HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE THAT ASDA USE4.HOW DOES ASDA OPERATE5.ASDA AND THERE SALES
Hizar Nisar 10s
Ict in organisation
m-i-l
Gant chart
CONTENTS
.INTRODUCTION
2.GANT CHART
3.PROJECT DIARY
3.WHAT ASDA IS
4.HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE THAT ASDA USE
4.HOW DOES ASDA OPERATE
5.ASDA AND THERE SALES
6. FINANCE
7.PURCHASING
8.TOPOLOGIES
9.HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
INTRODUCTION
This project will be looking at how a business functions. Business is split into four main categories they are operations, finance, sales and purchasing. I will be discussing each of these categories. I will be also going to further detail. I will also be discussing the different computers they use. , I will also make a gant chart and a project diary which will show what things I have completed on what date there will also be some evidence which I will do by using print screen. The company that I will be focusing on is asda
Project diary
9th may 11th may
In the first lesson of this project after I completed my
I completed the front-page gant chart, contents
And introduction I
Started to research on
Thomas Telford.
13th may
Then I started to some research on the company I chose.
6th may
This is when I started writing about what type of computers and other hardware asda uses.
18th may
I studied how asda
Operates.
9th may
I was unable to do my coursework on computer due to year11 exams.
20th may
I carried on writing about how asda operates
23rd May
I carried on writing about how asda operates.
25TH MAY
In this lesson I used my research do write it down in my findings part of the report.
26th may
I wrote about asdas finance and about there credit control
27th May
In this lesson I wrote about asdas marketing strategies.
6th- 13th June
In this lesson I wrote about how asda purchase their goods.
5th June
I started researching writing about topologies.
ASDA
ASDA is a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom offering food clothing and general merchandise products. It is currently the second largest chain in the UK, after Tesco. ASDA is also very good at employing people ASDA mainly employs 50,000 people a year. They also have to look at their sales, finance, purchasing and organisations. I am going to Asda special products, these are:
* Food
* Clothes
* Cakes
Findings
Operations
Every organisation has a main reason for existing. This is called the organisation's core business.
The Operations section of an organisation is the section that carries out the core business.
Organisation Title and Logo
Core Business
Operations Section
ASDA Supermarket
Local Supermarket
Marketing Department
The core business for ASDA is Local Super Market as its Operations Section is marketing department.
Sales
Many organisations need to sell the goods and/or services they provide.
The Sales section of an organisation is the section that involves processing sales transactions.
Organisation Title and Logo
Sales Section(s)
ASDA Supermarket
Goods sold here to customers. Example toys, drinks, magazines and etc.
Sometimes sales are processed with an 'immediate' transaction by using Credit Card, Cash or Electronic Fund Transfer.
Sometimes sales are agreed and then payment follows the issue of an invoice.
Sometimes sales are agreed via a loan agreement or contract over a fixed period of time.
Finance
Keeping track of the flow of money in and out of an organisation is nearly always vital.
The Finance section of an Organisation is involved In managing the flow of money.
Organisation Title and Logo
Finance Section (similar in all organisations)
ASDA
Sufficient profit must be made to satisfy shareholders. Product/Service prices must be set and human costs (salaries) agreed to fall within a budget to reach projected profits.
It is the job of the Finance Section to:
* Ensure that all financial transactions are properly recorded so that details can be checked externally by auditors
* Produce reports of cash flow for managers
* Manage the payroll (payment of staff)
Any outstanding debts must also be 'chased' and resolved.
The largest costs for most organisations are their human costs (salaries).
Purchasing
Many organisations need to buy goods or services so that they can operate effectively.
The Purchasing section of an organisation is involved in processing purchasing transactions.
Organisation Title and Logo
Purchasing Section(s)
ASDA
Goods must be purchased to market them.
TYPE OF COMPUTERS THAT ASDA USE
Because ASDA is a big chain super market they use many computers such as MAIN FRAME and LAN (LOCAL AREA NETWORK).
Main Frame: Used by large companies these will take up a whole room and may not need people in the room.
Main Frame is very useful to ASDA because they use the main frame to make sure everything is going on fine such as looking after the super market the way they use the main frame is because ASDA is a big super market so that's why they have to make sure that there products don't get stolen.
