IT in Business: A Business Manager's Casebook

4   Tesco

Niku Banaie, Simon Hogan, Kate McArdle,Daniela MeierSchool of Management, University of Bath

Over the last twenty years supermarkets have increasingly turned to IT (information technology) to help them to cut costs, combat failing margins, improve customer service and compete with their rivals. The industry has invested in several IT initiatives in a concerted effort to move away from the painful ‘price wars’. The importance placed on IT investment is underlined by the latest survey by IBM showing that despite reduced market growth expectations companies in the grocery sector intend to increase their technology investment by up to 10 per cent (Price, 1997).

In addition, other evidence suggests that consumers are looking for more than ...