A brief report outlining the key content to be used

1.0 Introduction to Waitrose

The company of interest in this report is Waitrose Limited. The company is a grocery supplier that operates in the United Kingdom and has over 300 branches (Waitrose, 2019). It was founded in 1904 by Wallace Waite and Arthur Rose. As of 2020 the company had revenues of £6.76 billion and an operating profit of £242.5 million as well as a net income of £131 million (John Lewis Partnership, 2021). The company is viewed as an upmarket supermarket and does not compete on the basis of price. It is renowned for organic fresh supplies (Butler, 2021).

2.0 Description of four key operations and/or supply chain management challenges that the chosen organisation is facing

The first issue relates to volume. There was a huge spike in the volumes due to huge rise in demand occasioned by covid-19 especially lockdowns and uncertainties (Briggs, 2020). This saw the Waitrose stores becoming empty as the demand was higher than supply. Then there were a variety-related issues due to closure of some branches. These were issues limited inventory as the company mostly provided groceries and food items yet there was additional demand for non-food items such as toiletries. During last year’s covid-19 lockdowns there were concerns on delayed online delivery to customers which demonstrates supply chain problems. Then there were variation issues in Waitrose due to delayed online delivery (Calnan, 2020). The company had a rigid online delivery that ensured online delivery was done within an hour. This enhanced convenience and reliability but also inconvenienced customers who needed items delivered urgently. Then there were the visibility issues where customers indicated they needed to track progress of their products after they had placed their orders online (Butler, 2021).

3.0 How the organisation has been affected by COVID-19 and any mitigation measures that have already been put in place

Some of the mitigation measures included the shutting down of some branches to due to reduced number of customers visiting the physical premises and supermarkets. Fur braches were closed in locations such as Monmouthshire, Ipswich and Shrewsbury (John Lewis Partnership (2021). Other mitigation measures for suppliers included supporting suppliers with quicker payments where payment to farmers was made within seven days to ensure that farmers continued supplying and thus avoiding supply shortage in the stores. To exploit future opportunities Waitrose revamped its online shopping by developing a mobile app. This allowed users to shop online easily with their mobile phones this was expected to tap into increasing number of mobile shoppers relying on their phones to make online orders (Waitrose, 2019).

References

Briggs, F. (2020) Head of customer at Waitrose discusses impact of Covid-19 on grocery retail. Available at: https://www.retailtimes.co.uk/head-of-customer-at-waitrose-discusses-impact-of-covid-19-on-grocery-retail/ (Accessed 10 June 2021).

Butler, S. (2021) John Lewis to close more stores as Covid crisis wipes out profits. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/11/john-lewis-may-not-reopen-some-stores-as-chain-slumps-to-517m-loss (Accessed 10 June 2021).

Calnan, M. (2020) Covid outbreak forces Waitrose to close Cheadle Hulme branch. Available at: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/waitrose/covid-outbreak-forces-waitrose-to-close-cheadle-hulme-branch/652282.article (Accessed 20 March 2020).

John Lewis Partnership. (2021) JLP Annual Report and Accounts. Available at: https://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/content/dam/cws/pdfs/Juniper/ARA2020/JLP-2020-Annual-Report-and-Accounts.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2021).

Waitrose. (2019) A short history of Waitrose & Partners. Available at: https://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/about_waitrose/corporate_information/company_history.html (Accessed 20 March 2020).

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