Project 1

Sales Routes, Retail Audits and Selling

Strategies
For Gemini Edibles & Fats Ltd. (Sales & Distribution Management)

Group 1:
Sharvari Shirke
Dhruv Gandhi
Tariq Nahas
Divya Prajapati
Lalit Dhankar

Background: FMCG companies are looking for ways to increase sales of their brands and build
superior selling capabilities using retail data.

Objectives:
1. To understand salesperson’s route and his/her job in a typical sales day.
2. To set up a retail audit mechanism for three competing brands in a chosen category and
geography.
3. To determine data collection method; collect & analyses retail data.
Current Point of Contact: Patel Shoab
Designation: Area Sales Manager, Gemini Edibles & Fats Ltd.
Area: Karnataka
Categories: 1. Sunflower oil
2. Rice bran oil
3. Groundnut oil
4. Mustard oil
Selected category: Sunflower oil
Top Competitors: 1. Sunpure (MK Agrotech)
2. Goldwinner (Kaleesuwari Refinery Pvt. Ltd.)
3. Freedom oil (Gemini Edibles and Fats Ltd)

About the company

Gemini Edibles & Fats India Limited (GEF India) is headquartered out of Hyderabad, India and
is engaged in the business of manufacturing, distribution and branding of edible oils and
specialty fats in India. GEF India has three port-based manufacturing facilities on the east coast
of India, with two in Kakinada and one in Krishnapatnam. The company is promoted and
headed by Mr. Pradeep Chowdhry who has over four decades of work experience, of which 30
years have been in the edible oils and fats industry. He has worked with companies such as
Britannia Industries Limited, ITC Agro Tech Limited and Indian Explosives Limited and has
also served as the Managing Director of Acalmar Oils & Fats Limited. GEF India clocked a
turnover of ₹ 77,659.62 Million during the financial year 2020-21.
Why Gemini Edibles & Fats Ltd.?
Edible oils and fats are retail products which have constant and stable demand in Indian
households. As a result, there are high-volume sales happening day in and day out which is why
this sector is appropriate to study the high scale of volume and complexity of channels and
activities provide best learning opportunities and exposure.

Sunflower oil is a category of Gemini Edibles & Fats, which is overall among the highest in
sales volume among other categories. Moreover, sunflower oil by GEF is number one by sales
volume in all the other states it is sold i.e., Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa & Chhattisgarh.
It is only in Karnataka that it ranks 3 rd, despite high volume of sales. Karnataka region is a
growing market with good potential for GEF, which is why it is riveting to study the strategies
employed, efforts being put to increase sales and add recommendations if any.

We have successfully established a contact with the Area Sales Manager in Karnataka Region,
who is managing the potent and growing category of Sunflower oil.

Market Share of Sunflower Oil in Karna

Others
11% Sunpure
Freedom
Sunpure Gold winner
17%
44%
Freedom
Gold winner Others
28%

Product: Freedom Sunflower oil

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tage 2
To understand sales route along with the chosen salesperson and make note of all his activities
on field.
2.1 Sales Department Hierarchy:
Vice-President -> Zone Head (East West North South) -> Area Sales Manager…

Area Sales
Manager

Territory
Sales TSE 2
Executive 1

Internal
ISR 2... ISR 1 ISR 2...
Sales Rep. 1

GEF Sales Dept. has ISRs who are coordinating and auditing retail stores and outlets of all
categories daily. Then there are TSEs who daily coordinate with distributors in their allotted
territory.
Each distributor is given 6-12 areas, also known as beats, depending on his capacity and size of
territory.
The region in this project’s scope is Karnataka. There are 3 divisions of Karnataka region.
Each of these divisions has subdivisions called territories. The 3 divisions are:
1. Bangalore metro

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 2. Urban Bangalore
3. Rural Bangalore
1 TSE: 11-15 distributors (depends on area size, coverage by distributors, number &
concentration of retail outlets in area. Internal Sales Representative audits retailer in his
allotted 6 beats (6 areas).

2.2 ISR day-to-day responsibilities:

 Working with Bizom app, marking attendance and punching the secondary sales orders
through the application.
 Daily distributor Physical Stock taking and reporting
 Beat wise retail coverage as per norms
 Identify new outlets and list them in the beat coverage plan
 Range and focus SKU’s selling
 PTR monitoring & Retail Order Booking
 Follow up with the Distributor for Billing & Supplies
 Tracking Competition Pricing/ Retail schemes and report
 Understanding the criteria / requirements of new Distributor appointments
 Identifying & appointment of new distributors
 Fulfilment the order and Adhering to Day end processes.

2.3 Distribution Channel

As depicted in above figure, the sales & distribution channel of GEF primarily goes via
distributor on large scale, which is coordinated by TSE (who is the bridge between
manufacturer and distributor). Along with this bridge, there also exists a system of C&F Agents
(Clearing & Forwarding Agents) followed by traders. Even this system is coordinated by TSE.
Whereas ISR is the bridge between distributor and Retailer.
 Manufacturer > Distributor > Wholesaler > Retailer > Consumer
 Manufacturer > C&F Agents/Stockists > Retailer/HORECA > Consumer
 Manufacturer > Traders > Retailer/HORECA/Consumer > Consumer

2.3 Retail Audit:

This kind of audit helps suppliers understand the retail store and partner better. It usually
records information like consumer sentiment, store appearance, location, cleanliness, exterior
facade, internal design and navigation, competing brands, the prominence given to emerging
brands, etc. Such audits are conducted by brand representatives of current or potential suppliers.

