Analysis of Tesco's Marketing and External Partner Management

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Tesco's marketing management, focusing on its relationship with external partners, particularly KDM Shopfitting. It examines the strategies employed by Tesco to build and maintain these relationships, including communication, trust-building, and the use of partner relationship management (PRM) applications. The report evaluates the role of external partners in Tesco's growth and development, highlighting how they contribute to improved services, brand image, and customer satisfaction. It also identifies the challenges and difficulties in managing these relationships, such as differing management styles and conflicting expectations, and explores the strategies Tesco uses to overcome these issues. The report concludes by emphasizing the vital role external partners play in the success of the organization.

Marketing and Operations

Abstract
Marketing and operations are two main elements of the business organisation. The combination
of both can lead the organisation towards growth and development. The report is divided into
two parts. Part A of this report will present the marketing management of Tesco and its
relationship with its external partner. Communication and collaboration strategies are used by the
management of Tesco in order to maintain relationship with KDM shopfitting. The difference in
management styles and conflicts are the challenges and difficulties faced by the management of
Tesco in order to maintain relationship with Tesco. The Part B of this assignment will present the
effectiveness of operation management of Tesco that helps in accomplishing organisational goals
and objectives. The key approaches such as lean management, six sigma methodologies, total
quality management and Kaizen used by operation managers of the organisation in order to
sustain the competitive environment of United Kingdom

Table of Contents
PART A...........................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Evaluation of role of external partners for Tesco Plc.............................................................1
Strategies to build relationship with external partners...........................................................3
Managing relationship with external partners and analysing difficulties and challenges in
managing external partner relationships.................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

PART A
INTRODUCTION
Marketing is the art and science of selecting target markets and increasing customers by
delivering them products and services which enables maximum customer satisfaction (Kotler and
Keller, 2016). The promotional activities include commercialisation of products and services of
the organisation, conducting market survey and research, etc. In accordance with this context, the
marketing strategy of Tesco Plc will be examined in this assignment. The concepts of external
partner relationship management will be investigated in this part. Further, how these external
partner aids in growth and development of the organisation will be evaluated in this assignment.
The role and responsibilities of external partner towards the organisation will be assessed.
Evaluation of role of external partners for Tesco Plc
Relationship management is the strategy in which organisation aim to increase their
engagement with its stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, investors, external partners, etc.
so that the company can improve its performance and also move towards growth and
development. KDM Shopfitting is one of the external partner of Tesco. KDM shopfitting
supplies multiple range of goods and services to the Tesco Stores incorporated their business
activities in United Kingdom, Europe and Northern Ireland. KDM shopfitting works clossely
with design of Tesco stores and helps to by providing effective quality of goods and services to
the organisation. KDM becomes strategic partner of Tesco and helps the management to increase
productivity and profitability.
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The above illustration explains the relational exchange in relationship marketing. Firm is
surrounded with external partners which includes suppliers and customers. They help the
business organisation to increase their capacity of production by assisting in supplying and
buyiung of goods and services. The external partner of Tesco aids in providing good quality
products and services on time. This impacts on the brand image with help of external partners
management of Tesco able to provide quality products to its customers adequately. KDM
Shopfitting partnership with Tesco has largely been down to their responsive and open approach.
The key benefits external partner provides to the organisation is supplying them efficient quality
of services that helps the company to increase their brand image and reputation and also aids in
increasing customer base appropriately. Relationship marketing plays vital role in development
of relationship between external partners and organisation. For long term relationship, it is an
essential ingredient (Fruchter, 2014). Further, KDM Shopfitting works diligently so that the
competitive advantage can be maintained and company can drive on the path of growth and
development. KDM shopfitting provides effective services to the organisation which includes
door fitting services, washroom solutions, external treatments, Tesco express and design trials. In
this context, the external partner of the organisation provides effective and efficient services to
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Illustration 1: Relational Exchange in relationship marketing
(Source: Morgan and Hunt, 1994)

the corporation. This not only assist in growth and development of the organisation, but also
leads to increase in customer base. As the management of the organisation will able to provide
quality and valuable products and services. In the following programme the management of
KDM aims to collaborate with clients and deliver them products and services on behalf of Tesco.
This assist in increasing the customer satisfaction as they able to get time to time delivery.
Strategies to build relationship with external partners
It is important to have good relationship between organisation and their external partner.
Partner Relationship Management (PRM) is the business strategy that aid in increasing and
improving communication between organisations and their external partners (Murtaza and Shah,
2004). External partners of the organisation aids in growth and development of business
operations and assists in providing improved and quality products and services time to time. In
order to build effective relationship with KDM Shopfitting, the management of Tesco uses web
based partner relationship management application. It enables the companies to streamline
administrative tasks like shipping schedules and providing other essential real time information.
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Illustration 2: Partner Relationship Management System
(Source: Partner Relationship Management, 2017)

