Waitrose Case: Supply Chain Management Impact on UK Retail Org

This dissertation explores the impact of supply chain management (SCM) on the organizational performance of Waitrose within the UK retail industry. It begins by introducing the concept of SCM and its significance in the modern digital era, emphasizing its role in cost reduction, quality improvement, and competitive advantage. The research focuses on Waitrose, a British supermarket brand, to analyze how effective SCM practices influence its overall business performance. The dissertation outlines the research aim to analyze the impact of supply chain management on organizational performance in the UK retail industry, using a case study approach of Waitrose. The research objectives include understanding SCM within the UK retail context, identifying specific SCM practices adopted by Waitrose, analyzing the impact of these practices on Waitrose's performance, and discerning the challenges faced in the absence of effective SCM. The dissertation is structured into five chapters: introduction, literature review, research methodology, data analysis and findings, and conclusion and recommendations. The literature review explores the concept of SCM in the UK retail sector and examines Waitrose's SCM practices and their impact on organizational performance.

Dissertation
(Analysing the impact of supply chain management
on organisational performance in UK retail industry - A case
study of Waitrose)
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Contents
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................3
Background to the Research........................................................................................................3
Organisational Background.........................................................................................................3
Significance of the Problem.........................................................................................................4
Statement of Purpose...................................................................................................................4
Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................................5
Aim(s) and Objectives (Ideally, one main aim and four objectives)...........................................5
Research Questions......................................................................................................................6
Dissertation structure...................................................................................................................6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................8
The concept of supply chain management within the context of UK retail sector......................8
The different supply chain management practices adopted by Waitrose in order to improve
organisational performance..........................................................................................................9
To analyse the impact of supply chain management practices on the organisational
performance of Waitrose...........................................................................................................11
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background to the Research
Supply chain management is the business operation process where the management of flow
of goods, information, and resources are done. The main purpose behind managing the supply
chain is procuring the raw material in such a manner that they can deliver a quality of finished
goods in right destination. In current digital era, it is important for the company to manage their
supply chain in effective manner as it helps the business to earn high ROI on the products and
service they deliver (Hong, Zhang and Ding, 2018). The process of supply chain management
consists of four main parts which are demand management, supply management, sales and
operation planning and product portfolio management. Managing the goods, resources, data and
many more is important for the company as it impact the overall business performance. An
effective supply chain helps in fulling the expectation of the consumer and increase the sale of
the company. Higher the supply chain management in an organisation can lead the company to
gain competitive edge from their competitors (Van Weele, 2018). It has also seen when an
effective supply chain management is flowing in the business then this directly affect the quality,
cost and flexibility in positive manner. When the performance of the company improves with
the assistance of supply chain then it helps in reducing the operational cost of the organisation
and the pressure among the firm also gets reduced. Thus, in the current investigation a study is
made to analyse the impact which is crested on overall business performance while managing the
supply chain (Munir and et. al, 2020).
Organisational Background
To carry out the current investigation the chosen business organisation is Waitrose. It is
British supermarket brand whose headquarter is in London, United Kingdom. Waitrose was
founded in 1904 by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor. In the year 1937 the
company was owned by one of retailing brand that is John Lewis partnership and still the
company sale Waitrose product under their brand (Wang, Zhang and Zhang, 2020). Waitrose
supermarket store are located in 332 locations and the brand export their product in 52 countries
in middle east. Waitrose ranks twelve in the list of top grocery stores in United Kingdom.
Company deals in sluing food product either through super market stores or by online shopping.
The brands operate their business in two areas only which are United Kingdom and Channel
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Islands. The company was chosen for the investigation as to know the impact of managing
supply chain in their overall organisational performance.
Significance of the Problem
The key significance of the problem is to know the importance of managing supply chain
management in effective way in order to reduce the logistic cost of the business. If the logistic
cost of the company reduces then they will use this cost in improving their business performance
in sound manner. Supply chain management is important for retail sector as through this they can
deliver finished goods to the final consumer in right time as well as right place (Pettit, Croxton
and Fiksel, 2019). Delay in delivering can be mitigate and company can increase their market
image. Another importance of the present investigation is that it helps the organisation to
produce their goods and service in valuable and quality manner.
Apart from this the current research report is also important for different stakeholders.
These stakeholders are researcher, organisation and operational manger. The researcher will use
this report to gain basic knowledge about the topic and methods use to carry the investigation
(Zaid, Jaaron and Bon, 2018). For an organisation it is useful as they will identify the role of
effective supply chain management in a company and for manger this is vital as they will get to
know about different supply chain practices which they can use to manage their flow of goods,
cost, quality in flexible and effective manner and improve their business performance.
