10.1108@bij 01 2018 0007

Benchmarking: An International Journal
A strategic analysis of tea leaves supply chain before manufacturing – a case in

Assam
Tripti Paul, Sandeep Mondal,
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Analysis of
A strategic analysis of tea leaves
tea leaves supply chain before supply chain
manufacturing – a case in Assam

Tripti Paul
Department of Management,
Received 9 January 2018
Sanjay Ghodawat University, Kolhapur, India, and Revised 29 March 2018
Sandeep Mondal 28 May 2018
Accepted 2 June 2018
Department of Management Sciences,
Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad,

Dhanbad, India
Abstract
Purpose – There exists insufficient literature on classification and taxonomy of tea leaves supply chain
(TLSC), so the purpose of this paper is to study the existing TLSCs and classify them accordingly. Apart from
this, the paper also focuses on identification of key decisions issues in the supply chains (SC) and developing a
TLSC decision framework for the state of Assam in India.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a two-year detailed study on TLSC in Assam
which encompasses 22 Tea Estates, 41 Small Tea Gardens (STGs) and a Research Institute (Tocklai Tea
Research Institute). Secondary data were collected from relevant websites of various government
organizations of India, company’s websites, annual reports, official statements from the companies, tea
market reports, annual reports of the Indian Tea Association, the Tea Board of India, Tea Research Institute
and published reports, etc.
Findings – The “point of origin” of TLSC is a tea garden, “point of consumption” is considered as a tea
factory and green tea leaves (GTLs) forms the basic raw material. This SC includes mainly three players: Tea
leaves growers, manufacturers of made tea and tea leaves agents. This study identifies the three types of
TLSCs existing in Assam: TLSC1, TLSC2 and TLSC3. Among them, only TLSC1 is both responsive as well as
an efficient chain, while the rest are only responsive chains. Later two SCs can be made efficient with the
proposed TLSC4.
Research limitations/implications – There is an insufficient literature on classification and taxonomy of
TLSC, therefore the study (considerably the classification and taxonomy of TLSC) was developed from the
primary data which were collected from the 22 Tea Estates and 41 STGs of four districts of Assam, because of
limited time (two years). The study should have involved more tea estates and small tea gardens for better
classification and taxonomy.
Practical implications – The proposed model suggests that small tea growers may create a co-operative
whereby smaller tea gardens (STGs) (members of the co-operative) unite to act as a single large garden, set up
their own co-operative factory and recruit permanent tea plucking laborers. This up-gradation of TLSC2 and
TLSC3 to TLSC4 may enable a group of STGs to work in a manner similar to a Tea Estate.
Originality/value – To the best of authors’ knowledge this is one of the first studies to classify the TLSC
in Assam.
Keywords Plucking strategy, Pruning strategy, Tea leaves supply chain, Tea leaves value chain
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
India is the second largest producer of tea (Cammellia Sinensis) (Kristbergsson and Ötles,
2016) in the world after China (Fallis, 2013) and state of Assam produces 52 percent of the
tea produced in India (Tea Area and Production 2015_16, 2015) and about 1/6th of the tea
produced in the world (Global tea statistics, 2017). About 2m laborers are dependent on
Assam’s Tea industry (Dikshit and Dikshit, 2014). Benchmarking: An International
Journal
Green Tea Leaves (GTLs) are plucked manually from tea gardens by skilled laborers © Emerald Publishing Limited
1463-5771
(Hazarika, 2012). The plucked GTLs are supplied to the tea factories for manufacturing of DOI 10.1108/BIJ-01-2018-0007
BIJ “made tea” (Mansingh and Johnson, 2012). A tea factory uses plucked GTLs as a raw
material. Usually the larger tea gardens supply plucked GTLs to their own tea factory
whereas the smaller tea gardens (STGs) (G. Sarma, 2011) supply plucked GTLs to the
nearest tea factories (Groosman, 2011) either directly, or through tea leaves agents
(Mansingh and Johnson, 2012) (given in Glossary). All types of “made tea” such as green tea,
black tea, white tea and Oolong tea are produced from tea leaves of the same plant using
different production techniques (Kustanti and Widiyanti, 2007) (Olusegun et al., 2012).
A tea leaves supply chain (TLSC) starts from a tea garden and ends in a tea factory.
TLSC basically includes a series of business activities starting from plantation and
cultivation of tea plants in the gardens, plucking of GTLs and its supply to tea factories
where “made tea” production is done (as per our discussion with various tea leaves growers,
factory managers and tea leaves agents).
The processed “made tea” is further sold to the traders through auctioning. Finally the
traders sell the tea to the tea companies where blending and packaging is done, tea then
reaches the end customers through a distribution network of distributors and retailers. Tea
industry (Munasinghe et al., 2017) is one of the oldest and largest industries in India (Roy,
2011). In spite of its rich history and worldwide acceptance, the Indian tea industry is
plagued by a lot of problems. TLSC is a just a small part of the larger Tea supply chain (SC)
which is stronger and wider. This study focuses only on the TLSC.
The objective of this study is to analyze the present roles and responsibility of TLSC
players (tea gardens, tea factories and tea leaves agents) in Assam, including identification
of key influence points for responsible practices, analyze opportunities and possibilities for
increasing production of good quality tea leaves (seasonal plucking strategy, plucking
schedule strategy, plucking time, laborer payment strategy, pruning strategy and tea leaves
pricing strategy), analyze existing TLSC and classify them, and also find the present issues
and develop an optimized TLSC model for the state of Assam.
2. Background of the Indian tea industry

