APEEJAY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

APEEJAY STYA UNIVERSITY DELHI

SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT

MARKETING & OPERATIONS OF ITC PRODUCTS

VISHAL KUMAR

26/107

CORPORATE MENTOR FACULTY MENTOR

MR. SHRESTH ARORA PROF. SHALINI VERMANI

AREA EXECUTIVE MANAGER APEEJAY SCHOOL OF MGMT.

ITC LIMITED

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 CERTIFICATE BY CORPORATE MENTOR

This is to certify that the project work done on “MARKETING & OPERATIONS OF ITC
PRODUCTS “Submitted to Apeejay School of Management, Dwarka by VISHAL KUMAR in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the PGDM, is to the best of my knowledge a bonafide work carried
out by him/her under my supervision and guidance. This work has not been submitted anywhere else
for any other degree/diploma. The original work was carried out during April 2019 to June 2019 in ITC
LTD.

Date:

Seal/Stamp of the Organization Signature & Name of the Corporate Mentor

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 CERTIFICATE BY STUDENT

This is to certify that I, VISHAL KUMAR Roll No. 26-107 have carried out my Summer internship in
ITC LIMITED in the area Marketing. It is also certified that the work done by me is original with due
references of sources, and has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of any diploma or degree.

Date:

Signature
Name of the Student
Countersigned by Faculty Mentor

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am thankful to Prof. Shalini Vermani of Apeejay School of Management, Dwarka who

as my Faculty Guide has always motivated me to put my best foot forward by setting
high standards for me and showers his graceful guidance by extending his cooperation in
giving an opportunity to do my summer internship project on “Marketing and operations
of ITC products” in ITC LIMITED.

I would like to express my deepest sense of gratitude to, Mr. Shresth Arora (AE
Manager), Mr. Ajay (Frozen products Incharge) for giving me this opportunity to
undergo Summer Training at ITC LIMITED. I would also like to extend my heartfelt
gratitude to the team for their constant encouragement and valuable insight, guidance
and facilities at all phases of the project.
I would also like to acknowledge the support and guidance of Mr. Abhinav (Sales Head)
& fellow members of ITC Ltd. Without their help and encouragement, it would have
been practically impossible to complete this project.

VISHAL KUMAR

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

1 Executive Summary 7-8

2 Area of Internship 9 - 11

3 Learning & objectives 12 - 13

4 Profile of the Organization 14 - 19

5 Mission & vision 19

6 ITC’s Businesses 20 - 29

7 Organization Structure of ITC Limited 30

8 Core Values 31

9 Job Description & Functional Profile 32 - 34

10 Learnings & Insights gained 35 - 38

11 Roles & Responsibility 39

12 SWOT Analysis 40 – 41

13 Competitors Analysis 42

14 Findings 43 - 49

15 Recommendations 50

16 Conclusion 51

17 References 52

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Our main focus was to gain insights on how a FMCG companies work. ITC gave us the
opportunity to work under an FMCG Organization. Sales is a part of everyone’s life, every
individual does sales in one way or the other, as a student we try to sell our skills and
competencies to get a job. Sales is the part of marketing and provides vital information to
marketing manager about what is the brand’s sales, awareness among the people, who are the
competitors who are trying to beat their product by providing incentives to the retailer’s,
wholesaler’s & No matter which business we are in if it requires dealing with people, then we
are in sales. There is also a famous saying by ZIG ZIGLAR “Everyone is in sales. Maybe
one don’t hold the title of a salesperson, but if the business you are in requires you
dealing with people, you, my friend, are in sales.”

The area of internship was majorly into marketing and operations of FMCG Product range of
ITC Limited. Along with that ITC was launching chocolates and frozen products, so we
have to overview the sales and operation of the product.

It involved learning & understanding of following key points:

 Modern Trade & General Trade

 Product Range Study of ITC’s FMCG division
 Shop Score Concept
 Branding of Products
 Working with the PPMS Team
 Focusing on sampling activities
 Focusing on the Visibility & SKU’s
 Generate Manual PO

Our work involved core understanding of the what is Category pricing & what is shop score,
how does shop score work and which was aligned with the core understanding of the
operations of Modern Trade.

Initially we were assigned various Modern Trade and General Trade Stores and our main
work was to inspect how does promoter & merchandiser works, how stock is maintained, and
what all product range is available in various Modern Trade stores. I have been assigned
Sahara Mall, Gurgaon.

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Next assignment was to learn about the concept of shop score and its variables which are as
follows:

 Availability
 SOS – Stock on Shelf
 Promo Implementation
 Visibility Implementation

Once done with the shop score our next assignment was to focus on working with the PPMS
team and maintain the store output by selling the products. Initially we were assigned to sell
B Natural juices and after almost a month we were told to change our focus from B Natural to
ITC Master Chef products and Fabelle Chocolates.

Our last month of Internship was totally on operations where we were taught about manual
purchase order and how to generate manual purchase order in modern trade outlets. Once
done with that we were told to look after the logistics of frozen products and based on the
sales we were told to generate manual purchase order.

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 Chapter 1

AREA OF INTERNSHIP & LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The area of internship was majorly into marketing and operations of FMCG Product range of
ITC Limited.

