Candy Confectioneries Pvt Limited (CCL)

Sajjan Singhvi, Gaurav Sharma and Rajat Gera

Sajjan Singhvi, Gaurav Sharma, and Rajat Gera wrote this case solely to provide material for Sajjan Singhvi is
class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of Professor and
a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying Gaurav Sharma is
information to protect confidentiality. Student, both at the
Department of Marketing,
Version: 2016-03-16
Institute of Management
Technology Ghaziabad,
In 2015, Shobhit Mukherjee was transferred to the state of Bihar in India as a sales
Ghaziabad, India.
manager. Bihar had been one of the top-performing markets for Candy Confectioneries
Rajat Gera is Professor at
Private Limited (CCL). Shobhit was responsible for a geographic territory called Area the Faculty of
Office. He was assisted by a salesforce. The main concern of the firm was effective Management and
coverage of rural parts of the area. The rural territory was covered by rural sales Humanities, Department
representatives (RSRs). Shobhit believed that sales employees are the key to higher of Management and
achievements in the territory. While going through the various data and figures of RSRs Commerce, Manav
posted in Bihar given in Exhibit 1, Shobhit identified a few outliers and new recruits among Rachna University,
RSRs posted across the state. He wished to understand the working style of each individual Faridabad, India.
RSR. Shobhit felt it was also important to understand the dynamics of the individual areas
assigned to them. Shobhit was sure this would enable him to reach a conclusion regarding
an individual’s level of motivation and performance and further plan the actions desired.
Rohit Sharma, a summer intern from one of India’s premier B-school, was assigned to
Shobhit. In India, a two-year MBA education requires 8-10 weeks of internship in an
organization, on completion of the first year of education. MBA students during their first
year learn subjects that provide them with an understanding of the functioning of industrial
organizations. The courses also equip them with adequate analytical skills and human
skills. Generally, the students are given problem-solving assignments during their
internship to give the firms a fresh perspective on the problems. Shobhit thought to utilize
the services of Rohit to develop a better understanding of the eight RSRs identified by him.
Rohit was instructed to find out the possible causes of attrition and factors that can motivate
RSRs.

Confectionery industry in India: an overview

The confectionery market of India consisted of chocolates; sugar-boiled confectionery:
hard-boiled candies, toffees and other sugar-based candies; gums: chewing gum and
bubble gum; and cereal bars and mints: some mint put in sugar-boiled candies. The market
for confectionary in India was close to US$1.3bn in 2013 and was expected to grow by 71
per cent to reach US$2.2bn in 2018 (Bharatbook.com, 2016). The confectionery industry in Disclaimer. This case is written
solely for educational
India was highly competitive and a large number of domestic and international players purposes and is not intended
were there in the organized market. Apart from CCL, several multinational corporations like to represent successful or
unsuccessful managerial
Nestle, Cadbury, Perfetti, Lotte, Hershey and Mars were fighting hard to increase their decision-making. The authors
market share. Several domestic players like Parrys, Nutrine, Parle, Ravalgaon and Candico may have disguised names;
financial and other
had been present in the market for a long time. Recent entrants ITC and Dabur were recognizable information to
engaged in aggressive marketing, given their existing strength in distribution of fast-moving protect confidentiality.

DOI 10.1108/EEMCS-07-2016-0155 VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017, pp. 1-26, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 1
 consumer good (FMCG) products. There were several local manufacturers of confectionery
in the unorganized sector, offering relatively higher margins to the retailers and selling
extensively in rural areas.

Candy Confectioneries Private Limited (CCL)