Originally, tea came from the southern province of Yunnan in China (Lader, 1994). From the
10th century, China started to export tea to neighboring countries such as Japan, Russia,
North America and Europe. Tea Cultivation, in India, was introduced by Robert Bruce,
a British Army Major (G. Sarma, 2011). Commercial tea production began only in 1830s
(Lader, 1994) in Brahmaputra valley, Assam. In 1838, the first shipment of “Assam Tea”
was shipped to England (G. Sarma, 2011) (Roy, 2011) that time, tea gardens were growing
rapidly across Assam. However, by 1860 tea production spread to other parts of India
(Lader, 1994; Mohan, 2016).
At present, Tea is grown in many states in India (Fallis, 2013). India is mainly a producer
of black tea. However, in recent years, there has been a growth in production of other tea
varieties like green tea, white tea and even oolong tea. But still it is the Black Tea varieties
which continue to be the major tea being produced in India (Kadavil, 2005a, b). Black Tea
includes two types, i.e., Orthodox tea and CTC tea (crushing, tearing and curling) (Kadavil,
2005a, b). Major tea production states are as follows: Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka,
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh (Kadavil, 2005a, b). Limited tea plants are also
cultivated in the following states: Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand (Ranchi), Manipur,
Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand. Assam Tea and Darjeeling Tea (Datta, 1999)
are famous all over the world. The world’s largest tea plantation is found on the foot-hill
regions of the Eastern Himalayas and the Brahmaputra valley (Roy, 2011), Assam. Assam is
a State of India in the north-eastern region. The region comprises contiguous seven states:
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, which
are also known as “seven sister’s states” (Districts – Government Of Assam, India, n.d.).
Assam is famous for its natural beauty, temples and monuments, national forests, bird
sanctuaries and above all the tea gardens (Dikshit and Dikshit, 2014). The name “Assam” is Analysis of
derived from “Asom” which means “one without equals” (according to Assamese language). tea leaves
Assam is the first tea growing state of India (Roy, 2011). Geographical area of Assam as per supply chain
2011 Census is 78,438 sq. km and population is 31,169,272. The state capital, Dispur, is a suburb
of Guwahati. Assam tea is still earning around 50 percent of the foreign exchange earned by
India’s tea industry (Roy, 2011). Orthodox Assam tea is popular for its bright liquor with
distinctive taste. Orthodox Assam tea has been registered as a geographical indication (Datta,
1999) in India. In Assam, total area under tea is 304.40 thousand hectares (as on December 31,
2013), and production is 629.05m Kg (production in 2013–2014) (Tea Board of India, 2013). This
state has a total of 27 administrative districts. Dibrugarh district has maximum number of tea
gardens and produces maximum tea in Assam (Roy, 2011).
Assam tea cultivation requires a moderately hot and humid climate (Biggs et al., 2018b).
For the best growth of tea plants, 150 cm to 250 cm of rainfall is essential. Stagnation of
water is harmful to tea plants. Therefore, a well-drained land is important for tea cultivation.
The ideal temperature for the growth of tea plants is 21°C to 29°C. But tea plants can grow
normally within 13°C to 30°C (Eden, 1958). The lowest and highest survival temperature for
tea plants are 13°C and 35°C, respectively. However, when the temperature is 30°C to 35°C,
tea plants need a strong support of irrigation process (irrigation process is the artificial
application of water to the land or soil). Temperature above 35°C is unsafe for tea plants
(Tea Cultivation – Tea Research Association, n.d.). Tea plants grow better when planted
along shade trees. “Sarish” (Albizzia lucida) trees which are mainly used as shade trees
(Tea Field Management, n.d.), but others also can be used. The best soil for tea cultivation is
forest soils rich in humus and iron content. A large number of skilled laborers are required
for plucking tea leaves, usually, women laborers (Hazarika, 2012) (Biggs et al., 2018a) are
preferred to do this job.
3. Literature review
An SC (Chopra and Meindl, 2014) consists of all players (manufacturer, suppliers,
transporters, warehouses, retailers and customers) involved, directly or indirectly, in
fulfilling customer needs (Arndt, 2008). An SC is dynamic and involves the constant flow of
information, product and funds between different stages (Tyndall et al., 1998). So, supply
chain management (SCM) (Storey et al., 2006) is management of flow (information, product
and funds) between and among stages to maximize total SC profitability, in other words,
active management of SC activities and relationships to maximize customer value and
achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (Arndt, 2008; Ballou and Srivastava, 2009;
Chopra and Meindl, 2014; Tyndall et al., 1998).
Tea industry of India (Karmakar and Banerrrjee, 2005) has a composite value chain including
laborers and small tea growers (Borah, 2013) on the lower end, large plantations, tea processing
factories and brokers in the middle end, and brands in upper end (Nair and Ghosh, 2005).
In India, tea plant started growing widely from 1,821. The first tea garden was opened in
Lakhimpur district in Assam, Presently, Assam is comprised of three physical divisions,
namely, the Brahmaputra Valley, the Barak Valley and the Hill range, and the total number of
tea gardens (large and small) in Assam at present is around 41,000 covering an area of
26m acres. Currently, many tea gardens in Assam are becoming old, and the productivity of
these old gardens is declining. A huge number of tea gardens of the state have gone
sick over the period, due to inadequate infrastructure, improper modernization and inefficient
management. The tea industry should be modernized through changes in plantation
technique for improvement in quality, control of diseases and pest attacks, encouragement
toward electronic tea auctions and overall managerial excellence like quality improvement,
cost effectiveness, domestic demand increment, newer export market identification
(Roy, 2011).
BIJ The Indian government passed Tea Control Act in 1933 to restrict export quotas for big
plantations. Because, in the early 1930s there was a fall in the international price of tea,
which prompted the International Tea Agreement (in 1933) among the main tea producing
nations (contributing 80 percent of the world tea) such as India, Ceylon and Indonesia
(Mansingh and Johnson, 2012).
The average sell price of tea at Indian auction centers was Rs76.43/kg, in 1998. Since
then, the prices have been continuously declining. In 2003, the price was only Rs56.03/kg,
because of the mismatch between the global demand and supply of tea (Mansingh and
Johnson, 2012).
Today, India exports about 250,000 tons of tea annually, most of which is shipped out
through the gateway port of JNPT located on the west coast of the country. India is able to
export only 25 percent of its production (not too good production: export ratio) due to high
logistic costs. The produced tea in Darjeeling and Assam needs to be transported over a
distance of 2,000 km (70 percent by road and 30 percent by rail). About 20,000 tons of tea is also
exported from the port of Kolkata/Haldia located on the east coast (Gujar and Yan, 2010).
Tea marketing is being done through traditional methods. Adoption of modern methods
of SCM systems such as e-commerce may improve the tea marketing. The web portal-based
Business to Business and Business to Consumer model of e-commerce can be a game
changer as consumers will be benefitted in getting the tea of their choice at right price and
they may also place the order from home (Angu and Muralidhar, 2013).
An ample amount of research has been done on tea, while focusing mainly on the
following aspects:
(1) Agricultural: soils and agriculture (Talukdar et al., 2009), chronological growth of tea
cultivation (Roy, 2011), sustainable agriculture (Braga et al., 2012), breeding of the
tea plant (Das et al., 2012), Agriculture in North-East India (Dikshit and Dikshit,
2014), a new model of tea cultivation and quality issues (Ganguli, 2014).
(2) Perishable goods: the chemistry and biochemistry of black tea production (Willson and
Clifford, 1992), trace elements in tea leaves (Karak and Bhagat, 2010), quality control of
black tea (Baltacı et al., 2011), microbial decontamination of gamma irradiated black tea
and determination of major minerals in black tea (Rashid et al., 2016).
(3) Economic, environmental and a historical background of tea (G. Sarma, 2011): tea
tribes are lagging behind in the process of urbanization (Hazarika, 2012), laborer
issues (Article, 2014), Multi-stakeholder insights into sustainable livelihoods under a
changing climate (Biggs et al., 2018b).
(4) Social science: education among tea tribe (N. Sarma, 2011), economic, social and
environmental impacts and overall sustainability of the tea sector (Munasinghe
et al., 2017), health risk assessment on fluoride concentrations in traditional
and herbal teas (Das et al., 2017), livelihood dimensions of tea workers in Assam
(Biggs et al., 2018a).
Relatively, few research has also been done while focusing on tea industry: tea auction
(Dutta et al., 2010), tea export (Gujar and Yan, 2010), tea sector overview (Groosman, 2011),
online tea marketing (Angu and Muralidhar, 2013), tea value chain (Wijesinha and
Hirimuthugodage, 1999; Fallis, 2013; Mohan, 2016). Research on tea industry in respect to
Assam is even less.
Managing SC scientifically from the supplier’s perspective (Rota and Thierry, 2010), is
important, especially in case of a perishable item and beverage like tea, where suppliers
have to undergo many limitations to produce and supply tea leaves as raw material. This
significant part of the tea industry is not enough focused yet. There is a huge opportunity
for researchers to work on this particular research gap.
4. Research methodology Analysis of
The paper is based on a two-year detailed study of TLSC in Assam. Primary data were collected tea leaves
from tea estates, STGs and Tocklai Tea Research Institute[1]. Secondary data were collected supply chain
from relevant websites of various government organizations of India, company’s websites,
annual reports, official statements from the companies, tea market reports, Annual reports of
the Indian Tea Association, the Tea Board of India, Tea Research Institute, published thesis, etc.
4.1 Population and sample

