Mark & Spencer Case Study. The aim of this essay is to discover and analyze the different sights of operations management, its evolutions and significant changes during the last decade and define what are the new objectives of OM through one sector: the

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

Operations management includes the conception of a product; the planning of the material, financial and human resources, and the recording and the control of the production activities.

It consists in finding the best approach to organize the supply, the production and the distribution of services and goods. The purpose is to optimize the processes of added value, by minimizing the costs (in the investments and in the operations) improving continually the flows from the supplier to the customer in order to satisfy them.

The principle of Operation Management was created in 1776 by Adam Smith. It is used by companies since its creation; they followed its evolutions by adapting the new methods of OM within their business.

The aim of this essay is to discover and analyze the different sights of operations management, its evolutions and significant changes during the last decade and define what are the new objectives of OM through one sector: the retail industry and more particularly across Marks & Spencer. Finding out the techniques of management that M&S uses, evaluating them and see the future operations they intend to set up.

First we are going to present Marks & Spenser, the historical context of the firm, its strategy and its evolution in the field of Operation Management; then we will discuss the general evolutions in OM and study its new goals.

  1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

  1. Presentation of Mark & Spencer

Marks & Spencer is an international retailer created in 1894 in Leeds by Thomas Spencer and . The company, that started its sells in small city markets of the north of England, is probably the most emblematic chain in the United Kingdom with its 294 stores and is the first seller in clothing of the country in terms of turnover.

M&S is represented in 34 countries with its 718 locations. The firm sells clothing and footwear but also quality food and wine; gift and flowers and all kind of furnishing for home.

Furthermore, it provides financial services: life insurance, loans and account cards. However, the retail represents 96% of its activity.

The company’s target market is middle class to high class customers in large cities. Consumers trust the firm thanks to high quality products and medium prices.

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The firm is known for his management support that permitted M&S to growth.

The Mark & Spencer’s supply chain:

The Mark & Spencer’s supply chain evolves with the growth of the brand, it is very important because thanks to it, the stores are provided efficiently and it increases the customer satisfaction.

The aim is to raise the volumes while keeping the lowest costs possible.

The physical infrastructure of the supply chain hasn’t change a lot since 1970, but it has to be developed to fit with the international demand.

With the expansion to ...

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