It involved learning & understanding of following key points:

 Modern Trade & General Trade

 Product Range Study of ITC’s FMCG division
 Shop Score Concept
 Category pricing
 Branding of products
 Working with the PPMS Team
 Focusing on sampling activities
 Focusing on the Visibility & SKU’s
 Generate Manual PO

 Modern trade

Modern Trade are basically consisting of supermarkets and hypermarkets that retail FMCG
goods. Also known as organized retail, this retail format started in India in the early 1990s,
and since then has slowly been gaining in importance. For example, Big Bazaar, Spencer,
etc..,.
This growth is being fueled by many factors such as a comfortable and modern shopping
experience, access to diverse categories as well as a wide variety of brands under a single
roof and attractive prices.
A whopping 54% of the MT shoppers actively seek promotional deals, with 35% of them
making bulk purchases. In fact, organized retail has gained momentum with increasing
numbers of 'urban crossover shoppers' who patronize multiple store types. They visit MT
stores but also rely on the neighborhood Kirana stores (General Trade) to replenish day-to-
day convenience shortfalls. Nielsen's study states that over a third of the Indian shoppers, on
average, frequent 2 or more types of stores.

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 General Trade

General trade is basic retailing, i.e. small scale business targeting the consumers who opt day
to day purchases in small quantity. General Trade is a key channel for brands to garner
market share. It is the most apt channel for end to end customer engagement providing high
brand experience. This channel has been deemed as one of the most promising for capturing
market share for brands. A key requirement for this channel is retail footprints & reach in
order to improvise the customer experience and make it more reachable to end consumer. 

ITC is having different distribution channels for different products and for different trades
(Modern trade and general trade). This report will include the comparison of sales and
distribution strategies between modern trade and general trade and which trade is more
profitable and in which trade they should invest.

STUDY OF PRODUCT MIX IN MODERN TRADE

AREA COVERED: GURGAON

STORE NAME: BIG BAZAAR, SAHARA MALL

PROMOTER: MS. SUKH JEEWAN

MERCHANDISER: RAJ ANAND

PRODUCT CATEGORIES: 23

 AASHIRVAAD
 KITCHEN OF INDIA
 SUNFEAST
 BINGO
 CANDYMAN
 MINT – O
 B NATURAL
 FARM LAND

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 ITC MASTER CHEF
 SUNBEAN
 FABELLE
 FIAMA
 VIVEL LOVE & NOURISH
 SUPERIA
 SAVLON
 ENGAGE
 CHARMIS
 MANGALDEEP
 AIM
 SHIP
 HOME LITE

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 SHOP SCORE CONCEPT

Shop Score is basically the overall score which describes the performance of an individual
store/Account/Branch for a particular time period.
Shop score is calculated on the basis of core SKUs present in the store.
Shop Score is a ITC terminology which largely comprises of 4 factors on which the whole
score is computed, which are as follows:
 Stock Availability

 SOS: Share of Shelf

 Promo Implementation

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  Visibility Implementation

MANUAL PURCHASE ORDER

A manual purchase order is basically a document that is generated by buyer to seller

indicating types & quantities. It is basically used to handle the purchasing of products
and services from external suppliers.

BRANDING OF PRODUCTS & PROMOTER ACTIVITIES

It is the visual appearance of any products in terms of Posters, Sampling campaigns,

Promoters, End Caps and Parasites etc. This factor includes all the visibility, branding &
merchandising decisions which may further get influenced by the banners, end racks, counter
tops execution in every store. Promoter activities basically include sampling of products and
creating awareness among customers about the product.

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 CHAPTER 2
PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION

INTRODUCTION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANISATION:

ITC is a board- managed professional Company, committed to creating enduring value for the
shareholder and for the nation. It has a rich organizational culture rooted in its core values of

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respect for people and belief in empowerment. Its philosophy of all round value creation is
backed by strong Corporate governance policies and systems.

 HISTORY AND EVOLUTION:

1910- ITC was incorporated under the name of ‘Imperical Tobacco Company of India
Limited’.
1925- ITC’s Packaging & Printing Business Division, was set up.
1975- The Company launched its Hotel business.
1975- ITC entered the Paperboards Business.
1985- ITC set up Surya Tobacco Co. in Nepal.
1990- ITC acquired Tribeni Tissues Limited
ITC set up the International Business Division (IBD)
2000- ITC’s Packaging & Printing Business launched.
ITC also entered the Lifestyle Retailing Business
ITC spun off its Information Technology Business
2001- ITC’s foray into the Foods business.
2002- ITC entered the confectionery, staples and snack foods segments.
ITC launched its initiative in Safety Matches.
2003- ITC’s foray into the marketing of Agarbattis
2008- Kaya Kalp, Asia’s largest spa launched at ITC Mughal. It later won the ‘Tatler’ award
for the World’s Best City Spa.
2009- ITC upgrades R&D facilities to world- class standards.
2010- ITC completes 100 inspiring years.

 ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name Imperial Tobacco
Company of India Limited. As the Company's ownership progressively Indianised,
the name of the Company was changed from Imperial Tobacco Company of India
Limited to India Tobacco Company Limited in 1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in
1974. ITC has its Headquarters “VIRGINIA HOUSE”, in Kolkata, West Bengal,
India.