The population of the research was formed by 56,191 registered STGs and 761 tea estates
(Tea Directory-Assam, 2010) in 21 different tea growing states of Assam.
The sample encompassed 41 STGs, 22 tea estates from 4 different tea growing states of
Assam and also a Research Institute (Tocklai Tea Research Institute) (which gives the detail
information about the entire tea cultivation and production of Assam) (given in Table I).
4.2 Methods and techniques

Data were collated through literature review, interviews, questionnaires and focus group
discussions.
The methodology involved the following activities:
(1) Literature review about research field:
• published research papers related to the tea and SC;
• bulletins of the Tea Board of India and Tocklai Tea Research Institute; and
• official website of the Assam Government, Tea Board of India and Tocklai Tea
Research Institute.
(2) Collected information through observation method (field study):
• observed tea cultivation and plucking process in detail in tea gardens;
• observed made tea processing in the tea factories; and
• visited Tocklai Tea Research Institute’s Laboratory and Library.
(3) Collected information through interviewing method:
• In-depth face to face discussions with several tea gardens laborers, Sardars
and Babus[2];
Sl. Visited No. of visited No. of visited

No. districts Name of the visited tea estates tea estates STGs
1 Dibrugarh Desam Tea Estate, Langharjan Tea Estate, Naharkatia 6 11

Tea Estate, Nadua Tea Estate, Thanai Tea Estate,
Dikom Tea Estate
2 Sivasagar Ajoy Chetia T.E, Duwari Tea Estate, Azim Tea Estate, 5 9
Humali Tea Estate, Surab Tea Estate
3 Jorhat Hunwal Tea Estate, Lakhibari Tea Estate, Kolony 9 18
Tea Estate, Praphat Tea Estate, Kharjan Tea Estates,
Bagrodia Tea Estate, Towkok Tea Estate, Banwaripur
Tea Estate, Gatoonga Tea Estate
4 Golaghat Hathikuli Tea Estate, Aalmat Tea Estate 2 3 Table I.
Total visited tea estate 22 Total visited List of visited tea
STGs: 41 estates and STGs
BIJ • formal and informal discussion with the tea factory managers, employees of the
tea estates;
• telephonic interviews with various small tea growers and tea factory managers;
• Informal discussion with the scientists of Tocklai Tea Research Institute; and
• formal and informal discussion with the various tea leaves agents.
5. Tea leaves value chain in Assam

In tea leaves value chain, tea gardens produce tea leaves, consumed by the tea factories
(Figure 1). So, in this value chain, the point of origin is tea garden (STG/ETG) and point of
consumption is tea factory (bought leaf factory/estate factory). A brief description of the tea
leaves value chain is given below (as per the discussions with various tea leaves growers,
factory managers and tea leaves agents).
5.1 Tea gardens

Through this study, two types of tea gardens are identified in Assam, on the basis of the
garden size and presence of tea factory. They are: estate tea gardens (ETGs), and STGs
(Borah, 2013). Every tea garden does not have a tea factory. Only few large tea gardens have
their own tea factory. A Large garden along with its own tea factory is called “Tea Estate”
(Das et al., 2012; Kadavil, 2005a, b), and the garden of that tea estate is called “Estate Tea
Garden” (Kadavil, 2005a, b).
5.1.1 Estate tea gardens (ETGs). This type of tea garden has a large garden area with its
own tea factory. The made tea, which is produced in tea factories (in Assam), is sent to the
tea auction Center (mainly in Guwahati or Kolkata), i.e., the made tea is sold through tea
auction centers. But, some tea factories have fixed customers, and have signed agreements
with them. The agreement is mainly all about quality and quantity of the made tea, with
possible dispatch date or time period. Before dispatching the tea to the customers, they test
the quality of the produced made tea properly (every tea factory appoints tea tasters for
Tea Leaves Tea Leaves Tea Leaves

Agents
Tea Leaves Logistics

Small Tea Tea Leaves Logistics
Gardens
Tea Leaves
Tea Leaves
Logistics
Tea Leaves
Point of origin
Logistics
Tea Leaves
Estate Tea Tea Leaves

Gardens Estate Tea Factories Bought Leaf Factories
Figure 1.
Tea leaves Point of consumption
value chain
Source: Field Study in Assam
that purpose). The customers are not only from different parts of India but also from abroad Analysis of
(as per our discussion with several tea estate managers). tea leaves
Some reputed tea companies (Braga et al., 2012) have their own tea gardens, like Tata supply chain
(Fallis, 2013). They produce the tea and sell it to the market. They also have outlets
(near their tea gardens and tea factories) and sell different types of their tea products from
those outlets. Tourists like to buy Assam tea from these outlets. They also sell their factory
produced made tea through the auction center (as per our observation at Hathikuli tea shop).
For example, “Hathikuli Tea Estate” has one of its tea outlets named “Hathikuli Tea Shop”
which is just near to the Hathikuli tea garden. This tea estate comes under Amalgamated
Plantations Pvt Ltd. (APPL[3]). APPL is a Tata[4] Enterprise with 25 Tea Estates, previously
known as Tata Tea (Amalgamated Plantations, 2011). APPL is the largest tea producer in India
and second largest in the world (this brand exists in 40 countries; Mansingh and Johnson, 2012).
5.1.1.1 Hierarchy of employee of a tea estate. “General Manager” is the highest
authority of a tea estate (Figure 2). A company (such as Tata Tea) can have a number of Tea
Estates (such as, Hathikuli Tea Estate, Powai Tea Estate, Bhelaguri Tea Estate and others)
(Amalgamated Plantations Pvt Ltd, 2017), with their own General Managers. In such cases
“Director” is the highest authority of the company.
General
Manager
Field Manager
Managers Administrative Manager
Field Labor Manager
Assistant
Managers
Mohoris
Babus
Sardars
Figure 2.
Laborers Hierarchy of
employees of a
tea estate
BIJ “Sardar” is the highest position among all tea garden laborers, and every garden laborer
works under the supervision of a Sardar. A tea estate can have many Sardars, who work
under a Babu. The Babus of a Tea Estate work under a Mohorie. More than one Mohories is
present in a single tea estate and work under an assistant manager. The assistant managers
report to the managers. A tea estate has many different managers, such as field manager,
field laborer manager and administrative manager. All managers work under the general
manager (as per our discussion with several Tea Estate Managers).
5.1.2 Small Tea Gardens (STGs). Tea gardens, with 10–12 hectares or less cultivated
area, and not having their own tea factory, come under this category (Ganguli, 2014). Small
tea growers sell plucked GTLs to the nearest tea factory and sometimes to the tea leaves
agents (brokers) who buy tea leaves from various such STGs and sell it to the tea factory.
Compared to tea factories, the tea leaves agents pay less for the tea leaves. However, to
avoid transportation problems the small tea growers prefer to sell their tea leaves to the tea
leaves agent. Small tea growers do not get a fixed price from the tea factories/agents. The
price of tea leaves (per kilogram) vary from Rs5/kg to Rs35/kg (approximately). Tea leaves
price is decided by the factory (where they sell), and not by the harvester (as per our
discussion with various small tea growers).
Assam has 56,191 registered STGs, covering around 52,721.24 hectares of registered tea
area (given in Table II). The largest number (11,885) of registered STGs is in Dibrugarh
(Figure 3) with the maximum registered tea area (Figure 4).
Sl. No. District District HQ No. of STG Registered tea area (in hector)
1 Baksa Mushalpur 205 285.24

