B2B Assignment

1. Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is a large public sector company, manufacturing and marketing
steel products in domestic market in India and also in International markets. Which macro and
micro segmentation variables and target market segments would you suggest to SAIL?
2. Describe how a positioning strategy should be developed for a small scale electric motor
manufacturing, in a highly competitive market, marketing to business users and OEM (original
equipment manufacturer) customers and how to communicate the same to target customers
(make suitable assumptions, if needed).
3. Assume you have joined a new company manufacturing and marketing aluminum extrusions
products as head marketing. The company would market its products to household customers
for door and window frames, and also to business customers for various applications like control
panels in electrical industry, water purification equipment, heat sinks for electric equipment, as
well as door and window frames in building construction industry. Develop a market
segmentation plan for the company.
4. A business marketer (who is ‘out’ or potential supplier) is keen to supply cold rolled (CR) steel
coils to a major passenger car manufacturer, who has been buying the same material from three
other suppliers on regular basis for past few years. As per purchase policy, the car manufacturer
cannot buy any material from more than three suppliers. What should the business marketer do
to supply CR steel coils to the major passenger car manufacturer?
5. Large numbers of personal computers (PCs) are purchased by educational institutions In India
for use of their students. Identify the factors or criteria that may be used for evaluation and
selection of a supplier. Which technique of supplier evaluation would you suggest and why?
6. An international paint manufacturing company is setting up a new plant near Mumbai, India.
The company wants to buy a material handling system for handling raw material, work-in-
process, and finished goods for the first time. The company has appointed a technical
consultant. The total value of business is estimated at about Rs 5 million. Assume that you are
the branch sales manager of one of the three major suppliers of material handling equipment.
You are keen to get this business, and you want to apply the concepts and techniques that you
had learnt at the management institute, where you studied three years ago. What would you do
and why? (Make suitable assumptions, if need be).
7. What distribution strategy should be followed by a company, which is making tyres to OEM
customers and replacement markets and why?
8. A major electrical equipment (like transformers and switch-gear) manufacturer tried to have
collaborative relationships with high business potential government organizations like state
electricity boards. What are the possibilities of success of this strategy? Explain the reasons.
9. What are the relevant macro-environmental factors for a major information technology firm like
Infosys? What would happen if the firm stops monitoring the macro-environmental factors on a
continuous basis?
10. In a highly competitive market, a tyre manufacturer wants to increase the share of business
from the current level of 20% to at least 50% with Tata Motors, which a major OEM customer.
What should the tyre manufacturer do? (Make suitable assumptions, if need be).