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While onboarding a retail outlet:
 Store location
 Store appearance
 Amount of shelf space provided
 Selling capacity
 Category Demand
 Brand Recalls
 Location where product will be placed in store
 Competitor brands sold by retailer

Regular Retail Audits to existing outlets:

 Current Inventory/Stockout
 Opening Stock & Closing Sock
 Sales Volume
 Supply & Sales Report for last 3 months
 Brand performance & identifying potential outlet/key outlet

Once a retailer is onboarded, he is audited for recording opening/closing stock, inventory audit
and new orders daily by ISRs.
Similarly, once a distributor is onboarded, he is audited for recording opening/closing stock,
physical stock audit and new orders daily by TSEs.

2.4 Promotional audit (Monitored by TSE, executed by ISR | offline marketing)

Such audits are usually conducted during promotional campaigns or holiday sale season to
understand the successes and failures in the short run. It usually contains in-depth information
on the types of promotion, duration, in-store positions, customer reception and engagement,
placement, SKUs, sale numbers, etc.
Last month, GEF has become India’s No. 1 selling sunflower oil by market share. This fact is
being heavily used to promote the brand across all outlets using posters, stickers, pamphlets,
newspaper ads, hoardings on highways, etc.
Promotional audits are conducted by TSEs to make sure promotion is done in their respective
beats.

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2.4 Loss prevention audit
These audits are focused specifically to stem product loss and damage. It helps understand the
levels of retail shrinkage, its main sources, and how to put in the right safeguards to prevent it.

Company side: Between Distributor & Company, there is depot: TSE gets order, he reports in
WH, check stock and order extra if required. In case that there is up to 20% damage from
company to WH, it is claimed by GEF. If the damage is more than 20%, then it is claimed by
transport-provider.

2.5 Highlight: Credit system for distributors (7-15 day credit)

Large distributors who place orders with high volume, this credit system has been launched.
Since the sunflower category oil prices are relatively high and their demand from these
distributors is also very high, credit system allows them to order on maximum 15 days credit
and make payment after the items start selling and they have cash in hand. Ultimately, this
system is helping in selling high-priced oil in more volume.

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Stage 3
Types of retail outlets:
1. Oil Trader
2. Staples
3. Kirana
4. Supermarket
5. Caterers
6. Cash Sales
7. Counter Sales
For each of these types of outlets, there are these categories formed based on demand volume:
Wholesale >501 SF Cases Monthly
A+ 101 – 500 SF Cases Monthly
A 76 – 100 SF Cases Monthly
B 51 – 75 SF Cases Monthly
C 26 – 50 SF Cases Monthly
D 10 – 25 SF Cases Monthly
E 0 – 09 SF Cases Monthly
F HORECA 1 – 50 CFCS/Tins per Month
G Caterers
H Counter Sales
Sales data and overall performance for each of these types and categories of outlets is collected
via a mobile application BIZOM app, for each beat.
Practically, sampling error for outlets contains outlets with less shelf size, negligible demand,
those who don’t want to keep higher-side cost products, outskirt areas, inaccessible areas, etc.

Monthly Overall Sales Performance Monitoring:

For each SKU mentioned in the table below, actual sales are recorded against the monthly
target. Monthly meeting with all TSEs is conducted to discuss and resolve

JULY
SALES July'22 Secondary July'22 Secondary Target
SKU's/Oils TARGE
DATA Target in Ltr Achieved in Ltr
T

SF 1ltr 786 1200 12400 7860

SF 500ml 59 45 450 590
SF 1ltr Pet 26 38 396 312
Sf 2ltr Pet 6 25 300 72
SF 5ltr 18.2 50 1000 364
SF 15ltr 0 10 150 0
R.B. 1ltr 44 20 200 440
G.N. 1ltr 36 15 150 360
MSD. 1ltr 3 19 192 30
MSD. 500ml 2     20
FK Lite 10 30 300 100
15538 10148

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   65.31

Apart from overall monthly tracking, weekly tracking is also done about activities and calls
made and converted each day by an ISR in his assigned areas/beats. Typically, each ISR is
assign 6 beats for which he must maintain a record.
Date 18/07/22 19/07/22 20/07/22 21/07/22 22/07/22 23/07/22
ISR Name
Annapurn
Kengeri Old Nayandah
Chandra Channasa eshwari Ullal Road
Town alli
Beat Name Layout ndra Nagar
Town Bengaluru Bengaluru Bengaluru Bengaluru Bengaluru Bengaluru
Sri
Nanjundeswar SNE SNE SNE SNE SNE
RD name a Enterprises
Total outlets
46 52 40 35
available 47 40
Total call made 45 40 44 48 38 35
Productive call 10 18 20 21 10 6
Freedom
45 45 33 30
available outlets 40 37
Zero stocks
0 5 3 2
outlets 3 2
Freedom non
1 2 4 3
buying outlets 1 1
New prodctivity
0 0 0 0
outlet's 0 0
New create
0 0 0 0
outlets 0 0
SF 1ltr 22 45 20 70 20 10
SF 500ml 3 3 2 3 2 1
SF 1ltr pet :
0 1 1 0
1Box 1 9
Sf 2 ltr
0 1 0 0
pet :2Box 0 0
SF 5ltr 1 1 1 1 1 1
SF 15ltr 0 0 0 0 0 0
R.B.1ltr 2 1 2 1 1 0
G.N. 1ltr 2 1 1 1 1 0
MSD. 1ltr 0 0 0 0 0 0
FKLITE 0 0 0 4 6 0

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