LAN (Local area net work): A number of computers connected to a server, which holds all the software. Usually in one building room. LAN'S are very useful to ASDA because the tills they use are connected to a computer so it is easier to use all of them because of the LAN; the LAN connects to server to control all the computers. In 19998 asda shipped computers to all there 219 stores to sell to customers.
HOW ASDA OPERATES
On 8 April 1999, the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) referred to this Commission for investigation and report under the monopoly provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973 (FTA) the supply in Great Britain of groceries from multiple stores, that is, supermarkets with 600 sq metres or more of grocery sales area, where the space devoted to the retail sale of food and non-alcoholic drinks exceeds 300 sq metres and which are controlled by a person who controls ten or more such stores. We use the term 'reference stores' to mean stores, which meet these conditions. In our terms of reference 'groceries' includes food and drink, cleaning products, toiletries and household goods. We were asked to report within a period of one year. Subsequently the scope of the inquiry was extended to the UK and the inquiry period was extended until 31 July 2000. Our terms of reference are set out in Appendix 1.1.
The origins of the reference lay, first, in a public perception that the price of groceries in the UK tended to be higher than in other comparable EC countries and the USA; secondly, in an apparent disparity between farm-gate and retail prices, which was seen as evidence by some that grocery multiples were profiting from the crisis in the farming industry; and thirdly, continuing concern that large out-of-town supermarkets were contributing to the decay of the high street in many towns. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) conducted an initial investigation in 1998/99 which identified several further areas of concern including barriers to entry limiting competition, the level of supermarket operators' profitability, the price of land impacting adversely on the costs of stores, concerns about the intensity of price competition between the supermarket operators and about the relationship between the supermarket operators and their suppliers. The breadth of these concerns was reflected in over 200 submissions that we received in the early stages of our inquiry.
Identified 24 multiple grocery retailers who supplied groceries from reference stores; they are: Aldi Stores Ltd (Aldi); Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Ltd; ASDA Group Ltd (Asda); Budgens Stores Ltd (Budgens); Colchester and East Essex Co-operative Society Ltd; CRS Ltd; CWS Ltd (CWS); E H Booth & Co Ltd (Booth); Iceland Frozen Foods plc (Iceland); Lidl UK GmbH (Lidl); Marks & Spencer plc (M&S); Midlands Co-operative Society Ltd; Netto Foodstores Ltd (Netto); Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-operative Society Ltd; Plymouth and South Devon Co-operative Society Ltd; Safeway plc (Safeway); Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd and Savacentre Ltd (Sainsbury); Scottish Midland Co-operative Society Ltd; Somerfield plc (Somerfield); Tesco plc (Tesco); United Norwest Co-operatives; Waitrose Ltd (Waitrose); Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc (Morrison); and Yorkshire Co-operatives Ltd. We refer to these companies as the 'main parties'.
During our inquiry we looked at certain pricing practices, and at a range of practices in relation to suppliers, which were brought to our attention (see paragraphs 1.5 to 1.12). In addition, we examined a substantial number of other relevant features of the industry, summarized in subparagraphs (a) to (h) below. Our conclusions on all these matters are detailed in Chapter 2. Factual support is to be found in Chapters 3 to 15 and their accompanying appendices. In summary:
Examined price trends in the industry, and found an overall decline (of 9.4 per cent) in the real price of food from 1989 to 1998.
Carried out a detailed international comparison of grocery prices which, allowing for quality and tax differences, showed that in late 1999 UK prices were on average 12 to 16 per cent higher than those in France, Germany and the Netherlands. However, the comparison was heavily affected by the value of sterling at the time, an effect that could distort the comparison between grocery prices in the UK and elsewhere by between 7 ...
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Examined price trends in the industry, and found an overall decline (of 9.4 per cent) in the real price of food from 1989 to 1998.
Carried out a detailed international comparison of grocery prices which, allowing for quality and tax differences, showed that in late 1999 UK prices were on average 12 to 16 per cent higher than those in France, Germany and the Netherlands. However, the comparison was heavily affected by the value of sterling at the time, an effect that could distort the comparison between grocery prices in the UK and elsewhere by between 7 and 17 per cent. We also noted that land and building costs were somewhat higher in the UK. We concluded that there was no evidence from such comparisons that UK grocery retailers were acting in an anti-competitive manner so as to generate higher prices than would otherwise be the case.
