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A

RESEARCH REPORT
ON
“CHANGING TRENDS IN FMCG INDUSTRY IN INDIA”

Submitted in Partial fulfillment for the award of degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

KIPM College of Management

GIDA, Gorakhpur ,Uttar Pradesh- 273209


SESSION-2015-2016

Submitted by: Under Guidance

Ranjeet Kumar Paswan Mr. Ankur Srivastava

MBA 4thSem Asst. Professor

Roll.no.-1651770056

AFFILIATED TO

DR. A.P.J ABDUL KALAM TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW


DECLARATION
I, RANJEET KUMAR PASWAN hereby declare the that research report

entitled “MEASURMENT OF BRAND AWARENESS AND

BRANDPERCEPTION OF NOKIA” at submitted to the KIPM –College

of management ,affiliated to the Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam University

,Lucknow for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award

of Master of Business Administration is the outcome of original study

undertaken by me and the has not formed the basis for the award of

any degree.

Date………… RANJEET KUMAR PASWAN

(M.B.A 4th sem.)


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This is a matter of pleasure for me to acknowledge my deep sense of

gratitude to Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam technical University , Uttar Pradesh ,

Lucknow and my college , KIPM –College of Management ,GIDA

,Gorakhpur for giving me an opportunity to explore my abilities via this this

researchprogramme.I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr.

Ankur Srivastava my mentor for this opportunity & for their valuable

guidance and advice in completing this project.

I am also very thankful and grateful towards my seniors, colleagues and

authorities of KIPM –College of Management for their support,

encouragement, and valuable suggestions for the completion of this project

as well for their generosity and cooperation.

Last but not the least ,I would like to express my sincere thanks to all my

family members, friend and well-wishers for their immense support and

best wishes throughout the research duration and the preparation of this

report. I believe that this report will be a valuable assets not only for

academic institution, but will also be useful for all those who are interested

to learn about research experiences in auditing and consulting firm.


Executive Summery

The study taken up by us pertains to the study Dynamics of distribution of FMCG

industry. We have tried to study and understand the ideologies of the distribution

with regards to FMCG sector and further how much interaction is there, how much

feed back is there, how much successful are the companies in utilizing distribution

network in boosting the sales and establishing its brand equity.

The project can be divided in two parts. In the first part – the current or the present

status of distribution, its changing face and the transition from push to pull

environment and lastly current distribution set up of FMCG sector is studied by

means of literature survey.

In the second part -we visited companies like HLL, AMUL, NESTLE, and

BRITANNIA and administered questionnaires to the executives of the concerned

department and studied the distribution set-up of the respective company. Secondly

also studied the implication of the companies in near future i.e. in the era of

globalization and IT. This part was cumbersome as nothing was organized and as

such I had to go in a random fashion.

On a whole it was a good learning experience, as one is able to understand

distribution dynamics not with the help of books but with the help of real learning –

in the real world.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Topic Page No

1. DECLARATION......................................................................................................2

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT........................................................................................3

3. SYNOPSIS.................................................................................................................4

4. TABLE CONTENTS............................................................................................5-6

5. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................7-16

6. LITERATURA SURVEY................................................................................17-18

7. CHANGING FACE..........................................................................................19-28

8. FMCG SUPPLY CHAIN.......................................................................................29

9. DATA PREPRATION ANALYSIS................................................................30-44

10. COMPANY OF FMCG .................................................................................45-75

11. FEATURE STRATEGIS................................................................................76-83

12. OBJECTIVE.........................................................................................................84

13. RESERCH METHOLOGY............................................................................85-87

14. LIMITATION........................................................................................................88

15. DATA ENTERPRETATION........................................................................89-103


16. FINDING.......................................................................................................104-105

17. CONSULATION..................................................................................................106

18. SUGGETION................................................................................................107-108

19. BIBLOGRAPHY...........................................................................................109-110
INTRODUCTION

RATIONALE FOR CHOOSING THE PROJECT

In the current business environment, which appears to be difficult and

unpredictable, Indian industry has found a new avenue to pin its hopes on. Supply

chain and logistics management are suddenly under close scrutiny. Between them,

they offer companies the best way to sustain their businesses in rough times. Thus

studying and evaluating one of the aspect of supply chain management i.e.

Distribution and that too of the industry, which is a key component of India’s GDP

and is a significant direct and indirect employer, is worthwhile. Having an excellent

distribution network is one of the strengths of this FMCG sector, so we tried to carry

out an in-depth study in dynamics of distribution in FMCG industry with its

relevance in the new millennium.

WHAT IS FMCG?

FMCG refers to consumer non-durable goods required for daily or frequent use.

Typically, a consumer buys these goods at least once a month. The sector covers a

wide gamut of products such as detergents, toilet soaps, toothpaste, shampoos,

creams, powders, food products, confectioneries, beverages, and cigarettes.


Typical characteristics of FMCG products

Individual items are of small value. But all FMCG products put

together account for a significant part of the consumer's budget.

The consumer keeps limited inventory of these products and prefers to

purchase them frequently, as and when required. Many of these

products are perishable.

The consumer spends little time on the purchase decision. Rarely does

he/she look for technical specifications (in contrast to industrial goods).

Brand loyalties or recommendations of reliable retailer/ dealer drive

purchase decisions.

Trial of a new product ie brand switching is often induced by heavy

advertisement, recommendation of the retailer or neighbours/ friends.

These products cater to necessities, comforts as well as luxuries. They

meet the demands of the entire cross section of population. Price and

income elasticity of demand varies across products and consumers.


The FMCG sector has been the cornerstone of the Indian economy. Though, the

sector has been in existence for quite a long time, it began to take shape only during

the last fifty-odd years. To date, the Indian FMCG industry continues to suffer from

a definitional dilemma. In fact, the industry is yet to crystallize in terms of definition

and market size, among others. The sector touches every aspect of human life, from

looks to hygiene to palate. Perhaps, defining an industry whose scope is so vast is

not easy.

After witnessing booming sales and flooding markets with innumerable products,

FMCG companies have had to abruptly apply the brakes and look for various

ways to save costs. The RS. 52,000 crore (listed companies) FMCG industry in

India, which has been on a roll for many years, faces tough times ahead, although

many segments still shows good growth.

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) goods are popularly named as consumer

packaged goods. Items in this category include all consumables (other than

groceries/pulses) people buy at regular intervals. The most common in the list are

toilet soaps, detergents, shampoos, toothpaste, shaving products, shoe polish,

packaged foodstuff, and household accessories and extends to certain electronic

goods. These items are meant for daily of frequent consumption and have a high

return. The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a
total market size in excess of US$ 13.1 billion. It has a strong MNC presence and is

characterized by a well established distribution network, intense competition

between the organized and unorganized segments and low operational cost.

Availability of key raw materials, cheaper labour costs and presence across the entire

value chain gives India a competitive advantage. The FMCG market is set to treble

from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. Penetration level as well

as per capita consumption in most product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin

care, hair wash etc in India is low indicating the untapped market ...

TRENDS

Global Concentration

Major global consumer product companies (such as Unilever, P&G, Colgate,

Nestle, Heinz) have a lion's share of the global market. These companies have been

established for a very long time and possess a clutch of strong brands with

proprietary technology. Most of these companies are cash rich and well managed.

Their brands generate strong cash flows and allow them to reinvest in strengthening

their brand equity further, with continued promotions/ advertisements. (Harvard

Business Review, Sept-Oct, 2004) They also have the financial clout to acquire

small local brands to strengthen their position in the category. These companies also
make considerable investment in R&D to sharpen and maintain their edge in the

business.

Growth Is In the Third World

Most of the global majors have their origins in Europe or USA. They find their

home markets saturated and are banking on the third world for future growth. These

companies are setting up shop and are aggressively expanding their base in these

countries. They also look out for opportunities to acquire local brands to push start

or consolidate their position in these markets. (www.web-

enable.com/industry/enablingscm.asp)Value For Money During the last 4-5 years,

particularly after reduced consumer spending during the global recession, the new

buzz word is value for money. FMCG companies globally have embarked upon

major re-structuring/ cost cutting exercises as the business has become fiercely

competitive. Also, several innovations in packaging media have taken place. (CMIE

reports) Adapting To Local Conditions In the last few years, process of adapting to

local conditions has accelerated.

MNCs are adapting their products, process and marketing communication to the

local conditions. They alter the manufacturing process to maximize use of local raw

materials and suit their products to the taste and requirements of local consumers.

This process has been necessitated by the imperative to be cost effective and be

competitive vis-à-vis strong local players.


Packaging

The role of packaging has increased significantly in recent times, partly due to

Improvement in packaging technology. Traditionally, packaging was expected to

serve the purpose of protection and economy. Then, packaging was expected to

fulfill the objective of convenience. (Kotler Philip, 2003)Today, packaging is used

as an effective tool for promotion. Besides, new packaging technology has enabled

most FMCG companies to significantly reduce their packaging costs. Rural

distribution Increased focus on rural distribution has increased logistics spend for the

leading companies.

INDIAN MARKET PERSPECTIVE

Background At the time of independence MNCs were allowed to operate in India,

but the Indian market was too small for global MNCs. HLL had a manufacturing

base, Colgate and Nestle mainly undertook only trading activities. In the early '60s,

several MNCs set up manufacturing base in the country (www.hll.com). The

government policies continued to be protective, modelled on socialistic pattern with

strong emphasis on self sufficiency. As a result economic growth was slow (around

3.5% pa which many economists dubbed as Hindu rate of growth) and India's share

in international trade was nominal (even today India's share in international trade is
only 0.6%). Slow growth was aggravated by major set backs in the late 60's due to

drought and in the early 70's due to oil shock. The new Government in power

reserved several product categories for small scale.

It also forced MNCs to dilute their equity stake to 40% or leave the country. IBM,

Coca-Cola and several others decided to leave. Amongst major MNCs, Unilever

(HLL) was the only one which managed to retain 51% foreign stake by complying

with the Government conditions of minimum 10% export and 60% turnover from

priority sectors. Thus HLL got into the business of fertilizer and chemicals. In the

'80s, when the underlying factors for the economy were strong such as major oil

discovery at Bombay High, satisfactory monsoon, stable oil prices etc, the economic

growth averaged 5% pa, much lower than its potential. (www.hll.com) Several

FMCG products such as toiletries and cosmetics which are essentially mass

consumption items, became luxury products due to exorbitant burden of excise

duties, sales tax (which added up to over 150% on basic price). Local players sans

technology and capital were not able to provide good quality products.

(www.hydepages.com/news) Liberalization Wave Foreign exchange crisis in 1991

(precipitated by Kuwait war) proved to be blessing in disguise, due to which IMF

suggested reform process began. The reforms have continued over the last few years.

