Essay Sample: Aldi Supermarket Overview

Currently, the firm is operating as two financially independent businesses based on the principal founders. Therefore, the company is existing Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud. Nevertheless, the company still maintains the nature of the unified brands as well as the selection of contractors in combines. Across different regions, the undertakings of the stores are based on the financial obligation of the branded ownership. Therefore, the Aldi Nord stores are restricted to the Northern and Eastern part of Germany while Aldi Sud is majorly based on the Western and Southern regions. Over the years, the company has maintained its rate of growth with more chains of stores being opened in the Unites States, Australia, and within Europe. The two groups of Aldi also maintain the international demarcation such that Aldi Nord is located in the France, Denmark, Poland, and Benelux states. On the other hand, Aldi Sud has intensified its activities in United Kingdom, Australia, United States, and Hungary among others (ALDI, 2015).

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Evaluation of the Internal and External Environment

The evaluation of the capacity of Aldi Supermarket based on the internal and external factors have affected the performance by defining the nature of transformational approaches implemented to enhance the operations of the firm. It is clear that the PESTLE elements determining the success of business within the industry of exploitation (Srdjevic et al., 2012; Tidstrom, 2012). Aldi Supermarket is an international organization, and its local activities are affected by the political and economic factors across the states of investment. The firm has to confine to the economic changes based on the needs of the respective states to attain the anticipated level of growth. For example, in the United States, the firm has not intensified its operation fully as in Australia based on the restriction on consumer-related products on retail capacity as well as high compliance levels such the carbon emission blueprints. Nevertheless, the technological advancement witnessed across the international corporate domain has favored the unified management as well as web-based marketing, which is essential in developing the customer base and efficiency in service provision. However, Aldi Supermarket has faced challenges related to a diverse cultural operation based on the desire to maintain uniformity across the chain of stores for competitive advantage (Adie, 2015).

Furthermore, based on Porter's five sources, the success of Aldi Supermarket is tied to the suppliers, customers bargaining power as well as well as the level of the competition and rivalry (Gourvish, 2006). The firm is a retail business, and the capacity of the customers to afford the products defines the number of sales made and thus the profit margin. Nevertheless, the retail prices are affected by several essential factors such as the cost of the supplies, the price of the substitute products, and competition. Therefore, the environment of operation for Aldi Supermarket is complex and require a strategic approach to design the best strategies that will profit the firm both in short-term and long-term. The elements of sustainability of the profit margin have been the baseline for decision-making. Worth noting is the primary competitor for the business, Lidl chain of stores, is operating on same managerial structure and transformations as Aldi Supermarket (Forbes, 2016). Moreover, the rivalry between the two firms has been intense to the level of altering the entry and sustainability approaches for other competing companies within their area of operation. However, Aldi Supermarket has undertaken several initiatives to remain relevant in the industry across the international platforms.

Current Strategic Implementations

It is imperative to note that the nature of the internal and external environment of operation has defined the strategic plans for Aldi Supermarket over the last few years. The firm has embarked on enhancing the experience of the customers in terms of efficiency and accessibility. Since 2009, the business has been seeking to achieve the best customer experience as a measure of customer acquisition and retention process. The management, therefore, undertook two plans to ensure that their services and efficient and the products and the shops are accessible to their potential and existing customers. Such a move was critical for the firm because it is operating in a competitive market. The current corporate trends have shifted to the use of technology across the globe; but, the element of customer satisfaction and management has taken the sector by storm thereby affecting the nature of approaches use to increase output and productivity. The business, therefore, undertook an initiative to improve the customer services through external and internal analysis meant to understand the needs and challenges of clients according to their tastes and preferences. The firm chose to increase the number of stores, enhance their human resource efficiency and competency, and control their prices on affordable terms.

Customer Experience and Service Delivery

Increasing the customer experience and service delivery processes involved the modification of the human resource management process. The businesses enhanced the process of employee selection and recruitment to ensure the chain of stores is operated by competent staff and attendants. The efficiency of employees is associated with their level of education, skills, and experience. The customer service duties require excellent techniques that can assist when seeking to drive growth for consumer-based retail enterprises. Moreover, the management decided to intensify the training and development of the existing employees to embrace efficiency and customer support trends during the shopping process. The employee education has been the best approach to increasing the competency and exposure of workers in the business sector. On the other hand, the organization also undertook performance management and appraisals to ensure that each employees output and organizational contribution are determined and necessary corrective measures were undertaken. Nevertheless, the business also included the strategic HRM aspects such as quality maintenance and compliance to ensure that the company adheres to employee regulations to host countries (Morris, 2016). Such moves included the harmonization of salaries and remuneration with other civil servants in the respective countries, which is essential for public appeal and legal compliance.

Increasing AccessibilityFurthermore, the process of increasing accessibility of the stores involved the opening of more outlets across the green zones. The strategy was set on the long-term basis such that the stores will be opened at different intervals as well as according to the arising needs. The firm, therefore, increased the shops in the United States, Australia, and across the host nation Germany. The company was set to increase its customer base to ensure that they maintain their influence in the competitive market as well as sustaining their profit margins. Operating on economies of scale is associated with fewer risks and high profit. Such a scenario is essential in enhancing the performance of Aldi Supermarket. Nevertheless, new stores guaranteed that more customers could easily access the services of the company. The new stores intensified the fresh food sections with more variety and healthy options such as a variety of vegetables and fruits. The move towards more stores includes the opening of 70 more stores in the United Kingdom in addition to the recently opened stores within the Australian region, the United States, and the Benelux States (Munbodh, 2016). More shops enabled the firm to realize a profit of over 250 million in 2015 with the figure expected to be higher in 2016.

Strategic Management Changes

Aldi Supermarket undertook a transformation w...