2 Barpeta Barpeta – –
3 Bongaigaon Bongaigaon 696 593.35
4 Cachar Silchar 246 829.98
5 Chirang Kajalgaon 9 23.78
6 Darrang Mangaldoi 4 12.03
7 Dhemaji Dhemaji 516 441.07
8 Dhubri Dhubri 13 8.87
9 Dibrugarh Dibrugarh 11,885 9,508.02
10 Dima Hasao Haflong 4 16.00
11 Goalpara Goalpara 139 100.92
12 Golaghat Golaghat 5,507 4,786.94
13 Hailakandi Hailakandi 3 8.60
14 Jorhat Jorhat 5,896 7,696.76
15 Kamrup Goroimari – –
16 Kamrup Metropolitan Guwahati – –
17 Karbi Anglong Diphu 711 1,129.19
18 Karimganj Karimganj 10 57.43
19 Kokrajhar Kokrajhar 288 902.50
20 Lakhimpur North Lakhimpur 1,714 1,596.63
21 Morigaon Marigaon – –
22 Nagaon Nagaon 898 1,541.59
23 Nalbari Nalbari – –
24 Sivasagar Sibsagar 9,761 5,316.74
Table II.
25 Sonitpur Tezpur 5,753 6,384.77
List of STGs with tea
area, which are 26 Tinsukia Tinsukia 8,109 7,197.27
registered with Tea 27 Udalguri Udalguri 3,824 4,283.56
Board of India, Number of STG and registered tea area 56,191 52,721.24
in Assam Source: www.teaboard.gov.in/
Small Tea Gardens in Assam
Number of Gardens
Analysis of
11,885 tea leaves
9,761
supply chain
8,109
5,896 5,753
5,507
3,824
1,714
696 516 711 898
205 0 246 9 4 13 4 139 3 0 0 10 288 0 0
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Figure 3.
p Ka Registered small tea
ru
m
Ka gardens by district
Districts of Assam
Bongaigoan, Cachar, 829.98 Darrang, 12.03

593.35 Dhemaji,
Baksa, 285.24 Chirang, 23.78
441.07
Baksa Dhubri, 8.87
Bongaigaon Udalguri, 4,283.56
Cachar
Chirang
Darrang
Dhemaji
Dibrugarh, 9,508.02
Dhubri Tinsukia, 7,197.27
Dibrugarh Dima
Hasao, 16
Dima Hasao
Goalpara,
Goalpara 100.92
Golaghat
Hailakandi
Golaghat, 4,786.94
Sonitpur, 6,384.77
Jorhat
Karbi Anglong
Karimganj
Kokrajhar
Hailakandi, 8.6
Lakhimpur
Nagaon Sivasagar, 5,316.74 Jorhat, 7,696.76
Sivasagar
Sonitpur
Tinsukia
Figure 4.
Registered tea area of
Udalguri Nagaon, 1,541.59 small gardens by
Lakhimpur, 1,596.63 Karbi Anglong, 1,129.19 district
Kokrajhar, 902.5 Karimganj, 57.43
Normally, all small tea growers are local people living mostly in the same city where their
garden is situated. But, in case of tea estates, most of the owners are not from Assam, but from
different states of India. Some reputed companies are also involved in tea business having a
number of tea estates within the same banner, such as the “Tata.” (as per our observation).
In Assam, large numbers of “very small gardens” also exist which are not registered with
the Tea Board of India. These gardens are very small in size but are found in huge numbers
and thus are good contributors to the TLSC. Usually, these very small tea growers also have
an additional source of income. For example, a farmer can have STG with other cultivations.
A service person or a self-employed person such as car driver, shop owner, carpenter and
plumber can also have STG (as per our observation).
BIJ 5.2 Tea factories
A tea factory in Assam produces many different types of made tea, such as DOP, DTI,
Green Tea and orthodox tea. Through this study, two types of tea factories are identified in
Assam: bought leaf factories (Kadavil, 2005a, b), and estate factories.
Bought leaf factories do not have their own garden. They purchase tea leaves from STGs
for producing tea (Tropical Commodity Coalition, 2010). On the other hand, estate factories
have their own garden(s). But many times, estate factories are not able to reach the full
production capacity, from the tea leaves of their own tea garden(s). To reach the full
production capacity they buy tea leaves from the STGs (as per our discussion with several
tea estate and bought leaf factory managers).
5.3 Tea leaves agents

Tea leaves agents purchase the GTLs from STGs and sell the same to tea factories. There
are many strong factors that make a tea leaves agent a powerful player in this value chain.
First, they bring their own logistic that solves transportation problem of small tea growers.
Second, small tea growers receive optimum price, for the plucked GTLs, from Tea leaves
agents. Third, they take part in negotiation, at the time of selling tea leaves to the tea
factories. All tea factories share a healthy relationship with the small tea growers and tea
leaves agents (as per our observation).
6. Key decision making areas in TLSC

6.1 Seasonal plucking strategy
Plucking of tea leaves starts, in the 2nd and 3rd week of March and continues till the 1st and
2nd week of October. Plucking during the rainy season is more productive (i.e. from June to
September, when powerful monsoon rains from the Indian Ocean falls on the fertile ground).
The quality decreases sharply; as the leaves lose more and more of their spicy, malty flavor
and strength. Tea leaves are plucked the least in March and October. Few tea leaves are
plucked in January, February, November and December (in some gardens no tea leaves are
plucked in these months) (as per our discussion with several tea estate managers and
scientists of the Tocklai Tea Research Institute).
Best quality of tea leaves are plucked in “first flush” and “second flush.” When tea leaves
are plucked after pruning and nursing of the tea plants, it is called the “first flush” and its
timing is usually the end of March or first week of April. The first flush timing may vary
from garden to garden (3rd week of March or 4th week of March or 1st week of April).
Similarly, when tea leaves are plucked in the end of May, usually after a heavy rain, this is
called the “second flush.” The first and second flushes have all the properties to produce the
best quality of tea. Therefore, end of March or beginning of April and end of May are the
seasons when the best qualities of tea leaves are plucked (as per our discussion with
scientists of the Tocklai Tea Research Institute).
6.2 Plucking schedule strategy

