Critical Analysis of Tesco's Business Information Systems Report

This report provides a critical analysis of Tesco's business information systems. It begins with an introduction to Tesco and the role of business information systems in its operations, covering topics such as strategic planning, data management, and decision-making processes. The report then delves into the methods Tesco uses to acquire new business information systems, including MIS, staff apps, mobile payments, and database systems. It also examines four key areas Tesco must consider when implementing new systems: product development, market competition, company trends, and target group analysis. Furthermore, the report critically analyzes the benefits of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems for Tesco, including revenue increases, cost reduction, and improved customer satisfaction. The report also discusses the potential benefits and challenges of using the internet for business. Overall, the report highlights how Tesco leverages information systems to enhance its business operations, maintain a competitive edge, and drive customer satisfaction.

TESCO Supermarket

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Task A..............................................................................................................................................3
Critical analysis of business information system to support its business activities....................3
Task B..............................................................................................................................................5
Critically appraising different methods that Tesco could use to acquire new Business
Information Systems...................................................................................................................5
Task C..............................................................................................................................................6
Critically analysing four main areas Tesco could consider when implementing new Business
Information Systems ..................................................................................................................6
Task D..............................................................................................................................................7
Critically analysing the benefits that Tesco could gain from using a Customer Relationship
Management System...................................................................................................................7
Task E..............................................................................................................................................9
Critically analysing the potential benefits and challenges of using the internet for business.....9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Market is the medium through which buyers and sellers interact with each other to sell
and purchase different goods and services. Supermarket is shop which offers different varieties
of food products and services. It provides more products than grocery store and allows people to
choose their products by their own. Tesco is large multinational company in England, UK. It is
widely spread in 12 countries of the world and has acquired third position in terms of profits
(Baxter, Taylor, Kellar and Lawton, 2016). The originator of Tesco is Jack Cohen who has first
established its store as small market stalls.
In this report, the main concern is given on following tasks which are as follows:
 Analysis of Tesco's business information
 Different process that the organisation has used to collect business information system.
 Identification of four different areas where the firm can launch its business operations.
 Analysis of benefits of the company which it gained from customer's relationship
management.
 Challenges of using internet for the business.
Task A
Critical analysis of business information system to support its business activities
Business information system of Tesco plays an important role in outsourcing, business
alliances and new economy. It is used by the company to understand how information and
communication technology can be used to enhance the business operations, firms value chains.
These methods help the company to acquire and develop and deliver different products in the
world. Business information system helps Tesco to make use of data and minimize the work
load. The company has to manage their data and information manually with reports and hard
copy formats (Beynon‐Davies, Jones and White, 2016). With the use of information system they
can implement various databases to store their important and large amount of information.
Information system helps the company to regularly update their data and information
about their important clients, employees, business related information etc. It also assists the
company in up to date with its performance, threats and opportunities. Further, this system assist
Tesco in making important decisions. Strategic plans plays an important role in providing long
term success to the firm. Strategic management team of Tesco taken help from information
system to formulate strategic policies and take effective decisions for company's prosperity. The
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company uses information system to examine the information from all the sources. This
information and analysis assists Tesco to determine their position and quality of their strategic
decisions.
Business information system also helps the company to in organising their business
operations successfully. It removes the unnecessary functions and helps in simplifying the
business processes.
Importance of business information system
The information system consists of organising data, work activities and knowledge to
develop important goods and services. Tesco has used this system to compete with other
successful companies. It is an effective way to grow the business rapidly as it saves time, money
and reduce work load.
Avoid crises:
This system helps when the company does not able to determine the share market and its
position in the market and results in business crises. Further, it helps in evaluating the past
performance and predict their potential crises (Brannon and Wiklund, 2016). Information system
are effective tools which help the company to track their performance and alerts them of crises in
the future.
