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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Hindustan lever limited is Indias largest fast moving consumer goods company and it also having largest distribution channel, with a leader in Home & personal care products and also foods & Beverages, having its reach to around 1 million retail outlets. These retailers form an important link between manufacturer, distributor and customer. The project assigned me was to access the satisfaction level of retailers and their expectation towards HLL distributor in Belgaum rural. This project taken up by me is a part of academic assignment to find out the attributes that affect the satisfaction level of retailers and suggestions to the distributor for improving quality of service. PROBLEM STATEMENT: Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor in Belgaum rural. OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH: o o o o To know the perceptions of retailer regarding distributor. Find out the attributes that affects the satisfaction level of rural retailer. Ascertain the opinion about merchandising activity. To measure the behavior of sales person during visit.
METHODOLOGY 1. 2. Personal Interaction with TSI, RSP and interviews with retailer. A research survey (using questionnaire) would be conducted.
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OUTCOME & BENEFITS OF THE STUDY: 1. 2. 3. 4. This study would bring into light on the expectation and perception of the retailers It will help distributor to take the necessary steps to improve quality of service. It will help distributor to know the attributes that affect satisfaction level of retailers. Finally, it will help me understand (in practical) HLL distribution as whole and thus
enriching my knowledge.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY: My study is restricted to only Belgaum rural retailers. The whole study and analysis is done to measure the level of satisfaction and expectations of retailers towards their distributor and to find out the attributes and factors that affect the satisfaction level.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor As the name suggests, products of daily usage under the heads of personal care, fabric care, household care, packaged foods, beverages and tobacco characterize the sector. These are part of the monthly purchase basket. Such products generally have a non-cyclical consumer demand, low unit value, are mostly branded products, involve high marketing expenditure and have to be widely distributed. This sector has observed a 2% decline in the past 4 year period. FMCG pundits attribute this to various theories like FMCG commanding lower share of the wallet, what with several other newer expenditures in mobiles, computers, automobile etc. Other reasons to the decline may be down trading in brands or lower rural off takes. The Industry has a lot of potential since the product penetration and the per capita use is still low in India. As a matter of fact TV, which is the major source of information, reaches out to 80% of urban and 46% of the rural population. The key entry barriers into this section are the Brand, Supply Chain Management and the complexity involved in managing SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). Also an Indian FMCG Company faces strong competition from the existing MNC-owned brands.
SUPPLY CHAIN The primary objective of supply chain management is to fulfill customer demands through the most efficient use of resources. A supply chain, logistics network, or supply network is a coordinated system of entities, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from the supplier to the customer.
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There are several stages through which (Retailing) the money circulates. The distribution ( (Shipment) ) P Purchase (Off take) intermediaries make the whole system of supply chain economically viable. Each layer of Distributo intermediaries implies fewer transaction complexities for all the layers, augmenting the Factory F C&FA C Retailer R Consumer C r reach. The experience, specialization and knowledge of local conditions, contacts and scale through such a network help achieve Operational Efficiency. SuperSubS Stockist S Stockist
Primary
Secondary
Consumer
Without having to focus upon distribution, the brand managers can concentrate on their core activity of product development, sourcing and marketing. The companies get a cost advantage since most intermediaries are family owned businesses with low overhead and operational costs. The brand owners get a better return on capital employed as intermediaries hold the inventories.
THE CHALLENGE INVOLVED India has around 7.3 million retail outlets of which 3.0 million are in the 3768 towns and 4.3 are in the 627,000 villages. This fact is significant since the biggest challenge is to reach out to every nook of such a huge and diverse nation as India. As aptly said by Mr. Pusalkar, Supply Chain can be well learnt here. For a typical mid-size FMCG company, the numbers would be as Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 5
C&FA (Carrying & Forwarding Agent) 30 Distributors & Super-stockiest 1,200 Sub-stockiest 1,000 Retailers reached Retailers directly covered 500,000 Retailers via wholesalers 1,000,000 TOTAL 1,500,000 Consumers 10,000,000
The 7.3 million outlet strong retailing industry provides direct employment to more than 18 million people which roughly means one in every 25 families in India is engaged in the business of retailing. The rural markets are emerging to be the growth drivers of the future. The industry seeks to cater to a large rural population of the order of 700 million people. Of the 7.3 million retailers 58% are in rural areas. In most categories penetration is low and innovative packaging such as sachets and promotion is required. Achieving cost effectiveness to make the products reach rural outlets is essential.
THE ECONOMICS For an FMCG company, the direct customer is the distributor. The several intermediaries between the company and the actual consumers ( C&FA, Distributors, Super-stockiest, Sub-stockiest, Wholesalers, and Retailers ) need compensation for the costs incurred, namely the inventory holding costs, manpower costs, credit provided to the next intermediary, transportation costs, overheads, and entrepreneurs risks and efforts. The
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor remuneration is provided as a combination of gross margin (mark-up) on sales, commission on sales, and reimbursements. Typical Margins in such Supply Chain are:
A distributors investment consists of inventory, Accounts receivable and accounts payable. He draws his income from gross margin or commission on sales. The expenses include discount expense, distribution expense and overheads. Typically an FMCG distributor expects a 25% ROI.
EMERGING TRENDS IN FMCG BUSINESS The industry has lately observed a rise of regional stalwarts such as Ghadi detergent, Baagh Bakri Tea etc. who are very strong in their respective geographical areas. Another emerging trend has been the rush to design products for the mass market in villages. C.K. Prahlads famous Bottom of the Pyramid theory is the guiding principle.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor The market is moving really fast as constant innovations are required in product, packaging and distribution. With the growth of information technology, the retailer has transformed from the old gala owner to a much better informed businessman. Direct Selling (e.g. Amway) as a parallel way of marketing is picking up. Increasing role of influencers (such as Shakti Amma, a famous concept in Andhra) has also emerged. There has been an influx of imports and ever increasing presence of multinational companies in this sector. The retailing business is also becoming more organized. Organized retailing comprises professionally managed single or chain of self-service stores. This has implications such as shorter supply-chain, move from inventory build-up method to collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment system, greater dependence on few sophisticated buyers, customer management strategy etc. To sum up all A world-class FMCG Sales & Distribution system.
