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These woodland animal origami bookmarks are adorable! Learn how to make a DIY bookmark out of one piece of paper with seven free printable origami templates.
I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I am a book mutilator. Yep, that's right, I turn down the corners of pages to mark my place, and the college I attended considered this "book mutilation." You could even get fined for it! Well, if that didn't teach me to start using bookmarks it's likely nothing will, but at least my children haven't inherited my criminal ways. One of my younger kids recently taught me how to fold origami bookmarks which slide over the corner of the page you are on to save your place. He even drew eyes and teeth on his corner bookmarks to turn them into little monsters.

I figured it would be fun to turn origami bookmarks into little woodland animals. So I've created seven different printable templates you guys can use to make cute origami bookmarks with your kids. Aren't they adorable?

All you have to do is print out the one you like best and cut out the square and the ears. A few folds later you have an adorable DIY origami bookmark that will help keep you from a life of book mutilation.

My daughter loves the bunny...

...while my son thinks the owl is the cutest:

I'm partial to the fox, but that little skunk! He's pretty cute too.

DIY bookmark templates

Since I possess pretty much no artistic ability, these bookmarks were created with permission using woodland animal clipart from two Etsy stores: ClipArtisan and MyCuteLobsterDesigns. Check them out if you need some adorable clipart for your projects!

As with all my printables, these are offered for personal use ONLY and may not be redistributed. Please refer friends to this blog post to print their own folded bookmark templates.
Click here to download the fox origami bookmark template Click here to download the skunk origami bookmark template Click here to download the bear origami bookmark template Click here to download the bunny origami bookmark template Click here to download the owl origami bookmark template Click here to download the chick origami bookmark template Click here to download the raccoon origami bookmark template

How to fold a DIY origami bookmark

Watch this video to see how to fold these DIY bookmarks (written instructions follow):

1 - Print bookmark template on plain white printer paper. Trim along lines to cut out the square. 2 - Fold square in half diagonally to create a triangle. Both colored areas should show on the top of the triangle. 3 - Flip the triangle over. 4 - Fold each outer corner of the triangle to meet together at the top of the triangle and form a face. When doing this, make sure the two sides of the face line up. Press along all the folds to crease.

5 - Open up the last fold you did so you are back to the original triangle. Fold the top point of the triangle down, using only the *top* layer of paper. 6 - Fold one corner back up and tuck it into the "pocket" created in the last step. Repeat with the other corner. 7 - Cut out the ears and add adhesive along the straight edge. 8 - Tuck the ears inside the pocket to complete the bookmark.

One DIY origami bookmark complete! Now go ahead and print out all the other versions so your woodland animals can have some friends.

A few last notes:

Be sure to use plain printer paper and not cardstock or these will be very hard to fold

The faces will line up better if you are exact with your cuts and folds. A paper trimmer makes exact cuts easier. Help younger children so they don't get frustrated (although most kids aren't going to mind if the faces don't line up exactly!)

Looking for more bookish fun? Try these posts:
Punch card bookmark to track reading minutes 13 hilarious picture books you won't get tired of reading to your kids Best books for ages 8-12 Book series for ages 8-12 Clean YA books your teen and tweens will love
And if you love origami, visit these posts:
Christmas print + fold origami bookmarks 20 cool origami tutorials Easy to fold origami jumping frogs

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DIY woodland animals origami bookmarks {print + fold}

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These woodland animal origami bookmarks are adorable! Learn how to make a DIY bookmark out of one piece of paper with seven free printable origami templates. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I am a book mutilator.

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16 mark student response

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KMH plc soft-hard HRM 16 mark qu - student response

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Soft HRM and Decentralisation

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ThinkStock Photos
In the US, we've seen competing firms getting together to better understand worker safety or collaborate to relocate workers.

Raffaella Sadun teaches at Harvard Business School. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das, she discusses factors that make companies more resilient and able to thrive, even during uncertain events:

Q. How can firms develop resilience while facing unexpected occurrences?
A. The global pandemic has confirmed the importance of creating high-performance organisations, where people work with you because they are motivated to give their best, rather than having a transactional relationship. With so much uncertainty, which is hard to manage even with incentives, the most resilient companies are the ones which have been able to leverage deeper bonds with their workforce. Last summer, companies that successfully reopened in the US had given great thought to providing support to their employees. That included emotional support, spending time communicating and mitigating anxieties, even sending gift baskets. It became clear that for resilient companies, the workeremployer relationship has to be nurtured.

Q. How does this help resilience?
A. If you have a workforce that is aligned with you and believes in what you're doing, any crisis can be withstood. With such a dynamic, you don't need to give people elaborate instructions - the beauty of this model is that people are so motivated, decentralisation happens smoothly. That makes it much easier to build resilience.

Q. What is the importance of decentralisation?
A. We've analysed companies which performed the best during the Great Recession of 2007-09. Companies which were more decentralised prior to the Great Recession were able to deal much more effectively with the drop in demand that happened then. We saw a strong association between being more decentralised and churn ing products more quickly. In a more decentralised company, you have managers who are in touch with customers directly. They can understand changes in the needs of customers and be more responsive and reactive to them. Under uncertainty, it's very important to capture signals which are noisy and local - it's harder for central headquarters to do this.

Of course, decentralisation has an inherent risk of losing coordination, but through the Great Recession, we found the benefits outweighed the cost. This is very important, especially for developing countries where there is generally a deficit of decentralisation in companies.

Q. Can you elaborate on the importance of 'noisy signals' during unclear events?
A. The global crisis has heightened uncertainty at multiple levels. Initially, we were worried about supply constraints. The rush at supermarkets in many nations showed us this. Then, the uncertainty showed in changed consumption patterns - we're still in a phase where things can change radically while the information companies have at hand isn't adequate. We must expand sources of information and, in this context, noisy signals in an industry, which includes signals from competitors, can be very valuable.

In the US, we've seen competing firms getting together to better understand worker safety or collaborate to relocate workers. Joining hands to make sense of an uncertain situation is preferable to the usual way of doing business.

Q. Why do you emphasise the importance of sustaining a company's entire ecosystem in such events?
A. We've found that more resilient companies realised they had a responsibility not only to their direct customers, but to their entire supply chain. Such companies have actively supported their intermediate suppliers in this phase - L'Oreal, for example, understood the difficulties hairdressers were facing. So, they created support systems including online training programs for them to survive the crisis and build value-addition. The most resilient companies have depended on such collaboration to make their way out of a tough situation - this is harder than it seems because it takes a lot of trust and effort.

Q. Does experimentation help during uncertainty?
A. In any situation, experimentation is important. If you approach the world in a scientific manner, you're able to compare different decisions with counterfactuals and have a more structured decisionmaking process. You need to consider the sources of uncertainty you're dealing with and how your experiment helps address these. Experimentation is not a panacea by itself. It's very powerful when combined with a system of thinking that feeds its results into a broader decision-making process.

Companies need to delve deeper into understanding the changes taking place now. For companies facing a situation where demand is changing - such as from in-person to online purchases - understanding what customers are looking for, like sa fety and convenience, is vital because it's likely such changes will persist even after the pandemic. In some cases, macro shifts are changing the fundamental nature of businesses, including how value is created and captured. Analysing counterfactuals for companies is not a luxury now - it's essential. Experimentation is better for developing resilience than being resistant to understanding change.

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View: Deeper bonds with the workforce, decentralisation and understanding change build company resilience

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If you have a workforce that is aligned with you and believes in what youre doing, any crisis can be withstood. With such a dynamic, you dont need to give people elaborate instructions - the beauty of this model is that people are so motivated, decentralisation happens smoothly, said Raffaella Sadun.

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Advance Information Short Delegation Mark Scheme

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Advance Information Short Franchising Mark Scheme

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25 mark qu on resistance to change - model answer

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25 mark qu on resistance to change - model answer

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25 mark qu on Resistance to Change - model answer

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Divorce between ownership and control, corporate governance and contingency planning

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Divorce between ownership and control, corporate governance and contingency planning

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Summary notes

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Unit 10 - Managing Strategic Change exercise book

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Unit 10 - Managing Strategic Change exercise book

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In case you forget yours in class

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Electronic exercise book - 10 Managing Strategic Change - overview

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Read the article and answer the questions on the class handout

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Brewdog Culture and Leadership (homework)

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Unit 3.3.4 Integrated marketing mix - Digital Marketing

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Unit 3.3.4 Integrated marketing mix - Digital Marketing

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Keeping up with ever-changing digital marketing trends may seem challenging, but it's crucial for business owners to do. As more of us are working from home, there has been a huge spike in social media usage. While digital marketers are hopping on to this opportunity, other small business owners scramble to adapt to the changes in consumer behavior - and it doesn't have to be you.

With ecommerce and online education booming, here are the top five digital marketing trends you can't ignore in 2022.

1. Video marketing

Because of TikTok, videos can go massively viral and enable brands and regular people to reach thousands of users all over the world daily. Challenges enable creators to start a trend while creating brand awareness, with the use of user-generated content as gasoline to spread the wildfire.

TikTok's success then pushed other brands such as Instagram to start competing for video-related features, introducing Instagram reels, which launched globally in over 50 countries in August 2020. Creative options and trends such as using video transitions made creators hop onto the trend to try to get viral on Instagram.

The goal of Instagram Reels is to create more engagement with users, which has gained positive responses from brands, influencers and users. It is no coincidence that Pinterest and LinkedIn are also investing in their video features, as the trend continues to grow and enable brands to attract an engaged community of followers.

However, the video marketing trend doesn't mean that you need to start investing in expensive video services. The focus is all about storytelling and building relationships with your audience. Short-form videos are usually entertaining. What's more important is focusing on your content, such as the narrative, to make a connection with your community and establish your brand voice.
Related: Marketers Must Pay Attention to These 3 Things to Overcome the Great Resignation's Talent Exodus
2. Niche marketing

Niche marketing is all about specializing in a specific product or service to build a stronger connection with your audience. A niche market enables you to pay close attention to the needs of your audience to understand what they want. It enables you to position yourself as the expert and attract loyal advocates of your brand.

Niche marketing is strategic as it has the potential to grow over time and enter bigger markets once you have successfully established a strong community as a small startup. With a smaller audience, you'll get to focus more on the quality of delivering and building relationships with them. This makes it much easier to identify and target your audience, whether it's through organic marketing or paid ads, as there is much less competition.

Positioning yourself as the expert also enables you to charge higher prices due to your expertise, while being seen as an authority figure in your industry. This will help you stand out on social media easily while growing a highly targeted audience on social media. Examples of niche-related services are Instagram Reels programs, eco-friendly utensils or organic pet products.

3. Ecommerce platforms

Ecommerce platforms have been on the rise lately, and are expected to grow in the coming years. Retailers and product-based businesses can benefit from having an online presence by using these platforms for visibility and using social media to spread brand awareness. Store owners can use integrated online shopping on Instagram and Facebook with "Shoppable" posts and ads, making it a seamless experience for online users.
Related: How to Realize Your Brand's Digital Potential With NFT Marketing
4. Mobile marketing

Some of the most important mobile marketing strategies include SMS marketing, in-app marketing, social media marketing, location-based marketing and proximity marketing. According to Google Consumer Insights, 61% of online purchases were made on smartphones from November 2018 to January 2019, with more than a 27% year-over-year increase.

Mobile traffic accounts for more than half of all web traffic, and shoppers are using their mobile devices to research products and make online purchases. Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, in-store purchases have drastically declined, making it essential to not only have an online presence, but one that is mobile-friendly. This includes ensuring that your website is responsive across mobile devices.

5. Marketing automation

Over the years, major marketing publications such as HubSpot, eMarketeer and SalesForce have cited that businesses that implement the use of automation to nurture prospects experience a significant increase in qualified leads.

Sending out an email sequence is a form of automation that enables you to follow up with a lead consistently, by sending resources to add value, educate or sell your products and services. Beyond email newsletters, messenger bots (also known as chatbots) have become increasingly popular as they have helped businesses reduce operation costs, customer support and manpower costs.

Getting on the messenger bot trend will definitely give you a huge advantage as a business owner. The ability to personalize messages and send follow-up sequences based on smart time delays and triggers turn it into a sales funnel that increases conversions.

Now that you're aware of the latest digital marketing trends that will be beneficial for your business in 2022, it's time to implement them to gain massive reach and higher levels of interactivity. The trends have just begun - it's crucial to stay ahead in the marketing game.
Related: 5 Digital Marketing Trends to Know for the Decade
Entrepreneur Editors' Picks

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The 5 Digital Marketing Trends You Cannot Ignore in 2022

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Keeping up with ever-changing digital marketing trends may seem challenging, but it's crucial for business owners to do. As more of us are working from home, there has been a huge spike in social media usage.

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Looks at practices at Toyota to increase efficiency

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Eliminating waste is the key to efficiency - in the Toyota Production System, this is termed as Muda, Muri and Mura. Read on to see our explanation.

Muda means waste and refers in management terms to a wide range of non-value-adding activities. Eliminating waste is one of the main principles of the Just-in-time system, the main pillar of the Toyota Production System. Considered as waste are unnecessary financing costs, storage costs, worthless stock of old items etc. Muda of overproduction and Muda of Inventory are the most common ones.

Muda ( English: Waste) In management terms it refers to a wide range of non-value-adding activities. Eliminating waste is one of the main principles of the Just-In-Time system, the main pillar of the Toyota Production System. Considered as waste are unnecessary financing costs, storage costs, and worthless stock of old items.

Toyota divides Muda into seven resources that are frequently wasted: 1) Transportation - a cost that adds no value to the product but increases the risk of a product being damaged, lost or delayed; 2) Inventory - a capital outlay that if not processed immediately produces no income; 3) Motion - any damage inflicted through the production process, such as normal wear and tear in equipment, repetitive stress injuries, or by unforeseen accidents; 4) Waiting - products that are not in transport or being processed; 5) Over-processing - when more work is done than necessary, or when tools are more complex, precise or expensive than necessary; 6) Over-production - larger batches or more products being made than is required; and 7) Defects - the loss involved in rectifying faulty parts or products.

Muri ( English: Overburden): Eliminating overburden of equipment and people is one of the main principles of the Just-In-Time system, the main pillar of the Toyota Production System. To avoid overburden, production is evenly distributed in the assembly processes.

It is the second of three types of waste highlighted within the Toyota Production System, requiring the balancing of manufacturing pace to allow members sufficient time to achieve the correct standard of work. A reduced time frame will be too burdensome to achieve the objective, while the allowing of too much time is a waste of resource.

(Related: [derived from German word Taktzeit, or 'cycle time'] - matching the pace of production with customer demand and the available work time).

Mura means unevenness (irregularity or variability). Eliminating unevenness or irregularities in the production process is one of the main principles of the Just-in-time system, the main pillar of the Toyota Production System.

Mura ( English: Unevenness or irregularity): Eliminating unevenness or irregularities in the production process is one of the main principles of the Just-In-Time system, the main pillar of the Toyota Production System.

The third of three types of waste mentioned within the Toyota Production System, notably identified and leveled through the application of Heijunka principles and Kanban devices. Workflow is also smoothed by requiring members to operate multiple machines - also known as 'multi-process handling' - within any particular process, and by predicting and preparing for times of high demand.

The quest for ultimate efficiency is also embodied in a Poka-Yoke, or mistake-proofing, mechanism read about it here.

See our full Toyota Production System glossary here.

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Muda, Muri, Mura - Toyota Production System guide - Toyota UK Magazine

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Eliminating waste is the key to efficiency - in the Toyota Production System, this is termed as Muda, Muri and Mura. Read on to see our explanation. Muda means waste and refers in management terms to a wide range of non-value-adding activities.

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ERP + Impact of Digital Tech

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Textbook pages on ERP and impact of digital tech

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ERP explained

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ERP is the nervous system of modern businesses. Learn how it works, understand its risks and benefits, and get tips on deployment in this wide-ranging guide.

By

It is hard to imagine modern business without ERP. From its roots more than 50 years ago in the first financial and production planning tools used by manufacturers, ERP has grown to become a mainstay in all but the smallest businesses.

ERP, or enterprise resource planning, is networked software that handles the transactions and record-keeping of the essential functions of any business, such as sales, purchasing, accounting and human resources. Installing an ERP system is one of the boldest steps an organization can take to computerize its business activities.

Read on to learn the basics of ERP and the steps to deploy it, and click on the links for more detail and in-depth analysis.

What does an ERP system do?

ERP software consists of connected but distinct components, or modules, each of which enables workers to carry out the functions of a particular business process or department, such as sales, customer relationship management (CRM), inventory management and finance.

ERP differs in essential ways from other types of business software -- say, basic accounting, scheduling or task management -- that is used by one person or a small group and has no direct connection to other software.

An important differentiating feature of ERP is the integration between modules that enables the modules and users to interact. For example, a sales order created in the CRM module will be shared with the production module so workers in the manufacturing department will have the information about what product to make. When the product is shipped, data in the inventory management module changes, and when the customer pays, the accounting module records the revenue.

Another distinguishing feature of ERP software is the central database in which the modules record transactions and other information, access that data and share it (see Figure 1). Having this "single source of truth" -- that's an IT industry buzz phrase -- saves users from having to enter information more than once. It also improves data accuracy and facilitates reporting and collaboration.

ERP also usually maintains a consistent look and feel across modules, unlike a collection of separate software applications from different vendors. This consistency, at least in theory, makes it easy for workers to learn the system and move around the modules. In reality, many people find ERP software difficult to use -- especially if it is a decade or two old and hasn't been updated with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and other usability improvements.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ERP?

The sheer size, interconnectedness and complexity of ERP is both a blessing and a curse (see Figure 2).

When ERP software is running well and closely aligned with an organization's ways of doing business, it makes important business processes function more smoothly and opens up new possibilities, such as redeploying workers or implementing an omnichannel e-commerce strategy. But when deployment is delayed or the system goes down unexpectedly, ERP can bring business to a standstill and force users to scramble, looking for manual alternatives. And an older ERP system with unintuitive screens and poorly designed workflows can put a drag on a business that threatens its very existence.

But the biggest disadvantage of ERP, one that has frequently led to lawsuits, is the significant risk and cost of a failed or severely delayed implementation. ERP implementation failures often make headlines; at least two such failures involved projects that topped $1 billion. One high-profile case was the 2018 suit that investors of cosmetics maker Revlon filed when problems implementing SAP ERP allegedly disrupted manufacturing operations and delayed shipments.

Nevertheless, the advantages of ERP usually outweigh the disadvantages. Among the highlights are the following:

Advantages

ERP can save money over the long run by streamlining processes.

It provides a unified system that can lower IT, labor and training costs.

ERP enables a clearer view into critical parts of the business, such as sales, working capital and inventory.

It facilitates reporting and planning through improved data and analytics.

It offers better compliance and security through standardized workflows and fine-grained control of user rights.

Disadvantages

ERP software can be expensive to deploy and maintain.

It is often difficult to implement.

It requires significant change management.

ERP modules are often less sophisticated than specialized software and go unused or must be replaced.

Key features of ERP systems

Most ERP systems handle the core business processes -- either in dedicated modules or in subfunctions of other modules -- that are common to all kinds of enterprises. However, the ERP finance module is the only one in every ERP product, since every company needs the ability to process financial transactions and account for them. It automates basic accounting, invoicing, financial analytics, forecasting and reporting.

Other commonly used core ERP modules include human capital management (HCM), order management, sales management or CRM, and purchasing or procurement.

Companies that make or distribute products need additional modules with specialized capabilities. The most common ones include the following:

material requirements planning (MRP);

inventory management;

manufacturing management, or production management; and

supply chain management (SCM): complex processes for demand planning and logistics, including transportation management systems and warehouse management systems.

Some organizations add still another layer of modules that are even more specialized or provide advanced capabilities. For example, a company might augment the basic HR functions of its HCM system -- such as payroll, benefits and employee records -- to add talent management software with modules dedicated to recruiting, training, evaluating and compensating employees. A consultancy, construction firm or other business whose work is typically organized into projects might add a project management module. A manufacturer with its own distribution centers might buy an SCM suite from another vendor that has sophisticated transportation and warehouse management software that comes with prepackaged integration to the ERP.

In recent years, ERP vendors have bolstered their products with emerging technologies that are sweeping through other sectors of the IT industry. Today, the hottest ERP trends are all about making ERP more interactive, intuitive and "intelligent."

Chatbots are taking over many of the ERP tasks, such as invoice processing and customer service, formerly handled by humans. Artificial intelligence improves ERP data analytics by "learning" to recognize patterns and make recommendations. Natural language processing makes it possible to control ERP by speaking into a voice user interface.

On-premises ERP vs. cloud ERP vs. hybrid ERP

ERP systems are designed to run either on premises in the owner's data center, or in the cloud on computers maintained by the vendor or a partner and delivered to users over the internet.

Choosing a deployment option is one of the biggest decisions an ERP buyer has to make because it affects almost every aspect of an ERP system, including the types of features that are available, implementation time, user-friendliness and cost.

Early cloud versions of ERP had fewer modules and capabilities than on-premises versions. Today, the two systems have neared parity, with cloud deployments offering some important advantages.

In most cases, cloud ERP doesn't require the computing infrastructure of on-premises ERP. Instead, the software vendor or cloud service provider manages it. A cloud ERP implementation can therefore be far cheaper in terms of purchase, deployment and maintenance costs.

Thanks to the flexibility of cloud computing resources, cloud ERP can be easier to scale up and down as needs fluctuate. Automatic upgrades, which are also managed by the vendor, can deliver new technologies faster and with less hassle than is possible with on-premises ERP.

However, not all cloud ERP deployment options are alike, and ERP vendors often fudge the terminology (see Figure 3). Options include the following:

Multi-tenant. The purest type of cloud ERP, multi-tenant SaaS ERP, is usually streamlined with fewer modules and features than on-premises ERP. Multiple users share the same copy of the software, which makes it cheaper, simpler and more standardized than most on-premises ERP.

Single tenant. Another type of SaaS, called single tenant, cordons off the software to give the buyer more control over the ERP, including the ability to customize it, which is usually not possible with multi-tenant SaaS.

Private cloud and hosted ERP. Two other varieties of cloud ERP, private cloud and hosted ERP, typically just involve running the same on-premises software on an outside provider's data centers, though they may have some characteristics of cloud computing such as economies of scale from shared infrastructure as well as on-demand use and pricing. Some companies maintain their own private cloud infrastructure -- an extreme example of how much the lines between on-premises and cloud ERP have blurred.

Hybrid ERP. The fact that SaaS ERP, particularly multi-tenant, usually can't be customized is a major drawback for companies that need the custom features and integrations of an on-premises ERP system into which they have usually sunk significant time and money. As a result, hybrid ERP, which combines on-premises and cloud ERP modules and related applications, is an increasingly popular way to gain some of the technological benefits of SaaS without losing the security of an older, familiar system. It raises daunting integration challenges, however.

Payment terms also vary for the different types of ERP deployments. Unlike on-premises ERP, which usually requires an expensive long-term license paid upfront, SaaS is generally sold by monthly per-user subscriptions. However, the differences between cloud ERP and on-premises ERP pricing aren't quite so clear-cut because some vendors combine features of the two.

How to choose an ERP system

Finding an ERP product that will fit the organization's needs requires following a methodical process that typically includes these major steps:

1. Assigning a team. The ERP buying process starts with forming a project team led by a project manager and usually consisting of department heads, senior executives and IT.

2. Defining requirements. The project team is charged with understanding the organization's current and aspirational ERP use cases, then gathering the requirements and wish lists of stakeholders.

3. Researching vendors. The requirements planning stage provides the framework for researching ERP software vendors and asking the most promising ones to respond to a request for proposal (RFP) detailing how they will deliver the requirements. Some vendors may be called in to give sales presentations.

4. Identifying the shortlist. The project team names a small group of vendors it believes is most likely to meet the requirements.

5. Scheduling demos. The shortlisted vendors are called in to demonstrate how their software performs in real-world circumstances, sometimes in a competitive "bake-off."

6. Selecting a vendor. After negotiating price and terms, the buyer signs a contract with the chosen vendor.

In practice, completing each major step requires several substeps and significant data collection. For example, requirements planning often involves surveys and meetings with users, or a formal gap analysis to determine whether the organization's business software meets current and future needs. Many organizations interview customers with similar needs and perform a financial analysis to assess the stability of shortlisted vendors.

The final choice usually comes down to how closely a product matches the buyer's required timeline, features, ease of use and price, and whether it supports current or planned business processes. A product's deployment options can also tip the balance, besides heavily influencing the other criteria. A SaaS ERP product, for example, is more likely to fit a shorter implementation timeline and be easier to use than an on-premises system; but, as noted, it might lack the specialized functions a company needs to stay in business.

Buyers entering the market will find a few dozen ERP vendors that vary widely in size and target markets. There is specialized on-premises ERP for small law firms and giant chemical producers, basic cloud ERP for the project management and accounting of global consulting firms, and obscure brands of ERP sold mostly to regional manufacturers and distributors in the U.S.

Some ERP vendors, including Acumatica, NetSuite and Sage Intacct, specialize in the needs of SMBs, offering relatively affordable and simple ERP for common financial, order management and HR functions. Such entry-level products may be a company's first ERP system when it outgrows basic accounting software, but they can usually be expanded with additional modules and "scale," or grow, to accommodate more users and business functions.

Four major-brand ERP vendors -- Infor, Microsoft, Oracle (including NetSuite) and SAP -- have the biggest market shares, with nearly half the worldwide total. These four also have the broadest product lines that span from entry-level ERP to complex software suites for multinational conglomerates, as well as specialized versions for most major industries. Some market researchers include Sage Intacct and Workday -- a fast-growing maker of SaaS HCM and accounting software -- among the market-share leaders, but neither vendor has quite the breadth of products as the top four.

Other prominent ERP vendors include Epicor, IFS, DELMIAworks, Plex Systems, QAD, Syspro and Unit4.

ERP implementation

ERP implementation best practices call for a formal process, overseen by an ad hoc team drawn from every major department, that extends from the conceptual stage to post-implementation support and, ultimately, upgrading or replacing the system. Project management methodologies, tools and software are essential in managing what could be a multiyear process.

Once a vendor is chosen, the implementation begins. In the case of an ERP upgrade from one system to another, companies usually run and test the new ERP system in parallel with the old one to confirm that it works properly before committing to a launch date. Data migration then consumes much of the time and resources needed to ensure the new system can take over business processes with minimal disruption.

The best practices don't end when the system is deployed. Companies must communicate the benefits and features of the new system in advance, then maintain a training process for current and incoming employees. A comprehensive, effective change management strategy can be the difference between ERP implementation success and failure.

ERP support

The new system also has to be maintained. ERP vendors or their support partners offer tech-support services, usually contracted for an additional fee. They typically include a help desk reachable by phone, email or online; a dedicated customer web portal with FAQs, user manuals and other documentation; and access to discussion forums. On-site support typically provides implementation assistance, troubleshooting and training. Software development may be a significant part of support if the ERP system needs customizing, extending or integrating with other systems.

Most companies maintain their own ERP support staff, even if it is just one IT person who has other responsibilities. Larger companies may have several people whose job it is to keep the ERP system running, train users and interact with the ERP vendor, systems integrator or service provider. "ERP administrator" is a common title in the IT world.

The growing popularity of cloud ERP is bringing major changes to the internal ERP support function, which used to focus mostly on maintaining the ERP system itself. Now, ERP administrators must be knowledgeable about the capabilities of SaaS business applications, figure out how to assemble them into an ERP system, and understand the needs of customers and other external users.

Multi-tiered ERP systems

The word tier comes up often in the context of ERP. It has two meanings.

The most important -- because it describes an actual software architecture -- is what's referred to as two-tier ERP, a strategy that typically involves pairing a large, often older (or "legacy") on-premises ERP system in corporate headquarters with smaller, cheaper, often SaaS-based ERP systems at divisions and remote offices. The two tiers are integrated, especially for accounting, finance and other companywide processes such as HCM, and can be from different vendors.

Two-tier ERP can be a good strategy for extending ERP to more locations while providing remote offices with more control, flexibility and agility to meet local needs.

The second use of tier is as a way of classifying ERP software and vendors by size. In this scheme, tier 1 ERP products are built for and typically purchased by the world's largest name-brand companies and sold by the biggest vendors. The tier 1 group usually includes SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and Infor. Tier 2 vendors are next in the rankings, measured roughly by revenue. Like tier 1 vendors, they sell systems for both large companies and SMBs. Tier 3 vendors are the smallest and often sell ERP for niche industries.

The tier-ranking system for vendors and products is controversial, highly arbitrary and has begun to fall out of use.

Why is ERP important?

In one form or another, ERP has been at the center of efforts to exploit the data processing and calculating capacity of computers to manage complex business processes. This important software began as MRP, a system invented in the 1960s to plan the materials needed in manufacturing that was later extended to other factors such as financials (see Figure 4), and renamed manufacturing resource planning (MRP II).

When MRP II grew to encompass even more processes like payroll, HR and sales, the need for a generic term became clear; in 1990, ERP was coined. Today, MRP and ERP continue to play essential roles in manufacturing, and ERP has become the digital nervous system of business.

Few observers would doubt that ERP has also had a positive influence on the global economy. The anecdotal evidence from individual companies is both convincing and unsurprising, and it springs largely from the usual benefits of computerizing manual, paper-based processes.

Digitizing business transactions and records usually speeds them up and makes them more accurate and reliable. Sharing this real-time or near-real-time information over a network helps workers across departments make better decisions, coordinate their activities, collaborate more effectively and minimize the avoidable errors caused by miscommunication. It also helps businesses respond more quickly to changing conditions.

