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Essay

Analysis of how Business Information System works in Tesco Plc.

Business Information Systems studies the ways in which Information and

Communication Technologies (ICT) are used by firms in order to enhance the value chain

networks and their business processes (Bajgoric, 2015). This essay will analyse how business

information systems works in the chosen organisation, i.e. Tesco Plc.

Tesco is a renowned supermarket retailer which is headquartered in the UK. Tesco

operates wide-ranging information systems (IS) such as Radio-frequency identification

(RFID), order-processing systems, CCTV surveillance, scheduling systems, Human Resource

(HR) software, hand-held devices, e-commerce, inter-stores communication technology, and

e-business systems. These information systems are used by managers in Tesco to assess,

manage and efficiently operate their units based on previous, current and future data. They

develop monthly expenses’ statements by using these information systems, which assist them

in an effective decision-making. Managers also use information systems to calculate the labour

hours, and thus, offer wages and incentives to their employees accordingly. Moreover,

information systems are also used by Tesco’s managers in order to understand the needs and

wants of their customers. This assist Tesco in setting loyalty schemes and conducting pricing

analysis (Xie & Allen, 2013).

In 1998, Tesco installed and operated the G.O.L.D. information system for efficient

handling of sold merchandise, products, procurement, price policy, and stock optimisation. It

used that information system for effective management of the physical stock levels, goods’

quality, stock’s location, and various functions in the warehouses. Similarly, Tesco used the

online information system in form of launching its website Tesco.com in 2000. It offers a free

and 24/7 access to its customers who can make an online purchase and delivery anywhere and
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anytime. As a result, in 2012, the online grocery shopping of Tesco grew substantially in

Ireland such that the sales increased by 21%. Similarly, Tesco supports its loyalty card scheme

by using the information systems. It has also placed electronic point of sale (EPOS) at each

checkout in its supermarkets. The EPOS is a type of a Transferring Processing Process (TPP)

(Gao et al., 2015). It includes a digital display, a keyboard, a bar scanner, printers, set of scales,

a till drawer, and a debit or credit card reader. Every till is connected to its respective base,

which is further connected to the branch computer by cables. The information related to all

sales are transmitted by the branch computer to the main computer within the Head Office

(Gunasekaran & Sandhu, 2010).

The aforementioned business information systems help Tesco to use the gathered

information in making efficient decision or taking required actions. The information systems

offers data that Tesco’s managers can use easily and instantly. These systems provide real-time

information which assist the organisation in handling and maintaining stock in their

warehouses. Since information systems are flexible, Tesco can adapt them or reprogram them

whenever any new technology is introduced in the retail industry. Similarly, the online platform

of Tesco assist it to communicate with its employees instantly, efficiently and free of cost

(Baltzan & Phillips, 2009).

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References

Bajgoric, N. (2015). Operating systems course in a business information systems curriculum. IJBIS,

20(1), 1.

Baltzan, P. & Phillips, A. (2009). Business driven information systems. 1st ed. Boston: McGraw-

Hill/Irwin.

Gao, J., Xu, L., Shen, J., Huang, F. & Xu, F. (2015). A novel information transferring approach for

the classification of remote sensing images. EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal

Processing, 1.

Gunasekaran, A. & Sandhu, M. (2010). Handbook on business information systems. 1st ed.

Singapore: World Scientific.

Xie, Y. & Allen, C. (2013). Information technologies in retail supply chains: a comparison of Tesco

and Asda. International Journal of Business Performance and Supply Chain Modelling, 5(1),

46.