Looked at whether the recent declines in wholesale prices, especially in the livestock sector, were being fully reflected in retail prices charged to consumers in reference stores. This stemmed from complaints that price cuts suffered by UK farmers during 1997/98 had not been fully reflected in corresponding falls in supermarket prices. We were satisfied that cost reductions at the farm gate had either been passed through to retail prices or, where they had not, that there had been cost increases elsewhere in the supply chain. In a competitive environment, we would expect most or all of the impact of various shocks to the farming industry to have fallen mainly on farmers rather than on retailers; but the existence of buyer power among some of the main parties has meant that the burden of cost increases in the supply chain has fallen disproportionately heavily on small suppliers such as farmers.
Looked closely at the profitability of the main parties using a number of measures and a range of comparators. Found that the overall profitability of the industry could not be considered excessive over the period 1996 to 1999. However, we noted that profitability had been higher prior to 1996 and that recently announced figures showed a continued downward pressure on profits. We examined whether potentially higher profits were being absorbed through inefficiencies, but found that this was the case to only a very limited degree. However, land and building costs are higher in the UK than abroad, and profitability is measured after allowing for these higher costs.
We conducted a consumer survey. The evidence we received showed a high degree of satisfaction with supermarkets by those who shopped in them. However, our survey exposed some unsatisfied demand for particular supermarket fascias in some localities.
We examined the relevant aspects of the planning system and found that the more restricted availability of sites brought about by the changed planning guidelines in the 1990s had made entry into, and expansion within, multiple grocery retailing more difficult for parties wanting to acquire large sites in out-of-town locations.
We have found no reason to suggest changes to the planning regime or the balance of interests that the latest guidelines are seeking to achieve. The latest planning guidance in our view balances broader social and environmental objectives relating to the vitality of town and city centres with the needs of consumers for stores (but see paragraphs 1.13 to 1.15).
We considered a range of social and environmental issues relating to the growth of supermarkets, including their impact on employment, access by low-income groups, the impact on the viability and stability of town centres, some transport considerations and the emergence of food deserts. We identified problems in some of these areas, but none attributable to any anti-competitive behaviour on the part of the main parties.
We examined a number of practices in the industry. One group of practices concerned the pricing of grocery products. The second concerned actions by the main parties in their relations with their suppliers. For the purpose of investigating the pricing practices, we first identified the relevant economic market. We conclude that the market is for one-stop grocery shopping carried out in stores of 1,400 sq metres (about 15,000 sq feet) or more. We conclude that one-stop shopping patterns are primarily local, with consumers rarely travelling more than 10 minutes in urban areas, and rarely more than 15 minutes elsewhere to do their main weekly shopping. We consider that on the basis of various economic criteria, five of the main parties are able to exercise power in this market, namely Asda, Morrison, Safeway, Sainsbury and Tesco.
Regarding pricing practices, we examined five practices allegedly carried out by the main parties, about which we had received complaints. We concluded that three of them (see (a), (b) and (c) below) distorted competition and gave rise to a complex monopoly situation for the purposes of the FTA, and that two of these ((a) and (b)) also operated against the public interest:
We found that all the main parties (with the exception of M&S and Lidl) engaged in the practice of persistently selling some frequently purchased products below cost, and that this contributed to the situation in which the majority of their products were not fully exposed to competitive pressure and distorted competition in the supply of groceries. We took account of the fact that some consumers could benefit from being able to buy goods below cost, particularly low-income consumers, but at the same time that the practice damaged smaller reference stores and non-reference grocery outlets. This would in turn impact adversely on consumers, in particular the elderly and less mobile that tend to rely more on such stores. We conclude that the practice of persistent below-cost selling when conducted by Asda, Morrison, Safeway, Sainsbury and Tesco, ie those parties with market power, operates against the public interest.
