Operations Management: Tesco Plc - Case Study Example

Operations Management: Tesco PLC Table of contents 0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………3 2.0 Case summary……………………………………………………………………3 2.1 Introduction to Tesco…………………………………………………………….3 3.0 Analysis and Discussion………………………………………………………….6 3.1 Operations Strategy: Tesco……………………………………………………...6 3.2 Transformational Model…………………………………………………………7 3.3 Tesco’s Value Chain Management………………………………………………9 3.4 Importance of Tesco Supply Chain…………………………………………….11 3.5 Resource-based Theory…………………………………………………………11 3.6 Four-stage model………………………………………………………………..12 3.7 Bottleneck Analysis………………………………………………………………13 3.8 The Clubcard scheme……………………………………………………………14 3.9 Process Design and Performance Improvement……………………………….16 4.0Tesco’s Ailing Areas that need Redesigning and Operational Improvement…17 5.0 Recommendations and Conclusion………………………………………………18 6.0 References…………………………………………………………………………21 1.0 Introduction Hill (2011) defined operations management as the activities, responsibilities that transform inputs into outputs, and it is core to what an organisation does. In referring to inputs, they referred to factors such as raw materials, human resources, energy, and information whereas the outputs are goods and services produced. The main goal of operations management is to ensure that the organisation satisfies its customers’ demands by utilising the minimum resources of the organisation. Thus, operations management is concerned with managing inputs through transformational processes to deliver outputs. This study will explore operations management in Tesco Supermarket chains because OM is a practical subject. Several literature materials and research studies have discussed operations management in Tesco. However, this study intends to review Tesco from a different perspective and propose new ways in which the company can restructure and redesign the current operations in order to improve their future operations. This study addresses the four aspects of operations management namely operations strategy, operations design, planning and control, and improvement. Operations management has played a very important role by helping Tesco implement and achieve its organisational goals and objectives. 2.0 Case summary 2.1 Introduction to Tesco A small market stall that was opened by Jack Cohen in East London in 1919 became the origin for Tesco, the largest U.K. retail supermarket chain. Cohen opened his first Tesco store in 1929 (Tesco 2014). Since then the supermarket has grown to become one of the largest retailers in the world and is operational in 12 countries around the world. The supermarket retailer has employed more than 530,000 people serving tens of millions of customers every week. Tesco sells foodstuffs, clothes, electronics, and offers financial services. Tesco has the largest operations in the United Kingdom with over 3000 stores around the country. Over 65% of overall sales and revenues are generated from UK’s operations (Tesco 2014). Currently, Tesco is the UK’s leading supermarket retailer and the world’s third largest retailer. The rationale for its strategy is to broaden the scope of business to enable it to deliver a strong and sustainable long-term growth. To accomplish this, Tesco follows the customer into large expanding markets at home such as financial services, non-food and telecoms. Tesco also intends to expand its operations to new markets abroad, initially in Central Europe, Asia, and America. Diversification reduces Tesco’s reliance on a few business areas. Since it was founded in 1929, Tesco has risen from humble beginnings to become the largest and most prosperous supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. Ten years ago, Tesco set it ambition on becoming the Toyota of the grocery business. Since then, the company has become popular for its best operational practices in supply chain management. These practices included the use of RFID technology and lean management. The company has gained greater advantage compared to its competitors because of the innovations it has incorporated in its supply chain. These innovations include continuous replenishment that is triggered by customer demand and point of sale data. Others include cross dock distribution, use of a single vehicle to serve several stores, and primary distribution. Tesco’s ambitious international strategy and its online home delivery service have made it attract considerable attention both locally and internationally. At one time, the group sales jumped from a record of £17.4 billion in 1998 to £25.4 billion in 2002 while the operating profit went up from £849 million to £1322 million during the same period. Its founder Jack Cohen was influenced by the American supermarket culture. “Pile it high and sell it cheap”; this was Cohen’s motto (Barnes, 2001). Tesco’s first store was opened in 1929, whereas