There are various strategies implemented by the Tesco management in order to build good
relationship with its external partner i.e. KDM Shopfitting. The strategy of formulation of trust
and commitment developed by the management of Tesco in order to maintaining effective
relationship with its external partner i.e. KDM Shopfitting. The management of Tesco remain
patient and flexible and provide opportunities to the external partners so that they can provide
improved quality of products and services effectively and efficiently. The marketing activities
that indicates towards developing and maintaining efficient relational exchange is the
relationship marketing. In the era of globalisation, good relationship between organisation and
their external partner is very important. This increases team work and also enables the external
partners to create value for customers and shareholders (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). They avoid
their minor mistakes and always aim to boost their motivation so that their morale and
commitment can be increased efficiently. The KDM shopfitting provides variety of goods and
services to the Tesco Plc that aids the organisation to increase their customer base and brand
reputation . Maintaining effective relationship with external partners is very essential for
business corporations. It not only aids in increasing the productivity and profitability but also
helps in sustainable growth and development of the organisation.
It is the responsibility of the marketing management of the organisation to formulate and
implement specific and certain strategies that aid in growth and development of the organisation
and formulation of effective and efficient relationship with KDM Shopfitting. From the analysis
of the organisation it was identified that the management of Tesco implemented effective supply
chain management strategies that provide effective support and growth to the organisation.
Further, in order to improve the quality of products and services, management of Tesco
implemented strategy of trust and commitment with KDM Shopfitting. This provides growth and
development of the organisation and assist in improving the quality of products and services.
Moreover, management of Tesco implemented communication strategies in order to improve the
relationship with its external partner. Communication plays vital role in building trust and
relationship with not only external partners but also other stakeholders who are directly and
indirectly related with the organisations (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). Thus, it is the
responsibilities of marketing and top level management of the organisation to improve the
relationship with external partners so that more effective and efficient quality of products and
services can be provided to the customers.
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Thus, communication strategies aid in building trust and relationship with the external
partners of Tesco. Technological growth and advancement also assist the management of Tesco
to build effective relationship with its external partners. From the analysis it was identified that
with the help of technologies provided by the management of Tesco to its external suppliers
assist them in effectively coordinating and transmitting the information. This minimises the
issues of conflicts and disputes. Thus, with the help of above strategies, the management of
Tesco plc able to build effective and efficient relationship with KDM shopfitting and other
external partners.
Managing relationship with external partners and analysing difficulties and challenges in
managing external partner relationships
Managing relationship with external partners is very important for the organisation in
order to improve their procurement services and quality of products and services (Wang and
et.al., 2015). It is not an easy job for the management of Tesco to maintain effective relationship
with its external partners like KDM Shopfitting. Management of Tesco needs to focus on various
variables that impacts on the relationship with its external partners. Here management of Tesco
implements commitment and trust theory concepts so that the bond between the organisation and
its external partner can be maintained adequately. Further, management communicates regularly
and effectively so that mutual understanding can be maintained efficiently. Management of
Tesco efficiently convey the roles and responsibilities of external partners so that future
uncertainties can be avoided. The marketing management and managers are responsible for
identifying the challenges and make efforts in order to eliminate them. Albeit, there are several
difficulties and challenges faced by the managers in order to maintain effective relationships
with external partners. Some of the challenges are provided below: Different management style: From the analysis of KDM shopfitting and Tesco Plc, it
was identified that both business entities implemented different management styles.
Tesco implemented structural and traditional management style whereas KDM
Shopfitting, implemented flat management style. Sometimes this leads to confusion and
conflicts between the Tesco and KDM shopfitting. Conflicting Expectations: The issues and difficulties faced by both the business entities
is expectation of conflicts. Many a time, the management of Tesco expect high quality
products and services which KDM shopfitting unable to supply. The demand of resource
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continuously rises and impacts on relationship between both the incorporations
(Hakansson and Ford, 2002). Conflicting expectation leads to degradation of relationship
between Tesco and its external suppliers.
 Developing trust and reliance: Another challenge faced by both the management is
development of trust and reliance. Due to increase in unexpected demands and failure in
fulfilment by the external suppliers and partners of Tesco leads to diminished trust and
reliance in relationship.
In order to cope up with these challenges and difficulties, the management of Tesco implements
effective and efficient strategies so that the challenges and issues can be obliterated and
organisation can efficiently move on the path of growth and development (Anderson, 2014). For
this effective communication strategies, allocating priorities and effective coordination, both
management and external partners able to maintain their relationship adequately.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be understood that external partners plays an important role
in growth and development of the organisation. They not only aid in providing efficient quality
of services but also assist in improving productivity and profitability of the organisation. In this
context, the above report helps in understanding the role of external partner of Tesco Plc and
benefits it provides to the organisation. Further, the strategies formulated by Tesco to maintain
effective relationship between external partners and Tesco has been examined in this report. The
challenges and issues faced by the organisation and ways to overcome these issues has been
assessed in this report.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Morgan, R.M. and Hunt, S.D., 1994 ‘The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing’,
Journal of
Marketing, Vol. 58, July, pp.20-38
Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L., 2016 Marketing Management, 15th Edition. Pearson Education
Limited: Harlow –
Chapter 2 (pages 74-75 – ‘Strategic Alliances’) and Chapters 7 & 17.
Fruchter, G.E., 2014. Relationships in marketing and optimal control. In Models and Methods in
Economics and Management Science (pp. 95-106). Springer International Publishing.
Murtaza, M. and Shah, J.R., 2004. Managing information for effective business partner
relationships. Information systems management, 21(2), pp.43-52.
Wang, G. and et.al., 2015. The effects of firm capabilities on external collaboration and
performance: The moderating role of market turbulence. Journal of Business
Research, 68(9), pp.1928-1936.
Anderson, V., 2014. HR professionals’ mental models of middle managers: Implications for the
HR business partner relationship.
Hakansson, H. and Ford, D., 2002 ‘How should companies interact in business networks?’
Journal of
Business Research, Vol. 55, pp.133-139
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Online
Partner Relationship Management, 2017. [Online]. Available
through:<http://6dtech.co.in/partner-relationship-management/> [Accessed on 16th
November 2017].
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