A tea plant is ready with an ideal length of tea leaves (two leaves with a bud) by every
7th day from the previously plucked day, and in fact, this is considered the best time for tea
leaves plucking as it produces the best quality tea. From the 8th day onwards, the quality of
tea leaves goes on decreasing. Hence, it is observed that scheduling of “tea leaf plucking
operation” in the garden is an important issue for manufacturing good quality tea. Thus,
laborer planning is one of the vital decision making areas in this context. In plucking season,
laborers are mainly involved in plucking, and are least involved in nursing of tea plants
(giving water and fertilizer, and improving drainage system if required) (as per our
discussion with several tea estate managers and sardars).
6.2.1 Plucking problems in large tea gardens. Large tea gardens have a number of Analysis of
dedicated laborers. Among these, majority of laborers are involved in plucking and few in tea leaves
nursing, during plucking season. But, it is not possible to pluck all tea leaves of a large tea
garden within a single day. To overcome this problem, the garden is divided into different
supply chain
parts (area), and the laborer into two or three groups. Then different garden parts are
assigned to different laborer groups for carrying out the plucking job. After finishing
one garden part, a group of laborer moves to the next assigned part for plucking either on
the same day or the next day. The same operational procedure is followed by all the groups.
This way, they complete the plucking all tea leaves of the entire garden. Sometimes, the
“babu” sets days for plucking different parts (e.g. part-1: every Monday, part-2: every
Tuesday, etc.), but many times, the laborers are not able to collect “best quality tea leaves”
(two leaves and one bud), because of the fixed day for plucking set by the “babu” is usually
based on unscientific distribution system. As the best quality tea leaves need to be plucked
on exactly the 7th day from the previously plucked day, so the distribution planning should
be in a systematic way (as per our discussion with Sardar and Babu).
6.2.2 Proposed model for improving plucking schedule of large tea gardens. For maximum
utilization of laborer and collection of the best quality tea leaves; a large garden may be
divided into several equally small parts and the plucking days be fixed through a scientific
distribution system. Considering the number of laborers and garden area, a large tea garden
may be divided in such a way, that all laborers (together) would pluck tea leaves from a
specific part of the garden on a specific day, ensuring that plucking of the entire Garden gets
completed within six days (Monday to Saturday; no plucking is done on Sunday).
For example, a large garden has 20 dedicated laborers, and can be divided into
six different equal parts (part 1–6), and having a fixed day-of-plucking (Figure 5).
Part-1 Part-2
(Monday) (Tuesday)
(Plucked by (Plucked by
20 Laborers) 20 Laborers)
Part-6 Part-3
(Saturday) (Wednesday)
(Plucked by 20 (Plucked by 20
Laborers) Laborers)
Figure 5.
Part-5 Part-4 Proposed model
(Friday) for – division of a
(Thursday)
large tea garden
(Plucked by (Plucked by (Garden – X) into six
20 Laborers) 20 Laborers) parts and set a fix
day-of-plucking for
each part, and
plucking each part by
the all 20 laborers
BIJ After finishing the daily plucking schedule, the laborers may utilize their remaining
working time by getting involved in nursing the tea plants.
Depending on the garden area, a garden authority may plan for a number of laborers
and number of partitions. A large garden with 40 dedicated laborers can be partitioned into
12 different equal parts (or as necessary).
6.2.3 Plucking Problems in STGs. A very STG does not have any dedicated laborers.
Required laborers (according to a garden area) are hired on daily basis. All tea leaves of a
STG can be plucked either in a single day or maximum 2–3 days. Thus their laborer
requirement is also restricted normally to a single day per week or maximum 2–3 days per
week. At times it is difficult to hire laborer on a particular required day, due to laborer
shortage. They may be engaged in other gardens and are thus unavailable. This is the main
reason why many small tea growers are unable to maintain the day-of-plucking,
consequently degrading the quality of tea leaves (it become three or four leaves and a bud).
6.2.4 Proposed model for improving plucking schedule of STGs. If some small tea growers
work as a group and appoint few dedicated laborers for their group’s gardens, it can help
overcome the laborer shortage problem and can also produce the best quality of tea leaves,
by ensuring the ideal day-of-plucking.
Considering the number of gardens and garden area, a STGs’ group may design, and
appoint number of laborers in a manner, that all laborers (together) can pluck tea leaves
from one/two garden (it may vary) every day, and within six days (Monday to Saturday) all
tea leaves of all the tea gardens in the group can be plucked.
For example: consider, 12 nearby small gardens (G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, G-5, G-6, G-7, G-8, G-9,
G-10, G-11 and G-12) form a group, appoint six dedicated laborers, and set a fix
day-of-plucking for every small garden of that group, such as G-1 and G-2 are plucked every
Monday, G-3 and G-4 are plucked every Tuesday and so on (Figure 6). Through this model,
all gardens of this group will be able to pluck the best quality tea leaves, as they ensure the
best day-of-plucking of the individual gardens.
6.3 Plucking timing and laborer payment strategy

Tea plants mature for commercial plucking after 5–7 years of plantation and remain
productive for an average 50–60 years (Fallis, 2013). Normally, during the day, tea leaves are
plucked. In a large tea garden, the timing of tea plucking is generally between 7 a.m. to
4 p.m. including one hour lunch break from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. (lunch time may vary in different
gardens). Sunday is a holiday in every tea garden. Tea garden laborers are paid weekly.
However, recently, few tea garden authorities have come up with a new thought. They
fix a minimum weight (approximately 25 kg, it may vary garden to garden) of tea leaves to
be plucked by each laborer per day. The authorities maintain daily working details of all
laborers. When a laborer plucks more than the minimum weight (i.e. 25 kg/day), then the
extra amount gets listed in his/her name. At the time of Durga puja, all the extra work
done by each of the laborer is calculated and accordingly the bonus is given to them.
In this model, laborers are not bound to work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., rather they can start
their work anytime as per their convenience. Sometimes, they start plucking at 5 a.m. in
the morning and reach the target by 10 a.m. So those who want to avoid the heat of
the summer afternoon can go home early, and those who want to earn extra get the
opportunity to work more in the rest of the time (as per our discussion to the several tea
estate managers).
6.3.1 Proposed improved timing and laborer payment strategy model. Large tea gardens
that have not yet implemented flexible timing for the laborer should implement the same for
plucking best quality of tea leaves (two leaves and a bud) by encouraging the laborers to do
extra works.
(Mo
nda Analysis of
(Plu y)
ck
6 La ed by
tea leaves
bors
) supply chain
La ed )
6 ck ay
rs y
bo b
lu r d
)
(P atu
(S
G-1
G-12 G-2
(Tue
(Plu bors)
6 La
G-11 G-3
sday
cked
)
by
G-10 G-4
(Pluck rs)
(Frid
6 Lab
ay)
ed by
G-9 G-5
o
G-8 G-6
bo b )
La ed y
6 ck sda
rs y
G-7
(P dne
)
Figure 6.
e
(W
lu
Proposed model
(Thu for – grouped STGs
rsday
(Pluc ) (G-1 to G-12) by
ked b
6 Lab y setting a fixed day-of-
ors) plucking for each
garden by the all
Note: Here, Tea Leaves of two gardens are plucked each day, due to small garden six laborers
area
If the extra (after 25 kg) plucked amount is paid along with the weekly payment, instead of
annually (in Durga Puja), laborers may be more motivated in to do more daily plucking
especially in the peak plucking season. This is because during the peak season more
laborers are required for plucking to ensure maximum production (as per our discussion
with several tea estate managers and small tea growers).
6.4 Pruning strategy

Pruning[5] is one of the most vital processes, next to plucking, that directly determines
the productivity of tea bushes. In a tea garden, tea plants are made as bonsai for
commercial purpose. And they maintain an equal length for all tea plants. This length is
called “plucking table.” The label of plucking table (length of tea plants) is maintained by
pruning (cutting) the tea plants. It has many advantages such as, there is a preponderance of
banji shoots on plucking table as more and more buds fail to grow with a loss of vigor
(physical strength and good health) of growing apices. Therefore, to maintain the vegetative
growth, pruning is necessary. In other words, pruning determines the productivity of
tea bushes. Second, plucking of tea leaves from plucking table is also easy, compare to
plucking tea leaves from tall length (as per our discussion with several tea estate managers
and tea growers).
BIJ Normally, tea plants are pruned in last week of October or 1st week of November, as from
the month of October growth of tea plants becomes slow. Therefore, some gardens prefer to
prune in the 3rd/4th week of October and some like to prune in November. Generally, tea plants
are not pruned every year, but in alternate years. All tea plants of a large garden are not pruned
during the same period of time rather some are pruned in a particular year and remaining in the
next year. It takes some months to start harvesting as it is not possible immediately after
pruning. A tea plant is called “unpoon” if it is not pruned that current year. The factories get tea
leaves from these unpoon-plants throughout the year, although very few leaves are plucked in
winter (as per our discussion with several tea estate managers and tea growers).
6.5 Tea leaves pricing strategy

Tea leaves price is decided by the tea factory (buyer). The following different parameters
are used to decide the price of the tea leaves price (per kilogram): number of the leaves, tea
leaf quality and availability of demand and supply.
Tea leaves can be plucked “two leaves and a bud,” or “three leaves and a bud,” or “four
leaves and a bud.” Among the three types, “two leaves and a bud” is used to produce
high-quality tea. The price of “two leaves and a bud” is more than the other two types. Tea
leaves quality is an important parameter for pricing. After testing the quality of the tea leaf, tea
leaves price is decided by the authority of the factory accordingly. Above all the most important
parameter is the ratio of required demand and available supply of tea leaves, and the ratio of tea
leaves demand and available supply varies depending upon shortage of laborers, production
amount, and weather condition (as per our discussion with several tea estate managers).
7. Classification of TLSC
The study has found that, three types of TLSC exist in Assam. They are as follows:
(1) TLSC1: supply of tea leaves from ETGs to the estate tea factory;
(2) TLSC2: supply of tea leaves from STGs to tea factory; and
(3) TLSC3: supply of tea leaves from STGs to tea factory, through tea leaves agents.
7.1 TLSC1: supply of tea leaves from ETGs to the estate tea factory (supply tea leaves
within a tea estate)
In this SC, tea leaves are supplied from ETGs to estate tea factories. As ETGs have their
own tea factories, after plucking the GTLs are supplied to their own tea factory (Figure 7).
For example, plucked tea leaves of “Hunwal Tea Estate” (the tea garden of William Son
Magore Group, at Mariani, in Jorhat) are supplied to the tea factory of “Hunwal Tea Estate.”
In this type of SC, tea leaves mainly flow within its own tea estate.
In this SC, every tea estate has its permanent laborers for plucking, who pluck the best
quality of tea leaves on the day-of-plucking (on the 7th day). Thus, best quality of tea is
produced by this SC through minimum effort (cost). This SC is both efficient and responsive.
7.2 TLSC2: supply of tea leaves from STGs to tea factory

In this SC, tea leaves are supplied from STGs to tea factories. As STGs do not have their
own tea factory, plucked GTLs from these gardens are supplied to their nearest estate
factories or brought leaf factories (Figure 8). Generally few STGs closer to a factory can
supply their plucked tea leaves directly to the factory because of location advantage.
Although, estate factories have their own gardens, but many times, they are not able to
reach the full production capacity with the raw materials (GTLs) of their own tea gardens.
To reach the full production capacity, they buy GTLs from the STGs.
Analysis of
tea leaves
supply chain
Estate Tea Garden
Estate Tea Factory

Tea leaves
Notes: Profitability of TLSC1= (Worth of the plucked tea

leaves to the tea factory) – (Effort spent for nursing of tea
plants + Effort spent for tea leaves plucking), Here, Inventory
Cost is not applicable (as no inventory is used for plucked tea
leaves), logistic cost is not applicable (as no logistic is required
to supply tea leaves within a tea state), and cultivation cost is
also not applicable (as it is one-time investment for next
Figure 7.
50–60 years) TLSC1
Tea leaves
Small Tea
Garden-1
Tea leaves
Small Tea
Garden-2
Tea Factories
Tea leaves
.............
Tea leaves
Small Tea
Garden-N
Notes: Profitability of TLSC2 = (Worth of the plucked tea leaves to the tea
factory) – (effort spent for nursing of tea plants + effort spent for tea leaves
plucking + logistic cost), Here, inventory cost is not applicable (as no inventory is
used for plucked tea leaves), and cultivation cost is also not applicable (as it is a
Figure 8.
one-time investment for next 50–60 years) TLSC2
In many cases, estate factory’ authorities intentionally raise their production capacity to such
a level that it can never be achieved by the tea leaves of its own garden. To fulfill the target
production they purchase GTLs from privately owned individual STGs, thus building an
alternative source of tea leaves supply. When the weather does not favor the growth of tea
leaves, then an ETG does not produce the expected amount of tea leaves, as the production of
BIJ GTLs totally depends on favorable weather conditions. To handle this situation, the deficit is
met out by the GTLs from the alternate sources (privately owned individual GTLs). On the
other hand, bought leaf factories do not have their own garden; therefore they always
purchase their total required amount of tea leaves from privately owned individual STGs.
Considering above points, it may be concluded that GTLs are supplied from privately
owned individual STGs to both the estate factories and bought leaf factories. But in all cases,
small tea growers often sign an agreement with related tea factory. The agreement mentions
the quantity of GTLs which the small tea grower will supply to the factory within a specific
period of time (For example, April to November – 10 ton). At the time of the agreement, the
quality of the GTLs is tested by the respective factory. According to the quality of the
supplied GTLs, the authorities of the tea factory fix the price of the tea leaves (per kg).
In this SC, small tea growers do not have their permanent laborers for plucking, they hire
laborer when required. Due to the shortage of skilled laborer many times they miss the
plucking day, which decreases the quality of tea leaves. Comparing TLSC1 and TLSC2,
the latter involves more effort on the logistics (supplying tea leaves to the tea factory).
This SC is responsive but not efficient.
7.3 TLSC3: supply of tea leaves from STGs to tea factory through tea leaves agents
In this SC, tea leaves are supplied by STGs to tea factories, through tea leaves agents
(Figure 12). It is quite difficult and costly to send plucked GTLs from STGs to tea factories
which are far away. GTLs when supplied to long distances require arrangement of
appropriate logistics because inventory concept is not feasible in tea gardens. The time
interval between plucking and processing of leaves should ideally be about three hours to
produce good quality made tea, and in any case, the tea leaf cannot be stored for more than
six hours without damaging its quality (Mansingh and Johnson, 2012). The amount of
plucked tea leaves of a STG is much below the maximum logistic (such as, mini-truck or
truck) capacity, so the logistic cost becomes high when used by individual small gardens.
To solve this problem, tea leaves agents enter into this SC. The tea leaves agents have their
own logistic, and after purchasing plucked GTLs from STGs, they send these to a tea
factory which can either be an estate factory or a brought leave factory. Generally, an
individual tea leaves agent purchases tea leaves from many small gardens of a particular
area, so that logistics are utilized (Bhatnagar and Teo, 2009) at maximum level of its
capacity, thus contributing to low transport cost.
There is another reason which forces small tea growers to sell their plucked GTLs to tea
leaves agents. When an STG is near to a particular factory and far from the other factories
this STG owner wants to supply its plucked tea leaves to that nearest tea factory. This
weakness of the STG is well known to that particular factory which often takes advantage
and pays a lesser price for the plucked tea leaves. However, the tea leaves agents give a
higher price for the same plucked GTLs. The tea leaves agents are not bound to sell to any
particular tea factory and thus they can sell the purchased tea leaves wherever they get a
higher price. For example, when a certain tea leaves price is Rs20/kg, the nearest tea factory
purchases it at only Rs10–15/kg, where tea leaves agents purchase it for Rs17–19 per/kg
from the small tea growers. This is the reason why small tea growers prefer to sell plucked
tea leaves to the tea leaves agents, instead of sending directly to the tea factory. For this
reason, tea leaves agents enter into this SC. In Assam, a number of tea leaves agents are
there, and every tea leaves agent has a specific purchasing area. They purchase the plucked
GTLs from several STGs of that particular area. After purchasing plucked GTLs from the
small gardens, the tea leaves agents supply the same to the tea factories, which can be estate
tea factories or brought leave tea factories.
Tea leaves agents often sign an agreement with the related factory, like small tea
growers. In this agreement, they mention the tea leaves quantity, which the tea agents need
to supply to the factory within the stipulated time (for example, April to November 100 ton). Analysis of
At the time of the agreement, the quality of the sample tea leaves is tested by the factory. tea leaves
According to the quality of the sample GTLs, the authority of the tea factory fixes the price supply chain
of tea leaves (per kg). Generally, the agreement quantity of a tea leaves agent is much more
than an agreement quantity of a small tea grower. Tea leaves are supplied by various tea
leaves agents to various tea factories (Figure 9).
In general, a particular tea leaves agent supplies purchased tea leaves to a single factory. But
sometimes, a tea leaves agent supplies the purchased tea leaves to multiple factories (Figure 10).
Tea Tea leaves