Tapping into the internet to open these ERP channels to the outside world helps to align supply and demand by tying the desires of customers more intimately to the actions a company, its suppliers and partners take to develop and deliver products and services.

This ongoing " digital transformation" of nearly every corner of the business world, enabled in large part by ERP, has made new conveniences, such as mobile e-commerce, possible. It has also helped to integrate the world economy by enabling -- or, at the very least, supporting -- global manufacturing, supply chain analytics and industrial IoT.

At the same time, digital transformation calls for a new set of ERP skills that emphasizes broad business expertise and collaboration to write the next chapter in the long partnership between ERP and business.

Dig Deeper on ERP infrastructure

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ERP is the nervous system of modern businesses. Learn how it works, understand its risks and benefits, and get tips on deployment in this wide-ranging guide. By It is hard to imagine modern business without ERP.

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Unit 3 & 8 - product life cycle, Boston & Ansoff

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Unit 3 & 8 - product life cycle, Boston & Ansoff

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Switch to Success: 20 Years of Nintendo Console Sales

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This graphic explores 20 years of Nintendo console sales and the success of the Nintendo Switch.

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IKEA - 3.9 Internationalisation and Bartlett and Ghoshal

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IKEA - 3.9 Internationalisation and Bartlett and Ghoshal

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Swedish furniture giant Ikea has opened its first store in India in the southern city of Hyderabad.

With a growing middle class, India could be a big opportunity for the company, but it is also a market with many quirks.

Ikea's giant blue store sits on a 13-acre campus, by the side of a busy road, in HITEC city.

The technology hub in Hyderabad is also home to global firms such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook.

The scale of the shop is something that has never been seen in India before.

Its size alone has piqued curiosity among those who may have never heard of the brand.

And then of course, there are so many who have.

Upwardly mobile, well-travelled Indians have known Ikea for a while now.

In fact, with the number of global retailers who've come to India over the past decade, some would say Ikea has taken its time to set up shop here.

The company's global chief executive Jesper Brodin said: "The market of India for us is a dream.

"But to be honest, some years ago, when we looked into the business case of India, we felt it was too high risk from the cost perspective [of] not meeting our targets."

So, what changed? Government policies, for one. In 2012, India allowed 100% foreign direct investment in single-brand retail.

This was important for Ikea, because it didn't want to go down the joint venture route.

The emergence and rapid growth of e-commerce is another reason why Ikea sees more of an opportunity in India now.

In fact, even as it works on expanding its brick and mortar presence, the company wants to start selling its wares online in the country by next year.

"They've been very patient about India. In terms of the amount of effort and time that they have taken to launch the first store, it's unusual actually," said Arvind Singhal from consulting firm Technopak Advisors. "It shows to me a determination to get it right in the market."

And Ikea has taken care to adapt to India.

Around the world, Ikea purchases arrive in customer homes in the famed "flat-pack".

Stripping out the parts and assembling the furniture is a "do-it-yourself" job. That's not something Indians are used to. The availability of cheap labour in the country means people here rely on workmen or carpenters to do that.

"We will argue a little bit with our customers to say - would you please consider the do-it-yourself model?

"And the whole point of that is that you save money by doing that," says Mr Brodin. "But we are not naive, and also in other markets we offer services, for home deliveries, for kitchen installations. and in India we believe that need will be slightly more than the average market.

"So here we have signed up with companies, experts, but also a social entrepreneurship network with people that will be able to get great jobs in serving customers with assembling."

They've also changed the other thing Ikea is so well known for - Swedish meatballs.

At the store's 1,000-seater restaurant - its largest in the world - they are available.

But they aren't traditional meatballs made of beef and pork. That could offend religious sentiments here, and so there are chicken and vegetarian meatballs on offer.

As are some Indian dishes like biryani and dal makhani.

'Price sensitive'

But finally, whether or not people will actually shop at Ikea all comes down to one thing - price.

"Indians are very price sensitive, but they're also value sensitive. You can't give them substandard quality at cheaper rates. They want both," says Paresh Parekh, partner at Ersnt & Young.

"Indians lose trust very fast, so I think they will have to get it right the first time, in terms of price, quality and experience."

It's something Ikea's leadership seems to have taken into account.

"In India, we've gone all in as much as we can, and that means out of the 7,500 products that we have here, we've worked very hard, to have 1,000 products with a price of Rs. 200 ($3, £2.30) or less and 500 products for less than Rs. 100," said Mr Brodin.

"With that offer, this is one of the price-attractive markets that we're opening."

But India throws up other challenges. Huge tracts of land, to offer the true Ikea experience, are hard to find in most big cities.

If they are available, they're expensive.

High import duties are another problem. And keeping prices low means it will take longer to make money back.

Ikea has so far said it's investing $1.5bn in India.

Mr Brodin admitted it's going to be hard. "The investments are high and the time until which you reach an economy of scale will be a stretch for us, but we will try to endure," he said.

From Thursday, they will be watching with bated breath to see how India reacts to Ikea.

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Swedish furniture giant Ikea has opened its first store in India in the southern city of Hyderabad. With a growing middle class, India could be a big opportunity for the company, but it is also a market with many quirks. Ikea's giant blue store sits on a 13-acre campus, by the side of a busy road, in HITEC city.

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Unit 9 - Internationalisation: Bartlett and Ghoshal

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Unit 9 - Internationalisation: Bartlett and Ghoshal

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There won't be songs or talking dragons, and the film's antagonist will be a Chinese sorceress, not an evil leader of the Hun army - but Mulan is making her return to the big screen.

This week Disney released a teaser trailer for the live-action remake of its 1998 classic, a story based on a legendary female warrior who disguises herself as a man to fight in place of her ailing father in China's imperial army.

It joins a string of Disney hits from the 90s being revived for the 21st Century, including Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.

The animated Mulan flopped in its birthplace when it was released more than two decades ago, but this time Disney is pulling out all stops to win China over with its version of their heroine.

Let's get down to business

When the Disney original first aired, China was not a major market for Disney. Twenty years on, China is the second-biggest movie market in the world.

Around 70% of Hollywood studios' revenue are now generated overseas, compared with around 30% two decades ago. And Chinese audiences today are able to add millions to box office takings.

"Chinese takings can make or break a movie," said writer and cultural analyst Xueting Christine Ni.

And Disney knows this - which is why its spending $300m (£240m) on the film, according to one of its stars, Gong Li.

"Disney is aggressively targeting China," Stanley Rosen, a professor in political science from the University of Southern California, told the BBC.

Recent Disney offerings, like Toy Story 4, failed to see Chinese box office success. In contrast, Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios, which split from Disney in 2016, had a huge hit among Chinese audiences with its Kung Fu Panda instalment.

For that film, says Prof Rosen, "they spent a lot of time in China, investing efforts in researching pandas and talking to experts".

"Chinese audiences are clearly more sophisticated now so if Disney wants to win them back, they have to nail the cultural aspects of Mulan."

That means the new movie can't be a play-by-play of the old one.

"[The Disney original] was trying so hard to be Chinese, but in a stereotypical way - there's lanterns, fireworks.. they even stuck a panda in there. The humour, the pacing the relationships, are either wholly American, or what America imagines China would be like," Ms Ni told the BBC.

In one scene for example, the emperor is seen bowing to Mulan. It would be unthinkable for the emperor, who was seen as a god-like figure in China at the time, to bow to anyone.

Making it right

Casting was always going to be critical for this film.

Disney banished early fears of "whitewashing" - there were wholly unfounded rumours she was to be played by Jennifer Lawrence - by casting Chinese American actress Liu Yifei in the lead role.

It then upped the show's star power by featuring martial arts legend Jet Li as the Chinese emperor and A-list superstar Gong Li as a villainous sorceress - huge names in China who have also made it big in Western cinema.

But casting is "simply one element of better representation and inclusivity in Disney films", said cultural expert Rebecca-Anne Rozario, a professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

So there are other factors that Disney will have to include in order to make the film a success.

Mulan is a national heroine in ancient Chinese legend. Legends of her date back to the Northern Wei dynasty, as early as around 380AD. Think less Disney princess, more Chinese Joan-of-Arc.

So the new film script went back to the original 6th Century source material, the Ballad of Mulan, for inspiration. It was also filmed partly in China, and the female-centred story also has a female director in Niki Caro.

"[From the] tone of the [new] trailer, [it looks] much closer to the original legend than the 1998 animation and therefore closer to Hua Mulan as the Chinese know her - the brave young woman who upholds her duty to state and family," said Ms Ni.

"I think this time round, the live action will have a much better chance of winning over Chinese audiences."

The highly anticipated remake has inevitably met some criticism.

"Where is the singing?" complained one disgruntled fan on Facebook. "This isn't the Mulan I remember if we don't hear the songs we grew up with."

Others mourned the absence of wise-cracking dragon Mushu.

"We know Disney is changing a lot of things and dropping many of the original characters but Mushu was hilarious," one said.

The heroine's lucky cricket and sassy grandmother don't feature either. In their place is Mulan's new and younger sister.

And some eagle-eyed people spotted historical inaccuracies in the trailer. Mulan is seen living in a tulou hut, a traditional style of roundhouse. But those are from Fujian, more than 1,000km from Henan, the northern province where Mulan was said to have originally hailed from and were built centuries after her era.

But there's been plenty of positive reaction too. People on Chinese social media have praised Liu Yifei's debut as Mulan. An online poll on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo also found that over 115,000 users were "satisfied" with what they knew of the film so far.

"I would take inaccurate huts over smart mouthed dragons any day," said one person on Weibo.

"China finally has its own Disney princess, which no-one can lay claim on," wrote another.

Another person, who said she did not relate to the original animated film growing up, shared her newfound excitement.

"Hua Mulan was the heroine who graced our storybooks in school. I'm happy that the trailer is setting her story up as more of a Chinese martial arts epic rather than an American cartoon."

But high praise came from the voice of the "original" Mulan, Ming-Na Wen, who took to Twitter to praise Liu's performance.

The full film is scheduled for release in March next year. Disney would not give us any further details on it for now, but said more information would come out as the release date approached.

There are suggestions some of the classic songs from the animated movie will crop up in some form, but that may end up being a secondary issue for Chinese Mulan fans.

As one Weibo user put it: "China's Mulan is back."

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Mulan: Disney aims to win over China with second take on the legend

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There won't be songs or talking dragons, and the film's antagonist will be a Chinese sorceress, not an evil leader of the Hun army - but Mulan is making her return to the big screen.

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Ice cream - growth, innovation and investment + CSR

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Ice cream - growth, innovation and investment + CSR

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Dragons' Den millionaires slammed my ice cream business - but now it's worth £86MILLION after Andy Murray invested in it

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TWO brothers may have got an icy reception from the Dragons' Den millionaires - but their ice cream business is now worth a cool £86million. And despite failing to wow the judges with their healthy alternative, Harry and Charlie Thuillier now count tennis sensation Andy Murray among their investors.

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Unit 3 - Analysing marketing data & Unit 9 - Digital Technology

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Unit 3 - Analysing marketing data & Unit 9 - Digital Technology

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Big data retailing offers tailor-made shopping for all

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Imagine everything being known about you the minute you walk in to a department store - your name, measurements, purchase history in-store and online, even your views on life, the universe and everything. Would that make you feel like a celebrity or a victim of intrusive surveillance?

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/aqabusinessteachers/permalink/4682191178513141/

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AQA A Level Business Teachers has 2,544 members. The Facebook group for all AQA A Level Business teachers.

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https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/iceland-sell-ice-cream-versions-22064886?fbclid=IwAR24oFrmx_Vi_cjQbVi-Nc7qHNzysaNiSNWNUlcQC_YEUlvLmDAOll2d9KU

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(Image: Google Maps)

Mr Kipling cakes are brilliant with a cuppa tea mid-morning and now the brand has reimagined its classics - as ice cream!

Known for its 'Exceedingly Good' treats, Mr Kipling has been creating cakes since the 1960s.

French Fancies, Viennese Whirls and Chocolate Slices are among their top treats and now you can get them in frozen form.
Read more: Tesco makes announcement to anyone buying crisps before Christmas
Tubs of the ice creams are to be sold at Iceland, according to Instagram page @NewFoodsUK.

The French Fancy tub will contain sponge cake bites and fondant flavoured sauces while the Viennese Whirl flavour will have crumbled shortcake and raspberry-flavoured sauce.

The Chocolate Slice flavour will contain chocolate-flavoured sponge, fondant and chocolate-flavoured sauce.

The comments section of the New Foods post were filled with shoppers keen to try the new offering, the prices of which are yet to be revealed.

"Phwoar!" said KatieLockyer, while PhilyAshdown said simply: "OH MY CHRIST!"

Robyn_Lioness commented: "I need that French Fancy one immediately!" and Emma_Fawcett93 said: "We need every flavour!"

Other shoppers were looking ahead, making suggestions for a line expansion already.

CosmicVsTheWorld said: "They need to make a Battenburg flavour!"

The post didn't say when the ice creams would be available, stating that they're 'coming soon' to Iceland stores.

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Iceland to sell ice cream versions of these gorgeous Mr Kipling cakes

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Mr Kipling cakes are brilliant with a cuppa tea mid-morning and now the brand has reimagined its classics - as ice cream! Known for its 'Exceedingly Good' treats, Mr Kipling has been creating cakes since the 1960s. French Fancies, Viennese Whirls and Chocolate Slices are among their top treats and now you can get them in frozen form.

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https://www.talkingretail.com/news/industry-news/consumers-now-spending-100-a-month-on-ethical-products-says-co-op-report-03-11-2021/?fbclid=IwAR3UbzG4z-vSJX4uwqJNAhcZdFmuUGDRnsyjkleev8gE4DquUSqK44en8Jc

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Unit 9 - assessing a change in scale (external growth)

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Unit 9 - assessing a change in scale (external growth)

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Uber acquires Postmasters

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Uber scoops up Postmates for $2.65 billion in ‘everyday’ delivery push

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Uber Technologies Inc on Monday said it would acquire Postmates Inc for $2.65 billion to expand its food delivery market share and significantly increase the business of supplying everyday goods at a time when the coronavirus has pummeled its core ride-hailing service.

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Merger

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Esportif International has merged with Big Red Management, expanding to ten different markets with offices in six countries throughout the rugby playing world. As a result of the merger with Big Red Management - shortlisted for a BT Sport Industry Award for their management of England international,…

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https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/30/banana-price-war-uk-supermarkets-hurting-farmers-growers-warn

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The huge popularity of bananas makes them a weapon in UK supermarket price wars, but the tactic is hurting farmers amid soaring production costs, growers have said.

The major supermarket chains are ignoring the impact of higher raw material and freight costs because they want to offer the "cheapest bananas on the market", according to a joint statement from Latin American producers and exporter associations.

The criticism comes as price negotiations take place over the bananas that will be sold in shops next year. The statement, issued by Clúster Bananero del Ecuador - the region's biggest grower - singles out Aldi. As one of the world's biggest banana contracts, the price struck by the German retailer is a key barometer.

"These negotiations are taking place in a global context of spiralling inflationary prices that affect production costs but are not reflected in the purchase price," the group said. "All the supplies needed to ensure that bananas reach the shelves of European and North American consumers have become more expensive.

"However, the supermarkets, led by the German supermarket Aldi, are unwilling to compensate for this increase in costs, something that seriously harms banana producers and exporters who are forced to bear the full cost increase.

"With the excuse of offering the cheapest bananas on the market, the German giant is setting the price by which the rest of the supermarkets will be guided and none of them will be willing to pay more."

In common with other parts of the global food supply chain, banana growers are grappling with much higher costs after the price of inputs such as fertiliser, cardboard and plastic increased by between 30% and 45%. Freight costs are up 60%.

The industry group said that by contrast the price paid for the fruit had not risen for more than two decades, with retailers taking advantage of a sector comprising small- and medium-sized producers that do not have a strong negotiating hand.

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When it comes to UK fruit sales, bananas are second only to apples in popularity, with shoppers spending nearly £600m on them last year. At the moment Aldi is selling a five-pack of bananas for 69p, and the same deal is available at the market leader Tesco thanks to its "Aldi price match" scheme. Both stores charge 13p for a single banana.

This month Fairtrade announced an 8% average increase in its minimum prices in an attempt to help farmers cope with the tough market conditions, which are expected to continue. Despite the rising export costs of bananas it said import prices had gone the other way, falling to a 10-year low of less than €10 (£8.45) a box. Tesco has committed to make up the shortfall where workers on plantations supplying its UK stores are not earning the living wage.

Aldi said it was a member of the World Banana Forum and part of a working group looking at the cost of sustainable production. "We are working hard towards ensuring everyone in our supply chain is paid a fair price, as well as supporting suppliers that engage and invest in sustainable supply chains," a spokesperson said.

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Banana price war in UK supermarkets is hurting farmers, growers warn

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The huge popularity of bananas makes them a weapon in UK supermarket price wars, but the tactic is hurting farmers amid soaring production costs, growers have said. The major supermarket chains are ignoring the impact of higher raw material and freight costs because they want to offer the "cheapest bananas on the market", according to a joint statement from Latin American producers and exporter associations.

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https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/supermarkets/dave-lewis-ditches-tesco-steering-wheel-in-favour-of-big-six/517182.article

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AQA A Level Business Teachers has 2,531 members. The Facebook group for all AQA A Level Business teachers.

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https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/sep/16/living-space-invaders-ikea-launches-gaming-furniture-range

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Living-space invaders: Ikea launches gaming furniture range

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The interiors giant promises more than 30 new products including gaming desks, chairs and accessories

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Food industry

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With most of us stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, our eating habits have had to change. Meals out have been impossible, and we've all been having to eat from home. So what have we been eating and which firms have been benefiting?

Barry Smith may be a natural optimist with a market-leading product but as the lockdown loomed, the founder of food probiotic supplement, Symprove, was forced to look at worst-case scenarios.

"If production had to shut down completely and we had zero sales we may have survived for about six months, perhaps a little longer with a government grant," says the Surrey-based entrepreneur, who doubled supply routes and stocked up on core ingredients including barley in preparation.

"It was very scary to think about, and a huge relief that the complete opposite happened and we had a record 50% new business in May."

Indeed, with customers flocking online to buy his fermented grain product to boost their general gut health and well-being, Symprove is one of the food supplement and food products enjoying strong sales - boosted by customers changing their behaviour during the outbreak.

For Mr Smith, the pandemic accelerated an existing move towards proactive health management. There's been a spike in online searches for "probiotics" and "immunity function", according to industry watchers, Lumina Intelligence.

There have also been studies published exploring a possible link between Covid-19 and a lack of diversity in the gut microbiome, says Mr Smith. Whether eventually proven or not, this "may have got more people thinking about the importance of gut health", he says.

But besides many of us looking for health supplements, at the other end of the spectrum there has also been a rise in demand for products combining an indulgent fix with a way to pass time in lockdown - notably snacking and baking.

One of these is "gourmet popcorn", which retail intelligence specialists, Stackline, say is one of the fastest growing trends among snacks.

For London-based Popcorn Shed, which adds flavours such as cherry Bakewell and sundried tomato and goats cheese to the humble corn kernel, its sales to consumers in March and April were 12 times higher than the same period last year.

Meanwhile, figures from market researchers Nielsen show that sales of baking products were up by almost two-thirds over the same period when compared with 2019.

With a lot of us turning to home baking, flour has become hard to find and has often been sold out. So many of us have been using flourless recipes - joining those who always preferred them anyway.

Julianne Ponan, owner of Creative Nature Superfoods, whose range includes flourless baking kits, had to move to a larger manufacturing facility and put in 18-hour days to accommodate the rapid increase in demand from consumers and supermarkets for her products.

"Home baking has gone through the roof," she says, acknowledging that the shortage of flour during the lockdown period also worked in her favour.

"As an allergen-free brand, it was hard to source some of the ingredients like banana chips as there was a lockdown from our supplier in Sri Lanka, but because you can add milk and vegetable oil to our mix rather than flour, it does offer a way of baking without the usual commodities."

Ms Ponan says 70% of the 1,800 people her firm surveyed were now baking weekly rather than monthly.

What's more, during the lockdown more of us seem to have been experimenting with going meat-free.

Some one in five Brits says they have reduced their meat consumption during the pandemic. An additional 1.8 million households have been buying meat-free products - and it has been tofu that has become the go-to meat-free food. The UK's tofu market is now worth £32m, says Nielsen.

While most businesses were fearful of the unknown at the start of the crisis, the main concern for David Knibbs, managing director of Yorkshire-based The Tofoo Co, was how to meet any additional demand with an already booming business.

The Tofoo Co has a 46% share of the tofu market, and has seen its monthly turnover double to £1m since the crisis began. It has extended production to Sundays and is employing more workers at its recently expanded factory.

"We knew straight away with more people cooking and eating at home that it would go bananas, and May was our biggest month ever," says Mr Knibbs, who bought the brand four years ago.

In a range that includes chilli-infused and crispy-coated variants, it is the simple plain block of tofu, known as Naked Tofoo, that has been the company's biggest seller during this period, which he credits to people being more experimental in the kitchen.

"Many people got their [culinary] inspiration out in restaurants rather than the home, but lockdown stopped all of that so people are expanding their repertoire.

"I think the meat-free market was getting a little processed, with lots of ready meals and [meat-free] sausage rolls, but Covid has encouraged more cooking from scratch and trying new recipes. That's where the opportunity is now - people taking something plain and simple and trying to transform it."

Not that the real meat is being neglected entirely. Sausages have been eaten in six million more weekly meals, says research firm Kantar, partly due to a surge in barbecues and also a return to comfort food favourites toad-in-the-hole and bangers and mash.

"With so many meals being consumed at home it has unlocked many more occasions for consumption bringing families together at mealtimes," says Alexandra Byrne, brand manager at Kerry Foods, which manufactures Richmond Sausages.

So what of the long-term prospects for these foods that are doing well at the moment?

Mark Artus, the chief executive of brand agency 1HQ, says that retailers and food brands will have been watching closely to see whether these changes in our behaviour are lasting, or whether we will revert to old patterns once the immediate crisis has passed.

For those firms that have benefited, he says: "The challenge will be to double-down on the opportunity and retain the new consumers they have attracted."

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Coronavirus: The foods we are all eating during lockdown

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With most of us stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, our eating habits have had to change. Meals out have been impossible, and we've all been having to eat from home. So what have we been eating and which firms have been benefiting?

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As a business that's been around for 138 years, we know how important it is to look to the future

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58351462

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Peloton cuts price of bike as sales growth slows

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The fitness company's losses have widened as people head back to gyms to exercise.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58340082

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Sports Direct owner's new boss offered potential £100m bonus

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Michael Murray, Mike Ashley's future son-in-law, must more than double the firm's share price.

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Growth model stages - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58035124

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Goldman Sachs has increased its salaries for younger bankers following complaints of long working hours.

It is understood that first-year investment bank analysts globally will get a pay rise this year to $110,000 (£80,000) from a previous $86,000.

As first reported in the Financial Times, the pay increase does not include bonuses. Basic pay will rise to $125,000 in the second year.

It comes as a top banker criticised recruits for being "entitled".

Xavier Rolet, who ran the London Stock Exchange for eight years, said the younger generation of bankers should stop complaining about long working hours or find another job.

He suggested banks should hire "poor hungry kids who managed to put themselves through college" instead of "entitled" graduates.

Mr Rolet, who worked at Goldman Sachs in New York and in London early on in his career, said on LinkedIn that he would regularly work 130 hours a week, seven days a week in the 1980s.

He claimed: "We'd work the whole New York trading day in the office, have dinner on the desk then trade Asia and Tokyo from 8:00pm until 10:00pm, go home during the half-day recess and trade the Tokyo afternoon session from home from 12:00pm to 2:00am.

"Grab some shut-eye until 4:00am to put our orders in the European markets in time for the opening... quick commute to 40 Wall to be in the office by 6:30am to continue to trade our European orders in time for the pre-opening in New York. Tokyo was open on Saturdays and half day every other Sunday in those days."

This year, a group of young Goldman Sachs bankers complained of 95-hour working weeks and and asked for their working week to be capped at 80 hours.

They said conditions were "inhumane".

Goldman Sachs, which recently reported a sharp rise in second quarter revenue, has declined to comment on the pay increases.

In February, a group of 13 first year US-based investment banking analysts at Goldman Sachs, provided a presentation to management which commented on working conditions.

"The sleep deprivation, the treatment by senior bankers, the mental and physical stress... I've been through foster care and this is arguably worse," said one.

Another remarked: "This is beyond the level of 'hard-working', this is inhumane/abuse."

However, Mr Rolet asked people on LinkedIn: "How many single working mothers trying to put several kids through school do you think work less than 130 hours a week?"

Earlier this year, the young Goldman Sachs bankers warned that they would have to leave unless conditions improved.

But Mr Rolet told Financial New s: "It's a free world. If you don't love what you're doing or think the hours don't suit your lifestyle, by any means do something else."

He added: "Junior bankers are paid very well compared to other industries or sectors: ask a young entrepreneur drawing no salary how they would like to make $100,000-plus straight out of college?"

Commenting his own experience at Goldman Sachs in the 1980s, he said: "Pay was good for a broke kid from a Parisian sink estate."

Mr Rolet grew up in Algiers - his father was in the military - and near Paris in an impoverished area called Sarcelles, which he described to the Evening Standard as "concrete, concrete, concrete, everywhere you looked".

After a long career in finance, Mr Rolet led the LSE from 2009 until 2017 and he is currently chairman of PhosAgro, a Russian fertiliser company.

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Goldman Sachs raises banker pay after 95-hour week complaint

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Goldman Sachs has increased its salaries for younger bankers following complaints of long working hours. It is understood that first-year investment bank analysts globally will get a pay rise this year to $110,000 (£80,000) from a previous $86,000. As first reported in the Financial Times, the pay increase does not include bonuses.

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How Starbucks plans to make its coffee carbon neutral

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From smarter farming to new varieties, the coffee giant is working on a variety of strategies to end emissions on the farms that produce its beans.

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By Robert Plummer
Business reporter, BBC News

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's says it has decided to stop selling CDs and DVDs as streaming services take their toll on sales of the products.

A spokesperson said Sainsbury's customers increasingly went for music and films online instead of buying the shiny silver discs.

The firm said sales were being phased out, although it would continue to sell vinyl records in some stores.

CD sales have shrunk in the past decade but were still worth £115m last year.

Other big supermarkets show no sign of following Sainsbury's lead, with larger branches of Tesco, Asda and Morrisons still stocking a range of CDs and DVDs.

"Our customers increasingly go online for entertainment, so earlier this year we took the decision to gradually phase out the sale of DVDs and CDs, so that we can dedicate extra space to food and popular products like clothing and homewares," Sainsbury's said.

The decision is another sign that the CD, once the dominant means of buying and selling recorded music, is long past its heyday.

With sales hit first by the MP3 music file, then by streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer, the silver disc is now seen as unfashionable in many circles.

Worse still, the format that it was designed to kill off, the vinyl record, has enjoyed a resurgence, with UK sales climbing to 4.8 million last year, bringing in revenue of more than £86m.

That was still well short of the money brought in by CDs. But according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the value of record sales in 2021 is expected to surpass that of CDs for the first time since the late 1980s.

"The CD has proved exceptionally successful for nearly 40 years and remains a format of choice for many music fans who value sound quality, convenience and collectability," said a BPI spokesperson.

"Although demand has been following a long-term trend as consumers increasingly transition to streaming, resilient demand is likely to continue for many years, enhanced by special editions and other collectible releases.

"If some retailers now see the format as less of a priority, this will create a further opportunity for others, such as independent shops and specialist chains such as HMV, to cater to the continuing demand."

Out of fashion

Music industry observer Graham Jones points out that supermarkets have always carried a very limited selection of CDs, with an emphasis on big names such as Ed Sheeran.

But as his book Last Shop Standing makes clear, the supermarkets could still make life difficult for record shops, especially by undercutting them on price.

In one chapter, he recounts an incident from 2008, when a shop in the East Midlands found that rather than ordering copies of the latest Coldplay CD from the record company, it was cheaper to buy them on special offer from Morrisons and Asda and resell them.

However, such incidents are unlikely to be repeated these days.

"Sales of CDs are slowing down, so I can understand why Sainsbury's are pulling out, really," he told the BBC.

"Vinyl is incredibly fashionable and the CD has gone out of fashion.

"A lot of indies [independent shops] may be stocking less CDs than they used to, but they're still selling. There's this myth that the CD is completely dead."

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By Robert Plummer Business reporter, BBC News Supermarket giant Sainsbury's says it has decided to stop selling CDs and DVDs as streaming services take their toll on sales of the products. A spokesperson said Sainsbury's customers increasingly went for music and films online instead of buying the shiny silver discs.

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Marketing, PESTLE, CSR, Branding and Supply chains

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Marketing, PESTLE, CSR, Branding and Supply chains

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These woodland animal origami bookmarks are adorable! Learn how to make a DIY bookmark out of one piece of paper with seven free printable origami templates.
I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I am a book mutilator. Yep, that's right, I turn down the corners of pages to mark my place, and the college I attended considered this "book mutilation." You could even get fined for it! Well, if that didn't teach me to start using bookmarks it's likely nothing will, but at least my children haven't inherited my criminal ways. One of my younger kids recently taught me how to fold origami bookmarks which slide over the corner of the page you are on to save your place. He even drew eyes and teeth on his corner bookmarks to turn them into little monsters.

I figured it would be fun to turn origami bookmarks into little woodland animals. So I've created seven different printable templates you guys can use to make cute origami bookmarks with your kids. Aren't they adorable?