They found that the practice of varying prices in different geographical locations in the light of local competitive conditions, such variation not being related to costs (which we termed 'price flexing'), was carried on by Budgens, the Co-ops, Netto, Safeway, Sainsbury, Somerfield and Tesco. We found that this practice contributed to a situation in which the majority of their products were not fully exposed to competitive pressures and which distorted competition in the supply of groceries. We conclude that the practice, when carried on by Safeway, Sainsbury and Tesco, who have market power, operates against the public interest because their customers tend to pay more at stores that do not face particular competitors than they would if those competitors were present in the area.
Fund that , Booth, Budgens, the Co-ops, Safeway, Sainsbury, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose adopted pricing structures and regimes that, by focusing competition on a relatively small proportion of their product lines, restrict active competition on the majority of product lines. We conclude that this distorts competition in the retail supply of groceries because not all the parties' products are fully exposed to competitive pressure. However, we found no evidence that this practice has contributed to excessive profits, or that consumers are paying higher prices overall. The majority of local areas provide adequate choice and competitive opportunity as between different pricing strategies pursued by the main parties. If there were consumer needs or preferences not being met in such areas, we believe that alternative price strategies would emerge and to some extent they have done so. We therefore conclude that the practice by 18 of the main parties of pricing so as to focus competition on a relatively small proportion of their product lines, while it does bring about a distortion of competition in the supply of groceries, does not on balance operate, and may not be expected to operate, against the public interest.
Setting the prices of own-label products in relation to their branded equivalents rather than their costs: we found that while the prices of branded and own-label products influenced each other, there was no evidence that own-label prices sheltered under a branded price 'umbrella' or, given the cost structures involved, that own-label products were excessively profitable.
Not reflecting changes in wholesale prices rapidly enough in retail prices: we found overall that in most cases there was a fairly rapid and reasonably complete transmission of short-term cost changes from wholesale to retail level, and so we conclude that the main parties do not follow this practice.
On persistent below-cost selling, we noted that prohibitions in other countries had not been very effective. For example, a report by the Irish Fair Trade Commission in 1991 considered that there was persuasive evidence that the prohibition of below-cost selling had resulted in higher prices overall, a decrease in price competition and an increase in margins. We also found difficulties with a possible remedy based on permitting other smaller retailers to purchase from the major parties any volume of goods at below cost for resale. We also considered that both remedies would require monitoring and intervention that would be disproportionate to the adverse effects they were designed to remedy. Therefore we make no recommendations for remedial action.
On price flexing, we considered a number of possible remedies, in particular: the imposition of national pricing; a requirement that prices should be broadly related to costs; and a requirement that the parties should publish their prices on the Internet. We conclude that all these remedies are either undesirable, disproportionate or present practical difficulties. We therefore make no recommendation for remedial action in respect of price flexing.
We recognize that it is unusual, although not unprecedented, for the CC to recommend no remedy for identified adverse effects. However, we consider that this is appropriate in the light of our overall finding that the market is generally competitive, and consistent with our duty to ensure that intervention in such a market must be proportionate and impose the least regulatory cost in seeking to remedy any adverse effects found.
As regards the second group of practices, relating to suppliers, we received many allegations from suppliers about the behaviour of the main parties in the course of their trading relationships. Most suppliers were unwilling to be named, or to name the main party that was the subject of the allegation. There appeared to us to be a climate of apprehension among many suppliers in their relationship with the main parties. They therefore put a list of 52 alleged practices to the main parties and asked them to tell us which of them they had engaged in during the last five years. They found that a majority of these practices were carried out by many of the main parties. They included requiring or requesting from some of their suppliers various non-cost-related payments or discounts, sometimes retrospectively; imposing charges and making changes to contractual arrangements without adequate notice; and unreasonably transferring risks from the main party to the supplier. We believed that, where the request came from a main party with buyer power, it amounted to the same thing as a requirement.
They conclude that five multiples (the major buyers-ASDA, Safeway, Sainsbury, Summerfield and Tesco), each having at least an 8 per cent share of grocery purchases for resale from their stores, have sufficient buyer power that 30 of the practices identified, when carried out by any of these companies, adversely affect the competitiveness of some of their suppliers and distort competition in the supplier market-and in some cases in the retail market-for the supply of groceries. We find that these practices give rise to a second complex monopoly situation.