Data control:
In order to keep the data confidential and safe, the company has to use advance technical
information system. MIS is the tool which helps the company to control their data and provide
important information instantly when required. It helps in controlling the data and gives the
sense of control over said data (Beynon-Davies, 2013).
Information storage:
Storage of important information about the business information, achievements and
growth rate is very necessary. Tesco has used advanced information system to keep the data up
to date by saving proper date and time information. Manual records of data will cost more to the
company and consumes lots of time (Nemes, 2015).
Perspective on Tesco future:
Tesco has used MIS tool to build broader perspective to enhance the performance
(Cadieux and et.al., 2017). The organisation can be helped through this system as MIS track the
whole company and helps in providing simple method to determine the independent processes.
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Tesco has launched the website which helps the customers to easily access the information about
the product which they want to purchase. They have noticed that their Irish online grocery sale
was increased by 21% to €57.1 million (Lueg and Knapik, 2016).
Task B
Critically appraising different methods that Tesco could use to acquire new Business Information
Systems
Tesco has used different methods to achieve business information system which are
defined as follows:
MIS:
Managing information system is the method through which information is processed with
the help of computers which manages and support different decisions of the company. It helps in
keeping the track of the entire organisation into the company and analyse independent process.
This tool is used by Tesco to know its performance and position in the market. The organisation
has used this tool to organise the database effectively and enhance their productivity. This tool
provides the software which helps in predicting the past, present and future information (Dave,
Kubler, Främling and Koskela, 2016). MIS uses the every necessary information and resources
of the system to provide useful information. Tesco has been greatly helped from this system as it
provides them the important information and helps the company to analyse it and take steps
according to it.
Launched app for staff:
Tesco has many supermarket stores in the world and has developed the app for the store
manager. This app will help them to save their time by scanning the barcodes of different
products. This scanning process will provide them whole information of that item including its
brand, type, variety, price and other important details. BODY policy allows employees to bring
their own devices like mobiles and laptops in the company to work more effectively. Further,
Tesco has allowed BOYD policy in their workplace so that employees can download their app
and complete their work fast with more accuracy. Tesco has encouraged its store manager to use
the app for making their work easy and acquire business information system.
Mobile payments:
Tesco has encouraged its staff members and employees to make mobile payments so that
they can increase their profits. The app will help the customers to pay their payments faster and
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easily. It provides various facilities to the customers as they cannot have to carry great amount of
cash with them which creates great risks of theft. Further, to achieve business information
system, the organisation has adopted various technical equipment and technologies which helps
them to maintain their performance and updates them with market trends and shares.
Database system:
Database management system is the software that interacts with users, applications and
with itself to analyse the important information. It is the collection of tables, reports, queries and
schemas which helps the company to store its information in better ways. It includes MySQL,
Oracle etc. which saves the data in table form. Tesco has well established database system which
stores details of their customer, employees, and other business related work. Further, strong
database system of the company has allowed accessing the information of different products
features and details (Drucker, 2017). It also stores company's financial data and other important
activities. It also helps the organisation to save its time and money by feeding their data in the
soft copy.
Strong database of the company has helped them to reduce paperwork, files and reports
which are very expensive than keeping data in soft copy. Further, the database also provides easy
access to the employees, top authority to access the important information about their products.
Task C
Critically analysing four main areas Tesco could consider when implementing new Business
Information Systems
The four main areas which Tesco has to consider while implementing its new business
information system are defined as follows:
Product development strategy:
Tesco has to consider various product development strategy to fix the prices of different
products. The organisation has to analyse the technical advancement of the market so that it can
purchase right equipments at less price (Hartmann and et.al., 2016). Further, to develop its
business information system it has to maintain them the technologies properly. The organisation
has to test the system before implement any technologies in its working area.