CCL was one of the largest confectionery players of the world and had been doing
business in India since 1995. CCL had attained a market share of 20 per cent by 2014. The
company had sales revenues exceeding 10bn in 2009 and revenues crossed ₹20bn in
2014, providing an annual growth rate of 25 per cent. The company produced and
marketed various types of confectioneries like hard-boiled candies, chewing gums and
eclairs. The company had more than 15 confectionery brands in the market. These were
sold between `0.5 to `1 per piece. Packs of multiple units of some of the brands were also
available. These packs contained 5 to 10 pieces of the brand in a box, and were sold in the
range of `5 to `15.
In 2013, the company also ventured into the extruded snacks category with its offering
branded as Zatpat. Zatpat was available in six different flavours and was priced at `5 for an
18-g pack. The six flavours included traditional flavours like chutney mixture, mango
masala, lime and tomato. In 2014, sales of Zatpat declined by 10 per cent as compared to
the previous year. CCL decided to pay more attention to Zatpat, as salty snacks was also
a growth category in India.
CCL’s products were stocked by over one million outlets across the length and breadth of
the country. The majority of these outlets were neighbourhood panwallahs, the ubiquitous
kiosk selling beetle leaves and its formulations. In one of the ORG-MARG reports, it was
estimated that sugar-boiled confectionary reached only 15 per cent of the households in
India. Even in the urban market, where consumption was supposed to be higher, the
category reached just 22 per cent of the urban households.

CCL salesforce in Bihar

Bihar state accounted for sales of about `46m out of total sales of `20bn in 2014 for the
company. Confectionary consisted of 98 per cent of sales value and snacks accounted for
the rest. North Bihar contributed `27m to total sales in Bihar State, as given in Exhibit 2.
CCL had divided its Indian sales operations on a geographical basis and the company had
four branch offices – East, West, North and South. The Head Office of the East Branch was
located in Kolkata. Bihar was one of the eight divisions known as Area Office under the East
Branch of CCL. The salesforce of CCL in the Bihar Area Office consisted of a sales
manager (SM), three area sales executives (ASEs), nine distribution sales executives
(DSEs) and 18 RSRs. The RSRs reported to the DSEs, who in turn reported to the ASEs. The
ASEs in turn reported to the SM. The team of SM, ASEs and DSEs supervised and managed
both rural and urban distribution. Exhibit 3 depicts the structure of the sales organization.

Tasks and responsibilities of ASE

ASEs reported to the SM. ASEs’ principal task was to achieve sales and distribution growth
in line with the targets assigned by the SM. In turn, ASEs set monthly target for DSEs. ASEs
monitored the execution of recommended sales process by salesforce, promo schemes,
reporting system and developed relationship with channel partners.

Task and responsibilities of DSEs

DSEs were responsible for achieving the targets set for them by ASE, effectively covering
the route plan provided by ASE, supervising the operation of RSRs assigned to them and
managing the reporting system. DSEs were responsible for helping the existing RSRs and

PAGE 2 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017

also impart on-the-job training to new recruits. DSEs were responsible for motivating RSRs
to sell slow-moving and focus brands to his retailers.

Task and responsibilities of RSRs

RSRs were responsible for achieving sales targets assigned to them by DSEs. DSEs used
to help them in devising route on daily basis in consultation with super stockists (SSs) and
sub distributors (SDs). It was expected of RSRs that they will cover each retailer in their
territory once a week. RSRs were supposed to keep good relations with existing channel
partners and look for new partners including SDs. Merchandising and following the defined
sales process were other tasks expected of RSRs. It included checking stocks, showing
illustration folders, new product samples, explaining the features and benefits, taking the
order, delivering the stock, collecting outstanding and filling report.

Urban distribution network

There were well-designed distribution networks for urban and rural areas. In case of the
urban distribution, the goods were delivered from the depot to the distributors, who in turn
supplied the goods to the retailers and wholesalers, as shown in Figures E2 and E3. The
distributors were paid in the range of `3,000 to `4,000 per month for each employed
salesman to affect the supplies. The distributor salesmen and the distributors were guided
in their operations by the DSEs.

