Summer Training Project Report DECCAN 360 LOGISTICS

(Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Business Administration)

Under the Guidance of: Varsha Tewari Manager Marketing

Submitted By: Name: Esha Hans Roll No. of Institution: 9202276

Session: 2009 2011

KIIT School of Management, KIIT University Bhubaneswar 751024, Orissa, India

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DECLARATION

I, ESHA HANS do hereby declare that the project entitled " COMPARITIVE ANALYSIS OF DECCAN 360 WITH ITS COMPETITORS AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION" is the result of my original effort and it has not been submitted to any organization or university other than KIIT SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT and DECCAN 360 LOGISTICS for any purpose whatsoever. This project has been prepared as a partial fulfillment of the award of MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) DEGREE.

BHUBANESWAR DATE:

ESHA HANS ROLL NO. 9292276

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is my proud privilege to express my gratitude to the several people who have helped me directly or indirectly to conduct this project work.

I do hereby take this opportunity to acknowledge with my sincere and deep sense of reverence to Ms. VARSHA TEWARI. Marketing Manager, DECCAN 360 LOGISTICS, Bhubaneswar under whom I completed my training. She spared her valuable time and gave adequate attention to my report and training.

I further express my gratitude to all the faculties of KIIT SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT for their cooperation and encouragement.

I am greatly indebted and will remain ever obliged to my concerned faculty, Mr. Preety Ranjan Sahoo for guiding me to complete the project work.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the entire team of Deccan 360 for extending necessary help to me when required.

BHUBANESWAR DATE:

ESHA HANS ROLL NO. 9202276

CONTENTS
Executive Summary 1. Introduction A. Introduction to logistics 1.1 Global logistic industry 1.2 Indian global industry B. Company profile 2. Objective 3. Scope 4. Limitation 5. Methodology 6. Sample survey 7. Background of the project 7.1 Comparative analysis of Deccan 360 with its competitors 7.2 SWOT analysis of Deccan 360 8. Analysis of data and inferences 9. Recommendation 10. Conclusion 11. References 12. Annexure Questionnaire List of table List of chart

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Project is an important part of academic curriculum for a management student. It helps the student to be a part of industry and also helps to get a real life exposure of the industry and also helps to build confidence to face the future in the industry. This teaches the student to be professional, which is really important in today's fast changing industries. I have carried out my project in DECCAN 360 LOGISTICS Bhubaneswar. My project title is "Comparative analysis of Deccan 360 with its competitors and customer satisfaction ". Deccan 360 started its operation in May 2009. I reported to Deccan 360 Bhubaneswar on the 15' Mar 2010 to my faculty guide Ms.Varsha Tewari. After the briefing about the company and its policies, she provided me with a booklet which stated about the policies of the company and their working. After knowing about the company I was provided a questionnaire to know the response of the customers about Deccan 360 in the Bhubaneswar market. I started the survey from 20th mar and continued our survey till 5th of May.10. On an average, daily I meet about 2 to 3 customers who were using services for sending their documents and non-documents. This included both customers using other courier services and customers using Deccan 360. From the survey I came to know that the existing customers were satisfied with the services provided by the Deccan 360. While working on the project, I came to know the way a consignment is booked, the proper way of filling the Proof-of-Delivery (POD) slip, how the bar coded POD helps in tracking, counting and billing the customers, how a consignment is sent to the part where it has to be delivered, how they are tracked of the status while in transit etc.

1. INTRODUCTION
A) INTRODUCTION TO LOGISTICS
Logistics forms an important element of supply chain management, which integrates Functions like marketing, planning, distribution and purchase with manufacturing. Logistics Primarily consists of the following activities: Purchase and Supply of goods, Material/goods handling, Transportation Storage , Distribution , Logistics plays a crucial role in business as it is involved in the entire supply chain starting with purchase of materials to supply of finished products. Logistics costs account for 1525% of the cost of the final product in India, which is much higher than 7-9% in developed Countries. Logistics contributes 13-14% of GDP in India, when compared with 10% in US. The relative inefficiencies in logistics in India can be attributed to inadequate logistics Infrastructure (both physical infrastructure and technological), laborious paper --based and Manual processes and fragmented supply chains. Currently logistics in India does not have an industry status. The absence of a uniform tax structure and procedures in all the states Often leaves the transporters or 3PL providers to face delays at check posts, creating bottle necks in transportation. These frequent delays also result in enormous increase in transportation costs, which go up to 40 % of the total logistics costs.