All you have to do is print out the one you like best and cut out the square and the ears. A few folds later you have an adorable DIY origami bookmark that will help keep you from a life of book mutilation.

My daughter loves the bunny...

...while my son thinks the owl is the cutest:

I'm partial to the fox, but that little skunk! He's pretty cute too.

DIY bookmark templates

Since I possess pretty much no artistic ability, these bookmarks were created with permission using woodland animal clipart from two Etsy stores: ClipArtisan and MyCuteLobsterDesigns. Check them out if you need some adorable clipart for your projects!

As with all my printables, these are offered for personal use ONLY and may not be redistributed. Please refer friends to this blog post to print their own folded bookmark templates.
Click here to download the fox origami bookmark template Click here to download the skunk origami bookmark template Click here to download the bear origami bookmark template Click here to download the bunny origami bookmark template Click here to download the owl origami bookmark template Click here to download the chick origami bookmark template Click here to download the raccoon origami bookmark template

How to fold a DIY origami bookmark

Watch this video to see how to fold these DIY bookmarks (written instructions follow):

1 - Print bookmark template on plain white printer paper. Trim along lines to cut out the square. 2 - Fold square in half diagonally to create a triangle. Both colored areas should show on the top of the triangle. 3 - Flip the triangle over. 4 - Fold each outer corner of the triangle to meet together at the top of the triangle and form a face. When doing this, make sure the two sides of the face line up. Press along all the folds to crease.

5 - Open up the last fold you did so you are back to the original triangle. Fold the top point of the triangle down, using only the *top* layer of paper. 6 - Fold one corner back up and tuck it into the "pocket" created in the last step. Repeat with the other corner. 7 - Cut out the ears and add adhesive along the straight edge. 8 - Tuck the ears inside the pocket to complete the bookmark.

One DIY origami bookmark complete! Now go ahead and print out all the other versions so your woodland animals can have some friends.

A few last notes:

Be sure to use plain printer paper and not cardstock or these will be very hard to fold

The faces will line up better if you are exact with your cuts and folds. A paper trimmer makes exact cuts easier. Help younger children so they don't get frustrated (although most kids aren't going to mind if the faces don't line up exactly!)

Looking for more bookish fun? Try these posts:
Punch card bookmark to track reading minutes 13 hilarious picture books you won't get tired of reading to your kids Best books for ages 8-12 Book series for ages 8-12 Clean YA books your teen and tweens will love
And if you love origami, visit these posts:
Christmas print + fold origami bookmarks 20 cool origami tutorials Easy to fold origami jumping frogs

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DIY woodland animals origami bookmarks {print + fold}

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These woodland animal origami bookmarks are adorable! Learn how to make a DIY bookmark out of one piece of paper with seven free printable origami templates. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I am a book mutilator.

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Capacity and capacity utilisation

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Caravan parks have recorded a boom in demand as lockdown measures are relaxed, providing an unlikely source of economic growth as overseas travel remains largely off-limits.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show activity in the UK's accommodation and food services sector grew by 68.6% in April, with the biggest driver being caravan parks and holiday lets.

There was also strong growth in retail sales, with rising demand for caravans and motorhomes as lockdown-weary consumers packed their bags for a spring break on a camping ground or touring park.

At Seafield caravan park in Northumberland, Carolyn Britton is fully booked until October for holiday guests and has no permanent pitches left to sell to prospective caravan owners, as demand spirals upwards this spring. "Everything is at capacity, the spring bank holiday was one of our busiest ever," she said.

Seafield caravan park in Northumberland.

Set in the picture-postcard village of Seahouses on the Northumberland coast, Britton's family have owned the caravan park for more than 60 years - and business has never been so brisk.

"I've just come back from London for my birthday. I couldn't believe how quiet London is compared to here. Seahouses itself is absolutely chocka. People are enjoying themselves, the takeaways are busy, the chip shops, supermarkets and everything."

After a difficult year when Britton furloughed some of her 60 staff, Seafields is running up against a different problem. "Sales have come to a standstill as we haven't got any space left to sell," she said. "Normally we have a couple coming available each year but at the moment everyone is using their caravans."

Gareth and Gemma Thomas with their new caravan which they are taking to the Brecon Beacons.

The first stop for Gemma and Gareth Thomas in their new caravan will be Glanusk in the Brecon Beacons but later in the summer a fortnight touring Scotland beckons.

The couple, who are in their 30s, are among a growing number of millennials embracing caravanning. They are also looking forward to getting away, along with many other Britons, whose bookings for caravan parks and holiday lets boosted consumer spending in April.

Gemma said it had been a running joke between them that they "felt a bit old" when they told people they were going to buy a caravan for the first time but said their experience on recent holidays told a different story as it was clear a "lot more people our age were investing in caravans".

The pair, who live in Ystradgynlais in Powys, are proud owners of a Swift Sunrise 890. With a price tag of £26,000 they were won over by its spacious quarters which include fixed bunks and a separate seating area for their children Sophia and Hari.

Not being fans of package holidays the couple like the flexibility and freedom a caravan holiday brings. "The children can run around outside rather than being in a hotel room," she said.

In St Ives in Cornwall, the spring holiday season was unusually busy for Becki Osborne at Polmanter touring park. "It will probably will be the busiest year on record for us, after April and May, and if the rest of the summer goes to plan," she said.

Becki Osborne at the family-run Polmanter touring park, St Ives, England. Photograph: Kiss Photography

Each time the government announced plans to ease lockdown restrictions - and to crackdown on international travel - Polmanter recorded a sharp rise in interest. "We often have quite strong advanced bookings but this year in particular we've seen a lot more demand for earlier in the season than would be usual."

With 300 pitches within walking distance of St Ives, Osborne said the family-run park was welcoming guests this year who were taking a camping or caravanning holiday in Britain for the first time. Others are returning after experiencing it for the first time in 2020 when the pandemic first limited holidaymakers' options.

"We've spoken to a lot of people who think of camping as being all cobwebby grimy showers and not much luxury, but then they come to a place like ours. You can't always guarantee the weather but there is no place nicer than St Ives when the sun is shining," she said.

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'It will be busiest year on record': England caravan parks boom as lockdown eases

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Caravan parks have recorded a boom in demand as lockdown measures are relaxed, providing an unlikely source of economic growth as overseas travel remains largely off-limits. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show activity in the UK's accommodation and food services sector grew by 68.6% in April, with the biggest driver being caravan parks and holiday lets.

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Ketchup comes home as Kraft Heinz invests in UK – Daily Business

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Kraft Heinz is to spend £140m bringing sauce manufacturing back to Britain in what will be one of the biggest investments in UK manufacturing since Brexit.

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Different ways of working

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What is the so-called “gig” economy, a phrase increasingly associated with employment disputes?

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Colchester UK, 2 May 2013 , which serves a number of farm shops, cafes and deli's as well as high street retailers including Sainsbury's and Waitrose, is seeing huge efficiency savings thanks to the implementation of its new ERP solution, . With aspirations to grow the business to £20m over the next three years, the 85-strong Devon-based company needed an integrated system to provide tighter controls over its financial, production processing and stock control.

Alternatively, keep up-to-date by following Access on:

Access is a leading author of fully integrated business management software. The portfolio spans solutions for ERP, finance, HR, Payroll, warehousing, business intelligence, professional service automation and manufacturing. More than 10,000 UK businesses and not-for-profit organisations use Access solutions to improve their performance, profitability and drive growth, unlocking their business potential through improved business insight.

Vertical focus and industry-specific solutions differentiate Access in the market and templated solutions make for rapid and easy deployments. Using Access software to automate operations, streamline processes and share real-time business information anytime, anywhere, businesses can benefit from significant performance improvements.

Access is one of the top five fastest growing UK software developers in The Sunday Times Buyout Track 100 2012 and featured in last year's Profit Track 100. On-going commitment to excellence, customers and employees has also placed the company among the UK's top employers in The Sunday Times' 100 'Best Companies to Work For' 2011.
Access.010513.HC.Burts Tags:

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Burts Potato Chips savours greater efficiency with help of new ERP system

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Colchester UK, 2 May 2013 , which serves a number of farm shops, cafes and deli's as well as high street retailers including Sainsbury's and Waitrose, is seeing huge efficiency savings thanks to the implementation of its new ERP solution, .

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Soft HRM and Decentralisation

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ThinkStock Photos
In the US, we've seen competing firms getting together to better understand worker safety or collaborate to relocate workers.

Raffaella Sadun teaches at Harvard Business School. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das, she discusses factors that make companies more resilient and able to thrive, even during uncertain events:

Q. How can firms develop resilience while facing unexpected occurrences?
A. The global pandemic has confirmed the importance of creating high-performance organisations, where people work with you because they are motivated to give their best, rather than having a transactional relationship. With so much uncertainty, which is hard to manage even with incentives, the most resilient companies are the ones which have been able to leverage deeper bonds with their workforce. Last summer, companies that successfully reopened in the US had given great thought to providing support to their employees. That included emotional support, spending time communicating and mitigating anxieties, even sending gift baskets. It became clear that for resilient companies, the workeremployer relationship has to be nurtured.

Q. How does this help resilience?
A. If you have a workforce that is aligned with you and believes in what you're doing, any crisis can be withstood. With such a dynamic, you don't need to give people elaborate instructions - the beauty of this model is that people are so motivated, decentralisation happens smoothly. That makes it much easier to build resilience.

Q. What is the importance of decentralisation?
A. We've analysed companies which performed the best during the Great Recession of 2007-09. Companies which were more decentralised prior to the Great Recession were able to deal much more effectively with the drop in demand that happened then. We saw a strong association between being more decentralised and churn ing products more quickly. In a more decentralised company, you have managers who are in touch with customers directly. They can understand changes in the needs of customers and be more responsive and reactive to them. Under uncertainty, it's very important to capture signals which are noisy and local - it's harder for central headquarters to do this.

Of course, decentralisation has an inherent risk of losing coordination, but through the Great Recession, we found the benefits outweighed the cost. This is very important, especially for developing countries where there is generally a deficit of decentralisation in companies.

Q. Can you elaborate on the importance of 'noisy signals' during unclear events?
A. The global crisis has heightened uncertainty at multiple levels. Initially, we were worried about supply constraints. The rush at supermarkets in many nations showed us this. Then, the uncertainty showed in changed consumption patterns - we're still in a phase where things can change radically while the information companies have at hand isn't adequate. We must expand sources of information and, in this context, noisy signals in an industry, which includes signals from competitors, can be very valuable.

In the US, we've seen competing firms getting together to better understand worker safety or collaborate to relocate workers. Joining hands to make sense of an uncertain situation is preferable to the usual way of doing business.

Q. Why do you emphasise the importance of sustaining a company's entire ecosystem in such events?
A. We've found that more resilient companies realised they had a responsibility not only to their direct customers, but to their entire supply chain. Such companies have actively supported their intermediate suppliers in this phase - L'Oreal, for example, understood the difficulties hairdressers were facing. So, they created support systems including online training programs for them to survive the crisis and build value-addition. The most resilient companies have depended on such collaboration to make their way out of a tough situation - this is harder than it seems because it takes a lot of trust and effort.

Q. Does experimentation help during uncertainty?
A. In any situation, experimentation is important. If you approach the world in a scientific manner, you're able to compare different decisions with counterfactuals and have a more structured decisionmaking process. You need to consider the sources of uncertainty you're dealing with and how your experiment helps address these. Experimentation is not a panacea by itself. It's very powerful when combined with a system of thinking that feeds its results into a broader decision-making process.

Companies need to delve deeper into understanding the changes taking place now. For companies facing a situation where demand is changing - such as from in-person to online purchases - understanding what customers are looking for, like sa fety and convenience, is vital because it's likely such changes will persist even after the pandemic. In some cases, macro shifts are changing the fundamental nature of businesses, including how value is created and captured. Analysing counterfactuals for companies is not a luxury now - it's essential. Experimentation is better for developing resilience than being resistant to understanding change.

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View: Deeper bonds with the workforce, decentralisation and understanding change build company resilience

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If you have a workforce that is aligned with you and believes in what youre doing, any crisis can be withstood. With such a dynamic, you dont need to give people elaborate instructions - the beauty of this model is that people are so motivated, decentralisation happens smoothly, said Raffaella Sadun.

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Price elasticity of demand

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The single-use carrier bag charge will rise from 5p to 10p and be extended to all businesses in England from 21 May.

The government said all stores, including corner shops, will now have to apply the charge from that date.

The 5p levy on plastic bags was introduced in England in 2015. Since then their use has fallen by over 95%.

The average person in England now buys just four single-use carrier bags a year from the main supermarkets, compared with 140 in 2014.

"The introduction of the 5p charge has been a phenomenal success," said Environment Minister Rebecca Pow.

By extending the charge to all retailers, the government hopes the use of single-use carrier bags will fall by 70-80% in small and medium-sized businesses.

"We know we must go further to protect our natural environment and oceans, which is why we are now extending this charge to all businesses," said Ms Pow.

"Over the next couple of weeks I urge all retailers of all sizes to make sure they are ready for the changes, as we work together to build back greener and strengthen our world-leading action to combat the scourge of plastic waste."

Association of Convenience Stores chief executive, James Lowman, said: "We strongly welcome the inclusion of local shops and other small businesses into the successful plastic bag charging scheme, which not only helps the environment, but is also a great way for retailers to raise money for local and national charities."

Removing bags

John Lewis said it was trialling the removal of single-use bags from its Cheltenham, Kingston and Leeds stores from 21 May.

Customers will be asked to bring their own bags or buy a reusable bag made from 100% recyclable material costing 50p for a medium size and 75p for a large size.

Marija Rompani, director of ethics and sustainability for the John Lewis Partnership, said: "It has become the norm to take our own bags when we go food shopping but we have a different mindset when shopping for clothes, beauty and home products.

"We expect our customers will be supportive of this change and will be listening to their feedback."

Cutting plastics

"Plastic pollution is one of the most visible symptoms of the environmental crisis, damaging natural habitats and putting precious wildlife at risk," sasid Paula Chin, sustainable materials specialist at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

"Measures to reduce plastics consumption need to go much further. The UK government must consider a complete ban on single-use bags and make sure this is not undermined by the sale of 'bags for life', which are currently cheaply available and all too often end up as single-use items."

The Co-op became the latest supermarket chain to say it will stop selling plastic "bags for life" last month.

The retailer, which has 2,600 shops, said many people only used the 10p bags once before throwing them away.

The Co-op said its move would take 29.5 million bags for life, or about 870 tonnes of plastic, out of circulation every year.

Earlier last month Morrisons said it would switch from offering plastic "bags for life" to a paper alternative.

In recent years, all supermarkets have tried to cut plastics use.

Waitrose is currently trialling the removal of its 10p bags for life from several of its stores.

Sainsbury's has said its bags for life cost 20p to encourage customers to re-use them and are made from 100% recycled plastic.

Tesco increased the price of its bags for life to 20p in September 2020 and doesn't sell single-use bags.

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Plastic bag charge to double to 10p in all shops in England

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The single-use carrier bag charge will rise from 5p to 10p and be extended to all businesses in England from 21 May. The government said all stores, including corner shops, will now have to apply the charge from that date. The 5p levy on plastic bags was introduced in England in 2015.

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Competitive advantage refers to the ways that a company can produce goods or deliver services better than its competitors.

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So, your business is growing and you can't quite seem to keep up with the influx of work. Congratulations! That's a great sign your business is prospering.

Chances are, however, you are stressed out about finding the right people to hire to keep up with tasks as you scale. Am I right?

Examples of companies that outsource

Read on because we will dive in how these companies have used outsourcing to grow their business.

While you have several options for hiring employees, you may want to consider outsourcing some of your work, rather than hiring new, full-time, in-house employees.

The benefits? It's more affordable. It yields productivity. You keep office costs down. You have access to a global market of talent. Happiness levels increase. You can hire people who are ready to start work without much training. The list of benefits goes on.

We wrote a detailed guide on it here: The Complete Guide to Outsourcing.

If you're worried about looking into this progressive approach, keep reading.

This article will present a list of outsourcing examples from other successful companies that took this approach. In other words, you'll get to read several success stories of hiring remote workers before you decide to go that route too.
If you're looking for an easy way to see which tasks your freelancers and outsourced workers are working on, then check out Time Doctor free for 14 days. You'll see what tasks they're working on right now, how long each task takes to complete, and see which apps and websites they're visiting right now.
1. Alibaba.com

You've heard of Alibaba.com. In fact, you've probably browsed their website and purchased some cufflinks, a watch, or any other product for way cheaper than you could find it on Amazon.

Alibaba.com started as a small Internet company, and has grown into one of the world's largest internet global ecommerce sites.

The interesting thing about Alibaba is they outsourced many of their projects to grow.

When we think of outsourcing, it's common to think of sending manufacturing to China, hiring virtual assistants from India, or linking up with a copywriter from the Philippines. While these are great options for many companies trying to scale, China had the opposite problem.

The skills they needed to develop their website were more accessible when hiring remote workers in the U.S. The founder of Alibaba outsourced development to web developers in the U.S. and his business took off, according to his book.

Key Takeaway: The takeaway here is to do your research when scaling. Where does it make the most sense to look for the skills you need to grow your business? Can you find a better qualified team by outsourcing projects? If you're like Alibaba, the answer is yes.

2. WhatsApp

WhatsApp takes the outsourcing story in another direction...primarily to Russia.

In 2012, WhatsApp was a small firm with only 30 full-time and 5 part-time employees in Mountain View. Can you imagine?

Since then, WhatsApp has grown to be one of the most popular chat apps in the world, and was sold to Facebook 2 years later for $19 billion.

But WhatsApp didn't experience this growth by relying solely on their 35 person team.

To keep operation costs down, they outsourced development to developers in Russia, and for a fraction of the costs it would have taken to keep business at home. As the business grew, however, some of the Russian developers were relocated to the US.

Key Takeaway: There is talent all over the world. If you're looking to scale, but need to keep costs down, look to outsourcing work to talent globally. Like WhatsApp, after you grow, you can think about relocating your top players to your home office.

3. Basecamp

Basecamp is a project management tool that helps manage in-house and remote workers. You may even be using this software now, considering it's one of the most popular project management tools on the market.

Basecamp, however, started as a small 4 man team and began to catch speed. As the company started to grow, Jason Fried explains they started experiencing problems with client work, organization, and they weren't portraying the right image to their clients to stay on base and successfully grow.

Fried admits Basecamp was delivering a good product for the money, but their internal processes were a mess. To get this done, they needed to free up time for their team at home to focus.

Enter outsourcing to save the day.

To move the app development forward, the team started outsourcing it to remote developers. This helped them improve their product, and the team was able to get more organized, focus on business priorities, and make necessary changes.

Now Basecamp employs several remote workers around the world to keep their company image up, keep processes organized, and make sure their product stands out in the crowd.

Key Takeaway: As you scale, it's important to make sure your processes are organized and your product is good. Outsourcing work to the most talented global workers can help you refine your product and processes as well as prioritize when necessary...just like Basecamp did.

4. Google

If there is one company that sets a good example of excellent business practices and scaling successfully, it's Google. You'd be hard pressed to find a businessperson that doesn't know about and/or use several of Google products.

Google works hard to take care of all their in-house employees in Mountain View, California. But, their in-house employees are not the only people that enjoy the benefits of Google employment.

Google has been outsourcing work to remote employees for years and seeing excellent benefits. They outsource everything from virtual assistant work, IT work, development, and more. Not to mention, they outsource email support for AdWords, and there is no discrimination on who they hire.

Back in 2011, they had over 1,000 reps from 60 different countries. These reps were handling over 10,000 calls a week.

Google is not the only company that has a mix of employees at home and remote employees. In fact, several companies blend domestic and international customer service.

To determine the right balance for your firm, you must consider your expenses, your priorities, and your budget.

Key Takeaway: Even the largest companies, like Google, outsource work to remote employees. Finding the right balance between outsourcing work and keeping work in-house will depend on your needs, where the talent lies, what your priorities are, and your budget. It's definitely worth looking into outsourcing as you scale.

5. Wise, formerly TransferWise

Wise, formerly TransferWise is a widely successful global money transfer service. In fact, it's a service we use here at Time Doctor. With the help of Time Doctor and Wise, it's easy to monitor, manage, and pay your remote employees.

But, back to the story of how Wise uses remote employees for business growth.

Wise has several independent workers who help with engineering.

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is known for hiring Ukrainian and Estonia developers, but not because of cheap offshoring, but because of their talent.

Wise focuses on hiring product engineers that stand out of the crowd. According to TransferWise, a product engineer must:

Pass a take home test

Have a technical interview with 2 engineers

Participate in an optional follow-up technical interview

Have a product interview with a product manager and an engineer

Complete a final interview with our VP of engineering or co-founder

Each of these interview and test-taking phases are used to evaluate the skill of an independent worker. If someone passes, you know they are top-notch and will deliver results for Wise, not just be affordable.

Wise hires the right people, no matter where they live, and then empowers them to do the best job.

Key Takeaway: Hiring remote employees doesn't have to be about budget; it can simply be about finding the right individuals to produce the best results. Sometimes you have to go outside your hometown area to find the best engineers for your product.

6. Skype

Skype is, yet again, another company that you are most likely familiar with, and probably use often.

This is one of the first companies that introduced the idea of easily communicating with someone via phone, chat, video, no matter where the other person is located in the world.

As a leader in this industry, Skype has revolutionized the way companies do business. In fact, this tool has made communicating with remote workers easier for firms across the globe.

The best part about it is that Skype has outsourced the back-end development of the app to 3 Estonian developers. While they initially outsourced the development, just like WhatsApp did, Skype brought these developers in as partners later.

Skype was purchased by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion and remains one of the most important business communication tools.

If Skype hadn't been willing to outsource work to the right developers in Estonia, perhaps it might not be what it is today.

Key Takeaway: Don't limit yourself when it comes to hiring talent. Finding the right team may involve outsourcing to the best-of-the-best anywhere in the world. Take the time to do your research and find the best person for the job you need done.

7. Slack

You may already be using Slack to communicate with your in-house staff and various different teams.

Now, imagine how much more successful you'd be if you use Slack to manage remote employees as well?

Slack is an online collaboration tool that helps teams communicate instantly to keep people on the same page.

Slack was launched in 2013 by 4 talented individuals, but before officially launching the product, they relied on beta testing from an outsourced design firm. This firm tested out copy and design.

As you know from using Slack, their tone and design is easy and more informal. And, $2.8 billion may show that this is just what the industry needed.

By outsourcing Beta testing, Slack was able to get important feedback that helped them create, not just a tool, but a personality. This helped the team launch a product that has outdone the market several times over.

Key Takeaway: If you want to launch a global product, consider outsourcing beta testing. This can give you insight into changes your product should make, what is working, and what is not working before you launch your product. If you're successful, like Slack, you could end up creating one of the world's most beloved business tools.

Why Outsourcing is Beneficial

We've looked at 7 companies that have used outsourcing to fuel business growth. The purpose of this article is not to toot the horn of already established companies, but to show you how these companies used outsourcing to grow from small teams to global leaders.

As you grow your firm, outsourcing can help you in a number of ways. Let's quickly review the key takeaways from each business:

Key Takeaway 1: The takeaway here is to do your research when scaling. Where does it make the most sense to look for the skills you need to grow your business?

Key Takeaway 2: There is talent all over the world. If you're looking to scale, but need to keep costs down, look to outsourcing work to talent globally.

Key Takeaway 3: As you scale, it's important to make sure your processes are organized and your product is good. Outsourcing work to the most talented global workers can help you refine your product and processes as well as prioritize when necessary

Key Takeaway 4: Finding the right balance between outsourcing work and keeping work in-house will depend on your needs, where the talent lies, what your priorities are, and your budget. It's definitely worth looking into outsourcing as you scale.

Key Takeaway 5: Hiring remote employees doesn't have to be about budget; it can simply be about finding the right individuals to produce the best results.

Key Takeaway 6: Similar to key takeaway 5, don't limit yourself when it comes to hiring talent. Finding the right team may involve outsourcing to the best-of-the-best anywhere in the world. Take the time to do your research and find the best person for the job you need done.

Key Takeaway 7: If you want to launch a global product, consider outsourcing beta testing. This can give you insight into changes your product should make, what is working, and what is not working before you launch your product.

Wrap Up

If you're in the growth phase and wondering what step you need to take next to fuel growth, don't be afraid to look into outsourcing.

Outsourcing can help you find the right talent. It can help you stick to your budget. It can free up time for your talented team workers at home who are spending too much time on mundane tasks.

Outsourcing can be the solution you need to grow your business properly and continue to compete in on a global scale.

Remember, as you begin to hire remote employees, it's also important to invest in tools that will help you manage them. This includes a project management software (something like Basecamp, mentioned above), a good communication platform (like Skype and/or Slack, mentioned above), and a time tracking software like Time Doctor.

A tool like Time Doctor will improve your productivity rates and help you keep track of all your employees, no matter where they are located.

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Outsourcing Examples: Companies That Outsourced to Fuel Growth

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So, your business is growing and you can't quite seem to keep up with the influx of work. Congratulations! That's a great sign your business is prospering. Chances are, however, you are stressed out about finding the right people to hire to keep up with tasks as you scale.

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Protecting your product (Unit 9 Innovation)

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Protecting your product (Unit 9 Innovation)

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It is being billed as the ultimate food fight and could get nasty: Colin the Caterpillar is going to war with lookalike Cuthbert.

On Thursday, Marks & Spencer said it had begun legal action against Aldi to "protect" Colin from the discount grocer's rival chocolate sponge roll Cuthbert which, for a smaller fee, has been masquerading as Colin at birthday parties and on picnics.

With their hard chocolate shells decorated with sweeties and white chocolate grinning faces, it is difficult to tell Colin and Cuthbert apart - until you have had a bite, anyway.

M&S argues the similarities mean consumers think they are of the same standard, enabling its cheaper rival - Cuthbert costs £5 while Colin is £7 - to "ride on the coat-tails" of the company's reputation for high-quality food.

Colin the Caterpillar made his debut in 1990 and, with more than 15m cake sales under his belt has, like Rihanna, become known to fans by just his first name. He is also known for his philanthropy, thanks to a tie-up with the cancer charity Macmillan.

His fame has led to a number of brand extensions, including his girlfriend (cake) Connie and most recently his branded cake jars, which caused a storm on social media. One wag suggested the pots represented the "rather gross metamorphosis stage between Colin the Caterpillar and Colin the Beautiful Butterfly".

M&S, which has lodged an intellectual property claim with the high court this week, has three trademarks relating to its caterpillar cake, including the words "Colin the Caterpillar" and the packaging. It wants Aldi to remove Cuthbert from its shelves and agree not to sell anything similar in the future.

There have been a number of similar disputes in recent years, including a 2018 row when Hotel Chocolat accused Waitrose of plagiarism.

It is not the first time copycat claims have been levelled at Aldi. In 2019, the chain delisted its Moo gourmet yoghurt after the cofounder of Collective, Amelia Harvey, claimed the products looked too similar to the brand's own. It had a similar row with the sausage brand Heck.

In a statement, M&S said: "Love and care goes into every product on our shelves. So we want to protect Colin, Connie and our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value." Aldi declined to comment.

Mark Caddle, a partner at the intellectual property firm, Withers & Rogers, described the case as the "battle of the caterpillars".

"Colin the Caterpillar has been very popular in the UK market, which could aid M&S's case," Caddle said.

"The high court's decision will rest on whether it thinks Aldi is seeking to benefit commercially by bringing a confusingly similar product to market."

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Caterpillars in court as M&S sues Aldi over Colin cake 'lookalike'

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It is being billed as the ultimate food fight and could get nasty: Colin the Caterpillar is going to war with lookalike Cuthbert. On Thursday, Marks & Spencer said it had begun legal action against Aldi to "protect" Colin from the discount grocer's rival chocolate sponge roll Cuthbert which, for a smaller fee, has been masquerading as Colin at birthday parties and on picnics.

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Hays Travel expects a "hybrid" return to retail, with some shops reopening and others staying closed when non-essential shops are allowed to reopen on April 12.

And the UK's largest high street travel agency revealed a 50:50 split between staff who wanted to go back to branches and offices and who would prefer to remain working from home.

Chair Dame Irene Hays told the Travel Weekly Future of Travel Spring Forum: "All of the scenarios have been tried and tested, and we're ready to go. But we wouldn't take that decision this far out.

"We've got a very, very good flexible national structure. We can [open shops] bespoke around which airports may be open and flying to which destinations. And we're lucky in that we've got a fabulous team. I always say this, but the staff are tremendous; absolutely awesome in terms of being flexible.

"So my sense would be it will probably be a hybrid; it might be a combination of some places open some places not."

Hays added: "We've got every scenario from opening all of them 100% of the time right down to we might have a window of when they are open, because the staff are doing fantastic job working from home.

"We've done things while we've been working from home that we've never done before, in terms of say opening hours and flexibility and the way we transact with people around video conferencing and personal support. The staff have been tremendous. And we will let them know in sufficient time."

Hays revealed a staff survey found half would like to return to shops and offices, while the other half would prefer to remain working at home.

"But there's a very mixed picture," she said, noting "the appetite amongst the younger profile to go back to work or to go back into the office is greater".

Hays Travel has already brought 200 staff out of furlough to deal with increased enquiries since the prime minister's roadmap announcement last month. Some staff remain on furlough and Hays said others were still working on government contracts.

She said: "Obviously, that's been very helpful for us. The staff have been fantastic in helping with that."

How long that might continue depends on demand, Hays explained, adding that it was her "intention" to get all staff back to travel sales as soon as possible "depending on the model we go for after April 12".