 CORPORATE STRATEGIES

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 ITC’s corporate strategies are:

 Create multiple drivers of growth by developing a portfolio of world class businesses

that best matches organizational capability with opportunities in domestic and export
markets.
 Continue to focus on the chosen portfolio of FMCG, Hotels, Paper, Paperboards &
Packaging, Agri Business and Information Technology.
 Benchmark the health of each business comprehensively across the criteria of Market
Standing, Profitability and Internal Vitality.
 Ensure that each of its businesses is world class and internationally competitive.
 Enhance the competitive power of the portfolio through synergies derived by blending
the diverse skills and capabilities residing in ITC’s various businesses.
 Create distributed leadership within the organization by nurturing talented and
focused top management teams for each of the businesses.

Continuously strengthen and refine Corporate Governance processes and systems to

catalyze the entrepreneurial energies of management by striking the golden balance
between executive freedom and the need for effective control and accountability.

 A MODEST BEGINNING (PRODUCT AND BUSINESS LINES)

In recognition of the Company's multi-business portfolio encompassing a wide range of

businesses - Fast Moving Consumer Goods comprising Foods, Personal Care, Cigarettes
and Cigars, Branded Apparel, Education and Stationery Products, Incense Sticks and Safety
Matches, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business and
Information.

1925: PACKAGING AND PRINTING: BACKWARD INTEGRATION

Though the first six decades of the Company's existence were primarily devoted to the
growth and consolidation of the Cigarettes and Leaf Tobacco businesses, ITC's Packaging
& Printing Business was set up in 1925 as a strategic backward integration for ITC's
Cigarettes business. It is today India's most sophisticated packaging house.

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1975: ENTRY INTO THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR - A 'WELCOM' MOVE

In 1975, the Company launched its Hotels business with the acquisition of a hotel in Chennai
which was rechristened 'ITC-Welcome Group Hotel Chola' (now renamed My Fortune,
Chennai). The objective of ITC's entry into the hotels business was rooted in the concept of
creating value for the nation. ITC chose the Hotels business for its potential to earn high
levels of foreign exchange, create tourism infrastructure and generate large scale direct and
indirect employment. Since then ITC's Hotels business has grown to occupy a position of
leadership, with over 100 owned and managed properties spread across India under four
brands namely, ITC Hotels - Luxury Collection, Welcome Hotels, Fortune Hotels and
Welcome Heritage.

ITC Hotels recently took its first step toward international expansion with an upcoming
super premium luxury hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In addition, ITC Hotels also recently
tied up with RP Group Hotels & Resorts to manage 5 hotels in Dubai and India under ITC
Hotels' 5-star 'Welcome Hotel' brand and the mid-market to upscale 'Fortune' brand.

1979: PAPERBOARDS & SPECIALTY PAPERS – DEVELOPMENT OF A

BACKWARD AREA

In 1979, ITC entered the Paperboards business by promoting ITC Bhadrachalam

Paperboards Limited. Bhadrachalam Paperboards amalgamated with the Company effective
March 13, 2002 and became a Division of the Company, Bhadrachalam Paperboards
Division. In November 2002, this division merged with the Company's Tribeni Tissues
Division to form the Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division. ITC's paperboards'
technology, productivity, quality and manufacturing processes are comparable to the best in
the world.

1990: PAPERBOARDS & SPECIALTY PAPERS - CONSOLIDATION AND

EXPANSION

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In 1990, ITC acquired Tribeni Tissues Limited, a Specialty paper manufacturing company
and a major supplier of tissue paper to the cigarette industry. The merged entity was named
the Tribeni Tissues Division (TTD). To harness strategic and operational synergies, TTD was
merged with the Bhadrachalam Paperboards Division to form the Paperboards & Specialty
Papers Division in November 2002.

1990: AGRI BUSINESS - STRENGTHENING FARMER LINKAGES

Also in 1990, leveraging its agri-sourcing competency, ITC set up the Agri Business
Division for export of agri-commodities. The Division is today one of India's largest
exporters. ITC's unique and now widely acknowledged e-Choupal initiative began in 2000
with soya farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Now it extends to 10 states covering over 4 million
farmers.

2002: EDUCATION & STATIONERY PRODUCTD - OFFERING THE GREENEST

PRODUCTD

ITC launched line of premium range of notebooks under brand Paperkraft in 2002. To

augment its offering and to reach a wider student population, the Classmate range of
notebooks was launched in 2003.  ITC positioned the business as the Education and
Stationery Products Business and launched India's first environment friendly premium
business paper under the 'Paperkraft' Brand

2000: LIFESTYLE RETAILING – PREMIUM OFFERINGS

ITC also entered the Lifestyle Retailing business with the Wills Sport range of international
quality relaxed wear for men and women in 2000. The Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive
stores later expanded its range to include Wills Classic formal wear (2002) and Wills Clublife
evening wear (2003). ITC also initiated a foray into the popular segment with its men's wear
brand, John Players, in 2002. In 2006, Wills Lifestyle became title partner of the country's
most premier fashion event - Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week - that has gained
recognition from buyers and retailers as the single largest B-2-B platform for the Fashion
Design industry. To mark the occasion, ITC launched a special 'Wills Signature', taking the
event forward to consumers.

2000: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY – BUSINESS FRIENDLY SOLUTIONS

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In 2000, ITC spun off its information technology business into a wholly owned
subsidiary, ITC Infotech India Limited, to more aggressively pursue emerging
opportunities in this area. Today ITC Infotech is one of India's fastest growing global IT and
IT-enabled services companies and has established itself as a key player in offshore
outsourcing, providing outsourced IT solutions and services to leading global customers
across key focus verticals - Banking Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), Consumer
Packaged Goods (CPG), Retail, Manufacturing, Engineering Services, Media &
Entertainment, Travel, Hospitality, Life Sciences and Transportation & Logistics.