Statement of Purpose
The main purpose to carry out the current investigation is to gain deeper knowledge on the
topic supply chain management. In this research a detailed understanding is made on the topic
which helps in carrying the investigation in sound manner. Supply chain management is
important for the company because it helps them to deliver finished good at right place in right
time. With the current investigation different kinds of supply chain management practices is
learned that helps in improving the overall performance of the company (Del Giudice and et. al,
2020). Through these an insight is made about the importance of having an effective supply
chain management is acquired. The present investigation also highlights the challenges which
company faces due to poor management of supply chain. The present investigation has also
possessed great interest as it aids in attaining dual objective. These tow perspective which is
attained are personal and professional. With respect to the personal objective, the current
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investigation helps in building various research skills. The research skill which is developed are
communication skill, data analysis skill, time managing skill, problem solving skill and many
more (Wang and Dai, 2018). All these skills also help in executing the investigation in
systematic manner as well as completing the research in scientific way. Apart from this the
present research also helps in gaining professional objective. As with the assist of current
research various supply chain management practices is learned. These practices further used by
the investigator when they will be working in an organisation as an operational manger. A sound
professional career can be developed with the current investigation. Thus, the present
investigation is quite significant in attaining personal and professional objective.
Statement of the Problem
The main problem which is identified in the current research is that retail organisation
whose supply chain management is poor increase their logistic cost. There organisational
performance and productivity affect in negative way. They cannot full fill the expectation of
their customer in effective way that impact performance of the business. It is very important to
have an excellent flow of good, service, information and resources within the organisation. This
is because it helps them to carry out the business operation in better way (Brinch, 2018). Poor
supply chain management in the company largely affect the cost, quality and deliver of the
company. The cost of procurement of raw material to delivering of finished goods in an
organisation get higher in proper management and maintenance is not there. This impact the
performance of the company as organisation cannot produce goods in productive and effective
way. It has seen business whose management of supply chain is ineffective faces lots of
challenges such as rising logistic cost, long production cycle, poor customer experience and
many more. These all challenges create problem to perform the business operation in efficient
manner (Copacino, 2019).
Aim(s) and Objectives (Ideally, one main aim and four objectives)
Research aim:
The main aim of the current investigation is “To analysing the impact of supply chain
management on organisational performance in UK retail industry: A case study on Waitrose.
Research objective:
 To understand the concept of supply chain management within the context of UK retail
sector
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 To identify the different supply chain management practices adopted by Waitrose in
order to improve overall organisational performance
 To analyse the impact of supply chain management practices on the organisational
performance of Waitrose
 To discern the challenges faced by Waitrose in absence of supply chain management
practices within their organisation
Research Questions
 What is the concept of supply chain management within the context of UK retail sector?
 What are the different supply chain management practices adopted by Waitrose in order
to improve organisational performance?
 What is the impact of supply chain management practices on the organisational
performance of Waitrose?
 What are the challenges faced by Waitrose in absence of supply chain management
practices within their organisation?
Dissertation structure
In the current research report, the different chapter will be covered that helps in
investigating systematic way. Chapters that are covered in this research are as:
Introduction: The first chapter in the report is introduction that is important section in an
investigation. This part includes various sub section in it such as background of the chosen
organisation, overview of the topic. research aim and objective, statement problem, significance
of the report and many more. These all sub parts help in knowing the reason for executing the
research (Bliton and et. al, 2022).
Literature review: The second chapter of the report is literature review part. This is that
part in the report which discussed about the past publishes data about the selected topic.
Literature review gathers secondary data which is collected by different investigator about the
topic.
Research methodology: Research methodology is third chapter in the investigation
which tells about the type of information going to be collected for the current investigation. In
this section researcher choose the philosophy, approach, strategy, choice, data collection method
used for carrying the investigation. This is most significant part as on the basis of choice made
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for collecting information data for the study is gathered and analysis is made (Wigham, Hatton
and Taylor, 2021).
Data analysis and finding: Fourth chapter is data analysis and finding. In this raw data
which is extracted is being analysed by the selected tool so that investigator can find appropriate
outcome for the study.
Conclusion and recommendation: the last chapter is conclusion and recommendation. In
which summary of the overall investigation is concluded and suggestion is provided to the
industry for mitigating the challenges identify in the investigation (Craig and et. al, 2020).