its first supermarket was opened in 1956. Tesco continued to expand its operations during the 1960s and opened its first superstore, with an area of 90,000 square feet, in 1967. In 1970s, the shoppers became more demanding, and Tesco’s image soared high (Tesco, 2008). To arrest the downslide that threatened its fortune, Tesco overhauled its stores and started to concentrate more on its superstore and to refurbish its remaining smaller stores. In 1974, Tesco diversified its operations into petrol retailing. In 1979, the company recorded a turnover of £1 billion. In 1985, MacLaurin became the first CEO from outside the Cohen’s family. He streamlined Tesco’s operations, closing down many smaller stores and opening large 30,000 square foot stores in the suburbs (Tesco, 2008). Maclaurin also introduced a centralized distribution system, added fresh foods and its label for food products. He realized complete success in all these moves. However, in 1990s, the UK supermarket industry faced saturation. At this time, Tesco was ranked second in the supermarket industry with a market share of 16.7 %, behind Sainsbury’s at 19% (Barnes, 2001). Other competitors emerged, and Tesco had to review its operation. These competitors were Asda and Safeway. In 1997, the U.K. supermarket industry also saw the entry of several warehouse stores like Costco and discount stores like Aldi, Lidl and Neto. Tesco promoted its Marketing Director, Terry Leahy, who took the position of CEO. Tesco made this move after Leahy introduced a new policy of lowering prices to match those of Asda. This move resulted in Tesco prices being 4 to 5 percent lower than those at Sainsbury’s and Safe way. The most significant period in Tesco was between 1983 and 1986. During this time, a number of systems were introduced in the company. These systems include electronic data interchange, point of sale scanning, centralized distribution, automated warehouse control, and centralized ordering. 3.0 Analysis and Discussion 3.1 Operations Strategy: Tesco In order to achieve success, an organisation has to define clearly and implement its corporate, business and functional objectives (Rowbotham, Azhashemi and Galloway 2013: 300). The company has to define the strategies to achieve its objectives and highlight the distinction and links between them. There is a rapid increase in global competition. Therefore, the retail industry needs to develop operations’ capabilities continually in order to meet the customers’ changing needs. Failure to develop capabilities will make a company be outperformed by its competitors. Tesco has successfully responded to the challenge by developing an ambitious and functional operations strategy. This study will analyse Tesco’s operations strategy from three viewpoints; corporate strategy, business unit strategy, and functional strategy. Tesco has defined its strategy well. Tesco’s operations strategy is not just to provide great food at great prices nor is it just to make its customers loyal through its Clubcard scheme. Its strategy is a whole set of activities that cumulatively create a very specific shopping experience. The strategy is of low prices, fresh, varied, and available products. The activities are made possible by great marketing, logistics, and in-store and executive management. 3.2 Transformational Model In the context of operations management, a transformational model is the framework used by the operation to convert its resources into the outputs desired by customers. Greasley (2009: 1) defines operations management as a transformation process and as such occurs throughout the organization (Greasley 2009: 1). He further defines operations function as a component of the transformation process that provides goods and services for customers. The transformation of Tesco in the last four decades is one of the most remarkable in the British retailing industry. Tesco changes with time and establishes appropriate planning infused with agility in the supply chain to sustain and grow in international markets. According to Sople (2010: 240), Tesco has risen from being a small retailer in the local market to being one of the Europe’s leading retailers. It has retail operations in Japan, Ireland, Malaysia, and Poland. In the UK, Tesco’s loyalty cards and e-commerce operations are considered to be the world’s leading innovations in this field. The most impressive transformations in Tesco are in logistic and supply chain. Tesco has also transformed in the range of products and services it offers to its customers both in-store and online. Tesco became popular with its operation of “pile it high; sell it cheap” approach to food retailing. In 1990, Tesco focused on out-of-town superstores but later in took a multi-format approach (supermarkets, hypermarkets, and downtown stores). Tesco has also strongly developed its brands. All this success can is attributable to the supply and