Rural distribution network

For reaching the markets in rural areas, a hub and spoke model was followed by the firm.
An SS was appointed by the company at major cities like Gaya, Patna and Hajipur. The role
of the SS was to stock the goods received from the depot and to dispatch them to the SDs
in the smaller towns. There could be more than one SD in a town based on the financial and
market coverage abilities of SDs and the objectives of the firm in the market. SSs and the
SDs got a fixed margin on the sales. SSs were also entitled for an amount of `27 to `33 as
freight for per case of the goods dispatched depending on the road condition of the
geographical area supplied. SDs in turn sold the goods to the retailers and wholesalers, as
shown in Figures E2 and E3. The total strength of rural distribution structure in Bihar was 38
SSs and 570 SDs, as shown in Exhibit 5.
There were nine firms active in the organized market of confectionary products in the Bihar
market. The primary distribution channel engaged was SSs and SDs for most of the firms.
The status of different firms with respect to market coverage appears in Exhibit 6. The
average number of towns covered by an SS for these firms varied between 6 and 26. Each
major town, where SSs were appointed, was well connected by road with a different
number of smaller towns irrespective of the administrative districts of the State. The SS of
a major town was expected to cover these towns only. Thus, the number of towns covered
varied among SSs.

Rural salesforce in Bihar

The main salesforce consisted of RSRs. Individuals experienced in selling FMCG products
were considered for the post of RSR. The length of experience was given preference over
educational qualifications. Qualifications varied from school certificate to new MBA
graduate from ordinary colleges. However, it was essential that the candidate should be a
local resident. RSRs played an extremely important role for covering the rural market of the
firms. They ensured that the products were available in the far-off areas in their territory.
Most of the companies assigned territories and SDs to RSRs based on geographical
coverage and sales potential. Each RSR handled a widely varying number of towns and
SDs among the firms.

VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 3

 These salespersons played a key role in appointing new SDs and managing the existing
SDs. RSRs visited the city of the SD and helped in contacting the retailers or retailing at the
shop itself. The frequency of the visit to the town by the salesperson depended on the
quantum of sales at each outlet. A higher number of visits was made to outlets with a higher
amount of sales. The number of the visits to high-sales outlets was left to the discretion of
the RSR, but he was required to visit all the outlets once a week.
RSRs were on a third-party payroll, whereas the remaining members of the salesforce were
on the company payroll. The monthly compensation paid to RSRs varied between 7,500
and 22,000 among different firms in the organized sector. The details of compensation paid
to RSRs are given in Exhibit 7.

Rural sales representative and CCL

CCL had 18 RSRs in Bihar. The RSRs for CCL acted as the link between the SDs and the
SS. RSRs communicated the orders placed by the SDs to the SS and possible delivery date
from SS to SD.
As the number of stock keeping units (SKUs) was very large, all the SKUs of confectionery
were divided into two groups: C1 and C2 (Exhibit 8). There were separate SS and SDs in
most of the towns for each group of products and SKUs. The SSs for both C1 and C2
groups were appointed primarily on the basis of historical sales data, future growth
projections and the geographical coverage. SS appointed in a given territory covered 10 to
20 SDs.
An RSR was allocated to the two SSs for C1 and C2 groups in a given territory. An RSR
handled all the confectionary items of C1 and C2 groups in the territory that was assigned
to him. Where the sales potential and towns under an SS were very high, two RSRs were
allocated to the territory. RSRs were supposed to cover a certain number of outlets per
week in each territory. However, given the difficulties of travel on a route, the number of
outlets covered every day varied. It was essential to cover each retail outlet once a week.
More visits was left to the discretion of RSR. The DSE played a key role in assigning the
territories to the RSRs reporting to him. One of the issues faced by the RSRs in the existing
system was that they did not have equal number of SDs or equal geographical area under
them. The sales potential varied from SS to SS. In turn, it affected the sales target achieved
by RSR.
RSRS were primarily engaged in stock-taking, order booking, negotiating credit terms and
reporting. Some of the RSRs used to put extra efforts for selling the “focus product” (it
varied from time to time) and slow-moving products. Some of them also made an extra
effort to sell against cash and were fast in recovering the outstanding from retailers to SDs.
The RSRs were paid a fixed salary and incentives. The incentive schemes were uniform for
the RSRs irrespective of the area covered and the sales potential. They were also entitled
to claim expenses up to a given limit. The details of compensation structure are given in
Exhibit 9.

