CORPORATE STRATEGY(LB5113)

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

(MARKS AND SPENCER)

ASSESSMENT
BY
SURIYAPRASANTH RAVI
JC ID:14409464
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. resources AND CAPABILITIES OF Mark and Spencer's 4

2.1.Tangible resources: 4

2.1.1 Land : 4

2.1.2 Equipment : 4

2.1.3 Material: 4

2.2. Intangible resources: 4

2.2.1. Brand repuTation: 4

2.2.2. Intellectual property: 5

2.2.4. Customer experience: 5

2.2.5 Imports quotas: 5

2.3. Core competence for mark and spencer 5

3.1. Primary and Secondary Value Chain Activities: 7

3.1.1. Inbound Transport: 7

3.1.2. Operations: 7

3.1.3. Outbound Transportation: 7

3.1.4. Sales and Marketing: 7

3.1.5. Services: 7

3.2. Support Activities in the Value Chain of Spencer Marks 7

3.2.1. Infrastructure of the Business: 7

3.2.2. Human Resource Administration: 8

3.2.3. Scienti c Advance: 8

3.2.4. Spencer Marks' Procurement Operations: 8

Reference 11
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 1. INTRODUCTION
M&S (Marks & Spencer) is a British general retailer with stores throughout the UK, Europe, the
Americas, and the Far East. It o ers goods under the St. Michael brand, including apparel, gifts,
home goods, and food. The rm also provides nancial servicesIn Leeds in 1884, Michael Marks
established Marks & Spencer. The company worked to develop itself by focusing on value and
low prices. By 1949, the company tores began to carry the label.

The company mission is to o er consumers with high quality, value, and service. M&S products
are considered to be of excellent value and quality, with nearly 300 stores in the United Kingdom.
M&S continues to operate 289 stores in the United Kingdom, 11 in Europe, and 267 in Canada.
This outcomes in a 33% market share in the UK. M&S has been able to maintain inventory and
distribution under control while expanding. Those who also had control over their 50 suppliers,
which helped them to improve results. Until the late 1990s, when there was a dramatic fall in sales
and general corporate performance, everything was good.

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 2. RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES OF MARK AND
SPENCER'S

The resource-based concept and methodology for strategic management The assessment,
identi cation, and strategic alignment of the resources that provide a business a competitive edge
are the foundation of the RBV framework.

In accordance RBV, all organisations and rms have access to, possess, and control resources
which allow them to build a comparative advantage. A subset of these resources, in turn,
empowers superior long-term performance. Possession and control of important resources may
lead to long-term, sustainable competitive advantage.

2.1.TANGIBLE RESOURCES:

Tangible assets are physical resources that can be easily identi ed by the organisation and
competitors. Moreover, these resources can be easily procured from the market or developed
over time. As a consequence of this, where competitors may acquire identical or similar resources
They would provide almost no competitive advantage to the company in the future.

2.1.1 LAND :

Marks & Spencer Group plc's segmented feature of land covers all properties it owns or leases for
the purpose of housing manufacturing facilities and warehousing. In addition, all the units the
corporation owns or leases for packaging purposes are regarded as xed assets under the law of
land.

2.1.2 EQUIPMENT :

Marks And Spencer Group Plc, equipment is another tangible resource that includes all of the
company's equipment used for production and packaging, as well as other operational purposes.
IIn this manner, all technical developments and technological integration to enhance operations
and processes can be viewed as an expansion of the company's equipment utilized to enhance
its product line and incorporate economies of scale.

2.1.3 MATERIAL:

Materials refer to all of the raw materials and other packaging materials used among Marks &
Spencer Group Plc to satisfactorily fabricate and shipment its products. Since the materials are
physical, major competitors can quickly acquire them for use in their own manufacturing
procedures and other activities.

2.2. INTANGIBLE RESOURCES:

Intangible assets are those that have no physical value but are still owned and possessed by
companies like Marks & Spencer Group Plc. Because of related factors and aspects of historical
uniqueness, causal ambiguity, and social complexity, competing players are commonly unable to
purchase or acquire the intangible resources available to Marks And Spencer Group Plc.
Intangible resources are largely exceptional and are likely to stay within the organisation in the
long run, serving as the base of Marks And Spencer Group Plc's competitive advantage.

2.2.1. BRAND REPUTATION:

Marks As well as Spencer Collective Plc's brand reputation is founded on chronological

distinctiveness, where the brand has worked hard to provide high-quality merchandise and gain
consumer trust over decades. The brand reputation of the company, which is based on its
Competitors cannot copy organizational culture or the distinctive interaction with customers,
which can be a source of competitive advantage.

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 2.2.2. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:

In an e ort to stop rival companies from stealing or accessing Marks and Spencer Group plc's
distinctive product mix, product materials, and inputs, intellectual property rights seek to preserve
the company's manufacturing processes and the distinctiveness of its products.

