Asda Stores Ltd Is A British Supermarket Marketing Essay

Asda Stores Ltd Is A British Super trade Marketing EssayIn the year 1999 ASDA became a subsidiary of the Ameri sticker end retail giant Wal-Mark the worlds largest retailer, and is now cognize to be the endorse largest chain in the UK. A survey d champion in December 2010 showed that 16.5% of UK grocery shoppers engagementd ASDA for their important shop call for, as they were realizeed to ASDAs special offers.ASDAs marketing promotions make up most of the era been on its hurt. They reach been known as Britains lowest priced supermarket for the past thirteen years. Since ASDA is a fully owned part of Wal-Mart, it does non needful to declargon quarterly or half-yearly earnings, and submits full accounts to Companies Ho role each October.Organizational Structure and cultivationOrganizational StructureASDAs organizational structure is a hierarchical structure. This is beca practise it has a lot of employees working in various departments of the political party. therefrom there study has to pass through m either great deal before it preserve reach the store passenger car. For an example, a co worker has to report to the supervisor, the supervisor has to report to the assistant manager/manager, the assistant manager/manager reports to the store manager. A hierarchical structure has m all aims. Each level is controlled by one person. A hierarchical comp all tends to be a very mammoth company just handle ASDA.ASDA refiningASDAs culture is unique from former(a) organizations in some(prenominal) a(prenominal) ways. ASDA has a assembly of over one hundred and seventy thousand working across the blood line. All employees fag a name badge, and obtain daily huddle to overhearhers to clench up to date on their performance. They strictly follow collar beliefs that atomic number 18, service to our nodes, respect for the somebody, strive for excellence.ASDA cogitates that their nodes argon at the heart of everything they do and that thei r purpose is to make sure enough that any their ingenuouss and go to be as affordable as contingent. They strongly believe that it is a culture to work as one team to support their stores, drawing on the force outs and experiences of individuals and sharing them with each newfound(prenominal).When it comes to ASDAs attitude, they believe in commitment, where great ideas spate be pose into action. They like to find out ways to do things, rather than looking for reasons not to do them.ASDA believes in huddles, and uses it to celebrate everyone informed about the care performance. They use huddles to communicate their key activities for the day and friend them remain focused and achieve the set goal for the day. Huddles to a fault give them the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate team and individual success.Every employee working at ASDA group Ltd wears a name badge. They believe that it makes it easier to be approached when wearing a name badge.ASDA holds The Big Br uch which is their quarterly huddle that is held at the ASDA House in Leeds. This gives the employees the opportunity to percent important information in a gaming and relaxed way. Normally the Big Bruch stick outs with a performance in the ASDA Houses atrium.Staffs working at ASDA are not pressurized to wear a jacket, as they believe that jackets are a barrier to be approached.ASDA believes in both(prenominal)thing called the ten institution rule, where if some(a)one is within ten feet from an employee, it atomic number 50 be anyone, either another employee or a customer or a provider, they should always say hello. They believe that it helps build an atmosphere of friendliness and respect, and after all it only resumes a second.Business ModelASDAs blood sector model is quite similar to any other big organizations commerce model, although the online business finish be a little more complex. ASDAs e-commerce platforms support online shopping for both general merchandise (G eorge clothing) and as thoroughly as groceries. The grocery business is operates out of one hundred and seventy five stores, and delivers to the local areas within each store, where they use nine-hundred delivery vehicles to cover up to 95% of all UK postcodes.The ASDA Direct business trades around seven hundred and fifty thousand stocked with and stockless products in partnership with other third party and carrier specialists. Currently they do home deliveries, alone save plans for the future, where the customer bequeath likewise have the election to place the format online and pick it up from any ASDA store. They launched their lollying time ASDA Direct catalogue in October 2010 and plan to use this to market the pro postal service ongoing. planetary VisibilityASDA Stored Ltd is a huge scale business, but may not be as big as the tonic Super Stores, where you send away find other additional facilities like launderettes etc. notwithstanding ASDA is known to be a huge s cale business as they provide services in many different sectors. While retailing in groceries and general merchandise, they excessively have a perish and insurance section, pharmacy section, opticians section and similarly their own mobile network provider.ASDA has two hundred and 90 three stores operating in the UK and has over one hundred and seventeen thousand employees. They to a fault have many stores oversea in different countries but operate under different names, but sell the same products.Business AlliancesMajor business alliance of ASDA is George Davies partnership. All the clothing section of ASDA is Georges. The partnership was started in 65 stores in February 1989. ASDA became a part of wal-mart group in the year 1999.Business ProcessASDAs business process is structured of four typesCustomersOperating ModelColleaguesShareholders(i) CustomersWhen it comes to their customers, ASDA believes inTreating the customers happily.Keeping the redeeming(prenominal)s unatta ched to the customers at any time.Providing best whole step of goods.Providing the products cheaply.