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Hays Travel expects 'hybrid' approach to retail return | Travel Weekly

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Hays Travel expects a "hybrid" return to retail, with some shops reopening and others staying closed when non-essential shops are allowed to reopen on April 12. And the UK's largest high street travel agency revealed a 50:50 split between staff who wanted to go back to branches and offices and who would prefer to remain working from home.

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Unit 6 - Hertzberg & Unit 10 Organisational Culture

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Unit 6 - Hertzberg & Unit 10 Organisational Culture

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The reputation of Goldman Sachs as the most desirable employer for aspiring investment bankers is at stake. Legendary for its pulling power with the best graduates, the bank is now facing a rebellion in its lower ranks.

Junior staff who used to tolerate long working hours thanks to office camaraderie have been forced to manage burnout at home, alone, throughout the pandemic. Some have started demanding change, while others are plotting their exit. What began as a little local trouble at a US office in February has now spread to the UK.

"It used to be either you get paid a lot, and your life is hell, or your life is better and you're not paid that well," one London-based banker, hired by Goldman last year, said. "At the moment we have neither."

The banker, who spoke to the Guardian on the basis of anonymity, said staff were worried about speaking out on issues including 18-hour shifts that left juniors earning less than the living wage, or the number of colleagues on sick leave due to burnout. The employee - who is one of 100 recruits hired to work at Goldman each year - did not want their gender disclosed due to fear of repercussion.

"I knew what I was signing up for at Goldman. But then things changed really quickly with remote working during Covid," they said.

With the Fleet Street head office closed, some colleagues moved home, while the banker, in their early 20s, was left to work out of a three-bed flat shared with two other roommates in London.

Goldman chief executive David Solomon has acknowledged the vast pandemic workload. While an investment banking boom helped push profits up 135% to $4.5bn (£3.8bn) in the fourth quarter of 2020, it has taken a toll on staff.

"There are three to six people on sick leave for burnout per team in London at all times. It's actually pretty rough," the London banker said. Some juniors are regularly working until 4-5am, and occasionally through to morning. "I've spoken to some analysts that have lost nearly 1 or 2 stone in one year just because they don't have time to cook."

Solomon was forced to address similar complaints laid out in a leaked presentation by 13 aggrieved first-year Goldman bankers this week, who complained that long hours, and abuse from co-workers had created "inhumane" working conditions.

The complaints, which date from February, indicate that Goldman is still grappling with the high-pressure culture that was exposed when 22-year-old Goldman analyst Sarvshreshth Gupta took his own life in 2015. Gupta was found dead after complaining of toiling 100 hours a week and throughout the night.

Inquiries suggest Goldman is not just overworking a small group of US hires, but that the problem is widespread and affecting junior bankers overseas.

In a company-wide message on Monday, Solomon pledged the bank would ramp up efforts to hire more junior bankers, transfer staff to stretched teams and strengthen enforcement of a no-work-on-Saturday rule. "We are not asking for crazy stuff, just for the existing rules to be enforced," the London banker said.

Banks such as Goldman Sachs are able to demand long hours by adding a clause to contracts that opt staff out of 48-hour working week rules.

"Some days you don't shower," the London banker said. "Same with eating ... You just don't have time to say 'Oh hey I need to go shopping for groceries and then cook'," they said.

"We are supposed to work "whatever the business requires" but these requirements have kept increasing and we have no control on our hours. Senior employees can choose to pass on a deal if they don't have the bandwidth, but we are just obeying orders," the banker said.

To its credit, Goldman Sachs has tried to offer some remote perks, such as yoga or mental health webinars. "But you don't even have time to sleep. So how would you have time to login for one hour on Zoom?" the banker said.

First-year bankers are weighing up the costs. Starting on a base salary of roughly £50,000, analysts who regularly work 18-hour shifts, six days a week, will earn roughly £8.90 an hour before tax - less than the £10.85 living wage for London - unless they last until bonus season.

"If you don't get your bonus, you'll get paid less by the hour than a McDonald's employee. And everyone knows about that, but it also increases the pressure, in the sense that people are scared of voicing concerns, myself included," they said.

The banker said a number of analysts had quit halfway through their second-year - refusing to wait for their bonus. "They said, 'It's not worth it. I'd rather have time off and then start to work where I'll be paid more, than suffer like hell.'"

Meanwhile, Goldman has left bankers footing the bill for their own home-working equipment - including computers, screens, phone, chairs and desks - during the pandemic.

Staff have also been stripped of meal perks that allowed them to expense up to £20 a day when working overtime - and £60 on Sundays - since they left the office. "Juniors tried pushing for evening meals to be covered as used to be in the office but the firm didn't reply. This has a huge impact as it amounts to 20% of net salary," they said.

The banker claimed Goldman was aware it could pay workers less, and replace them quickly, thanks to the power of its own brand and prestige. " That's the really perverse thing about it. Goldman keeps saying the real force of Goldman is its people. And if that was the case, they'd treat the people better," they said.

The bank did not deny that staff had been overworked, but said in a statement:"We are actively engaging with our managers to ensure that everyone in their teams, including junior staff members, has the support they need given the high-levels of client activity and ongoing challenges of working from home."

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Goldman Sachs junior banker speaks out over '18-hour shifts and low pay'

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The reputation of Goldman Sachs as the most desirable employer for aspiring investment bankers is at stake. Legendary for its pulling power with the best graduates, the bank is now facing a rebellion in its lower ranks. Junior staff who used to tolerate long working hours thanks to office camaraderie have been forced to manage burnout at home, alone, throughout the pandemic.

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Thorntons departs the high street, leaving behind childhood memories

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The chocolate retailer’s closures shows businesses can’t make money out of trips down memory lane

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A Sunday parcel delivery service is to be trialled by the Royal Mail.

Packages from major retailers will be delivered seven days a week as the company looks to satisfy the expectations of customers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen unprecedented pressure placed on the mail system.

A total of 496 million parcels were delivered by the Royal Mail in the quarter to 27 December 2020.

A new parcel hub, with the capacity to process a million parcels a day, is being built by the Royal Mail in Daventry, Northamptonshire.

It is the second - and largest - parcel hub constructed to date.

Chief commercial officer Nick Landon said: "The UK already trusts us to deliver their purchases six days a week both quickly and conveniently. Now, for the first time, our posties will be doing the same thing seven days a week.

"The last year has reset so many customer expectations and the desire for even more convenient and even more frequent parcel deliveries has certainly been one of them.

"We always listen to our customers, both senders and recipients, and the ask here was clear: we love what you do Monday to Saturday, so please do the same on a Sunday.

"So that's what we're doing, as quickly as possible, so we can offer it to more and more customers across the course of this year."

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Royal Mail to trial delivering parcels on Sundays as customer demand surges

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A Sunday parcel delivery service is to be trialled by the Royal Mail. Packages from major retailers will be delivered seven days a week as the company looks to satisfy the expectations of customers. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen unprecedented pressure placed on the mail system.

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CPG = consumer packaged goods

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Dive Brief:

A majority of CPG companies expect the higher costs they experienced in 2020 to continue this year, according to a survey by McKinsey conducted at the end of last year and published this week.

In the survey, 63% of respondents said their manufacturing costs increased between 5% and 20% YoY in 2020, and 58% of respondents saw the same percentage of cost increases in warehousing.

McKinsey said the cost increases in manufacturing and warehousing were related to labor. It specifically noted COVID-19 pay and overtime for workers in manufacturing.

Businesses don't expects costs to decrease in 2021

Dive Insight:

The results from the McKinsey survey line up with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows manufacturing unit labor costs increased in 2020 by more than 4%, though the BLS number is slightly lower than what CPG companies reported to McKinsey.

Executives spoke about cost increases over the course of the last year, as COVID-19 resulted in a variety of expenses. And some companies projected at the end of last year that these expenses would spill over into 2021.

"We've identified the COVID cost as something we wanted to call out, because it was extraordinary," Pepsi CFO Hugh Johnston told analysts last month. "There will be COVID costs and significant COVID costs still in 2021."

Pepsi experienced a 7% YoY increase in its selling, general and administrative expenses, which the company said was partially the result of "certain charges taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic."

When the pandemic hit, companies worked to procure personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies. In some cases, they increased pay for workers who remained on the job. Last summer, Amazon announced it was giving a $500 coronavirus bonus to its frontline workers, according to CNBC.

Amazon had $11.5 billion in COVID-19 related costs for the full year 2020, executives said.

"Our Q4 results include approximately $4 billion in COVID-related operating costs, including additional employee pay during the holidays," Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said last month. "We continue to see productivity headwinds from physical separation and training of new employees and of course investments in PPE for employees and enhanced cleaning for our facilities."

Manufacturers have reported increasing costs for the last nine months in the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing report. The ISM panelist companies cited reasons including more expensive commodities, labor shortages and freight costs.
This story was first published in our weekly newsletter, Supply Chain Dive: Operations. Sign up here.

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CPGs report higher supply chain costs with no signs of dropping this year

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A majority of CPG companies expect the higher costs they experienced in 2020 to continue this year, according to a survey by McKinsey conducted at the end of last year and published this week. In the survey, 63% of respondents said their manufacturing costs increased between 5% and 20% YoY in 2020, and 58% of respondents saw the same percentage of cost increases in warehousing.

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Unit 4&10 - technology in operations & process innovation

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Unit 4&10 - technology in operations & process innovation

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Amazon has opened a till-less grocery store in London - its first "just walk out" shop outside the US.

Visitors to Amazon Fresh scan a smartphone app when entering and are automatically billed as they leave.

The store stocks hundreds of own-brand items as well as third-party products, and also serves as a place to collect and return goods bought online.

Campaigners have raised privacy concerns but one retail expert said the opening marked a "watershed moment".

"Having a physical presence will enable Amazon to address some of its weaknesses, like the mounting cost of deliveries and returns," said Natalie Berg, an analyst with NBK Retail.

But she said she did not believe it would pose a threat to the major chains in the near term.

"Supermarkets have had a few years now to prepare and test their own checkout-free shopping concepts."

Amazon's approach, however, promises a more "frictionless" experience than other retailers.

Visitors only have to place an item in a bag or otherwise carry it out to be charged by the store, which is located at the street entrance of a shopping centre in the borough of Ealing.

By contrast, retailers including Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury's require consumers to scan items into a smartphone or other device.

The US firm is so confident of its tech that it says shoppers are not under any obligation to check all the items were accounted for.

"When you're finished, you're free to walk out," said Matt Birch, director of Amazon Fresh Stores and an ex-Sainsbury's executive.

Cameras and sensors

The technology involved was pioneered at the firm's similar Amazon Go stores in the States, which opened to the public in 2018.

However, recent advancements mean the system can now cope with customers selecting from different bouquets of flowers, magazines and greetings cards - it could not distinguish accurately enough between one choice and another before.

It involves the use of hundreds of cameras and depth-sensors, and software developed using deep-learning artificial-intelligence techniques.

However, it does not involve facial recognition.

Instead, users must identify themselves on arrival by scanning a barcode displayed within their account on the standard Amazon Shopping app.

One civil liberties group has raised concerns.

"[It] offers a dystopian, total-surveillance shopping experience," said Silkie Carlo, from Big Brother Watch.

"Amazon's intense tracking of shoppers will create larger personal data footprints than any other retailer. Customers deserve to know how and by whom these records and analytics could be used."

The company has said it will only associate information collected in-store with a customer's Amazon account for up to 30 days, and has further details about how it uses the data on its privacy site.

Expansion plans

Amazon said it had sourced many of its own-brand groceries - including milk and eggs - from UK suppliers itself.

In addition, it has launched an "Our Selection" sub-brand for "premium" products including desserts.

Other items come from Morrisons and Booths, supermarkets with whom its has pre-existing ties.

The store also contains a booth where orders can be delivered from its online store.

And customers can return goods by scanning a code without having to repackage or relabel the item.

"Hand the product over and we'll do the rest for you," said Mr Birch, adding he plans further stores on some of London other high streets as well as its city centre.

The Ealing store's customer area covers about 2,500 sq foot (232 sq m) in total, which is much smaller than a typical supermarket.

Amazon also operates seven Whole Foods Market supermarkets in the UK.

And there have been persistent rumours that it might try to expand further in the sector by buying one of the larger chains.

However, the company is also offering to sell its Just Walk Out technology as a service that can be installed in other companies' stores.

And ultimately it might decide there is more money to be made pitching this to the established supermarkets than challenging them head-on with bigger stores of its own.

Amazon has barely made a dent in the overall UK grocery market, but it's clearly got big ambitions for food.

It's been ramping up its online service, with free same-day deliveries for Prime members, putting pressure on rivals.

The traditional supermarkets have been improving their technology over the past few years and the pandemic has accelerated the changes.

Sainsbury's, for instance, has had a huge take-up in its SmartShop system where shoppers can pick up a handset and scan items as they go.

Amazon technology removes checkouts and friction altogether.

Moving into bricks and mortar is another milestone for Amazon.

Its new range of own-branded products is also eye-catching.

When it comes to convenience stores, being able to grab and go could prove very popular. But location is key.

And most of the best convenience-store sites in densely populated, urban districts have already been taken.

This launch won't pose a big, immediate, threat to the big established grocers but they know only too well that Amazon has the potential to be a hugely disruptive force and has already forced them to up their game.

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Amazon Fresh till-less grocery store opens in London

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Amazon has opened a till-less grocery store in London - its first "just walk out" shop outside the US. Visitors to Amazon Fresh scan a smartphone app when entering and are automatically billed as they leave. The store stocks hundreds of own-brand items as well as third-party products, and also serves as a place to collect and return goods bought online.

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The good and the bad!

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What is company culture?

Despite how obsessed the startup world is with company culture, there's no singular definition we can all turn to. But while it's difficult to put a dictionary definition on company culture, there are really two parts to it: Philosophical and practical.

On a philosophical level, company culture is the intangible atmosphere of your company. Some people call it the "personality" or the "glue that holds everyone together" or even the "soul." It's as much a feeling - of belonging, of shared purpose, even of similar ways of dress - as it is an aspiration for the entire company to contribute to.

"The truth is that culture - on its own - is not the thing that will bring you success in whatever way you may define it for yourself and your team," Adii Pienaar, founder of Conversio, says. "Building a successful business requires many different things to work well. Culture is, however, the pulse that influences every one of those things."

On a practical level, company culture is formed around common goals, values, expectations, mission, and the physical work environment. Everything from hiring choices to dress code the type of software you choose to use can contribute to company culture.

But don't fall into the easy trap of thinking that "company culture" means "foosball tables and in-office kegs." While those things may be a party of a company's culture, they're by no means all it takes. Here's a close look at what else companies need to build a great - or terrible - company culture.

Examples of great company culture

1. Google

Google consistently tops every list for great company culture, and for a good reason. While the company has been satirized for all of the stereotypical tech startup reasons - free food, foosball tables, nap pods, and an office full of expensive dogs immediately come to mind - employees insist that they love Google's company culture for deeper reasons.

Employees aspire to Google's mission to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," seeing their work as impactful and important in the larger world. They're also some of the most ambitious and self-driven people in the world, which is a difficult group to keep engaged and interested over the long term. But Google manages to do it.

And, of course, that free food and those nap pods certainly don't hurt, either.

2. Hubspot

Hubspot has been famous for their great company culture for about as long as we've been using the term "company culture." They've even created an entire slide deck on how to follow their lead and with tips like "Whether you like it or not, you're going to have a culture. Why not make it one you love?" and "HubSpot has a no-door policy, where everyone has access to anyone in the company," you can see why.

Another cool thing about Hubspot's company culture is that it's spread over a wide geographical area. The company - which has 1,960 employees in offices around the world - believes not only that happy employees do the best work, but also that there's no need to punch a time clock or to report to a regular office in order to produce great work.

If it sounds revolutionary, that's because it is. And it's also not for everyone, which is a good lesson when you're working on building your own company culture. Just as your product isn't for everyone, neither should your company culture be! Establish your company culture, find and recruit the people who best fit, and you're much more likely to be successful.

3. Zappos

Zappos founder Tony Hsieh has been redefining how offices - and company culture - work since before almost anyone else. Between being one of the first companies to embrace the open office plan to buying part of Las Vegas, it can seem like Zappos' is constantly making the news. I mean, Hsieh literally wrote the book on employee happiness.

One interesting part of the Zappos company culture - and something that's probably more important than an open office plan, which recent studies show aren't as great as we thought they were - is the fact that it's constantly evolving. Three years ago, when Hsieh suspected that his company's growth was interfering with the company culture he took so much pride in, he did a total revamp.

And, once again, the new company culture didn't work for everyone. Hsieh, however, took that into account, offering buyouts to anyone who wanted to leave. Eighteen percent of his employees took the buyout and another 11 percent left afterward, with no buyout. But the company is more profitable than ever and, after the adjustment, Hsieh will more likely than not find that his remaining employees (and future employees) do fit the new company culture.

4. Warby Parker

If you're not yet convinced that great company culture is as good for your company as it is for your employees, then look no further than Warby Parker to be convinced. Any startup that's ever had the privilege of scaling can tell you how difficult it is to maintain employee satisfaction and company culture, but Warby Parker managed to not only do it but do it fast: They grew to more than 1,400 in eight years.

Some of the pillars of Warby Parker's company culture include focusing on team unity and a focus on peer-to-peer guidance and training. They also rally all employees around a common mission, which is providing one pair of glasses to a person in need for every pair that they sell. Keeping a common mission in mind - whether your startup is specifically mission-driven or not - is essential to fostering great company culture.

Examples of bad company culture

1. Uber

While tech companies have led the way in innovation around company culture in the past two decades, it's not all healthy employees smiling at each other over free, ethically sourced coffee. The greater world first became aware that all wasn't right at the ride-sharing giant when Susan Fowler, a former Uber employee, wrote a public post about sexual harassment and discrimination she experienced during her time there. Once that initial dam broke, it all came spilling out.

The headline for an article in The New York Times called the Uber company culture "aggressive and unrestrained." The article itself goes on to describe a company that prizes "meritocracy" and "hustlin'" over team work or caring for each other. It's in that environment - where results were often prized over anything - that the type of harassment Fowler described was able to thrive.

But, some people say, that ruthless culture is what got Uber to where it is today - a company worth billions of dollars that has a firm grasp on the ride-sharing market. And while it's undeniable that Uber is a success, its IPO actually illustrates how allowing toxicity to thrive can hurt a company's financial prospects in the long run.

That fact is illustrated in Uber's IPO filing, where they acknowledge that the company's by-then well-publicized toxic company culture is a risk that investors should take into consideration. "Our workplace culture and forward-leaning approach created significant operational and cultural challenges that have in the past harmed, and may in the future continue to harm, our business results and financial condition," they wrote. "A failure to rehabilitate our brand and reputation will cause our business to suffer."

While it's common for tech startups to almost deify their founders (think of the reverence for "Zuck" at Facebook), it's not always a great move. The case of Uber also illustrates the potential danger of building an entire company culture around one charismatic leader. Travis Kalanick is, by almost all accounts, a volatile, aggressive megalomaniac. He built Uber in his image - and his image isn't good.

2. Amazon

Amazon is an interesting case when it comes to company culture. On one hand, employees use terms like "bruising," "relentless," and "churn and burn" to describe their experiences there. On the other hand, Amazon is one of the most successful companies in the world, propelling Jeff Bezos into the very top echelon of the world's richest people.

And some employees actually love that fast-paced, brutal environment. So is Amazon an example of great company - or terrible company culture?

The short answer is: Both? For many, many people the culture at Amazon won't be a good fit. There are absolutely more people in this world who prefer team work and a company bring-your-dog-to-work policy over a place that tells you to " climb the wall " when you hit it.

"Most of the existing rhetoric on culture says all companies should have managers who are nice and friendly and treat their employees like family," Denise Lee Yohn writes in Quartz. "The common notion is that every workplace should be nurturing, encouraging, and inclusive. That's simply wrong."

Yohn's point is one well taken: Different people respond to and like different environments. And in that perspective, Amazon's company culture is a resounding success. It'd just be hard - if not impossible - for most of us to swallow.

3. Forever 21

Unlike the rest of the companies on this list, Forever 21 isn't a tech company. But that doesn't mean that startups can't learn from their mistakes.

Famous for ripping off independent artists and contributing to the fast fashion culture of waste, Forever 21 is also a really crappy place to work. They've been sued by their own employees multiple times and their CEO has a measly 30 percent approval rating. They also don't provide adequate benefits and reportedly force employees to stay in the stores through their lunch breaks and long after their shifts end.

Lessons to bring into your startup's' company culture

So what can you learn from these company cultures? Let's take a look at the biggest lessons you can pull from them.

1. Remember that your company is not for everyone.

One thing that comes up again and again is that a strong company culture means it's not for everyone. In fact, if you try to appeal to everyone, you'll more likely end up appealing to no one. So focus on creating the type of company that you'd like to work at - and that you think people would like to work at with you - and be clear about what that is.

HubSpot knows this. Zappos knows this. Even Amazon knows this.

If people aren't a good fit? Let them go. Both they and your company will be better for it.

2. Create a common goal.

If there's one thing humans like to rally around, it's a common goal. What's your startup's goal? Is it mission-driven? Are you focused more on revenue? Do you want to change your client's lives? Drill down on a big picture goal that your employees can latch on to if you want to keep talented people engaged.

3. Be explicit about your expectations, before hiring.

Once you've established what your company culture is, be clear to communicate it to all potential new hires, so they can decide whether or not they want to be a part of it. If you're not explicit - and honest - about your company culture before hiring, how can you expect people to fit in once they're hired?

4. If you're going to be intense, don't forget other ethical concerns.

While Amazon is an example of a company culture that's intense and grueling with great results, Uber is an example of how a similar type of culture can hurt a company in the long run. That's because Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick didn't make sure that other ethics were upheld, outside of GROW GROW GROW. Amazon's Jeff Bezos, on the other hand, has created at least an image of relentlessness with a focus on betterment.

Both companies, of course, have their negatives. And some would argue that the negatives vastly outweigh the positives. But it's worth considering the fact that "company culture" doesn't always have to equate to a coddling, friendly environment.

5. Company culture should evolve.

Take a page from Tony Hsieh's book and be willing to change course, if needed. Just like personal relationships, company cultures can and should evolve. Be open to that evolution and be prepared to the upheaval that can accompany it, if you want your startup to be around for the long haul.

Want to know more about company culture?

Still trying to figure out how to build the best company culture for your startup? Check out theses resources from the vast community of Startups.com member and experts.

What Is Company Culture? From 3 Employees to 300: How We Preserved Our Company Culture Conversio On How To Build a Great Company Culture9 https://www.startups.com/library/expert-advice/how-to-build-great-company-culture-conversio) The Seven Culture Mistakes That Startups Make

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The Best and Worst Company Culture Examples

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Despite how obsessed the startup world is with company culture, there's no singular definition we can all turn to. But while it's difficult to put a dictionary definition on company culture, there are really two parts to it: Philosophical and practical. On a philosophical level, company culture is the intangible atmosphere of your company.

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Market capitalisation

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The World’s Top Car Manufacturers by Market Capitalization

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The World’s Top Car Manufacturers by Market Cap View the high-resolution of the infographic by clicking here. Ever since Apple and other Big Tech companies hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion, many sectors are revving to follow suit—including the automotive industry. But among those car brand…

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The 20 Internet Giants That Rule the Web (1998-Today)

With each passing year, an increasingly large segment of the population no longer remembers images loading a single pixel row at a time, the earsplitting sound of a 56k modem, or the early domination of web portals.

Many of the top websites in 1998 were news aggregators or search portals, which are easy concepts to understand. Today, brand touch-points are often spread out between devices (e.g. mobile apps vs. desktop) and a myriad of services and sub-brands (e.g. Facebook's constellation of apps). As a result, the world's biggest websites are complex, interconnected web properties.

The visualization above, which primarily uses data from ComScore's U.S. Multi-Platform Properties ranking, looks at which of the internet giants have evolved to stay on top, and which have faded into internet lore.

America Moves Online

For millions of curious people the late '90s, the iconic AOL compact disc was the key that opened the door to the World Wide Web. At its peak, an estimated 35 million people accessed the internet using AOL, and the company rode the Dotcom bubble to dizzying heights, reaching a valuation of $222 billion dollars in 1999.

AOL's brand may not carry the caché it once did, but the brand never completely faded into obscurity. The company continually evolved, finally merging with Yahoo after Verizon acquired both of the legendary online brands. Verizon had high hopes for the company-called Oath-to evolve into a "third option" for advertisers and users who were fed up with Google and Facebook.

Sadly, those ambitions did not materialize as planned. In 2019, Oath was renamed Verizon Media, and was eventually sold once again in 2021.

A City of Gifs and Web Logs

As internet usage began to reach critical mass, web hosts such as AngelFire and GeoCities made it easy for people to create a new home on the Web.

GeoCities, in particular, made a huge impact on the early internet, hosting millions of websites and giving people a way to actually participate in creating online content. If it were a physical community of "home" pages, it would've been the third largest city in America, after Los Angeles.

This early online community was at risk of being erased permanently when GeoCities was finally shuttered by Yahoo in 2009, but luckily, the nonprofit Internet Archive took special efforts to create a thorough record of GeoCities-hosted pages.

From A to Z

In December of 1998, long before Amazon became the well-oiled retail machine we know today, the company was in the midst of a massive holiday season crunch.

In the real world, employees were pulling long hours and even sleeping in cars to keep the goods flowing, while online, Amazon.com had become one of the biggest sites on the internet as people began to get comfortable with the idea of purchasing goods online. Demand surged as the company began to expand their offering beyond books.

Amazon.com has grown to be the most successful merchant on the Internet.

- New York Times (1998)
Digital Magazine Rack

Meredith will be an unfamiliar brand to many people looking at today's top 20 list. While Meredith may not be a household name, the company controlled many of the country's most popular magazine brands (People, AllRecipes, Martha Stewart, Health, etc.) including their sizable digital footprints. The company also owned a slew of local television networks around the United States.

After its acquisition of Time Inc. in 2017, Meredith became the largest magazine publisher in the world. Since then, however, Meredith has divested many of its most valuable assets (Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune). In December 2021, Meredith merged with IAC's Dotdash.

"Hey, Google"

When people have burning questions, they increasingly turn to the internet for answers, but the diversity of sources for those answers is shrinking.

Even as recently as 2013, we can see that About.com, Ask.com, and Answers.com were still among the biggest websites in America. Today though, Google appears to have cemented its status as a universal wellspring of answers.

As smart speakers and voice assistants continue penetrate the market and influence search behavior, Google is unlikely to face any near-term competition from any company not already in the top 20 list.

New Kids on the Block

Social media has long since outgrown its fad stage and is now a common digital thread connecting people across the world. While Facebook rapidly jumped into the top 20 by 2007, other social media infused brands took longer to grow into internet giants.

By 2018, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook's umbrella of platforms were all in the top 20, and you can see a more detailed and up-to-date breakdown of the social media universe here.

A Tangled Web

Today's internet giants have evolved far beyond their ancestors from two decades ago. Many of the companies in the top 20 run numerous platforms and content streams, and more often than not, they are not household names.

A few, such as Mediavine and CafeMedia, are services that manage ads. Others manage content distribution, such as music, or manage a constellation of smaller media properties, as is the case with Hearst.

Lastly, there are still the tech giants. Remarkably, three of the top five web properties were in the top 20 list in 1998. In the fast-paced digital ecosystem, that's some remarkable staying power.

This article was inspired by an earlier work by Philip Bump, published in the Washington Post.

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The Most Innovative Countries in the World, Ranked by Income Group

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With each passing year, an increasingly large segment of the population no longer remembers images loading a single pixel row at a time, the earsplitting sound of a 56k modem, or the early domination of web portals. Many of the top websites in 1998 were news aggregators or search portals, which are easy concepts to understand.

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Leadership and culture

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‘Unconscious bias is utter crap’: KPMG staff share shock at UK chair’s Zoom comments

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Accounting firm investigates as more details emerge of meeting where Bill Michael told staff to stop moaning

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Salesforce has become the latest tech company in San Francisco to signal a transition away from in-person work, declaring the "9-to-5 workday is dead".

The city's largest private employer announced on Tuesday it would permanently allow many employees to work from home, even after it becomes safe to return to offices following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Salesforce said that after polling employees on their preferences, it would transition the majority of workers to a "flex" situation in which they come into an office just one to three days per week. Only a small part of the workforce will continue to work from an office location four or more days per week. Employees who do not live near an office are free to work remotely indefinitely.

"As employers, we have an opportunity to create an even better workplace - one that allows us to be more connected to each other, find more balance between work and home, and advance equality - ultimately leading to increased innovation and better business outcomes," said Brent Hyder, the chief "people officer" at Salesforce, who heads its employee policies.

The move follows similar announcements from tech firms including Facebook and Microsoft and has long-term implications for the city of San Francisco, where Salesforce built a notorious tower and transit terminal starting in 2013, making its headquarters the tallest building in the city.

During the tech boom in San Francisco in the past decade, companies were known for their sprawling employee campuses with perks like cafeterias, fancy on-site gyms, nap pods and games. Those days were over, Hyder suggested.

"As we enter a new year, we must continue to go forward with agility, creativity and a beginner's mind - and that includes how we cultivate our culture," he said. "An immersive workspace is no longer limited to a desk in our Towers; the 9-to-5 workday is dead; and the employee experience is about more than ping-pong tables and snacks."

Amid the changes to traditional workplace models, many tech professionals have left the Bay area, opting to work from more affordable cities now that jobs provide more flexibility. The most common destination for tech workers leaving the Bay is Austin, Texas, followed by Seattle, New York, and Chicago, according to moveBuddha, a site that compiles data on moving.