Ensures product availability At the right place In the right quantity Ensures product replenishment Ensures profit for all intermediaries At a minimal cost
GROWTH IN SALES OF FMCG COMPANIES: All top 10 categories record growth, the only exception being packaged tea. Spurred by high rural demand and retail sales, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector posted 10.6 per cent growth year on year in February, the highest in the past five years, according to data provided by market research agency AC Nielsen.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor The rise does not come on a low base since the sales growth in February 2005 was 8.1 per cent year on year. And what is more, the growth has been broad-based with all the top 10 categories growing, the only exception being packaged tea. Besides, five of these categories have posted double-digit growth. And for the first time in four years, all the companies tracked by AC Nielsen have posted a growth in sales. The revival in the sector has been evident for some time now and the December quarter saw strong top line growth. For example, Dabur saw its revenue grow 26 per cent year on year, while Colgates sales grew 21 per cent. Besides, most companies now have far more pricing power than they did a year ago, which is reflected in the better operating margins last quarter. Colgates margin, for instance, was up 10 percentage points at 23 per cent, while that of Godrej consumer Products was up 270 basis points at 23.8 per cent. According to analysts, Hindustan Lever in February experienced the highest growth in five years while others such as Tata Tea and Dabur saw sales grow at a much faster pace compared with the December quarter. Tata Teas sales rise, for instance, is the highest since June 2005 while Britannias is the highest in 27 months. Analysts believe that the pick-up in the larger categories such as biscuits, washing powder, detergent cakes, shampoos and tea indicates a rise in demand for such categories in rural areas. This, they point out, is the main driving force behind the performance of companies such as Hindustan Lever, which recorded double-digit top line growth last quarter, the first time in six years. Very few segments in the FMCG space were now seeing a deceleration in growth and the momentum was expected to continue, analysts added. Even as the sector continues its strong run, the BSE FMCG index hit an all-time high of 2,103.5 on Friday with three of its components, ITC, Nestle and McDowell hitting all-time highs.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor ITC, incidentally, has the highest weight of 48 per cent in the index. The FMCG index has outperformed the Sensex for the better part of 2005 and has been a big out performer so far in 2006.
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Further, the common usage of retail is based more on whether the business deals directly with the public. . A local physical location is not even necessary for the definition of retail anymore now that etailing and eBay selling can be retail businesses into themselves. The best definition of retail might be any business whose product or service is made for, and targeted to, the consuming public.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor In rural India, brands rarely fight with each other; they just have to be present at the right place. Many brands are building strong rural base without much advertising support. Fewer brand choices in rural: number of FMCG brand in rural is half that of urban. Buy value for money, not cheap products
Some Myths: Rural Market Is a Homogeneous Mass Reality: Its a heterogeneous population. Various Tiers are present depending on the incomes like Big Landlords, Traders, small farmers; Marginal farmers: Labors, artisans. State wise variations in rural demographics are present viz. Literacy (Kerala 90%, Bihar 44%) and Population below poverty line (Orissa 48%, Punjab 6%) Disposable Income Is Low Reality: Number of middle class HHs (annual income Rs 45,000- 2, 15,000) for rural sector is 27.4 million as compared to the figure of 29.5 million for urban sector. Rural incomes CAGR was 10.95% compared to 10.74% in urban between 1970-71 and 1993-94. Individuals Decide About Purchases Reality: Decision making process is collective. Purchase process- influencer, decider, and buyer, one who pays can all be different. So marketers must address brand message at several levels. Rural youth brings brand knowledge to Households (HH). Why Different Strategies? Rural markets, as part of any economy, have untapped potential. There are several difficulties confronting the effort to fully explore rural markets. The concept of rural markets in India is still in evolving shape, and the sector poses a variety of challenges. Distribution costs and non availability of retail outlets are major problems faced by the marketers. The success of a brand in the Indian rural market is as unpredictable as rain. Many brands, which should have been successful, have failed miserably. This is because, most firms try to extend marketing plans that they use in urban areas to the rural markets. Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 13
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor The unique consumption patterns, tastes, and needs of the rural. Consumers should be analyzed at the product planning stage so that they match the needs of the rural people.
Therefore, marketers need to understand the social dynamics and attitude variations within each village though nationally it follows a consistent pattern. The main problems in rural marketing are: Understanding the rural consumer Poor infrastructure Physical Distribution Channel Management Promotion and Marketing Communication Dynamics of rural markets differ from other market types, and similarly rural marketing strategies are also significantly different from the marketing strategies aimed at an urban or industrial consumer. Strategies to be followed: Marketing Strategy: Marketers need to understand the psyche of the rural consumers and then act accordingly. Rural marketing involves more intensive personal selling efforts compared to urban marketing. Firms should refrain from designing goods for the urban markets and subsequently pushing them in the rural Areas. To effectively tap the rural market a brand must associate it with the same things the rural folks. It can be done by utilizing the various rural folk media to reach them in their own language and in large numbers so that the brand can be associated with the myriad rituals, celebrations, festivals, melas and other activities where they assemble. Distribution Strategy: One of the ways could be using company delivery vans which can serve two purposes- it can take the products to the customers in every nook and corner of the market and it also enables the firm to establish direct contact with them and thereby facilitate sales promotion. Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 14
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor However, only the bigwigs can adopt this channel. The companies with relatively fewer resources can go in for syndicated distribution where a tie-up between non-competitive marketers can be established to facilitate distribution. Annual melas organized are quite popular and provide a very good platform for distribution because people visit them to make several purchases. According to the India n Market Research Bureau, around 8000 such melas are held in rural India every year. Rural markets have the practice of fixing specific days in a week as Market Days (often called Haats) when exchange of goods and services are carried out. This is another potential low cost distribution channel available to the marketers. Also, every region consisting of several villages is generally served by one satellite town (termed as Mandis or Agri-markets) where people prefer to go to buy their durable commodities. If marketing managers use these feeder towns they will easily be able to cover a large section of the rural population. Promotional Strategy: Firms must be very careful in choosing the vehicle to be used for communication. Only 16% of the rural population has access to a vernacular newspaper. So, the audiovisuals must be planned to convey a right message to the rural folk. The rich, traditional media forms like folk dances, puppet shows, etc with which the rural consumers are familiar and comfortable, can be used for high impact product campaigns.