2001: BRANDED PACKAGED FOODS – DELIGHTING MILLIONS OF

HOUSEHOLDS

ITC's foray into the Foods business is an outstanding example of successfully blending
multiple internal competencies to create a new driver of business growth. It began in August
2001 with the introduction of 'Kitchens of India' ready-to-eat Indian gourmet dishes. In
2002, ITC entered the confectionery and staples segments with the launch of the
brands mint-o and Candyman confectionery and Aashirvaad Atta (wheat flour). 2003
witnessed the introduction of Sunfeast as the Company entered the biscuits segment. ITC
entered the fast growing branded snacks category with Bingo! in 2007. In 2010, ITC
launched Sunfeast Yippee! to enter the Indian instant noodles market.

2002: AGARBATTIS & SAFETY MATCHES - SUPPORTING THE SMALL AND

COTTAGE SECTOR

In 2002, ITC's philosophy of contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the entire

value chain found yet another expression in the Safety Matches initiative. ITC now markets
popular safety matches brands like iKno, Mangaldeep and Aim.

ITC's foray into the marketing of Agarbattis (incense sticks) in 2003 marked the
manifestation of its partnership with the cottage sector. Mangaldeep is a highly established
national brand and is available across a range of fragrances like Rose, Jasmine, Bouquet,
Sandalwood and 'Fragrance of Temple'.

2005: PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS – EXPERT SOLUTIONS FOR DISCERNING

CONSUMERS

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ITC entered the Personal Care Business in 2005. In eight years, the Personal Care portfolio
has grown under 'Essenza Di Wills', 'Fiama Di Wills', 'Vivel' and 'Superia' brands which
have received encouraging consumer response and have been progressively extended
nationally. In May 2013, the business expanded its product portfolio with the launch
of Engage - one of India's first range of 'couple deodorants'

2010: EXPANDING TOBACCO PORTFOLIO

In 2010, ITC launched its hand rolled cigar, Armenteros, in the Indian market. Armenteros
cigars are available exclusively at tobacco selling outlets in select hotels, fine dining
restaurants and exclusive clubs.

 ITC VISION
ITC sustained its position as one of India’s most valuable corporations in world class
corporations through world class performance, creating growing value for the Indian
economy and the Company’s stakeholders.

 ITC MISSION
ITC enhances the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a globalizing environment,
delivery superior and sustainable stakeholder value.

ITC’s BUSINESSES

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PRODUCT RANGE OF FMCG

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 Cigarettes & Cigars:
Wills Navy Cut
Silk Cut,
Capstan,
Lucky Strike,
Gold Flake
 Foods:
Aashirvaad Atta
Sunfeast
Bingo
Kitchens of India
Yippee
B Naturals
Mint-O
Candyman
GumOn
Fabelle
Sunbeam
 Personal Care Products:
Vivel
Fiama
Engage
Superia
Savlon
Shower to Shower
Charmis
 Education and Stationary:
Classmate- Registers,
pens,
pencils;
Paperkraft

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 Lifestyle Retailing:
Wills Lifestyle
John Player
 Safety Matches:
Aim
Homelight
 Agarbatiis:
MangalDeep

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 SIZE OF THE COMPANY

ITC is one of India's most successful multi-business enterprises with a market capitalization
of US $ 50 billion and a turnover of US $ 8 billion. ITC is a leading FMCG marketer in India
today, the second largest Hotel chain, the clear market leader in the Indian Paperboard and
Packaging industry and the country's foremost Agri-business player.
Over the last twenty-one years, ITC has created multiple drivers of growth by developing a
portfolio of world-class businesses and brands. ITC’s Net Revenue and Net Profit recorded
an impressive annual growth of 13.9% and 19.1% per annum respectively.

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 ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
Organization Structure followed by ITC is the Project Organizational Structure. Structure of
ITC Limited is mentioned below:

Figure 1: Organization Structure of ITC Limited

POSITION OF THE COMPANY

ITC is a leading FMCG marketer in India with a market capitalization of 25293.47 cr, the
second largest Hotel chain, the clear market leader in the Indian Paperboard and Packaging
industry and the country's foremost Agri-business player. It is also the biggest player in India
Tobacco Industry with a market share of 72%.
As per the stock market in India, share price of ITC Limited is Rs.283 and maintaining strong
at an average of Rs. 280 since the last year.  

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 CORE VALUES OF ITC LIMITED

ITC's Core Values are aimed at developing a customer-focused, high-performance

organization which creates value for all its stakeholders:

TRUSTEESHIP

As professional managers, we are conscious that ITC has been given to us in "trust" by all our
stakeholders. We will actualize stakeholder value and interest on a long term sustainable
basis.

CUSTOMER FOCUS

We are always customer focused and will deliver what the customer needs in terms of value,
quality and satisfaction.

RESPECT FOR PEOPLE

We are result oriented, setting high performance standards for ourselves as individuals and
teams. We will simultaneously respect and value people and uphold humanness and human
dignity. We acknowledge that every individual brings different perspectives and capabilities
to the team and that a strong team is founded on a variety of perspectives.

