The major Marks and Spencers stores Essay Example for Free

The major Marks and Spencers stores Essay -Retailing in local stores We had a lesson in ICT class on watching a video on Marks and Spencers who showed us on the way there retailing works in their local stores around the country (England). The way ICT is used. ICT controls everything that goes on in the major Marks and Spencers stores. As one lady in the video tells us about how many things where manual (human working) in the store round 50 years ago. And how many people have lost their jobs by computers replacing them. This shows us how much progress the store has made in only a short about of time. As we carried on watching the video many people who worked in the company were showing us the first thing on how they use ICT. This was having barcodes on every product that was brought in to be sold. The barcodes that were placed on the side of the products were for * The specific numbers to show were they would be placed * When they were bought in and the out of use date and time. The barcodes were made to make life more easer for the stocking for the assistants and cashers. Although the cashiers need a basic knowledge on how to use a computer and how to operate the machines. The store also has ICT lasers. The lasers are mainly at the checkout tills. The cashiers use the lasers to scan on the bar codes to send a message to a larger computer, which tells them that the product or item is sold or bought so there will be a need to replace the certain stock. Costumers As the lady explains to us we are told that since 50 years ago everything has changed to automatic as before it was manual labour work. The complaint of the very new ICT department is that little corner shops are suffering and losing their businesses. The ICT department are giving people a choice of from where they want to order (if they are have a computer with internet access) they are capable of ordering from the home. Every Marks and Spencers shop have each hand held terminals, which we are given the shortened name of HHT. Hand held terminals The jobs which HHT do is *They record what needs to be stocked up or when they sell out of certain products this is recorded and is sent to the suppliers to tell them that more items are needed to go on the shelves. Manual jobs (mainframe) Employers off the store stock company stock the shelves manually when the company receives the product. Most off the products have certain times to be bought in and also have a certain time of which it is delivered the times are as follow; 1. 10 am (morning) 2. 12 oclock (noon) 3. 4 pm (evening) When the products are brought in for stocking it has to first scan the type of product it is then by the belt it will be taken up in the required lane and in for the right department for the item. Then it is taken in to the drop plan, which the product is needed for and ticked off. The drop plan is located above the product off, which it is placed in. Delivery Marks and Spencer has got loads of delivery vans all over the world. The vans gave a tracking device that allows the managers to see whether they will be on time for stocking and where they are located in the country to see if theyve taken a brake and for how long. They can also track how fast there driving. Marks and Spencer have worked out this plan and believe that it is the fastest way of delivery. But everything has a problem and with this it has some of its own. Like * Traffic jams (has risks to everything) * Pollution (problems to the environment) If things go wrong what will happen? If some think goes wrong in the department it is located by a traffic code system. When these lights go on 1. Red 2. Blue The red is for alert and the blue will go of if some think is incorrect. Although if anything does happen like a power cut the store has a back up system which automatically goes on before anything or anyone is hurt or something serious has happened. These sort of things hardly ever happen as we are told by the lady in the video it only happens every 10 years. Conclusion From this video that I have just watched I see that Marks and Spencer has to do a lot of things before it is all nicely presented to us. Marks and Spencer is a very common shop and for every new shop opened 200-300 local shops are put out of business but we live in a very competitive world and have to learn how to put up with these things. This is hard business. The video has told me that ICT is a very useful thing in the world off business we live in today.