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Their deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world give us their strong relationship with consumers and are the foundation for their future growth. We will bring their wealth of knowledge and international expertise to the service of local consumers - a truly multi-local multinational. Their long-term success requires a total commitment to exceptional standards of performance and productivity, to working together effectively, and to a willingness to embrace new ideas and learn continuously. To succeed also requires, we believe, the highest standards of corporate behavior towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch, and the environment on which we have an impact. This is their road to sustainable, profitable growth, creating long-term value for their shareholders, their people, and their business partners In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbor noticed crates full of Sunlight soap bars, embossed with the words "Made in England by Lever Brothers". With it began an era of marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).Soon after followed Lifebuoy in 1895 and other famous brands like Pears, Lux and Vim. Vanaspati was launched in 1918 and the famous Dalda brand came to the market in 1937. In 1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company, followed by Lever Brothers India Limited (1933) and United Traders Limited (1935). These three companies merged to form HLL in November 1956; HLL offered 10% of its equity to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to do so. Unilever now holds 51.55% equity in the company. The rest of the shareholding is distributed among about 380,000 individual shareholders and financial institutions. The erstwhile Brooke Bond's presence in India dates back to 1900. By 1903, the company had launched Red Label tea in the country. In 1912, Brooke Bond & Co. India Limited was formed. Brooke Bond joined the Unilever fold in 1984 through an international acquisition.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor The erstwhile Lipton's links with India were forged in 1898. Unilever acquired Lipton in 1972 and in 1977 Lipton Tea (India) Limited was incorporated. Pond's (India) Limited had been present in India since 1947. It joined the Unilever fold through an international acquisition of Chesebrough Pond's USA in1986. Since the very early years, HLL has vigorously responded to the stimulus of economic growth. The growth process has been accompanied by judicious diversification, always in line with Indian opinions and aspirations. The liberalization of the Indian economy, started in 1991, clearly marked an inflexion in HLL's and the Group's growth curve. Removal of the regulatory framework allowed the company to explore every single product and opportunity segment, without any constraints on production capacity. Simultaneously, deregulation permitted alliances, acquisitions and mergers. In one of the most visible and talked about events of India's corporate history, the erstwhile Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO) merged with HLL, effective from April 1, 1993. In 1995, HLL and yet another Tata company, Lakme Limited, formed a 50:50 joint venture, Lakme Lever Limited, to market Lakme's market-leading cosmetics and other appropriate products of both the companies. Subsequently in 1998, Lakme Limited sold its brands to HLL and divested its 50% stake in the joint venture to the company. HLL formed a 50:50 joint venture with the US-based Kimberly Clark Corporation in 1994, Kimberly-Clark Lever Ltd, which markets Huggies Diapers and Kotex Sanitary Pads. HLL has also set up a subsidiary in Nepal, Nepal Lever Limited (NLL), and its factory represents the largest manufacturing investment in the Himalayan kingdom. The NLL factory manufactures HLL's products like Soaps, Detergents and Personal Products both for the domestic market and exports to India. The 1990s also witnessed a string of crucial mergers, acquisitions and alliances on the Foods and Beverages front. In 1992, the erstwhile Brooke Bond acquired Kothari General Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 18
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Foods, with significant interests in Instant Coffee. In 1993, it acquired the Kissan business from the UB Group and the Dollops Ice cream business from Cadbury India. As a measure of backward integration, Tea Estates and Doom Dooma, two plantation companies of Unilever, were merged with Brooke Bond. Then in July 1993, Brooke Bond India and Lipton India merged to form Brooke Bond Lipton India Limited (BBLIL), enabling greater focus and ensuring synergy in the traditional Beverages business. 1994 witnessed BBLIL launching the Wall's range of Frozen Desserts. By the end of the year, the company entered into a strategic alliance with the Kwality Ice-cream Group families and in 1995 the Milk food 100% Ice-cream marketing and distribution rights too were acquired. Finally, BBLIL merged with HLL, with effect from January 1, 1996. The internal restructuring culminated in the merger of Pond's (India) Limited (PIL) with HLL in 1998. The two companies had significant overlaps in Personal Products, Specialty Chemicals and Exports businesses, besides a common distribution system since 1993 for Personal Products. The two also had a common management pool and a technology base. The amalgamation was done to ensure for the group, benefits from scale of economies both domestic and export market. In January 2000, in a historic step, the government decided to award 74 per cent equity in Modern Foods to HLL, thereby beginning the divestment of government equity in public sector undertakings (PSU) to private sector partners. HLL's entry into Bread is a strategic extension of the company's wheat business. In 2002, HLL acquired the government's remaining stake in Modern Foods. In 2003, HLL acquired the Cooked Shrimp and Pasteurized Crabmeat business of the Amalgam Group of Companies, a leader in value added Marine Products exports. Hindustan Lever Limited, 51.6% subsidiary of Unilever Plc, is the largest FMCG Company in the country, with a turnover of Rs118bn. The companys business sprawls from personal and household care products to foods, beverages and specialty chemicals. Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 19
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor The company has a dominating market share in most categories that it operates in such as toilet soaps, detergents, skincare, hair care, color cosmetics, etc. It is also the leading player in food products such as packaged tea, coffee, ice cream and other culinary products. . Brand equities are built over a period of time by technological innovations, consistent high quality, aggressive advertisement and marketing. Availability near the consumer through a wide distribution network is another crucial success factor, as products are of small value, frequently purchased, daily use items. HLL is strong on both these fronts with leading brands, which are market leaders in their respective categories, and a 1mn strong direct retail reach. HLL is the market leader in the detergent and toilet soap industry with market share of 60% and 40% respectively. Nirma is a close competitor in detergents and has been slowly gaining ground in toilet soaps too. The other significant competitor in detergents is P&G. In oral care segment, HLL has emerged as a strong No 2 player with 36% market share. In the hair care segment, HLL dominates the shampoo market with a 64.5% share and is the No 2 player in hair oils. HLL has a 54% market share in skin creams. In the foods business, Tata Tea in packet tea, Nestle in coffee and culinary products, GCMMF (Amul) in ice creams, and Godrej Pillsbury in staple food are the main competitors. HLL grew at a fast pace in the mid 90s driven by its aggressive acquisition spree. From Rs38bn turnover (contributed 70% by soaps, detergents and personal products), HLLs turnover has now grown to Rs118bn, with soaps and personal products contributing 57% to turnover and beverages and food products contributing to 29% of turnover. Growth during the last few years has largely been driven by the personal products business.