A day in the life of an RSR in CCL

An RSR started his work at 9 a.m. in the morning. First action was to send the morning SMS
stating the place/s of visit on the day. On arrival at the destination, the RSR was supposed
to reach the office of the SD and carry out stock-taking in his warehouse. This was followed
by a market visit with either the owner himself or a salesman of the SD.
Orders were booked for various products from the retailers during the visit to various retail
outlets in the area. Special efforts were made to convince the retailers to buy products
under focus. The RSR also explained the margins that the retailer would get and at times
negotiated the credit terms on behalf of the SD. A daily market report (DMR) sheet was
maintained by the RSR. The name of the outlet, orders for brands and presence of

PAGE 4 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017

competitors’ brands were entered in the sheet. The DMR Sheet provided the basis for the
analysis of number of calls, productive calls, sales etc. The format of the sheet is given in
Exhibit 10. An RSR was expected to keep the DMR sheet with utmost care, and the sheet
was subject to verification by his seniors in the monthly review meetings. The DMR sheet
was also the basis for sending the evening SMS. It was also the responsibility of the RSR
to collect the outstanding payments from the retailers while visiting them.
After booking orders, the RSR returned to the SD’s office and ensured that the ordered
quantities were delivered immediately to each retail store. Then, the RSR updated the SD
regarding the various sales schemes that the company was offering for the given period
and obtained a delivery order from the SD. The RSR then called over the phone the SS from
the SD’s outlet, providing him with the details of the order from the SD. In turn, the RSR
obtained the possible order delivery date from the SS and communicated it to the SD. After
returning home, the RSR was supposed to send an evening SMS stating the SD’s name,
number of calls made, number of productive calls and amount of sale proceeds collected.

RSR attrition
The other major concern of CCL was high attrition rate of RSRs. The attrition rate for the East
Branch of CCL consisting of eight areas is given in Exhibit 11. 2013 has been a bad year
for the Branch, when the overall attrition rate peaked at 40 per cent. Of course, Bihar had
the lowest rate of attrition. During 2014, other areas of the East Branch made a significant
improvement, but in the Bihar area, it was not so. The Bihar area ended with the highest rate
of attrition in the East Branch. Mukherjee wondered why RSRs left the job, given the low
opportunity for employment in the area. Rohit was asked to carry out a survey and find out
the reasons for leaving from the RSRs. Rohit got an opportunity during his stay with the firm
in the annual training program to survey the reasons for leaving. The details are available
in Exhibit 12. Personal growth and salary were the two main reasons for leaving the job. This
was opined by as high as three-fourth of the respondents.

Summer intern report

Rohit was asked by Shobhit to spend four days with each of the eight RSRs identified by
him. Rohit was supposed to spend a full day with each one of them to understand their
working and assess the working style’s suitability in the local market. He was introduced to
RSRs as a future SM on probation. Rohit belonged to the state of Bihar and was familiar with
the local language and culture. Rohit was asked to report on the RSRs’ working and attitude
towards the work. Rohit submitted the following report after interacting with the RSRs.

Anshul Gupta
Anshul Gupta, aged 29 years, a graduate, had been working with CCL for the past four
years. Anshul was recently transferred to a newly appointed SS in Patna. Anshul had been
an excellent performer. Anshul diligently visited the markets and carried out retailing and
order booking for the SDs. Anshul’s videos on selling performance were used for training
new RSRs. The videos were also shown in the annual refresher training program. Anshul
was assigned to a newly appointed SS to develop the new market and also appoint good
SDs in this new market. Anshul was covering 22 towns before the new assignment. Now he
was required to cover only 10 towns. It made him unhappy. Anshul felt that he had been
deprived of a developed market. Anshul thought that his good performance in the past has
not been recognized and he was burdened with an underdeveloped territory. Anshul also
had an apprehension that this will affect his earnings, as he may not be able to earn more
incentive amount given the current compensation structure. Anshul believed that based on
his past performance, he should have been promoted to the post of DSE and put on the
payroll of the company. Anshul expressed his unhappiness about his salary and said he
was seriously thinking to move to a different company in case of a better compensation.

VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 5

 Anshul was also annoyed because of the non-reimbursement of his medical bills of `3,000
by the company, despite submitting all the necessary documents. Anshul was also facing
the problem of cross-territory sales by other RSRs. Anshul had the habit of starting work
after 10.30 a.m. every day. He would reach the destined town only by noon. However, he
was never in hurry to return back home unless he had completely covered the entire market
and performed his tasks for the day.