logistic management support. From operations strategy perspective, Tesco closed most of its small grocery stores in 1985 and opened large supermarkets in suburbs under Lan MacLaurin. This was the point at which Tesco determined its business direction. Currently, Tesco’s operations revolve around four store models namely Tesco Express, Tesco Superstore, Tesco Metro, and Tesco Extra. These models have allowed Tesco to increase its customer flow and also ensured an increase in total sales thus guaranteeing a profit out of low prices. Tesco’s major operational area is in groceries retail. Its competitors in the grocery sector include Sainsbury, Waitrose, Asda, Morrisons, and Aldi. Tesco serves millions of customers every week through in-store selling and online. Tesco is committed to customer satisfaction. One of the way Tesco ensures that its customers are satisfied is through capital and revenue investment. For example, in 2011, Tesco invested £1 billion to develop ways of improving the shopping trip for customers (Tesco 2011). Tesco has established a seven part strategy that is designed to help the company achieve its goals. The main elements of Tesco strategy include: i. Growing the UK core: Increasing the staff, renovation of existing store outlets and engaging in more promotional activities. This strategy aims at making the customers feel respected and wanted. ii. Creation of highly valued brands: Tesco develops own-label brands which include Tesco finest and F&F clothing. This strategy aims at providing the customers with high-quality products at low competitive prices. iii. To outstand in the world in both in-store and online selling. In 2012, Tesco’s global operations generated 30 percent of the total company’s revenues (Tesco 2012). Under this strategy, Tesco plans to open 50 new F&F franchise stores in Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia. iv. Growing retail services in the market: Tesco Bank generated £1 billion in profits in 2012. The bank has become one of the focal points of the potential future growth in retail services. v. Putting responsibilities of the communities it serves at the heart of what it does. vi. Build a team through motivating its employees. Tesco offers training activities to its employees to make them effective leaders. vii. Improve other business areas to match with the successful grocery business. Tesco aims at diversifying its operations. 3.3 Tesco’s Value Chain Management Girod and Rugman (2009: 345) observe that there are links between different units in operation and the performance of one directly or indirectly affects the performance of the other units linked to it. The role of value chain management is to fine tune the operational performance of each separate unit of the business so that the performance of each unit may help the business to attain its targets and objectives. Gunasekarana and Ngai (2008: 425) argue that Tesco is one of the good examples in value chain management. Tesco has six business functions that include research and development, sales and marketing, distribution, and customer services, the design of products and services, and production. Hakansson and Ford (2007: 134) argue that the above functions highly depend on primary activities such as inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, services and sales and marketing. Further down, the primary activities are supported by activities such as developments in technology, procurement, human resource development and management, and firm’s infrastructure. The link between suppliers and consumers in Tesco is displayed in Figure 1. Figure 2 represents the activity analysis of the primary and secondary activities in Tesco. Distributor MANUFACTURER Tesco CONSUMER Retailer Figure 1: Linkage between suppliers and consumers in Tesco. Naylor et al. (2008: 112) International Suppliers Transportation channel Retail Road Stores Domestic suppliers Air City Hub Customers Rail Own manufacturing centre Reverse Logistics Figure 2: Primary and secondary activities in Tesco Tesco procures its products directly from the manufacturers. Tesco conducts the distribution of products from its warehouses rather that procuring the service from third parties. Direct distribution by Tesco enables the company to implement intelligent distribution systems. Through this type of distribution, Tesco saves both the fuel costs and the transportation time. 3.4 Importance of Tesco Supply Chain Brandenburg (2012) argues that good management of internal supply chain translates into better management of the entire supply chain. Tesco manages its internal supply chain in an excellent way that enables the company to manage better the entire supply chain. The effectiveness of Tesco’s supply chain can is attributable to the development of 5 main initiatives. These initiatives are: i. Reduction of time lag between replenishment activities ii. The products that