The exodus of tech talent could have a big impact on the Bay Area, which has been shaped by the tech boom and the money that came with it. The transformation of the city came with gentrification, rising rent costs, increases in homelessness and decreases in diversity. As more high earners leave the city, San Francisco has seen rents decrease substantially.

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Salesforce shifts away from in-person work: 'The 9-to-5 workday is dead'

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Salesforce has become the latest tech company in San Francisco to signal a transition away from in-person work, declaring the "9-to-5 workday is dead". The city's largest private employer announced on Tuesday it would permanently allow many employees to work from home, even after it becomes safe to return to offices following the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Unit 3 & 8 - product life cycle, Boston & Ansoff

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Unit 3 & 8 - product life cycle, Boston & Ansoff

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Switch to Success: 20 Years of Nintendo Console Sales

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This graphic explores 20 years of Nintendo console sales and the success of the Nintendo Switch.

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Share issue and long term loan

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The owner of Harvester restaurants and Nicholson's pubs plans to raise £350m from a group of tycoons known as the "Sandy Lane set" after it came close to breaching the terms on its debts.

Mitchells & Butlers said it had agreed the equity raise with three investment holding companies as part of a £500m rescue package that also included a £150m three-year loan facility.

The rescue investors include the currency trader Joe Lewis, the Irish billionaires and horse racing tycoons John Magnier and JP McManus, and Derrick Smith, another businessman with horse racing interests. They are known collectively as the "Sandy Lane set", after the glamorous Barbados hotel where they liked to gather.

The investors will merge their various investment vehicles into one company, called Odyzean, in a structure that will give them majority control.

The tightening of the investors' grip comes with M&B struggling during the latest national coronavirus lockdown in the UK. In January, the group, whose brands also include All Bar One, O'Neill's and Toby Carveries, said all its sites were closed and that it was left with only £125m in cash. It owns 1,600 pubs, bars and restaurants and employs 40,000 people in the UK.

At the same time, the company was burning through £35m to £40m a month and was due to make a debt payment of £50m on 15 March.

In 2010, the same investors were the subject of an inquiry by the Takeover Panel after Mitchells & Butlers complained they were working together to take control of the company without making a formal bid. However, M&B said it had consulted the Takeover Panel, who had said no formal bid was required and that Odyzean was free to buy more shares.

The new shares will be issued at 210p per share, a steep 36% discount on M&B's closing share price on 12 February. On Monday shares in M&B closed up 7.9% at 354.5p. The share price had hit a five-year high above 420p shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic struck the UK.

Bob Ivell, M&B's chairman, said: "Mitchells & Butlers was a high-performing business going into the pandemic, and this capital raising and refinancing will provide the business with the certainty of funding that it needs in order to emerge in a stronger position."

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Harvester owner to raise £350m from 'Sandy Lane set'

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The owner of Harvester restaurants and Nicholson's pubs plans to raise £350m from a group of tycoons known as the "Sandy Lane set" after it came close to breaching the terms on its debts. Mitchells & Butlers said it had agreed the equity raise with three investment holding companies as part of a £500m rescue package that also included a £150m three-year loan facility.

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Unit 8 - External factors, CSR, stakeholders & competition

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Unit 8 - External factors, CSR, stakeholders & competition

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BP is putting its money where its mouth is.

The oil and gas major has been widely derided since, a year ago this week, it announced it was seeking to go net zero by 2050.

Shareholders have been sceptical that BP can achieve the same financial returns from renewable investments as it can from its traditional activities.

Meanwhile some environmental campaigners have also been sceptical about BP's sincerity, even when it made clear later last year that its new priorities will even see it leaving some oil in the ground that would otherwise have been extracted.

BP's seriousness about hitting this target was underlined today when it bid by far the most for the right to add to the UK's offshore wind capacity.

In the first auction of offshore wind licences to be carried out by the Crown Estate since 2010, BP and its German partner, Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg (EnBW), agreed to pay £924m for the option to develop two sites in the Irish Sea around 30km (18 miles) off the coast of North West England and Wales.

It will be BP's first move into the UK offshore wind sector and comes after it struck a deal late last year with Equinor, the Norwegian energy giant previously known as Statoil, to develop offshore wind projects in the United States.

BP said the auction represented further progress towards it rapidly building a "world-class wind energy business".

It said the two leases offered a combined potential generating capacity of three gigawatts, the maximum award possible under the rules of the round, with the leases running for 60 years.

2:26

Once operational, the generating capacity would be sufficient to power more than 3.4 million UK households with clean electricity, the company added.

Bernard Looney, BP's chief executive, said: "Success in this round marks BP's entry into one of the world's best offshore wind markets.

"This is both important progress towards BP's transformation into an integrated energy company as well as a significant next step in our long history in the UK.

"These projects - in which we are teaming up with an experienced partner EnBW - are absolutely in line with our determination to invest with discipline into only the very best opportunities.

"We are fully confident that these highly advantaged resources will deliver - at a minimum - the 8-10% returns we demand of our renewables investments.

"Offshore wind is integral to delivering the UK's green industrial revolution.

"Building on the UK's strengths, the government's 10-point plan aims to produce enough offshore wind to power every UK home, quadrupling output to 40GW by 2030 - and BP is delighted to play a part in this."

What is particularly striking about BP's winning bid in this auction is just how much it and its joint venture partner are paying.

BP and EnBW will pay £231m for each of the leases every year until 2025 - when they will take a final investment decision.

Yet the sums that they have agreed are way in excess of the other winning bids in the auction.

BP and EnBW are paying £154,000 per megawatt per year for the leases.

That compares with a payment of £93,233 which will be paid by another winning bidder, Offshore Wind Limited, which is a joint venture between the Spanish energy services company Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios and the British offshore windfarm operator Flotation Energy.

It is also more than the £83,049 being paid by Green Investment Group, a joint venture between the French oil major Total and Macquarie, the Australian investment bank, for an option to develop a site in the southern North Sea, off the coast of Lincolnshire.

The price also tops by some distance what the German energy generating giant RWE, the previous owner of household energy supplier Npower, is paying for its two leases - £88,900 and £76,203 - for options to develop sites in the Dogger Bank off the north Yorkshire coastline.

The knockout bids from BP and its partner underline their seriousness about becoming major players in UK offshore wind.

However, the price they are paying will also rekindle investor concerns about BP's ability to replicate the returns it achieves in hydrocarbons from its activities in renewables.

An un-named executive at another established offshore wind operator told The Times that the price BP and its partner were paying was "ridiculous" and raised doubts that the 8-10% return on the investment promised by Mr Looney was achievable.

The executive told The Times: "They will be lucky if they can even make 2%."

Adding to the sense that BP has paid top-dollar for the assets, a source at Royal Dutch Shell - an unsuccessful bidder in the auction - told Reuters that its offer had been "nowhere close" to the sums being paid by BP and its partner.

Another participant told the news agency that BP appeared to have "radically higher" expectations on the rate of return on the investment.

In total, the Crown Estate will receive just under £879m a year for the next four years for the leases, a total of £3.515bn.

The sums being raised have attracted criticism for the Crown Estate for not having made more leases available.

Melanie Onn, deputy chief executive of the industry body RenewableUK, said: "The result of this leasing round shows that while demand for new offshore wind projects has never been higher, too few sites were made available to meet this demand.

"Any auction run on that basis will inevitably lead to high fees like these, and our concern is that this could ultimately mean higher costs for developers and consumers.

"Going forward we need more clarity from the Crown Estate on the timing, size and speed of future leasing rounds.

"Sustainable competition and prices are vital for consumers, industry and the supply chain".

The sums that the successful bidders have agreed to pay today are merely 'option fees' paid annually until the companies involved make a final investment decision - which could be up to 10 years away.

During the last leasing round, in 2010, the Crown Estate charged fixed option fees rather than auctioning them.

RenewableUK said the option fees represented a "very significant sum" for developers.

It said developing and constructing a 1 gigawatt offshore wind farm currently required investment of £2.5bn.

The sums raised may also spark a debate over how the proceeds are spent.

Surplus revenues - in other words profits - from the Crown Estate are paid to the Treasury each year and, under the 2011 Sovereign Grant Act, a set proportion of that sum (currently 25%) is made available in a grant to support The Queen in her role as Head of State, maintain the Royal Palaces and cover the cost of travel to carry out royal engagements.

Some 40 years ago, Britain chose not to turn the windfall it received from North Sea oil revenues into a sovereign wealth fund as Norway did.

The growth enjoyed by that wealth fund means Norway can afford to pay some of the most generous benefits in the world to retirees.

So some politicians would like to see this windfall similarly banked and invested for the future.

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BP blows away bid rivals with big bet on wind farms

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BP is putting its money where its mouth is. The oil and gas major has been widely derided since, a year ago this week, it announced it was seeking to go net zero by 2050. Shareholders have been sceptical that BP can achieve the same financial returns from renewable investments as it can from its traditional activities.

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In the Guide's weekly Solved! column, we look into a crucial pop-culture question you've been burning to know the answer to - and settle it, once and for all
Last year, something terrible happened. No, not that. Or that, even - something else, that you might not even be able to blame on the Tories. With new consoles from Sony and Microsoft expected, a raft of video game publishers announced that the RRP of their new releases would increase for the first time since the mid-00s. Games such as PS5's Demon's Souls would land at £69.99, not the £50-£55 of previous console generations. Most gamers reacted sensibly to this news. Others, not so much: remarks such as "GAMES RUINED 4EVA SO I FLUSHED MY XBOX DOWN THE DUNNY", written by users with names like n00bsl4yer135 and @URMUM69s, were a common sight on comment threads.

But do the Sl4yers and 69s of Reddit have a point? While an extra £20 won't break the bank for some, games might already be stretching what little disposable income many people have, particularly when twinned with the £250-£450 cost of the shiny new console on which to play them. A hardback book is £15-£20. A Blu-ray is more or less the same, as is the new Steps album on picture-disc vinyl. Compared to these, £70 for a single entertainment product seems ludicrous, particularly when there are monthly subscription services through which, for much less than that £20, you can gorge on books, films, TV and music to your avaricious little blood-pump's content.

The (virtual) reality is, though, a little more complex than this apples-and-orangutans comparison suggests. For starters, the cost of producing an AAA game - big-budget, big-studio, tentpole titles - is now akin to that of making a Hollywood blockbuster. Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013, cost £195m in development and marketing. December's Cyberpunk 2077 - despite being unfinished, riddled with bugs and, on consoles, uglier than a pooing pug - came in at £228m. That's in the same ballpark as the budget for Avengers: Infinity War. No offence to Steps, but if they spent similar sums making their new album, it was not reflected in the final product.

So if blockbuster films are analogous to games in terms of the sheer cost of putting them out, why are Blu-rays only £20? It's here you also have to consider bang for your buck. A Martin Scorsese film lumbers in at three hours long. Most narrative-led games clock in at 15-or-so hours - five whole Scorseses; a hundred quid's worth of Marty. You'll get 25 hours out of 2020's The Last of Us Part II, and you'll have sunk 100 hours into the most recent trio of Assassin's Creed games before seeing all they have to offer. And open-ended games like racers, sports sims and multiplayers are truly bottomless. You'll be counting their per-hour cost in miserly fractions of pennies. Services such as PS Now and Xbox Game Pass even bring the Netflix model to games: as many titles as you can handle for £9 a month. Suddenly, the value on offer starts to look pretty good.

New games were £40 in the early 90s, back when they were short, shallow, unsightly, simple and rubbish. Adjusted for inflation, that £40 is £86 in 2021. The best modern games are slick, deep, beautiful pieces of art and are, in real terms, cheaper than they've ever been.

Yes, £70 is a lot. But choose wisely and you'll never, ever feel short-changed.

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Pay station: are video games too expensive?

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In the Guide's weekly Solved! column, we look into a crucial pop-culture question you've been burning to know the answer to - and settle it, once and for all Last year, something terrible happened. No, not that. Or that, even - something else, that you might not even be able to blame on the Tories.

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Automation, outsourcing and ethics

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News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

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ith a death toll over 2 million and nearly 100 million people infected worldwide, Covid-19 is still wreaking havoc even as vaccines are rolled out. Yet fatalities are far from evenly distributed. Some nations have effectively beaten the pandemic; others have been soundly beaten. Japan's 126 million citizens have recorded just over 5,000 deaths. With a nearly identical population, Mexico has suffered more than 150,000 deaths and counting.

What explains such stark differences? Wealth? Hospital capacity? Age? Climate?

It turns out Covid's deadliness depends on something simpler and more profound: cultural differences in our willingness to follow rules.

All cultures have social norms, or unwritten rules for social behaviour. We adhere to standards of dress, discipline our kids, and don't elbow our way through crowded subways not because these are legislative codes but because they help our society function. Psychologists have shown that some cultures abide by social norms quite strictly; they're tight. Others are loose - with a more relaxed attitude toward rule-breakers.

This distinction, first noticed by Herodotus, is in modern times capable of being quantified by psychologists and anthropologists. Relative to the US, the UK, Israel, Spain and Italy, countries like Singapore, Japan, China and Austria have been shown to be much tighter. These differences aren't random. Research in both nation-states and small-scale societies has shown that communities with histories of chronic threat - whether natural disasters, infectious diseases, famines or invasions - develop stricter rules that ensure order and cohesion. It makes good evolutionary sense: following rules helps us survive chaos and crisis. On the flipside, looser groups that have faced fewer threats can afford to be more permissive.

Neither type is better or worse - until a global pandemic hits. Back in March, I started to worry that loose cultures, with their rule-breaking spirit, would take longer to abide by public health measures, with potentially tragic consequences. I was hopeful that they would eventually tighten. All of our computer models prior to Covid suggested they would.

But they didn't. In research that tracked more than 50 countries, published this week in the Lancet Planetary Health, my team and I show that, taking into account other factors, loose cultures had five times the number of cases that tight cultures did, and more than eight times as many deaths.

Remarkably, our analysis of data from the UK firm YouGov revealed that people in loose cultures had far less fear of the Covid-19 virus throughout 2020, even as cases skyrocketed. In tight nations, 70% of people were very scared of catching the virus. In loose cultures, only 49% were.

Reality never bit in these populations in part because people in cultures that are adapted to low levels of danger didn't respond as swiftly to the "threat signal" embodied by the pandemic when it came. This can happen in nature too. The most infamous case is the fearless dodo bird of Mauritius, which, having evolved without predators, became extinct within a century of its first contact with humans.

The dodo's story shows that traits honed in one environment can become a liability when the environment changes. This is what scientists call an evolutionary mismatch, and it has led to thousands of unnecessary Covid-19 deaths in loose-leaning societies. Obviously, loose groups aren't destined to disappear from the face of the earth. But their continuing struggles with a year-old pandemic shows the difficulties they are having in adapting.

The virus has been especially effective at turning some societies' propensity for rule breaking against them. Americans exemplify this spirit. It's why the United States boasts a great deal of creativity and innovation. It's also a major liability during times of threat. Such maverick behaviour is supposed to subside in emergencies. Yet countless US citizens continue holding parties, shopping maskless and generally scoffing at the virus. When the fear reflex is triggered, it's often in a perverse way: fearing lockdowns and mask mandates more than the virus itself.

These cultural mismatches made that threat signal harder to discern. But former President Trump's messaging silenced it for millions. "Just stay calm. It will go away," he said on 10 March 2020. Even in January 2021, well after more than 300,000 Americans had died, he complained of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's supposed exaggerations.

The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, also interrupted the fear reflex in the UK. As cases rose last March, he boasted: "I was at a hospital the other night where there were a few coronavirus patients, and I shook hands with everybody, you'll be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands ... people obviously can make up their own mind."

Tragically, citing worries about "behavioural fatigue", Johnson and his ministers deliberately enacted health measures slowly, essentially hitting the snooze button on the alarm citizens were supposed to feel. It's no surprise that King's College London found just one in 10 people in the UK who were exposed to a confirmed Covid-19 carrier are actually following orders to isolate for two weeks, or that fewer than one in five have been self-isolating after developing symptoms themselves.

To minimise further Covid fatalities, and to ready ourselves for future collective threats - one expert called this a " dress rehearsal " for what is to come - loose nations must adapt and heed the right threat signals. We can begin by building cultural intelligence to outsmart the threat. Three actions are key.

First, we need to shift the way we communicate about the type of threat we're facing. We tighten quickly in response to vivid, concrete threats, such as warfare. By contrast, because germs are invisible and abstract, the threat signal is easier to ignore. Public health officials need to make Covid's dangers vivid. Simply scaring people, however, can backfire: when we feel helpless, psychologists find that we adopt a defensive, passive posture. To persuade people to change their behaviour, we should be candid about Covid symptoms while also calling on our "can-do" spirit.

Second, we need to make clear that tightening is temporary. A society of rule-breakers can get on board with tighter procedures if they know there's an end in sight. The faster we tighten, the faster we'll reduce the threat, and the faster we'll restore freedom. What all nations need is what we call cultural ambidexterity: the ability to adjust how tight and loose they are based on how dangerous conditions are. New Zealand exemplifies this approach. Kiwis are famously loose, but they enacted some of the world's strictest measures early on - and tamed their rule-breaking spirit, limiting Covid-19 deaths to just 25.

Finally, we need to recognise that we're all in this together. The Washington Post profiled one small town that exemplifies this approach. For months, Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, was free of cases. But when the outbreak hit, it united people in a powerful display of public health coordination. Resident Reta Pruitt captured the town's ethos: "They're taking it serious now. But that's the whole trouble: the first time, we weren't serious about it." An evolutionary mismatch was thwarted just in time by compassion and coordination - and, above all, getting the threat signal right.

Michele Gelfand is a professor at the University of Maryland, and the author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World

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Why countries with 'loose', rule-breaking cultures have been hit harder by Covid | Michele Gelfand

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ith a death toll over 2 million and nearly 100 million people infected worldwide, Covid-19 is still wreaking havoc even as vaccines are rolled out. Yet fatalities are far from evenly distributed. Some nations have effectively beaten the pandemic; others have been soundly beaten. Japan's 126 million citizens have recorded just over 5,000 deaths.

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What underpins successful business cultures?

At the heart of every organisation is a great leader who is able to unite, engage and inspire people. Culture, leadership, and business success are often intertwined.

Leaders can influence business culture in a positive way. But they can also damage it by reinforcing working practices and behaviours that do harm.

Getting corporate culture right is no easy feat though. It requires hard work, dedication, and an investment of time and resources.

Great leaders understand this. They know that a strong culture is a delicate balance, which requires continual attention to keep it on track.

So, what differentiates leaders in successful business cultures from mediocre ones? In this blog post, we're going to look at the key business leadership skills they should have.

Walking the talk

Leaders of successful business cultures model the right behaviours and lead by example.

They keep their promises, treat their employees fairly, give recognition, model ethical behaviour and set the right tone in every aspect of business life. Walking the talk is an essential component of this.

Bosses who stand up in front of the company and talk about commitment but then head off to the golf course aren't walking the talk - they are crushing morale.

That is never good for business in the long-term. This kind of behaviour leads to resentment, poor motivation and ultimately impacts the bottom line. It's something a great leader would never do.

Hiring the right people

Spotting a good hire is one of the most effective leadership skills.

Leaders won't just be focused on the technical skills and experience of an employee, but will also value soft skills and consider their potential.

With business technology changing at such a rapid pace, great leaders are also looking for adaptability.

Embracing diversity

Lots of managers buy into the idea of hiring for cultural fit and of course personality is important.

A business wants people who will collaborate well together and are aligned with the vision and values of the organisation.

However, strong business leadership includes the ability to build and sustain diversity in the workplace.

This includes facilitating a culture of inclusion which means being brave enough to hire and lead a diverse group of people.

Placing a focus on employee well-being

A company's culture has a huge influence on employee happiness and satisfaction.

Poor culture is a roadblock to employee well-being. Great leaders understand this isn't the way to do business.

A smart leader is willing to put time, effort and resources into employee health and engagement because happy employees are more productive and more likely to stick around.

Motivating individuals and building relationships

Effective leaders don't leave motivation to chance. They understand the key drivers of motivation in the workplace.

Most will communicate, share the company vision and build a relationship with employees, regardless of hierarchy.

They also understand the communication problems holding their business back.

Successful leaders know relationships are key. Showing an interest in employees and providing the training, tools, and support to enable employees to do their best at work is a priority for them.

Ask any employee in an organisation with a great leader and a positive culture what motivates them. You'll find the answer is often feeling cared for and trusted.

Great leaders believe in the people around them and those people equally believe in their leader.

Motivation covers many of the points already raised, such as modeling behaviour, caring about employee well-being and embracing diversity.

But the most effective people have business leadership qualities such as being respectful, honest and supportive.

Importantly, great leaders understand money isn't the only motivation for employees.

Incentives in a successful business always include recognition and providing room for people to grow.

Getting curious

Great leaders have a thirst for continuous learning and are open to the idea that all employees have something to teach each other. They encourage knowledge sharing and promote collaborative working.

Having a curious mindset enables them to approach business problems and people in an open, unprejudiced way.

Leaders who lack curiosity tend to form narrow-minded and intolerant teams, which can impede business success.

Fostering innovation

In our rapidly changing global economy, the most successful businesses embrace innovation.

Great leaders are able to spot opportunities for growth and foster a working environment that encourages innovation.

They don't get mad when mistakes are made - they learn from them.

In a positive corporate culture, leaders believe everyone has the capability to come up with valuable ideas. Successful leaders have a natural ability to foster innovation.

Inspiring others

Great leaders inspire others.

They have the ability to bring out the best in people. Ted Talk guru Simon Sinek summed this up when he said: "The most inspirational leaders ignite a spark within their employees and followers that move them to action."

The future

There isn't one thing that defines a great leader, but there are some essential qualities. These revolve around respect, trust, communication and coaching skills.

Successful businesses of the future will plan ahead for succession. Leadership development at all levels is critical for future business success.

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9 Things To Do To Have A Successful Business Culture | Kahootz

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What underpins successful business cultures? At the heart of every organisation is a great leader who is able to unite, engage and inspire people. Culture, leadership, and business success are often intertwined. Leaders can influence business culture in a positive way. But they can also damage it by reinforcing working practices and behaviours that do harm.

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New CEO of John Lewis has radical plans to secure their future

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UK department store chain and Waitrose operator The John Lewis Partnership has announced the results of a strategic review begun in March. The company announced on Friday that it plans to make £200 million of annual profit within the next two years by diversifying and refocusing its business.

Among the new measures laid out by group chair Dame Sharon White are a plan to cut costs by £300 million - three times the savings made by her predecessor's overhaul in 2019. Having already announced that staff this year will not receive a bonus for the first time since 1953, White said that John Lewis would reduce costs further by making its head office and other operations "simpler and more efficient".

The Partnership will seek out new revenue streams by greatly expanding online food delivery, in addition to introducing new budget ranges, as part of efforts to move between 60 and 70% of its sales online by 2025.

In a more radical diversification, the group also plans to build and rent out social housing. White said that the group had identified 20 locations near its sites where this housing could be built and would submit two planning applications for sites in Greater London early next year.

The company will also enter the insurance and savings markets, White said, quadrupling its financial services business.

Other newly announced measures include the retirement of the company's famous "never knowingly undersold" pledge, to be replaced by a different "value for money" promise that will be finalised next year.

"We've seen five years of change in the past five months and Waitrose and John Lewis have responded with great agility," White said. "Our plan means the John Lewis Partnership will thrive for the next century, as it has the last."

White also announced that partners will be paid the independently verified real living wage once the company achieves annual profits of £200 million.

The John Lewis Partnership is the largest employee-owned company in the UK, with an 80,000-strong workforce as of the year ending January 2020. It operates 42 department stores and more than 300 Waitrose supermarkets.

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John Lewis Plans New Services in Shift from Retail

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UK department store chain and Waitrose operator The John Lewis Partnership has announced the results of a strategic review begun in March. The company announced on Friday that it plans to make £200 million of annual profit within the next two years by diversifying and refocusing its business.

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What is ERP?

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ERP is the nervous system of modern businesses. Learn how it works, understand its risks and benefits, and get tips on deployment in this wide-ranging guide.

By

It is hard to imagine modern business without ERP. From its roots more than 50 years ago in the first financial and production planning tools used by manufacturers, ERP has grown to become a mainstay in all but the smallest businesses.

ERP, or enterprise resource planning, is networked software that handles the transactions and record-keeping of the essential functions of any business, such as sales, purchasing, accounting and human resources. Installing an ERP system is one of the boldest steps an organization can take to computerize its business activities.

Read on to learn the basics of ERP and the steps to deploy it, and click on the links for more detail and in-depth analysis.

What does an ERP system do?

ERP software consists of connected but distinct components, or modules, each of which enables workers to carry out the functions of a particular business process or department, such as sales, customer relationship management (CRM), inventory management and finance.

ERP differs in essential ways from other types of business software -- say, basic accounting, scheduling or task management -- that is used by one person or a small group and has no direct connection to other software.

An important differentiating feature of ERP is the integration between modules that enables the modules and users to interact. For example, a sales order created in the CRM module will be shared with the production module so workers in the manufacturing department will have the information about what product to make. When the product is shipped, data in the inventory management module changes, and when the customer pays, the accounting module records the revenue.

Another distinguishing feature of ERP software is the central database in which the modules record transactions and other information, access that data and share it (see Figure 1). Having this "single source of truth" -- that's an IT industry buzz phrase -- saves users from having to enter information more than once. It also improves data accuracy and facilitates reporting and collaboration.

ERP also usually maintains a consistent look and feel across modules, unlike a collection of separate software applications from different vendors. This consistency, at least in theory, makes it easy for workers to learn the system and move around the modules. In reality, many people find ERP software difficult to use -- especially if it is a decade or two old and hasn't been updated with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and other usability improvements.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ERP?

The sheer size, interconnectedness and complexity of ERP is both a blessing and a curse (see Figure 2).

When ERP software is running well and closely aligned with an organization's ways of doing business, it makes important business processes function more smoothly and opens up new possibilities, such as redeploying workers or implementing an omnichannel e-commerce strategy. But when deployment is delayed or the system goes down unexpectedly, ERP can bring business to a standstill and force users to scramble, looking for manual alternatives. And an older ERP system with unintuitive screens and poorly designed workflows can put a drag on a business that threatens its very existence.

But the biggest disadvantage of ERP, one that has frequently led to lawsuits, is the significant risk and cost of a failed or severely delayed implementation. ERP implementation failures often make headlines; at least two such failures involved projects that topped $1 billion. One high-profile case was the 2018 suit that investors of cosmetics maker Revlon filed when problems implementing SAP ERP allegedly disrupted manufacturing operations and delayed shipments.

Nevertheless, the advantages of ERP usually outweigh the disadvantages. Among the highlights are the following:

Advantages

ERP can save money over the long run by streamlining processes.

It provides a unified system that can lower IT, labor and training costs.

ERP enables a clearer view into critical parts of the business, such as sales, working capital and inventory.

It facilitates reporting and planning through improved data and analytics.

It offers better compliance and security through standardized workflows and fine-grained control of user rights.

Disadvantages

ERP software can be expensive to deploy and maintain.

It is often difficult to implement.

It requires significant change management.

ERP modules are often less sophisticated than specialized software and go unused or must be replaced.

Key features of ERP systems

Most ERP systems handle the core business processes -- either in dedicated modules or in subfunctions of other modules -- that are common to all kinds of enterprises. However, the ERP finance module is the only one in every ERP product, since every company needs the ability to process financial transactions and account for them. It automates basic accounting, invoicing, financial analytics, forecasting and reporting.

Other commonly used core ERP modules include human capital management (HCM), order management, sales management or CRM, and purchasing or procurement.

Companies that make or distribute products need additional modules with specialized capabilities. The most common ones include the following:

material requirements planning (MRP);

inventory management;

manufacturing management, or production management; and

supply chain management (SCM): complex processes for demand planning and logistics, including transportation management systems and warehouse management systems.

Some organizations add still another layer of modules that are even more specialized or provide advanced capabilities. For example, a company might augment the basic HR functions of its HCM system -- such as payroll, benefits and employee records -- to add talent management software with modules dedicated to recruiting, training, evaluating and compensating employees. A consultancy, construction firm or other business whose work is typically organized into projects might add a project management module. A manufacturer with its own distribution centers might buy an SCM suite from another vendor that has sophisticated transportation and warehouse management software that comes with prepackaged integration to the ERP.

In recent years, ERP vendors have bolstered their products with emerging technologies that are sweeping through other sectors of the IT industry. Today, the hottest ERP trends are all about making ERP more interactive, intuitive and "intelligent."

Chatbots are taking over many of the ERP tasks, such as invoice processing and customer service, formerly handled by humans. Artificial intelligence improves ERP data analytics by "learning" to recognize patterns and make recommendations. Natural language processing makes it possible to control ERP by speaking into a voice user interface.

On-premises ERP vs. cloud ERP vs. hybrid ERP

ERP systems are designed to run either on premises in the owner's data center, or in the cloud on computers maintained by the vendor or a partner and delivered to users over the internet.

Choosing a deployment option is one of the biggest decisions an ERP buyer has to make because it affects almost every aspect of an ERP system, including the types of features that are available, implementation time, user-friendliness and cost.

Early cloud versions of ERP had fewer modules and capabilities than on-premises versions. Today, the two systems have neared parity, with cloud deployments offering some important advantages.

In most cases, cloud ERP doesn't require the computing infrastructure of on-premises ERP. Instead, the software vendor or cloud service provider manages it. A cloud ERP implementation can therefore be far cheaper in terms of purchase, deployment and maintenance costs.

