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Distinction criteria - exemplar

The following example illustrates a judgmental approach – by evaluating, appraising, assessing or criticizing - to achieving an overall Distinction grade.

Stage 1: Select the most appropriate innovation technologies.

Author: David Hilton

CWC, Room: 5- NE-9

Content adapted from Pearson BTEC National in Business – Student Book 1 – Specification: July 2016

Stage 2: Prioritization of author's findings by order of importance.

Stage 3: Provide an opinion and defence of the chosen innovation.

Stage 4: Supporting the author's closing proposition.

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Innovation is a staged approach and involves a set of distinct process

For example: The selection of the most appropriate technologies requires both innovation and logical steps to the process.

Moreover, any business needs to establish a strategy for development to avoid compromising the existing business.

Stage	Description
1: Preparation	Such as research or reviewing current processes
2: Incubation	A period of reflection and working through ideas both consciously and subconsciously
3: Illumination	The light bulb moment when ideas become crystalized.
4: Implementation	When the ideas or process are put into action.
Reference: Learning aim E.1 (2023, slide 2)

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Step 1: Selection the most appropriate innovative technologies

	Technologies	Description
A	Sainsbury’s Smart-Shop Handsets - Apple or Android via apps - which can be used as scanners to shop with.	Aims to take the pressure off checkout queues by enabling shoppers to bag items immediately as they scan. To pay all they have to do is take their scanner to a till point and scan a barcode before completing payment as usual without having to bag all the products at the till point.
B	Two-way QR Codes Give retailers more versatility when collecting user behaviour data at the same time.	A two-way QR code works by returning information relevant and specific to the scanner. For example a consumer may scan the code and receive personalised product recommendations based on the last interaction they had with the brand.
C	“Just Walk Out” technology Automatically detect any items a customer puts in their shopping basket or returns to the shelf.	This allows shoppers to sign in via their Amazon account when entering the store, select their items then simply walk out, paying for items automatically via their accounts when they exit.
Reference: Iddenden, G (2021)

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Step 1: Continuation

	Technologies	Description
D	Self-checkouts Customer used it to scan items and puts them in a bag.	The weight of the items in the bag is measured to confirm that the item scanned is the one added to the bag. Customers can pay for the items using cash or a card.
E	Tablet Kiosks Meet omnichannel needs, by combining offline and online experiences.	Waitrose shoppers are able to learn more about the quality of its drink selection on desk mounted tablets and iPad kiosks produced by Bouncepad.
F	“Ultramodern” supermarket The shop’s smart screens allow for suppliers to provide promotional content in front of customers’ eyes.	According to Microsoft, “This exchange of data and information opens new possibilities for retailers to gather insights on shoppers’ demographics and preferences, improve customer service and response time, and enable sales, service, and marketing professionals to be as productive as possible.”
Reference (D): Iddenden, G (2021), Ref. (E & F): Iddenden, G (2021)

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Step 2: Prioritization of author's findings by order of importance.

Tableau (2023). The most common indicator of growth in retail is the sales volume. If you’re selling more, then you’re growing. However, growth encompasses more than just the number of sales, it also involves improving your processes. Improved processes can mean becoming efficient in reaching more customers, improving employee morale, and cost-effectively expanding or shrinking your inventory. In the end, those will translate to more sales and better business growth. Below are some of the most common retail Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure success.

Index	Retail KPIs	Descriptors
α	Sales per square foot	Sales per square foot measures how effectively you’re using the area you have, and sales per square inch is a good indicator of your store’s productivity while offering insights into store and merchandise layouts.
β	Gross margins return on investment (GMROI )	GMROI measures the profit you make from the amount you invest in product stock.
δ	Average transaction value	Average transaction values take sales and divide them to find out how much on average customers spend in your store each time they make a purchase.

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Step 2: Continuation.

Index	Retail KPIs	Descriptors
δ	Customer retention	Being able to turn one-time customers into repeat customers is a steady profit generator for long-term growth.
θ	Conversion rate	While reach and marketing campaigns can get your name out there and people to your store, the only way to grow is to ensure your visitors convert into paying customers.
π	Foot traffic and digital traffic	With this KPI, you can then improve or create strategies to generate more visits to your physical locations and to your website.
ψ	Inventory turnover	This is a great metric to keep an eye on items sitting on the shelves or in the stockroom for long periods, it may need a demand-generating campaign to spark interest, or it may need to be discounted and/or discontinued to make room for more profitable products.
Contents adapted from - Reference: Tableau (2023)

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Step 3: Provide an opinion and defence of the chosen innovation.