are highly demanded are available in the stores iii. Ensuring fast flow of products iv. Managing the networks efficiently v. Improving the inbound flow of products 3.5 Resource-based Theory RBT suggests that firms succeed because they have unique and hard-to-imitate resources that allow them to have a competitive advantage (FitzRoy et al. 2013: 202). The strategy must be concerned with the development and deployment of firm-specific factors that will contribute to competitive advantage. Based on the resource-based approach, Tesco outperforms most of other supermarkets. Supermarkets such as Carrefour, Ahold, and Tesco have significant operations outside their countries of origin. However, despite being the one with the smallest percentage of overseas sales, prior to the global financial crisis, Tesco was significantly more profitable than Carrefour and Ahold (FitzRoy et al. 2013: 202). In addition, Tesco employs a higher ratio of debt capital, which leverages the firm’s returns on shareholder equity. Though internet technologies have created opportunities for retailers to develop competitive advantage through streamlined operational costs, the advantage is not easily sustained due to the high imitation threat. Tesco has taken a resource-based approach in online marketing. The resource-based view emphasises the internal capabilities of the organisation in formulating a strategy to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage both in the market and the industry of operation (Henry 2011: 130). 3.6 Four-stage model A four-stage model describes the possible strategic roles that an organisation’s operations might play proposed by Hayes and Wheelwright (1984) for manufacturing, and subsequently extended to services by Chase and Hayes (1991). The four-stage model is a descriptive framework. The overall strategic goals may be defined in terms of growth and return on investment. However, the strategic goals may also be defined in terms of quality, cost, dependability, time, and flexibility. Each stage of contribution is defined by an objective expressed in terms of alignment between these operations goals and those of the overall firm. Coughlan and Coughlan (2012: 17) outline these stages as: Stage 1 – Internally neutral: In this initial stage, the objective is for operations not to hold back the firm. In effect, the firm competes based on other factors other than operations capabilities. Stage 2 - Externally neutral: in this second stage, the objective is for operations to enable the organisation to maintain parity with its competitors. Competitors act as the benchmark for operations practice, and any operation that is not worthwhile is improved. Stage 3 – Internally supportive: In this stage, operations are required to provide credible support to the business strategy. The environment on which the organisation is competing requires a complementary and supportive operations capability that will respond to changes in the competition field but never define the basis for competition. Stage 4 – Externally supportive: In this final stage, operations are required to provide a source of competitive advantage. Externally supportive involves the way of delivering the current orders and how these ways can be developed for tomorrow. It means, running operations while planning for replacement operations (Coughlan and Coughlan 2012: 17). 3.7 Bottleneck Analysis Tesco reduced or eliminated identifiable bottlenecks through the use of flow-through. Hai (2010: 127) observes that the flow through enabled Tesco to establish closer collaboration between the suppliers and retailers. Time spent was reduced by about 50 percent. Tesco conducts 83 percent of store replenishment through flow-through mechanisms. Tesco identified a bottleneck in the production/transport to departments. Tesco improved the replenishment process through eliminating this bottleneck. The supplier vehicle got delayed due to failure by the department to scale up. Figure 3 represents how replenishment got conducted before improvement and Figure 4 shows how replenishment is done after improvement. Store order Central Production/ Production/ In Depot Batched Store calculation order scheduling Transport awaiting once per to Depot delivery day (delivery to store) Figure 3: Tesco’s replenishment was done before improvement Suppliers Primary Distribution Delivery Supplier receive orders Tesco ensures smooth Tesco’s delivery Stores more than one time per flow of products in order is done multiple times day according to their to eliminate/reduce traffic which leads to efficient profile bottle necks and faster utilisation of fleets The process from suppliers to the stores Tesco Depots There is smooth and continuous flow of products as orders come in due to ‘smoothed goods-in profile. Prior to the elimination of bottle neck, Tesco received orders in batches but now orders are received in a continuous flow. The