These practices, when carried on by any of the major buyers, adversely affect the competitiveness of some of their suppliers with the result that the suppliers are likely to invest less and spend less on new product development and innovation, leading to lower quality and less consumer choice. This is likely to result in fewer new entrants to the supplier market than otherwise. Certain of the practices give the major buyers substantial advantages over other smaller retailers, whose competitiveness is likely to suffer as a result, again leading to a reduction in consumer choice. We took into account the advantages that can result from buyer power in relation to those suppliers with market power, and other offsetting benefits in relation to certain of the practices. We nonetheless conclude that the exercise of 27 of these practices by the five major buyers meeting the 8 per cent criterion operates against the public interest.
We believe that the most effective way of addressing these adverse effects would be a Code of Practice. We do not believe that a voluntary code would be adequate. Any multiple meeting the 8 per cent criterion should be required to give undertakings to comply with the Code of Practice, which should be designed to meet the concerns we have identified. It should include provisions for independent dispute resolution. Retailers and representatives of suppliers would best draw up the Code, but it should be approved by the DGFT as meeting our concerns. We consider it highly desirable that the other main parties should be involved in the process and comply with the Code.
Taking all the above matters into consideration, that the industry is currently broadly competitive and that, overall, excessive prices are not being charged, nor excessive profits earned. However, we have concerns about some aspects of the structure of local markets for one-stop grocery retailing in certain areas of the UK, and in particular about the limited choice of supermarket fascia for some consumers in some areas. This has been exacerbated by the shortage of land for new development and expansion. Moreover, whilst profitability among the main parties was not excessive from 1996 to 1999, it had been higher in previous years. Any further local concentration could weaken competition in some areas and might result in a return to higher levels of profitability.
They have found no reason to suggest any changes in the balance of interests now reflected in the planning system. However, the planning system is not designed to safeguard competition and consumer choice in multiple grocery retailing and we believe there is currently no way of addressing, through changes in the planning regime, the particular manifestations of lack of consumer choice that we have identified. They therefore recommend a new system of approval designed to address this problem. As this recommendation does not follow from adverse findings on either of the complex monopoly situations that we identified, or from facts found during the course of our inquiry, we recognize that it would not be enforceable without appropriate legislation.
We recommend that in certain clearly defined circumstances, the DGFT's approval should be required for particular parties to be allowed to acquire or develop large new stores. These are that if ASDA, Morrison, Safeway, Sainsbury or Tesco wish to acquire an existing store, or build a new store, having over 1,000 sq metres (about 11,000 sq feet) of grocery retail sales area within a 15-minute drive time of one of its existing stores, or significantly to extend the grocery retailing area of an existing store, it should be required to apply to the DGFT for consent. We think that a small, dedicated unit should be established to deal with such cases within the OFT. We recognize that this
proposal would represent an additional burden and some business risk for the parties and would entail a staffing and resource cost for the OFT. Despite these considerations, however, we believe the benefit to consumers would clearly outweigh these costs.
Finance
The money ASDA gets goes in different place like buying the products paying the workers and also goes to things like bills and building works and other thing to. The finance in ASDA is very good and relaxing I think that the workers like working in ASDA and also the people, which go to ASDA like buying products from them. I also think that the managers in ASDA are very good to there workers and also to their costumers to. I also think that ASDA is a good and interesting company. ASDA go so many money that they can bye about 10 more ASDAs in the whole wide world.
The finance Department manages the flow of money into and out of the organisation. Their activities will include:
* Credit control
* Supplier payments
* Budgeting and forecasting
* Payroll
Credit control
Some organisations deal only in cash sales. A small restaurant or hairdresser, for example will serve the customer and then expect to be paid right away. If you order something like a book over the internet, you will have to give a credit card number, so that the company knows it will be paid before it dispatches the goods.
Supplier payments
A supplier payment is a finance department to make sure that the company pays its own suppliers in time. In turn they will be given a month or more in which to pay their bills.
Finance- provides the money, pay bills, wages. They provide money for marketing such as advertising on T.V. They also deal with household insurance, life insurance, and pet insurance
Sales
The sales in ASDA are very good and I think that ASAD is one of the best sales companies. If you go to ASDA now ASDA will be full of people because ASDA is a very excellent company.