1.1 Global logistics industry

Logistics is one of the key economic activities throughout the world. Global logistics industry is estimated to be worth $3.5 trillion in 2005, out of which over 25% is contributed by US alone. The retailing industry accounts for more than 70% in the global logistics industry. Other major industries that contribute to logistics industry are Automotive, Hi-tech, Pharmaceutical and Consumer Electronics Asia-pacific is the leading regional market in Asia accounting for more than a third of the Asian logistic industry. Global logistic industry is highly fragmented and success in logistics depends on ultimate resource management and customer specific IT applications. There does exist a large market and the developing countries should focus on means of achieving efficient logistics so that the overall economic loss can be minimized.

1.2 Indian logistics industry

India is the fourth largest economy in Asia and is being considered as the land of opportunities for logistics service providers. Logistics management in India is very complex considering the fact that around 10 million retail outlets, mostly in the unorganized sector, are catering to the needs of 1.1 billion Indian population. In the last few years, there has been a spurt in organized retailing not only in metros but also into small towns which indeed will help logistics industry to grow. Besides, a number of companies from USA and Europe have been outsourcing manufacturing operations to India and large global retail chains are sourcing their supplies from India.

. With the increase of 3PLs in logistics industry, the efficiency will increase.

B) COMPANY PROFILE
Deccan 360 is an express transportation and logistics company. The transportation network supports an extensive service portfolio, Catering to different express transportation needs of industry verticals that include: 1. Pharmaceuticals 2. Machinery 3. Manufacturing 4. Retail 5. Electronics 6. Textiles 7. Banking

Hub-and-Spoke Distribution: Deccan 360 is the first Indian company to create a hub-and-spoke distribution model in an industry that is still in the early stages of development. The state-of-the-art hub is strategically located at Nagpur, from where all the metros and even smaller cities and towns like Faridabad, Ankaleshwar and Mohali (to name a few) are interconnected. At Deccan 360, the focus is on delivering innovative express solutions at a nationwide level everything from improving transit times between small towns and metros to creating Indias first hub-and-spoke distribution model for the express industry. The technology solutions also allow the business to achieve greater efficiency with 24/7 online shipment tracking. Deccan 360: Pillars of Strength . Customers .Employees .Community .Investors .Partners The core team at Deccan 360 has over 100 years of collective experience in the international and domestic express transportation and logistics industry. Every employee is trained and motivated to go the distance and that little bit extra ensuring seamless service delivery.

EXPRESS SERVICES
Cost effective door to door service that will guarantee to meet the business needs. Be it transferring documents or carrying out small shipments Deccan 360 is all out to be the most preferred express service in India At Deccan 360, the efficient transport is not only reliable and innovative but also meets the customer s expectation.

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
Deccan 360 operates through three modes that cater to the specific needs Priority mode serves cargo that needs specialized handling during distribution Premium which helps to transport goods through air in less time Economy transports goods by road in affordable prices.

PRODUCTS OF DECCAN 360

Priority Deccan 360 Priority is a domestic door to door service that offers unmatched cut-off and transit times for all the non commercial shipments to 50 Indian cities Premium Deccan 360 Premium is a service from Deccan 360 that gives an efficient door to door, just-intime delivery solution for all your commercial shipments. In addition to providing market leading transit time, it also offers the convenience of managing all regulatory clearances. Economy Deccan 360 Economy provides cost effective, door to door ground distribution solution from its surface network. The surface express solution offers one of the best transit times in the industry, coupled with safety and security for all the less- time critical shipments.

2.OBJECTIVES
The objective of this project is to get an overview of the market and consumer awareness to some value added services like tracking of consignments in some parts of Bhubaneswar like Ashok Nagar, Lewis Road, Bapujinagar, Sahidnagar and Mancheswar. Under this study a market survey was conducted whose objectives are as under: 1. To study the overall performances of the services provided by Deccan360 2. To understand the customers attitude and perceptions about the quality of services rendered by Deccan 360 3. To find out the level of customer satisfaction. 4. To enlist suggestions for improvement in future on the basis of the research conducted.

3. SCOPE
Scope: The survey was conducted with sample size of 50 The survey is based on consumer satisfaction towards the service offered The survey consist of the customer who have used the services of Deccan 360 The survey is conducted in Bhubaneswar city

4. LIMITATIONS
There were a few limitations that were faced during doing the market survey and data collections which were unavoidable. Few of the limitations are as follows: 1. . The area of data collection was restricted to Bhubaneswar only 2. A few respondents could have been biased while answering the questions. 3. The project was on a small scale, as Deccan 360 is a new company and has started its operation a few months back. 4. Time-constraint was also a big problem.