store orders get assembled as stock arrives. Figure 4: Replenishment is after elimination of bottle necks The above two diagrams show how Tesco improved the replenishment process through eliminating a bottleneck. Tesco re-engineered the process to mimic the activities of a system in a continuous flow. The flow-through mechanism was used to eliminate and reduce bottlenecks. To ensure that it accomplishes its purpose of adding value to its customers, Tesco links its marketing function with its supply chain. The development of this process has been going on for a long time, and it moves from general order placement mechanism towards customer profile specific ordering. Table 1 shows Tesco’s movement towards a store specific order placement. 1999 2001 2003 2007 2011 Retek Trade Management and Merchandise Planning Ambient Grocery Fresh Foods Direct Store Deliveries Clothing Bread and Breakfast Products Production Planning Transformation Tesco’s movement towards a store specific order placement Table 1: Tesco’s movement towards a store specific order placement 3.8 The Clubcard scheme Tesco major breakthrough came with the introduction of Tesco Clubcard. Clubcard scheme plays a very important role of rewarding Tesco’s customers with savings. In addition, the card allows Tesco to determine what products to stock where. This knowledge makes Tesco’s sourcing, shipping, and storage very effective. It further enhances the efficiency of the entire supply chain and enables Tesco to pass these savings to its customers. This scheme also helps Tesco to draw customers from its competitors because it provides Tesco with knowledge about the tastes and habits of consumers. The ultimate goal of using Clubcard is to acquire information that can lead to the better selection and lower prices which in turn intensifies the loyalty of shoppers. According to FitzRoy et al. (2013: 210) Clubcard is Tesco’s structural capital. The card helps Tesco to maintain a complete record of customer purchases. Clubcard is a sophisticated database and data analysis system which is valuable to the firm. The system is not currently possessed by Tesco’s competitors. The Clubcard mechanism enables Tesco to establish the specific products and services that customers need. Sabri and Shakir (2009) observe that Tesco’s Clubcard enables the company to track the products that are frequently purchased by its customers. This study establishes a link between Tesco Clubcard and improved supply chain management. The Clubcard also enables Tesco to establish what customers need in specific geographical areas and in which particular store. There are significant costs that are related to distributing products from the distribution centres to retail stores. The Clubcard plays a very important role in this case because it enables the company to conduct an assessment of the frequently required products so that it can overstock these products. 3.9 Process Design and Performance Improvement It is important to review uncertainties and risks, to consider the important current and future issues driving performance for Tesco, and finally to suggest possible process improvements. If Tesco progresses in the same way it is doing today, its future outlook is a bright one. Tesco has the capability to reach the highest levels of operations management. Tesco gives an impression of a determined, energetic and thoroughly occupied team. According to Randall and Seth (2011: 37), Tesco employees do not hang about; they know their job is to give the customer a great time. Tesco stretches itself in various ways. One is through expansion its brand ranges from Finest on one hand to discounted brands on the other hand. Second, its channels extend from Extra superstores to tiny Express convenience stores. Others are online and in-store channels. Thirdly, food line is the most complex one among Tesco’s businesses. Seth (2011: 37) argues that this complexity offers Tesco a competitive advantage. This complexity shows that Tesco has a sensible operational process. Tesco is not just by a huge margin the United Kingdom’s best retailer, but a big contender for being the most innovative and ambitious retailer in the world. In order to achieve this dream, Tesco has to export the strategy it employs in the UK to other regions of the world where it operates. 