Most businesses exist to sell product or service. Manufacturers of raw goods such as paper, cloth, plastic or steel may sell to manufacturers who use these materials to make their products. They may sell to wholesalers who buy large quantities of finished goods. The wholesalers in turn will sell goods to retailers who put the goods in their shops or advertise them on the Internet or in catalogues, and sell them to the customer.
ICT in stock control
Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers keep a stock of goods so that they have some ready when customers place orders. They do not want to hold too much stock as the money tied up in the stock would be better off earning interests in the bank. On the other side, they do not want to be caught short. If they know that it takes about 2 weeks to replenish stock, then they need to keep about 2 or 3 weeks supply of stock in the warehouse.
It is good that the exact quantity of goods in stock is known. Otherwise, sales staff will not able to answer queries about whether a certain items are in stock, and no one will know when to order more stock. The computer system is needed to keep records of how much is an order, and other information about each product.
The main functions of a stock control system are to:
* Keep track of how much of each item is in stock.
* Record the reorder level for each item in stock.
* Generate reports to show, for example, current stocks levels, which items need to be recorded, what stock transactions have taken place within a given date range.
Each item will have its own reorder level, depending on how quickly it is used or sold and how quickly new stock can be obtained. When the quantity in stock need to be ordered.
Sales- they deal with goods like groceries and clothes they sort out staking shelves and they deal with the customers.
Marketing
ASDA are known for two famous marketing campaigns. The trouser pocket tapping "ASDA price" campaign and the smiley face "rollback" campaign as used by Wal*Mart.
The chief focus of ASDA's marketing campaign is their being the cheapest supermarket in the country - a claim often refuted by the competition especially Tesco however for the past seven years independant surverys have found ASDA the cheapest.
In October 2004 ASDA launched a new format. Called 'Asda Living', it is ASDA's first 'general merchandise' store, containing clothing, home electronics, toys, homewares, and health and beauty products. the first of this format opening in Walsall, west midlands and is to be followed by at least two further trial stores.
Sharon Osbourne has recently been selected to be part of a new marketing campaign by ASDA.
George
ASDA have their own range of clothing known as George. These are marketed as being quality fashionable clothing at affordable Asda prices.
Many George items bear the "No Excuses Guaranteed - Refund or replace" stickers, however the refund will be the current stickered price if no receipt is available.
PURCHASING
To help grocery retailers address the challenge of building unique brand
Positions, we conducted a major survey of 1,500 consumers across the UK, France and Germany, Focusing on the main grocery brands in each market. Customers were asked to
Complete a detailed questionnaire, designed to assess how they make their purchasing
Decisions, and how they regard different brands. The research identified the key attributes that drive consumers' grocery Shopping Decisions, and also showed that these attributes were very similar across countries.
In addition, it allowed us to identify three major consumer segments that exist
In all three countries: price-focused, affinity-focused (who care most about there
Affinity with The store brand, as explained below) and quality/service-focused consumers. The size of in an increasingly competitive market
Where shortening format life cycles Abound, grocers need to sharpen their focus on delivering what Customers really want. Understanding what really drives Grocery shopping decisions, and looking at where retailers are losing customers and why, will enable them to build and manage the brand in the most appropriate and targeted ways.
Traditionally, grocers focus on getting their operations - service, Range and price - right, and worry Relatively little about their brands. However, achieving first-class execution, although still fundamental, is no longer enough. As competition increases, and Operations become increasingly Standardized between retailers, it is more
And more important for grocers to be able
To differentiate them - and to excite Customer interest - using their brands.
These segments were found to differ substantially between countries: in the UK
The Affinity-focused segment is the largest, in France the quality/service-focused
Segment is the largest and in Germany the price-focused segment is the largest.
A key focus in the research was also to understand how individual brands convert
Consumers who are familiar with that brand into loyal shoppers. This is the key
Commercial challenge for any retailer, and we have used an innovative tool - the brand Funnel - to investigate it. Lastly, the research looked at how readily the different brands could be leveraged into new services and businesses. Not surprisingly, big-box brands scored Particularly well. For this article, we focus on two of the most important issues: how to find out
Hat Consumers really want and how grocery retailers can use the brand funnel
Systematically to build and manage their brand.