The economic growth rate is averaging 5-6% pa which is likely to continue. This
growth rate in GDP will imply 4-5% volume growth in mature categories and 8-10%

pa growth in upcoming categories where penetration levels are low. More

importantly, the organized sector will witness even a faster growth at the cost of the

unorganized sector.

ABOUT THE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

FMCG in India has a strong and competitive MNC presence across the entire value

chain. It has been predicted that the FMCG market will reach to US$ 33.4 billion in

2015 from US $ billion 11.6 in 2003. The middle class and the rural segments of the

Indian population are the most promising market for FMCG, and give brand makers

the opportunity to convert them to branded products. Most of the product categories

like jams, toothpaste, skin care, shampoos, etc, in India, have low per capita

consumption as well as low penetration level, but the potential for growth is huge.

The Indian Economy is surging ahead by leaps and bounds, keeping pace with rapid

urbanization, increased literacy levels, and rising per capita income.The big firms

are growing bigger and small-time companies are catching up as well. According to

the study conducted by AC Nielsen, 62 of the top 100 brands are owned by MNCs,

and the balance by Indian companies. Fifteen companies own these 62 brands.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS:


FMCG business rests on the two pillars of brand equity and distribution network.

Brand Equity Brand equity refers to the intangible asset in the form of brand

names. The consumer's loyalty for a particular brand is due to the perception that the

product has distinctively superior and consistent quality and also satisfies his/ her

specific needs. Further provides better value for money than other competing brands.

(Kotler Philip, 2003) In FMCG products, brand equities are relatively stronger as the

consumer is reluctant to try unknown brands/ unbranded products as most of these

products are for personal use. It is often difficult to differentiate a product on

technical or functional grounds and therefore little reason to switch from a known

brand. A successful brand generates strong cash flow, which enables the owner of

the brand to reinvest a part of it in the form of aggressive advertisement/ promotion

to reinforce the perceived superiority of the brand. The worth of a brand is

manifested in the consumer’s insistence on a particular brand or willingness to pay a

price premium for the preferred brand.

Distribution Network

In FMCG sector, one of the most critical success factors is the ability to

build, develop, and maintain a robust distribution network. Availability

near the consumer is vital for wider penetration as most products are low
unit value products and frequently purchased. Distribution network refers

to the consumer buying points where products are available (almost

always). It takes enormous time and effort to build a chain of stockists,

retailers, dealers etc and establish their loyalties. (Poirer C. Charles, 2004)

There are entry barriers for a new entrant as a new product is typically

slow moving and has lesser consumer demand. Therefore dealers/ retailers

are reluctant to allocate resources and time. Established players use their

clout to inhibit new entrants. However, when a product offers a strong

breakthrough (such as Nirma in late 90s), equity we build up rapidly and

so does the distribution network.

Thus we see that distribution is the critical factor that at times even drives the brand

equity factor.

Assumption is made that views and suggestion given by the respondent are his

own perception and idea.

The study is not free from sampling error

Seasonal changes in sales figures may affect the quantitative data.

My study is based on responses of executives of mentioned companies of

concerned department only, which may not give a true picture.


Last but not the least and the most deciding factor paucity of time

LITERATURE SURVEY

Objective: To analyse the present scenario of FMCG industry in terms of emerging

opportunities & challenges.

There is only one formula to win a 100-meter race --- run faster than the other

guys. To do that, you need to be learner and fitter than the competition. The same

applies to business as well. The only way to stay ahead in business is to be faster and

fitter. Indian business realized this clearly during the tumultuous decade of the 90’s,

which changed the rules of the game forever. No longer does any artificial wall

protect any business. In the race to get more competitive, an area that is increasingly

coming under focus is Distribution i.e. the physical movement of good. Here an

attempt is made to study aspects of distribution, along with its changing face.

Further the transition from push to pull environment is also studied. Thus in nut shell

to study the current status of distribution in FMCG industry.


In the heydays of 1980’s the business Mantra was distribution reach. Every

distribution manager believed the way to market dominance was by reaching the

greatest number of brands to the maximum number of outlets across India

(Carvalho, 2002) The large scale and geographical diversity in retail outlets spread

across the country meant that all FMCG markets needed to service a large

percentage of these outlets to really reap economics of scale. Over the period

companies like HLL, Godrej, P&G along with recent entrants like Nirma and Wipro

have build their distribution networks diligently. Distribution is the crucial success

factor for FMCG, but distribution at best cost, is vital. For Company’s like GCMMF

(Maul) distribution is literally all, since it deals in perishables like milk and milk

products. For all higher product visibility and lesser inconvenience for the customer

in obtaining the product results in more sales. (Mitra, 2003).

CHANGING FACE

The Basic structure of FMCG supply chain has not changed in many years. What

has changed is the attitude of efficiency of each element. The end of 1990’s revealed

a different way of looking at distribution. A new movement called SCM had been

slowly redefining the distributor’s role in channel. The market was changing and
distributors were expected to corporate with suppliers and customers to decrease

total channel costs. While increasing customer expectations were nothing new, they

were unfolding at an alarming rate. The tasks required of distributors in order to

satisfy customer expectations were not necessarily the ones that distributor’s would

have chosen (Lawrence et. al. 2002) FMCG or the Fast Moving Consumer Goods

industry is also known as the CPG (Consumer packaged goods) industry in India.

This industry is named so because goods are produced, distributed, marketed and

consumed within a short span of time.

Products which are frequently purchased are examples of Fast Moving Consumer

Goods. FMCG products mainly include; toiletries, detergents, tooth cleaning

products, soaps, cosmetics, shaving products, paper products, glassware, batteries,

plastic goods and bulbs. FMCG also includes consumer electronics,

pharmaceuticals, soft drinks, packaged food products, tissue paper and chocolates.

In the year 2005, the FMCG Market in India was growing at a rapid rate of 5.3

percent. The value of the industry stood at Rs. 48,000-crore in the same year.

Currently the FMCG Market in India is one of the biggest and is growing at a rapid

rate of almost 60 per cent. Despite the economic downturn the FMCG Market in

India currently stands at Rs.85,000 crore. The phenomenal growth of the FMCG

industry especially in the tier II and tire III cities in India is mostly due to the

improvement in the standard of living of the people of such cities and the rise in the
level of disposable income. Over the last few years companies like Dabur, HUL and

ITC have managed to change the face of the FMCG industry in India by using

cutting edge technology in production and a very strong distribution channel.

Companies like Colgate Palmolive and Britannia have also managed to penetrate

into the urban areas of the country.

The FMCG sector in India happens to be the fourth largest in the world. According

to experts this industry will reach US$ 33.4 billion by 2015. Both the organized and

the unorgaganized sectors are largely responsible for the success of the Indian

FMCG industry. The Indian FMCG market also has a well defined and established

distribution network that makes products available even in the most urban areas of

the country – See more at:

DISINTERMEDIATION MYTH

Disintermediation is the term that means elimination of distributor; it was first

suggested for distributors in the early 1990’s no a response to new technology and

increasing pressure on the supply chain to cut costs. Distributors were perceived as

middlemen who added cost to supply chain through redundant inventory, services

and information handling. It scared logical that if suppliers and end users could

“Automatic out in efficiency” they could eliminate the distributor. This logic follows

from the reasoning that a shorter supply chain is inherently more inefficient (Narus

and Anderson, 1997).


Until recently, most distributors described their core competency as “relationships”.

The statement covers the need for the following two roles. First is that of a channel

leader, who determines where the sources of supply are and how to access them. The

second role is that of a manager of customer information for manufactures.

As such the classical relationship of these functions (Inventory management,

financing for small customer, supplying technical info) became unchanging or

“frozen”, the classic business-relationship has become “unfrozen” by business forces

like Just in Time (JIT). The technological revolution caused by the Internet and

advanced information system. (Agawam D.K, 2000). Traditional relationships are in

flux. It is unclear now new channels and new bus models will be structured. To

eliminate the distributor from supply chain, channel members must eliminate the

services the distributor currently supplies. Thus this means eliminating some

services following others. (Agawam D.K, 2000) All in all, distributors sound like a

rather noble bunch-always rising to occasion for customer, willing to deal with

uncertainty, provide flexibility and focus as customer service (Lawrence, et. al.

2002).

THE ECONOMICS OF DISTRIBUTION AND THE TRANSITION

The foundation for developing a successful channel arrangement rests in fully


understanding the underlying economics of distribution. The economic aspects of

channel relationships extend beyond issues of logistical operations. Several distinct

functions must be completed to achieve effective distribution. (Bowers ox Donald J.

et al, 2001) Early scholar grouped functional requirements for effective distribution

under 3 headings: Exchange, physical distribution and facilitating

Buying

Exchange Function

Serving

Transportation

Physical Distribution Function

Storage

Standardization

Facilitating Function Market Financing

Risk Bearing

Market Information and Research

The exchange functions involved broad activities related to buying and selling.

As such exchange concerns activities required to transfer ownership’s. The physical

distribution functions are the origin of what is referred to as logistics. The essential
activity consists of getting the right products to right place at the right time.

Facilitating functions include standardization, Market Financing, Risk Bearing and

Market Information and Research Activities. (Gattorna John, 2002)

In contemporary logistics the scope of operational concern is significantly broader

than transcending broad supply chain arrangements, logistics is viewed as

encompassing all work related to inventory positioning, which can also involve

aspects of satisfying firm and possession requirements.

Thus there is supply chain integration, below figure illustrates an overall supply

chain focusing on integrated management of all logistical operations from original

supplier procurement to final consumer acceptance. (Bowers ox & Closes, 2001).

ENTERPRISE

Inventory Flow

Manufacturing Procurement Suppliers

Support

Physical

Distribution

Customers

CURRENT STATUS

As already started that FMCG supply chain has not charged in many years. What
has changed is the attitude and efficiency of each element. Also several new

business models have developed in the recent past like Direct Market, e tailing, B2C,

B2B, intranet and extranet (McAfee Andrew, 2004). The increasing competition in

the market place caused several changes through the chain.

FMCG (CURRENT) SCM TRENDS IN INDIA (Table #1)

Supply Chain Element Status Today Trends Towards Retailer Dispersed,

unorganized, not much buyer power Larger retail outlets; more number of SKUs,

concentration of buyers, retailer power increases SKU Variety High numbers of

SKUs of various sizes, offers and usage Rationalization of SKUs to optimize costs

Inventory At Plant Push to warehouse Pull from retailers/ C&FasSKU Analysis

Time-dated Dynamic, Instantaneous & fast corrective action Production Planning

Top down (from parent to vendors); lots of buffer stocks & time Collaborative but

still with some buffer time and inventory Manufacturing Practice Long production

runs, low overheads, fixed stations Flexible manufacturing, short runs, low change-

over times, Information Flow increased overheads Contact Manufacturing

(Outsourcing)/Third Party manufacturing Contractual, opportunistic Strategic

partnership, alliance, essential cost control element Information Aggregated at every

level and then transmitted upwards loss of time in reacting to change in demand

pattern Instant transmission to hubs, redirected to supply centres, rather than

planners; faster response to demand change Forecasting Historical data based;


varying levels of accuracy, person based ERP, trend data, qualitative field inputs and

allowance for force majeure Replenishment To maintain stock level, on shelf, at

stock point, at plant Dynamic replenishment: mix of products replenished depends

on an array of factors, only of which is stock Distribution systems Traditional linear

flow; some hub and spoke Hub and spoke at more than one level; distributors get

their goods directly from C&FAs Integrated Data Systems ERP used internally ERP

used with supply chain planning to improve throughput and efficiencies Technology

E-mail, Fax, Telephones V-SATs, leased lines, mobile ordering & automatic Source:

ETIG, L&SCM 2007 The emergence of the Internet, ERP systems and contract

manufacturing are important trends in India. Each has a clear implication for the

FMCG supply chain. All the FMCG companies list logistics above all other issues

like price, how to get the product at the right time, in the right quantity, assortment

and best cost is the challenge of FMCG logistics.

The supply chain concept in the FMCG business in India really took root during

the downturn of the industry in 1999. A look at the FMCG industry growth trends in

distribution, raw materials, finished goods and ad spends clearly shows that the

industry, while undergoing strong fluctuations in all aspects, never really suffered a

degrowth.

2001, while net margins grew by 9 per cent, distribution expenses grew by 9 per

cent, but still 60 per cent lower than 2003.


In other words, the same distribution set up was giving an increase in net margins.

Most companies confirm they had initiated cost cutting measures, but heading

the list was control of supply chain costs. Other measures included longer credit

periods to vendors; faster collections, dropping slow moving brands and cutting back

on ad spend. (ET knowledge series, 2003)

They key trends emerging from the analysis include:

Increased focus on rural distribution has increased logistics spend for the

leading companies.

New alliances and re-negotiation with vendors is increasing, with the concept

of third party units (TPUs), already well established.

Working capital cycles are already turning negative for most FMCG majors

due to tighter control of credit, closer demand matching and SKU rationalization

(see table ‘Good Control).

FMCG INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN TODAY

Vendors

Contract Owned Plants Imports

Manufacturers

Central Warehouse
Regional Distribution Centres

C & F Super stockists

Stockiest

Retail Chain Stores

Consumers

Retailer Local wholesaler

Supply

Chain

Planning

And

ERP

Software

CRM
DATA PREPARATION AND ANALYSIS
QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS
Q1. Please specify the importance of various functions of marketing in the present

days competitive scenario in the scale of 1-7: 1 being least important and 7 being

most important?

FUNCTIONAL AREA HUL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

Brand Mgmt. 7 6 7 7

Advertising Mgmt. 6 3 5 6

Sales Promotion Mgt 7 2 5 5

Distribution channel

Management 7 5 6 6

Physical

distribution/Logistics

Management 7 6 5 7

Demand forecasting

& Management

7745

Sales admn. & Mgt. 7 1 4 5

Q2. Please specify various purposes behind efficient distribution management on the

scale of 1-7: 1 being not important & 7 being most important?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

Sustainable Bus. 7 7 6 7
32

Growth & long term

performance

Greater market

dominance

5546

Competitive

advantage

5676

Total cost

containment

7555

Dev. & maintenance

of harmonious

channel relationships

7636

Improvement of

economic & social

welfare

2625
Q3. Please indicate the combination of advertising and sales promotion for the

products

of the company.

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

More advertising

& less sales

promotion

**

33

More sales

promotion & less

advertising

Both equally ^ * *

Here we see that although HLL stresses that more of advertising should be done and

less of sales promotion, yet it is stated that at times both are to be done equally.

AMUL says that advertising should be done more than sales promotion.

On the other hand NESTLE & BRITANNIA believe both should be done equally.

Q4. Please specify the share of trade related schemes meant for channel members

out of
total promotional budget?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

Below 20% * *

20 – 30% * *

30 – 40%

40 – 50%

34

Above 50%

HLL & AMUL say that share of channel members in trade related schemes

should between 20 – 30%.

Whereas, NESTLE & BRITANNIA believe it should be less than 20%

Q5. Do you think that in the global competitive scenario and the era of information

tecnology, the role of distribution channel members have increased?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

Increased * * * *

Decreased

No Change

35
Here every body is of the view that increased competition and advent of IT has

imposed greater challelenges for the channel members and has also increased

their role immensely

Q6. Do you use Internet to sell your products to consumers directly?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

YES *

NO * * *

Only AMUL has B2C venture over Internet. In fact 9it was one of the

first to launch shopping on its web site. (amul.com Shoppe)

36

Q7. Do you plan to sell your products on the Internet?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

YES

NO * * *

37

Q8. Do you have web enabled Distribution Channel system?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

YES *

NO * * *
Only HLL has the system where all its stockists and the C&FA are in a web

enabled network throughout India.

38

Q9. In order to have smaller demand chain, if you have been asked to cut down one

channel member, which would you like to bypass?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

C & F agents *

Stockists/Distributors ^

Retailers/Dealers

None * * *

As talked to Mr. Kharbanda AM (scm), of NESTLE he said that we have already

done away with C&FA and as such our sales team directly meets with the

retailers/dealers. This helps for demand forecasting.

Again HLL would not like to cut any of its channel members, but if a

revolutionary change is to happen then they may bypass stockists.

AMUL& BRITANNIA believe every part of the channel is inevitable and as such

they don’t think there is any need to bypass any of them.

39
Q10. Do you think that qualitative results of marketing largely depend on

contributions

made by distribution channel members now a days?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

YES ** * * ½*

NO

Here HLL strongly believes that due to the contributions of distribution channel

members overall marketing efforts have a synergistic effect, thus they have given

two stars to their YES.

AMUL & NESTLE also are of the similar view, but BRITANNIA thinks that it is

true but other factors also affect the overall marketing results and that is why half

star.

40

Q11.Is it essential to keep channel members happy, loyal & well motivated towards

trade?

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

YES * * * *

NO

41
Q12.Rate the role of intermediaries in the era of globalisation and IT? Rate on a

scale of

1-7; 1 being least important and 7 being most important.

HLL

FACTORS

Role of Intermediaries in the scale of 1 (Not important)

to 7 (very important)

C & F Agents Stockists /

Distributors

Retailers

Logistics and Exchange Functions

Breaking Bulk 5 6 6

Assortment

Timely, intact movement and Delivery of

Products

673

Availability and proper storage of products 5 6 6

Order processing and Fulfilment 6 4 3


Marketing Functions

Market coverage and penetration 1 7 5

Facilitating Buyers in Information search 0 4 7

Supporting Buyers in their Purchase Decision 0 5 7

Product Holding and Risk – sharing 6 6 1

Local Credit (if any) 0 6 5

Push Effort to generate sales volume 4 6 2

Trust Building 2 7 7

Information sharing with firms

Product performance 0 5 7

Market knowledge 2 4 6

Consumer Tastes and preferences 0 6 7

Dynamic Price effectiveness 0 0 3

Competitors Actions and Reactions 0 6 7


Effectiveness of Current promotional strategy 3 6 7

42

NESTLE

FACTORS

Role of Intermediaries in the scale of 1 (Not important)

to 7 (most important)

C & F Agents Stockists /

Distributors

Retailers

Logistics and Exchange Functions

Breaking Bulk 4 2

Assortment 5 2

Timely, intact movement and Delivery of

Products

77

Availability and proper storage of products 6 4

Order processing and Fulfilment 7 7


Marketing Functions

Market coverage and penetration 7 7

Facilitating Buyers in Information search 5 7

Supporting Buyers in their Purchase Decision 6 7

Product Holding and Risk – sharing 3 2

Local Credit (if any) 5 5

Push Effort to generate sales volume 0 0

Trust Building 4 5

Information sharing with firms

Product performance 7 7

Market knowledge 7 7

Consumer Tastes and preferences 5 7

Dynamic Price effectiveness 4 3

Competitors Actions and Reactions 6 6


Effectiveness of Current promotional strategy 2 1

43

AMUL

FACTORS

Role of Intermediaries in the scale of 1 (Not important)

to 7 (very important)

C & F Agents Stockists /

Distributors

Retailers

Logistics and Exchange Functions

Breaking Bulk 6 4 3

Assortment 6 6 5

Timely, intact movement and Delivery of

Products

764

Availability and proper storage of products 7 7 5

Order processing and Fulfilment 7 6 4


Marketing Functions

Market coverage and penetration 4 7 5

Facilitating Buyers in Information search 0 3 7

Supporting Buyers in their Purchase Decision 0 0 6

Product Holding and Risk – sharing 7 6 4

Local Credit (if any) 0 6 5

Push Effort to generate sales volume 0 0 5

Trust Building 2 7 7

Information sharing with firms

Product performance 0 4 7

Market knowledge 1 5 6

Consumer Tastes and preferences 0 2 7

Dynamic Price effectiveness 0 0 2

Competitors Actions and Reactions 0 5 7


Effectiveness of Current promotional strategy 0 4 7

44

BRITANNIA

FACTORS

Role of Intermediaries in the scale of 1 (Not important)

to 7 (very important)

C & F Agents Stockists /

Distributors

Retailers

Logistics and Exchange Functions

Breaking Bulk 6 4 2

Assortment 5 3 2

Timely, intact movement and Delivery of

Products

573

Availability and proper storage of products 6 7 6

Order processing and Fulfilment 6 7 7


Marketing Functions

Market coverage and penetration 5 7 6

Facilitating Buyers in Information search 1 4 7

Supporting Buyers in their Purchase Decision 0 2 7

Product Holding and Risk – sharing 6 5 3

Local Credit (if any) 0 1 2

Push Effort to generate sales volume 2 3 6

Trust Building 2 7 7

Information sharing with firms

Product performance 2 5 7

Market knowledge 2 6 6

Consumer Tastes and preferences 0 5 7

Dynamic Price effectiveness 0 0 2

Competitors Actions and Reactions 0 5 7


Effectiveness of Current promotional strategy 2 5 7

45

COMPANY OF FMCG

ABOUT HINDUSTAN LEVER LIMITED

(HLL)

You simply cannot think of the FMCG industry in India without Hindustan Lever

Limited (HLL). At Rs. 10,000 crore plus, it is a personal products behemoth. It is

difficult to define HLL’s competition on an overall scale. The only way to do it is to

go

down segment by segment (Nirma in soaps, for example) to find out who can (if at

all)

challenge HLL. (www.hll.com)

On any given day, you end up using at least one HLL markets 110 brands with

950 pack sizes across categories as diverse as foods and soaps. The logistics handled

vary from the cold chain for its ‘Walls’ range of products to the open-air cycles in

the

rural hinterland of India for ‘Surf. All possible and feasible modes of transport are

used

and vast quantities of products and unlimited information zips across from one end

of
the country to the other. (www.indiainfoline.com/fmcg/stma/st35.html)

It is an ethos HLL shares with its parent company, Unilever, which holds 51 per

cent of its equity. A Fortune 500 transnational, Unilever sells over 1,000 foods and

home and personal care brands through 300 subsidiary companies in 88 countries

worldwide with products on sale in a further 70. Individual consumers choose

Unilever’s foods and home and personal care brands 150 million times a day across

the

world. Unilever is the number one consumer goods company in the world in market

competitiveness, according to a survey of leading international corporations by Prof.

