Information Systems And Technologies

Information Systems at TESCO

There are several information systems that have been implemented in Tesco recently and which have increased the efficiency of the company. At the management level, there are “One-in-front” camera systems which were implemented to help reduce customers queuing time and also notify managers on whether to open extra checkouts for purposes of billing (Agostini, 2017). Some time back, the company faced criticism from customers that a lot of time was being spent at the checkouts which led to people queuing for long hours. It was observed that the staff working at the checkout area also spent a lot of time recording the data on the customers queuing time. In response to this, a "One-in-front Camera" system was developed. In this system, a checkout lane would be automatically opened if a customer had more than one customer in front of them in the queue.

Further so as to reduce the queuing problem, more till based systems have been introduced. Ceiling infra-red solutions are usually fitted above the ceilings so as to detect the behaviour of customers and also their number during checkouts. Through the use of thermal imaging technologies, the cameras are able to judge the number of customers that arrive at the checkout and as such providing managers with real-time data and also enabling them to act in real time and as such, facilitating the opening of the opening of the right number of tills (CISION, 2018). In addition, these systems are also capable of calculating the average length of queues, average performance of the store when compared to "One-in-front" systems and average queue time. Even though these systems are cameras, they do not have the capabilities of recording the images of the customers, instead, they are used in intimating customer flow continuously and consequently alerting managers so that they can open up new checkouts. Through this, the time spent by managers in checkout staffing is reduced and instead they are able to focus on assisting customers (Gingles, 2014).

The “Symbol MC50” is another information system that has been introduced aiming at improving the efficiency of the work of managers and also reduce the time managers spent on their desks. Tesco has in the past been faced with a situation whereby its managers had no time to spend on the sales floor as all their time was spent in their desks analysing data, responding to emails, connecting to business I applications and so on. As a result of this situation, a plan was hatched to integrate manager's work through the introduction of mobile devices which could be used from any place. Consequently, Symbol MC50 devices were launched which had capabilities of integrating the business applications of Tesco Enterprise and also included in the support for phone, e-mail, calendar and scheduling (PROGRESSIVE GROCER, 2005).

Other applications are also integrated by this device and they include, management of inventory and has in it different features like voice telephony, data capture, private bank exchange, peer to peer, security options and device level management. Barcode scanners are also built into this devices and they have the capabilities of scanning products in quicker succession (Retail Technology Review, 2010). With the use of this systems, managers are able to spend more time on the sales floor and as such the profitability of all Tesco stores where the system has been implemented has improved. Managers are involved in the improvement of the experience of customers.

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References

• Agostini, A., 2017, How does a supermarket work? [Online] Shapeless Blog. Available at:
• Cision, 2018, Tesco 'One-in-Front' Campaign Wins Prestigious Retail Week Award Using IRISYS Queue Busting Camera Technology. [Online] Available at:
• Gingles, N., 2014, Case Study: Tesco deploys Irisys Queue Management to alleviate subjectivity, deliver faster checkout for customers. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].
• Progressive Grocer, 2005, Tesco Deploys Mobile Office Technology for Store Managers. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].
• Retail Technology Review, 2010, Tesco store managers reclaim 78 hours with Symbol MC50. [Online] Available at: