Competitive Analysis of Copier Brands in Central India to

Propose Strategies for Strengthening Distribution Channel and

Differentiate Trident’s Copier from Other Brands

SIP project report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the PGDM
Programme

By: Devika Khare

Roll No: 2013089
Supervisors:
1. Company Guide: Mr. Aditya Singh
2. Faculty Guide: Prof S Anant Ram

Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur

2013-2015
1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful completion of this project required a lot of guidance and support from various
people who were directly or indirectly involved in the project. First of all I would like to
acknowledge the help and constant guidance my project guide, Mr. Aditya Singh extended
while the project was in its course. The entire Channel Sales department made their
contribution in the form of suggestions and improvements which the research required to
better itself.

I wish to appreciate and thank the Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur for giving
me this opportunity to learn and apply my knowledge beyond the classroom doors. I sincerely
wish to express my appreciation to my faculty guide Prof S Anant Ram for his immense
support and guidance throughout this research project.

The members of Trident Group, specially Mr Shivam Saxena, Mr Satyajit Roul,

Mr Arun Dubey and Mr Karan Kothari, made a huge impact on the completion of this project,
I would like to acknowledge everyone’s help and support.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 2

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 2
3. TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................... 3
4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 5
5. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: .......................................................................................... 6
1.1 THE INDIAN PAPER INDUSTRY .................................................................................... 7
1.2 PEST ANALYSIS OF PAPER INDUSTRY IN INDIA ................................................... 10
1. Political ......................................................................................................................... 10
2. Economical ................................................................................................................... 10
3. Social ............................................................................................................................ 10
4. Technological................................................................................................................ 11
1.3 COMPANY ANALYSIS ................................................................................................... 12
1.3.1 About Trident: ......................................................................................................... 12
1.3.2 About Trident Paper: ............................................................................................... 12
1.3.3 Trident Copier Paper Products ................................................................................. 13
1.3.4 Certifications Received By Trident Paper ............................................................... 14
1.3.5 SWOT Analysis of Trident’s Copier Brands ........................................................... 15
1.4 UNDERSTANDING COMPETITION ............................................................................. 16
2.1 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL ........................................................................................... 19
2.1.1 Functions of Distribution Channel........................................................................... 19
2.1.2 Levels of Distribution Channel ................................................................................ 20
2.2 Distribution Channel of Trident Group.............................................................................. 21
3.1 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 23
IMPORTANCE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS - MARKETING CHANNELS -
FOR NATIONAL ECONOMY (Authors: Zdenko Segetlija, Josip Mesarić, Davor Dujak)
.......................................................................................................................................... 23
DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL STRUCTURE: AN OVERVIEW OF DETERMINANTS
(Author: Adriano Maniçoba da Silva) .............................................................................. 23
A REVIEW OF DISTRIBUTION RELATED PROBLEMS IN LOGISTICS AND
SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH (Author: Xu Yang) ........................................................ 23

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 3

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN ....................................................................................................... 24
3.3 TARGET POPULATION .................................................................................................. 24
3.4 SAMPLING SIZE & PROCEDURE ................................................................................. 24
3.5 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................ 24
3.6 PRE-TESTING .................................................................................................................. 24
3.7 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE.............................................................................. 25
3.8 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................ 25
4.1 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS ........................................................................................... 26
4.2 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS .......................................................................................... 33
5.1 INTERPRETATIONS ....................................................................................................... 36
5.1.1 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS .......................................................................... 36
5.1.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................... 37
1. Increase awareness of Spectra as a substitute of My Choice ........................................ 37
2. More samples of Trident copier brands should be available with the FOS .................. 37
3. Frequency of market visits by FOS should be increased .............................................. 37
4. Promotional materials like pamphlets, mails to be sent to major retailers across the
cities .................................................................................................................................. 37
5.2 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 39
6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY....................................................................................... 40
7. SCOPE FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS ....................................................................... 40
8. REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 41
9. APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................... 42
9. 1 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR RETAILERS/WHOLESALERS ..................................... 42
9.3 SPSS FILES ................................................................................................................ 43

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 4

4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The primary purpose of any channel of distribution is to bridge the gap between the producer
of a product and the user of it, regardless of the places the manufacturer and the users are
located. The distribution channel is defined as the most efficient and effective way to place a
product into the hands of the customer. The channel is composed of different institutions that
facilitate the transaction and the physical exchange. In this project, an attempt has been made
to propose strategies to strengthen the distribution channel of Trident’s copier paper in central
India.