The standard way of finding out what consumers want is to ask them directly. But
Can Consumers' answers always be believed? Our research suggests not; it revealed
That what Grocery consumers say is important to them in deciding where to shop is not always the same as what actually drives their shopping decisions. We investigated this issue by first Asking consumers to state how important 40 different attributes were to them in deciding Where to shop. The list of attributes included functional qualities of grocery stores, such As, 'has quick and efficient service' and 'has low prices', as well as personality traits that Could be assigned to stores, such as 'trustworthy', 'fun' and 'modern', and other more
Emotional qualities, such as, 'makes me feel like a valued customer'.
We then looked at what drives grocery-shopping decisions. First, we asked consumers to Rate different grocery brands in their own country according to there
Performance on Each of the same 40 attributes. Then we asked them to say for each brand whether they would consider shopping at their stores. By combining how consumers rated brands with where they said they would shop, we were able to determine which specific Attributes actually drive shopping behaviour. For example, if a customer rated a brand Highly on service and also indicated that he or she would strongly consider shopping at their stores, then this shows that service really matters to that shopper. By comparing the statements that respondents made about the importance of the Different attributes with the 'actual' importance that we worked out from looking at Store consideration, we identified two significant differences between the two measures. The first difference is that, whereas customers tend to say that affinity attributes such as, people like me shop there' or 'it is recommended by my friends' are not important in deciding where to shop, our analysis of what drives store consideration shows that these attributes are in fact very important. Therefore, grocery stores need to think about how to build affinity with their customers, through marketing, in-store advertising and even in-store activities. They can do this by making it particularly clear in their communications who their target customer groups are - and by tailoring the communications to suit each group when targeting multiple groups of customers. The second difference is that, in contrast to the understated affinity factors, customers tend to overstate the importance of service in driving their shopping decisions. While they say service is relatively important, our analysis of what drives store consideration reveals that it has much less of an impact than they state. This has substantial implications for grocery managers, who, if they listened to what people say rather than observing what drives their shopping decisions, could easily be misled into over-investing in service at the expense of building affinity. Interestingly, our findings indicated that both differences were consistent across consumers in all three countries investigated.
Creating and communicating a brand image that addresses what customers really
Want - rather than what they say they want - should make grocery retailers successful
In getting customers to visit their stores. However, merely attracting customers is not enough. What grocers really need are not just visits, but customers who purchase
Regularly and, ideally, use their stores for their main weekly or fortnightly shop; achieving this is the 3 Ensuring that consumers feel an affinity with their store must be a top priority for retailers. Key objective of effective retail branding. At a financial level, it is essential: our research indicated that across all three
Countries, customers spent twice as much at grocery stores where they did there
Main grocery shop as they did at other stores they visited to make smaller/one-off Grocery purchases.
To address this issue in our customer research, we used the 'brand funnel' tool
. We asked all respondents to characterise their relationship with the major grocery brands in their country. This enabled us to see what percentages were familiar with each brand, how many had ever visited a store, how many had ever made a purchase, how many were currently purchasing and, finally, what percentage were using the store for their main grocery shop. At each stage in the funnel we were able to work out a conversion ratio, which indicates how well the brand is performing in converting
Customers to the next stage. Finally, we could calculate the percentage of
Respondents who used each brand as their main shop.
The first benefit of using the brand funnel is that it makes it possible to
Identify very precisely where each brand is losing customers in relation to its competitors.
Network Topologies
Topology refers to the shape of a network, or the network's layout. How different nodes in a network are connected to each other and how they communicate are determined by the network's topology. Topologies are either physical or logical. Below are diagrams of the five most common network topologies.
Mesh Topology
Devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between network nodes. In a true mesh topology every node has a connection to every other node in the network.
Star Topology
All devices are connected to a central hub. Nodes communicate across the network by passing data through the hub.
Bus Topology
All devices are connected to a central cable, called the bus or backbone.
Ring Topology
All devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side of it.
Tree Topology
A hybrid topology. Groups of star-configured networks are connected to a linear bus backbone.
. Bus - Both ends of the network must be terminated with a terminator. A barrel connector can be used to extend it.
