EBTE7075 Summer 2019: Tesco's Tech and Competitive Advantage

This report examines Tesco's application of current and emerging technologies within its business operations. It begins with a brief overview of Tesco, followed by an analysis of the technologies it currently employs, such as RFID-enabled barcodes and multi-channel approaches. The report identifies key challenges faced by Tesco, including intense market competition, cost management issues, and financial concerns like interest rates and the impact of low-cost strategies. The report then proposes solutions, such as increasing sales, implementing a comprehensive SEO strategy, cloud computing, and predictive analytics. Furthermore, it discusses the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance sales and improve customer satisfaction. The report also highlights contemporary technology trends, emphasizing the importance of these technologies for achieving competitive advantage and improving decision-making within the retail giant.

Running head: EMERGING BIZ AND TECHNOLOGIES
Emerging Biz and Technologies
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Brief overview of Tesco:.................................................................................................................3
Current technology, used by Tesco:................................................................................................4
Challenges faced by Tesco in the way of running their internal functionality:...............................5
Solutions to mitigate the challenges:...............................................................................................7
The methods to be followed by Tesco in order to mitigate the challenges:....................................7
The contemporary technology trend for enhanced competitive advantage and improved decision-
making:............................................................................................................................................9
The strategies Tesco should follow in order to attain competitive advantage:................................9
The changes which Tesco should initiate the proposed strategy:..................................................10
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................11
References:....................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction:
Prompt development of technology is acting as a driving force behind the firms to
promote speed in the business process and thus attains long term success. As discussed by Zhang
et al., (2019) the inclusion of high end technology is playing a major role in the way of ensuring
smooth flow of all the relevant resources, which is the key of running the internal operation of a
firm with utmost efficiency. In addition, Rittinghouse & Ransome (2017) showed that with the
assistance of proper technology, the senior manager can also ensure smooth flow of
communication throughout the organization. Present paper will put forth the discussion of the
latest technology used by the retail giant Tesco. In addition, the paper will also shade light the
emerging technologies, which Tesco can use in terms of attaining competitive advantage.
Brief overview of Tesco:
Tesco is the third largest British multinational general merchandise grocer retailer with a
strong presence across the world. Being the leading retailer, Tesco is currently operating more
than 6000 stores and serving millions of customers across the globe. Both physical and online
stores are operated by Tesco (Tesco PLC. 2019). Creativity and innovation are two of the major
factors, which are playing a critical role for Tesco to attain immense success from business. In
terms of gross revenue, Tesco is considered as the ninth-largest retailer in the world. The
company is running their business in more than five countries in both Asia and Europe.
In addition, Tesco is also being considered as the largest retailer of Thailand, UK, Ireland
and Hungary. Tesco is one of the largest down-market high-volume low-cost retailers to attract
wide range of customers from different social background. It is imperative to note in this context
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that Tesco is operating their business in multiple store formats like Supermarket, hypermarket,
convenience shop and superstore. This is the reason for which Tesco is becoming able to
strengthen their business in the highly volatile global retail environment. During the last half of
2018, the statutory profit acquired by Tesco was £1,674m (Tesco PLC.2019).
Current technology, used by Tesco:
Being the market leader of the global retail industry, high-end technology is being used
by Tesco for the sake of promoting speed in their internal functionality. Larose (2015) highlight
the fact that the fundamental aim of Tesco behind using effective technology is to keep the
customers happy and satisfied by offering them with high quality of product along with shopping
experience. Execution of high-end technology is paving the way for Tesco to improve both the
online and offline shopping experience of the customers. RFID-enabled barcode is one of the
emerging strategies, being used by Tesco. The fundamental aim of the company behind using
this technology is to make the process of the stock counting easier and thereby improve the lives
of the employees. According to the perception of Russell & Norvig (2016) this technology is
allowing Tesco to automate the product counting process and remove the total number of
products automatically in accordance with the entering and leaving the store by the customers
before and after purchase. This information helps the suppliers to track the products and enable
them to act accordingly in order to enable the customers to have high quality of in-store shopping
experience.
The degree of satisfaction among the customers plays a major role in attaining long term
success for business. Wada (2018) stressed on the fact that this is the reason, for which Tesco has
implemented “If This Then Than” (IFTTT) technology with the intention of improving both
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online and offline shopping experience of the customers. With the assistance of technology,
Tesco has incorporated multi-channel approach which is the key of bridging the gap in between
the online and offline shopping platform and thus respond towards the increasing demand of the
customers. This application is allowing Tesco to connect with all other applications and use them
properly in order to make the life of the customers easier. Mortimer (2017) showed that BYOD
(Bring Your Own Device) Integration is another major step taken by Tesco in order to attain
innovation. This is one of the most informed apps which is the key of managing the products in
an appropriate manner. With the assistance of this app, the store manager of Tesco can keep the
real time record of the stock and thereby ensure the availability of the products by scanning the
barcode of a product. This is the way, through which the store manager can provide the
customers with accurate information related to the stock.