We want individuals to dream, value differences, create and experiment in pursuit of

opportunities and achieve leadership through teamwork.

NATION ORIENTATION

We are aware of our responsibility to generate economic value for the Nation. In pursuit of
our goals, we will make no compromise in complying with applicable laws and regulations at
all levels.

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 CHAPTER-3

JOB DESCRIPTION AND FUNCTIONAL PROFILE

Being an intern at ITC Ltd., largely the job description and function profile was more related
to the sell-out of the assigned product, i.e. B-Natural Juices and handle the operations of sales
as well.
ITC doesn’t face any problem in the market for any brand recognition since it’s the largest
FMCG giant in the market.
Major problems they face is of the operational genre, which may include out of stock issue,
branding & merchandising issues, promotional issues, issues at the end of promoters.
The task and responsibility that was assigned to me as an Intern was as follows:

Title: Improve Sell out of B Naturals in Current Competitive Landscape

Project Description: To study the promoter activity in detail – Time motion study along
with understanding of competition promoter activities. Design and pilot recommendations to
further strengthen the in store activities done by promoters. And suggest how we can improve
the Shop Score by enhancing team productivity.

Project Deliverables:

For ITC Limited:

o Understand promoters deployed.

o Their Key activities
o Shop Score Parameters
o Shop Score weightage
o Shop Score’s scope of improvement
o Merchandising activity done by the competition

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 o Competitors analysis
o Understanding competitor’s promo
o Assigning the signage and asking for extra visibility

Basis the above and understanding of ITC promoter’s activities, suggest ways to enhance in
store activities and optimum utilization of resources deployed to maximize sales.
My work in the tenure of the service as an intern in ITC limited was to study the shop score
and its 4 variables, analyze the previous month’s reports and accordingly find the loop holes
and come up with the solution and work towards rectification of the same.

It also included the maximization of the sales of the assigned product so that manual POs
could be generated by the store, and there was more flow of the product in the market.

The next course of action towards my work plan was as follows:

• Meeting Supervisor from PPMS for understanding of shop score and its working

• OOS, SOS, Promo & Visibility reports were shared with me for previous months.

• Analyzed the previous month’s reports and tried to figure out common problems that
came up every month.

• Generate manual purchase order for B Natural juices

• Started working and coordinating for the upcoming problems

PPMS is the Third party organization which is been outsourced by ITC Limited to handle the
branding, merchandising & promotion activities in various Modern Trade stores. Their main
focus along with these are to fill in the stocks and to make sure stock are received at the
warehouse properly.
OOS – Out of Stock Reports
SOS – Stock on Shelf Reports

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As mentioned above, OOS, SOS, Promo & Visibility reports for the month of April to June
2019 were shared with the area executive to be analyzed and get proper report of Shop score
variables.
During my tenure, I was directly aligned with PPMS promotors, on ground team &
operations manager.

LEARNING FROM WORKING ENVIRONMENT (MODERN TRADE)

 Learnt how to behave like a professional in office.

 Learnt how to implement strategies.
 Polished the skill of selling by observing my colleagues
 Working as a team player along with PPMS staffs.
 Learnt how modern trades operate at a certain level
 Gained an exposure working for a FMCG giant.
 Learned a lot about customer service & how to attract customers

CHALLENGES FACED DURING INTERNSHIP

 Initially the biggest challenges were to convincing customer to purchase B Natural

juices.
 Selling products to customers without any discount is really tough, especially when
your competitors are providing their products at discounted rates.
 Understanding the customer’s mind set. A single customer behaves differently in a
modern trade store and traditional trade stores.
 Keeping record of the sell outs and the stocks left at the store was a hard thing to
master.
 Generating manual purchase order for the out of stock products was a tough thing to
excel.

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 CHAPTER-4
LEARNING EXPERIENCE AND INSIGHT GAINED

My assignments were largely focussed on FMCG and work as a Intern of ITC. The details
about the project were briefly explained during the orientation session at ITC Head office.
Project guide, Mr. Shresth Arora explained the duties for achieving the objectives in place.
The interns were briefed about the product that was going to be handled by us, which was B-
Natural, the juice brand of ITC.

About The Product:

The Range of B-Natural juices comes in 4 different sizes. Earlier it was 2 sizes, that is Tetra
Pack 1L and Tetra Pack 250ml. At present ITC have introduced a new range of Pet Bottles
which come under their premium category of juices. Its consists of two sizes, 750ml Pet
Bottle and 300ml Pet Bottle.

PRODUCT GRAMMAGE PRICE PROMOTION

NAME

B-Natural Tetra 1L & 250ml Rs.99/- & Rs.20/- Buy 2 Get 1 (only
Guava on 1L)

B-Natural Tetra 1L & 250ml Rs.99/- & Rs.20/- Rs.20/- off (only
Litchi on 1L)

B-Natural Tetra 1L & 250ml Rs.99/- & Rs.20/- Buy 2 Get 1(only
Apple on 1L)

B-Natural Tetra 1L & 250ml Rs.99/- & Rs.20/- Buy 2 Get 1(only

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 Mixed Fruit on 1L)

B-Natural Tetra 1L Rs.110/- Buy 2 Get 1(only

Pomegranate on 1L)

B-Natural Tetra 1L & 250ml Rs.99/- & Rs.20/- No Promotion

Mango Offer

B-Natural Tetra 1L Rs.109/- Rs.28/- off

Masala Jamun

B-Natural Tetra 1L Rs.109/- No Promotion

Watermelon Offer

B-Natural Pet 750ml & 300ml Rs.99/- & Rs.40/- No Promotion

Bottle Himalayan Offer
Mixed Fruit

B-Natural Pet 750ml & 300ml Rs.99/- & Rs.40/- No Promotion

Bottle Dakshin Offer
Pink Guava

B-Natural Pet 750ml & 300ml Rs.110/- & Rs.45/- No Promotion

Bottle Ratnagiri Offer
Alphonso Mango

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To gain more insight about how Modern trade works, it is essential to get in depth overview
of shop score concept and its 4 variables.