In order to eliminate the existence of any possible gaps in the distribution channel, a study
was conducted by collecting and analyzing data from various sources, through interviews
with almost 100 intermediaries, and by undertaking an extensive literature search. The study
was divided into three phases: i) pilot study in Bhopal, ii) collection of data from the dealers,
wholesalers, retailers and jobbers in Indore, iii) analysis of collected data.

During the course of study it was found that the distribution channel had minor flaws like:

1. Samples do not reach all the jobbers

2. Less follow-up by the sales person
3. Inconsistent supply/unavailability
4. Less number of wholesalers
5. Variation in prices
6. Paper doesn’t work in high speed machines
7. Less awareness about Trident

which were hampering the sales of copier paper in this region. Corrective measures were
implemented while the research was going on and suggestions were implemented to rectify
the flaws which were weakening the distribution channel.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 5

5. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The objectives of the study are:

1. to analyse the pulp & paper industry and copier brands in central India
2. to study the distribution channel of Trident and its competitors
3. to adopt the practices of Total Productive Maintenance which will strengthen the
channel
4. to propose strategies to strengthen the distribution channel of Trident’s copier paper in
Central India

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 6

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 THE INDIAN PAPER INDUSTRY

The Indian Paper Industry accounts for about 1.6% of the world’s production of paper and
paperboard. The estimated turnover of the industry is Rs 35,000 crore (USD 7 billion)
approximately and its contribution to the exchequer is around Rs. 3000 crore (USD 0.6
billion). The industry provides employment to more than 0.37 million people directly and 1.3
million people indirectly.

The industry was delicenced effective from July, 1997 by the Government of India; foreign
participation is permissible. Most of the paper mills are in existence for a long time and hence
present technologies fall in a wide spectrum ranging from oldest to the most modern. The
mills use a variety of raw material viz. wood, bamboo, recycled fibre, bagasse, wheat straw,
rice husk, etc.; approximately 35% are based on chemical pulp, 44% on recycled fibre and
21% on agro-residues.

The geographical spread of the industry as well as market is mainly responsible for regional
balance of production and consumption. As we already know, the global pulp and paper
industry is dominated by North America (US and Canada), Northern Europe (Finland,
Sweden and North-West Russia) and Asia (China, Indonesia Japan and South Korea). India's
pulp and paper industry accounts for approximately 1.6 per cent of the world's production of
paper and paper board. Besides, India's per capita consumption of paper is around 10 kg. In
contrast, China's per capita consumption of paper is approximately 60 kg and some of the
developed countries' per capita consumption is approximately 300 kg.

Demand of paper has been hovering around 8% for some time. So far, the growth in paper
industry has mirrored the growth in GDP. According to the production figures released by the
government, India's annual paper production is 12 million tons, but the estimated production
is around 16 million tons. A small increase of 1 kg in per capita consumption of paper leads
to an increase of 1.2 million tons of paper.

India is the fastest growing market for paper globally and it presents an exciting scenario;
paper consumption is poised for a big leap forward in sync with the economic growth and is
estimated to touch 13.95 million tons by 2015-16.

India's paper and paper board industry thus has unlimited scope for further growth. Judging
by the investments paper manufacturers have made in modernisation and expansion so far,
India's pulp and paper industry is well on its way to having a strong presence in Asia.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 7

The tables given below highlights the performance of the Indian paper companies based on
the key parameters: production, installed capacity, turnover:

INDIAN PULP & PAPER INDUSTRY-PRODUCTION

SERIAL
COMPANY PRODUCTION (MT)
NO.
1 Ballarpur Industries Limited 834050
2 ITC Limited- PSPD 590000
3 Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Paper Limited (TNPL) 371637
4 West Coast Paper Mills Limited 317808
5 JK Paper Limited 292582
6 The Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Limited 258201
7 Century Pulp & Paper 242906
8 NR Agrawal Industries Limited 173072
9 Seshasayee Paper & Boards Limited 169438
10 Trident Limited 152719
(Table 1; Source: Paper Mart, 2013)

INDIAN PULP & PAPER INDUSTRY-INSTALLED CAPACITY

SERIAL INSTALLED
COMPANY
NO. CAPACITY (MT)
1 Ballarpur Industries Limited 969568
2 ITC Limited- PSPD 550000
3 JK Paper Limited 455000
4 Century Pulp & Paper 413810
5 Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Paper Limited (TNPL) 400000
6 West Coast Paper Mills Limited 320000
7 Rainbow Papers Limited 305000
8 Murli Industries Limited 248200
9 The Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Limited 241000
10 Seshasayee Paper & Boards Limited 175000
11 Trident Limited 175000
(Table 2; Source: Paper Mart, 2013)