Thanks to the flexibility of cloud computing resources, cloud ERP can be easier to scale up and down as needs fluctuate. Automatic upgrades, which are also managed by the vendor, can deliver new technologies faster and with less hassle than is possible with on-premises ERP.

However, not all cloud ERP deployment options are alike, and ERP vendors often fudge the terminology (see Figure 3). Options include the following:

Multi-tenant. The purest type of cloud ERP, multi-tenant SaaS ERP, is usually streamlined with fewer modules and features than on-premises ERP. Multiple users share the same copy of the software, which makes it cheaper, simpler and more standardized than most on-premises ERP.

Single tenant. Another type of SaaS, called single tenant, cordons off the software to give the buyer more control over the ERP, including the ability to customize it, which is usually not possible with multi-tenant SaaS.

Private cloud and hosted ERP. Two other varieties of cloud ERP, private cloud and hosted ERP, typically just involve running the same on-premises software on an outside provider's data centers, though they may have some characteristics of cloud computing such as economies of scale from shared infrastructure as well as on-demand use and pricing. Some companies maintain their own private cloud infrastructure -- an extreme example of how much the lines between on-premises and cloud ERP have blurred.

Hybrid ERP. The fact that SaaS ERP, particularly multi-tenant, usually can't be customized is a major drawback for companies that need the custom features and integrations of an on-premises ERP system into which they have usually sunk significant time and money. As a result, hybrid ERP, which combines on-premises and cloud ERP modules and related applications, is an increasingly popular way to gain some of the technological benefits of SaaS without losing the security of an older, familiar system. It raises daunting integration challenges, however.

Payment terms also vary for the different types of ERP deployments. Unlike on-premises ERP, which usually requires an expensive long-term license paid upfront, SaaS is generally sold by monthly per-user subscriptions. However, the differences between cloud ERP and on-premises ERP pricing aren't quite so clear-cut because some vendors combine features of the two.

How to choose an ERP system

Finding an ERP product that will fit the organization's needs requires following a methodical process that typically includes these major steps:

1. Assigning a team. The ERP buying process starts with forming a project team led by a project manager and usually consisting of department heads, senior executives and IT.

2. Defining requirements. The project team is charged with understanding the organization's current and aspirational ERP use cases, then gathering the requirements and wish lists of stakeholders.

3. Researching vendors. The requirements planning stage provides the framework for researching ERP software vendors and asking the most promising ones to respond to a request for proposal (RFP) detailing how they will deliver the requirements. Some vendors may be called in to give sales presentations.

4. Identifying the shortlist. The project team names a small group of vendors it believes is most likely to meet the requirements.

5. Scheduling demos. The shortlisted vendors are called in to demonstrate how their software performs in real-world circumstances, sometimes in a competitive "bake-off."

6. Selecting a vendor. After negotiating price and terms, the buyer signs a contract with the chosen vendor.

In practice, completing each major step requires several substeps and significant data collection. For example, requirements planning often involves surveys and meetings with users, or a formal gap analysis to determine whether the organization's business software meets current and future needs. Many organizations interview customers with similar needs and perform a financial analysis to assess the stability of shortlisted vendors.

The final choice usually comes down to how closely a product matches the buyer's required timeline, features, ease of use and price, and whether it supports current or planned business processes. A product's deployment options can also tip the balance, besides heavily influencing the other criteria. A SaaS ERP product, for example, is more likely to fit a shorter implementation timeline and be easier to use than an on-premises system; but, as noted, it might lack the specialized functions a company needs to stay in business.

Buyers entering the market will find a few dozen ERP vendors that vary widely in size and target markets. There is specialized on-premises ERP for small law firms and giant chemical producers, basic cloud ERP for the project management and accounting of global consulting firms, and obscure brands of ERP sold mostly to regional manufacturers and distributors in the U.S.

Some ERP vendors, including Acumatica, NetSuite and Sage Intacct, specialize in the needs of SMBs, offering relatively affordable and simple ERP for common financial, order management and HR functions. Such entry-level products may be a company's first ERP system when it outgrows basic accounting software, but they can usually be expanded with additional modules and "scale," or grow, to accommodate more users and business functions.

Four major-brand ERP vendors -- Infor, Microsoft, Oracle (including NetSuite) and SAP -- have the biggest market shares, with nearly half the worldwide total. These four also have the broadest product lines that span from entry-level ERP to complex software suites for multinational conglomerates, as well as specialized versions for most major industries. Some market researchers include Sage Intacct and Workday -- a fast-growing maker of SaaS HCM and accounting software -- among the market-share leaders, but neither vendor has quite the breadth of products as the top four.

Other prominent ERP vendors include Epicor, IFS, DELMIAworks, Plex Systems, QAD, Syspro and Unit4.

ERP implementation

ERP implementation best practices call for a formal process, overseen by an ad hoc team drawn from every major department, that extends from the conceptual stage to post-implementation support and, ultimately, upgrading or replacing the system. Project management methodologies, tools and software are essential in managing what could be a multiyear process.

Once a vendor is chosen, the implementation begins. In the case of an ERP upgrade from one system to another, companies usually run and test the new ERP system in parallel with the old one to confirm that it works properly before committing to a launch date. Data migration then consumes much of the time and resources needed to ensure the new system can take over business processes with minimal disruption.

The best practices don't end when the system is deployed. Companies must communicate the benefits and features of the new system in advance, then maintain a training process for current and incoming employees. A comprehensive, effective change management strategy can be the difference between ERP implementation success and failure.

ERP support

The new system also has to be maintained. ERP vendors or their support partners offer tech-support services, usually contracted for an additional fee. They typically include a help desk reachable by phone, email or online; a dedicated customer web portal with FAQs, user manuals and other documentation; and access to discussion forums. On-site support typically provides implementation assistance, troubleshooting and training. Software development may be a significant part of support if the ERP system needs customizing, extending or integrating with other systems.

Most companies maintain their own ERP support staff, even if it is just one IT person who has other responsibilities. Larger companies may have several people whose job it is to keep the ERP system running, train users and interact with the ERP vendor, systems integrator or service provider. "ERP administrator" is a common title in the IT world.

The growing popularity of cloud ERP is bringing major changes to the internal ERP support function, which used to focus mostly on maintaining the ERP system itself. Now, ERP administrators must be knowledgeable about the capabilities of SaaS business applications, figure out how to assemble them into an ERP system, and understand the needs of customers and other external users.

Multi-tiered ERP systems

The word tier comes up often in the context of ERP. It has two meanings.

The most important -- because it describes an actual software architecture -- is what's referred to as two-tier ERP, a strategy that typically involves pairing a large, often older (or "legacy") on-premises ERP system in corporate headquarters with smaller, cheaper, often SaaS-based ERP systems at divisions and remote offices. The two tiers are integrated, especially for accounting, finance and other companywide processes such as HCM, and can be from different vendors.

Two-tier ERP can be a good strategy for extending ERP to more locations while providing remote offices with more control, flexibility and agility to meet local needs.

The second use of tier is as a way of classifying ERP software and vendors by size. In this scheme, tier 1 ERP products are built for and typically purchased by the world's largest name-brand companies and sold by the biggest vendors. The tier 1 group usually includes SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and Infor. Tier 2 vendors are next in the rankings, measured roughly by revenue. Like tier 1 vendors, they sell systems for both large companies and SMBs. Tier 3 vendors are the smallest and often sell ERP for niche industries.

The tier-ranking system for vendors and products is controversial, highly arbitrary and has begun to fall out of use.

Why is ERP important?

In one form or another, ERP has been at the center of efforts to exploit the data processing and calculating capacity of computers to manage complex business processes. This important software began as MRP, a system invented in the 1960s to plan the materials needed in manufacturing that was later extended to other factors such as financials (see Figure 4), and renamed manufacturing resource planning (MRP II).

When MRP II grew to encompass even more processes like payroll, HR and sales, the need for a generic term became clear; in 1990, ERP was coined. Today, MRP and ERP continue to play essential roles in manufacturing, and ERP has become the digital nervous system of business.

Few observers would doubt that ERP has also had a positive influence on the global economy. The anecdotal evidence from individual companies is both convincing and unsurprising, and it springs largely from the usual benefits of computerizing manual, paper-based processes.

Digitizing business transactions and records usually speeds them up and makes them more accurate and reliable. Sharing this real-time or near-real-time information over a network helps workers across departments make better decisions, coordinate their activities, collaborate more effectively and minimize the avoidable errors caused by miscommunication. It also helps businesses respond more quickly to changing conditions.

Tapping into the internet to open these ERP channels to the outside world helps to align supply and demand by tying the desires of customers more intimately to the actions a company, its suppliers and partners take to develop and deliver products and services.

This ongoing " digital transformation" of nearly every corner of the business world, enabled in large part by ERP, has made new conveniences, such as mobile e-commerce, possible. It has also helped to integrate the world economy by enabling -- or, at the very least, supporting -- global manufacturing, supply chain analytics and industrial IoT.

At the same time, digital transformation calls for a new set of ERP skills that emphasizes broad business expertise and collaboration to write the next chapter in the long partnership between ERP and business.

Dig Deeper on ERP infrastructure

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ERP is the nervous system of modern businesses. Learn how it works, understand its risks and benefits, and get tips on deployment in this wide-ranging guide. By It is hard to imagine modern business without ERP.

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Unit 3 - Analysing marketing data & Unit 9 - Digital Technology

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Unit 3 - Analysing marketing data & Unit 9 - Digital Technology

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Big data retailing offers tailor-made shopping for all

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Imagine everything being known about you the minute you walk in to a department store - your name, measurements, purchase history in-store and online, even your views on life, the universe and everything. Would that make you feel like a celebrity or a victim of intrusive surveillance?

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Protecting a trademark

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A trademark battle between Kylie Minogue and Kylie Jenner appears to have come to an end.

Jenner, who first shot to fame in the US reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, has been trying to trademark the name Kylie in the US.

But she has been blocked by the veteran Australian pop star Minogue, best known for hits such as I Should Be So Lucky and Can't Get You Out Of My Head.

After a long and heated battle, the Kylies may have reached a settlement.

How did this all begin?

According to papers filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in April 2015 Jenner attempted to register the mark "KYLIE" in the US for "advertising services" and "endorsement services".

They noted Minogue was an "internationally renowned performing artist, humanitarian and breast cancer activist" who already owns Kylie-related trademarks in the US in several industries, as well as the website www.kylie.com.

Jenner, on the other hand, was dismissed as a "secondary reality television personality" who had drawn criticism for her "photographic exhibitionism and controversial posts" on social media.

The case was suspended at least twice in 2016 for settlement negotiations.

So which Kylie came out on top?

On 19 January Minogue's team withdrew its opposition, which means Jenner's application could proceed.

This raises the possibility that they agreed to a settlement.

The BBC approached both sides, but Jenner's lawyers declined comment, and Minogue's team did not respond. The USPTO does not comment on individual cases.

But meanwhile Jenner appears to have conclusively lost another battle - to trademark her full name.

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What is at stake in this battle?

Last year, Jenner launched a line of cosmetics called KYLIE.

According to her latest appeal, she wants to eventually have "KYLIE JENNER" branded clothing as well as loungewear, swimwear, and underwear.

Meanwhile, Minogue owns "KYLIE" and other similar trademarks in perfumes and toiletries, music and sound recordings, live entertainment, jewellery, dolls and toys, and printed matter such as magazines and books.

So far, Minogue has released fragrances, furniture and clothes with her trademarks on them.

She also had previously said in interviews she intends to one day produce a musical featuring her greatest hits, and owns the US trademark for "Lucky: The Kylie Minogue Musical".

But it's more than that. Since the 1980s, Kylie Minogue has never had to go by any other name but Kylie, and her team has argued it's a fundamental part of the pop diva's identity.

Even with a possible settlement, what the battle shows is that at the very least brand KYLIE is not won without a fight.

Reporting by the BBC's Tessa Wong, Kevin Ponniah and Jay Savage.

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The Kylie Minogue vs Kylie Jenner trademark battle

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A trademark battle between Kylie Minogue and Kylie Jenner appears to have come to an end. Jenner, who first shot to fame in the US reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, has been trying to trademark the name Kylie in the US.

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Amazon's lesser hits

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Jeff Bezos will step down as Amazon CEO on Monday.

He instituted a culture where failure is an acceptable - even necessary - part of doing business.

Amazon has had huge failures, resulting in billions of dollars in mistakes, according to Bezos.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Amazon Spark

Amazon launched its Instagram-like visual shopping platform, Amazon Spark, in 2017.

The idea was that customers would browse a photo-heavy feed, with products featured in the photographs, as a new way to shop and discover the huge array of items sold on Amazon.com.

Amazon shut down the project in mid-2019, and the page now redirects to the #FoundItOnAmazon site.

"Spark is not gone entirely, we've pivoted and narrowed the experience based on what resonated with customers," a spokesperson for Amazon told Business Insider's Mary Hanbury.

Amazon Restaurants

On June 11, Amazon told Geekwire in an email that its Amazon Restaurants service would be shutting down.

First launched in 2015, the service delivered freshly prepared food from local restaurants to customers via Amazon's same-day delivery network, which it also uses for Prime Now deliveries. It later expanded to 20 US cities and London before its demise.

In London, the service launched in 2016 and stopped in late 2018.

Pop-up stores

Amazon

Amazon has closed all 87 of its pop-up stores and discontinued the program, it told Business Insider in March.

"After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program, and are instead expanding Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star, where we provide a more comprehensive customer experience and broader selection," a spokesperson for Amazon said.

The stores were a place where customers interested in smart gadgets, such as Amazon's Echo and Fire TV products, could see how they worked in the real world before purchasing them.

Dash buttons

Dash buttons offered a way to reorder a consumable item on Amazon without having to think about it. Customers could link an item and preferred quantity to the button, and press it whenever they needed more. The buttons could be mounted in cupboards or on top of washing machines.

Amazon stopped offering them for sale this year, but a spokesperson told CNET they were a rousing success in that they got customers used to shopping without a screen.

"Dash button was an awesome stepping stone into the world of connected home," Daniel Rausch, an Amazon vice president, said, later adding, "We never imagined a future where customers had 500 buttons in their home. We imagined a future where the home was taking care of itself, including replenishing everyday items that customers would rather not worry about."

Now that the AmazonBasics microwave can automatically reorder popcorn, there's simply no need for a separate $5 button.

Amazon Tap

The first Amazon Echo device to be discontinued by Amazon without a replacement, the Amazon Tap was a mobile version of its ultra-popular Alexa-enabled smart speakers.

Amazon stopped selling the device near the end of 2018, and its product page on Amazon.com tells customers: "This device is no longer available, however Certified Refurbished Amazon Tap is refurbished, tested, and certified to look and work like new."

But as Amazon puts Alexa functionality in nearly everything, a portable device probably isn't as useful.

Instant Pickup

In 2017, Amazon debuted a new way to pick up items within minutes of ordering them, calling it Instant Pickup.

Customers could order items such as snacks, drinks, and basic essentials from the Amazon app and use a barcode to access their purchases at designated Pickup locations. An Amazon employee would fill an Instant Pickup locker within minutes of the order being placed.

However, Amazon pulled the plug on the service, a company spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider in 2018. The company did not specify when the service ended.

Amazon Tickets

Amazon Tickets launched in 2015 in the UK, a market with fewer exclusive contracts than in the US, potentially giving the retailer room to muscle in.

It closed by 2018. A planned rollout in the US was also cancelled in 2017.

Whole Foods 365

Whole Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon, announced earlier this year that it would not be moving forward with its Whole Foods 365-branded stores.

These stores were designed to cater to younger shoppers with aisles full of budget-friendly private-label goods.

Business Insider's Hayley Peterson reported that the brand would sunset and that no new stores would carry the 365 name. The company cited a diminishing price difference between 365 stores and regular Whole Foods stores as a reason for the change.

Quidsi

Amazon acquired Quidsi for $545 million in 2010. Quidsi, founded by Marc Lore and Vinit Bharara, was the parent company of the early 2000s e-commerce darling Diapers.com, which expanded into Soap.com, Wag.com, BeautyBar.com, Casa.com, and YoYo.com.

Amazon shut down Quidsi in 2017, saying it was never able to make it profitable.

Lore went on to found Jet.com, which was later acquired by Walmart for more than $3 billion.

Amazon Local

Amazon Local was also shut down in 2015. A "daily deals" site similar to Groupon and LivingSocial, Local's end was not too surprising, as the two other sites saw spectacular rises and subsequently drastic falls.

Fire Phone

The Fire Phone, essentially a Fire tablet in phone form, was announced by Bezos to much fanfare in June 2014. Nearly two months after it went on sale, the phone was given poor reviews by critics because of its lack of features and high price, and Amazon had already reduced the price from $200 to just $0.99 with a two-year contract.

It was discontinued about a year after that.

Critics consider the Fire Phone Amazon's first and largest failure. In October of the same year, Amazon announced a $170 million write-down "primarily related to Fire phone inventory valuation and supplier commitment costs" in its quarterly earnings report.

Amazon WebPay

WebPay was Amazon's version of PayPal in that it facilitated payments between people. It shut down in 2014, eliminated the person-to-person payments, and became Amazon Pay, a service that facilitates payments between shoppers and merchants.

Amazon Auction

Amazon once ran an auction site similar to eBay, appropriately called Amazon Auction. It began in 1999 and ended a few years later.

It effectively functioned as the precursor to Amazon's Marketplace, where third-party sellers list their products for sale on Amazon.com.

Keep reading

More: Features Amazon Failures Jeff Bezos

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Jeff Bezos famously embraces failure. Here are the biggest flops Amazon has overcome under his watch.

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Jeff Bezos will step down as Amazon CEO on Monday. He instituted a culture where failure is an acceptable - even necessary - part of doing business. Amazon has had huge failures, resulting in billions of dollars in mistakes, according to Bezos. See more stories on Insider's business page.

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Supply chain, logisitics and sustainability with IKEA

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IKEA are a global home furniture company who specialise in producing large quantities of flat packed furniture. A pivotal attribute that has been detrimental to their success is there global supply chain. A ''Supply chain process is a flow of activities with the goal of meeting the requirements of a customer. It includes all internal functions, logistics, distribution, sourcing, customer service, sales, manufacturing and accounting.'' (Nahla, 2017)Without fully integrated systems all working together in tandem effective and efficient operations cannot occur.

A house of quality diagram is used to by companies to understand if their product is living up to customers' expectations. It is used to compare and contrast the relationship between customers wants and needs too the organisations production capacity.

The house of quality diagram shows that the three most valued attributes too IKEA customers for their products are; that the products are 'fit for use', have a 'low cost' and have an 'asthetically pleasing design'. Too assure that these important customers' requirements are met IKEA themselves assure that 'high quality raw materials are bought in bulk'. This helps them keep the costs of their products down due to the discount factor provided from buying in bulk. Furthermore high quality raw materials help make sure that finished products are fit for use. IKEA's massive stores and flat packing of products allow vast quantities of products to be readily available for customers. This gives IKEA large economies of scale and there for are able to provide their products at a low cost to the customers. High quality materials used in the products of IKEA's and extensive investment in product design assures that customers are able to receive the asthetically pleasing product that they demand.

In comparison to IKEA's main furnishing competitors on average IKEA are the best at meeting their customers' needs and wants. One area that needs improvement however is the durability of their products. One possible reason for the lack of durability of their products is the fact customers self-assemble their products. This means that there are more variables involve with the quality of the finish product e.g. did the customer uses all screws and bolts to assemble their product or maybe they took shortcuts whilst building the product.

From the house of quality diagram it can be inferred that there is a strong positive correlation between flat packing and home delivery, as well as between flat packing and the stores being able to store many thousands of products. This is because flat packing minimalises the space required to store each product, as flat packing makes the products easily stackable. On the other hand there is a strong negative correlation between bulk buying raw materials and waste minimisation. This occurs due to the fact when bulk ordering 'Bigger volumes mean lower prices.' (Anon, 2017)Therefore there may be some left over raw materials, however this probably is a huge problem for a company such as IKEA who have many thousands of products. This is because excess could be used to manufacture another product.

The supply chain for IKEA is very complex with hundreds of companies involved in every step of the way from the collection of natural resources to the finished products. Along the way there are many phases involved before the finished product reaches the consumer. IKEA has a strict code of conduct involved with purchasing from certain suppliers called the IWAY code, which is a set of protocols aimed at reducing waste and industrial impacts on the environment.

In the primary sector IKEA aim to develop raw materials from natural resources, which then can be used to manufacture products. IKEA source the raw materials from many different companies in a range of countries. IKEA's three most used natural resources are metals, wood, textiles and leather as well as chemicals used in the production process.

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IKEA sources most of its steel products from Baosteel Co LTD who obtain the raw materials used to manufacture their steel from RioTinto a British-Australian mining company as well as their own subsidiary mining group Baosteel Australia Mining Company LTD. Collectively ''Baosteel imports 1 million -1.5 million mt of coal annually'' IKEA choose Baosteel due to the high quality products they provide which enable IKEA to conform with their safety protocols on their products, furthermore in 2012 Baosteel passed IKEA due diligence which enabled them to supply stainless steel for export only to IKEA's suppliers, this is due to their green manufacturing process.

However, Baosteel aren't IKEA's only metal supplier. They also source metal parts such as nuts, bolts and screws from Steel Stone Co. LTD in Taiwan, these products are high quality however they chosen due to their low cost as there is a low cost of labour in Taiwan.

IKEA is one of the largest consumers of wood in the world. IKEA have their own subsidiary company to handle the production of their wood based furniture called Sweedwood. In its attempts to conform to IKEA's own IWAY code Sweedwood has its own sustainability plan for all the wood it uses. Sweedwood has over 15,500 employees working in offices and factories around the world.

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IKEA sources a lot of its wood from Vietnam, drawn in by cheap labour and natural resources. On the other hand in the Karelia area in Northern Europe has a very fragile eco-system and IKEA's decision to source wood from there puts a lot of responsibility in their hands. Furthermore IKEA doesn't accept wood that has been illegally logged and supports 13 WWF projects. IKEA's 'wood' products are particle boards, all are produced in one factory in Southern Sweden called Hultsfred. Where wood is turned into saw dust which in turn is converted into particle board planks.

IKEA's sources the majority of its textiles and leathers from Europe and Asia respectively. The majority of the volume of textiles produced come from within South Asia. A small town in India called Kurur is home an Ikea supplier called Asian Fabrivx's factory, only a few hours away from Tuticon a port that ships to European shores. Furthermore, IKEA agreed Royal Leather limited as its supplier of finished leather in 2012 who've imported modern machinery from European countries. Royal Leather was due to its 'environmental and social compliance capacity'. The skins used are 'a by-product of the meat industry.

The chemical industry is a controversial one, so IKEA aims for all of its products to not use chemicals and substance that can be harmful to people and the environment. Furthermore, the recent EU Reach legislation requires a precautionary approach to the use of chemicals in manufacturing.

One of IKEA's chemical suppliers are Parallel LTD who are located in Bulgaria. Parallel LTD produce Polyurethane (Kovafoam) and source their production machines from companies in Germany and Italy. The high quality machinery has led to high quality finished products used in IKEA's furniture.

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Logistics ''is the part of supply chain management that plans, implements and controls the efficient and effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods and services, and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers' requirements.''

IKEA's first distribution centre for Central and Eastern Europe Logistics LTW Intralogistics was opened in 1989. LTW are world renown for their innovative storage and retrieval machines which are a lot more efficient than manual labour. Since 1989 LTW have worked side by side to IKEA in 11 countries spanning over 3 continents installing over 220 pieces of machinery.

In 1997 IKEA started a partnership with Consafe Logistics, who have since been involved with setting up their ''Astro warehouse management systems'' in 15 of IKEA's distribution centres. IKEA choose Consafe for their world renowned integrated manual and automated warehouse management systems.

IKEA's distribution and warehousing works in a multitude of ways in the aim to improve efficiency. IKEA aim to achieve this through rationalisation and simplifying the distribution process. Not only do IKEA aim to increase operational efficiency in their distribution channels and warehouse storage, they also try to reduce impacts on the environment. One example of this is flat packing products leads less space being used in storage and transport meaning a larger quantity of goods can be packed into one warehouse or lorry, there for there a lower costs of storage and less Lorries needed to transport goods leading to less pollution of the environment from delivering products.

IKEA's distribution centres work as a wholesaler, they enable IKEA to have storage areas for stores and for purchasing products and resources from suppliers.

BLG Retial Logistics work hand in hand with IKEA in the aim to perfect the organisation of goods at IKEA's Doncaster site. Their job is to plan transport routes and timings, ensure quality and quantities are upto the demands that IKEA wants. Doncaster is now the largest IKEA distribution centre in the world and can store at maximum capacity 270,000 pallets.

NREP logistics manages IKEA's Jonkoping, Sweden site, which has total distribution space of 60,000 sq miles. The NREP distribution centre works to ensure the efficient loading and transportation of products, this has been achieved by having separate entrances and exits, as well as large loading areas.

If a customer is not satisfied by the product they receive they can return it to the store they purchased the product from. This means that IKEA needs reverse logistics systems in place. What happens is the store checks which distribution centre the product has come from and sends it back where it is tested. Then the product sent to a Swedish firm where it is recycles and re-distribution. However if the product is faulty and cannot be resold then it is either recycled or disposed of.

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IKEA's long term goal is to become and remain the world's largest home furniture company. But IKEA are not just aiming to achieve this from growing their profitability and market share. IKEA as global company take and manage their responsibility to go about their production and supply of products in a sustainable way throughout the entire supply chain from raw materials to the store. This has been implemented through educating suppliers about the importance of sustainability. IKEA's approach to sustainability has been a way IKEA has differentiated its self from competitors. This approach could be seen as a clever marketing ploy in the aim to create a friendly and responsible company that can be trusted. Furthermore IKEA's work with WWF and UNICEF has further promoted the good boy image IKEA attempts to portray to its consumers.

The concept of variation effects IKEA's supply chain in a variety of ways. Variation is 'a change or slight difference in condition, amount, or level, typically within certain limits.' Exchanges rates vary from day today this can be positive and negative for IKEA's supply chain depending on which currency is being trade and how much the exchange rates varies. This links in to the concept of uncertainty which is defined as 'not able to be relied on; not known or definite' this is due to IKEA trading with suppliers and distributors and having to use a variety of different currencies depending on their respective countries. This means every there is variation on what IKEA have to pay their suppliers, workers, distributors depending on the exchange rate. This create uncertainty as if there is a pre-agreed binding trade agreement and there is a hike in price for one currency then IKEA's pre-calculate profit-loss forecast could be made redundant overnight. Furthermore there can be variation between tastes in different counties this means IKEA need to invest into marketing to assure they are offering the right products to the right people.

IKEA use buffering mechanisms throughout the supply chain, a buffering mechanism is defined as 'maintaining enough supplies to keep operations running smoothly' (Smallbusiness.chron.com, 2017). To ensure this they bulk order their supplies so if there is a shortage in the supply chain they often have excess too rely on from previous orders. Furthermore IKEA are driven to minimise waste so they make sure they use all their resources at maximum efficiency. IKEA also uses postponement which '' is a deliberate action to delay final manufacturing or distribution of a product until receipt of a customer order.' (Management et al., 2017)' IKEA uses postponement to ensure operational efficiency, this mechanism allows them to know if there is a market for the product and if so a rough estimate into how large the demand for the product is.

''All IKEA customers have the right to healthy products. That is why all our product types are tested to and must comply with strict legal requirements.'' (IKEA, 2017) This has led to IKEA having to adopt new technologies. For example some extremely popular fire retardants have had calls to be banned due to their possible negative health effects such as cancers and birth defects. IKEA have invested into a non-toxic equivalents.

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IKEA's waste ambition to minimise waste links into the idea of sustainability. Sustainability is defined as the ''avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance.'' Dictionary.com. (2017) Furthermore IKEA believe sustainability is extremely important and this idea is seen throughout the supply chain. For example IKEA are very cautious of disrupting the biodiversity of Karelia area of Northern Europe or the fact that the support 13 WWF projects.

IKEA's flat packing of goods for transport has influenced their logistics choices. It has enabled IKEA's transportation of goods too be highly efficient. Furthermore it also has enabled them to store vast quantities of goods in their stores which allows their customers to have a range of products ready to purchase. Flat packing of goods allow customers to easily be able to take home products which may hold back other home furnishing stores sales due to prebuilt furniture being bulky and therefore hard to transport.

IKEA truly have global supply chain, for it to work like a well-oiled machine they have to ensure that; the complex web has too have efficient and effective logistics behind it. Their relationship with suppliers is pivotal to success. What makes it even more complicated is that IKEA being a global company they possess an ethical and environment responsibility to work in a sustainable and fair manor. Too ensure this they set requirements for their suppliers to ensure they have a safe work place and aren't endangering the environment or their workers. One of the leading factors to IKEA's success is the flat packing of their products for transport and sale. This allows them to maximise the available space allowing them to create huge economies of scale. However an efficient and effective supply chain is only the base for a successful company. IKEA have invested heavily into marketing to ensure they are seen as the ''good guys'' and this isn't just a marketing ploy, they have backed it up with extensive regulation throughout the supply chain. For example they make sure there are no hazardous chemicals or hypo-allergenic used in their products. Overall IKEA's supply is the base of their success, without it their marketing campaign would have little conviction. As well as this their finance's would suffer without its as they would be very inefficient with their transport, therefore they would have smaller economies of scale leading to a fall in profit margins.