Shop Score:

Shop Score is basically the overall score which describes the performance of an individual
store/Account/Branch for a particular time period. Shop score is calculated on the basis of
core SKUs present in the store.

Shop Score is a ITC terminology which largely comprises of 4 factors on which the whole
score is computed, which are as follows:

 Stock Availability

 SOS: Share of Shelf

 Promo Implementation

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  Visibility Implementation

Since ITC produces large no. of product range so practically it is not possible to evaluate
each and every product range in the shop score variable so what ITC does is, they segregate
the product range into two parts

o Core SKU
o Non-Core SKU

 Core SKU’s are all those products range whose demand is high and these SKUs
basically affect the shop score in respect to the 4 variables mentioned above.
 Non-Core SKUs are all other product range whose demand is comparatively less as
compared to the Core SKUs.

In MT store, there are largely 41 SKUs on which the 4 shop score variables are
applicable.

Now, in the below section all those 4 variables would be explained:

1. Stock Availability: It is the number of units available in a store at any given time. It
is rectified and checked by the Out Of Stock (OOS %) sheet in the final Shop Score.
This factor focusses on the stock availability in the store and ensures that optimum
stock is present in the market for sell out. Its contribution to Shop Score is 30%, this
factor influences the shop score for the whole month.

2. Share on Shelf (SOS): It is referred to as the physical presence of a company’s

product on the shelf that is purchased before hand by companies as per the price
presented by the retailer of MT Stores. It specifies the area defined to ITC product
range on the shelf in various stores. The SOS is calculated by length, breadth & height

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 of the product range placed on the shelf, higher the figure higher is the score. Its
contribution to the shop score is 20% and it influences the shop score for the whole
month.

3. Promos (Promotion): It is the offers that are displayed on the shelf that basically
provides discount on the MRP of a product. Promo Implementation is basically the
promotional offers that are run for the consumers and at the same time checking if
those promos are run successfully or not. Its contribution to the shop score is 30%,
and, this factor influences the shop score only till 14th of every month.

4. Brand Visibility: It is the visual appearance of any products in terms of Posters,

Sampling campaigns, Promoters, End Caps and Parasites etc. This factor includes all
the visibility, branding & merchandising decisions which may further get influenced
by the banners, end racks, counter tops execution in every store. Its contribution is
20% to the shop score calculations. It influences the Shop score till 14 th of every
month.

Afterwards, a competitive portfolio analysis was done, to understand the activities and
strategies used by the competition to increase their sales, it also helps to strategize and work
around the already existing activities.  

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY

During a tenure of 3 months, there were roles and responsibilities that I had to fulfil. My roles
and responsibilities, that include a wide spectrum of tasks from the beginning of my
internship till the end, it consists of:
1. Identification of problem at the ground level & Reach to a root cause for
analysis.
2. Increase brand visibility and sales
3. Increase efficiency in the rectification of Modern Trade Outlets
4. Lead teams in different stores to implement and execute new ideas and
strategies

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 5. Identify the main competitors for B Natural juices in Modern trade outlet.
6. Making more people aware about the newly launched B Natural pet bottle
juices.
7. Making sure the availability of all juices in the store.
8. Taking their feedback about the newly launched product of ITC.
9. Convey all feedback regarding B Natural pet bottles to area executive.
10. Generating manual purchasing order

These roles and responsibilities will be important to understand the company as well as the
FMCG industry. It will provide a holistic view of a business and its complete workings in the
market.
As a marketing intern, it is very important to focus on the aspects of the working of the
company and adjust to them accordingly. These roles and responsibilities are a way to keep
track of the goals that are set by the company.
They are set in a chronological order to prevent any overlap of assignments and insure the
smooth sailing of tasks.
The suggestions regarding the performance of the product would be presented to the
Assistant Manager. After his valuable feedback is provided, then the suggestions would move
forward towards the implementing section.

COMPETITORS ANALYSIS

One of the main task which were assigned to us was to study about the competitors of our
products & along with that we had to figure out which are the benchmark products in each
category.

 Stock Listing of ITC products with their Competitors.