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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
The concept of supply chain management within the context of UK retail sector
According to the view of Pirabán, Guerrero and Labadie (2019) supply chain
management refers to a management of the flow of data, goods as well as finances related to a
product or service, from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery of the product to its last
destination. Many individual people equate the supply chain with logistics; logistics is one of the
major components of the supply chain. It consist the active streamlining of supply side activities
of a business in order to maximise customer value as well as gain a competitive edge in the
marketing. Through the proper management of supply chain, companies can cut their excess
costs as well as deliver products to the consumer faster and more efficient manner. A good
supply chain management of the company keep it out of the headlines as well as away from
expensive recalls and lawsuits. A supply chain management is considered as an effort of
suppliers in order to develop and implement supply chain that are more efficient and economical
as much as possible (Meherishi, Narayana and Ranjani, 2019). Supply chain of an organisation
includes everything from the production to development of the product to the information
systems required to direct these undertakings. There are five most important elements of supply
chain management that help company to effectively manage their supply chain. These are
strategy, sourcing raw material, production, distribution and returns. The supply chain managers
try to minimise the shortage as well as keeps the costs down. The job of the supply chain
manager does not limited to logistics and purchasing inventory they should oversee and manage
overall supply chain as well as logistic operations in order to maximise efficiency as well as
minimise the cost of company’s supply chain (Centobelli, Cerchione and Ertz, 2020). Efficiency
and productivity improvements can go straight to the bottom line of the company. There are
many types of supply chain models that help company to manage supply chain of their business
in effective manner. These are continuous flow model, agile model, fast model, flexible model,
efficient model as well as custom model.
As per the view of Jia, Gong and Brown (2019) supply chain management means the
handling of the entire production flow of a product or service that begins from the raw
components all the way to delivering the final product to the consumer. An organisation creates a
network of suppliers that move the product from the suppliers of raw materials to those
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companies that deals directly to the consumers. There are five components of traditional supply
chain management systems which include planning, sourcing, manufacturing, delivery and
logistics as well as returning. Planning means that the supply chain manager needs to plan and
manage all resources that are required to meet the customer demand for their company’s
products and service. Sourcing means that the supply chain manager should choose suppliers in
order to provide the goods and service required to create the product (Kshetri, 2021).
Manufacturing component focus on organising the activities which is required to accept raw
material, manufacture the product, quality test, package for shipping as well as schedule for
delivery. Delivery and logistics focus on coordinating customer orders, schedule deliveries,
dispatch loads, invoice customer as well as receive payments. The last component returning
focus on creating a network or process in order to take back defective, excess or unwanted
products. Effective supply chain management systems of the company helps in minimising the
cost, waste as well as time in the production cycle. The standard of the industry has become a
just-in-time supply chain where the retail sales automatically signal replenishments orders to the
manufacturers. After this, retail shelves restocked almost quickly to product sold. The effective
way that further improves this process is to examine the data from the supply chain partners for
seeing further improvements can be made (Tönnissen and Teuteberg, 2020). When a customer
orders more product than the manufacturer cannot deliver whole in single time. Therefore buyer
can complain for the poor service. With the help of data analysis, manufacturer may be able to
anticipate the shortage before the buyers get disappointed. Seasonal products have a limited shell
life; they become scrapped or sold in lower price at the end of the season. By using analytical
software, forecasting techniques can improve the margins even for the hard products. This
software also help company to dynamically allocate resources as well as schedule work on the
basis of the sales forecast, actual orders as well as promised delivery of the raw materials. The
supply chain is the most important component of the business for consumers and customers. The
better and more effective supply chain management of the company helps in protection of its
reputation as well as long term sustainability.
In the opinion of Shaik and Dhir (2021) organisational performance refers to an ability of
an organisation in order to reach its goals and objectives. It includes three specific areas of
company outcomes which includes financial performance, product market performance and
shareholder return. Effective management of organisational performance is essential for every
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company as it helps them to align their employees, resources and systems in order to meet their
strategic objectives. There are mainly two important types of organisational performance which
name as tactical performance and adaptive performance (Alosani and Al-Dhaafri, 2020). Tactical
organisational performance is rooted in focus, strategy and consistency. It allow companies to
stay more focused, specifically when there are limited resources within their organisation.
Adaptive organisational performance adopts flexibility and agility.
The different supply chain management practices adopted by Waitrose in order to improve
organisational performance
According to the view of Jenkins (2021) supply chain management spans many different
business units, external vendors as well as internal supply chain team stakeholders. Effective
supply chain management of a company needs the right people, making the right decisions on the
basis of the right data and framework. Mitigating the risks as well as overcoming the many
hurdles is not simple tasks in supply chain management (Mohseni, Abdollahi and Siadat, 2019).
There are several ways that helps company to improve their supply chain management as well as
increase operational efficiency, reduce costs and render an effective customer experience. Some
of the supply chain management practices that adopted by Waitrose to effectively improve their
organisational performance are described below:
Recruit and develop supply chain professionals- Emerging technology and an
increasingly globalised supply chain required highly skilled workers in order to run this. Many
supply chain leads are hiring staffing companies that are specialise in supply chain recruitment.