Leaves
Agent-1
Tea Tea leaves

Leaves
Tea Factories
Agent-2
Tea leaves
........
Figure 9.
Tea Tea leaves Tea leaves are
Leaves supplied by various
Agent-N tea leaves agents to
various tea factories
Tea leaves
Tea Factory-1
Tea Tea leaves

Leaves Tea Factory-2
Agent
Tea Factory-3
Figure 10.
A tea leaves agent can
Tea leaves
supply tea leaves to
multiple tea factories
BIJ Normally in such a case, an agent supplies tea leaves to a maximum of three different tea
factories, but it (number of the factories) can be increased. It all depends on the purchasing and
selling capacity of the agent.
Similarly, a tea factory also purchases tea leaves from various tea leaves agents. It depends
on the supplied tea leaves amount and the production capacity of the factory. A bought leaf
factory purchases tea leaves from more number of tea agents compared to an estate tea factory.
The reason being that a bought leaf factory does not have any in-house tea leaves supply
whereas an estate factory has in-house tea leaves supply. Therefore, it is observed that bought
leaf factory purchases tea leaves from more number of tea leaves agents (Figures 11 and 12).
Tea
Leaves
Agent-2
Tea Tea
Tea Leaves
Leaves Leaves
ves
Agent-1 Lea Agent-3
Tea
Te
a Le
av
es
Bought Leaf Factory Tea
L eav
es
Tea Leaves
Tea
Tea s
Leave Leaves
Leaves Tea
Agent-4
Agent-N
Figure 11.
A bought leaf factory ........
purchases tea leaves
from many tea
leaves agents
Small Tea Tea leaves

Garden-1

Garden-2 Tea leaves
Tea
Leaves
Tea leaves Tea Factories
Agents
.............

Garden-N
Notes: Profitability of TLSC3= (Worth of the plucked tea leaves to the tea
factory) – (Effort spent in nursing of tea plants + Effort spent on tea leaves
plucking + Effort spent by the agent + Logistic cost). Here, inventory cost is not applicable
(as no inventory is used for plucked tea leaves), and cultivation cost is also not applicable
Figure 12.
TLSC3 (as it is a one-time investment for next 50–60 years)
This SC also faces skilled laborer problem and sometimes misses the day-of-plucking Analysis of
(pluck on the 7th day). This SC has more players and uses more logistic compared to TLSC1 tea leaves
and TLSC2. This SC is responsive but not efficient. supply chain
7.4 Proposed a new TLSC model – TLSC4 which may improve TLSC2 and TLSC3
This study has found that in TLSC1 plucked tea leaves are supplied within the tea estate itself.
Whereas, in TLSC2 and TLSC3, the small tea growers supply their plucked tea leaves to tea
factories directly or through the tea leaves agents. The latter two SCs include more players, and
also use more logistics in respect to TLSC1. Thus, the profitability of TLSC1 is more than TLSC2
and TLSC3. So, it may be concluded that ETGs supply plucked GTLs more economically, and
thus earn more profit, in comparison to STGs. On the contrary, in case of TLSC2 and TLSC3, the
small tea growers receive only a marginal benefit and the larger profit goes to other parties such
as transportations, agents and tea factories. TLSC4 is a proposed model which may increase the
profitability of the small tea growers. TLSC2 and TLSC3 can be upgraded to TLSC4.
A group of small tea growers can form a co-operative, and set up a tea factory in
the center (approximate center) of all tea gardens (those forming the co-operative). The
profitability of the participating STGs would increase because of minimal logistics usage
and removal of tea leaves agents in the SC. The small tea growers of Nilgiris have already
introduced a similar concept, known as Industrial Co-operative Factories (also known as
INDCO factory) (Mansingh and Johnson, 2012). This type of SC may be treated as both
efficient and responsive SC, as the co-operative factory is located at the center of the
grouped STGs (efficient) and plucked GTLs are supplied immediately on demand
(responsive). So, among three SC TLSC2, TLSC3 and TLSC4, it may be concluded that
TLSC4 is most efficient and responsive SC with respect to the other two SCs related to the
STGs (given in Table III).
For example, 12 different STGs together form a co-operative and build a co-operative
tea factory, at the center position (Figure 13) (the best place for achieving efficiency).
The plucking schedule of every garden is set in such a manner that plucked GTLs can be
supplied to the co-operative tea factory on demand for achieving responsiveness.
In this model, co-operative has its permanent laborers for plucking who pluck the best quality
of tea leaves on the day-of-plucking and supply this plucked tea leaves within three hours to
their co-operative factory (it helps produce good quality of tea). This SC has fewer players and
uses less logistic compare to TLSC2 and TLSC3. So by spending minimum effort best quality of
tea can be produced by this SC. This proposed SC is both efficient and responsive.
8. Conclusion
India is the second largest tea producer in the world and Assam produces 52 percent of the
tea produced in India. The world’s largest tea plantation is found in Brahmaputra valley,
Assam. Orthodox Assam tea is world famous for their bright liquor with distinctive taste.
Supply Efficient Responsive

chain Supply flow chain chain
TLSC1 Supply of tea leaves from estate tea garden to the estate tea factory | |
TLSC2 Supply of tea leaves from small tea gardens to tea factory – |
TLSC3 Supply of tea leaves from small tea gardens to tea factory through tea – |
leaves agents
TLSC4 Supply of tea leaves from co-operative tea garden to the co-operative tea | | Table III.
(Proposed) factory Efficient and
responsive chain
BIJ
G-1
G-12 G-2
Tea leaves Tea leaves