However the pace of growth has slackened significantly in the last two years with several key segments registering a growth in 2001 soaps business (Rs21bn) de-grew by 1% and detergent sales (Rs20bn) grew by 7%. Other personal products (household care, oral acre, skin care, hair care, color cosmetics) registered a 14% yo-yo growth to Rs24.6bn. Expansion of the foods business, which has been identified as a major growth area, has not Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 20
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor been as fast as anticipated. Beverage sales move largely with commodity price trends, which have remained on a downtrend. Branded tea business degree by 10% in F12/01 to rs16bn, while the Rs3bn coffee business registered a 7% yo-yo growth. Ice-cream business has failed to takeoff registering a 3% growth. The staple food business, once considered a high potential growth area witnessed a decline of 10% yoy to Rs2.4bn.
Profitable growth has been the new mantra of the FMCG majors Chairman, M S Banga, who took over the reins from Keki Dadiseth 2 years ago. In contrast to Dadiseths strategy of expansion through acquisition, Mr. Bangas strategy revolves around rationalization. A focus on 30 power brands, which are major contributors to profitability, seeking new avenues of expanding distribution reach, improving profitability of foods businesses have been the thrust areas. Non-FMCG businesses are either being are hived off or are being strengthened by partnerships with players who have the technological expertise in those businesses. The strategy has paid results with profits registering a 24% yo-yo growth in 2001, despite a flat top line growth.
PRESENT STRUCTURE
Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company, touching the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. They have the company with a scale of combined volumes of about 4 million tones and sales of Rs.10, 000 cores. HLL is also one of the country's largest exporters; it has been recognized as a Golden Superstar Trading House by the government of India. The mission that inspires HLL's 36,000 employees, including over 1,350 managers, is to "add vitality to life." HLL meets everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. It is a mission HLL shares with its parent company, Unilever, which holds 51.55% of the equity. The rest of the shareholding is distributed among 380,000 individual shareholders and financial institutions. Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 21
HLL's brands - like Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Sunsilk, Clinic, Pepsodent, Close-up, Lakme, Brooke Bond, Kissan, Knorr-Annapurna, Kwality Wall's are household names across the country and span many categories - soaps, detergents, personal products, tea, coffee, branded staples, ice cream and culinary products. They are manufactured in close to 80 factories. The operations involve over 2,000 suppliers and associates. HLL's distribution network, comprising about 7,000 redistribution stockiest, directly covers the entire urban population, and HLL has traditionally been a company, which incorporates latest technology in all its operations. The Hindustan Lever Research Center (HLRC) was set up in 1958, and now has facilities in Mumbai and Bangalore. HLRC and the Global Technology Centers in India have over 200 highly qualified scientists and technologists, many with post-doctoral experience acquired in the US and Europe. HLL believes that an organizations worth is also in the service it renders to the community. HLL is focusing on health & hygiene education, women empowerment, and water management. It is also involved in education and rehabilitation of special or underprivileged children, care for the destitute and HIV-positive, and rural development. HLL has also responded in case of national calamities / adversities and contributes through various welfare measures, most recent being the village built by HLL in earthquake affected Gujarat, and relief & rehabilitation after the Tsunami caused devastation in south India. Over the last three years the company has embarked on an ambitious program, Shakti. Through Shakti, HLL is creating micro-enterprise opportunities for rural women, thereby improving their livelihood and the standard of living in rural communities. Shakti also includes health and hygiene education through the Shakti Vani Program, and creating access to relevant information through the Shakti community portal. The program now
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor covers about 50,000 villages in 12 states. HLL's vision is to take this program to 100,000 villages impacting the lives of over 100 million rural Indians. HLL is also running a rural health program Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana. The program endeavors to induce adoption of hygienic practices among rural Indians and aims to bring down the incidence of diarrhea. It has already touched 70 million people in approximately 15000 villages of 8 states. The vision is to make a billion Indians feel safe and secure. If Hindustan Lever straddles the Indian corporate world, it is because of being singleminded in identifying itself with Indian aspirations and needs in every walk of life.
MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
Hindustan Lever Limited is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Company. It is present in Home & Personal Care and Foods & Beverages categories. HLL and Group companies have about 36,000 employees, including 1350 managers. The fundamental principle determining the organization structure is to infuse speed and flexibility in decision-making and implementation, with empowered managers across the company's nationwide operations. For this, HLL is organized into two self-sufficient divisions - Home & Personal Care & Foods - supported by certain central functions and resources to leverage economies of scale wherever relevant. Board Divisions Central functions
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Board
At the apex is the Board, headed by the Chairman, and comprising 5 whole time Directors and 5 independent non-executive Directors. The day to day operations are supervised by the National Management comprising the Vice Chairman, Managing Director (HPC), Managing Director (Foods) and the Finance Director.
Divisions
Each division is self-sufficient with dedicated resources and assets in sales, marketing, commercial, and manufacturing. The two divisions are further reorganized into categories. Typically, each category and each function - Sales, Commercial, Manufacturing - is headed by a Vice President. They with their respective Managing Director comprise that Division's Management Committee. For managing sales operations, HLL divides the country into four regions, with regional branches in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. Headed by a Regional Manager, they comprise Regional Sales Managers and Area Sales Managers, assisted by dedicated field forces, comprising Sales Officers and Territory Sales In charges. In Marketing, each category has a Marketing Manager who heads a team of Brand Managers dedicated to each or a group of brands. The commercial team of a Division is responsible for its supply chain management. There are teams dedicated to sourcing, planning and logistics. Each Division has a nationwide manufacturing base, with each factory peopled by teams of Production, Engineering, Quality Assurance, Commercial and Personnel Managers.
Central functions
HLL's Central Functions are Finance, Human Resources, Technology, Research, Information Technology, Legal & Secretarial, and Corporate Affairs. Their services are Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 24
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor shared across the company. But, wherever necessary, managerial resources are dedicated exclusively to a business. For example, each Division now has dedicated HR managers. HLL believes that while it leverages the scale of a large corporate, it must also retain the soul of a small company. Its organization structure, which has and will continue to evolve with time, is aimed at achieving this knitting.