Bharat Kumar
Bharat, aged 30 years, a graduate, had worked for the company for three years. Bharat had
achieved 20 per cent sales growth every year in his territory. Bharat covered 25 towns and
41 SDs. He was actively looking for a new job, as he felt that there was no career growth
in the company despite performing well. He started his day at 9 a.m. and returned home by
4 p.m. He called in sick for two days when Rohit was supposed to work with him. Bharat had
not met his sales target in the past three months and could not get any payment towards
incentive. Bharat felt that he was covering a large territory compared to others, but his
compensation was low given the workload. Bharat claimed that his counterparts in other
firms got a higher amount of fixed compensation and other firms had a well-defined career
path for RSRs. Bharat also mentioned to Rohit that he planned to marry next year and it may
mean more financial commitment.

Chandra Shekhar
Chandra Shekhar, aged 42 years, covered 26 towns and 37 SDs. Chandra had been
working with the company for the past 3 years. Though dissatisfied with the pay and
incentive schemes, Chandra made it clear that he had no plans to look for a new job.
Chandra knew that at his age, it was very difficult to find a new entry-level job in field sales.
Chandra was well known in the markets where he worked and had a good relationship with
retailers. Chandra took pride in mentioning that he knew most of the store owners by name.
Chandra also had a steady income from his agriculture farms, which were managed by his
wife and brother. This salary income was just to supplement his farm income. Moreover, the
job also provided him some social status. Chandra generally left for work at 9 a.m. and
returned by 6 p.m.

Devneet
Among RSRs, Devneet, aged 28 years, was the only qualified MBA from one of the lesser
known institutes of Bihar. He had joined the company four months ago. Generally, Devneet
used to reach the market at 9 a.m. and left for home by 11:30 a.m. Devneet opined
frequently that CCL already has a very strong presence in this market, and therefore,
retailers themselves placed orders with the SDs directly and similarly SDs with SS. Devneet
never carried out stock-taking at the SD level and felt each SD should be responsible
enough to manage their own stock. Devneet did not even care to fill the DMR sheets. Rohit
had requested all RSRs to also let him see the evening SMS sent to the company so that
he could understand and analyse the work done in the area. Devneet’s evening SMS
always contained highly inflated figures, both for number of calls and sales. Devneet
considered himself to be one of the most important RSRs for the company because of his
MBA degree. Devneet was sure that he would soon climb the corporate ladder. Devneet
behaved rudely with some of the retailers visited. Devneet also had a habit of making calls
simply to say hello. Devneet never prepared for the calls and ignored the instruction of the
company to concentrate upon “focus” products for emphasis and persuasion while making
a call. Devneet’s father ran a small dairy business. Time and again, Devneet often
mentioned that his father’s business was highly profitable and his father was insisting that
he should join it.

PAGE 6 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017

Ebraham
Ebraham, a 32-year-old graduate, had been associated with CCL for the past four years.
Ebraham was attached with an SS, who also worked with another RSR, named Giriraj. Both
RSRs worked in different towns handled by SS. Ebraham covered 15 towns and 22 SDs.
Ebraham had recently started his own business by opening a small mom and pop store.
Ebraham’s wife looked after the store during the day time and later he managed the shop
till night. Ebraham was very unhappy with CCL, as he felt he deserved a promotion as DSE.
Ebraham’s argument was that he had been achieving the second highest increase in sales
for the past two years. At the same time, Ebraham was clear that he needed to work as an
RSR to support his store. His store was doing well and soon he may have the confidence
to quit the job. Ebraham mainly visited the top-performing markets and inflated the figures
in the SMS. Ebraham was found missing on a surprise visit by ASE to his market. Ebraham
had neither applied for leave on that day nor intimated the authorities about the absence.
On seeking explanation, Ebraham said he would try not to repeat this in future. Ebraham
was also unhappy with the way territories were divided between him and his co-RSR for SS.
He felt that his co-RSR Giriraj got all the wholesale markets. Consequently, Giriraj posted
better sales figures and earned higher incentives. Ebraham’s sales figures had been
declining for the past six months and he had been warned by the ASE for the same.