As they help in operating their supply chain management in better manner. Waitrose can make
relationship with the universities for establishing a pipeline of students in supply chain, logistics
as well as project management programs for internships (Rakovska and Stratieva, 2018). It is
also important for the company to provide career development opportunities for supply chain
staff.
Align the supply chain team- Effective cross business execution is integral for establishing
an efficient supply chain. However each functions of supply chain operates like a distinct entity
which are separated by the business units, disparities in time and resources, varying priorities,
siloed systems and procedures as well as even geography. That often results in slow
communication, information gaps, inconsistent processes and errors (Gopal, Subashini and
Velmurugan, 2019). Waitrose need to focuses on creating a specific role that coordinates
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activities and communication in between the related business units that can help in facilitating
collaboration as well as orchestrating tasks.
Establish alliances with suppliers- Building strong partnership with the suppliers are
important for the success of supply chain in context of Waitrose. It is also important for saving
expenses as well as improving reliability. If both the parties treat this as a partnership then they
can get equal benefits. It requires balanced problem resolution as well as co-creating goals that
help both the parties to achieve their objectives (Prathiba, 2020). Waitrose can also look for the
suppliers that can share the same values and principles beyond the basics like pricing, expertise
and timeliness in vetting supply partners.
Purchase supplies in volume to reduce costs- One of the cost effective ways for
purchasing inventory is taking advantage of economies of scale. By understanding the demand
from all areas of business as well as making a single purchase can help Waitrose to lowers the
supply chain costs through reduce administrative and warehousing labour costs as well as
volume discounts in comparison to different supply purchases (Memon, Marri and Gurd, 2020).
Diversify suppliers relationships for avoiding delays- The delays from the supplier-side is
always the one of the most common reasons for the disruptions in supply chain management
within Waitrose. A lack of availability of raw materials, weather and natural disasters, import or
export issues, political and regulatory issues as well as other unforeseen obstacles that can slow
down or even crease the delivery of supplies (Worku and Virdi, 2019). To deal with these issues
communication is an effective way for Waitrose. By having a strong alliances with the suppliers
provide the ability in order to forge open as well as responsive communication that allow both
the parties to reach out as quicker as once a potential delay is on their radar.
Improve demand forecasting- When there is too much as well as not enough product in
stock is a costly issue for the companies. Having too much product means that inventory is not
moving because of decrease in sales or the business miscalculated overbought and demand. On
the other hand, having not enough products in stocks means that sales are increasing but the
supply is lagging, resulting companies to miss out on revenue opportunities. Both the cases are
results of inaccurate demand forecasting (Singh, 2020). Accurate demand forecasting enables
Waitrose to have correct quantities of product in order to meet both current and future demands
in better manner. So, Waitrose need to focus on improving the demand forecasting to get
prevented from the huge loss in their business.
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To analyse the impact of supply chain management practices on the organisational performance
of Waitrose
According to Zekhnini and et.al., (2020), the idea of supply chain management helps in
evaluating the whole process of planning and controlling about the material for the end users.
Such practises are undertaken by the chosen company in order to promote effective management
at the workplace. It is known to bring valuable way to secure the competitive advantage in order
to improve the level of performance in the company. With the help of this better collaboration
can be made as it can be seen that proper flow is one of the main issues in the company.
Moreover, the company has started to make use of integrated software to access the data so that
better decisions can be taken. By making use of supply chain management practises the chosen
company is able to have backup plans which reduces the further delays. Improved cash flow due
to supply chain management allows the chosen company to take better decisions in the process
of choosing the right partners in relation to the market. In that process controlling the flow of
information, tangible goods, and monetary resources related to a good or service from the
procurement of raw materials through the final delivery is defined as supply chain management.
Along with it, due to the fact that logistics is one of the supply chain's essential components. In
order to maximise customer value and gain a marketing competitive edge, it requires deliberately
streamlining a company's supply-side processes. By effectively managing the supply chains,
businesses may cut back on unnecessary costs and deliver items to customers more quickly and
efficiently. In the global market, supply chain management plays an essential role and recognised
as the main factor. In that process the main aim of supply chain management is to build a
network between various activities. In order to produce better value to the customer and services
to the end users it is advised to make use of supply chain management. Furthermore, demand
management, supply management, sales and operation planning, and product portfolio
management are the main and primary components of the supply chain management process.
The chosen company needs to manage its products, resources, data, and many other things since
it is known to affect the overall corporate performance and the level of productivity. An efficient
supply chain will assist a company's sales grow and meet customer expectations as compared to
the other companies (Pettit, Croxton and Fiksel, 2019). If a company can effectively manage its
supply chain, it may have a competitive advantage over its rivals. A strong supply chain
management system is claimed to improve a company's quality, affordability, and flexibility. In
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