ITC Product Competitor

B Natural Juices 1Ltr Real, Tropicana
Engage Perfumes Axe, Fogg
Fiama Shower Gel Nivea, Dove, Lux

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 Savlon Hand wash Soap Dettol, Lifebuoy
Fiama Soap Gel Bars Pears, Dove, Lux
Mangaldeep Agarbatti Lia, Haridarshan
Ashirvaad Atta (Select, Multigrain) Nature fresh, Pillsbury, Patanjali
ITC MasterChef Masala Everest, MDH
Classmate Notebooks Camlin
Classmate Pens Cello, Linc, Uniball
Homelight Matchsticks NIL
ITC Ashirwaad Svasti Ghee Milkfood, Amul, Paras
Yippee Noodles Maggi, Chings
ITC Ashirvaad Ready Meals MTR, Gits
Sunfeast Pasta Treat Maggi Pasta
Bingo (Tedhe medhe, mad angles,
yumitos) Lays, Kurkure, Uncle Chips
Sunfeast Marielight Britannia Marie Gold
Sunfeast Farmlite Britannia NutriChoice
Sunfeast moms magic Britannia Good day, Parle Milano
Sunfeast Dark Fantasy Choco fills Britannia Pure Magic

ITC MasterChef Frozen Food McCain’s, Venky, Yummies

FINDINGS
The finding will be listed below in the consistent manner of the project objectives:

● To understand the issues regarding low sales of B Naturals

This objective includes the current situation of B Naturals in comparison to market
leaders in this segment, i.e. Real and Tropicana. It started by visiting the stores and
understanding the consumer behavior towards the Juice segment. This objective will
help at a later stage, when the implementation is required.

 Visited stores for the identification of company’s product lines and its
competitors.

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  Identified problems arising in MT Accounts in different areas of Delhi NCR
regarding B Naturals and reported it to the concerned Area Executive for
immediate action.
 Major problem turned out to be less visibility and less awareness amongst
customers of MT stores.

Even though B Naturals entered the market with a hard-hitting punch to its competitors by
rolling out 100% 'not from concentrate' pomegranate juice. Its
aggressive advertising campaign urges consumers to opt for a 'better' juice brand which is not
made from concentrate unlike most of products on the shelf.
The brand loyalty of other juice brands has restricted the sales of B Naturals in the current
scenario, but with its different flavors and healthy alternatives, B Naturals should be able
increase sales in the near future.

TO STUDY AND ANALYSE THE ASPECTS OF MODERN TRADE

The aspects of Modern Trade are essential in increasing the sales of B Naturals, as everything
in a MT Store is dependent upon the aspects of the Modern Trade. A deep knowledge about
the workings of these aspects will be helpful to achieve the ultimate goal of increasing sales
for B Naturals.

 Product Availability: It is the number of units available in a store at any given time.
It is rectified and checked by the Out of Stock (OOS %) sheet in the final Shop Score.
 Stock availability report is in the form of OOS report which stands for out of stock
report.

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  This report tells us the stores, area, zones in which, what particular product range
is out of stock and for how long.
 The report is updated by the AE on a software IMAXX which reports all the
products and keeps the manager updated with the report.

Share on Shelf (SOS): It is referred to as the physical presence of a company’s product

on the shelf that is purchased before hand by companies as per the price presented by the
retailer of MT Stores.
 SOS is determined by various calls that the AE takes by visiting the stores on a
routine basis.
 The product range are stored on the shelf in two manners
o Industry Facing
o Brand Facing
 ITC being a renowned brand does not face major problem in SOS and majorly all
the stock is nicely placed at eye level from head to hip manner.
 As noticed personally by store visits in various MT stores, the major issue that
comes up in SOS is the availability of stock
 If the stock is finished, then some other product is placed at ITC’s place which
might affect the sale of ITC product.
 Asides, promotors are present for optimum spreading out the product range but
still stock keeping is a vital issue.

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 Promos (Promotion): It is the offers that are displayed on the shelf that basically
provides discount on the MRP of a product.
 This factor includes all the promotional offers running for that particular month
for a particular product range.
 This may include offers such as Buy 1 get 1 free, 10% off on MRP, or Buy 2
packs and get 1 free which is currently running on B natural 1ltr juices.
 This factor influences the shop score for half month duration only i.e. only till 15 th
of every month.

Brand Visibility: It is the visual appearance of any products in terms of Posters, Sampling
campaigns, Promoters, End Caps and Parasites etc.
 This factors includes the visibility, branding, merchandizing of the product range
which might be in various forms.
 The various forms in which the visibility of ITC product range is displayed is as
follows:
 End Caps - Deodorant
 Floor Stacks – Atta, Juices
 Parasites – Engage Perfumes
 Power Wings
 Cash Tills – Various toffees boxes at cash counters

● To achieve higher brand visibility

This objective is a huge task to achieve in the time span of the internship, because it not
only talks about the physical presence of B Naturals in the market but also in the minds of
the customer. Different and innovative activities will be carried out to achieve this
objective.

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  Some of the activities were as follows:

B Naturals on Wheels

This was another activity that took place to increase awareness and sales of B Naturals. This
activity involved the use of trolleys in the MT Accounts. The products were filled up till the
brim of the trolley and marked with offers to increase visibility in the stores. The result of this
activity was fruitful:

 Stores buzzed with higher ITC product sales and our activity received

attention

 Awareness was created for ITC products enhancing the stature of both brand
and company

 Customers felt connected beyond the brand to the reputed company that makes
it, building more brand loyalty

 Customer gets drawn in to take an interest/purchase/use an ITC product

 Because the activity attract attention, they renew and strengthen the
relationship with the brand

Figure: Picture of Trolley Activity

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Sampling Activity

Sampling is a technique used by many multinational corporations for their products. It is a

way of letting customers be a part of the experience for the product at no cost. This is used as
a tool for many companies to introduce a new product in the market. It basically provides the
customer with information about the nature of the product without spending money on it.