46

Jean-Claude Larreche of the International business school, INSEAD.

(http://www.indiainfoline.com/ meet/me516.html)

A few numbers drive home the scale of operations at HLL 7,500 distributors, 100

manufacturing locations, SKUs varying from 5 ml to 1 litre going to 56 distribution

locations. With 36,000 employees and 1,300 managers, it reaches about 1 million

retailers across the subcontinent. HLL’s distribution network directly covers the

entire

urban population and reaches as far as villages with over 2,000 people. In the rather

smallish Indian market for cosmetics alone, it has 70 brands. This diverse product

range
is manufactured in close to 100 factories located across the length and breadth of

India.

The operations involve 2,000 suppliers and associates. About 28 factories are

situated in

backward areas. Obviously, the company has its financials well under control

HLL is known today for its massive and penetrative distribution set up Many of its

products are no different from those manufactured by others, but what sets HLL

apart is

its unique approach. The company web site explains: “While the distribution system,

is

quite similar for different businesses, each of the businesses have, over the years,

finetuned

the system to meet their objective of serving their respective customers and

consumers in the most efficient manner. The differences, therefore, lie in the manner

business use an existing distribution network, and the channel players involved

therein,

to improve their reach and service to their customers and end users"”.

(www.domainb.

com/news_review)

HLL has several lines of business detergents, personal products and foods, the
detergents & soaps division is the largest (contributing 18 and 16 percent

47

respectively to turnover), followed by the personal products (16 percent) and foods

lines with tea contributing 16 percent. In almost all lines, it holds dominant market

shares. Analysis and company estimates suggest that at tight focus on supply chain

and usage of IT has saved HLL up to US$ 125 million (Rs. 6,000 crore) in

inventories right across the various levels of the chain.

PRODUCT OF HLL

Tubal Rings

48

Hinglact - polyglactin 910

Hidox

49

Hincryl

HIVAC –B

50

51

GROWTH OF HLL

HLL’s is a journey that started with a single contraceptive unit in 1966. It is today a
multi-product, multi-location organisation addressing various public health

challenges

facing humanity.

With a vast array of innovative products and social programmes, HLL Lifecare

Limited

is day after day taking a step closer to its vision of ‘Innovating for Healthy

Generations’.

52

HLL is the only company in the world manufacturing and marketing the widest

range of

contraceptives. It is unique in providing a range of Condoms, including Female

Condoms, Intra Uterine Devices, Oral.

HLL’s healthcare product range include: Blood Collection Bags, Surgical Sutures,

Auto

Disable Syringes, Vaccines, Women’s healthcare Pharma products, In - Vitro

Diagnostic Test Kits, Hydrocephalus Shunt, Tissue Expanders, Needle Destroyers,

Blood Bank equipment, Iron and Folic Acid Tablets, Sanitary Napkins, and Oral

Rehydration Salts

Over the past fifteen years HLL has steadily set up a strong and sound infrastructure

for
direct marketing. HLL has put in place a vast distribution network covering the

length

and breadth of the Indian continent.

HLL today reaches out to over half a million-retail outlets, including over 1,00,000

villages, in the remotest corners of India.

HLL’s products are today exported to over 70 countries.

The company set up the not-for-profit organisation, the Hindustan Latex Family

Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT), in 1992 for the purpose of designing and

implementing social sector intervention projects, particularly in the area of

reproductive

health, women empowerment and HIV prevention and control activities, with the

objective of creating planned social change. HLFPPT is today one of the top social

marketing organization in India.

HLL’s association with world leaders include those with Okamoto of Japan;

Finishing

Enterprises, USA; Female Health Company, UK; and Beijing Zizhu Pharma of

China.

53

HLL has seven state- of -the art manufacturing facilities with quality and

environmental
management system certifications. Products manufactured at its Plants also have the

‘CE’ marking.

HLL is today a leading provider of contraceptives and healthcare products to various

global public health programmes managed by international agencies like UNFPA,

UNOPS, UNHCR, WHO, PSI and IDA.

Nearly 2700 employees and with several world leaders as partners, HLL has over the

past four decades stood to uphold its mission to achieve and sustain a high growth

path,

and focus on five key thrust areas to achieve its vision. These are - customers,

employees, business, industry, and social initiatives.

In the future through technical collaborations, marketing alliances and joint ventures,

HLL wishes to keep alive the dream of all humanity – of a healthier world.

HLL is fully owned by the Government of India. It is managed by Board of

Directors

appointed by the Government. Presently, it has four Directors and it is being

expanded

to include independent Directors. The list of Directors in the Board is given below

HLL (formerly Hindustan Latex Limited) clocked a record business of Rs.1,376

crore during the 2012-13 fiscal.

HLL Lifecare chairman and managing director M. Ayyappan presented the


cheque to union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad at a

function in New Delhi last week.

Explaining that HLL has now transformed into a healthcare delivery company

after starting out as a single-product initiative, Ayyappan said that the

company's growth strategy was driven by innovation.

"The HLL corporate research and development centre, the 60,000 sq ft state-ofthe-

art facility that started functioning here Jan 1 is an example of this growth

54

story aided by innovation. The key focus area of the research centre will be

reproductive health," Ayyappan said.

Elaborating on the firm's expansion plans, the CMD said the construction of the

prestigious Rs.594-crore integrated vaccine complex, implemented by HLL's

subsidiary, HLL Biotech (HBL) at Chengalpett near Chennai, is progressing per

schedule.

"The total annual production capacity of condoms touched at 1,640 million

pieces during the last year," he said.

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has rated the performance of HLL

as "Excellent" for the third consecutive year.

HLL's range of products includes contraceptives, hospital products,

pharmaceuticals, ayurvedic products, vaccines, personal hygiene products and


diagnostic kits.

Its services include infrastructure development, procurement consultancy and

facility management.

HLL was established in 1966 with the objective of providing quality condoms for

the National Family Planning Programme.

HLL, from a single-product company, has transformed into a total contraceptive

company and is now also active in the healthcare delivery sector.

55

At present, HLL has seven state-of-the art manufacturing facilities and 22

regional offices across India

INBOUND LOGISTIC

In the mid – 1990s, HLL realised it had too many suppliers for its raw materials.

Raw materials procured ranged from chemicals to foods to glass bottles to

plastics- a logistical maze. Around 40 odd key raw materials and 60 plus

finished goods vendors supplied to HLL’s factories. Overall numbers of

suppliers were around 1,000 not to mention overseas unilever vendors for

products like deodorants and after shaves. Earlier, there was a lot of

uncertainty regarding vendors, their abilities and plans leading to a

proliferation of vendors, sometimes up to five supplying the same item.

This meant not just checking the quality of each supplier, but also five
items in the same paperwork. In the 1980s, the inbound side of not just

HLL, but all other companies was dominated by paperwork.

Then came the crunch of the 1990s. Several factors combined to help rationalise

the inbound side. Foremost was the spiralling transaction costs.

56

Taking Stock (HLL)

Inventories

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Total inventories 685 904 1,045 1,146 1,310 1,182

Raw Materials 298 366 456 535 565 515

Finished Goods 322 470 521 549 674 590

Source: CMIE Prowess database Table # 18

Company figures clearly show an improvement in raw materials inventory with

days of raw materials falling continuously from 84 days in 1990 to just 29 days of

stock

in 2005 (see table Remarkable Result). That’s a reduction of over 66 per cent over

the

past 10 years. This reduction has been made possible largely due to better

forecasting
data which is now being transmitted throughout the HLL supply chain quickly-and

the

increasing visibility of business data. HLL has launched a number of e-commerce

initiatives that will bring e-business to the heart of the company’s operations. HLL’s

vision is ‘Connect, Attract and Fulfil’ on a massive scale. In the supply chain for

example, the vision is to link in with some 3,000 stockists, 30,000 retailers and 100

suppliers spread over some 1,000 locations. The size of the ambition is based on

HLL’s

unique ability to leverage on scale and technology and the development in the

telecom

infrastructure. HLL’s Internet vision encompasses three opportunity

segmentsbusiness

connectivity, consumer connectivity and consumer commerce.

The Net- based e- tailing will work on a combination of HLL’s own V-SAT

network, that of others, mobile telephony and the public network. HLL is creating an

57

extranet covering its key stockists and retailers to optimise the supply chain right up

to

the front end. Similarly, an extranet is also being created covering the suppliers,

factories and the purchasers with the aim of achieving real time, vendor- managed
inventory.

Today, the inbound side of HLL is a very different from what it was even five

years ago. There are upwards of 240 supply chain locations- be it own plants around

the

country, or third party manufacturers, or stock points or transit/transportation points.

Almost all are linked by one form of IT or another - from the simple telephone call

to

V-SATs. The plants and TPUs are, in fact, linked by V-SATs and HLL’s ERP

system

(MFG-PRO). MFG-PRO today works on more than 220 locations all over the

country,

including the head office, branch offices, factories, depots and key redistribution

stockists. Also, HLL plans to move towards vendor- managed inventory (VMI).

“VMI

has already been used in the auto sector in India.

(www.indiainfoline.com/fmcg/stma/st35.html)

Information exchange is critical for HLL. Sales information systems will be linked,

eventually, to the retail level. They are already linked at the stockist level. The

moment
HLL sells 5,000 pieces of Lifebuoy in any one region, a signal traces right back via

the

stockist to the region depot and the branch office straight through into the production

and replenishment plans, and thence onto the factory. It is this backward trace

ability,

which gives HLL a sharp edge over competition in the one area that is crucial for

any

FMCG manufacturer stock at the point of sale.

58

OUTBOUND LOGISTICS

HLL works on the hub and spoke system. The hubs are the mother depots and

regional depots, while the spokes radiate from these to the stockists, depots and

retailers. But HLL’s large number of SKUs and brands demand a more sophisticated

version of the hub and spoke system. Fittingly, HLL uses not a one-tier hub and

spoke,

but a three-tier set up

Like any other company, HLL has slow moving and fast moving brands. It has

premium and mass-market products and any other segment that you may think of is

catered to. Inevitably, you have the Pareto Principle working 80 per cent of business

from 20 per cent of brands. In HLL’s case , brands like ‘Lifebuoy’, ‘Lux’, ‘Hamam’,
‘Vim’, ‘Rin’ and ‘Surf’ are the fast moving ones, while brands like ‘Denim’,

‘Rexona’,

‘Breeze’ and a host of others are slow moving by relation.