Giriraj
Giriraj, an undergraduate, aged 28 years, had been associated with CCL for the past three
years and covered 20 towns and 28 SDs. Giriraj was extremely hard-working and had
achieved the highest increase in sales for two consecutive years in the Area. Giriraj was
assured of a promotion soon by the ASE and he was eagerly looking forward to the news.
Giriraj always left for the market at around 8 a.m. and returned only after 6 p.m. His territory
included several wholesale markets, and therefore, Giriraj seldom visited the smaller retail
markets. Giriraj believed that this resulted in higher sales value and improved his
productivity. Giriraj had been the only RSR to achieve all the targets set for the past six
months, and was very keen to work hard to get promoted soon. But at the same time, it was
also observed that Giriraj did not care to sell the total range of products. Rather Giriraj
concentrated selling only the established brands of the company. Even on enquiry by
Rohit, Giriraj gave an impression that it did not matter as long as he was achieving the
overall targets and the company was making money.

Himanshu Garg
Himanshu Garg, aged 35 years, was associated with CCL for the past five years. Himanshu
had three children to support and his wife died last year in an accident. Himanshu was
covering 20 towns and 30 SDs. His SS had two RSRs, but the other RSR had resigned five
months back. Himanshu was looking after his territory as well. So currently, Himanshu was
covering 30 towns and 43 SDs. The sales had declined during the past three months in SS’s
territory. Himanshu blamed his increased workload for the same. Himanshu often said that
he was willing to work more but needed to be compensated for doing the work of two RSRs.
Himanshu was promised a promotion one year ago but was not promoted. Recently, the
DSE to whom he was reporting quit, and hence, he directly reported to the ASE. ASE had
again assured him that he would be promoted as a DSE soon and rather he should find
candidates who could be interviewed for the post of RSRs in his territory.

Indra Kumar
Indra, 37 years old, had been working for the company for two years. Indra had not
managed to achieve his sales targets for the past six months. Indra felt he was unable to
perform well due the competition in the market and family issues. Eight months ago, Indra
had been transferred to a place away from his hometown, where his wife and children lived.

VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 7

 Indra took rented accommodation at the new place, resulting in increased living expenses.
The company did not pay anything extra to RSRs who stayed away from home. Indra
strongly believed that this was an unfair practice followed by the company. More so, Indra
had 20 towns and 35 SDs to cater to. On visits with him, Rohit observed that Indra did not
even seem to remember names of all the brands of the company and was in fact reminded
about them by the retailers. ASE scolded him in front of an SD on one of the recent market
visits. Indra did feel greatly insulted. Rohit was further told by him in confidence that he had
now started inflating the figures in the evening SMS just to show that he was doing well. He
said he would move out of the company as soon as he got an opportunity. Indra was well
aware that at his age it was difficult to get a new job.

Zatpat sales
All RSRs were concerned about the sales of the Zatpat snack category. According to them,
they had been extensively trained for selling confectionery, where they were doing a good
job. But the inclusion of Zatpat in the selling basket had increased their job stress. The
RSRs proclaimed that they had not been trained adequately for selling snacks. Further the
management was pressurizing them to increase the sales of Zatpat. Gupta commented,
“We have been given unfair and unachievable targets to get incentives. Consider this: One
needs to bill a carton of Zatpat to all the SDs under him for two consecutive months to get
a reward of a digital camera. Now if RSR has only 15 SDs to handle, it is easy for him to do
so and win a digital camera. However, if one has more than 25 SDs to handle, it is very
difficult to achieve this. RSRs should get an equal opportunity to earn a reward despite
handling different number of SDs and consequent sales.”

Way ahead
Shobhit went through the report card on each of the RSRs submitted by Rohit. The results
of a survey conducted by Rohit to find out the reasons for leaving the job by RSRs during
annual training of RSRs were also available with him. Apart from the observations made by
Keywords: Sharma, he also had some data about competitors’ RSRs, given in Exhibits 6 and 7. It
Salesforce, contained information regarding market coverage status of different firms in the organized
Sales management, confectionary market in Bihar. It also provided information regarding compensation paid to
Selling, RSRs by different firms. A snapshot is also available about SDs’ sales and towns covered
Sales performance, in Exhibit 13. Mukherjee wondered what conclusions he should draw out of it? What
Distribution channels, impressions should he form about each of the RSRs? How could he better motivate each
Channel management/ one of them? What could be done to pursue the sales of a new product category introduced
relationships by the company?