2. Star - All devices revolve around a central hub, which is what controls the network communications, and can communicate with other hubs. Range limits are about 100 meters from the hub.
3. Ring - Devices are connected from one to another, as in a ring. A data token is used to grant permission for each computer to communicate.
.Advantages of a Linear Bus Topology
* Easy to connect a computer or peripheral to a linear bus.
* Requires less cable length than a star topology.
Disadvantages of a Linear Bus Topology
* Entire network shuts down if there is a break in the main cable.
* Terminators are required at both ends of the backbone cable.
* Difficult to identify the problem if the entire network shuts down.
* Not meant to be used as a stand-alone solution in a large building
Advantages of a Star Topology
* Easy to install and wire.
* No disruptions to the network then connecting or removing devices.
* Easy to detect faults and to remove parts.
Disadvantages of a Star Topology
* Requires more cable length than a linear topology.
* If the hub or concentrator fails, nodes attached are disabled.
* More expensive than linear bus topologies because of the cost of the concentrators
Advantages of a Tree Topology
* Point-to-point wiring for individual segments.
* Supported by several hardware and software vendors.
Disadvantages of a Tree Topology
* Overall the type of cabling used limits length of each segment.
* If the backbone line breaks, the entire segment goes down.
* More difficult to configure and wire than other topologies.
Hardware
Hardware is things on a computer that you can physically touch such as things like mouse, monitor, printer, scanner, soundcards and graphic cards are all types of different software. Hardware cannot work without software and software cannot work without hardware.
Mouse is a type of hardware there are many types of mouse such as optical mouse and mousse with rollers in there.
Optical mouse- Optical mice have several benefits over wheeled mice:
* No moving part means less wear and a lower chance of failure.
* There's no way for dirt to get inside the mouse and interfere with the tracking sensors.
* Increased tracking resolution means smoother response.
* They don't require a special surface, such as a mouse pad.
Although LED-based optical mice are fairly recent, another type of optical mouse has been around for over a decade. The original optical-mouse technology bounced a focused beam of light off a highly reflective mouse pad onto a sensor. The mouse pad had a grid of dark lines. Each time the mouse was moved, the grid interrupted the beam of light. Whenever the light was interrupted, the sensor sent a signal to the computer and the cursor moved a corresponding amount. This kind of optical mouse was difficult to use, requiring that you hold it at precisely the right angle to ensure that the light beam and sensor aligned. Also, damage to or loss of the mouse pad rendered the mouse useless until a replacement pad was purchased. Today's LED-based optical mice are far more user-friendly and reliable.
Epos
I will now look at different types of input devices that a large supermarket such as asda use there are many different input devices that they use such as:
A barcode reader- Barcodes are different groups of vertical bars that can be read by an optical scanner. Barcodes are printed on nearly every product that you can buy. Shops use barcodes because they are cheap to produce and very durable. A barcode reader scans each item that is bought from asda and other supermarkets as now these days to make it easier there are barcodes on every product that is printed by the manufacture of the product.
Every item in asda has a barcode at the back of it so it makes it easier for the staff at the till and they don't have to carry on asking other members of staff to check the prices. The computer looks up the current price listed against the bar code in a database. Discounts or loyalty credits are taken care of. The prices for all items are added up to provide a total - usually shown on a digital display.
The customer's debit card is scanned and the money is automatically transferred from the customer's bank account to the supermarket's account. If real cash is used then the correct amount of change is calculated. An itemised receipt is printed. Each item is automatically reordered from the warehouse via cable and made ready for the next delivery.
The EPOS tills read the bar codes on products at the checkouts. This is
Achieved by using a scanner, which sends out infrared laser beams via a set of mirrors, enabling the bar code to be read at most angles.
When an item is passed over the scanner, the black and white parts of the code are detected by the laser, as the black parts reflect very little light whilst the white parts reflect most of the
Effects of using ict in asda
Ict is really useful in asda because without ict there will be chaos there are many advantages of using ict in asda and they are:
* Everything takes place much more quickly and efficiently.
* The price of an item can be altered at any time simply be entering the new price against its bar code on the computer database.
Asda also uses epos for epay
Hizar nisar 10s
M-I-l
Ict and organisation
Hizar nisar 10s
MIL
Ict and organisation