strategies further has been found to be fundamental for longer profitable revenue standards.
Uniliver as one of the best retail company having wide range of retail products, aims to further
adapt to business intelligence tools for strengthening new end customers market stability.
 Online analytical processing, is approach to answer multi-dimensional analytical aspects
within computing where OLAP is part of broader category. The tool is also competitively
encompassing to be specific based on relational data base, where it further establishes
significant primitive technical domains. Advantages of OLP systems is to respond much
faster to end user queries, where relational data base are worked on towards quick
response times which enables to synchronize higher advanced data. The disadvantage are
Online analytical processing is poor computation capability based, abstract model with
high potential risk factors associated based on short interactive analysis abilities (Ko and
Comuzzi, 2022).
 Another essential tool, analytically used In recent working within retail sector business is
also business intelligence where it forms up huge specific pace to be worked on for
extended developed growth rise. Business intelligence tool usage further develop, high
specific aim for untapped longer term untapped goals' completion based on specific
profound working benchmarks reach. Uniliver with its competitive retail market
positioning, has been competently heading to bring on new end business intelligence tool
for extending longer term profitable revenue standards.
 Cost benefit analysis : The cost benefit analysis is tool, which is used for providing
effective timely information about cost aspects based on specific parameters related wit
quality assurance between information systems and main corporate strategies. Uniliver by
implementing cost benefit analysis, will be able to develop new measurements for
keeping quality in check and capital investments to be aligned properly.
 Practical reflection can be understood to be highly essential, for strengthening
competitive business strengths, practical competitive engagement in decisions and
diverse range growth for extensive new fundamental diversification. For bringing new
touchless technology, and faster digitalisation within machinery automation Uniliver has
to further develop use effective techniques such as cost benefit analysis, for increasing
vitality of decisions.