Market competition:
In order to grow the business, it is very necessary to analyse the market trends and other
activities so that they can implement their business information system successfully. The
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organisation has to develop various strategies and focus different challenges and risk of the
market. Further, they have to analyse the area in which it is launching its new business
operations. It is because, poor networking facilities will create problem for them to access the
internet facilities. Tesco has to develop various promotional strategies which helps them to
promote their products effectively in the market.
Different companies trends and culture:
In order to increase the profits, it is very necessary for Tesco to develop their business
strategies and analyse other companies trends so that they can create new ideas which help them
to develop their business growth. Further, the company has to ensure that the method which they
are adopting to implement the business information system is unique and not used by any other
company. This will help them to increase the publicity of their products and services in the
market. It also helps the company to rapidly grow their business profits.
Analyse target group:
Tesco has to analyse different target groups which can make use of their technologies
effectively. The company has to analyse target customers so that it can effectively increase their
product's popularity and improve their performance. The organisation has to develop effective
products which can meet the needs of their customers (Hartmann and et.al., 2016). Further, the
organisation has to take care the choice and demands of their consumers so that they can achieve
customers trust and satisfaction and increase their revenue. This will help Tesco to increase their
image in the market and win their customers confidence and trust (Joseph and Sharaf, 2016).
Task D
Critically analysing the benefits that Tesco could gain from using a Customer Relationship
Management System
In order to increase the efficiency and productivity of the company, it is very important
interact with the customers and maintain effective relationships with them. Further, the
organisation has maintained better relations with their customers to meet their demands and
needs. Due to effective relationship, Tesco has increased its customer base to 10 million and
sales by 85% (Knight and Liesch, 2016). It gives first priority to its customers instead of their
competitors. It believes that their profits will increase automatically when they achieve their
users satisfaction. Different benefits that Tesco has gained from customer relationship
management are described as follows:
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Increases revenue and slashes costs:
Customer relation management helps the Tesco to increase their revenue as it helps in
knowing the customers views, their budget for spending on the products etc. It also helps the
company managers to predict the competitive challenges so that they can estimate their the
amount of money they are safe to charge (What Are The Top Benefits of CRM? 2017). This
increases the overall income and profits of the company. Knowing customer's mentality and
budget will help the company to make product according to it.
Optimize marketing:
CRM helps the customer's to discover the needs and demands of consumers. This helps
the company to analyse the correct time in which they can market their product. Customer
relationship management gives the idea of profitable target customers and with the help of this
information, the manager can identify the target groups (Mishra and et.al., 2016). CRM helps the
company to optimise the marketing resources efficiently.
Efficient growth:
The management system helps the company to grow efficiently and achieve greater scale.
It replaces the repetitive task and regulated smart workflows. Further, it assists the company in
avoiding the staff jumping between workplace activities. Additionally, CRM system fosters
positive environment in the team and enhances the communication between the employees.
Further, it helps in increasing the productivity by managing the time.
Improves customers relations:
Customer relation management helps the Tesco in achieving the satisfaction of their
clients and users. It organises all the activities like marketing servicing and selling of the items in
systematic ways. CRM helps Tesco to ensure that their products are promoted efficiently in the
market. This system increases loyalty and reduces consumers agitation. It gives better services
by understanding the customers choice and demands (Mishra and et.al., 2016). This will help the
company to win their users confidence and trust. The organisation will receive the views and
opinions of their users about their products and services.
Better internal communications:
CRM strategy assisted the company to build better communication within their
workplace. It encourages the employees to work in a team as it shares customers data among
various departments of the company. It boosts up firm's profits and provides best services to the
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customers. Effective internal communication will help Tesco to promote their products in the
market effectively as the employees contribution in influencing the customers is very important
(Navimipour and Soltani, 2016).
CRM has helped the Tesco in retaining their competitive advantage and increse their sale
in the market. It has launched loyalty card scheme which encouraged the consumer satisfaction
and loyalty at the company. It has targeted communication and ensured that discounts and other
offers benefits are properly given to the customers.