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 8

INDIAN PULP & PAPER INDUSTRY-TURNOVER

SERIAL
COMPANY TURNOVER (Cr)
NO.
1 Ballarpur Industries Limited 4854.81
2 ITC Limited- PSPD 4504.37
3 Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Paper Limited (TNPL) 1881.18
4 JK Paper Limited 1721.38
5 West Coast Paper Mills Limited 1499.07
6 The Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Limited 1291.34
7 Century Pulp & Paper 1282
8 Rainbow Papers Limited 900.05
9 Seshasayee Paper & Boards Limited 880.77
10 Trident Limited 724.8
(Table 3; Source: Paper Mart, 2013)

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 9

1.2 PEST ANALYSIS OF PAPER INDUSTRY IN INDIA
1. Political
 The Government of India has relaxed the rules and regulations for the paper industry.

 The paper industry was completely delicensed in 1997 to encourage active participation
by investors.

 The mills using non-conventional raw material such as bagasse, agro based residue, enjoy
special incentives.

 To ensure timely supply of raw materials, duty on pulp and waste paper and wood
logs/chips has been reduced.

 The Government of India had withdrawn core sector status enjoyed by the Indian paper
industry. Cost of coal is rising by day and the availability of quality coal is expected to
decrease.

2. Economical
 The Indian Paper Industry is among the top 12 Global players today, with an output of
more than 12 Million tonnes annual with an estimated turnover of Rs. 35000 Crores.

 It has been noted that the per capita consumption of paper in India is directly proportional
to the GDP of India.

 Paper mills are heavily dependent on imported waste paper which can only be procured in
high prices due to inadequate availability.

3. Social
 India's pulp and paper industry accounts for approximately 1.6 per cent of the world's
production of paper and paper board.

 India's per capita consumption of paper is around 10 kg, which is way less than the
developed countries around the world.

 In order to become environmental friendly and achieve cost effectiveness, many leading
players have embraced bagasse, agro-based residue as their prime raw material.

 Due to increasing disposable income of the middle class and few Government initiatives
to encourage education amongst women and children under 14, there is an increasing
need of production of more paper.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 10

4. Technological
 The paper industry in India is looking for state-of-art technologies to reduce its production
cost and to upgrade the technology to meet the international standards.

 In order to meet the increasing demand of paper, many companies have been undergoing
expansion and also adopting modernisation.

 With the developing technology, many companies started to use recycled paper as their
raw material, saving energy, chemical and water.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 11

1.3 COMPANY ANALYSIS

1.3.1 About Trident:

Trident Group is a USD 1 billion conglomerate which has business interests in home textile,
yarn, paper, chemicals, power and IT. Apart from being a global terry towel giant, it is also
amongst the world’s largest agro-based paper manufacturing company. Additionally, it is also
amongst the largest yarn producers in India.

1.3.2 About Trident Paper:

In the modern era, the businesses have experienced a shift from traditional operative methods
to 3P method (people, profit and planet). It is in this interest that using agro-based, eco-
friendly product makes more business sense.

Trident Paper is amongst the most distinguished manufacturers and suppliers of high quality
multi-color, high speed printing and publishing copier papers. Trident’s copier paper range
includes: Trident Spectra, My Choice, Trident Natural, Trident Eco Green and the most
recent, Trident Royal Touch.

The product portfolio includes:

 Writing and printing paper

 Branded copier paper: Spectra, My Choice, Trident Natural and Trident Eco Green,
Royal Touch
 Maplithopaper under brands like: Diamond Line, Silver Line, Crystal Line, Super
Line, Prime Line, Nature Line and Base Line
 Bible and offset printing paper
 Cream-wove
 Watermark paper
 Colourpaper

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 12

1.3.3 Trident Copier Paper Products

i) Trident Royal Touch

 Premium 80 GSM A4 copier paper

 Superior brightness
 Eco friendly
 Sharp & Clear images
 Ideal for High speed printing & copying

ii) Trident Spectra

 75 GSM A4 copier paper

 Sharp & Clear images
 Reliable and jam-free performance
 High speed printing and copying
 Eco-friendly paper

iii) Trident Eco Green

 75 GSM A4 copier paper

 Sharp & Clear Images
 Perfect for high volume run
 Ideal for high speed printing and copying
 Suitable for double side copying