HLL has a three-tier system of stocking and order replenishment. On the first tier it

has the all – India buffer depot, the second level has the regional depots and the last

level h has the JIT (just-in-time) depots. From the last level, they supply the products

to

the brand that needs to travel more than two days goes to this depot. These are sent

from the manufacturing sites to the all India buffer depot where these products are

accumulated up to a full truckload for that sales region. Once the truckload is made

up,

the goods are sent to the regional buffer depot in the states, where break bulk

occursthe

load is split into the supply as per area demand. The smaller lots are now sent onto

the JIT godowns in the cities or towns and then onto the retailers via the stockists.

59

The real challenge for HLL begins now when the FMCG industry is in a

downturn. Most analysts predict that HLL is well poised to fight it out. HLL itself

has
started focusing on supply chain as a means to maintaining its leadership profile.

How it

manages the chain will be the only factor that will ensure its sustained leadership.

60

HLL’S DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

61

Raw Materials

suppliers

Packaging materials

supplier

Manufacturing units

in-house, third party

Head office All-India

buffer depot

Regional

Offices

Regional

buffer depot

JIT godowns

Rolling sales
forecasts & mktg

plans

Stockists

Wholesalers Retailers

Consumers

ABOUT GCMMF (AMUL)

The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) is the largest

food marketing company in India today with sales turnover of Rs. 2,500 crore.

While

there are a host of other players in the foods market, GCMMF reigns in the milk and

milk products and perishables segments.

GCMMF has come a long way. It is the largest organised collector and distributor

of milk and its value added products are marker leaders under the brand names of

Maul

(cheese, butter, milk, powder) and Dhara, Lok Dhara (oils). Amul’s brands of

paneer,

ice cream and sweets like Gulab Jamun and Shrikhand are fast catching up with the

market leaders in various segments. Among with a sustained brand-building exercise

over the past two decades. GCMMF is today in a position to leverage all its assets

for
exports. Some thing not even considered some years ago.(www.amul.com)

GCMMF owes its market dominance to several factors. Crucial amongst these is

its milk procurement system, which gives it access to a vast reservoir of milk at

massive economies of scale. The logistic of milk are considerably more difficult

than

for most other foods products.

62

Products of Maul

63

64

65

GROWTH OF AMUL

Amul India's growth in revenues has dropped from over 20 per cent a year till

about 2011, to 8 per cent in the quarter ended September 2013, which is its last

declared results. A Amul India spokesman declined to comment on an email

query by ET, stating that since the company was in the 'closed period', it would

be unable to comment.

To revive its fortunes in India, industry experts said Nestle could do well to bring

in fresh perspective from outside. "One of the best ways forward for Amul could

be to become more outwards focused...in terms of people and business


partners," Pinakiranjan Mishra, partner and national leader (retail & consumer

products) at Ernst & Young, said. Currently it works mostly with its own set of

people and consultants, experts said.

Industry peers say the lack of an Indian CEO could be another reason for Amul

comparatively slow growth in the country. After Daraius E Ardeshir quit the

company over 'hushed speculation of financial irregularities' in 1998, the Swiss

MNC has never had an Indian head.

"Understanding local consumers and insights, and being in direct contact with

market realities are critical," CEO of a top global foods firm said, requesting

anonymity. "More so in a high-potential emerging middle-class market like India,

with intense competition playing out across categories," the person added.

Most consumer goods multinationals in India including Hindustan Unilever,

Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble,GlaxoSmithKline Consumer

66

Healthcare and PepsiCo have almost always banked on Indians to head their

businesses.Amul is an exception, with a string of expatriates heading it for 16

years now.

Under Carlo M Donati, who was incharge from 1998 to 2004, Maggi noodles

became a top power brand and the firm kicked off an innovation pipeline of

products such as Munch. Martial Rolland led Amul from 2004-09, followed by
Antonio Helio Waszyk till October 2013 when MD Etienne Benet took over.

Experts consider lack of innovation as Amul biggest problem in India where

consumers have increasing disposable incomes and modern trade is growing

rapidly.

At a time when most firms are innovating products, analysts and rivals say

Nestle doesn't have enough products for the middle class. The firm is also

facing increasing competition across its key product segments of noodles,

chocolate and dairy.

ITC's Sunfeast Yippee and HUL's Knorr soupy noodles and to a small extent

GSK's Foodles have taken away share from its flagship Maggi, although the

Nestle brand still dominates with 80 per cent market share. Newer entrants

such as Danone in dairy, Cremica in ketchup and several regional players have

been making it tough for Nestle to grow its volume share. All this shows that

Nestle needs a new recipe for India and, perhaps, an Indian at the top to

prepare that.

67

INBOUND LOGISTICS

Inbound logistics in milk are governed by time. “Within 2.5 hours, they collect,

check, transport and process up to 1 million litres of milk every day – 365 days a

year,
non stop.” “Maul is committed to accepting every drop of milk it is offered, whether

they have use for it or not.

GCMMF and the National Dairy Development Board, under the able guidance of

Dr. Verghese Kurien and Tribhuvnadas Patel, formed what is today called the Anand

Pattern of Co-operatives. In the Anand pattern of co-operatives, the farmer – in most

cases the small marginal, non-landed farmer with 2.3 cows in his herd – sells

directly to

the cooperative society and then by extension to the dairy. The traditional

middlemen –

the brokers, the consolidator, the trucker – who are so potent in other agriculture

markets, are conspicuously absent here. The direct implication of this structure is on

costs of procurement, fair returns to the producer and quality of the milk.

So how does GCMMF procure milk? The farmers tip over their milk into a standard

container that the village society has. The computer linked to the scale electronically

notes the weight of milk and container. The same computer automatically deletes the

weight of the container from the total to give the weight of the milk.

At the same time, another man at the counter (again an employee of the society)

takes a small sample of the milk into a machine called the lactometer. This machine

68

determines the fat content of the milk and automatically transmits the result to the
computer. The price to be paid to the farmer is pre-determined based on the fat

content. The computer then generates a pay slip for the farmer who is paid either in

the

evening or the next morning, as the case may be. There is no credit period and the

disbursements are completed within one day of selling the milk to the society.

Rationalisation of vendors is not necessary.

At the farmer level, the aggregation is low – from 1 litre to 10 litres/. But at the

society level, the total volume of milk may touch more than 5,000 litres a day.

GCMMF

found a way out by developing village chilling centres or VCCs.

The milk that is bought from the farmers is filled into these VCCs, which maintain

a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. In the absence of these VCCs, the milk would

either

get contaminated or spoilt. Moreover, in order to reduce this wastage, the collected

milk

would have to be transported urgently to the nearest district chilling centre or, it

possible, to the dairy directly. In a country like India with massive infrastructure

bottlenecks, this short window span of 2 hours ore often than not meant that overall

milk quality was low and cost of procurement was much above what it should have
been. Lots of things could go wrong – the truck would not come, the milk could

spill,

too much heat or bad roads. These were the issues at the village level.

The development of the VCCs down to the village level could cause several crucial

changes in Amul’s supply chain. Also, the milk could be held at the village longer,

thus

smoothening out the morning high capacity utilisation and spreading the receipt and

69

processing of milk evenly over the day. In effect, the window span of two hours to

handle 1 million litres of milk was expanded to 4-8 hours. Today, Maul chaims to

have

upwards of 10,000 VCCs across the state, with average capacity of around 2,000

litres

each. At the same time, it must be noted that just about 2-3 per cent of all GCMMF

societies have these VCCs. While its success on a small scale is clear, on a state-

wide

scale, they have a long way to go.

Having collected the milk at the VCC and ensured its quality level, the milk now

has to be transported to the chilling centre or the dairy. Each dairy has 4-5 chilling

centres. Earlier, the vehicles used were either matadors or jeeps or 9-tonne trucks.
Today, the 9-tonne truck and the insulated truck are the norm. The insulated

stainless

steel truck-tanker, with capacities up to 10,000 litres, goes from society to society

and

collects the milk. The trucks reach the dairy by 9 am and the ‘milk run’ is

completed.

The next run is in the evening around 7 pm.

(http://www.indiainfoline.com/meet/me516.html)

At the dairy, the milk is either processed into butter, cheese or powder, or is

pasteurised. GCMMFs priority is for liquid milk, which has a shelf life of a hours at

the

dairy, while the powder has a life of anything up to 18 months.

Take a peek into the scale of Maul Dairy 120 trucks arrive daily at the gates with

milk from the societies. Around 1.5 to 2 lakh litres come from other dairies, either

due

to excess at their ends, or for further processing at Anand into powder. Each truck

can

carry up to 10,000 litres in its tank, chilled and ready for processing. On an average,

the

70
milk travels 150 to 160 km. every day the whole year around, all of these arriving in

span of 4 hours up to 9 am

OUTBOUND LOGISTICS

As Critical As The Inbound Side Is For Maul, the outbound is just as complex with

108 SKUs – all at various levels of perishability. Maul butter, cheese, shrikhand,

curd,

ice cream and mithaee all are perishable and time-bound products. This means they

have to be sold within a very tight window from the date of production. GCMMFs

reach

extends nation-wide, so accounting for packing time, transfer times and delivery to

retail outlets time, the net time available for sale can be as low as four days for curd

and

is less than one day for milk. this, in turn, means that inventory management is of

prime

importance in GCMMF. Unlike other products, the inventory of milk is practically

one

day. So GCMMF follows a strategy where plans of procurement and production are

made for 12 months rolling forecaste and inventories of butter and others are built up

during flush season for the following summer.


Too much milk is also a problem, says Vyas. “I have to have an outlet for all the

milk that I collect and process. This means that a vast sales and distribution network

is

almost imperative”. GCMMF certainly has spread its wings. Today, it directly

reaches half a million retailers and aims to expand its reach to a million by 2005 (see

table ‘Wide Reach’). Its products need a rather different set-up than a typical FMCG

company, due to the requirement of the cold chain. Says Sodhi, “we reach 4,000

distributors across India, serviced from our 48 offices nation-wide. These

distributors

71

invest in facilities like freezers, cold rooms and insulated vans.” Sodhi claims

GCMMF

has had no problems in all these years with this set-up.

72

Fig # 23

73

Farmer

Society

Milk weighing
Fat content check

Payment slip

1.5 hours

6 – 7.30 am

2–3

hours

by 9 am

Milk into VCC

Society collection

Sent by truck to

DCC or dairy

GCMMF today uses 35-40 transporters to ferry its products nation-wide to 2,500

distributors of butter and 1.5 lakh outlets for refrigerated products. Along with the

butter, cheese and other products can also be sent, but temperature requirements are

different. For example, ice cream needs freezing t temperatures (below zero), while

chocolate can be maintained at 4 degrees Celsius. This requirement drove another

change in transportation – the refrigerated truck.