(ii) Operational ModelMaintain prices lower when compared to other competitors.Maintaining lower prices at any circumstances.(iii) ColleaguesProviding good environment at the work place.Willing to work with others in a professional way.(iv) ShareholdersMaintaining new formatsEnriching return on investmentStep 02SWOT depth psychology for ASDAINTERNALStrengthsCost prefer Can afford to lower prices to attract new customers.InnovationOnline growth Online shopping becoming a lot more popular and ASDA has a good stiff website.Loyal customers Loyal customers coming back again and again purchasing from the businessStrong brand equityStrong monetary positionSupply chainPricing necktie to Wal-MartMini Cafes (Restaurants)WeaknessesQuality of food substandardNot having gun send(Tesco etc has)No Express stores (Tesco etc has)No stores foreign with same nameEXTERNALOpportunitiesProduct and services expansionTakeoversDiversity to Petrol stationOpening Express StoresExpansion abroad by opening stores abroad with same nameThreats arguingEconomic slowdownExternal compounds (government, politics, taxes, etc) transform rate fluctuationsPrice warsProduct substitutionPorters Five Forces ModelPOTENTIAL ENTRANTS(Treat of Mobility)SUPPLIERS(Supplier Power)BUYERS(Buyer Power)SUBSTITUTES(Treat of Substitutes)INDUSTRY RIVALRY effort RivalryCurrent Competitors Tesco, Sainsbury, Marks and SpenserGrowing industry possibility of new competitorsCustomers have low transmutation salutesFixed cost are high resulting huge production and reduction in prices scrag barriers are high and rivals stay and competePossible Solution for ASDA to avoid agonistical rivalry amidst their competitors (Tesco etc)They should avoid price contestASDA should differentiate their productsBy reducing industry over-capacityThey should focus on different segmentsAlso they should communicate with their com petitorsNew EntrantsPotential competitors with capital requirements to start a business is less exchange of same/similar products or servicesCustomers can easily switch (low slip costs)Price competitionPossible ways that ASDA may reduce the holy terror of new entrantsBy increasing sales capacityHave alliances with other products and servicesCreate a brand image (they do have it)By tying up with their suppliersBy typing up with their distributersEnd users/buyersBuyers purchasing in bulk cadenceNo differentiation in productsBuyers can easily switch to competitors productPrice sensitive buyersin truth low cost (would think twice)Possible ways for ASDA to reduce the bargaining power of their customersASDA should increase their customer loyaltyUse of customer relationship managementBy increasing incentives and value added services for their customersSuppliersSuppliers existence strong and surface organizedSuppliers can demand when not many suppliers of that particular product is av ailableSuppliers can demand when they supply an gear upive or unique productWhen the switching cost of supplier is highWhen the supplier has captured the marketPossible ways for ASDA to reduce the bargaining power of their suppliersADSA should take a crap partnerships with their suppliersASDA should use a supply chain managementProviding supply chain trainingBy increasing dependence of supplier on themBy building knowledge of their supplier costs and methodsBy taking of a supplierSubstitutesCustomers can switch when there are many substitute products available in the marketWhen customers find the same product or service for a cheaper price elsewhereBetter quality products found at a competitorCompetitor earning high profits can reduce price of the substitute product to the lowest levelPossible ways for ASDA to reduce the threats of their substitutesBy increasing switching costsHaving customer surveys to learn customer preferencesEmphasize on differencesAlliances with other compani esStep 03Bringing competitive advantage through cloud calculateWhat is cloud reckoning?Cloud computing is an online form of computing and is closely associated with Web 2.0. It enables users to nark applications using a browser, while the application is installed and stored along with the entropy on a server. This helps companies to reduce their capital costs, by not having the need to acquire software package and thornyware. Cloud computing has become a whole new form of computing where it put ups thousands of users from all parts of the world to retrieve something without the need of having to download and install them on their computers.Advantages of cloud computingReduced cost. It would help ASDA Stores Ltd to receive secure, managed hosting at a very low cost. Also they are able to access it from any computer and simmer down have the file they require. This also makes it easier for the company as they do not have to reproduce the software and ship out to all its bran ches. By using cloud computing it would help ASDA to reduce it cost and only pays a rent to the server space required.When ASDAs requirements grow they do not have to purchase any additional hardware in order to upgrade their servers, which may also help them keep the cost down.Cloud computing automatically modifys the servers for the owners. Therefore owners no longer have to hire specialists to update their servers.Cloud computing is mobile. It lets its users at ASDA connect with