Bibliography:

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/business/resits/postgrad/InternationalSupplyChainMgmtIKEACaseStudy.pdf [Accessed 8 May 2017].

Slideshare.net. (2017). IKEA Supply Chain Mangament. [online] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/roymanish91/ikea-supply-chain-mangament [Accessed 1 May 2017].

Smallbusiness.chron.com. (2017). What Is Buffering in Manufacturing?. [online] Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/buffering-manufacturing-31892.html [Accessed 9 May 2017].

Management, P., Cheng, T., Li, J., Wan, C., Wang, S. and York, S. (2017). Postponement Strategies in Supply Chain Management | T. C. Edwin Cheng | Springer. [online] Springer.com. Available at: http://www.springer.com/gb/book/9781441958365 [Accessed 9 May 2017].

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/business/resits/postgrad/InternationalSupplyChainMgmtIKEACaseStudy.pdf [Accessed 8 May 2017].

IKEA, (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_KR/pdf/chemicals_and_Substances_en.pdf [Accessed 9 May 2017].

Dictionary.com. (2017). the definition of sustainability. [online] Available at: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sustainability [Accessed 9 May 2017].

Nahla (2017). Global Supply Chain. [online] Slideshare.net. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/GhadaAlNahla/global-supply-chain-12538114 [Accessed 12 May 2017].

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How large companies operate with a global supply chain - IKEA in depth Case Study - Steemit

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IKEA are a global home furniture company who specialise in producing large quantities of flat packed furniture. A pivotal attribute that has been detrimental to their success is there global supply chain. A ''Supply chain process is a flow of activities with the goal of meeting the requirements of a customer.

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The takeover of the ticket resale website StubHub by its rival Viagogo has been provisionally blocked by the competition watchdog, throwing the future of the controversial $4bn (£3bn) tie-up into doubt.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found the combined business would dominate the market for resold tickets, giving it the power to hike up fees in the absence of any meaningful competitor.

It said Viagogo, which pressed ahead with the deal despite a warning from the watchdog, must now address its concerns, potentially by selling all or part of StubHub.

Stuart McIntosh, the chair of the CMA inquiry group, said: "The evidence we've seen so far consistently points in the same direction - that Viagogo and StubHub have a market share of more than 90% combined and compete closely with each other.

"We are therefore concerned that their merger could lead to secondary ticketing customers facing higher fees and lower quality services. We're now inviting comments on our provisional findings and possible remedies."

The takeover has already been described as the "worst deal in history" after it was completed shortly before the pandemic shut down the vast majority of live events around the world.

The CMA's intervention could now see it unpicked entirely, unless Viagogo can come up with a remedy that will allay its concerns that the transaction would create a monopoly. The watchdog can order a full or partial sale of the business and even appoint a trustee to manage the sale.

If that happens, the trustee has no obligation to reach a certain valuation, meaning Viagogo's billionaire owner, Eric Baker, and his investors could be facing significant losses.

The CMA is understood to have received submissions from music industry groups concerned about the power the combined company would wield, particularly in light of their past record on treatment of consumers.

Both firms have drawn criticism from musicians such as Ed Sheeran, as well as from MPs, for repeatedly misleading consumers and exploiting alliances with powerful ticket touts to profit from fans' devotion to their idols.

The CMA has previously warned StubHub and Viagogo about their conduct. While its decision on the takeover relates to competition, it is allowed to consider the quality of service provided by the companies and how that might be affected by a combination.

A Viagogo spokesperson said: "The CMA always considers a full range of remedy options for the UK market, and in the case of the Viagogo-StubHub merger, this is no different.

"Our intention remains to provide event goers in the UK with the best possible service, and while we disagree with the provisional conclusion that the deal would reduce competition, we look forward to working with the CMA to deliver a comprehensive solution which addresses their concerns."

Adam Webb, the campaign manager at the music industry group FanFair Alliance, said: "Ultimately, this merger would bestow a hugely controversial business monopoly status in this country, and risk unpicking some significant progress made over recent years to clean up the secondary ticketing market."

Viagogo has until 12 November to argue its case, with a final decision from the CMA due by 9 December.

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Competition watchdog intervenes in Viagogo's $4bn takeover of StubHub

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The takeover of the ticket resale website StubHub by its rival Viagogo has been provisionally blocked by the competition watchdog, throwing the future of the controversial $4bn (£3bn) tie-up into doubt. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found the combined business would dominate the market for resold tickets, giving it the power to hike up fees in the absence of any meaningful competitor.

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Where on Ansoff’s matrix is this?

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Facebook has launched its own dating feature to rival existing apps such as Tinder.

Facebook Dating will appear on the social network's mobile app and website for users in the UK and Europe from Wednesday.

It will allow people to explore potential romantic relationships with users who are interested in the same groups and events as them.

Daters can share their Facebook and Instagram stories to their profiles to give possible matches a better idea of who they are and how they live their life, a spokesman said.

A "secret crush" feature also enables users to select existing Facebook and Instagram friends they may want to date - but this will only materialise if both parties match - otherwise the selection remains anonymous.

Once a couple have matched, as with traditional dating apps, they can start an instant messaging chat.

But as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Facebook has also included a video chat feature, giving people the option of a "virtual date" if restrictions mean it is difficult for them to meet in person.

Privacy settings will allow daters to conceal their surname and block and report inappropriate users and content, the social network added.

Facebook dating is already available in 20 countries - including the US and Thailand - where 1.5 billion people have matched through the feature.

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Facebook launches its own dating app in the UK to rival Tinder and Hinge

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Facebook has launched its own dating feature to rival existing apps such as Tinder. Facebook Dating will appear on the social network's mobile app and website for users in the UK and Europe from Wednesday. It will allow people to explore potential romantic relationships with users who are interested in the same groups and events as them.

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Takeover/acquisition

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Customers at a Whole Foods Market in Midtown Manhattan. Credit... John Taggart for The New York Times

Amazon agreed to buy the upscale grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.4 billion, in a deal that will instantly transform the company that pioneered online shopping into a merchant with physical outposts in hundreds of neighborhoods across the country.

The acquisition, announced Friday, is a reflection of both the sheer magnitude of the grocery business - about $800 billion in annual spending in the United States - and a desire to turn Amazon into a more frequent shopping habit by becoming a bigger player in food and beverages. After almost a decade selling groceries online, Amazon has failed to make a major dent on its own as consumers have shown a stubborn urge to buy items like fruits, vegetables and meat in person.

Buying Whole Foods also represents a major escalation in the company's long-running battle with Walmart, the largest grocery retailer in the United States, which has been struggling to play catch-up in internet shopping. On Friday, Walmart announced a $310 million deal to acquire the internet apparel retailer Bonobos, and last year it agreed to pay $3.3 billion for Jet.com and put Jet's chief executive, Marc Lore, in charge of Walmart's overall e-commerce business.

"Make no mistake, Walmart under no circumstances can lose the grocery wars to Amazon," said Brittain Ladd, a strategy and supply chain consultant who formerly worked with Amazon on its grocery business. "If Walmart loses the grocery battle to Amazon, they have no chance of ever dethroning Amazon as the largest e-commerce player in the world."

The idea of Amazon, a company founded 23 years ago on the premise of shopping from the comfort of a computer screen, moving forcefully into the crowded field of brick-and-mortar retail, with its limitations on selection and lack of customer reviews, once seemed ludicrous. But in the past several years, the company has dabbled with stores, opening or planning more than a dozen bookstores around the country.

In Seattle, it recently opened two grocery drive-through stores where customers can pick up online orders, along with a convenience store called Amazon Go that uses sensors and software to let shoppers sail through the exits without visiting a cashier.

The addition of Whole Foods takes Amazon's physical presence to a new level. The grocery chain includes more than 460 stores in the United States, Canada and Britain with sales of $16 billion in the last fiscal year. Mikey Vu, a partner at the consultancy Bain & Company who is focused on retail, said, "They're going to be within an hour or 30 minutes of as many people as possible."

Founded in 1978 in Austin, Tex., Whole Foods is best known for its organic foods, building its brand on healthy eating and fresh, local produce and meats. It has also long been caricatured as "Whole Paycheck" for the high prices it charges for groceries. That conflicts with a core tenet of Amazon, which has made low prices part of its mission as a retailer.

Analysts speculated that Amazon could use its $99-a-year Prime membership service, which gives customers free, two-day shipping and other benefits, to offer Whole Foods customers a better price on groceries, as it does for books in its bookstores. The stores could also serve as an advertisement to get more customers to sign up for Prime; in September the financial firm Cowen & Company estimated that Prime had 49 million subscribers in the United States, representing about 44 percent of households.

Amazon has been on a multiyear offensive to open warehouses closer to customers so it can deliver orders in as little as two hours, and Whole Foods stores will further narrow Amazon's physical proximity to its shoppers. The stores could become locations for returning online orders of all kinds. Amazon could also use them to cut delivery times for online orders.

The $13.4 billion deal, which does not include net debt, immediately raised questions about whether Amazon's experiments with automation, like the cashier-less checkout technology it is testing in its Amazon Go store, could eventually lead to job losses at Whole Foods stores.

"Amazon's brutal vision for retail is one where automation replaces good jobs," Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, said in a statement. "That is the reality today at Amazon, and it will no doubt become the reality at Whole Foods."

Drew Herdener, a spokesman for Amazon, said it has no plans to use the Amazon Go technology to automate the jobs of cashiers at Whole Foods and no job reductions are planned as a result of the deal. Whole Foods workers are not unionized.

The move to buy Whole Foods is a further sign of the outsize ambitions of Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive and founder, who came under fire from Donald J. Trump during the presidential campaign last year, when Mr. Trump said Mr. Bezos had a "huge antitrust problem because he's controlling so much."

Nicole Navas Oxman, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, declined to comment about whether its antitrust division saw any issues with the proposed acquisition. Law professors who specialize in antitrust said it was unlikely regulators would block the deal.

"One question would be, does an online seller of groceries compete with a brick-and-mortar grocery store, and I think the answer is 'yes, at some level, but that overlap is probably not terribly great,'" said John E. Lopatka, a professor of antitrust law at Penn State University.

If the deal goes through, Amazon and Whole Foods will still only account for about 3.5 percent of grocery spending in the United States, making it the country's fifth-largest grocery retailer, according to estimates by John Blackledge, an analyst at Cowen & Company.

Groceries are purchased five times a month on average by shoppers, compared with the four times a month Amazon Prime customers typically shop on the site and two times for people who do not have Prime memberships, Cowen estimates.

"If you open up groceries, it could increase the frequency," Mr. Blackledge said.

For Whole Foods, the deal represents a chance to fend off pressure from activist investors frustrated by a sluggish stock price as it has faced fierce competition from Costco, Safeway and Walmart, which have begun offering organic produce and kitchen staples, forcing Whole Foods to slash prices. Money managers, unhappy with the pace of the turnaround effort, have pushed for more, taking aim at the board, its grocery offerings and its pricey real estate holdings.

In response, Whole Foods has revamped its board and replaced its chief financial officer. Gabrielle Sulzberger, a private equity executive, was named the company's chairwoman. Ms. Sulzberger is married to Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., the chairman and publisher of The New York Times.

Investors are betting there may be other buyers interested in Whole Foods, and by late Friday the company's shares rose above Amazon's $42 a share offer, nearly 30 percent higher for the day. Amazon closed at $987.71 a share, up 2.4 percent.

Even with the bigger physical presence Amazon will gain through Whole Foods, it will have far less reach than Walmart and its Sam's Club warehouse chain, which together account for about 18 percent of the grocery market. Walmart has almost 10 times the number of stores as Whole Foods does.

"We feel great about our position, with more than 4,500 stores around the country and fast growing e-commerce and online grocery businesses," Greg Hitt, a spokesman for Walmart, said in a statement.

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Amazon to Buy Whole Foods for $13.4 Billion (Published 2017)

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Amazon agreed to buy the upscale grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.4 billion, in a deal that will instantly transform the company that pioneered online shopping into a merchant with physical outposts in hundreds of neighborhoods across the country.

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Merger

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Esportif International has merged with Big Red Management, expanding to ten different markets with offices in six countries throughout the rugby playing world. As a result of the merger with Big Red Management - shortlisted for a BT Sport Industry Award for their management of England international,…

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Needs and influence

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Cineworld is set to temporarily close its UK cinemas in the coming weeks.

As first reported in the Sunday Times, the firm is writing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to say the industry is now "unviable".

The firm says it has been hit by delays in the release of big-budget films, putting 5,500 jobs at risk.

The premiere of James Bond film No Time To Die has been postponed twice and is now due for release in April 2021.

'No-one untouched'

It is hoped that the Cineworld cinemas will be able to reopen next year, with staff being asked to accept redundancy in the hope of rejoining the company when theatres open again.

The head of the UK Cinema Association said he feared the Cineworld closure was "indicative of challenges faced by the entire UK cinema industry at the moment".

Phil Clapp said: "Although cinemas opened in July and have been able to deliver a safe and enjoyable experience, without major new titles then we understand we aren't able to get as many people out of the home as we'd like."

He said no-one would be "untouched by the current challenges".

Philippa Childs of entertainment and broadcasting union Bectu said: "The delay in the release of the Bond film along with the other delayed releases has plunged cinema into crisis.

"Studios will have to think carefully when considering release dates about the impact that will have for the long-term future of the big screen."

When approached by the BBC, major UK chains Vue and Odeon refused to comment on how many cinemas they might be keeping open.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it was supporting cinemas through a VAT cut on tickets and concessions, business rates holiday and bounce-back loans.

"We urge the British public to support their local cinema and save jobs by visiting and enjoying a film in accordance with the [Covid-19] guidance."

Mothballed cinemas

Cineworld's sites in the US, where it operates 546 theatres, could also be forced to close.

Cineworld said in a statement: "We can confirm we are considering the temporary closure of our UK and US cinemas, but a final decision has not yet been reached.

"Once a decision has been made we will update all staff and customers as soon as we can."

In September the firm reported a $1.6bn (£1.3bn) loss for the six months to June as its cinemas had to close because of coronavirus lockdowns.

And it warned at the time that it might need to raise more money in the event of further restrictions - or film delays - due to Covid-19.

Cineworld is the world's second largest cinema operator, and the largest in the UK with 120 sites. It also owns the Picturehouse chain of smaller venues.

Its other theatres globally include the Regal, Cinema City, and Yes Planet brands.

Social distancing in cinemas

According to the UK Cinema Association, operators should "organise seating to ensure two-metre distancing can be maintained; where two metres is not viable, one metre with risk mitigation is acceptable. Mitigations should be considered and those introduced set out in the risk assessment".

But in Scotland they must "organise seating to ensure two-metre distancing can be maintained".

It also says cinemas should introduce one-way flow through auditoriums, and provide floor markings and signage to remind customers to "follow social distancing wherever possible."

The film industry had hoped the release of No Time To Die would spark a movie-going revival in the UK, with so many cinemas having been mothballed for months following the Covid-19 lockdown in March.

But on Friday the movie's release was further delayed until 2 April 2021 "in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience".

'Devastating year'

Rob Arthur, an industry analyst at cinema strategists The Big Picture, said "the current market is broken".

"It has been a very challenging year both for Cineworld, and the world's largest cinema group AMC," he added.

"Film release schedules are being changed on a daily, never mind weekly, basis. It has been a catastrophic, devastating, year for operators."

He said the decision by Cineworld to put their UK operation "into hibernation" until next year made sense.

"You can't keep meeting the fixed operating costs of electricity, gas, air conditioning, staff, social distancing measures, and so forth when audience numbers are only a small percentage of what they were before," he said.

"Meanwhile, customer confidence in visiting cinemas has to be restored and I don't see that at the moment," Mr Arthur added.

"The crowds you used to see in London for example going from work directly to the cinema are not there."

He also said Cineworld's cash reserves were running low and that both they and AMC had a high percentage of financial liabilities compared with their assets.

He added: "Landlords to date have acted reasonably and the deferral of rent has helped the cinema industry, but that comes to an end as does furlough payments so the operators will have to seek remedies to restructure their businesses."

Deal scrapped

As lockdown restrictions around the world were gradually lifted in mid-to-late summer Cineworld had been able to reopen 561 out of 778 sites worldwide.

But lockdown closures meant its group revenues sank to $712.4m in the first six months of the year, compared with $2.15bn a year earlier.

The group loss this year also marked a huge fall from the pre-tax profits of $139.7m seen in the first six months of 2019.

However, when it released those financial figures, Cineworld said recent trading had been "encouraging considering the circumstances", with solid demand for Christopher Nolan's spy film Tenet which was released in September.

In June, Cineworld pulled out of a $2.1bn deal to buy the Canadian cinema chain Cineplex, a move which could lead to a legal battle.

It is not just Cineworld which has struggled this year, with independent London cinema Peckhamplex closing its doors on 25 September due to falling visitor numbers and delayed releases.

It had hoped to reopen in November, around the time the next James Bond film was due to be released.

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Cineworld to shut down UK screens after Bond film delay

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Cineworld is set to temporarily close its UK cinemas in the coming weeks. As first reported in the Sunday Times, the firm is writing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to say the industry is now "unviable".

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Rolls-Royce has announced it will seek to raise billions of pounds to bolster its finances after a "sharp deterioration" in civil aerospace because of the pandemic.

The plane engine maker will seek to raise £2bn from its shareholders through a rights issue.

Rolls-Royce will also raise funds by issuing new debt, while the rights issue could unlock further financing.

The company has been hit by the fall in air travel amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

The rights issue could trigger a further £1bn loan from UK Export Finance, the government's trade finance body. Rolls-Royce has already borrowed £2bn from the state.

But Rolls-Royce said an extension of a government loan was dependent on both UK Export Finance and HM Treasury approving the terms of the rights issue. "There is therefore no guarantee that this increase will take place," it said.

The government holds a "golden share" in Rolls-Royce which prevents the company - which is deemed to be of strategic interest to the UK - from coming under foreign control.

There had been rumours that Rolls-Royce had been in talks with sovereign wealth funds in Singapore and Kuwait to invest in the business.

The company also said it had secured commitments for a new £1bn two-year loan facility andit is planning to issue bonds to raise a further £1bn.

Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East, said: "The capital raise announced today improves our resilience to navigate the current uncertain operating environment.

"The sudden and material effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the commercial aviation industry, resulting in a sharp deterioration in the financial performance of our civil aerospace business and, to a lesser extent, our power systems business."

After flirting with the investment arms of the governments of Kuwait and Singapore, Rolls-Royce has turned to its existing shareholders to come up with the money it needs to survive the pandemic.

It makes money not from selling engines, but from the payments airlines make when those engines are flying. Flying hours have roughly halved since the pandemic started, and Rolls-Royce - and everyone else - does not really know when they will go back to pre-coronavirus levels.

If the rights issue is successful - and it is fully-underwritten by City banks, and pitched at a deep discount to the current market price of Roll-Royce shares - it will unlock another £3bn worth of loans. The £5bn recapitalisation should be enough, the company says, to see it through most forecasts of another coronavirus spike.

There is an element of government support here for what is one of the UK's most important exporters. One third of the new loans will be guaranteed by UK Export Finance, an arm of the government - although Rolls-Royce cautions the support is conditional on the rights issue going through, and further negotiations with the Treasury.

The big question now is whether Rolls-Royce has done enough. The course of the virus is difficult to predict, as is the future behaviour of air travellers even if it is defeated. Shareholders being asked to stump up the cash would like some certainty - and that is in short supply.

'Room for manoeuvre'

Under the rights issue, investors will get 10 shares for every three they, own priced at 32p - a heavy discount to its share price on 30 September which closed at 130p.

Rolls-Rolls has already announced it will cut 9,000 jobs in an effort to save costs and plans to sell-off parts of its business to raise £2bn.

While the engineering group also designs and makes products such as engines and turbines for the defence, marine, and oil and gas industries, civil aerospace is by far its biggest business and accounts for 51% of its revenues.

It operates a "power by hour" model, which means Rolls-Royce makes money every time a plane using one of its engines is flown, generating around £4bn a year.

However, the airline industry has virtually ground to a halt since the coronavirus crisis emerged.

"There is little end in sight for the falling demand for new planes," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

But she said its financing plans should give Rolls-Royce "a lot more room for manoeuvre to help it navigate the Covid crisis".

Rolls-Royce's share price fell 5.85% to 122.4p in early trading in London.

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Rolls-Royce to raise billions in Covid-lifeline - BBC News

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Rolls-Royce has announced it will seek to raise billions of pounds to bolster its finances after a "sharp deterioration" in civil aerospace because of the pandemic. The plane engine maker will seek to raise £2bn from its shareholders through a rights issue.

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5min read
Research by UCL and Barclays has confirmed that people struggle most of all with financial decisions. But while some women are emerging as more confident investors with the rewards to show for it, others are being left behind. Article by Nick Green.
Believe it or not, people agonise more over where to invest their money than they do over choosing a partner. At any rate, this is according to research by University College London (UCL) commissioned by Barclays Plan & Invest. When asked to rank the trickiest decisions they face, both men and women include choosing a new squeeze in the top five - but only just. And although 21% consider picking a new boyfriend or girlfriend to be one of the hardest choices, considerably more say they struggle over where to invest money (25%), how to spend that money (also 25%), whether to take a new job (27%) and most of all, what home to buy (32%).

What's interesting is that men seem to have more trouble with these decisions than women do - and perhaps even end up making worse decisions. When it comes to investing, nearly a third of men consider this to be a difficult decision, compared to just 21% of women. There are also indications that female investors are more successful. Over a three-year period on the Barclays Smart Investor platform, return for male investors was just 0.14% above the performance of the FTSE 100, whereas women beat the FTSE 100 by 1.94%.

Why are financial decisions so difficult?

It is telling that both men and women ranked financial decisions as bigger (i.e. more difficult) than such a personal decision as choosing a partner. One reason for this may be that settling on a romantic relationship is at least 'home territory' - people instinctively know what they look for in a partner, what traits they value and what habits they hate - whereas financial knowledge has to be learned first.

Dr Bastien Blain, research associate at UCL, suggests that this need for information might lie behind people's fear of financial decisions. He says, 'We are consistently bombarded with choice, often creating a sense of decision fatigue. This may well explain why financial decisions are consistently ranked the hardest, as they require the most attention.'

Robert Smith, head of behavioural finance at Barclays Wealth Management and Investments, takes a similar view. 'It's easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of investments on offer or be put off by the amount of jargon - particularly if you're new to investing. When deciding where to invest, some may instinctively choose to invest in the market closest to them or may be swayed by what is trending in the news.'

This claim is backed up by the report's finding that the most popular basis of investment decisions - for women, anyway - was simply 'gut instinct', with 43% of women investing this way. Men were more likely to carry out research, but as the results showed, this was often less successful than the intuitive approach taken by the women.

Men vs women - different investment attitudes may be the key

So are women more naturally money-savvy than men? The truth is a bit more complex. Surveys of investors (such as the Barclays-UCL study) will focus by definition on those who are already investing - not on the population as a whole. A 2017 study by Kantar confirmed that men are simply more likely to invest: just 10 per cent of women have a stocks and shares ISA, compared to 17 per cent of men, while among the top 10 DIY investment platforms the ratio of male to female customers is around 7:3. Other research by YouGov found that 55% of UK women have never invested, compared to 37% of men.

When you put these findings alongside the Barclays-UCL study, you see a possible explanation for the women outperforming the men at investing. In general, more men seem drawn to investing - perhaps seeing it as something they 'ought to be into', like football. Conversely, women may not feel the same peer-pressure to invest - so the minority who do invest are more likely to have a natural flair for it. The men using the Barclays Smart Investor platform may therefore represent a broader spectrum of talents - a 'Sunday League' team - versus the women on the platform who are more akin to semi-pro players.

Anna Sofat of financial advice firm Addidi Wealth has seen differences in the way men and women approach investing. She says, 'One of the key differences I see is the end goal, that is, what the money should be used to achieve. The responses from women tend to lean towards financial security and providing for their families.' Men's investment goals are generally less focused, and more about simply achieving the highest returns. This strategy can end up exposing the investor to more risk than they can tolerate.

In its 2017 study, Kantar predicted that by 2020 over half of all investable assets would be held by women - a forecast also made by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. So far this prediction hasn't come to pass, but the trend is very much there.

The biggest decision that people are neglecting

The five toughest decisions, according to the Barclays-UCL study, are:

Buying a home is seen as the biggest decision by some margin, being the single largest purchase most people will ever make (and one of the two biggest financial decisions of a lifetime). Buying a home is also a rare event, usually carried out only once a decade or even less frequently. People therefore get far less practice at it, compared to something like meeting partners, so face the double stress of confronting their most costly purchase based on little or no previous experience.

However, it's telling that one particularly big decision is missing from the list. This is likely due to the average age of those surveyed, but there is no mention of pensions. Pensions require many significant choices to be made, such as whether to set them up, which provider to use, which funds to select, and how much to contribute - all before reaching the biggest decision of all, which is how to access the money in the pension pot. Much evidence points to people ignoring such issues until late in the day - with women ironically being among the worst offenders.

Due to factors such as wage inequality and career breaks, the average women's pension pot is likely to be 11 per cent smaller by retirement age than the average man's. Recent research by Unbiased also shows that women lag behind men in pension saving. Furthermore, women seem less inclined to recognise pensions as valuable assets. Unbiased has found that, in divorce cases, women are more likely to prioritise property, savings and pets, and then furniture and cars. Pensions, at least the second most valuable asset in a typical marriage, failed to make their top six. Men, by contrast, tend to make pensions a priority in divorce settlements.

Corresponding research by Scottish Widows has shown that around 70% of couple fail to take pensions into account altogether when getting divorced. Again, this is more likely to favour the men, who usually have the larger (or only) pensions.

As Robert Smith says, 'It comes as no surprise that financial, and particularly investment, decisions rank so highly as some of life's tougher choices.' And while women may excel at some types of decision and men do better at others, it's clear that neither finds the process easy and both can easily make big mistakes. The best way to tackle big financial decision with confidence is with the help of an unbiased expert, such as an independent financial adviser.

Find out more about when you're most likely to need advice.

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Financial decisions are hardest - but are women better at them? | unbiased.co.uk

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5min read Research by UCL and Barclays has confirmed that people struggle most of all with financial decisions. But while some women are emerging as more confident investors with the rewards to show for it, others are being left behind. Article by Nick Green.

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Scientific Decision Making

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More companies are relying on data to help them identify challenges, capitalize on opportunities and make timely decisions that could affect their bottom line.

A recent Harvard Business Review study, " The Evolution of Decision Making: How Leading Organizations Are Adopting a Data-Driven Culture, " found companies that rely on data expect a better financial performance. The study, which surveyed 646 executives, managers and professionals from all industries around the global, found many corporations are integrating data capture and analysis into their decision-making processes. In fact, many business executives are enhancing their skills to allow them to integrate analytical tools into their business decision-making practices.

As more companies rely on data to make their most important decisions, earning a Master of Business Administration degree can be a game changer for your career. Utica University offers an online MBA program that features core courses such as data-driven decision making. Designed to be integrated and applied, these courses establish critical thinking and problem analysis for executive decision-making and data-context relevance. The program can be completed in two years of part-time study and many requirements can be completed online, and/or on campus, due to its blended learning format.

Here are examples of how three companies - Google, Amazon and Southwest Airlines - are using data to make decisions that increase their success and profitability.

Google's name is synonymous with data-driven decision making. The company's goal is to ensure all decisions are based on data and analytics. In fact, part of the company's culture is to discuss questions, not pithy answers, at meetings.

Google created the People Analytics Department to help the company make HR decisions using data, including deciding if managers make a difference in their teams' performance. The department used performance reviews and employee surveys to answer this question. Initially, it appeared managers were perceived as having a positive impact. However, a closer look at the data revealed teams with better managers performed best, are happier and work at Google longer.

Advance your career with Utica University

Advance your career in Business

The next question Google tackled was what makes a good manager. Google created the "Great Managers Award" to encourage employees to nominate managers they felt made a difference. Employees were required to provide examples of good manager behavior in the nomination application. Google also interviewed managers about their practices.

Using this data, Google established eight behaviors for good managers, as well as the top three reasons managers might struggle in their roles. Google then used this data to measure managers against these behaviors, enact a twice-yearly feedback survey and revise its management-training program.

Ecommerce sites typically use data to drive profits and sales. If you've ever shopped at Amazon you have probably received a product recommendation while visiting the Amazon website or through email. This is an example of a data-driven business decision.

Amazon bases its recommendations on what customers have bought in the past, the items in their virtual shopping cart, what items the customer has ranked or reviewed after purchase and what products the customer has viewed when visiting the site. Amazon also uses key engagement metrics such as click-through rates, open rates and opt-out rates to further decide what recommendations to push to which customers.

By integrating recommendations into nearly every aspect of Amazon's purchasing process, from product browsing to checkout, the company has found that product recommendations, in fact, do drive sales and increase the bottom line.

It's no secret airlines use data to track customers ' luggage, personalize customer offers, boost customer loyalty and optimize their operations. At Southwest Airlines, executives are using customer data to determine what new services will be most popular with customers and the most profitable. Southwest has found that by observing and analyzing customers' online behaviors and actions, the airline can offer the best rates and customer experiences. As a result, Southwest has seen its customer and loyalty segments grow year after year.

So make a data-driven decision to see how an online MBA from Utica University can help you advance your career.

