Asda and Morrison
Executive Summary:
Asda and Morrison are the leading supply chain of supermarkets with more than 500 stores. The companies have a plan for making progress and achieving of competitive advantage in the target market. In this way, the company has a business plan for operation management and supply chain management. The company’s business plans and operation management are associated with several strengths and weaknesses that are highlighted through SWOT analysis. It is found that the advancement of technology, management of resources, and performance of employees are the key drivers for the company related to getting success. Meanwhile, these key drivers produced severe positive consequences for the company to achieve a competitive advantage in the target market.
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Assignment: 3
Portfolio Paper 2: SWOT Analysis: 4
Key drivers from the external and internal environments: 5
Impacts on the organization: 6
Portfolio Paper 3: Operational Impact Analysis: 6
Impact of key drivers on marketing: 6
Impact of key drivers on operations: 7
Introduction to the Assignment:
Asda and Morrison have tough competition in the target market because of their direct association with the products for daily life. In this context, the company makes a plan for progress to achieve business objectives and competitive advantage. In this way, there is a need to highlight the current situation of the company. Meanwhile, identifying key drivers is also compulsory, so it becomes easy to highlight the factors for the company’s progress (Tello, 2008). In this report, there is a SWOT analysis provided about Asda and Morrison. Meanwhile, the impact of these key drivers on the company’s progress is also provided in the report.
Portfolio Paper 2: SWOT Analysis:
SWOT Analysis:
Asda and Morrison are considered the leading supermarket chain in the target market of the UK (Team, 2020). The fundamental purpose of both companies is to provide services to the target audience. Still, the companies have their specific strengths and weaknesses that are discussed in the following section:
Strength:
Asda has the strength to provide complete services to the customers, including financial services. The company has a chain of 500 stores with more than 150,000 employees and having a parent company in backup (Team, 2020). On the other hand, Morrison also has a huge portfolio, including beverages, food, etc. The company also has a chain of 500 stores with more than 130,000 employees. Both of the companies are also providing online services to the target audience (Team, 2020).
Weaknesses:
Asda doesn’t have broad goals for long-term planning that is considered to be the weaknesses. Meanwhile, the company is also restricted in some countries for tough competition with existing companies (Team, 2020). On the other hand, Morrison has restrictions related to the geographical area. The association of the farmer’s rights issue with Morrison is also considered a challenge for the company (Team, 2020).
Opportunities:
Asda has the opportunity to expand its portfolio by focusing on pharmacy, opticians, and jewelry. The company can expand the geographical area and start the services in the huge target market. There is an option of acquisition with smaller companies (Team, 2020). On the other hand, Morrison has the opportunity to deal with organic products. There is also the option of international business expansion (Team, 2020).
Threats:
Asda has the pressure of competing with other retail stores. There is a threat of maintaining low prices for effective competition. Government policies have a direct impact on the business plan (Team, 2020). On the other hand, Morrison has the threat of increasing the shares of competitors. Meanwhile, the government’s taxation policy is also a significant threat to the company (Team, 2020).
Key drivers from the external and internal environments:
Internal environment:
When it comes to Asda, its resources for operation management are considered the key driver for managing the internal environment. Meanwhile, the huge chain of stores can be managed with the help of a remarkable number of employees, so they are also considered to be the key drivers of the internal environment (Whysall, 2001). On the other hand, Morrison also has a remarkable number of employees to manage the internal environment (Clarke, 2005). Meanwhile, the organizational culture is also considered to be the strength of the company.
External environment:
Asda has advanced technology for supply chain management that is beneficial for the management of the external environment. The comprehensive CSR policy is also beneficial for managing the external environment (Whysall, 2001). On the other hand, Morrison also has advanced technology for supply chain management (Clarke, 2005).
Impacts on the organization:
The management of the internal and external environment directly impacts the progress of the company in the target market. The advancement of technology is beneficial for achieving a competitive advantage in the target market (Clarke, 2005). Meanwhile, the employees and the resources also directly impact the management of the overall internal environment.