any device, which means they can do their work from any part of the world as far as they have access to the mesh. This could save time and also information to be up to date.ASDA users can log onto the network without having to download anything. This saves them time and hard begin space.An important feature of cloud computing is that companies care recourses. This means that they are allowed access to the resources via cloud computing. This also helps ASDA save time and money by placing all their reso urces in one place which makes it easy for its employees to access.It benefits ASDA to keep their files safe on their servers and less likely to be lost or stolen on a hard drive.The server will have an offsite backup in case something goes wrong. Therefore ASDA does not have to disquiet about losing any information.Disadvantages of cloud computingAdditional cost of data transfer feesAnother disfavor about cloud computing is that you do not have control over the remote servers, their software, or their securityThe companys data is with a third-party companyIt may be hard to transfer large amounts of data from the provider.Transforming competitive advantage with fond mediaWhat is companionable media?Social media integrates the online technology and methods through which people can share content, give their personal opinions and swap different perspectives.Social media website can be made up of many ways. They may includeText often used to share opinions or post on blogsImages t o share images and photosAudio allows you to create podcasts which users may downloadVideo you may record a video and share it with everyoneNowadays some of the most popular types of social media websites are ofSocial networking much(prenominal) websites allow you to create a profile of yourself and chat, discuss and also share information with others. A few examples of popular social networking sites are FaceBook, MySpace, Bebo.Wikis they are websites that lets you create, edit and share information on a particular subject or topic. An example of wikis is Wikipedia.Video Sharing you may upload and share videos with the web community. An example of such website is YouTube. icon Sharing Users may upload pictures and images from their account and can share them with other users around the world. An example of such website is Flickr.News aggregation Provides a list of the latest news that is published by users from a err of different websites. An example of a news aggregation website is Digg.Social Bookmarking users of such sites are allowed to publicly bookmarker web pages that they may find valuable or interesting and share them with other users.Online gaming Lets users do play games online. An example of online gaming is World of Warcraft.Presence apps Such websites lets users to post micro blog-like posts and tell others what they are doing. An example of such website is Twitter.Advantages of Social MediaIt is said that Asda.com home shopping service serves 97% in the country. ASDA launched financial services such as providing personal loans, general insurance, life insurance and credit cards. Its aim is to take trouble out of financial planning and insurance and to offer cheap prices.ASDAs thinking about social mediaIssues get alerted in a brilliant way.Informing things to head office and as well as store level.Strategy is enough for digital world, no need of digital system.Be prepared to tone good or bad. slightly future ways of ASDA Communica tionASDA may create blogs, in order to get feedback from customers etc.They may aid themselves through social networks such as facebook etc.They also may use multimedia or photography in order to advertise their company. And also could allow their customers to comment on their products. This way they may be able to see what their customers think about their products and services and may change it according to customer requirements.Can mobility bring competitive advantage?What is Mobility?Mobility solutions gives people the opportunity to access the companys information from anywhere in the world at anytime in a flawless and secure manner. By making information accessible from anywhere in the world, it can be guaranteed that employees would not have to wait for the data to reach them in other means when making an important decision. Another use of mobility applications is that it can be used to capture delayed or lost information.In the past mobility at once used to refer to notebo oks. Although notebooks have a positive side, they have several limitations to what they can do. They can be bulky to carry around, expensive, they require a data connection in order to connect to the internet and also most of the time have a low battery life. Nowadays most of us have replaced the use of notebooks with powerful, with a much longer battery life hand held devices such as organizers and Smartphones. Users can connect to the internet from their cellular networks signal or may also have the option of connecting via Wi-Fi.In most companies Email is the most important application when it comes to mobility. Therefore in most companies the elderly management have been equipped with Blackberry and other similar devices with push email technology, which helps easy access to their emails. Even the middle and junior level management can only benefit in mobility solutions in order to guarantee higher levels of productivity and efficiency.Mobility applications can consist of var ious functionalities such as gross sales force autonation, customer relationship management, logistics tracking and planning, performance tracking, push alerts and much more. Using these types of applications can be as easy as typing