In this piece of coursework I will be looking at how Tesco uses ICT to help the company.

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ICT in an Organisation

Introduction

In this piece of coursework I will be looking at how Tesco uses ICT to help the company. The reason Tesco is the organisation that has been chosen is because the amount of money that is spent in the company is so high that their technology will be of a very high standard and Tesco is the largest food retailer in the country. For every £9 that is spent in an organisation, £1 is spent in Tesco. The Tesco in Peterborough has the largest number of checkout stations in the country and is the first purpose built Tesco `Extra` Store in the country.

I will be looking at how Tesco uses ICT to help the company to be so successful and I have word documents and a PowerPoint to help me with this piece of coursework with background information on about Tesco, and what software and hardware it uses. This will help me when I come to explain the technology that is used as part of this coursework because I have detailed explanations as to what they use. I also have two books that I can use to help me with this coursework:

* Applied ICT

* Applied ICT for GCSE

These books and other documents provide some background information to Tesco and the project that I am doing, this means that I will be able to explain everything fully when I come to do it.

Tesco has defined its purpose 'To create value for the customer to earn lifetime loyalty' in order to gain more customers; keep them and existing ones shopping at their stores. In order to keep their customers, Tesco believe in Value, Quality and Service which is their value statement. In the process of this, the company would become popular and well known.

In this piece of coursework I will be attempting to see how far ICT helps Tesco to achieve its purpose.

ICT in Tesco Stores

There are four main areas of the company:

* Sales

* Purchasing

* Finance

* Operations

Sales

Involving the sale or distribution of the goods needed by Tesco.

Sales in Tesco

People can shop two ways in Tesco. Either by walking around the shop and getting what they need they can go online and order it and then have it delivered to them. This was of shopping is a lot less time consuming for the customer and this makes Tesco very popular because they offer a home delivery service when you do online shopping. This means they keep customers loyal to them because they offer a good service, and by ordering online, Tesco can still monitor what the customer wants and improve on it.

Purchasing

Involving the purchasing of goods needed by Tesco.

Ordering new stock is one of the tasks of the Purchasing Department. The computer system will hold details of the suppliers of each item they stock and need to order from. Tesco will need to order other items besides raw materials that they sell; they will also need to buy things like office supplies to help keep the company running. In order to purchase some stock that may have sold out in a shop, a clerk in the Purchasing Department will enter the details of a purchase order and send it to the supplier; they will then receive the goods and an invoice that will be passed onto the Finance Department.

Purchasing in Tesco

Tesco's modern technology allows them to have a self-order system. This is an automatic re-ordering system for when goods get too low on the shop floor. The laser scanners and barcodes are used to identify all products individually that are sold. The barcodes that are scanned when an item is bought are recorded and scanned into a computer system and then when this computer system recognises that that particular barcode is running low, they locate what the product is and then send off for another order of the product. Instead of having to do it manually, it is computerised and uses ICT for the job. This means that because people aren't needed to be employed, Tesco can spend that extra money on improving their computer system even more. By purchasing supplies this way, Tesco are saving time and money that can be used in much better ways within the company. This benefits the customer because this way the shops are always in stock.

Finance

Managing the flow of money in and out of Tesco. For the people that work in the finance department, their jobs include:

* Credit control

* Supplier payments

* Budgeting and forecasting

* Payroll

Finance in Tesco

Tesco operates using cash and credit sales. This means you can either use cash at their stores or a credit or debit card. This benefits the people that shop at Tesco and makes Tesco even more popular. Buying using your credit or debit card is quick and easy. Also, you can get cash back from doing so. Most people now prefer and choose this way of payment. Tesco's has improved its way of paying by card because now all you have to do is enter your pin which is quicker than having to sign.

Operations

Carrying out the main business of Tesco

Tesco Operations

These include working on the tills, working on the shop floor and customer services.

Without the use of ICT Tesco wouldn't be as popular and people wouldn't shop there because it would be manually run and the procedure of buying goods would be too time consuming and people would choose to shop else where. Combined with ICT, Tesco's system is fast, easy to use and easy to understand, this makes it a modern and widely known shop.

ICT is used to:

* Communicate effectively internally and with suppliers and customers

* Manage and control production processes

* Manage finance, including payroll, budgeting, processing transactions and reporting

* Manage stock control

* Market products and services efficiently.

These points combined with sales, purchasing, finance and operations makes Tesco the success it is today.

Communication

Tesco sees communication with its customers as a big priority, it proves that they care about what their customers think and want. Via the Tesco Clubcards they can communicate with their customers and send them rewards for shopping at their store. Using their technology, they hold all the customers details like name and address on a database if they have signed up to a Clubcard and can then send them vouchers and special offer sheets through the post which maintains their customers interest to shopping with their stores. This benefits Tesco by keeping their existing customers and gaining new ones via the loyalty card scheme which keeps them their massive income.
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Loyalty Card

The Tesco's loyalty card is used for marketing. Loyalty cards or Clubcards are used by Tesco to enhance their customer's loyalty to the store. These loyalty cards hold the customers name, address and most importantly their purchase preferences. Because of these cards, Tesco can see what is being bought by their customers, every time they are swiped, what is being bought is recorded by Tesco and on the loyalty card so that Tesco can see what customers want. Tesco give vouchers to those that have a loyalty card so that they benefit from having one ...

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