5._ METHODOLOGY
For any scientific study there is utmost importance of a concrete and definite methodology. Hence a proper methodology has been followed for the study. . The study was carried out in two different methods. First was the direct interview method, where I approached the respondent and conducted the interview while noting down the responses. Second was the qualitative research, the questionnaire method, where the respondent was asked to fill up a questionnaire containing a set of close ended questions? Selection of respondents was made on the `Random Sampling' basis and the target respondents were the offices which included both the corporate as well as non-corporate since they are the primary and bulk users of courier in Bhubaneswar. Primary data were collected through `market survey' while secondary data were collected from sources like the company's website and brochures and customer information provided by the company.

6.SAMPLE SURVEY
The data was collected by distributing questionnaires to 50 Deccan 360 customers. The data was collected by customers all around Bhubaneswar.

7.BACKGROUND
I got an opportunity to do my Summer Internship with DECCAN 360 in their Marketing branch. Deccan 360 is a new logistic company which has started its operation few months back and it is the first company to introduce the hub and spoke model in the country. During the training period I undertook a project on MARKETING RESEARCH ON THE COMPANY AND COMPARING IT WITH ITS COMPETITORS AS WELL AS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION The purpose of the project is to study the best marketing practices, systems and processes that are prevailing in the LOGISTIC industry and are used by the market leaders The project also involves a competitor analysis between DECCAN 360 and its main competitor i.e. BLUE DART and FIRST FLIGHT.

7.1 COMPARISON OF DECCAN 360 WITH ITS COMPETITORS

BASIS OF COMPARISON 1. Products 1. Priority 2. Premium 3. Economy

1. Dart Apex 2. Dart Surfaceline 3. Smart Box Tie up with private banks International tie up with DHL Tie up with major banks. Have own networking in major international locations like UAE, Singapore, UK, USA No such thing

2. Tie up with The banks

3.International

No tie up with the banks. No international tie ups

tie up

4. Hub and spoke

model
5. Freighters 6.Fuel surcharge

It is the first company to operate in hub and spoke model It has 7 freighters flexible

No such thing

It has 4 freighters Strict in fuel surcharge policy

It has no freighters

Flexible

Fuel surcharges Depending on Customer shipping profile and negotiations

C) economy 20% D) premium E) priority 37.5% 30%

26% 26% 150 Rs 10 per kg Or Rs 2500 whichever is

37.5% Prices inclusive of fuel surcharge 150 Ranges from Rs.1500 to Rs. 3000 or Rs.

20% 20% 200 Till 400kg : Rs.2000 400kg+ : Rs.5/kg

7. Way bill 8. Extended delivery location

higher
9. Intrastate

7/kg to Rs. 15/kg depending on the state Not common within the same state They dont have Common within the same state They have an interior network

Not common within the same state They dont have

10. Interior network

11. Pricing structure

They stick to standard pricing policy 500 gms a slab

Same as Deccan 360

Pricing structure is flexible 250 gms a slab Same as Deccan 360

12. Liquid or chemical items

Carries liquid and They do not carry chemical items in case liquid and chemical to case basis on items special arrangements Special arrangement for carrying perishable items Very less They do not have

13. Perishable items

They do not have

14. .tariffs

Higher than Deccan 360 and first flight

Less in comparison to blue dart

The SWOT analysis helps us understand the strength and weakness of DECCAN 360 and its key competitors. This can be used to make new strategies by the management to outclass its competitors.

7.2 SWOT Analysis of Deccan 360

Strengths

Hub and Spoke distribution Deccan 360 is the first company in India to introduce the hub and spoke distribution model in an industry which is still in its early stages of development. High Entry Barriers: Set up of National Network, offices, airline tie ups Deccan 360 had to make a lot of investment in establishing a national network and for it the requisite infrastructure and technology was set up. This normally discourages new entrants to a large extent and act as a barrier to their entry.

International tie ups- The Company has tie-ups with world a leader which enables them to have an edge over others in terms of the standard of service provided. Quality limited players at National level The organized and high return segment is dominated by a few major quality players. High growth industry The industry is expected to grow in the coming years. There is also much scope for entry of the organized sector companies into the share of semi organized sector.