In the era of internet and technology, Tesco is putting consistent stress on improving the
shopping experience of the online shoppers. Thus, in order to enable the online shoppers to feel
valued, multiple images, video content and 360-degree imagery have been introduced by Tesco.
Jackson (2019) commented that this is the way, through which Tesco is putting consistent stress
on improving both online and offline shopping experience by making the products more visually
appealing among the customers. In addition to that, Tesco has also developed robust mobile
payment application in order to help the customers to carry out entire payment method in a
timely manner (Wood, Wrigley & Coe, 2016).
Challenges faced by Tesco in the way of running their internal functionality:
It is true that Tesco is the giant in retail industry with a strong presence in the entire
world. Multiple types of innovative strategies are used by Tesco in order to promote consistent
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growth of business by offering the customers with superior quality of products or services.
Intense competition in the market is the biggest challenge, faced by Tesco in the contemporary
times. It is true that Tesco is the largest supermarket in UK. Still, Karadag (2015) contended on
the ground that the strong presence of other retailers such as Morrison’s, ASDA and Sainsbury’s
is posing major threat for Tesco to attain competitive advantage. Researchers are showing that
Tesco has acquired second position in the worst retailers. Keeping the operating cost moderate is
one of the major issues being faced by Tesco in the contemporary times.
Due to immense accounting scandal, Tesco has to worth Rs. £129m. It has been reported
that Tesco has overdue the prosecution agreement which has resulted in the accounting scandal
and led him to pay such huge amount. This is the fundamental reason for which Tesco is facing
issues in the way of running their business in a cost effective manner by lowering excessive cost
of operation (The Guardian. 2019). In addition to that, Tesco is facing critical issues in the way
of improving their financial health. Keeping the interest rate is the greatest financial issue; Tesco
is facing in the contemporary times. It is the fundamental aim of Tesco group is to keep 50% of
the total interest cost for the sake of unsecured debt. However, during February 2019, the rate of
interest bearing debt at fixed rates was 78%. This is the reason for which Tesco has faced
increased interest rate (Tesco PLC. 2019).
At the same time, Tesco is also facing immense challenges due to the implementation of
low cost strategy. It has been reported that implementing the low cost strategy is leading Tesco
to compromise with the quality of products. Wiese, Zielke & Toporowski (2015) opined that this
is posing a major threat for Tesco to accelerate the statistics of profit by keeping the staffs happy
and satisfied.
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Solutions to mitigate the challenges:
In order to maintain their position as the giant in the retail industry, it is imperative for
Tesco to take proper care towards mutating the challenges. Increasing the sales statistics is one of
the major ways, through which Tesco can maintain their position as the market. Mian, Lamine &
Fayolle (2016) stated that this is the way, through which Tesco can be able to reach to a potential
base of customers which is the key of ensuring strong presence in the market. At the same time,
by increasing the statistics of sales, Tesco can also be able to respond towards the increasing
demand of the customers, which is very much needed in order to attract a potential base of
customers. According to Chang (2016) by increasing sales, Tesco can also be able to accelerate
the customer retention rate. Moreover, by increasing profit margin, Tesco can also be able to
align their products properly in accordance with the requirements of different bases of customers.
This is the way, through which high volume of products can ne produced.
The methods to be followed by Tesco in order to mitigate the challenges:
As technology is the key factor in promoting the growth of business, it is the prime
responsibility of the senior management of Tesco to execute innovative technology in order to
mitigate the challenges they are facing. A comprehensive SEO (Search Engine optimization)
strategy is very much needed as it will serve Tesco with the capability to reach to the potential
bases of customers. The voice search method must be aligned with that of the SEO strategy in
order to improve the experience of the users (Laudon & Traver, 2016).
Optimization of voice search can make it easy for Tesco to enable the users to get
accurate information. Thus, in order to integrate voice search within SEO, it is imperative for
Tesco to ensure that their official website is highly responsive and can be accessed through
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mobile phones. In addition, Harmon, P. (2019) also suggested that Tesco must also ensure that
their official server takes very limited time to respond towards the queries of the visitors. In
addition to that, Tesco must also frame optimized content. It is imperative to note here that
integration of voice search within SEO can help Tesco to respond towards wide ranges of
customers in a timely and cost effective manner.
Execution of cloud computing is another vital way for mitigating the challenges and thus
accelerate speed in their internal business process. Thus, it is imperative for Tesco to implement
cloud computing within their business process in order to align multiple processes in a single
platform and thereby run the business in a systematic manner. In order to implement cloud
computing, initially it is imperative for Tesco to look at the processes which is affecting their
internal functionality (Tallon et al., 2016).
As Tesco is facing certain issues in the way of maintaining their financial health, it is
imperative to align cloud computing in this area. This would help them to move in between the
on-promise and the cloud as per the requirement. Predictive analytics is another vial method,
which Tesco should follow in terms of improving the forecasting and thus satisfy the ever
increasing demand in future. Integration of artificial intelligence is another vital way, through
which trough which Tesco can accelerate their sales rate and thereby keep the customers
motivated (Kumar 2018). It is important for Tesco to execute machine learning method in order
to process wide range of data in a timely manner. This will help Tesco to keep the record of their
sales and ensure availability of the products in the physical stores.