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 13

iv) Trident Natural

 72 GSM A4 copier paper

 Eco friendly copier paper
 Reliable and jam free performance
 Value for money
 Multipurpose usage

v) My Choice
 70 GSM A4 copier paper
 Eco friendly copier paper
 Reliable and jam free performance
 Jam free performance

1.3.4 Certifications Received By Trident Paper

 Paper Machine from Allimand, France & Pulp Mill from Metso Fiber line, Sweden
 100% in-house virgin pulp from METSO Slotted screen and GL&V Centri Cleaners
in Stock preparation
 The Paper Machine with OCTOPUS HEAD BOX to ensure uniform formation of
paper.
 The twin roll wire on paper machine ensures high quality two side finish of paper
 First Mill in the world to Use ECF bleaching and Oxygen Delignification on Wheat
Straw
 First Mill in India to adopt Fuzzy Logic for Burner Management in Lime-kiln.
 High end ECH Wills cutter for perfect A4 line copier finish.
 Auto reel cutter and auto reel wrapping system for high quality reeling.
 Sheeting / folio cutting on Pasaban cutters for perfect finish folio sheeting.
 In-house World class QC and R&D lab with latest equipment to test experiment and
innovate with the quality of paper.
 Trident Paper has BIS quality certification for its products and is one of the leading
supplies to Government Institutions and prominent printers.
(Source: Trident’s website)

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 14

1.3.5 SWOT Analysis of Trident’s Copier Brands

1. Strengths

 Large, diversified existing market

 One of the largest manufacturer of wheat straw based paper
 Presence in the international market
 Major employment in the remote areas in close proximity to the manufacturing facilities
 Rural development

2. Weaknesses

 Inferior quality due to the use of wheat straw as raw material

 Price competitiveness in this region due to the presence of Orient’s Mill in MP, which
makes Orient’s product cheap
 Strong presence of competitors, JK & BILT in this region

3. Opportunities

 Expand market internationally

 Enter school stationery segment by creating own brand for notebooks, registers
 Bid for government tender

4. Threats

 Heavy competition with JK and BILT

 The presence of mill of Orient Paper makes its product cheaper from Trident’s
 Wood pulp based paper product are superior in quality and brightness and hence may
pose as a threat the agro-based paper that is Trident’s copier paper.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 15

1.4 UNDERSTANDING COMPETITION
BALLARPUR INDUSTRIES LIMITED (BILT)
Established: 1952

Installed capacity: 969568 MT

Production: 834050 MT Pulp (Self-consumption)

Key points:

 Largest plant for hi-bright uncoated woodfree paper in India

 Integrated facility in the central part of India

 Low cost producer due to integration and location

 Long-term bamboo supply contract with the government

Best selling product: BILT Copy Power, BILT Image Copier

MOP*: BILT Image Copier (70 GSM)- ₹141

BILT Copy Power (75 GSM)- ₹151

JK PAPER LIMITED
Established: 1962

Installed capacity: 290000 MT

Production: 292582 MT

Key points:

 With portfolio of well known reputed brands, JKPL sells over

90% of its production under its own brands, which as per our
estimates is highest for any player in the domestic paper
industry.
 Recently JKPL also had an exclusive tie-up with Hewlett
Packard (HP) for using the “ColorLok” technology.
ColorLok papers provide better quality printing and reduce
the maintenance cost for the printers.
 JKPL is the only company in the country and eleventh in
the world to be certified by HP, which is an endorsement to
its product quality.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 16

Best selling product: JK Copier (Red), JK Easy Copier (Green),
JK Max

MOP*: JK Max (67 GSM)- ₹ 135

JK Easy Copier (70 GSM)- ₹145

JK Copier (75 GSM)- ₹165

WEST COAST PAPER MILLS LIMITED

Established: 1955

Installed capacity: 320000 MT

Production: 317808 MT

Key points:

 WCPM enjoys 17% of the market share in the copier market.

 WCPM is accredited with the prestigious FSC certification by the forest stewardship
council acknowledging the efforts on our farm forestry measures under the forest
conservation program and is heading for 100% FSC certified products to meet
the growing demands for eco- friendly products globally.
 The company has stepped up its exports to more than 25 countries across Asia pacific,
Middle-East, the Mediterranean and the African sub continents which is a testimony to
WCPM's global acceptance of its quality products meeting international standards.

Best selling product: B2B

MOP*: B2B (70 GSM)- ₹144

CENTURY PULP AND PAPER

Established: 1984

Installed capacity: 413810 MT

Production: 242906 MT

Key points:

 The bagasse based papers are eco labelled.