Weakness

Dependent on economic scenario This industry is highly dependent on the overall economic scenario. But due to the general slowdown of the world economy, Asian economy in particular, there has been a slowdown in this industry .But with the revival of the economy and the greater reach of the major players in this segment, the industry is expected to grow at an increasing rate. Have to face the bureaucracy - Express companies, like other multinationals, have introduced new technology and standards of efficiency into India, which in a way are alien to the traditional 'bureaucracy' at the nation's airports and Customs offices. As such, they are not having an easy time. They generally not popular in the Government sectors and public sectors.

Opportunities

Logistics The courier companies have all identified opportunities to take up integrated Logistics Solutions for other companies. This outsourcing would enable manufacturing companies to concentrate on production and marketing. By outsourcing the inventory management to courier companies, the companies can do business in a new international market without an initial investment in facilities. This means lower capital investment at an embryonic stage of the business, thus lowering the associated risk. E-Commerce The development of e-commerce has given an opportunity to the companies to enable customers to deal with them on the net. Value added services: The courier companies endeavor to add value to the products of their customers to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Backward Integration: The courier companies now cease to be reliant on others for the services they need and have integrated backwards. The huge distribution networks exemplify this and the number of vehicles (including aircraft) owned by these companies.

Threats

Economy slowdown The industry being driven by the general economic scenario there is always the threat of it being affected by slowdown in the economy.

Government regulations There is also the threat to some extent of some new government regulations particularly due to the political instability and the chance of change in policy by a new government. New Technology The companies also need to be constantly in touch with the latest technology to help them provide the best service possible. Today things like tracking and tracing is fairly common and has become a norm in the courier industry while it was unheard of only a few years ago.

8.ANALYSIS OF DATA AND INFERENCES

1.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of Information supplied is accurate and honest

PARTICULAR
Exceptional Good Satisfactory Poor Total ANALYSIS

NO OF RESPONDENTS
8 31 10

PERCENTAGE
16% 62% 20% 2% 100%

1
50

From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (62%) felt that the information supplied by Deccan 360 is accurate and honest. 16% of the respondents felt that the information given to them was exceptional, 20% felt satisfactory whereas 2% thought that it was poor.

Sales
POOR 2%

SATISFACTORY 20%

EXCEPTIONAL 16%

GOOD 62%

INFERENCE From the above chart it can be inferred that most of the customers felt the information is accurate and honest supplied to them is good. 2.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of Customer Services

PARTICULAR
Exceptional Good Satisfactory Poor Total

NO OF RESPONDENTS
5 32 12

PERCENTAGE
10% 64% 24% 2% 100%

1
50

ANALYSIS From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (64%) find the services of Deccan 360 as good.10% believes it to be exceptional, 24% thinks its satisfactory whereas only 2% find out the services as poor.

CHART showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of customer services

Sales
POOR 2% EXCEPTIONAL 10%

SATISFACTORY 24%

GOOD 64%

INFERENCE From the above chart we can infer that the majority of the customers are satisfied with the customer services whereas very few or negligible amount of customers are dissatisfied with the services 3.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of attitude of the drivers

PARTICULAR
Exceptional Good Satisfactory Poor Total

NO OF RESPONDENTS
2 34 13

PERCENTAGE
4% 68% 26% 2% 100%

1
50

ANALYSIS From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (68%) find the attitude of the driver as good.4% believes it to be exceptional,

26% thinks it satisfactory whereas only 2% find out the services as poor. CHART showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of attitude of the drivers
POOR 2%

Sales
EXCEPTIONAL 4%

SATISFACTORY 26%

GOOD 68%

INFERENCE From the above chart we can infer that the majority of the customers believe that the attitude of the drivers is good and they ensure timely delivery of the shipments and arrival at its destination to its earliest. 4.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of the team courteous and helpful

PARTICULAR
Yes No Total

NO OF RESPONDENTS
48 2 50

PERCENTAGE
96% 4% 100%

ANALYSIS

From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (96%) find the team of Deccan 360 as courteous and helpful whereas only few or negligible customers find it dissatisfactory. CHART showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of the team courteous and helpful

Sales
no 4%

yes 96%

INFERENCE From the above chart we can infer that the majority of the customers find the team of deccan 360 as courteous and helpful 5.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of Their rating the Customer Services

PARTICULAR
Exceptional Good Satisfactory Poor Total

NO OF RESPONDENTS
2 34 13

PERCENTAGE
4% 68% 26% 2% 100%

1
50

ANALYSIS

From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (68%) find the rating of the customer services as good.4% believes it to be exceptional, 26% thinks it satisfactory whereas only 2% find out the services as poor.