2.2.3. GOOD WILL:

Marks And Spencer Group Plc's goodwill is established through historical uniqueness, where the
brand's reputation and customer experience have allowed the development of long-standing
goodwill for the company. As a consequence, Marks And Spencer Group Plc's overall brand
equity has improved. The Marks And Spencer Group Plc brand's goodwill has been built over
time through continuous hard work, and it cannot be reproduced by competing companies.

2.2.4. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE:

Marks And Spencer Group Plc o ers its customers a one-of-a-kind customer experience through
its brand activities and o erings, as well as promotional e orts. Although those attempting to
compete with competitors may copy marketing strategies, the strategic direction and scope for
which customer experience and brand operations are planned is distinct and gives Marks and
Spencer Group a distinct source of competitive advantage.

2.2.5 IMPORTS QUOTAS:

Marks & Spencer Group Plc has established strategic approval process agreements with various
countries. These quotas cover not only nished products but also unique natural resources and
their import into various countries to support business processes. As a direct consequence, the
de ned import quotas cannot be recreated by other companies since they are based on The
Marks And Spencer Group Plc's unique position and future plan.

2.3. CORE COMPETENCE FOR MARK AND SPENCER

Due to its high value, dependability, and constant quality, as well as the fact that investors and
customers have already placed their trust in it and that its management quality is very good, its
sourcing practices have the ability to convey a feeling of who it is. Good for M&S is good for the
country and showcases business in its most sincere light.

Marks & Spencer has su ered greatly as a result of the business world's revolutionary change.
nancial crisis, Marks & Spencer dramatically altered its product, customer, price, and advertising
plan. Marks & Spencer adjusted their approach in response to the e-commerce revolution and
launched e-commerce, which ultimately impacted its marketing strategy. Marks & Spencer
employed a di erentiation strategy, such as own brand products and premium brand
presentation, due to the huge supply of comparable products on the market. In order to be more
competitive, Marks & Spencer has evaluated its product prices in response to the threat of
replacement products.

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2.4. VIRO ANALYSIS

RESOURCES / VALUE RARE INIMITABLE ORGANIZED ADVANTAGES

COMPETENCE

LAND Yes No No Yes Competitive balance

EQUIPMENT Yes No No Yes Competitive balance

MATERIAL Yes No No Yes Competitive balance

BRAND REPUTATION Yes Yes Yes Yes Competitive Advantage

INTELLECTUAL Yes Yes Yes Yes Competitive Advantage

PROPERTY

GOOD WILL Yes Yes Yes Yes Competitive Advantage

CUSTOMER Yes Yes Yes Yes Competitive Advantage

EXPERIENCE

IMPORTS QUOTAS Yes Yes No Yes Temporary Competitive

Advantage

3. VALUE CHAIN AND VALUE SYSTEM

The overall value system of an industry, which may involve businesses upstream (suppliers),
downstream (distribution channels), or both, contains a Spencer Marks value chain as one of its
parts.Managers at Marks and Spencer Limited must consider each activity as part of the value
system and how adding or attempting to remove operations a ects the value chain at Marks and
Spencer Ltd. The decision is about where to spot themself in the moral code.

FRIM INFRASTRUCTURE
( Eg, financing,
planning,investor,relations)

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

( eg, recruiting, training, compensation system )

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
(eg, product design, processdesign,
market research)

PROCUREMENT
(Eg, services, machine, advertising,
data)

Operation Inbound logistics

After -sales services
( eg, customer access, data Outbound logistics Marketing& sales
(eg, Branch Operation, collection, (Eg, salesforce,
(Eg, installation Customer
( Eg, order processing, support, complaint resolution.
assembly, component incomingmaterial promotion advertising,
Repair
storage,services warehousing, report proposal writing,website
fabrication
preparation

FIGURE 1
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 3.1. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY VALUE CHAIN ACTIVITIES:

According the Value Chain model, there are two broad categories of activities: primary activities
and supporting activities.

3.1.1. INBOUND TRANSPORT:

These Spencer Marks operations deal with the acquisition, storage, and distribution of product
inputs. A digital media corporation must take into account logistics, physical product storage, and
architecture for collecting and storing client information. The majority of Spencer Marks' current
inbound logistics activities are outsourced.

3.1.2. OPERATIONS:

To adapt to its consumers' evolving requirements, M&S has made investments in a variety of sub-
brands, in-store bakeries, and an improved in-store shopping experience. However, the company
ran into issues in 2014–2015 when attempting to combine delivery from its Castle Donington
facility with its online activities. As a result, customers canceled their delayed orders . In order to
increase supply chain exibility and customer availability, more money is being put into the
logistics network and IT systems at General Motors. At the end of 2015, the company was forced
to brie y shut down its website due to a security breach, and in 2016, customers are still having
issues with the company's poorly integrated IT systems.