SMS or as powerful as hi-tech applications tally on Smartphones.Before a company can go ahead with the use of mobility solutions, it first needs to consider several restrictions. The company needs to first evaluate which of its business processes require the access to information (PCs). For an example the sales function where the staff requires the latest and accurate information, while having limited access to the companys IT network. after(prenominal) evaluating what business processes require access to information (PCs), the company then has to finalise what form of applications they will consider. For some business processes of the company, plain SMS-based querying might be enough. This means the application may be installed on the animate mobil e phone that most of the companys staff are having. But if the mobile phones do not have to complexity to hold such softwares, the company might have to provide complex machines such as PDAs or smartphones in order to be able to use such softwares. But for other business process in the company may need of much high tech equipment than a PDA or smartphone.But mobility can also sometimes have a negative side to it. Some employees would take a long time to get used to using such mobile devices, and some employees may not like using such devices, this may have a negative effect on the company.Since the devices are mobile, there are possibilities of thefts or losing the devices. And since it may contain valuable company information, it may be a huge concern to the company of losing such equipment. But to overcome such incidents and to nurture their data, companies may install a password based access into the devices, and also have firewalls to avoid hacking. These are some possible ways of protecting the companys data.Step 04Our business strategy for ASDA consists of three stepsAnalysisIntegrationImplementation(i) AnaysisIn the analysis part, in order to develop a business strategy for ASDA, we are going to use the SWOT analysis we did in step 2. Using the SWOT analysis, it will help us gather, analyze and evaluate information and identify strategic options that ASDA is facing. We chose SWOT analysis to help develop a business strategy for ASDA because we believe that SWOT analysis is a very trenchant way of identifying the strengths and impuissancees, as well as examining the opportunities and treats that ASDA may face.Using the SWOT analysis framework, we have put in place what we believe are the Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of ASDA. Strengths and weaknesses are known to be internal while opportunities and threats are outdoor(a).INTERNALStrengthsCost advantage Can afford to lower prices to attract new customers.InnovationOnline growth Onl ine shopping becoming a lot more popular and ASDA has a good secure website.Loyal customers Loyal customers coming back again and again purchasing from the businessStrong brand equityStrong financial positionSupply chainPricingAffiliation to Wal-MartMini Cafes (Restaurants)WeaknessesQuality of food substandardNot having petrol stations(Tesco etc has)No Express stores (Tesco etc has)No stores abroad with same nameEXTERNALOpportunitiesProduct and services expansionTakeoversDiversity to Petrol stationsOpening Express StoresExpansion abroad by opening stores abroad with same nameThreatsCompetitionEconomic slowdownExternal changes (government, politics, taxes, etc)Exchange rate fluctuationsPrice warsProduct substitution(ii) IntergrationUsing this knowledge, we can now develop a plan of action by first matching the strengths and weaknesses with the opportunities in the external environment, and also oppose any possible threats that might create a danger to plans.A weakness seen in ASDA i s that they do not have any petrol stations or any affiliate petrol stations. Their competitors like Tesco has their petrol stations and also other competitors have affiliated petrol stations where they can use discount coupons to get discounts on petrol. ASDA can use change this weakness into an opportunity. Since they are in a strong financial position, they can start their own petrol stations, or get together with a petrol station and sign a contract with them, where their customers can get discounts on petrol when they shop with ASDA.Another weakness ASDA faces is that they do not have any express stores like their competitor Tesco does. Taking into notice that they are in a strong financial position, having a good supply chain, low cost prices, and also being affiliated to wal-mart, they can use this weakness and change it into an opportunity by opening express stores. This could be a huge gain for ASDA. But by doing so, they should also take into context the threats they cou ld face. Because when Tesco started their express stores they faced many issues with other shop owners and the government. Therefore ASDA first look into the external changes (government, politics, taxes etc).Although ASDA has stores abroad with other names with different spellings, that sell the exact same products. some people would not know that it is a part of ASDA. When you look at ASDAs competitor Tesco, they have many stores in many other countries with the same company name. This helps them build up their company name and brand. Therefore if ASDA can also do the same and open stores abroad with its name they can build a better name recognition. And since they are affiliated to Wal-mart, and also currently having stores abroad with different spellings, they already have a good supply chain and structure active already. So it would be easy for ASDA to start its branches abroad with the same name. Since they already have stores abroad with