Foods
Tea Coffee Branded Staples Culinary Products Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 25
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Ice Creams Modern Foods ranges
New Ventures
Hindustan Lever Network Ayush ayurvedic products & services Saga Purest water purifiers
Exports
HPC Beverages Marine Products Rice Castor
Products of HLL
BRANDS OF HLL: HOME AND PERSONAL CARE: Lux Breeze Liril Dove Lifebuoy Pears Hamam Rexona LAUNDRY: Surf Excel Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 26
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Rin Wheel SKIN CARE: Fair and Lovely Ponds HAIR AND CARE Sun silk Natural Clinic ORAL CARE: Pepsodent Close-Up DEODRANTS: Axe Rexona COLOUR COSMETIC: Lakme AYURVEDIC PERSONAL AND HEALTH CARE: Ayush TEA: Brooke bond Lipton
BELGAUM
Naga traders are the rural distributors for Hindustan Lever Limited and also they are supplying the products to the Shakti dealer, they are supplying retailer in rural area like. Bagewadi M.K Hubli Hukkeri Itagi pariswad Kanapur Nesargi Piranwadi Ganeshpur Sambra Yamaknamma etc......
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Shakti dealer
1. S C.Hubli (munushikatti) 2. S A.Kaktikar (Belagundi) 3. S A.Tigodoli (Shindoli) They deal in products of HLL Lux, Pears, Hamam, Rexona, Liril,Life bouy Surf excel, Rin, Wheel Sunsilk, Clinic plus Pepsodent, Close-up Fair and lovely, Ponds Brooke bond, Lipton Bru etc..
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor These factory-centered activities mainly focus on training farmers, animal husbandry, generating alternative income, health & hygiene and infrastructure development. The company has acquired a wealth of experience and learning from these activities.
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor the status of rural women. Shakti is a pioneering effort in creating livelihoods for rural women, organized in Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and improving living standards in rural India. Shakti provides critically needed additional income to these women and their families, by equipping and training them to become an extended arm of the company's operation. Shakti started in 2001 and has already been extended to about 50,000 villages in 12 states Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and West Bengal. The respective state governments and several NGOs are actively involved in the initiative.
Why Shakti?
EMPOWERING WOMEN IN RURAL INDIA
The objective of Project Shakti is to create income-generating capabilities for underprivileged rural women, by providing a sustainable micro enterprise opportunity, and to improve rural living standards through health and hygiene awareness. A crucial lesson learnt was that rural up liftmen depended not on successful infusion of credit, but on its guided usage for better investment opportunities this is where HLL's Project Shakti is playing a role in creating such profitable micro enterprise opportunities for rural women.
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor this translates into a much-needed, sustainable income contributing towards better living and prosperity. Armed with micro-credit, women from SHGs become direct-to-home distributors in rural markets.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor HLL's vision for Shakti is to scale it up across the country, covering 100,000 villages and touching the lives of 100 million rural consumers by 2005. Shakti, the Internet-based rural information service, has been launched in Andhra Pradesh, in association with the Andhra Pradesh Government's Rajiv Internet Village Program. The service is now available in Nalgonda, Vishakapatnam, West Godavari and East Godavari districts. Shakti has been developed to provide information and services to meet rural needs in medical health and hygiene, agriculture, animal husbandry, education, vocational training and employment and women's empowerment. The vision is to have 3,500 kiosks across the state by 2005.
HLL-DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor The RS also undertook demand stimulation activities on behalf of the company. The second characteristic of this period we realized that the RS would be able to provide customer service only if he was serviced well. This knowledge led to the establishment of the "Company Depots" system. This system helped in transshipment, bulk breaking, and as a stock point to minimize stock-outs at the RS level. In the recent, a significant change has been the replacement of the Company Depot by a system of third party Carrying and Forwarding Agents (C&FAs). The C&FAs act as buffer stock-points to ensure that stock-outs did not take place. The C&FA system has also resulted in cost savings in terms of direct transportation and reduced time lag in delivery. The most important benefit has been improved customer service to the RS. The role performed by the Redistribution Stockiest has also undergone changes over the years. Financing stocks, providing manpower, providing service to retailers, implementing promotional activities, extending indirect coverage, reporting sales and stock data, screening for transit damages are some of the functions performed by the RS today. HLL has grown manifold over the years. In the process, the number of factories and the number of SKUs too have increased. In order to rationalize the logistics and planning task, an innovative step has been the formation of the Mother Depot and Just in Time System (MD-JIT). Certain C&FAs were selected across the country to act as mother depots. Each of them has a minimum number of JIT depots attached for stock requirements. All brands and packs required for the set of markets which the MD and JITs service in a given area are sent to the mother depot by all manufacturing units. The JITs draw their requirements from the MD on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. At present, HLL's products, manufactured across the country, are distributed through a network of about 7,000 redistribution stockiest covering about one million retail outlets. The distribution network directly covers the entire urban population. In addition to the ongoing commitment to the traditional grocery trade, HLL is building a Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 35
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor special relationship with the small but fast emerging modern trade. Our scale enables us to provide superior customer service including daily servicing, improving their range availability whilst reducing inventories. We are using the opportunity of interfacing more directly with our consumers in this retail environment through specially designed communication and promotions. This is building traffic into the stores while yielding high growth for our business.
An IT-powered system has been implemented to supply stocks to redistribution stockiest on a continuous replenishment basis. The objective is to catalyze HLLs growth by ensuring that the right product is available at the right place in right quantities, in the most cost-effective manner. For this, stockiest have been connected with the company through an Internet-based network, called RS Net, for online interaction on orders, dispatches, information sharing and monitoring. RS Net covers about 80% of the company's turnover. Today, the sales system gets to know every day what HLL stockiest have sold to almost a million outlets across the country. RS Net is part of Project Leap, HLL's end-to-end supply chain, which also includes a back-end system connecting suppliers, all company sites and stretching right up to stockiest. RS Net has come as a force multiplier for HLL Way, the company's action-plan to maximize the number of outlets reached and to achieve leadership in every outlet, by unshackling the field force to solely focus on secondary sales from the stockiest to retailers and market activation. HLL Way has also led to implementing best practices in customer management and common norms and processes across the company. Powered by the IT tools it has further improved customer service, while ensuring superior availability and impact visibility at retail points.