Sources

1. https://hbr.org/resources/pdfs/tools/17568_HBR_SAS%20Report_webview.pdf

2. https://www.smartdatacollective.com/bernardmarr/85871/analytics-google-great-example-data-driven-decision-making

3. https://fortune.com/2012/07/30/amazons-recommendation-secret/

4. https://fortune.com/2014/06/19/big-data-airline-industry/

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Three Examples of How Companies Make Data-Driven Decisions | Utica University

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More companies are relying on data to help them identify challenges, capitalize on opportunities and make timely decisions that could affect their bottom line. A recent Harvard Business Review study, " The Evolution of Decision Making: How Leading Organizations Are Adopting a Data-Driven Culture, " found companies that rely on data expect a better financial performance.

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Pricing strategies and competition

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Last time round, the PS4 significantly undercut the Xbox One at launch.

Sony also confirmed the PS5's "digital edition" - which does not have a disc drive - would cost about 40% more than the low-end Xbox Series S.

Both PS5 consoles are set to be released on 19 November in the UK, and 12 November in the US, Japan and Australia.

That puts them slightly later than Microsoft's 10 November launch date.

Sony was the clear leader in the previous generation of the so-called console wars.

The various PlayStation 4 consoles outsold the Xbox One range by a factor of more than two to one.

But the £449/$500/€500 cost of the Japanese firm's new top-end machine and £360/$400/€400 price of the digital edition means it may be a closer battle this time, at least to begin with.

Some industry-watchers believe Microsoft's combination of a £250 price for the XBox Series S and the value offered by the Xbox Game Pass subscription service could give the US firm an advantage.

Microsoft offers members its first-party blockbuster games at launch in its games library, unlike Sony's existing PlayStation Now services, which is limited to older major releases.

Sony's decision to price some of its first PS5 releases at £70 - including the "ultimate edition" of a new Spider-Man game, and Demon's Souls - represents a rise, and will also have to be taken into consideration.

It showed off a new subscription service called the PlayStation Plus Collection for the PS5.

But it appeared to focus on the PS4's greatest hits - including Last of Us Remastered, God of War and Bloodborne - rather than any of the PS5's forthcoming releases.

"Microsoft has a really appealing offering with the Xbox Series S pricing at just £250, and Sony doesn't really have an answer to that for people who just want the cheapest possible entry point to next-generation gaming," video games journalist Laura Dale told the BBC.

"However, people who want to play any of Sony's first-party franchises are unlikely to be swayed to Xbox just because it's cheaper."

One key difference between the two companies' strategies is that the Xbox Series S delivers lower-resolution graphics than the Series X because it has less powerful components, while Sony has opted only to remove the Blu-ray drive from its entry-level machine.

On that basis, its marketers may still argue it provides a better-value way to experience the full power of what next-generation games can deliver.

Even so, it is likely Sony will instead focus its appeal on the draw of its "console exclusive" titles.

To that end, during its latest virtual event it showed trailers and gameplay for:

Final Fantasy XVI - the latest entry in Square Enix's series, which appears to be set in a medieval world this time round after the sci-fi-themed last title

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - including a lengthy battle with super-villain The Tinkerer on a bridge. A version of this game will also be released for the PS4

Deathloop - an assassin-themed shooter in which time repeats, helping players learn how best to hunt their targets

Sony also teased its forthcoming God of War sequel Ragnarok, which it said would be released next year, but only showed off an animated logo.

"It is possible that PS5 will have launched three console-exclusive titles before Xbox Series X manages to launch its first - Halo Infinite, with no date in 2021 specified as of yet," said Louise Shorthouse, a games analyst at Omdia.

"Consumers also tend to stick with the same console brands across generations, so Sony is in an incredibly strong position."

Many of the games on show had been previewed at an earlier event in June.

But there was also a first look at the much anticipated Harry Potter spin-off Hogwarts Legacy. The role-playing game will be a cross-platform release in 2021.

"The two higher-spec consoles are close to each other in terms of specification - the Xbox has more storage, but the PS5's is slightly faster," said Nicky Danino, a gaming expert at the University of Central Lancashire.

"But there are still reasons why people will pick a specific console. What platform your friends play on, for example, is highly influential."

It looks like Sony is almost trolling arch-rival Microsoft by matching the PS5's price to that of the Xbox Series X.

The gambit will have surprised many industry observers.

Xbox felt forced to reveal its prices last week following a leak. And this seemed to gift PlayStation a second-mover advantage.

But when I spoke to PlayStation's chief executive Jim Ryan, he was adamant that the PS5's price points had been set since the beginning of the year. Likewise, he said, today's announcement had been in his diary for some time.

On paper the Xbox Series X is the more powerful machine.

But PlayStation has a solid line-up of platform-exclusive titles.

And the delay to Halo Infinite - after fans complained that footage shown earlier in the year was underwhelming - has been a big blow to Microsoft's original launch plans.

But is the PS5 fighting the last generation's console war?

Xbox has a compelling offer with its Game Pass Ultimate subscription service. So even if Xbox doesn't sell as many physical consoles as PlayStation, it may still prove to be at least as profitable.

When I questioned Mr Ryan about the possibility of a similar service, he said PlayStation was about big blockbuster games that cost a lot to make, so a similar subscription service model would not make financial sense.

We will find out whether he sticks to that strategy in 2021 or beyond once supply meets demand.

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PlayStation 5 matches the price of the Xbox Series X

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Last time round, the PS4 significantly undercut the Xbox One at launch. Sony also confirmed the PS5's "digital edition" - which does not have a disc drive - would cost about 40% more than the low-end Xbox Series S.

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Application: SWOT analysis of ASOS

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ASOS stands for "As Seen On Screen" and is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. It was found in the year 2000 in London, primarily aimed at the young millennials. The site sells over 850 brands as well as its own private labels of clothing and accessories.

The website has amassed over 80000 branded and private labels. It is headquartered at Camden Town and at the Greater London House. The retailer ships to over 2000 countries with distribution centers located in the US, UK, and Europe. They have 168 suppliers who use 713 factories around the world. They employ more than 3000 people and they have a world-leading ethical trade strategy which includes health and safety of the employees, improving wages, transparency, addressing and reducing modern slavery.

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of ASOS

1) Brand image

The brand has also partnered with GLAAD, which is one of the biggest voice of the LGBT community. The brand promotes a healthy body image and doesn't conform to any stereotypes. The brand also assures its customers that it does not digitally manipulate the image and the clothing worn by the models. ASOS has created a good brand image by emphasizing on the corporate responsibility and also letting the customers know who they are helping. ASOS loves good advocacy of the brand.

2) ASOS Designs

The brand ensures that it does everything to help the customers find their fit. The brand has more than 30 sizes and is committed to providing all the sizes at the same prize. The designs are made such that it can accommodate all the sizes. ASOS offers a selection of products that anyone can choose from. The brand takes fashionable products from different brands and then groups them with their own brand. This strategy has helped ASOS become the best online fashion destination

3) Supply Chain

ASOS has a unique approach to understanding and strategically implementing the supply chain operations. The company plans to continue its local expansion and invest more in its supply chain operation. The company sources from 500 factories in 28 countries and the brand have invested both in technology and distribution.

The transportation management operations are closely monitored by ASOS. The major suppliers of ASOS are spread across 14 countries. The customers receive a text or an email during the day of the delivery with an initial one-hour delivery time slot. Customers can also track their purchase using online mapping by web or mobile app. Integrating technology with operations has helped ASOS increase revenue.

4) Brilliant Influencer Marketing Initiative

The brand has a group called ASOS Insiders that is a group of 20-year-old millennials who post their fashionable outfits on the Social Media and other channels. The trending term among the millennials is OOTD( Outfit Of The Day) and these influencers curate irresistible versions of their OOTD.

On Instagram, users can see product codes in the image captions. With the help of a tracked link, the customers can reach ASOS website from the influencer's curated links. Even in Pinterest, the photos are directly linked to the webpage of ASOS. Customers can obtain the featured products straight from their social media accounts.

Weaknesses SWOT analysis of ASOS

1) R&D

The investment of ASOS on Research and Development is below the industry average. It has not been able to compete with the leading industry players in terms of innovation. The brand has come across as a mature firm who brings out products on its website when it is already testing and working in the market. However, the brand has now taken initiatives towards R& D by supporting the University of Arts, London along with brands Clarks, for sustainable growth in fashion through innovation and adaptation.

2) Free shipping

The brand has a superb global shipping strategy to accommodate the international buyers and has become a truly global business but it comes with a cost. The share value of ASOS dropped when free shipping started hitting its gross margins. It had for a period of time halted this offer and has resumed it back again.

3) Innovation

The company needs to invest in technology more to improve its customer experience. The company needs to increase the use of data analytics to improve its slow-down in sales growth. The company is expanding at a rapid scale in different geographies. The company needs to invest in more technology to integrate all the process across the boundaries and take strategic decisions that are backed by data.

Opportunities SWOT analysis of ASOS

1) Changing Trends

The newer trends in the fashion industry and changes in the consumer buying behavior can open up new markets for ASOS. The celebrity culture has existed since the inception of the brand. The 41% of their current offerings are never older than 3 months. The changing trends and increasing demand allow them to obtain around 2500-7000 new products each week. The brand can leverage this to diversify into newer product categories and offerings.

2) Marketing

By increasing marketing efforts to leverage traffic from the sites that their competitors utilize, ASOS could convert undecided shoppers before the competition does, therefore expanding their consumer base and increasing traffic.

ASOS is also planning to launch a TV advert campaign in France highlighting the success of the UK Billboard advertising efforts. Use of real-time data from social media, blogs, and websites and then using the insights to drive the marketing and pricing decisions will help the brand improve its customer base.

3) Expansion

ASOS can build its inventory, add more ranges of products, increase brands and also expand into new categories because customers like variety.

ASOS remains to focus on fashion even though it has expanded on beauty.

ASOS is making a good push in US markets with the new application that allows consumers to shop and access additional brand content. The app should help ASOS dig deeper in the US market. The brand has also opened a warehouse in the US to improve shipping. Various other product options like "try before you buy" and same day delivery in new markets should help in the expansion of the brand.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of ASOS

1) Competition

ASOS should work on the marketing of the products in terms of positioning and unique selling propositions. Since these are not well defined, it had led to attacks in the segment by the competitors.

We have brand Bohol which has 100 new styles added each day giving better options to customers. It also has 28-day returns offer for their customers. Another competitor is Nbrown which has a digital strategy that includes the partnership with Amazon, this brand has a significant share in the ladieswear segment. Amazon's launch of Prime Wardrobe offers progressively higher discounts that ASOS. The competition is getting tougher and ASOS needs to make strategic decisions to stay ahead

2) Economic factors

The world trade organizations govern the trade rule and any decision was taken is help the producers of goods and services conduct their businesses. ASOS must ensure that they follow to the agreements. The trade war that might get the prices of the products to hike and also and Brexit which has caused the movement of skilled labor to slow down in the UK. ASOS will always have to plan for all the scenarios the political and economic conditions might throw on it.

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ASOS stands for "As Seen On Screen" and is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. It was found in the year 2000 in London, primarily aimed at the young millennials. The site sells over 850 brands as well as its own private labels of clothing and accessories.

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Tactics

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Strategy

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Objectives

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Risk and return of corporate bonds

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Small investors who sank millions of pounds into a "burrito bond" scheme could lose most of their cash after the Chilango dining chain said it planned to call in administrators.

The collapse may lead to the closure of the group's 12 Mexican-themed restaurants, with the potential loss of 152 jobs.

More than 1,000 investors bought £5.8m worth of mini-bonds in two fundraising efforts by Chilango, the most recent of which ended in April last year.

The scheme promised returns of 8% a year but in December Chilango warned investors it required a rescue restructure to cut rents and exit unwanted outlets.

Bond holders were given the chance to cash out or to convert their investments to preferential shares. It is understood that only about 20 cashed out and the process of conversion was not completed in the light of poor trading during the pandemic.

If Chilango goes into administration, the bond holders will be reliant on returns from the sale of its assets, which the company warned last year could lead to them losing 99% of their investment.

A string of casual dining chains including Pizza Express and Azzurri, the owner of Zizzi and Ask, are planning to close outlets. The sector was already suffering from rising costs and falling visitor numbers before the pandemic forced them to close outlets for weeks.

Chilango said it was looking for a buyer but had been hit hard by lockdown.

"No business could have foreseen the impact the coronavirus crisis would have on our industry, with few sectors being hit harder by the pandemic than hospitality," the group said.

"During this period we have done our very best to mitigate the pandemic's impact, operating as much as is safely possible while implementing the various government support measures available. Unfortunately, these efforts have not been sufficient to secure the future of our business."

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Burrito dining chain Chilango prepares to enter administration

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Small investors who sank millions of pounds into a "burrito bond" scheme could lose most of their cash after the Chilango dining chain said it planned to call in administrators. The collapse may lead to the closure of the group's 12 Mexican-themed restaurants, with the potential loss of 152 jobs.

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Job enlargement

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By Lucy Hooker
Business reporter

Retail staff will be asked to take on cleaning duties at Tesco's smaller stores after the chain ended contract cleaning services for those outlets.

Shop workers will be expected to wipe shelves and fridges, mop floors and clean staff toilet facilities.

They will be given training and extra time to complete the extra duties.

Tesco said the cleanliness of its stores had "never been more important", as the pandemic transforms the way UK grocers do business.

"Following a successful trial we have found that giving our stores more ownership and control over their cleaning results in better and more consistent standards," a spokesperson said.

Tesco will bring cleaning in-house in its 1,920 Express stores and convenience Metro stores from 24 August. More hours would be given to cleaning in stores as a result of this change, Tesco said.

While retail staff would be responsible for most cleaning duties around the stores, the firm said more "specialist tasks" such as pressure washing and cleaning high signs outside would still be completed by third party suppliers.

Hygiene risk?

UK supermarkets saw a big increase in sales between March and June as consumers stayed - and ate - at home to help contain the coronavirus. However retailers have had to reconfigure shop layouts and introduce new hygiene measures and protective equipment to protect staff and customers.

On social media commentators expressed concern that Tesco staff would be forced to take on a role they hadn't expected and that it might compromise hygiene in stores.

So, cleaners, trained in using correct equipment and chemicals to properly clean stores, which is especially important right now, are going to loose jobs, so tesco can save some money. Why doesn't tesco employ the contract cleaners as staff instead and pay them a good wage?
- mindset (@mindset1329) July 22, 2020

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter

Tesco said the work would be split between colleagues but that no-one would be forced to undertake a role they didn't want to.

Do I have to?

If your boss asks you to clean the office or the toilets, can you say "no"?

Work contracts usually say employees can be asked to undertake "other duties" outside their normal role, according to the employment advice body Acas. Refusing to follow instructions could amount to a breach of contract.

"There is an expectation that employees should carry out reasonable requests from their employer," said Tom Neil, senior adviser at Acas.

"So even if cleaning or other duties are not explicitly included in their contract, unless it is clearly unreasonable or the employee is ill-equipped to be able to complete the task, they should carry out the request. If a reasonable request was refused, it could result in disciplinary action."

You can dispute with your employer what counts as "reasonable" and that may depend on what role you've been employed for in the first place. What is reasonable for bar staff and security personnel may be unreasonable for banking analysts and solicitors.

Some online commentators suggest it has become fairly common to ask staff in workplaces and schools to undertake some cleaning duties to allow more frequent cleaning to minimise the spread of the virus.

On the parenting site Mumsnet members said in other workplaces they had been asked to clean desks, meeting rooms, and toilets after their own use. Some said they'd been asked to use bleach and that managers had drawn up cleaning rotas.

One Mumsnet member said staff should object to cleaning requests: "I don't think it's a good use of professional staff time to be doing so, and would expect people to be pushing back.

"Professional cleaning is a skill (to do it quickly and effectively) and a genuinely viable business needs to recognise that - not some quick wipe down from someone who's unwilling and not best placed to be doing it."

Another Mumsnet member said: "We have to clean the office, kitchen, toilets and public areas twice a day so there isn't much time left for actual work....Our cleaners were told they were no longer required!"

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Tesco asks staff to clean shelves, floors and loos

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By Lucy Hooker Business reporter Retail staff will be asked to take on cleaning duties at Tesco's smaller stores after the chain ended contract cleaning services for those outlets. Shop workers will be expected to wipe shelves and fridges, mop floors and clean staff toilet facilities.

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Hotel during Covid-19

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At the moment, Rick Cressman says his hotel Nailcote Hall, near Coventry, is losing £40,000 a month, with bank borrowing his only financial lifeline.

The hotel had been turning over just short of £3m a year.

"Fixed costs mean we must operate at scale," he told the BBC. "We would need to operate at 50% capacity just to turn a small profit."

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says almost half of UK firms have been unable to fully restart operations despite restrictions being eased.

Its coronavirus impact tracker - billed as the largest business survey of its type - found that weak consumer demand and possible local lockdowns were seen as obstacles.

'Bit of a punt'

Nailcote Hall, which employed 80 staff before lockdown, was a popular venue for weddings, party nights and visitors to the nearby National Exhibition Centre (NEC).

It plans to re-open on 24 August, but since Mr Cressman took the decision another big NEC event he was hoping would bring in business has been cancelled.

"We are taking a little bit of a punt," he says.

Mr Cressman is hopeful his customers will return relatively quickly, saying many bookings "haven't been cancelled, just pushed back".

Even so, the hospitality sector has strict distancing rules, so getting back to the days when the hotel had average wedding parties of 100 guests could be a long way off.

His staff are gradually being brought back from furlough, with training underway and the re-arrangement of the hotel to make it Covid-19 compliant in progress.

Mr Cressman said: "We need to get up to 50% capacity within about two months. I've been in this business 40 years. I'm sure many people with less experience would find it overwhelming."

The BCC's survey of firms between 6 July and 10 July found that while demand is up since the depths of the lockdown, most firms are only operating at about half of their pre-virus capacity.

Meanwhile, almost half said they had seen a slight or significant decrease in revenue from UK customers compared to June.

And some 43% saw an increase in late payments from customers when compared with the last six months of 2019.

Adam Marshall, BCC director general, said: "Businesses are grappling with reduced customer demand, an on-going cash crunch, and the potential for further lockdowns during an uncertain autumn and winter ahead," Mr Marshall said.

"The prime minister's encouragement to return to workplaces and further updates to business guidance will not be enough on their own."

Fewer job adverts

The survey was carried out before Boris Johnson's announcement last week that coronavirus restrictions will ease further in England under plans for what he called a "significant return to normality" by Christmas.

Under the new guidelines, people may use public transport for journeys immediately and companies will have more discretion to bring staff back to work from 1 August.

However, economists say that despite the easing of lockdown and hopes that the pace of staff being brought back from furlough will be pick up, the outlook for jobs was gloomy.

Jack Kennedy, economist at Indeed, an employment website which helped produce the BCC's report, said: "The slowdown in consumer activity mirrors hiring activity in the UK.

"Today, there are 60% fewer job postings than there were before the outbreak of Covid-19, and so far there are few signs of a V-shaped recovery in vacancies.

"The furlough scheme has been an important lifeline to millions of people but the fear is there will be a sudden rise in unemployment after that umbilical cord has been severed," he said.

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Coronavirus: 'My hotel is losing about £40,000 a month'

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At the moment, Rick Cressman says his hotel Nailcote Hall, near Coventry, is losing £40,000 a month, with bank borrowing his only financial lifeline. The hotel had been turning over just short of £3m a year. "Fixed costs mean we must operate at scale," he told the BBC.

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Unit 9 - assessing a change in scale (external growth)

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Unit 9 - assessing a change in scale (external growth)

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Uber acquires Postmasters

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Uber scoops up Postmates for $2.65 billion in ‘everyday’ delivery push

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Uber Technologies Inc on Monday said it would acquire Postmates Inc for $2.65 billion to expand its food delivery market share and significantly increase the business of supplying everyday goods at a time when the coronavirus has pummeled its core ride-hailing service.

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Founder Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook would also ban advertising containing claims "that people of a specific race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity or immigration status" are a threat to others.

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Starbucks suspends social media ads over hate speech

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Founder Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook would also ban advertising containing claims "that people of a specific race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity or immigration status" are a threat to others.

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Retailers

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Shopping centre giant Intu on brink of administration

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Intu, the owner of the Trafford, Braehead and Lakeside centres, fails to reach a deal with lenders.

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Food industry

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With most of us stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, our eating habits have had to change. Meals out have been impossible, and we've all been having to eat from home. So what have we been eating and which firms have been benefiting?

Barry Smith may be a natural optimist with a market-leading product but as the lockdown loomed, the founder of food probiotic supplement, Symprove, was forced to look at worst-case scenarios.

"If production had to shut down completely and we had zero sales we may have survived for about six months, perhaps a little longer with a government grant," says the Surrey-based entrepreneur, who doubled supply routes and stocked up on core ingredients including barley in preparation.

"It was very scary to think about, and a huge relief that the complete opposite happened and we had a record 50% new business in May."

Indeed, with customers flocking online to buy his fermented grain product to boost their general gut health and well-being, Symprove is one of the food supplement and food products enjoying strong sales - boosted by customers changing their behaviour during the outbreak.

For Mr Smith, the pandemic accelerated an existing move towards proactive health management. There's been a spike in online searches for "probiotics" and "immunity function", according to industry watchers, Lumina Intelligence.

There have also been studies published exploring a possible link between Covid-19 and a lack of diversity in the gut microbiome, says Mr Smith. Whether eventually proven or not, this "may have got more people thinking about the importance of gut health", he says.

But besides many of us looking for health supplements, at the other end of the spectrum there has also been a rise in demand for products combining an indulgent fix with a way to pass time in lockdown - notably snacking and baking.

One of these is "gourmet popcorn", which retail intelligence specialists, Stackline, say is one of the fastest growing trends among snacks.

For London-based Popcorn Shed, which adds flavours such as cherry Bakewell and sundried tomato and goats cheese to the humble corn kernel, its sales to consumers in March and April were 12 times higher than the same period last year.

Meanwhile, figures from market researchers Nielsen show that sales of baking products were up by almost two-thirds over the same period when compared with 2019.

With a lot of us turning to home baking, flour has become hard to find and has often been sold out. So many of us have been using flourless recipes - joining those who always preferred them anyway.

Julianne Ponan, owner of Creative Nature Superfoods, whose range includes flourless baking kits, had to move to a larger manufacturing facility and put in 18-hour days to accommodate the rapid increase in demand from consumers and supermarkets for her products.

"Home baking has gone through the roof," she says, acknowledging that the shortage of flour during the lockdown period also worked in her favour.

"As an allergen-free brand, it was hard to source some of the ingredients like banana chips as there was a lockdown from our supplier in Sri Lanka, but because you can add milk and vegetable oil to our mix rather than flour, it does offer a way of baking without the usual commodities."

Ms Ponan says 70% of the 1,800 people her firm surveyed were now baking weekly rather than monthly.

What's more, during the lockdown more of us seem to have been experimenting with going meat-free.

Some one in five Brits says they have reduced their meat consumption during the pandemic. An additional 1.8 million households have been buying meat-free products - and it has been tofu that has become the go-to meat-free food. The UK's tofu market is now worth £32m, says Nielsen.

While most businesses were fearful of the unknown at the start of the crisis, the main concern for David Knibbs, managing director of Yorkshire-based The Tofoo Co, was how to meet any additional demand with an already booming business.

The Tofoo Co has a 46% share of the tofu market, and has seen its monthly turnover double to £1m since the crisis began. It has extended production to Sundays and is employing more workers at its recently expanded factory.

"We knew straight away with more people cooking and eating at home that it would go bananas, and May was our biggest month ever," says Mr Knibbs, who bought the brand four years ago.

In a range that includes chilli-infused and crispy-coated variants, it is the simple plain block of tofu, known as Naked Tofoo, that has been the company's biggest seller during this period, which he credits to people being more experimental in the kitchen.

"Many people got their [culinary] inspiration out in restaurants rather than the home, but lockdown stopped all of that so people are expanding their repertoire.

"I think the meat-free market was getting a little processed, with lots of ready meals and [meat-free] sausage rolls, but Covid has encouraged more cooking from scratch and trying new recipes. That's where the opportunity is now - people taking something plain and simple and trying to transform it."

Not that the real meat is being neglected entirely. Sausages have been eaten in six million more weekly meals, says research firm Kantar, partly due to a surge in barbecues and also a return to comfort food favourites toad-in-the-hole and bangers and mash.

"With so many meals being consumed at home it has unlocked many more occasions for consumption bringing families together at mealtimes," says Alexandra Byrne, brand manager at Kerry Foods, which manufactures Richmond Sausages.

So what of the long-term prospects for these foods that are doing well at the moment?

Mark Artus, the chief executive of brand agency 1HQ, says that retailers and food brands will have been watching closely to see whether these changes in our behaviour are lasting, or whether we will revert to old patterns once the immediate crisis has passed.

For those firms that have benefited, he says: "The challenge will be to double-down on the opportunity and retain the new consumers they have attracted."

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Coronavirus: The foods we are all eating during lockdown

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With most of us stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, our eating habits have had to change. Meals out have been impossible, and we've all been having to eat from home. So what have we been eating and which firms have been benefiting?

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Impact of external factor, contingency planning and share prices

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TOPLINE

Despite potentially losing over $3 billion in revenue in the third quarter, Starbucks announced on Wednesday that it will increasingly shift toward a digital customer experience based on convenience with plans to transform many traditional cafes by adding more takeout options.

The coffee chain will increasingly shift to takeout, planning to open dozens of pickup-only stores.
Alex Burstow/Getty Images

KEY FACTS

Shares of Starbucks fell over 4.5% on Wednesday after the company said it expects to post a loss-with as much as $3.2 billion of lost revenue-in its fiscal third quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Adverse impacts" from the coronavirus crisis caused U.S. same store sales to plunge by over 40% in May, as the company began to reopen many of its locations with modified hours and operations.

Despite the sizable financial hit from temporarily shuttering many of its stores during the pandemic, Starbucks is now doubling down on efforts to convert its cafes to an "on-the-go" format as it offers more drive through, curbside pickup and delivery options.

The company had already planned to increase convenience-led formats in many of its stores, but is now accelerating that timeline due to the shifting retail landscape caused by coronavirus.

Over the next 18 months, the coffee chain plans to transform hundreds of stores with more to-go options, in addition to closing some traditional cafes and rolling out dozens of new pickup-only locations.

Up to 400 Starbucks cafes in the U.S. and Canada will be closed, renovated or moved in the next year and a half, the company said.

"We know that it will take time to fully recover and post positive comparable-store sales growth," CEO Kevin Johnson said in a letter to employees, though he also said "the most difficult period is now behind us" as sales start to rebound.

Like many retailers, Starbucks wasn't spared during the market's coronavirus sell-off in March: The stock is down 12% so far in 2020, compared to the S&P 500's drop of 1.6%.

Crucial quote

"With each passing week, we are seeing clear evidence of business recovery, with sequential improvements in comparable store sales performance," CEO Kevin Johnson and CFO Pat Grismer said in a shareholder letter. "The Starbucks brand is resilient, customer affinity is strong and we believe the most difficult period is now behind us."

News peg

Surprising fact

Some 40% of Wall Street analysts are bullish on the stock and assign it a "buy" rating, according to Bloomberg data. Around 57% give it a "hold" rating, while just one analyst gives it a "sell."

According to Morningstar analyst R. J. Hottovy, "Starbucks meets the mobile platform and balance sheet investment criteria, and while some consumers may take a pass on Starbucks' premium prices in the near term, we believe its brand intangible asset will withstand COVID-19-related disruptions."

Key background

Starbucks closed dine-in service at its U.S. stores in March, but began restoring limited operations starting last month. Most stores are now serving customers with drive-through, delivery and pickup options. Some 95% of Starbucks' U.S. stores have reopened with the majority of closed locations in New York City, a COVID-19 hotspot.

Further reading

Nasdaq Hits Record High As Amazon, Apple Shares Jump (Forbes)

S&P 500 Turns Positive, Fully Recovering Coronavirus Losses (Forbes)

Mass Protests Across The U.S. Have No Impact On Stocks, What Gives? (Forbes)

Best Buy Earnings Fall, Target Sales Soar: Here's How All The Big Retailers Fared In The First Quarter (Forbes)
Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

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Here's How Starbucks Plans To Transform Stores For The Post-Coronavirus World

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Despite potentially losing over $3 billion in revenue in the third quarter, Starbucks announced on Wednesday that it will increasingly shift toward a digital customer experience based on convenience with plans to transform many traditional cafes by adding more takeout options.

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Market segmentation, growth, offshoring, price skimming.

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Doc Martens used to be sold for as low as $3. Now they can cost over $200. Here's why

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Doc Martens used to be sold for as low as $3. Now they can cost over $200. Here's why https://t.co/alaFJrnv7s

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Don’t miss what’s happening

People on Twitter are the first to know.

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Doc Martens used to be sold for as low as $3. Now they can cost over $200. Here's why pic.twitter.com/alaFJrnv7s
— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) June 8, 2020

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Doc Martens used to be sold for as low as $3. Now they can cost over $200. Here's why https://t.co/alaFJrnv7s

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Doc Martens used to be sold for as low as $3. Now they can cost over $200. Here's why https://t.co/alaFJrnv7s

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Doc Martens used to be sold for as low as $3. Now they can cost over $200. Here's why

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Rush for toilet roll - capacity, demand and capital investment

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Rush for toilet roll - capacity, demand and capital investment

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Coronavirus: Bridgend toilet roll mill expansion

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The investment will create 70 new jobs at the paper working around the clock during the pandemic.

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Improving cash flow and managing the supply chain

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Improving cash flow and managing the supply chain

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‘Our world is cancelled’: How toy store The Entertainer is fighting to stay afloat

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Toy store is among many retailers struggling with lower sales and an uncertain future