The Lean Supply Chain: Managing The Challenge At Tesco Paperback

Robert Mason

The Lean Supply Chain: Managing the Challenge at Tesco explores how UK multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer Tesco addresses the challenge of managing its supply chains. The book examines how Tesco has used lean thinking, loyalty and simplicity to achieve its dominant position. It shows how Tesco's senior leadership made a simple but game-changing decision to focus the business on its customers rather than the conventional approach of 'competing with our competitors' and asks whether the approach to managing the supply chain needs to be adapted to deal with current challenges that Tesco faces. The authors look at how the retailer developed and maintains one of the most effective supply chains in the world. The Lean Supply Chain demonstrates Tesco's most successful strategies through real life examples, drawing upon the authors' deep knowledge of how Tesco has developed and succeeded from both an academic and practitioner perspective. It includes an assessment of how Tesco is dealing with current challenges and market changes, including its successful rollout of online shopping and convenience stores as well as how it is attempting to maintain its position as the UK's largest retailer.

English

Kogan Page Ltd

28 September 2015

312

Barry Evans' early career involved a variety of roles in Logistics and Distribution with brewery Watney Mann, food business Rank Hovis McDougall and UK postal service Royal Mail. This was followed by roles in Tesco plc including Lean Process Manager in Tesco Supply Chain Development where he developed ways in which lean thinking could be applied in Tesco. He has also joined the Lean Enterprise Research Centre at Cardiff Business School as a Senior Research Associate. Robert Mason is a Senior Lecturer in Logistics and Operations Management section (LOM) at Cardiff Business School and has led many business research projects with Tesco as a partner.

Barry Evans

When I joined the Lean Enterprise Research Centre in 1997 Tesco was one of the supply chain development network research partners leading the challenge on constraints in supply chain management. Subsequently, Tesco have consistently worked with Cardiff University developing innovative and creative new thinking to benefit their business, consumers and staff. In 1997 Tesco were lagging in the UK grocery sector. Shoppers would have not expected to buy clothes or other household goods under a single roof or have timed deliveries. Most would have remembered Green Shield stamps if asked about loyalty and discount schemes. In the intervening period the Tesco story has been that of domination balancing the value for customers, staff and the business. While recent performance issues have caused shock these do not diminish the breakthroughs achieved for the retail sector. This book provides transferable insights in Lean supply chain management, strategy and change for academics, students and practitioners alike. The Lean Supply Chain reflects the need for all supply chains to understand customer value, challenge the way things have always been done and break through to higher levels of performance. This is a very worthwhile read.--Dr. Ann Esain "Former Researcher with Lean Enterprise Research Centre, Cardiff "