4.0Tesco’s Ailing Areas that need Redesigning and Operational Improvement Tesco has to avoid engaging in global ventures that do not reach sustainable returns. One of the struggling business areas is Fresh & Easy in the U.S. which has been struggling. According to CTW Investment Group (2012: 1), Fresh & Easy has been struggling and recording losses. However, Tesco has continued to rally behind it. Tesco budgeted £1 billion to turn around its UK business. Tesco’s UK business accounts for 66% of the total Tesco’s revenue. In a period of four years, Fresh & Easy has accumulated losses of £708 million. The business has also accumulated investments amounting to 1.23 billion in the same period (CTW 2012: 1). As this study observes, those costs are nearly double the amount that Tesco requires to turn its UK business around. The losses are attributable to low service, low labour-cost model that has been suffering due to operational problems. Randall and Seth (2012: 30) argue that Tesco’s board knows that Fresh & Easy is struggling. They further cite the origin of this problem as related to substantial operational problems. Tesco had a slow entry into the US market such that it took them two years to increase the pack size to be more appropriate for a supermarket consumer and offer a sufficient range of products. Products like bakery products, loose produce, and other products were just introduced recently with an aim of reconfiguring stores after strategic, operational missteps. Tesco also had to do a reconfiguration of its supply chain at great cost. Tesco has also repeatedly scaled back its planned expansion thus leaving the new distribution centre unused. Tesco’s two dedicated suppliers were acquired in 2010 costing the company £116 million. This acquisition made Tesco incur significant integration costs that made the company end up with overhead costs of 5% of total sales, compared to 1.5% in the UK business. CitiGroup (2012: 6) estimates that Tesco has spent three times as it should have to establish its business in the US. To avoid being the largest failure in Tesco’s history, Fresh & Easy has to improve its operational strategies. The identified operational problems are out of stocks, product freshness and store maintenance, low staffing, and poor self-checkout assistance (CTW 2012: 4-5). 5.0 Recommendations and Conclusion Tesco is prominent with excellent supply chain management, and this capability should be extended to its business in geographical areas where it is having problems in operations such as the US. As it was observed earlier in this study, Tesco has been using the flow-through mechanism to add value to its customers. However, Fresh & Easy has failed to utilise the same mechanism. This study proposes that Fresh & Easy and other Tesco businesses that are ailing should employ the four-stage model as outlined by Coughlan and Coughlan (2012: 17). Stage 1 – Internally neutral: Operations at Fresh & Easy should not hold it back. In this stage Fresh & Easy should avoid competing based on its operations capabilities. Stage 2 - Externally neutral: Fresh & Easy operations should enable it to maintain parity with its competitors. Its competitors in the US should act as its benchmark for operations practice. Any operation that they find not worthwhile should be improved. Stage 3 – Internally supportive: In this stage, Fresh & Easy operations should provide credible support to its business strategy. Stage 4 – Externally supportive: In this final stage, operations should provide a source of competitive advantage. It means, running operations while planning for replacement operations (Coughlan and Coughlan 2012: 17). In addition, Fresh & Easy should first adopt general order placement while focusing on moving towards customer specific ordering. In order to accomplish this, Tesco has to eliminate various bottlenecks such as limited resources supply. Another major bottleneck found in Fresh & Easy supply chain is a lack of fresh products and store maintenance. There is a large variety of products that are not fresh on the shelves making the stores look unmaintained. The major cause of this problem is an oversupply of products that fail to match with demand or oversupply of products that are not required by the customers. The use of Clubcard has been one of the success stories of Tesco. However, this story has failed to materialise in US business. Clubcard is responsible for Tesco’s doubling its UK market share since it was introduced in 1995 (Davenport, Mensoussan and Fleisher 2012). Tesco should seek to introduce a similar program in the US in order to eliminate out-of-stock and product freshness bottleneck. Adjusting staffing to flow may help to eliminate the low staffing bottleneck. Low staffing may also be the major contributing factor to poor self-checkout assistance. Therefore, to eliminate the problem of poor self-checkout assistance, Tesco should adjust its staff. 6.0 References Barnes, D. 2001. Operations Management: An International Perspective. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Brandenburg, M. 2012. Quantitative Models for Value-Based Supply Chain Management. New York: Springer. Coughlan, P. and Coghlan, D. 2012. Collaborative Strategic Improvement Through Network Action Learning: The Path to Sustainability. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. CTW Investment Group. 2012. Tesco’s US Gamble: A Call for Review and Reassessment of Fresh & Easy. 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