Situational Case
There are more than 600 supermarkets in Singapore. The industry is dominated by the “Big 3” – NTUC Fairprice, Dairy Farm International (DFI) and Sheng Siong. In total, there are at least 30 different supermarket brands with some of the bigger companies operating more than one brand (e.g., Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Marketplace, Giant are all part of DFI). Online grocers have also come to the fore in the past few years. Redmart was one of the first online grocers in Singapore but many of the major supermarket chains (as well as Amazon) have since set up their own local online stores. In such a competitive business environment, many of the smaller players focus on a specific niche. As such, there are supermarkets specialising in Vegan and Organic products as well as those with specific regional focus.
Sichuan Mart (a fictitious company for the purpose of this ECA) is a supermarket chain in Singapore. Started 5 years ago, it has quickly grown to 30 outlets all over the island. Just like many of its similarly sized peers, it does not have the resources to compete head-on with the major players. To begin with, the size of its outlets is smaller. Its largest outlet is only half the size of that of an average Big 3. Neither does it carry as large a range of products. So instead of trying to become a general supermarket, Sichuan Mart has chosen to focus on the grocery needs of Chinese expatriates and recent immigrants. To this end, the chain carries a wide range of products from China. Fortunately, locals have also started to develop a taste for such products – as evident from the “Mala craze”. This has helped the business expand quickly since its inception. The company has certainly done well considering that it is purely a brick-and-mortar business with no significant online presence.
Sichuan Mart owes much of its success to its Merchandising Department. The department maintains strong links with its suppliers in China. They also have intimate knowledge of retail and grocery trends there. For example, they quickly recognised the growing popularity of Chinese condiments and became one of the first to import a wide range of such products. Some of the supermarket chain’s current bestsellers are chilli sauces from China. They have also worked with Chinese manufacturers to create a growing range of house brand products (i.e., products branded “Sichuan Mart”).
Unfortunately, growth has started to stagnate. There are a number of challenges that the retail industry face, some of which are described in the report by NTUC Learning Hub (Reference 2). Top management is beginning to have real concerns about how it can continue growing its business. While there are many possible paths to growth, it does not have the resource to try every strategy.
At the same time, recognising the challenges of the Retail sector, Singapore’s Future Economy Council has also published an Industry Transformation Map (ITM) (Reference 1). The aim of the ITM is to provide a roadmap to guide the entire industry to transform itself and to stay relevant for the future.
Singapore’s supermarket industry is notoriously brutal. Major international chains like Carrefour and Kmart have tried to penetrate the market and failed. Sichuan Mart needs to seriously consider its next steps and come up with a plan to reinvent itself.
References:
Ministry of Trade & Industry Singapore. Retail Industry Transformation Map. https://www.mti.gov.sg/ITMs/Lifestyle/Retail.
NTUC Learning Hub (2022). Industry Insights 2022: Retail. https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/retail-2022
Important Note
All questions in this ECA are related to the above Situational Case about Sichuan Mart, a fictitious company. While the company is fictitious, the context that it operates in (i.e., as a typical retail grocery chain operating in Singapore) reflects business realities.
For this assignment, you are expected to conduct your own research to gather relevant data and information about the supermarket and retail industry in Singapore. The two reports (listed in the Reference) provide a useful starting point for your research. At a minimum, you are expected to analyse the reports and distil out key data, information and recommendations in support of your answers to the ECA questions.
This ECA consists of 3 questions making up 100 marks.
The submitted report is limited to a word length not exceeding 4,000 words, EXCLUDING cover page, table of content, reference list and appendices. It should be typewritten in size 12 Times New Roman font face with 1.5 line spacing and justified format, and a 2.5 cm (one inch) margin all round. The word limit means that students will have to be judicious in terms of what and how the material is presented. All pages should be numbered.
Question 1
Identify all the viable business strategies that Sichuan Mart can adopt to grow the business. Analyse these growth strategies and recommend the best business strategy for the company. Defend your recommendation rigorously. (35 marks)
Question 2
Assume that Sichuan Mart does indeed adopt the business strategy that you recommended in Q1. Applying the concept of Strategy Maps, identify key priorities that the entire organisation must focus on (in terms of the Financial, Customer, Internal Processes and Learning & Growth perspectives) in support of the business strategy. Propose two key HR strategies that the company should take on to enable the organisation to achieve its business objectives. (35 marks)
Question 3
Refer to the Advanced Workforce Planning Framework discussed in class. Identify key factors that will impact the future supply and demand of manpower and capabilities for Sichuan Mart. Analyse on their impact. In support of workforce planning, design a comprehensive and holistic set of HR strategies to ensure that the organisation’s long- term manpower and capability needs will continue to be met. (30 marks)
Answers to Above Questions on Human Capital
Answer 1: An analysis of the given scenario indicates that there are many viable business strategies that Sichuan Mart can consider in order to grow the business. One such important viable business strategy available is to enhance the online presence and e-commerce capabilities, because there is significant opportunity available in the online grocery market in Singapore. In addition to this, another important strategy that can be considered is to expand the product range offered by the business.
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