The assertion of this exemplar is that the self-checkout scores the highest - in terms of the most appropriate innovative technology – and KPI's attributes outlined in Step 2. In particular:

It has the most common indicator of growth in retail is the sales volume.
Improved processes which means becoming efficient in reaching more customers

and cost-effectively expanding or shrinking the supermarkets inventory.

This translate to more sales and better business growth.

Ref.: Tableau (2023).

Schmidt-Jacobsen, T (2023) - Supporting evidence:

Cost of space:

When it comes to cost of space, checkout counters definitely take up less space than registers. Since self-checkout is typically faster than registers, there is typically one queue per several checkout counters, which saves additional space.

However, compared to other self-checkout options, counters are at a disadvantage – they are one of the least optimal options when it comes to cost of space.

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Step 3: Continuation

Efficiency:

Reduced wait times compared to using a cashier lane. However, the speed of transaction is significantly lower compared to some of the other systems covered in this article.

Reduced labour costs as one member of staff can overlook several self-checkout counters.

High customer engagement: buyers need to scan product barcodes and place products into a bagging area, and sometimes even weigh products.

An obvious disadvantage of self-checkout in general is shoplifting. A store that has 55 -60% of transactions going through self-checkout can expect losses to be 31% higher. However, with reduced costs and constantly improving security, this percentage is decreasing over time.

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Customer experience

Speed of transaction, perceived control, reliability, ease of use and enjoyment are the most inﬂuential factors leading to customer satisfaction. Taking this into account, this form of checkout is at an advantage compared to cash registers, however it is behind other systems listed below.

As self-service checkout counters have been around for a while, most customers are quite used to this experience.

Even though self-checkout counters do optimise use of space, efficiency and customer satisfaction, its ease of use can be improved. According to a study, 74% customers say that difficulty in entering goods and frequent overrides were their biggest concerns with the technology. 59% of consumers said that they would be more likely to use self-checkout if the technology was improved.

Step 3: Continuation

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With 40%ofconsumers preferring self-service over human contact and the number increasing over time, retailers should consider adding some form of self-checkout to their stores.

There are many more options available – see:

Schmidt-Jacobsen, T (2023)

It is important for retailers to wisely weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each option and decide which self-checkout system is the best fit for their stores.

Step 3: Summary

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Strategy to maximize KPI's targets

This evaluation was initiated – on the premise – that the selection of the most appropriate technologies requires, both innovation and logical steps to the process. Moreover, it was also suggested that any business needed to establish a strategy for development to avoid compromising its existing business operations.

Therefore, the following approach - the shamrock organization - is recommended, as an effective strategy, to consolidate and enhance existing business objectives and KPI's targets.

Step 4: Supporting the author's proposition.

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Step 4: Supporting the author's proposition.

(1) Professional

Core

(3)

Self-employed professionals

(2) Contingent

work force

(4)

Consumers

The shamrock organization. Hilton (2023, B)

Shamrock organizations have an organizational structure with three distinct parts.

The first part, or leaf, represents the core staff of the organization. They are likely to be highly trained professionals who form the senior management.

The second leaf consists of the contractual fringe and may include individuals who once worked for the organization but now supply services to it. These individuals operate within broad guidelines set down by the organization but have a high degree of flexibility and discretionary powers.

The third leaf describes the consultancy (professional /high-tech). These workers are sufficiently close enough to the organization to feel a degree of commitment to it, ensuring they maintain a high standard of work.

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Step 4: Supporting the author's proposition.

(4)

Consumers

The shamrock organization. Hilton (2023, B)

A fourth leaf of the shamrock consists of consumers who do the work of the organisation.

Reduced labour costs as one member of staff can overlook several self-checkout counters.

High customer engagement: buyers need to scan product barcodes and place products into a bagging area, and sometimes even weigh products.

An obvious disadvantage of self-checkout in general is shoplifting. A store that has 55 -60% of transactions going through self-checkout can expect losses to be 31% higher. However, with reduced costs and constantly improving security, this percentage is decreasing over time.

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Conclusion

The evaluation of Task 1.3: How innovation and enterprise can be justified, for business, in relation to its changing market and environment - was achieved by appraising the following:

The most appropriate innovation technologies.
Prioritization of appraisals’ findings by order of importance.
Furnishing an opinion and defence of the chosen innovation.
Supporting the ultimate closing proposition.

The inclusion of the recommendation of the shamrock organization - as an effective strategy - consolidated the judgment made on its ability to enhance existing business objectives and KPI's targets.