Portfolio Paper 3: Operational Impact Analysis:
Impact of key drivers on marketing:
The evaluation of Asda and Morrison highlights that the advancement of technology, employees, resources, and management of the CSR policy is considered the key drivers for the company’s progress. Meanwhile, there is a need to highlight the impact of these key drivers on marketing (Eid, 2013). When it comes to Asda and Morrison, these companies have a huge supply chain, so there is a need for marketing according to it. The CSR policy is beneficial for customers’ engagement towards the company that has a direct impact on increasing the target audience. The increase in the target audience is beneficial for the company’s progress. The advancement of technology is considered to be the hour of need for the sake of making progress. It is the era of technology in which the use of technology is helpful for the achievement of the desired goals. When the company has to market, the advancement of technology is beneficial for digital marketing (Chaffey, 2019). Asda and Morrison have a huge portfolio of products, so there is also a need for an experienced team to advertise the products in the target market. In this context, the employees are considered the key deliverables for marketing (Eid, 2013). It is worth saying that the key drivers are directly associated with the company’s success, and these provide an essential role in marketing.
Impact of key drivers on operations:
When it comes to operations, it is the way to operate the company in the target market. The company makes comprehensive plans for operation management. Firstly, there is a need to focus on the associations of advanced technology with operations (Rastogi, 2010). In this era, the advancement of technology is beneficial for the digitalization of operations. It is the way to complete the associated operations rapidly. The next key driver is the resources and products of the company. It is found that the companies are dealing with the customers as a supermarket. In this context, the huge range of resources is essential for the operation management of the company. The next process is the CSR policy that is beneficial for the management of the social environment. It is found that the management of CSR policy has a direct impact on grabbing the attraction of the target audience (Advantage, 2020). When the employees grasp the attraction of the target audience, it also gets information about the expectations of employees from the company. In this way, the company manages the operations according to the hour of need. The most important key drivers are the employees of the company. Firstly, the company is focusing on the skills and experience of the employees related to the achievement of business objectives. Meanwhile, the company is assigned the associated tasks to the employees for operation management (Goswami, 2012). In this way, the employees perform according to the company’s instructions and succeed in operation management.
Recommendations/Conclusion
It is concluded that the company has to analyze the associated factors to make a business plan for the company’s progress. The company can easily make an appropriate business plan by analyzing the associated factors through SWOT analysis. Meanwhile, there is a need to compare these factors with the company’s progress. In this way, the company can easily progress and achieve a competitive advantage in the target market. It is recommended that the company’s must-have to grasp associated factors, including strengths and weaknesses. It is the only way to manage the associated risks for the sake of the company’s progress.
References:
Advantage, C. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR and Socially Responsible Investing Strategies in Transitioning and Emerging Economies, 65.
Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2019). Digital marketing. Pearson UK.
Clarke, C. (2005). Somerfield plc and Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc: A report on the acquisition by Somerfield plc of 115 stores from Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc. The Stationery Office.
Eid, R., & El-Gohary, H. (2013). The impact of E-marketing use on small business enterprises’ marketing success. The Service Industries Journal, 33(1), 31-50.
Goswami, B. K., & Jha, S. (2012). Attrition issues and retention challenges of employees. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 3(4), 1-6.
Rastogi, M. K. (2010). Production and operation management. Laxmi Publications, Ltd..
Team, M. B. A. S. (2020, April 26). ASDA SWOT analysis, competitors & USP. MBA Skool. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/lifestyle-and-retail/2040-asda.html.
Team, M. B. A. S. (2020, April 26). Morrisons SWOT analysis, competitors & USP. MBA Skool. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/lifestyle-and-retail/2039-morrisons.html.
Tello, S. F., & Yoon, E. (2008). Examining drivers of sustainable innovation. International Journal of Business Strategy, 8(3), 164-169.
Whysall, P. (2001). Wal‐Mart’s takeover of Asda: what the papers said. British Food Journal.