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor of experimenting with innovative methods to reach the rural consumer.
Indirect coverage
Under the Indirect Coverage (IDC) method, company vans were replaced by vans belonging to Redistribution Stockiest, which serviced a select group of neighboring markets.
Operation Harvest
The reach of conventional media and, therefore, awareness of different products in rural markets is weak. It was also not always feasible for the Redistribution Stockiest to cover all these markets due to high costs involved. Yet, these markets are important since growth opportunities are high. Operation Harvest endeavored to supplement the role of conventional media in rural India and, in the process, forge relationships and loyalty with rural consumers. Operation Harvest also involved conducting of product awareness programs on vans. Cinema van operations these are typically funded by the Redistribution Stockiest. Cinema Van Operations have films and audio cassettes with song and dance sequences from popular films, also comprising advertisements of HLL products Single Distribution Channel For rural India, HLL has established a single distribution channel by consolidating categories. In a significant move, with long-term benefits, HLL has mounted an initiative, Project Streamline, to further increase its rural reach with the help of rural sub-stockiest. It has already appointed 6000 such sub-stockiest. As a result, the distribution network directly covers about 50,000 villages, reaching about 250 million consumers.
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Distribution will acquire a further edge with Project Shakti, HLL's partnership with Self Help Groups of rural women. The project, started in 2001, already covers over 5000 villages in 52 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and is being progressively extended. The vision is to reach over 100,000 villages, There by touching about 100 million consumers. The SHGs have chosen to adopt distribution of HLL's products as a business venture, armed with training from HLL and support from government agencies concerned and NGOs. A typical Shakti entrepreneur conducts business of around Rs.15000 per month, which gives her an income in excess of Rs.1000 per month on a sustainable basis. As most of these women are from below the poverty line, and live in extremely small villages (less than 2000 population), this earning is very significant, and is almost double of their past household income For HLL, the project is bringing new villages under direct distribution coverage. Plans are being drawn up to cover more states, and provide products/services in agriculture, health, insurance and education. This will both catalyze holistic rural development and also help the SHGs generate even more income. This model creates a symbiotic partnership between HLL and its consumers, some of whom will also draw on the company for their livelihood, and helps build a self-sustaining virtuous cycle of growth
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CHANNEL STRUCTURE
Supermarkets- Self- service stores where there is a room for shoppers to browse and
interact with the products.
Family grocer- Over the counter store mainly for monthly household shopping Kiosk- A tiny over the counter store, easily accessible for emergency purchases. It
stocks solely low unit packs.
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C & F (Hubli) RD
Wholesalers
Retailers
End customer
Notation:
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End customer
Notation:
3) C & F: Carriage Forward 4) RD: Rural Distributor 5) Lab RS: Lab Regional Stockiest
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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MAIN OBJECTIVES: 1) To know the perception of retailers regarding distributor. 2) Find out the attributes that affects the satisfaction level of rural retailers. 3) Ascertain the opinion about merchandising activity. 4) To measure behavior of sales representative during Retailers visit.
SUB OBJECTIVES: 1) Study the FMCG market in India and distribution system.
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SAMPLE AREA:
Khanapur Nandgad Londa Hukkeri Yamakanamma Ganeshpur Peeranwadi Bagewadi Sambra
Belgaum Rural
SAMPLING METHOD:
The process of drawing sample units from the population is called sampling method. In order to have the unbiased results in the survey, the appropriate method of sampling i.e. stratified sampling adopted. It also includes convenience sampling.
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Method of Communication:
In order to minimize the bias in data collection, the method of personal interview was adopted.
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SECONDARY DATA: Information is collected through internet From various text books Journals and magazines
IMITATION OF THE STUDY; LIMITATIONS: The study is restricted in the scope owing to the following limitations: 1. The study is limited to a particular geographical area that is Belgaum rural only. 2. The information and data collected and analyzed is restricted to the researchers knowledge and ability. 3. The answers that I have got from the retailers cannot be considered as totally perfect because of various personal and other limitations. 4. Cost and time was also another limiting factor that affected the study. As retailer expectations and experiences include more of psychological aspects the survey made during a particular time period will give the information about the retailers during that particular time period. In order to be up-to-date in understanding the level of satisfaction periodic surveys are necessary.
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Q1.Type of Store
Table-No-1. Type of Store Grocery store Medical store Stationary store others TOTAL Graph-No-1 No.of.Retailers 52 1 6 1 60 Percentage (%) 86 2 10 2 100
Others 2% Grocery store Medical store Stationary store Others Grocery store 86%
INFERENCES: The above graph shows that out of 60 Retail outlets visited 86% are Grocery stores, 10% Stationary stores and 2% each Medical and other stores. Here others consist of super market run by the co-operative society. From the inference it can conclude that major portion of the type of retail store is Grocery stores.
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Q2.Type of Outlet
Table-No-2 Type of outlet Vijeta outlet Star outlet General outlet TOTAL Graph-No-2 No.of.Retailers 10 5 45 60 Percentage (%) 17 8 75 100
Vijeta outlet 17% Star outlet 8% Vijeta outlet Star outlet General outlet
INFERENCES: Among 60 outlets 75% are General outlets. 10 vijeta outlets were visited, who come under the merchandising activity of HLL. Remaining 8% consist of star outlets that enjoy gifts and offers on the bases of their sales point.
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Q3. If Vijeta outlet: How would you rate the Merchandising activity of your HLL Distributor?
Table-No-3 Merchandising activity Excellent Good Fair Poor Very Poor TOTAL Graph-No-3 No.of.Retailers 3 5 2 0 0 10 Percentage (%) 30 50 20 0 0 100
4.5
3.5
2.5
1.5
0.5
Excelent 3
Good 5
Fair 2
Poor 0
Very poor 0
Series1
INFERENCES: Out of 10 vijeta outlets 30% of retailers rated merchandising activity as excellent, 50% are rated it as good and remaining 20% rated fair. All the vijeta retailers have shown a positive response towards merchandising activity.
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35
30
25
20
15
10
Daily 0
Once in a week 32
M onthly 2
Any other 26
Series1
INFERENCES: Above graph shows that more than 50% of retailers place there order weekly, 3% of retailers on monthly and 44% of retailers place order on every 15 days. Here any other option represents every 15 days.
