Purposes for which ICT is used.
Overview:
Marks & Spencer uses ICT software to ensure that the shelves are never
completely emptied. Staff at the stores use hand-held terminals (HHTs) that can
record the barcodes of products that are out of stock and then, once the check is
complete, the 'shopping list is sent to Head Office. Re-order requests from all the
stores are added together to produce orders to suppliers.
Sales are recorded along with prices at the Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS)
terminals and sent to the store computer so that the management knows what
products are selling quickly and what products need promoting (eg special offers).
Head Office is contacted via email for administrative matters such as double-
checking prices, special offers, staff problems, income/outcome, etc.
Marks & Spencer also has a website on which people can see what products are
available and order them from home if they cannot reach the store.
English: Logo of Marks & Spencer
English: Marks & Spencer on Briggate following a r...
English: Marks and Spencer in WetherbyInformation on truck location enables supervisors at the distribution centres to
check up on their progress and make sure that they're actually working.
The store computers send sales information collected from the EPOS terminals to
the mainframe computer at Stockley Park. This sales information is used to
produce budgets and make financial projections for the forthcoming year.
The Customer Insight Unit (CIU) gives the company feedback on customers'
opinions about special offers, prices, services, etc.
Many internal and external communications take place by email.
Sales.
ICT is used to record and analyse sales.
The EPOS terminals in the stores capture
sales information when products are
scanned. They record the amount of each
item that is sold so that it can be deducted
from the stock in the store computer. This
is important, as without this the store
computer couldn't automatically prioritise
ordering goods near...