3.1.3. OUTBOUND TRANSPORTATION:

For the purpose of getting nished goods to channel partners and nal consumers, Spencer
Marks must carry out these tasks. Supply chain management, strategy, distributors and retailers
delivery process, warehouses and process are some examples of outbound logistics activities.

3.1.4. SALES AND MARKETING:

Spencer Marks wants to engage in these activities to create pathways for buyers to purchase a
company's products. Promoting, selling prices, company sales strategic planning, market
research, network design, and other topics are depicted.

3.1.5. SERVICES:

M&S is making investments in customer service despite challenges with its in-store service,
including an increase in the amount of out-of-stock items and online service. In its apparel
business, it has implemented free shipping for orders placed above a speci ed £50 threshold, free
next-day store pickup, and free returns by mail or in-store up to 35 days from purchase. The
company has introduced personnel zoning across restaurants in its food sector and is continually
increasing the number of employees in the store.

3.2. SUPPORT ACTIVITIES IN THE VALUE CHAIN OF SPENCER MARKS

As the name suggests, Spencer Marks Support Activities are those that help the company's
Primary Activities. Porter divided support activities into four broad categories, and each of these
categories is further separated into a variety of distinctive value activities that are speci c to the
sector in which Spencer Marks operates. The following are the four types of general support
activities.

3.2.1. INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE BUSINESS:

Examples of rm infrastructure support operations at Spencer Marks include quality management,

strategy, general administration, nancial and accounting, and legal assistance.

Although the range varies despite Spencer Marks being a signi cant organization even within the
industry, the infrastructural activities of the rm assist the whole value chain. Even while quality
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 assurance, accounting, and legal matters are addressed at the level of business units at Spencer
Marks, nances and planning, for instance, are controlled at the corporate level.

3.2.2. HUMAN RESOURCE ADMINISTRATION:

In a setting where each organization has the ability to become a learning organization, human
resources management is essential to the success of every organization. HRM support activities
include recruitment, learning & development, organization better, compensation, and employee
recognition, selecting, and employing at both the corporate and business unit.

3.2.3. SCIENTIFIC ADVANCE:

Technology supports almost all of the operations in a modern rm. In the technology sector,
technological advancement has started to give companies a competitive edge. Plan of the
company, eld experiments, feature design, system design, and process engineering are only a
few of Spencer Marks' technological development operations.

3.2.4. SPENCER MARKS' PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS:

Activities conducted to purchase inputs utilized by Spencer Marks' value chain are included in the
company's procurement activities. It excludes the actual inputs for purchases. The following are
examples of inputs that have been purchased: raw materials, supply, tools, machinery, lab
equipment, o ce equipment, and buildings.

All value chain activities, including procurement, rely on technology for processes, supplier
relationships, data management, supply chain partner certi cation standards, and continual
performance review.

4. THE FUTURE COMPETITIVENESS AND STRATEGIES

OF MARKS AND SPENCER

4.1. MARKET DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES?

The management of Marks & Spencer can increase sales by implementing market expansion
methods that allow them to expand into new nations. Since M&S's products are of great quality,
the company can quickly expand into new markets because to its reputation. Given that the items
are of high quality and o ered at reasonable rates, the brand value of M&S can even assist the
company in entering new market segments and bringing in new clients. This approach can be
used by M&S's food, clothes, and home goods divisions to expand and generate signi cant
pro ts for the corporation.

4.2. NEW STRATEGIES AND MANAGING EXISTING RESOURCES & CAPABILITIES:

One can advise M&S, given the current state of a airs, to review its marketing strategy in order to
attract younger audiences and appeal to demographics other than the current one. Despite being
very pro table, the current marketing approach excludes a wide range of consumers from its
calculations, suggesting that M&S missed out on a number of opportunities in its chosen market.
The corporation must learn from its previous errors and refrain from funding concepts that were
overused a decade ago. Instead, M&S will need to develop the ability to take into account future
trends and create reasonably accurate projections regarding changes in consumer demand within
the target market.

For M&S, the concept of product diversity has undoubtedly been a refreshing change because it
has enabled the company refocus its operating model for the worldwide market. Additionally, the
company's entry into the supermarket and grocery store sector has helped it make new

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 connections with a distinct consumer base, enabling it to position itself as a business that serves
a variety of people.

Additionally, it is obvious that the business requires a strategy built on innovation, one that will
make implementing change in its environment relatively simple. Few e orts have been made to
incorporate the idea of change into M&S's core body of operations, despite the fact that the
company modi ed its business plan to avoid the traditionalist attitude it has inherited as a part of
the company's British cultural past. The rm must therefore continue to adapt to the market's
continually altering trends in demand while having greatly improved its business performance.