G-11 Tea leaves Tea leaves
G-3
G-10 Co-operative Tea G-4

Tea leaves Factory
Tea leaves

G-9 G-5
G-8 G-6
G-7
Notes: Supply of tea leaves from small tea gardens to co-operative tea
factory. Profitability of TLSC4 = (Worth of the plucked tea leaves to the
tea factory) – (Effort spent on nursing of tea plants + Effort spent for tea
leaves plucking). Here, inventory cost is not applicable (as no inventory
is required for plucked tea leaves), logistic cost is not applicable (as
no/very minimum logistic is required to supply tea leaves within a
co-operative area) and cultivation cost is also not applicable (as it is one
Figure 13.
TLSC4 time investment for next 50–60 years). But, initially, a large investment
is required to build a co-operative tea factory
“Point of origin” of TLSC is tea garden and “point of consumption” is tea factory and plucked
GTLs are raw material. This SC includes mainly three players: tea leaves growers,
manufacturers of made tea and tea leaves agents. Tea leaves growers pluck GTLs from their
tea gardens and supply the same to the tea factory. Tea gardens are two types: ETGs and
STGs. Made tea are manufactured in tea factory from the plucked GTLs. Tea factories are two
types: estate factories and bought leaf factories. Estate factories have their own tea garden
which is called estate garden; that means estate gardens have their own factory (a tea garden
and a tea factory together form a tea estate). Bought leaf factories do not have their own
garden and STGs do not have their own factory. An estate factory collects plucked GTLs
mainly from its own estate garden and some amount from nearby STGs, whereas bought leaf
factory collects plucked GTLs only from STGs. Tea leaves agents purchase plucked tea leaves
from small tea growers and sell it to the tea factory (estate factory or bought leaf factory).
This study classified three types of TLSCs (in respect of Assam): TLSC1, TLSC2 and
TLSC3. TLSC1 is both responsive as well as an efficient chain, while the rest are only
responsive chains. And all the three TLSCs have the following limitations:
(1) Quality diminishes with time in any given week: a tea plant is ready with two
leaves with a bud (which is considered as best tea leaves), after every 7th day
(day-of-plucking) from the previously plucked day. The next day onwards, the Analysis of
quality of tea leaves goes on decreasing. tea leaves
(2) Absence of inventory concept: there is no inventory for plucked GTLs neither in the supply chain
tea garden nor in the tea factory, as the time interval between plucking and
processing of leaves should ideally be around three hours to produce good quality
made tea. However, at times the time interval can be extended for a maximum six
hours without damaging the quality of plucked tea leaves.
(3) Seasonal production: optimum quantity tea leaves are plucked from 2nd or 3rd week
of March to 1st or 2nd week of October. Very few tea leaves are plucked from
November to February.
TLSC1 uses minimum in-house logistics as every tea estate has its tea factory located within
the tea estate itself. Thus it produces best quality tea with least effort and time as the
plucked tea leaves get transferred to the in-house factory seamlessly. The transfer of
plucked tea leaves comfortably happens within the ideal time, i.e., three hours. However,
even though tea estate (TLSC1) has permanent laborers to pluck different portions in their
fixed day-of-plucking, but many times they fail to do so because of mismanagement in
laborer distribution.
On the other hand, TLSC2 and TLSC3 involve higher logistics costs as the plucked tea
leaves get transferred from STGs to tea processing factories which are distant from such
gardens. Consequently it produces made tea of comparatively lower quality as transfer time
of tea leaves exceeds the ideal time, i.e. W three hours which reduces the quality of tea
leaves. The Small gardens (in case of TLSC2 and TLSC3) have insufficient permanent
laborers and thus generally miss the day-of-plucking which further reduces the quality.
Therefore, among all the existing TLSCs in Assam, TLSC1 is the most profitable and
also the strongest SC. TLSC1 may be made more profitable and efficient by adopting the
following proposed strategy:
• Modernizing tea estates by adopting flexible plucking timing, i.e., instead of working
from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., tea laborers are allotted a fixed target to pluck say a minimum
of 25 kgs (may vary from garden to garden) per day. They may be paid bonus for
plucking over and above the set target. Flexible timing shall solve the laborer
shortage problem; help to pluck the best quality of tea leaves and increase production
of quality tea leaves.
• Distributing the plucking areas and plucking laborers (after proper calculation) in
such a way that the “day-of-plucking” of each plucking area is maintained.
Profitability of TLSC2 and TLSC3 may also be increased by optimizing the operations in
following ways: reducing logistic costs, using optimum laborer efficiency, strictly
maintaining day-of-plucking and starting processing of tea leaves within three hours
from plucking.
Also to achieve optimized TLSC2 and TLSC3, it has been suggested that they upgrade
themselves to TLSC4 (a proposed model). TLSC4 suggests that small tea growers create a
co-operative whereby STGs (members of the co-operative) unite to act as a single large
garden, set up their own co-operative factory and recruit permanent laborers/employees.
This up-gradation of TLSC2 and TLSC3 to TLSC4 may enable a group of STGs to work just
like a tea estate (conceptual). The logistic cost may further be reduced by using limited
vehicles to collect plucked Tea Leaves from various member gardens to the co-operative
factory, where processing of plucked tea leaves starts immediately (within three hours).
Further, proper management of permanent laborers shall ensure that the day-of-plucking is
not missed. Thus the proposed TLSC4 model will be responsive as well as an efficient SC.
BIJ A TLSC begins at a tea garden and ends at a tea factory. It’ is only a small part of a
larger SC, i.e., “Tea Supply Chain” – an extension of the former SC which gets completed
when tea reaches the global market as a product. This extended SC covers processes
like manufacturing, packaging, auctioning and branding. Exploring this extended SC, i.e.,
“Tea Supply Chain” may be a future direction of the work.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr Niladri Gupta (ex. Scientist (GIS), Tocklai Tea Research
Institute, Jorhat, Assam) for advice and comments on this research. The authors extend their
gratitude also to all the previous colleagues of Kaziranga University, Jorhat, Assam for their
support. And special thank goes to Haris Jamal, Bishnu Prasad Gogoi, Radha Boruah,
Priyam Hazarika, Pranob Jyoti Lahon, Mukut Chandra Medhi, Manob Hazarika and
Upasana Kashyap (Assistant Professors, Kaziranga University, Assam) for assisting the
authors during fieldwork. The authors are thankful to the reviewers of this paper for their
valuables suggestions and comments.
Glossary
Plucking Collecting green tea leaves from tea plants
Pruning Cutting tea plants in a required length
Tea leaves agents A category of brokers who purchase plucked green tea leaves from small
tea gardens and sell it to tea factories
Day-of-plucking A tea plant is ready again with two leaves with a bud (which is
considered as best Tea Leave), after every 7th day from the previously
plucked day (the next day onwards, the quality of Tea Leaves goes on
decreasing), this particular day is called Day-of-plucking
Made tea Made tea is intermediate product that requires further processing before
sell it to the tea consumer
Notes
1. Tocklai Tea Research Institute is Asia’s largest and oldest tea research institute was established
in 1911. Tocklai is among the 50 institutions in the world that have tied up with National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the soil-mapping project.
2. Every garden laborer works under the supervision of a “Sardar,” who works under a “Babu.”
3. Amalgamated plantations are the emergent entity from divestment of the plantation business of
Tata Tea in East-North India. Multiple stakeholders include IFC, a part of the World Bank Group,
the Tata Group, partner investors and employees including estate workers.
4. Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India. It was founded in 1868 by Jamsetji Tata. The Tata group comprises over a
100 operating companies spread across six continents.
5. Pruning is a process by which parts of a tea plant mainly the branches are selectively removed.
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Corresponding author
Tripti Paul can be contacted at: tripti_paul2004@yahoo.com
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Benchmarking: An International Journal

A strategic analysis of tea leaves supply chain before manufacturing – a case in

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manufacturing – a case in Assam

Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad,

2. Background of the Indian tea industry

4.1 Population and sample

4.2 Methods and techniques

Sl. Visited No. of visited No. of visited

1 Dibrugarh Desam Tea Estate, Langharjan Tea Estate, Naharkatia 6 11

5. Tea leaves value chain in Assam

5.1 Tea gardens

Tea Leaves Tea Leaves Tea Leaves

Tea Leaves Logistics

Estate Tea Tea Leaves

1 Baksa Mushalpur 205 285.24

Bongaigoan, Cachar, 829.98 Darrang, 12.03

5.3 Tea leaves agents

6. Key decision making areas in TLSC

6.2 Plucking schedule strategy

6.3 Plucking timing and laborer payment strategy

6.4 Pruning strategy

6.5 Tea leaves pricing strategy

7.2 TLSC2: supply of tea leaves from STGs to tea factory

Estate Tea Factory

Notes: Profitability of TLSC1= (Worth of the plucked tea

Tea Tea leaves

Tea Tea leaves

Tea Tea leaves

Small Tea Tea leaves

Small Tea Tea leaves

Small Tea Tea leaves

Supply Efficient Responsive

Tea leaves Tea leaves

Tea leaves Tea leaves

G-10 Co-operative Tea G-4

Tea leaves Tea leaves

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