Today, 125 refrigerated trucks ply on the routes. These cost up to Rs. 3 lakh to

configure and have higher running costs but the net result is very desirable. Ultra

Heat
Treated (UHT) milk is sent daily by refrigerated trucks to Vashi where it is

processed

further for sale in Mumbai. These trucks have enabled GCMMF to leverage both its

products as well as its distribution. Highly perishable goods like ice cream and curds

are sent to Mumbai – GCMMFs largest market for these products – and stored at

chilled

temperatures at Goregaon, the Fruits and Vegetables godown.

GCMMF’s butter, frozen foods (Peas) and ice cream need frozen temperatures

(below zero degrees Celsius) while products like milk and powder need chilled

temperatures (4 degrees Celsius) and chocolate has to maintained at different

settings.

Each is stored separately with separate, insulated stres and sophisticated temperature

controls. From this warehouse, h the stockists withdraw the butter, curds and other

products as and when needed. This single warehouse gives GCMMF a winning edge

over competitors.

74

GCMMF also encourages containerised cargo. It pays up to 6-7 per cenmt more

than usual open truck rates. Today, up to 40 per cent of GCMMF’s cargo goes by

such

trucks.
GCMMF estimates that vehicle costs have gone up to Rs. 6 lakh from Rs. 3-4 l akh

some years ago and fuel rates have also increased substantially to nearly Rs. 20 per

litre from Rs. 12 five years ago. Petrol is today Rs. 28 per litre in the metros. But

relative to these increase, freight rates haven’t gone up in the same ratio put together,

this adds up to considerable sayings for a leading company like GCMMF.

(www.domain-b.com/news_review)

GCMMF Inventory Norms

Level Inventory Days

Dairies 90* to 5.7**

Distributors 7

Retailers 3-4

* Summer ** Winter

GCMMF Network

2000 2005

Distributors 4000 7,000 (including Cold Chain)

Offices 48 100

Retailers Served 500,000 10,00,000

75

On the marketing side, GCMMF already has a formidable distribution network.


Not only does this give GCMMF vital access into the vast rural market. It also gives

it

the advantage of introducing new products into the same system at little extra costs.

Unlike other companies, GCMMF use a legacy system for ERP designed by Tata

Consultancy Systems (TCS) in the early 1990s. This system is still used to track

business data. The orders booked by the branches are compiled and stocks and sales

are

monitored daily. The data is received from the depots and branches by

email/fax/phone

and these are collated everyday. Then dispatch department breaks down the demand

into product groups and decides which dairy (member union) should supply the

goods.

The dispatch department coordinates the flow of information to truckers to pick up

their

goods at the respective dairies and deliver. The goods are taken to the C&FA’s who

manage the depots in the zones. Today this set-up is considered the most robust and

penetrative in India. The Internet is a key ingredient in GCMMF’s marketing

strategy.

GCMMF was, in fact, one of the firsts to launch shopping (amul.com shoppe) on its

web site. GCMMF accepts the order placed through the ‘shoppe’, relays it to the
nearest dealer of Maul in that area who then delivers and collects payment. Hence,

the

system uses the existing network, but has created a new channel for sales.

76

GCMMF order Replenishment System

Order booking (Mumbai)

Branches

(Mumbai)

Depots

(Mumbai)

Head Office

(Anand)

Demand breakdown into

products/destination at Anand
Demand allocation to various

member unions (decided at

Anand)

Dispatch from member unions to

depot (coordinated from Anand)

Order received at depot; stocks

updated; into sent to Anand

Stocks breakdown into

stockistwise demand

Dispatch to stockist

Retailers

77

ABOUT NESTLE .
Nestlé is the world's leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company. Our mission

of

"Good Food, Good Life" is to provide consumers with the best tasting, most

nutritious

choices in a wide range of food and beverage categories and eating occasions, from

morning to night.

The Company was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlé in Vesey, Switzerland, where

our

headquarters are still located today. We employ around 2,80,000 people and have

factories or operations in almost every country in the world. Nestlé sales for 2009

were

CHF 108 bn.

The Nestlé Corporate Business Principles are at the basis of our Company’s culture,

developed over 140 years, which reflects the ideas of fairness, honesty and long-

term

thinking.

78

Products of Nestle

79

80
81

GROWTH OF NESTLE

Nestle India's growth in revenues has dropped from over 20 per cent a year till

about 2011, to 8 per cent in the quarter ended September 2013, which is its last

declared results. A Nestle India spokesman declined to comment on an email

query by ET, stating that since the company was in the 'closed period', it would

be unable to comment.

To revive its fortunes in India, industry experts said Nestle could do well to bring

in fresh perspective from outside. "One of the best ways forward for Nestle

could be to become more outwards focused...in terms of people and business

partners," Pinakiranjan Mishra, partner and national leader (retail & consumer

products) at Ernst & Young, said. Currently it works mostly with its own set of

people and consultants, experts said.

Industry peers say the lack of an Indian CEO could be another reason for

Nestle's comparatively slow growth in the country. After Daraius E Ardeshir quit

the company over 'hushed speculation of financial irregularities' in 1998, the

Swiss MNC has never had an Indian head.

"Understanding local consumers and insights, and being in direct contact with

market realities are critical," CEO of a top global foods firm said, requesting

anonymity. "More so in a high-potential emerging middle-class market like India,


with intense competition playing out across categories," the person added.

82

Most consumer goods multinationals in India including Hindustan Unilever,

Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble,GlaxoSmithKline Consumer

Healthcare and PepsiCo have almost always banked on Indians to head their

businesses. Nestle is an exception, with a string of expatriates heading it for 16

years now.

Under Carlo M Donati, who was incharge from 1998 to 2004, Maggi noodles

became a top power brand and the firm kicked off an innovation pipeline of

products such as Munch. Martial Rolland led Nestle from 2004-09, followed by

Antonio Helio Waszyk till October 2013 when MD Etienne Benet took over.

Experts consider lack of innovation as Nestle's biggest problem in India where

consumers have increasing disposable incomes and modern trade is growing

rapidly.

At a time when most firms are innovating products, analysts and rivals say

Nestle doesn't have enough products for the middle class. The firm is also

facing increasing competition across its key product segments of noodles,

chocolate and dairy.

ITC's Sunfeast Yippee and HUL's Knorr soupy noodles and to a small extent

GSK's Foodles have taken away share from its flagship Maggi, although the
Nestle brand still dominates with 80 per cent market share. Newer entrants

such as Danone in dairy, Cremica in ketchup and several regional players have

been making it tough for Nestle to grow its volume share. All this shows that

Nestle needs a new recipe for India and, perhaps, an Indian at the top to

prepare that.

83

INBOUND LOGISTICS

Nestle India’s inbound supply chain is similar to most companies in the business,

using tankers, collections and so forth to bring the milk into the plants. As early as

1999, Carlo Donatti, Nestle India’s CEO, had talked about Nestlé’s foray into tetra

packed milk which needed a basic shift in supply chain. In an interview to a business

magazine, Donatti acknowledges that, if Nestle launches milk in tetra packs, its milk

production facilities will have to be close to its customers. “You must have satellite

factories and manufacturing facilities close to the market,” he says. Nestle has a

giant

operation going at Moga in Punjab – set up in 1962, the plant processes 800,000

litres of

milk that’s collected from 71,000 farmers, every day. But to be close to customers,

the

equivalent of the Moga plant may have to be set up around the country, with perhaps
smaller plants at the district level. So Nestle may have to eventually invest huge

sums in

setting up plants, though it won't have to invest in freezers for shops because milk in

tetra packs have a shelf life of up to six months.

The coffee supply chain is of course more volatile dictated by global pricing, which

in turn affects inventory planning. Nestle has no major issue with either milk or

coffee

inbound logistics.

Trace ability in the entire chain was crucial. Nestle India demarcated trace ability

of goods into two types - reactionary (trace and point the goods after an event), and

preventive (ensuring the goods are a high quality right from the start). In this regard,

84

Nestlé’s views are very similar to those echoed elsewhere in India. Both these, needs

information back up. Firstly, regarding the type, speed, format and ease of data

collection; and secondly on the IT system back up". In all these, it’s the people that

will

make the difference. Today, Nestle uses MRP and ERP for internal planning and

processes, but our folloups with vendors and others still remain on phone, fax and

email. Some vendors share data, others don't.

85
OUTBOUND LOGISTICS

The longer the supply chain, the weaker the demand signal becomes. In India, on

retail side as well as the vendor’s side, Nestle has too many intermediaries. That

adds to

time and costs, also badly impacting quality. In India, no feedback comes from

retailers.

The only source is Nestle's own staff, and the data is limited by sheer size and

complexity of the Indian market. It is in these conditions that initiatives like ERP,

SCM

software and ECR will greatly help.

In Nestle India, the demand plan using statistical tools the demand plan using

statistical tools and sales data is first prepared, then broken down into stocks data -

where and when to hold, which in turn gets broken down into a manufacturing plan.

This plan is then further broken down into materials plan handed over to the

different

vendors. For materials like cocoa and coffee, where imports play a role, stock norms

could be one-month stock, or price based. If prices go down, stock up; if up,

maintain

the safety stock only. Milk is brought in daily, as detailed above. The finished goods
move by truck, containerized trucks and concor (by rail) to far off areas. Nestle has

no

issue with outbound transport, using very much the same structure as most corporate

in

India. It spent Rs. 87 crore in 1995. Spend on freight has remained well in control at

around 5.4 percent of net sales, in spite of increasing sales over the past five years.

86

Product strategy also plays a role in Nest's supply chain. Nestle plans to market

milk in tetra packs, which gives milk a longer shelf life and in fact helps by

increasing

the sales window. Because milk can be sold over a longer period of time, it can also

be

distributed further. Nestle India has a world of experience to draw upon in strategy,

implementation and usage of the Net and e-commerce for its supply chains here. At

Nestle's the consumer demand chain involves the entire business including people

and

processes as well as managing the links between them. The importance Nestle places

on

staff. The human element is crucial.

The keywords for linking people with the technological infrastructure are connect,
collaborate, consolidate and compress. The last named involves cutting least times.

And

in logistics, that refers to eliminating errors in orders. In a recent survey, Nestle

discovered the root causes for such problems were: 45%, partner's process, 36%

nonaligned

systems and 19%, incomplete data and poor communications. The solution lies

in setting up coherent information architecture. These include personalizing the

methods, searching and classifying data, managing content and validating

information

and data sources.

87

IT has been used as a tool in Nestle, but Nestle's is not award by E-Commerce's

potential. It simply considers emerging business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplaces as

newer channels that argument existing ones. At the same time Nestlé’s would retain

its

legacy EDI infrastructure to capture the full value of its investment.