Reference
Bharatbook.com (2016), “Indian confectionery market projected to reach US$2.2bn by 2018”,
available at: www.bharatbook.com/press-release-1099/indian-confectionery-market-projected-to-
reach-usd-22bn-by-2018.html

PAGE 8 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017

Exhibit 1. A broad picture of different RSRs employed in Bihar

Table EI
No. of towns No. of months
RSR Age Education covered in organization

1 29 Graduation 22 48
2 30 Graduation 25 36
3 42 Graduation 26 36
4 28 Post-graduation 30 4
5 32 Graduation 15 48
6 28 Graduation 20 36
7 35 Graduation 30 60
8 37 Graduation 20 24
9 25 Graduation 21 12
10 28 Graduation 18 52
11 22 Graduation 21 64
12 31 Graduation 24 60
13 26 Graduation 25 23
14 25 Graduation 22 26
15 29 Graduation 30 48
16 30 Post-graduation 24 8
17 24 Undergraduate 25 13
18 37 Graduate 20 24
Source: Summer Intern estimates

Exhibit 2. CCL’s sales in Bihar in 2014 (` million)

Table EII
Area Confectionery Snacks Total sales

N Bihar 26.9 0.5 27.4

S Bihar 18.4 0.4 18.8
Total 45.3 0.9 46.2
Source: Summer interns’ estimates

VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 9

 Exhibit 3. Organization chart of CCL’s Area Office, Bihar

Figure E1

Sales Manager

Area Sales Area Sales

Executive (ASE) Executive (ASE)

Distribution and Distribution and

Sales Executive Sales Executive
(DSE) (DSE)

Rural Sales Rural Sales Rural Sales

Representative Representative Representaitve

Source: Summer intern

PAGE 10 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017

Exhibit 4. Flow of goods under urban and rural distribution

Figure E2 Urban distribution

Figure E3 Rural distribution

Exhibit 5. Rural distribution setup in Bihar at a glance

Table EIII
Type of intermediary Number

Number of super stockists (SS) 38

Number of sub distributors (SD) 570
Number of rural sales representatives (RSR) 18
Number of towns covered by RSRs 418
Source: Summer interns’ estimates

VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 11

 Exhibit 6. Market coverage status of different firms in the organized
confectionary market in Bihar

Table EIV
Average no. of Average no. of Average productive
Name of the smaller towns Average no. of outlets to be covered calls percentage
company/firma covered by SS SDs with SS each day by RSRs to be achieved

AB 26 26 30 80
CD 16 16 25 80
CCL 26 15 32 75
EF 8 8 30 70
GH 15 15 35 70
IJ 18 18 35 80
KL 9 9 25 80
MN 16 16 35 70
OP 6 1 25 80
Note: aThe name of the firms competing with CCL has been disguised
Source: Field data collected by summer intern

Exhibit 7. Details of compensation paid to RSRs within the organized sector

Table EV
Monthly disbursements
Name of the Monthly basic including basic salary, Salary
companya salary `() TA, DA, incentives, etc.`() increment period

AB 6,000-6,800 22,000 Annual

CD 8,000-10,600 19,000 Annual
CCL 6,200-6,900 12,000-13,000 No fixed period
EF 5000 14,000 Annual
GH 7,000-8,000 16,000 Annual
IJ 7,000 14,000 Annual
KL 5,300 7,500 Annual
MN 8,000 22,000 Annual
OP 5,000 12,500-13,500 Annual
Note: aThe name of the firms competing with CCL has been disguised
Source: Field data collected by summer intern

PAGE 12 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017

Exhibit 8. C1 and C2 products packages and max retail price

Table EVI
No. of pieces Max retail price
Name of the brand packed together (C1) per piece `(₹)