different spellings which are active, the threats of starting business abroad are to a minimum. The possible threats they could have faced is the exchange rate fluctuations, price wars as other countries would have other local competitors etc. But since they already have stores operating abroad, it would be easier to start stores with their own ASDA name.Another possible opportunity that ASDA may consider is expansion of their products and services. Since they are an affiliation to wal-mart, which is considered to be the worlds largest retail company, this can be a positive thing for ASDA. And since they have much other strength like being in a strong financial position, affordable low cost prices, good supply chain, strong brand equity and loyal customers, it would be a good idea for them to augment the number of stores, and also introduce more services. For an example a launderette. This would help the customers benefit more, as they can put their clothes to wash while they shop. By doing so, they would first have t o look for any possible threats. For an example Competition. They would have to first see if there is any other company specializing in this clear up of business, who are offering low cost laundry services close to their stores and whether they would be any threat to ASDA.Another opportunity for ASDA could be takeovers. Since they are in a strong financial position, and a well reputable company, they should see if they can buy over any possible companies that they see could be a possible threat in the future.(iii ) ImplementationAfter matching up the strengths and weaknesses with the opportunities while taking into consideration the possible threats that can affect the plan, we now move onto the implementation part.In this section, ASDA will have individual teams that will have respective roles in bringing the strategy to succeed, by applying specific tactics that is true in order to support the strategy. So by appointing different teams to work on different subsections of the bus iness strategy, this could help the implementation stage to be a success.Since ASDA is not sure how the results would turn out to be, it is not wise for ASDA to spend a lot of money and time at once into starting something new. Therefore, as a trial, they should first start it on a small scale, and according to its progress they should then decide whether it is going to benefit the company or not.In order to see the progress of the implementation of the new strategies, ASDA will include a measurement module. This is derived from the overall goals established to accomplish the business mission. The goals are bemused down, by the new business and the time estimated to accomplish them.The business strategy will include a module to periodically evaluate the current progress against goals. Based according on how well the business strategy has led to goal achievement, the strategic analysis process is repeated to adjust the strategy as required.Theme we selectedIn order for ASDA to achie ve their goals, we believe that social media will bring the most competitive advantage out of the three themes. This is because ASDA is already a well established company and has a well balanced infrastructure with all the necessary technology and people to operate them.Although cloud computing and mobility also have their positive sides, for an example, in cloud computing, a company does not have keep buy new servers as their business grows, and do not have to spend a lot of money in updating the software and installing new servers etc, and with the use of mobility, according to the business process they can provide their staff with various mobile devices to carry out their tasks to cut down on time etc. But as said before ASDA is not a new company and has been in operation for many years. Therefore they have already invested in all the necessary technology and people they need. If ASDA was a new company it might have been a good option to consider either cloud computing or mobili ty as they would not have to spend a lot of money on servers etc and pay for only what they require.Since ASDA already has the necessary technology and people, they have to focus on ways to improve their business. This includes what options are there to improve their business, what their customers think about their current products and services, their competitors etc.So by using social media, they are able to achieve this. They are able to advertise their products in many different ways and also get good feedback from their customers, which will help them to know whether their customers are cheerful with their products and services and change it according to the customer requirements.Some ways they could use social media is by having blogs where customers can write on. This is a good way to know what their customers think about their products. This way issues get alerted in a brilliant way, and they are able to cater according to the customer needs. They also may promote themselves through social networking, which also is a good and effective way. These are some of the ways they can use social media to improve on their business.Then according to their customer feedback, they can start implementing the opportunities which they collected in the SWOT analysis by converting the weaknesses into opportunities with the help of their strengths while taking into consideration the possible threats they may face.Then they could also move onto having a social network within the organization, where they can have a blog where employees within the company can share their thoughts and ideas on how to improve their products and services to satisfy customer requirements.