88

ABOUT BRITANNIA

Britannia is the market leader in the organized biscuit and bakery product market in
India. Biscuits contribute to more than 80% of Britannia's total turnover. Other

products

include bread and cakes. Britannia diversified into dairy products in 1997 with

processed cheese and dairy whitener. The portfolio was expanded with the launch of

butter, pure, flavoured milk in tetra packs and UHT milk.

The biscuit market in India is estimated to be 1.1mn tap, valued at Rs35bn. The

unorganized sector accounts for over 50% of the market. The market has been

growing

at a CAGR of 6-7% pa. Per capita consumption of biscuits is estimated at a low

1.5kgs,

reflecting the huge potential for growth. Manufacturing was reserved for small scale

up

to 1997, which put large players at a disadvantage. In the organized sector, Britannia

and Parley are the only national players with dominant market shares. Other

organized

players include domestic players like Brakeman’s, Champion, Quality, Praia and

MNC’s like SmithKline Consumer, Kellogg’s, Sara Lee, Heinz, Excelsior (Nestle)

and

United Biscuits.

Operating margins have been improving despite the fast pace of new product
launches in the last 2-3 years. Rationalization of manufacturing operations, and

greater

contribution of higher margin dairy products has both contributed to the margin

gains.

Britannia has decided to hive off its dairy business into a joint venture with the New

Zealand based Fonterra Cooperative. Britannia and Fonterra will each hold 49% of

the

Rs2.25bn equity, while the balance business associates will hold 2%.

89

Again in this case where milk is the main raw material, the inbound logistics is

governed by time. But inbound logistics in case Britannia is not as efficient as in the

case of Maul, though it works more or less on the same principle as that of Maul.

As it also uses VCCs but it does not matches the scale and reach of Maul. Further

the distribution is not very IT integrated, which as per their VP materials

management

V.K.Rao is going to be implemented very soon. Thus Britannia uses the local

Channel

means i.e. near and easily accessible to the plant location in the respective city and

this

is actually done with great care and efficiency.


90

Products of Brittan

91

92

93

GROWTH OF BRITANNIA

The company said the organisational changes will enhance "Britannia's position

to become an all-embracing foods company from a bakery/dairy company".

"We are preparing Britannia for high growth in India operations by catering to

the changing food habits of the evolving Indian consumer and pursuing

opportunities for growth in the overall food domain, here and abroad," said

Chairman Nusli Wadia in a statement.

Britannia's shares rose 16.5% to a lifetime high of Rs 665.80 on Monday after

the company announced robust fourth-quarter results late last week.

During Bali's tenure, first as CEO and then as MD, the company's revenues

have quadrupled from Rs 1,510 crore in 2005 to Rs 6,185 crore in 2013. But net

profit in these eight years has increased from Rs 149 crore to Rs 259 crore, a

much slower rate of growth.

This is because the company has had to navigate high costs and ward off

competition not just from older rivals such as Parle and ITC in its core biscuits
business, but also from relatively new entrants like Cadbury Kraft's Oreo and

United Biscuits' McVities.

94

While biscuits still make up over three-fourths of its total sales, the company

has made an aggressive push into other categories such as milk, cheese and

ready-to-eat food to earn higher margins. In these segments, too, it is facing stiff

competition from MTR, PepsiCo and its erstwhile partner Danone, among

others.

The international business currently accounts for less than 10% of Britannia's

revenues, with the Middle East being its main overseas market. It operates in

the region through Dubai-based Strategic Food International and Oman-based

Al Sallan Food Industries.

A Mauritius-based wholly owned subsidiary of Britannia is the holding company

of Britannia and Associates (Dubai) Ltd, which in turn holds investments in the

Middle Eastern subsidiaries.

Analysts expect Britannia to grow its international operations inorganically. "Its

international business is very small right now, and there could be some

acquisitions to make it large," said Nitin Mathur, consumer research analyst at

Espirito Santo Securities.

95
PLANT LOCATIONS

Britannia's plants are located in the 4 major metro cities - Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi

and Chennai. A large part of products are also outsourced from third party

producers.

Dairy products are out sourced from three producers - Dynamic Dairy based in

Barmaid, Maharashtra, Modern Dairy at Carnal in Haryana) and Thacker Dairy

Products at Howrah in West Bengal.

96

FUTURE STRATEGIES

The firm must recognize that it cannot make this journey alone. Companies that

want to be industry leaders realize they must reinvent the total network in which

they

are merely one player. To achieve such leadership, a firm must cooperative in

creating

the value chain constellation that will dominate an industry. This network consists of

linked set of agile companies that not only react to market challenges but in fact

dynamically anticipate and exploit new opportunities that can sustain profitable

revenue growth and exceptional shareholder value well into the next decade.

Considering the importance of targeting markets and consumers, a company must


also choose its value chain partners very carefully because they are the key to future

profits and competitive advantage. In short, alliances must be built with

organizations

that are qualified to assist in the process..

With the road map laid out and the destination defined, value chain partners can

pursue a jointly determined set of process improvement initiatives based on what

works

for other networks or on new and innovative designs created by the members of the

value chain constellation.

97

The Value Optimising a Value chain Constellation

Suppose that these revenues are 10 to 20 percent above the business plan. Imagine

that profits can be increased by 30 to 50 percent, cycle times reduced by 20 to 50

percent, and inventory as a percentage of revenue cut in half. Add to the dream in

fact

that shareholder value rises because of a doubling in earnings per share, and

customer

satisfaction reaches new highs.

These results can be achieve by leveraging the network effort and the enabling

technologies to “turbocharger” a particular supply chain. Leading manufacturing and


service organizations in the automotive, aerospace, chemical, consumer goods,

electronics, and pharmaceutical industries have already increased profits and

shareholder value through the supply chain strategies and solutions outlined in this

book. They are now seeking even higher levels of success.

United efforts may be used to move an entire industry forward. Efficient health-care

response (EHCR), efficient food service consumer response (EFCR), and several

industries focus on collaborative planning, focus on collaborative planning,

forecasting,

and replenishment (CPFAR) are excellent examples of such a combined effort.

Whether industry sponsored or promoted by a nucleus firm, the value chain

constellation emerges as an alliance among organizations with a similar vision. The

constellation focuses on meeting the classic supply chain objective; offering the

right

98

combination of data, products, and services to customers and consumers at the right

time and place and at the right price. Available-to-promise is an important feature of

this alliance, backed with the lowest total delivered cost. To achieve this reality, the

partners in the alliance must embrace a number of key elements:

A focus on the Internet as a vital medium of communication


Rapid, interactive, and successful product design and introduction.

Global available-to-promise capability with completely visible inventory.

Ability to assemble, builds, or configures diverse components into a finished

order.

Features of mass customisation in the finished offering.

A glass pipeline for viewing availability and flow of goods and services.

Analytical and financial feedback loops that accurately measure progress.

Flexible planning and execution to meet customer needs.

Zero working capital.

Continuous learning and improvement.

99

OBJECTIVES: -

The objectives of the study can be divided in to: -

1. To analyse the present scenario of FMCG industry in terms of emerging

opportunities & challenges.

2. To measure the status of distribution in overall marketing mix of FMCG


industry.

3. To identify the emerging paradigm of distribution in the era of globalisation &

IT.

100

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

METHODOLOGY: -

The study conducted to achieve the before said objectives was both exploratory and

descriptive in nature and involved personal interviews based on the questionnaire

format.

DATA COLLECTION METHOD: -

Primary source

Secondary source

Primary sources: -

The data required for the study would be based on:

Personal interviews based on pre-decided format of structured

undisguised questionnaire, which would be administered to the

respondents.

Personal interview with the Company representatives regarding the


various data.

Short interviews with the customers.

101

Secondary Sources: -

The secondary data consists of information collected from:

Websites

Annual Report of the Companies

CMIE Report

Business magazines

Trade guides

Published data on FMCG industry

102

QUESTIONNAIRE/TECHNIQUE USED: -

The questionnaire would consist of: -

Open ended questions: - To bring out the ideas and pertinent thinking

of the respondents.
Multiple-choice questions: - These questions made answering

procedure more convenient for respondents.

Tools: -

Sample constitutes of companies like HLL, AMUL, NESTLE,

BRITANNIA.

Use of percentages and bar graphs for analysis

103

LIMITATIONS

Throughout the study utmost care has been taken to avoid biases, errors so as to

ensure authenticity and accuracy. But there is possibility for some discrepancies to

come in between due to following limitations:

Respondents may give their biased opinion, as they know the identity of

interviewer.

Some questions are quantitative and respondents are answering without

understanding it fully.

104

DATA INTERPRETATION

Q1.
Importance of various functional areas

Brand Mgmt.

Advertising Mgmt.

Sales Promotion Mgt

Distribution channel

Management

Physical

distribution/Logistics

Management

Demand forecasting

& Management
Sales admn. & Mgt.

Functional areas

ratings; 1 being least important

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

Here we see that almost by all the companies the functional areas of Physical

distribution, Brand management and Distribution management were rated as the

most

Important. Thus we learn how important is distribution these days as it even drives

the

branding factor.

105

Q2.

reasons for effecient distribution management

6
7

Sustainable Bus.

Growth & long

term

performance

Greater market

dominance

Competitive

advantage

Total cost

containment

Dev. &

maintenance of

harmonious

channel

relationships

Improvement of

economic &

social welfare
ratings

HLL AMUL NESTLE BRITANNIA

In this graph we see that why companies want efficient distribution management.

Thus accordingly respective companies gave ratings. The reason, which was rated as

most important by almost all the companies, was Sustainable Business growth &

longterm

development and subsequently others.

Q12. Role of intermediaries in the era of globalisation and IT.

106

HLL

1.) LOGISTICS & EXCHANGE FUNCTION

role of intermediaries in Logistics & Exchange functions

in case of HLL

6
7

Breaking Bulk Assortment Timely, intact

movement and

Delivery of Products

Availability and

proper storage of

products

Order processing and

Fulfilment

Functions

Ratings 1 being least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

Here the role of various channel members like C&F agents, Stockist and Retailers

under the broader function of Logistics & Exchange were rated on a scale of 7,

where 7

is the most important. Rest is quite evident from the graph that which sub-function

was

rated the most and which one the least important.

107
2.) MARKETING FUNCTION

Role of intermediaries in Marketing functions in case of HLL

Market

coverage and

penetration

Facilitating

Buyers in

Information

search

Supporting

Buyers in their
Purchase

Decision

Product

Holding and

Risk - sharing

Local Credit

(if any)

Push Effort to

generate sales

volume

Trust Building

Marketing functions

Ratings 1 being least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

Here again the role of various intermediaries is rated under the broader function of

marketing and rest the graph is quite self-explanatory.