Task E
Critically analysing the potential benefits and challenges of using the internet for business
The main benefits of using online services by the Tesco is that their customers base is
increased. Tesco has started online delivery of their products which not only increases their
revenue but also their customers satisfaction. The products are available to the consumers at their
home at low price and with better quality (Seddon, Constantinidis, Tamm and Dod, 2017). This
has increased their profits and revenues and give them opportunities to develop their online
business in different countries of the world. Several other advantages of using internet are
defined as follows:
Potential customer base:
Internet has increased the opportunities and chances for providing the best customer
services which has helped them to increase their customers satisfaction. Tesco has provided
home delivery services for all the days of weeks and provided 24 hour services which has
increased consumers trust and confidence towards their company (Svahn, Mathiassen and
Lindgren, 2017). Further, reliable and flexible prices of the company branded products attracted
more customers to purchase their products.
Store that never ends:
Tesco is providing its services whole day. The company has soldready made items by
taking advantage of the internet services. The organisation has also able to run virtual shop
which never closes and stops in providing their services. This has helped the Tesco to earn
money in its sleep also.
Networking opportunities:
Development of internet rooms and forums has given opportunities to interact with other
entrepreneurs to deal business opportunities. Further, the company is able to exchange their
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views and opinions with other people so that they can interact more with each other and develop
their business strategies. The internet is also helping Tesco to discuss their promotional
techniques and marketing strategies with other businessmen.
Cost effective:
The main advantage of using the internet with the business is its cost effectiveness.
Opening the online stores saves the money as it costs more if the organisation opens the physical
store. Maintaining stores and infrastructure will also disturb the budget of the company (van der
Weshuizen and West, 2016). Therefore, Tesco has focused more on developing online stores
which are beneficial for customers as well as for the organisation.
Challenges faced by Tesco in developing online business:
Tesco has faced many difficulties while developing their online business. Some important
challenges are described as follows:
Converting leads to sales:
To attract more customers it is very necessary for the company to interact more with their
customers. They have to make sure that people motivated and are purchasing their products.
Online websites gives the review of how many people have visited their website but cannot
provide proper information of how many have purchased their items. In order to increase their
customers, the company have to interact more with their customers to provide information about
new features of their products. Face to face communication will create an effective impact on
them and forces them to purchase more products.
Managing an online market system:
Tesco has found more difficulty in managing its online business because they have to be
regularly update with their customers feedbacks. Further, they have to update their information
regularly on the website (Veltmeyer, Veltmeyer, Mohamed and Mohamed, 2017). It is very
necessary for the company manager to update their website so that they can attract more
customers towards them.
Prioritizing time, energy and money for better results:
Another major challenge which the company is facing is that they are able to arrange
funds for purchasing new software and maintain their websites expenses. Tesco puts all its
efforts and money in making the business successful and losses when its products fails. At this
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time they have to face economic crises which leads to bad impact on their customers and they
lose their trust.
Building the interactive website:
It is very necessary to develop the interactive website to attract more customers. It has to
develop decent and attractive websites soi that customers do not face any difficulty in
understanding the content of the website. In order to develop the website and apps, Tesco has to
hire software engineers and experts which can help them to develop interactive websites. This
will increase their expenditure and budge (Baxter and et.al., 2016). This will decrease their
profits and adversely affects their revenue.
CONCLUSION
From this report, it can be concluded that multinational company Tesco has to develop
various strategy to achieve their goals and objectives. The organisation has used information
system to support its business activities. Various advantages of using this system are discussed.
It avoids crises and manages large data of the company. Further, Tesco has used various methods
like database MIS, mobile apps etc. to acquire new Business Information Systems. Advantages
and different benefits of customer relation system are described which has helped the
organisation to increase its customers database. Additionally, four different areas are considered
for implementing business information system. Moreover, different benefits and challenges of
using internet in Tesco's business are described. This benefits helps the company to achieve
customers satisfaction and their long term objectives.
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