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L than 5% ess Betw 10-20% een 42% B een 5-10% etw B een 10-20% etw M than 20% ore B een 5-10% etw 41%
INFERENCES: Among 60 retailers, 12% retailers said HLL products contribution to total sales is less than 5%. 41%said between 5-10%, 42% said its between 10-20% and for 5% retailers it is more than 20%. Graph indicates that contribution of HLL products to more than 80% of retailers total Sales is between 5-20%.
Table-No-6 Particulars Demand Margin Shelf space Schemes and offers Advertisement TOTAL Graph-No-6
6 0
No.of.Retailers 55 3 2 4 0 64
5 0
4 0
3 0
2 0
1 0
Dmn e ad 5 5
M r in ag 3
S e s ae h lf p c 2
S h m s a do r c e e n ffe s 4
Avr m t d e tise en 0
S r s1 e ie
INFERENCES: Out of 60 retail outlets 86% retailers stocking decision depends upon consumer demand. 5%retailers said margin, for 3% retailers shelf space is important. 6% said schemes and offers factor is crucial and advertisement doesnt matter while making the stocking decision. Above graph indicates that consumer demand is the first choice in making stocking decision but it also concludes that retailers margin and schemes and offers for retailers and consumers also matters a lot.
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Table-No-7 Particulars Courteous Aggressive Rude Offhand TOTAL Graph-No-7 No.of.Retailers 54 6 0 0 60 Percentage (%) 90 10 0 0 100
Aggressive 10%
Rude 0% Offhand 0%
Courteous 90%
INFERENCES: 90% of retailers said during the visit sales person is courteous and 10% said they are aggressive. There is no any negative response found. All retailers are satisfied with the behavior of sales representative during visit.
Q8. How would you rate the sales representative explanation during visit?
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Table-No-8 Particulars Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor TOTAL Graph-No-8 No.of.Retailers 4 29 26 1 60 Percentage (%) 7 48 43 2 100
Excellent 7%
INFERENCES: 7% of retailers rated sales representative explanation as excellent, 48 % rated good, for 43% retailers representative explanation during visit is satisfactory and 2% rated it as poor. Above graph indicates that 98% of retailers are satisfied with the sales representative explanation during visit.
Q9. Were you given the opportunity to put your point of view during visit?
Table-No-9 Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 55
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Particulars Yes No TOTAL Graph-No-9 No.of.Retailers 20 40 60 Percentage (%) 33 67 100
Yes 33%
Yes
No
No 67%
INFERENCES: Above graph indicates that 67% of retailers are not satisfied with sales representative in respect to collecting feedback and giving opportunity to put there point of view during visit. 33% of retailers viewed they have given enough opportunity to put there point of view during visit.
Q10. How do you rate the delivery process of your HLL distributor?
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Particulars Prompt delivery Ok Not in time TOTAL Graph-No-10 No.of.Retailers 27 32 1 60 45 53 2 100 Percentage (%)
Not in time 2%
INFERENCES: Among 60 retailers 45% of retailers rated delivery is on the time and prompt. 53% of retailers rated it as ok and 2% of retailers are not satisfied with the delivery process.
Q11. Are you satisfied with the schemes and discounts offered by the distributor?
Table-No-11 Particulars Highly satisfied No.of.Retailers 2 Percentage (%) 4 Page 57
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied TOTAL Graph-No-11 29 18 8 3 60 48 30 13 5 100
3 0
2 5
2 0
1 5
1 0
H ly saticefied igh 2
S aticefied 29
N tral eu 18
D issatisfied 8
H ly D igh issaticefied 3
S ies1 er
INFERENCES: Above bar graph depicts that out 60 retailers 48% retailers are satisfied with the schemes and discounts offered by the distributer.30% of the retailers remained neutral in rating there satisfaction.13 and 5% retailers are satisfied and highly dissatisfied towards there distributor. It can be seen from the above that the satisfaction level is very low in respect to schemes and discounts offered by the distributor.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Not good Bad Worst TOTAL Graph-No-12 2 1 0 60 3 2 0 100
N go ot od 3%
Bd a W orst 2% 0 %
V go ery od 28% V yg d er oo G d oo N tg d o oo Bd a W st or
G ood 67%
INFERENCES: 67% of retailers rated order processing time taken by the distributor is good (short) and 28% of the retailers are highly satisfied. 3% said order processing time taken by distributor is not good and 2% of the retailers are highly dissatisfied. From the graph it can conclude that 5% of retailers are not satisfied with the order processing factor of distributor.
Billing
Table-No-13 Ratings Very good Good Not good Bad No.of.Retailers 14 45 1 0 Percentage (%) 23 75 2 0 Page 59
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Worst TOTAL Graph-No-13 0 60 0 100
Not good 2%
Good 75%
INFERENCES: Above graph indicates that 75% retailers rated billing process as good,23% retailers rated it as very good and only 2% of retailers are dissatisfied and rated not good. It also indicates that most of the retailers are satisfied with the billing process of distributor.
Promotional activities
Table-No-14 Ratings Very good Good Not good Bad Worst TOTAL No.of.Retailers 4 38 17 1 0 60 Percentage (%) 7 63 28 2 0 100 Page 60
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Graph-No-14
Bad 2%
Worst 0%
Very good 7%
INFERENCES: Above graph shows overall 70% of 60 retailers are satisfied and 30% of retailers dissatisfied with the promotional activities carried out by distributor. It can be conclude from graph that many a retailers are dissatisfied with promotional activity of the distributor.
Safe Delivery
Table-No-15 Ratings Very good Good Not good Bad Worst TOTAL No.of.Retailers 14 42 4 0 0 60 Percentage (%) 23 70 7 0 0 100 Page 61
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Good 70%
INFERENCES: 23 and 70% of retailers rated safe delivery factor is very good and good respectively. Out of 60 retailers 7% are rated safe delivery is not good. Overall there is a greater satisfaction towards safe delivery.
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Graph-No-16
B ad 0% N good ot 3% W orst 0% V good ery 15%
G ood 82%
INFERENCES: Above graph indicates 82% of the retailers are said sales person presentation is good. 15% of retailers rated it as very good.3% of retailers are not satisfied with sales person presentation during visit.