3.) INFORMATION SHARING WITH THE FIRMS

108

Role of intermediaries in Information Sharing with firms in case of HLL

0
1

Product

performance

Market

knowledge

Consumer

Tastes and

preferences

Dynamic Price

effectiveness

Competitors

Actions and

Reactions
Effectiveness

of Current

promotional

strategy

categories

ratings 1 being least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

Here again we see that role of channel members varies with category of function as

in

product performance C&F agents plays no role at all. Similarly in Dynamic price

effectiveness C&FA and stockists have no role to play.

109

NESTLE

1. LOGISTICS AND EXCHANGE FUNCTION

Role of intermediaries in the logistics and Exchange Functions in Case of NESTLE

Here we see there are no C&F agents as company has already done away with them.

Therefore, in case of timely Intact movement and delivery of products and in order

processing and fulfilment stockists/distributors and retailers play a pivotal role.

110

0
1

Rating 1 being least important

Breaking Bulk

Assortment

Timely, intact

movement and

Delivery of

Products

Availability and

proper storage of

products

Order processing

and Fulfilment

Function
C&F Agent Stockist/Distributors Retailers

2. MARKETING FUNCTION

Role of intermediaries in marketing function in case of NESTLE

Again here in market coverage and penetration, facilitating buyers in information

search

and supporting buyers in purchase decision. Stockists/distributors and retailers play

fairly important role.

111

Rating 1 being least important

Market coverage and

penetration
Facilitating Buyers in

Information search

Supporting Buyers in

their Purchase

Decision

Product Holding and

Risk – sharing

Local Credit (if any)

Push Effort to

generate sales

volume

Trust Building

Function

C&F Agent Stockist/Distributors Retailers

3.INFORMATION SHARING WITH FIRMS

Role of intermediaries in Information sharing with firms in case of NESTLE

Again in product performance and market knowledge both stockists/distributors and

retailers play a most important role.

112

0
1

Rating 1 being least important

Product performance

Market knowledge

Consumer Tastes

and preferences

Dynamic Price

effectiveness

Competitors Actions

and Reactions

Effectiveness of

Current promotional

strategy

Function
C&F Agent Stockist/Distributors Retailers

GCMMF (AMUL)

1.) LOGISTICS AND EXCHANGE FUNCTION

Role of intermediaries in Logistics & Exchange function in case of AMUL

Breaking Bulk Assortment Timely, intact

movement and

Delivery of Products

Availability and

proper storage of

products

Order processing and


Fulfilment

Functions

Ratings 1 being least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

Here this graph tells us very clearly that where time is a pertinent factor. C&FA play

most important role than distributors and retailers. This is so because products are

highly perishable in nature.

113

2.) MARKETING FUNCTION

Role of intermediaries in Marketing function in case of AMUL

34

Market
coverage

and

penetration

Facilitating

Buyers in

Information

search

Supporting

Buyers in

their

Purchase

Decision

Product

Holding

and Risk -

sharing

Local Credit

(if any)

Push Effort

to generate
sales

volume

Trust

Building

Functions

Ratings 1 being least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

In this graph we learn that in push effort to generate sales, trust building, helping

buyers

in their decision and facilitating buyers in information search, retailers play most

important role and then comes stockists/distributors or C&F agents.

3.) INFORMATION SHARING WITH FIRMS

114

Role of intermediaries in Information Sharing with firms in case of AMUL

5
6

Product

performance

Market

knowledge

Consumer

Tastes and

preferences

Dynamic Price

effectiveness

Competitors

Actions and

Reactions

Effectiveness

of Current

promotional

strategy

categories
Ratings 1 being least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

In this graph we see that for judging the effectiveness of current promotional

strategy

and competitors action, stockists/distributors and retailers play a major role than

C&F

agents

BRITANNIA

1.) LOGISTICS AND EXCHANGE FUNCTION

115

Role of intermediaries in Logistics & Exchange function in case of BRITANNIA

8
Breaking Bulk Assortment Timely, intact

movement and

Delivery of Products

Availability and

proper storage of

products

Order processing and

Fulfilment

Functions

Ratings 1 being the least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

Here we see all the three play an equally important role in almost all of the Logistics

and exchange function.

2.) MARKETING FUNCTION

116

Role of intermediaries in Marketing function in case of BRITANNIA

3
4

Market

coverage and

penetration

Facilitating

Buyers in

Information

search

Supporting

Buyers in their

Purchase

Decision

Product

Holding and

Risk - sharing

Local Credit
(if any)

Push Effort to

generate sales

volume

Trust Building

Functions

Ratings 1 being the least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

3.) INFORMATION SHARING WITH FIRMS

117

Role of intermediaries in Information sharing with firms in case of BRITANNIA

8
Product

performance

Market

knowledge

Consumer Tastes

and preferences

Dynamic Price

effectiveness

Competitors

Actions and

Reactions

Effectiveness of

Current

promotional

strategy

Category

Ratings 1 being least important

C&F agents Stockists/Distributors Retailers

118

FMCG logistics costs trends


2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 CARG

Sales (Rs Cr.) 27,455 29,421 32,192 34,559 35,290 6.0

Cost of production

(Rs Cr)

23,882 24,953 26,828 28,592 28,335 5.4

Distribution Cost

(Rs Cr)

665 683 742 784 853 2.9

Outbound

Cost/Sales (%)

3.7 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.6 (0.6)

RM Inventory (Rs

Cr)

876 1,108 1,150 1,104 1,1042 2.8

FG inventory (Rs

Cr)

1,285 1,417 1,398 1,552 1,438 2.7

RM Inventory

Holding (Days)

41 50 52 50 49 1.5
FG Inventory

Holding (Days)

31 33 30 28 29 (1.1)

Interest Cost (%) 16.4 14.6 11.9 12.2 11.3 (1.4)

Inventory Holding

Cost (IHC) (Rs cry)

355 370 304 323 280 (2.4)

IHC/Sales (%) 2.0 1.9 1.4 1.3 1.1 (1.0)

Material

Consumption (Rs

Cr)

11,016 11,800 13,174 14,537 14,055 5.0

Inbound Logistics

Cost (Rs cry)

294 293 322 346 363 2.3

Inbound Logistics

Cost/Sales (%)

1.7 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 (0.8)

Total Logistics

Cost (Rs Cr)


1,114 1,146 1,168 1,253 1,296 2.8

Total Logistics

Cost/Sales (%)

6.4 5.9 5.3 5.1 5.1 (1.0)

119

CHAPTER V – FINDINGS

Following Are The Findings Of the Study On The Topic Dynamics Of Distribution

In

FMCG Industry

India is still in its infancy in the logistics and supply chain business.

FMCG industry is in doldrums and as such must look for ways to save costs.

Thus the most drastic end effective way is controlling the distribution or in

bigger perspective supply chain.

Today distribution systems have a linear flow and some hub and spoke,

whereas the trend is moving towards Hub & Spoke at more than one level and

multidimensional flow of information.

With the passage of time use of sophisticated software tools- ERP, Trend Data,

Qualitative field inputs will increase and as a result forecasting would be


better.

One major finding is that, while branding differentiates the image of the

product, the distribution will determine its success to a large extent.

Rural markets would be the cornerstones of all FMCG strategies in the near

future and this difficult markets will only be cracked by companies that form

partnerships across their value and supply chains.

120

FMCG companies are now realising that change will come faster and harsher

than ever before, so why not change before change is thrust upon. Therefore,

Distribution has suddenly emerged from the background of the business to the

very forefront.

Last but definitely not the least with all attention now being centred on Supply

chain and logistics specifically in FMCG sector, this could well turn out to be

the business to be in.

121

CONCLUSION

From basic foods to processed foods, supply chains are equally

important. In India, all the various elements of the chain already, exist,
but none work in a cohesive entity. The disparate players even today

look no further than their immediate supplier and dealer. On one hand

the farmer get one-third of the final retail price, while on the other,

high prices of value added processed foods limits the demand. There is

an urgent need to address these issues.

The supply chain in foods takes on a great significance in developing

and improving the lives of a large part of India's population.

122

SUGGETION

On the basis of the project done and the before said analysis we may conclude that

the distribution management has emerged from the back-benches of the marketing

discipline and is all set to become a specialized area of expertise, critical to the

success

of any brand. Till date the distribution strategies of FMCG companies were

evolutionary, but from now onwards the strategies would be revolutionary and in

this

regard HLL is leading from the front.

In recent years the profile of distributors has been changing. No longer are they

old style traders, sitting in dusty godowns and keeping track of inventories with hand
written account books. Those distributors had mostly been appointed in the

preliberalization

era of low competition, where supply was what mattered. Business was a

matter of delivering – and usually rationing – products to a finite number of retailers

and ensuring that money flowed reliably to the company.

These distributors still exist, but increasingly a younger more professionally

minded breed of local entrepreneurs, who couldn’t care less about the company or its

managers, is supplanting them. Their sole interest is growing their business and

increasing returns. However it is worth noting that role of distributors in this sector

is

ever-changing i.e. dynamic and as such to be a leader always a close watch on

changing

paradigm is must.

123

Today it seems that IT cannot be separated from any discipline or function, so is

the case with distribution. Information technology has enabled distribution as key

competitive tool in today’s business environment. It removes the degree of

uncertainty

that simply existed because information was not being shared. IT enables integration

of
disparate processes successfully.

The concepts of distribution or SCM started filtering in India in late 80’s and

early 90’s and now they are beginning to acquire momentum over the broad business

landscape. Thus this study has scope for further researches.

124

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS & ARTICLES

Agawam D.K, Dr. Deeply Singh and Agawam D.P. Paper on Efficient Consumer

Response by Web based Demand Chain Management.

Agawam D.K, Dr. Deeply Singh and Agawam D.P. Paper on IT enabled

Distribution

Systems, 2000

Bowers ox Donald J And Closes David J, Logistical Management, Tata Mc Grew

Hill

publication company ltd.(edition 2001)

Dyer Jeffery and Hatch Nile, “Using Supplier Networks to Learn Faster”, MIT Sloan

Management Review, Spring 2004

Harper W.Boyd, Marketing Research, Prentice Hall Europe, 3rd Edition, Chapter

1, 2, 18.Killteller Phillip, marketing management, millennium edition. (Prentice hall

of
India).

Korean Praia et al, “The Case for re-examining IT effectiveness”, Journal of

Business

Strategy, No 2 - 2004

CMIE Reportes

125

WEBSITE

www.hll.com

www.aberdeen.com

www.agencyfaqs.com

www.web-enable.com/industry/

www.expresscomputersonline.com

www.i2.com/home/solutionareas/scm

http://www.dobney.com/Research/Brand_equity_research.htm

http://www.indiainfoline.com/fmcg

http://www.domain-b.com/news_review

http://www.adclubbombay.com

http://hydepages.com

http://www.agencyfaqs.com/news/stories

http://www.expressindia.com
126

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