Retail management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Retail management - Essay Example By entering into joint-venture agreement with other large-scale grocery retailers around the world, Tesco Plc managed to establish 12 international businesses in Central Europe, Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States among others (Leahy, 2007, pp. 42 – 43; Couch, 2006; Wilson, 2005). One of the secret behind the business success of Tesco is its ability to determine and deliver what its valued customer wants. In line with this, establishing an effective supply chain management is necessary not only within the operational level but also within the strategic level. Through the use of effective supply chain management system, the use of efficient logistic infrastructure enables the company to easily meet its target consumers’ expectations at a relatively cheaper service costs. In relation to the importance of establishing an effective supply chain management, this report will provide a strategic analysis with regards to the key supply chain issue that Tesco Plc would face over the next five years. As part of going through the main discussion, a brief historical outline with regards to the features of Tesco’s existing supply chain and special offers will be briefly tackled to give the readers with a clear overview concerning the research topic. Based on the historical developments in Tesco’s supply chain management system that took place between 1970s up to the present time, strategic recommendations on how Tesco Plc could further improve its supply chain management system will be highlighted in details. Brief Historical Outline with Regards to the Features of Tesco’s Existing Supply Chain and Special Offers Among the major suppliers of Tesco includes not only the local farmers but also other food and non-food manufacturers (Tesco PLC Corporate Responsibility Review 2007, 2007, p. 12). To achieve and maintain a smooth flow of product supplies coming str aight from Tesco’s accredited suppliers, the retail company maintains not only a good working relationship with its employees who are directly responsible in managing the schedule of delivery of its needed food and non-food supplies but also its valued consumers and a total of 1,500 accredited suppliers (Tesco PLC Corporate Responsibility Review 2007, 2007, p. 14). Mid-1970s – Direct to Store Delivery (DSD) Process During Mid-1970s, Tesco’s supply chain management system was highly dependent over the use of direct to store delivery (DSD) (Gustafsson, 2006, p. 45; Fernie & Sparks, 2004, p. 103). In line with the implementation of DSD process, Tesco was dependent over its regional distribution centres (RDCs) each time there was a need to transport ordered goods coming from its accredited suppliers straight to its retail store outlet (Gustafsson, 2006, p. 45). Although the use of this particular supply chain strategy enabled the company to deliver the ordered produ cts directly to each of Tesco’s store outlets, the retail company encountered customer complaints due to the inconsistency in the quality and market prices of food and non-food products