Bubble Strawberry 250 0.5

Dent Gum 500 1
Dentos 250 1
DentosIlaichi 500 1
Double Mint 100 1
Gum Duos 100 1
Gum Gum 200 0.5
Lalp 200 0.5
Lalp Mango 300 1
Lalp Masala 500 1
Lalp Strawberry 1,000 1
Lolly Top 100 1
Shock Gum 100 0.5
Tip Top 100 0.5
Zazz 1,000 0.5
No. of pieces Price per
Name of the brand packed together (C2) piece `(₹)
Bubble Strawberry 100 0.5
Dent Gum 250 1
Dentos 100 1
DentosIlaichi 250 1
Double Mint 250 1
Gum Duos 500 1
Gum Gum 200 0.5
Lalp 200 0.5
Lalp Mango 1,000 1
Lalp Masala 250 1
Lalp Strawberry 300 1
Lolly Top 200 1
Shock Gum 200 0.5
Tip Top 200 0.5
Zazz 500 0.5
Note: All flavours of Zatpat were available with both C1 and C2
Source: Field data collected by summer intern

Exhibit 9. Compensation structure

1. Take home after PF, ESIC: `6240 to `6840 (depending on years in company).
2. Daily allowance: `130 per day worked.
3. Other expenses reimbursed maximum up to `500.
4. Mostly non-cash incentive schemes like achieving quarterly targets, etc.
Data source: Company Records.

VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 13

 Exhibit 10. Sample daily market report sheet

Table EVII
Time of Market Sub
reaching market worked distributor

Outlet name Brands and sales Competitor brands

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Total Sales Sub Distributor Signature
Source: Field study by summer intern

Exhibit 11. RSR attrition rate for East Branch of CCL (%)

Table EVIII
Area 2013 2014

Bihar 22 16
Central Orissa 73 9
Western Orissa 27 0
Chhattisgarh 33 13
Jharkhand 20 0
North Bengal 75 0
Up Bengal 56 11
North Eastern States 86 7
Overall 40 8
Source: Summer interns’ estimates

Exhibit 12. RSRs’ reasons for leaving

Table EIX
Relationship
RSR Personal Lack of Difficulty Relationship Relationship with SS and Work
response Salary growth motivation of job with boss with PSRs sub DBs environment

Agree 12 13 8 1 5 0 6 9
Disagree 2 2 7 13 9 13 9 5
Neutral 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 1
Total 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
Source: Survey conducted by summer intern

PAGE 14 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017

Exhibit 13. Sub distributors sales and towns covered

Table EX
Sales (`) No. of towns No. of SDs

Less than 10,000 31 38

10,000-50,000 217 309
50,000-100,000 113 151
More than 100,000 78 111
Total 439 609
Source: Summer interns’ estimates

About the authors

Dr Sajjan Singhvi is currently a Senior Professor with IMT, Ghaziabad. Earlier he has worked
as a Professor (Marketing) with MDI, IIM, Indore, FORE and IMI. His managerial career is
with Fertilizer PSUs, SAIL Indo-Rama Synthetic Ltd. and Director & Dean of AIM. He was
UNDP Fellow in Marketing for an academic term at Kellogg School of Management, North
Western University, USA. He was trained in participant-centred learning and case writing
and case development at Harvard Business School. He was a non-executive board
member of IMPCL.

Gaurav Sharma is currently Area Business Manager with Titan Company Ltd. Prior to this
he was Assistant Retail Manager with VIP Industries Ltd. He is double Gold Medallist in
PGDM from IMT, Ghaziabad, having done his BCom (Honours) from Sriram College of
Commerce, Delhi. He has been state topper in Class 12 board examination.

Dr Rajat Gera has over 16 years of academic experience of teaching, research, academic
administration, executive training and consultancy. He has worked with leading business
schools and institutions in India and abroad like IMT Ghaziabad, Fore School of
Management and IIT Roorkee. He has over 35 international and national publications to his
credit and he is the author of two books. He has authored cases published by Richard Ivey
Business School and registered at Harvard Business School Publishing and by London
Business School, UK. Rajat Gera is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
geraim32@rediffmail.com

VOL. 7 NO. 1 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 15