CHART showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of rating the customer services

POOR 2%

Sales
EXCEPTIONAL 4%

SATISFACTORY 26%

GOOD 68%

INFERENCE From the above chart we can infer that the majority of the customers believe that the customer services of Deccan 360 update them timely information about their shipment position. 6.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of satisfying needs

PARTICULAR
Yes No Total

NO OF RESPONDENTS
48 2 50

PERCENTAGE
96% 4% 100%

ANALYSIS From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (96%) are satisfied with the services whereas only 4% are dissatisfied.

CHART showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of satisfying needs

Sales
4%

96%

7.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of delivery on the same day

PARTICULAR
Exceptional Good Satisfactory Poor Total

NO OF RESPONDENTS
3 34 11

PERCENTAGE
6% 68% 22% 2% 100%

2
50

ANALYSIS From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (68%) find the delivery services of Deccan 360 on the same day as good.6% believes it to be exceptional, 22% thinks it satisfactory whereas only 4% find out the services as poor. CHART showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of delivery on the same day
POOR 4%

Sales

EXCEPTIONAL 6%

SATISFACTORY 22%

GOOD 68%

INFERENCE From the above chart we can infer that majority of the customers believe that Deccan 360 delivers their shipments on the same day and reach its destination on time. 8.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of Storage facility

PARTICULAR
Exceptional Good Satisfactory Poor

NO OF RESPONDENTS
8 35 7

PERCENTAGE
16% 70% 14% 0%

Total

50

100%

ANALYSIS From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (70%) find the storage facility of Deccan 360 as good.16 % finds it to be exceptional, 14% satisfactory whereas none finds it poor CHART showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of Storage facility

Sales
SATISFACTORY 14% POOR 0%

EXCEPTIONAL 16%

GOOD 70%

INFERENCE From the above chart we can infer that majority of the customers finds the storage facility of Deccan 360 as good and it ensures proper storage facility in the warehouse and proper handling of goods.

9.Table showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of Pick and Pack facility

PARTICULAR
Exceptional Good

NO OF RESPONDENTS
9 32

PERCENTAGE
18% 64%

Satisfactory Poor Total

0
50

18% 0% 100%

ANALYSIS From the above table we can observe that the maximum number of customers (74%) find the pick and pack facility of Deccan 360 as good.18 % finds it to be exceptional, 18% satisfactory whereas none finds it poor CHART showing the distribution of Deccan 360 customers on the basis of Pick and Pack facility

Sales
POOR 0%

SATISFACTORY EXCEPTIONAL 17% 16%

GOOD 67%

INFERENCE From the above chart we can infer that majority of the customers believe that deccan 360 pick and pack facility ensures a proper inspection and packing facility before each delivery of the shipment to the customer place.

9.RECOMENDATIONS
1. Operations in rural area: Deccan 360 is operating under urban region where there is tough competition, but Deccan 360 can cater its services to rural sector where competition is less, people are willing to fund their services but its prohibiting them to tap them because of lack

of knowledge and transportation. Rural sector are raw and it needs to be tapped. As there is very less or no competition in rural market it can offer bulk services to the company for example we can take the farmer s bulk agricultural raw materials and fertilizer. 2. Check on delay in delivery: Flight connectivity leads to delay in sending couriers. As there are limited flights from Bhubaneswar with limited connectivity it leads to delay in delivery. While offering services to local areas and neighboring states like Calcutta and Vishakapatnam they can prefer train and bus services than flight services as it can lead to timely delivery as well as it proves less expensive.

3. Creating awareness; The services of Deccan 360 are not well known to the people because of lack of promotional strategies like advertisement and sales promotion. Events can be introduced to promote the company like competition can be sponsored and general awareness campaigns can be held. 4. Schemes offered; Schemes should be offered to highly potential customers like spot discount schemes for bulk shipments.

5. Cost effective; As the services of our economic product is very good, we should highlight it to our customers for bulk shipment. 6. Improving the services Modifying the existing services, pick n pack should be improvised so that goods dont get damaged and reaches safely to their proper destination and on proper time. 7. Economies of scale The industry is volume driven and thrives on economies of scale. The infrastructure and technology have to be set up irrespective of the amount of business if the quality of service has to be world standard. Hence the business becomes profitable only after a few years when there is a sizeable customer base.

10.CONCLUSION
Even though Deccan 360 is a brand name, it has successfully created a standard of its own in a short period of time which is commendable. Given the existing trends and other market dynamics it does have some loose ends which can be easily tied down with the new initiatives

taken up by the company like enhancement of investments, technological innovations and proper market orientation.

11. REFERENCES