As the 2001 entry into the European market demonstrated, M&S will require the help of other
signi cant businesses given the need to grow and the challenges it will confront in a new
environment and with new audiences. In order to limit M&S's marketing strategy and supply
chain, the current corporate strategy will need to be reevaluated. In particular, M&S will need to
increase the number of shops and distributors in its supply chain. The infrastructure of M&S's
supply chain will alter because, even if the company's current team of suppliers appears to be
enough, it may need a bigger number of new options.

Last but not least, the rm will need to change the set of marketing strategies and tactics it
currently employs. While the modi cation of the customer segmentation methodology used by
M&S may be considered as a signi cant step forward, more adjustments will be required to help
the company once again achieve traction in the target economies. Applying the STP model, it
becomes clear that the business must conduct a better analysis of the needs and desires in the
target environment, particularly in the Irish and European markets for clothes as well as for food
and grocery. M&S will be able to develop the marketing strategy by grouping its target markets
according to their age, gender, socio-cultural background, and other traits. 

4.3. FUTURE STRATEGIES:

The corporation currently appears to be having trouble identifying in audiences from the younger
generation and developing a framework for appealing to customers from various ethnic
backgrounds. Similar challenges include marketing M&S's products for a broad audience of
customers and building a strong brand identity. As a result, it could be wise to encourage the
business to increase its spending on R&D and market research while lowering the expenses
associated with some of its supply chain procedures, such transportation. The infrastructure of
the SCM process can be reviewed in order to achieve the latter. The performance of the company
can be saved and even improve as a consequence of modi cations in the current business
strategy.

Additionally, M&S may be able to strengthen its competitive advantage and establish a distinctive
brand identity with the help of the appeal to a larger audience and a new marketing plan for
attracting younger audiences. Since it will determine the marketing strategy the company will use,
a thorough psychographic research of the possible clients for the company will be most
necessary. Given the state of the grocery and food industries as well as the fashion industry, the
business may need to concentrate on its diversi cation of product o erings and use of digital
channels, particularly social media, to attract customers.

Instead of continuing to use the general strategy it has been using for years, the company has
already begun investigating the prospects for customer-speci c marketing (Calu et al., 2016).
Nevertheless, the outlined step will necessitate a shift in M&S's priorities from running its business
as a collection of independent procedures connected by a common objective to developing an
interactive, interdisciplinary environment where cooperation and information sharing become the
top priorities.

Surprisingly, the proposed shift will make it possible to actively incorporate the idea of innovation
and a customer-oriented approach in the development of marketing tools into M&S's
environment. Although the business has considered the idea of innovative manufacturing and
decision-making, there hasn't been agreement on how to apply creative principles to the
business's design.  However, when M&S undergoes change, the business may start using
innovative thinking as a way to make decisions and oversee crucial processes.

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 M&S will need to alter its strategy for promoting its items, particularly with regard to the clothing,
due to the marketing issue and in particular the change in branding. The company will need to
develop an altogether new brand that will be1010 based on the idea of being distinctive and
carefully balancing the speci ed demand with the need to cut expenses in order to appeal to a
younger generation and connect to a di erent age range. Given that M&S has established its
entire reputation on the idea of utilising garments as the marker of the buyer's income and social
position, the latter could pose quite a di culty for the company.

However, M&S will answer one of the key demands of its new audience, which is the appeal to the
individuality and experiences of each consumer, after rede ning the company principles and
concentrating on the investigation of buyer culture and other client-speci c information . The
focus on improving customer-speci c strategies will also contribute to strengthening M&S's
competitive advantage, which makes it exceptional due to the combination of high standards and
the capacity to appeal to a variety of audiences by building rapport with them and addressing
their culturally speci c needs.

One of the highlights of M&S's recent adjustment to its business strategy is the use of responsible
marketing, which enables framing the company as compassionate and moral due to its emphasis
on moral decision-making. The company should draw attention to the fact that it exclusively uses
sustainable practices and works to meet the established environmental and sustainability-focused
requirements when it tries to diversify its services and develop new brands. The company's
competitive advantage and the development of its new brand are both anticipated to be
signi cantly boosted by the appeal to sustainability.

Finally, M&S has to review how it manages both internal and external procedures. To maintain
control over every element of M&S's performance, the corporate governance principles are a
crucial component of the business strategy. M&S may not be able to keep track of every detail
introduced to its supply chain as a result, which recommends that M&S should provide more
exibility in its regulating activities.

5. CONCLUSION
According to the study, M&S needs to make very wise strategic judgments. Because it lacks a
competitive advantage, it is falling behind its rivals. M&S needs to change its focus from being on
products to being on customers. According to the overall assessment, the organization has not
implemented a change management strategy. Due to M&S's involvement in so many industries,
there is more competition from businesses across all industries. It has been argued that numerous
external elements influence the firm's policies if we look at the company analysis.
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