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The contemporary technology trend for enhanced competitive advantage and
improved decision-making:
There are some of the major technologies, which Tesco should implement in order to
attain competitive advantage by improving the decision making process. Implementation of
voice search enabled SEO is very much needed in this context. Optimizing voice search in SEO
can help Tesco to increase the website traffic which is one of the critical parameters of
accelerating the public image of a company (Wood, Wrigley & Coe, 2016). This is the way,
through which Tesco can also be able to improve the speed of their official page and thereby
create a positive vive among the customers.
Aligning artificial intelligence (AI) with that of the sales is another vital way of attaining
competitive advantage. With the assistance of AI, Tesco can also be able to automate their
marketing activity, which is the key of increasing the statistics of sales. As Tesco has very strong
web presence across the world, it is imperative for them to use multiple marketing techniques
and incorporate AI into it. This will help Tesco to handle routine task which is the fundamental
factor of running business in a systematic manner. As the perception among the customers play a
major role in determine the success from business, Tesco should put stress on strengthening the
speed in their business (Rittinghouse & Ransome, 2017).
The strategies Tesco should follow in order to attain competitive advantage:
Intense competition in the market due to the strong presence of the giants like ASDA,
Sainsburys, Lidl and Aldi is making it difficult for the market leader like Tesco to sustain their
position and thus attain competitive advantage. In addition, drastic change of the requirements of
the customers is also posing major issue for the company to remain competitive. As Tesco is
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struggling with the profit margin, it is imperative for them to implement robust business strategy.
Thus, it is imperative for Tesco to implement cost leadership model as it will help Tesco to
respond towards the growing demand of the cheaper product. However, innovative ideas must be
integrated in the way of developing cheaper products (Zhang et al., 2019).
At the same time, Tesco must also put stress on improving their product line, which is
very much needed in order to attract wide ranges of customers. This is the way, through which
they can remain profitable with that their cost leadership strategy. Adopting new technology is
one of the most significant aspects of developing the product line. Thus, it is important for Tesco
to execute effective technology to accelerate their profit margin.
The changes which Tesco should initiate the proposed strategy:
By implementing this strategy, Tesco would be able to promote considerable growth in
their business which is very much needed in order to remain profitable in the intense competitive
business environment. In addition, implementation of product development strategy will also
help Tesco to satisfy the changing demand of the customers. Russell & Norvig (2016) stated that
through this way, Tesco can be able to aligning all the relevant resources in a single platform,
which is very much needed in terms of accomplishing predetermined business goals and
objectives. Adaptation of effective technology will also help both the management and
employees of Tesco to show concern about the relevant changes in the external environment.
This is the way, through which the management can make comprehensive plan regarding the
way through which healthy communication with the customers and thus respond towards their
needs and requirements (Mortimer 2017). This can ultimately improve the overall productivity
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and morale of the organization which is very much needed to attain long term success from
business.
Conclusion:
Based on the discussion, it can be concluded by saying that integration of high end
technology play a major role in attaining long term success from business. This is the way,
through which the internal speed in the business process can be improved which is very much
needed to remain competitive.
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References:
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Auerbach Publications.
Harmon, P. (2019). Business process change: a business process management guide for
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Jackson, P. C. (2019). Introduction to artificial intelligence. Courier Dover Publications.
Karadag, H. (2015). Financial management challenges in small and medium-sized enterprises: A
strategic management approach. EMAJ: Emerging Markets Journal, 5(1), 26-40.
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Larose, D. T. (2015). Data mining and predictive analytics. John Wiley & Sons.
Laudon, K. C., & Traver, C. G. (2016). E-commerce: business, technology, society. CRC Press.
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the state of knowledge. Technovation, 50, 1-12.
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leadership. The Conversation, (20).
Rittinghouse, J. W., & Ransome, J. F. (2017). Cloud computing: implementation, management,
and security. CRC press.
Russell, S. J., & Norvig, P. (2016). Artificial intelligence: a modern approach. Malaysia;
Pearson Education Limited,.
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Tallon, P. P., Queiroz, M., Coltman, T. R., & Sharma, R. (2016). Business process and
information technology alignment: construct conceptualization, empirical illustration, and
directions for future research. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 17(9),
563-579.
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2019].
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facts/> [Accessed 5 August 2019].
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Wada, T. (2018). Capability-based cost leadership strategy of Japanese firms. Annals of Business
Administrative Science, 17(1), 1-10.
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Wood, S., Wrigley, N., & Coe, N. M. (2016). Capital discipline and financial market relations in
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Geography, 17(1), 31-57.
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Zhang, Y., Xu, L., Mendoza, A., Yang, G., Chinprutthiwong, P., & Gu, G. (2019). Life after
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