ITC limited used this tool to enhance the customer awareness in the Delhi NCR region, and
was a successful campaign. The product that was sampled particularly was the Masala Jamun
and Jamun with other variants as well.

During sampling I converted a customers of Paper Boat (AamRas) to B Naturals (Mango), by

pointing out 100% “No Concentration”, this was helpful to promoters of that store and
affected the day’s sell out.

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 POINTERS FOR PROMOTERS

1. Thickness of the juice: The unique quality with the B Naturals Juices is that the pulp
is thick and can be a turning point for customers.

2. No Concentration: This a new term used for Juices which was initiated by ITC limited
for their Juice segment, B Naturals in 2015.

3. Different and New Tastes: The different tastes of B Naturals like Jamun, Bel and
Masala Jamun are an attraction to the consumer aged 40 to 60.

4. 100% Transparent with 0% Added Preservatives unlike any other product in the
market so you can see the juice goodness before buying

5. Made with 100% Indian Fruits sourced from Indian farmers and has 0%
Concentrate which means it has better freshness, taste and nutrition

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 Current challenges and future prospects

 FMCG major ITC us set to continue diversification into new areas with Agri business
playing a key role, as part of its ‘India First’ strategy under which it aims to create 10
million sustainable livelihoods by 2030.
 Very soon, the company will start selling onions as it tries to bring “one more
commodity to the market every few months”, even as it is in the process of
assembling a team for its foray into healthcare sector.
 “We would like to go forward with growing contribution to the economy on areas of
national priorities. One of the objectives was to make growing contribution to the
economy, which means getting into newer segments,” Sanjiv Puri, CEO and
Executive Director, ITC.
 Under the company’s ‘India First strategy’, ITC is planning to strengthen businesses
and value chains to create 10 million sustainable livelihoods by 2030.
 At present, ITC and its group firms employ over 32,000 people directly and have
supported creation of around 6 million sustainable livelihoods.
 The idea is that every few months, ITC would bring in one more commodity to the
market, very soon they are going to launch potatoes in fresh form.
 ITC’s potatoes will have two unique offerings, one is going to be low sugar potato
and other is going to be anti-oxidant rich potato.
 ITC have 65 projects with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore in various stages. Some
significant sectors include creating 20 integrated consumer goods and logistics hubs
to provide scalability and lowest cost of delivery and the capacity to provide the
consumer the freshest product.
 In hospitality, ITC, a young player in the segment, is investing to create 9 new hotels
in India and one in Sri Lanka.
 ITC now has 58 per cent of its revenue from the non-tobacco segments, which are
FMCG, hotel, agribusiness, paper and paperboard as part of its diversification
strategy.

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 CHAPTER -5

RECEOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

After analysing the aspects of Modern Trade and their effects on B Naturals sale with respect
to the competitors, there are some recommendations for the company: -

● Bring back the 100% ‘Non-concentrate’ campaign for the awareness amongst the
remaining population of India, the campaign only effected certain regions in India and
that has been a very big reason for the stagnant performance of B Naturals
● In addition to the above-mentioned point, start a new campaign, capturing the essence
of “Better than the best” for the elderly, targeting the mothers.
● Increasing use of visual merchandizing for better awareness, even if a store in selling
the product, the sales are not up-to the competitors. That is because of the actual
physical presence of the competitor visual aids.
● Penetrative pricing for a short period of time, keeping in mind the economy of the
state prices of the product should be modified to attack the competitors. Once a
dominant hand over the existing juice companies has been achieved, then the pricing
can be increased incrementally.
● Benefits to Loyal/Old Customers should be provided for the continuous support
● Different aspects of ITC like hotels, cigarettes and others can be used for the
advertisement for B Naturals.
● It is appropriate to say that the packaged juices market in India is still evolving. As
there are many national and international brands on the verge of succeeding and
expanding further into the field, new entrants can also cash in on this opportunity by
positioning/promoting packaged and bottled fruit juices as part of the consumers’
daily diet.
● Simultaneously, it is critical to ensure affordability for consumers, while maintaining
the hygienic aspects and quality of products throughout the year, B Naturals should
focus on keeping the customer happy in terms of healthy and hygienic Juice all year
round.
● Sampling activities should be done regularly on weekends to attract newer customers.
● Better discounted rates can be helpful in getting more market share.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTERNET:

 India, N. (2018). The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. Retrieved from

http://www.nielsen.com/in/en.html
 ITC Limited. (n.d.). Retrieved from itcportal: http://www.itcportal.com/
 Limited, I. (n.d.). ITCportal. Retrieved from About ITC:
http://www.itcportal.com/about-itc/values/index.aspx
 Limited, I. (n.d.). ITCportal. Retrieved from Core Values: http://www.itcportal.com/about-
itc/values/core-values.aspx
 Limited, I. (n.d.). ITCportal. Retrieved from History and Evolution:
http://www.itcportal.com/about-itc/profile/history-and-evolution.aspx
 https://archive.org/stream/ITCAnnualReport2013/ITC%20annual%20report%202013_djvu.tx
 http://www.aifl.net/CompanyProfile/ManagementDiscussion.aspx?id=83&FinCode=100875
 https://www.ndtv.com/business/stock/itc-ltd_itc/reports-directors-report

DATA :-

 ITC REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2019

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