Bad 5%
Worst 0%
Very good 3% Good 28% Very good Good Not good Bad
Worst
INFERENCES: It clearly seen from above graph that 64% of retailers among total of 60 retailers are rated availability of ordered stock as not good.5% retailers rated it as bad and only 28 and 3% of retailers rated it good and very good respectively. A major proportion of the retailers are not satisfied towards availability of ordered stock.
Hypotheses
For the purpose of analyzing the gathered information few marketing hypotheses were the major issues in a successful conclusion of the research.
Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Using Z test can prove this Computation of Z value Z= N=60 P-P/ sigma P q = (1-P) =0.50 (N-1) =59 Total sample size P=32/60=0.53 Sigma P= P (1-P)/ (N-1) Z= 0.53-0.5/0.00423 Z =6.97 K=1.64 (table value of Z) Conclusion; Since the calculated Z value (6.97) is more than the critical value (k=1.64) null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected. Result Contribution of HLL products to the total sales of more than 50% retailers is more than 10% =0.00423 P=0.50
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P=0.40 N=60
= 0.00406
Conclusion; Since critical value (K=1.64) is less than calculated Z value (- 4.43) null hypothesis is rejected. Result Less than 40% of retailers are satisfied with the availability of ordered stock.
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FINDINGS
FINDINGS
Research has been made on the topic Retailers Satisfaction and Expectations towards HLL distributor to identify the level of satisfaction of retailers at Belgaum Rural. Whole study only depends upon Belgaum rural retailers. Based on the analysis and the interpretation of the data given in the previous chapter findings and suggestions are recorded which are as follows In Belgaum rural most of the retail stores are grocery stores. Only few stationary and medical stores sell HLL products to the ultimate consumer.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor The number of Vijeta and Star outlets is very less. Most of the retailers are come under General outlet. All the Vijeta outlets are highly satisfied with the merchandising activity. There is no single negative response to the merchandising activity. It is found that most of the retailers place the order every week and once in 15 days .It shows that many of the retailers frequently place the order. Among 60 retailers 50 retailers said contribution of HLL products to there total sales lies between the range 5-20%.Only few retailers sales exceed 20%. There is no doubt that customer demand is first preference while making stocking decision and it is justified by study , 86% of retailers first choice is customer demand in making stocking decision. But still 14% of retailers stocking decision influenced by margin, shelf space, schemes and offers.
Its totally a positive feedback towards the sales representative behavior during the visit.90% of retailers rated during the visit sales representative is courteous and 10% of retailers rated they are aggressive. Most of the retailers are satisfied with the sales representative explanation during visit. Most of the retailers are not satisfied with the sales representative in collecting feedback and listening queries of retailers. When I asked the retailers how you rate delivery process of distributor, all the retailers surveyed were respond they are satisfied with the timely supply of products from their Rural Distributor. Babasabpatilfreepptmba.com Page 68
Only few retailers are satisfied with the schemes and discounts offered by the distributor. When I asked how you rate HLL distributor in terms of order processing time taken, among 60 retailers 17 were replied very good and 40 as good.2 and 1 retailer replied not good and bad respectively. The billing process followed by the Distributor also gains favor of the rural retailers, they in-fact quote it to be very efficient. Among 60 retailers 38 retailers considered promotional activities carried by distributor is good. 18 retailers feel it is not good and they are dissatisfied with the distributor.
Most of the retailers rated safe delivery factor as good. Retailers are satisfied towards safe delivery factor. Among 60 retailers 97% retailers are happy with the sales person presentation. Only few retailers are satisfied with the availability of ordered stock. Most of the retailers considered it as not good. Most of the retailers are expecting schemes and offers for retailers and they are dissatisfied with their margin.
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SUGGESTIONS
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It is advised to the sales representative, to give an opportunity to retailers to put their point of view during visit. Still few of the rural retailers choice of stocking depend upon the factors like schemes, discounts, offers and margin and it attracts bulk orders to distributor. Distributor must satisfy retailers in respect to above factors. Distributor should maintain stock of all HLL products. Discount and company incentive should be passed on to the retailer by the distributors and distributor should periodically review the performance of their retailer.
CONCLUSION
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Conclusion
To conclude, it is very much limited time to clearly understand the retailer satisfaction. Apart from this we need to focus on each retailers view carefully in regular time intervals (periodically) so to the best possible is presented here. Still there is a lot of scope for developing on this subject, as excellence is not limited always. Thus in brief, we can conclude that managing and measuring retailer satisfaction can bring about positive benefits to distributor, company and sales people as well as customers. Retailer satisfaction boosts more sales and loyal customer to distributor and in turn helps to produce more satisfied ultimate customers to the company.
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Thus the significance of retailers satisfaction stretches from introducing more and more promotional activities, good margin and better services from distributor.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ICFAI Journal Marketing Management by Philip kotler Marketing Research by Parshu Raman
www.hll.com www.hllshakti.com
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ANNEXURE
QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear Sir/ Madam,
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: : : :
1. Type of store: Grocery store Stationary store 2. Type of outlet: Vijeta outlet 3. If Vijeta outlet: How would you rate the merchandising activity of your HLL Distributor? Excellent Good Fair Poor Very poor Star outlet General outlet Medical store If any specify.
4. How frequently you place the order? Daily Monthly Once in a week Any other
5. What is the contribution of HLL products to your total sales? Less than 5% Between 10-20% Between 5-10% More than 20%
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Retailers Satisfaction and Expectation towards HLL Distributor Demand Schemes and offers Margin Advertisement shelf space
7. During the visit was the Sales representative Courteous Rude Aggressive Off hand
8. How would you rate the Sales representative explanation during visit? Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor
9. Were you given the opportunity to put your point of view during visit? Yes No
10. How do you rate the delivery process of your HLL Distributor? Prompt delivery Ok Not in time
11. Are you satisfied with the schemes and discounts offered by the Distributor? Highly Satisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Highly dissatisfied Neutral
12. How do you rate your HLL Distributor? FACTOR Order processing time Billing Promotional activities Safe Delivery Sales person presentation Availability of ordered Very good Good Not Good Bad Worst
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13. Do you expect any additional service from Distributor? If yes state the additional services14. Any suggestion
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