 Company’s main raw materials are Eucalyptus, poplar, bamboo, bagasse & waste paper.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 17

ORIENT PAPER & INDUSTRIES LIMITED
Established: 1965

Installed capacity: 60000 MT

Key points:

 As an integral part of its growth oriented strategy Orient Paper Mills has always identified
exports as a priority area.
 Orient Paper products are being regularly shipped to Africa, Middle East, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka and Nepal.
 Due to presence of its mill in Madhya Pradesh itself, Orient enjoys cost competitiveness
in this region.

Best selling product: Orient Copier

MOP*: Orient copier (65 GSM)- ₹128

(*MOP as of May, 2014 in Bhopal market)

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 18

CHAPTER 2: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE CONCEPTS

2.1 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

According to Philip Kotler “a channel of distribution is a set of independent organisations

involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption
by the consumer or business user.”

There are two basic functions performed between the manufacturer and the ultimate
consumer. (See Figure:1). The first called the exchange junction, involves sales of the product
to the various members of the channel of distribution. The second, the physical distribution
junction, moves products through the exchange channel, simultaneously with title and
ownership. Decisions concerning both of these sets of activities are made in conjunction with
the firm's overall marketing plan and are designed so that the firm can best serve its
customers in the market place. In actuality, without a channel of distribution the exchange
process would be far more difficult and ineffective.
EXCHANGE
FUNCTION

PRODUCERS RESELLERS CONSUMERS

PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION
CHANNEL

Figure 1 Dual-flow system in marketing channel

(Source URL: http://globaltext.terry.uga.edu/userfiles/pdf/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf)

2.1.1 Functions of Distribution Channel

A channel performs three important functions:
1. Transactional junctions-buying, selling, am: risk assumption.
2. Logistical junctions-assembly, storage, sorting, and transportation.
3. Facilitating junctions-post-purchase service and maintenance, financing, information
dissemination, and channel coordination or leadership.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 19

2.1.2 Levels of Distribution Channel

(Figure 2: Levels of distribution channel)

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 20

2.2 Distribution Channel of Trident Group

Manufacturer

Dealer

Wholesaler

Jobber

Consumer
(Figure 3; Distribution channel of Trident Copier)

Trident follows a layer of three intermediaries that perform various activities to effectively
bring the product and its ownership closer to the buyer.

It also implements push strategy to ensure the product is being sold. A push strategy uses the
manufacturer’s sales force, trade promotion money, and other means to induce intermediaries
to carry, promote, and sell the product to end users.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 21

 CENTRAL
INDIA

Rajasthan Madhya Chattisgarh

Pradesh

Jaipur Indore Raipur

Jodhpur Jabalpur

Bhilwara Bhopal

Bikaner Gwalior

Sri Morena
Ganganagar

Kota

(Figure 4; Distribution channel of Trident Copier in Central India)

In Central India, the channel of distribution is spread amongst three states, Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Due to the constraint of time, this study was limited only
to the state of MP.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 22

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

IMPORTANCE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS - MARKETING
CHANNELS - FOR NATIONAL ECONOMY (Authors: Zdenko Segetlija, Josip
Mesarić, Davor Dujak)
The authors suggest ways to create new forms of distribution channels and retail business
units in different economies. A few theoretical assumptions have been made regarding the
development of new forms of retailing and also the problems in the functioning of retail
systems in different countries. The basis for this development lies in new technological
possibilities, i.e. opportunities offered by modern information technologies and new
understanding of the connection between physical commodity processes.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL STRUCTURE: AN OVERVIEW OF

DETERMINANTS (Author: Adriano Maniçoba da Silva)
The paper gives insights that the distribution of a product may be done exclusively or
intensively depending upon if it is an industrial product or consumer product; new product or
existing product. The author studies the problems faced in both, direct and indirect channels.
It is concluded that a company’s choice of distribution channel are:

1) Consumer habits
2) Product characteristics
3) The market
4) Company factors

A REVIEW OF DISTRIBUTION RELATED PROBLEMS IN LOGISTICS

AND SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH (Author: Xu Yang)
On the basis of characteristics of the distribution network, the researcher has categorised the
distribution network into 6 major types: (1) One-to-many distribution without transhipments;
(2) Many-to-one distribution without transhipments; (3) Many-to-many distribution without
transhipments; (4) One-to-many distribution with transhipments; (5) Many-to-many
distribution with transhipments; and (6) Integrated networks. The researcher was furthers
brought down to identify 12 major difficulties that may come across any distribution channel.
Those are:

1) Global perspective 7) Intermodal transportation

2) Reverse logistics 8) Just-in-time (JIT)
3) Logistics collaboration 9) Customer satisfaction
4) System dynamics 10) Special cases
5) Limited capacity 11) Transhipments
6) Technological revolution 12) Integrated distribution

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 23

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design being used is the Descriptive Survey design because it allows the
researcher to gather the descriptive and numerical data to find the relationship between the
variables. As the topic of research is based on the distribution channel of Trident Group, data
was collected from wholesalers, retailers and jobbers of various cities in central India. The
survey design was quite apt for this research because it involved a number of factors that
make a distribution channel strong and these factors could be answered through a survey
only.

The survey consisted of direct, concise and well-structured questions, making it easy and
understandable for the people to answer, and thereby reducing the ambiguities in the
responses collected.

3.3 TARGET POPULATION

The topic of research concentrates on the distribution channel of Trident Group. It requires
the people who are a part (intermediaries) of this distribution channel to be interviewed. The
target population included retailers, wholesalers and jobbers of Bhopal and Indore cities in
the central India. A total of approximately 80 respondents were targeted for this research.

3.4 SAMPLING SIZE & PROCEDURE

The sampling frame in this research included all the wholesalers and retailers who use copier
paper. The working sample consists of the 80 responses of such participants. The majority of
the respondents were aged between 20 to 60 years and were adequately educated.

3.5 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

For data collection purpose, the method of interviewing the participants was chosen to get a
better and in-depth understanding of the distribution channel of Trident copier brands.

In order to capture the responses, a questionnaire was developed and based on the interaction
with the respondents, their responses were captured in that questionnaire.

The questionnaire consisted of close-ended questions related to the factors that make any
channel of distribution effective.

3.6 PRE-TESTING
Once the questionnaire was formed, a pre-testing was conducted to find the relevance & the
validity of the questionnaire. Some questions which were found to be irrelevant in reference
to the study were eliminated from the list and a few questions that could have supported the
survey were added to the questionnaire.
3.7 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE
The data for the research has been collected from both the sources, i.e. primary and secondary
data sources. The primary data has helped us to know and analyse the actual facts and figures
collected in the survey, whereas, the secondary data was taken from the economic surveys,
reports, research papers and various journals.

3.8 DATA ANALYSIS

The data collected from the survey, was represented in the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) and various suitable tests were used for analysing the hypothesis.
Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data, along with some basic tests for testing
normality & measures of central tendency. At last, all the data was stored in the hard and the
soft copy table-formats.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 25

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND RESULT

4.1 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

4.1.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the data analysis, presentation and interpretation of findings on the data
collected from the wholesalers, retailers in the cities, dealing with the copier brands. The
study sampled 70 wholesalers, retailers and jobbers. The data was interpreted as per the
research questions. The analysis was done through descriptive and inferential statistics. The
findings were presented in form of frequency tables, and percentages.

4.1.1 Awareness of copier brands

It can be seen that the awareness of all the brands is almost equal amongst all the respondents.

DEVIKA KHARE | 2013089 26

4.1.2 Monthly consumption of copier paper of the respondents

A majority of the wholesalers fall under the category of “more than 20 cartons” which
constitutes of wholesalers who have a bulk purchase of around 200-500 cartons as well. The
next category is the “10-20 cartons” consumption which comprises of 12 retailers.

The consumption pattern of jobbers is fairly less than the retailers, they either fell under the
category of 1-5 reams per month or more than 15 reams.

4.1.3 Most used copier brand

There is a stiff competition between JK and BILT in this region, they have a composite share
of about 72% in this region (based on the survey). Orient also has a strong presence in this
region, since its mill is situated in Madhya Pradesh itself it can supply cheap product to its
customers.

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4.1.4 Factors affecting copier brands

When asked about the attributed that make a copier brand strong, the respondents mostly
agreed that quality and price go hand in hand. The quality of paper is the most important
factor, even though price can also not be neglected. Some retailers chose availability of copier
as an important factor, since they want timely delivery of the product to their customers.

4.1.5 Mode of placing the order

Almost an equal number of respondents answered that they place the order by either they
contacting the dealer or the dealer contacting them. It was seen that those who place bulk
order of more than 100 cartons, dealer usually contacted them and those who have regular
weekly/biweekly demand the dealer sends them the consignment on his understanding with
the retailer.

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4.1.6 Comparison between price and quality

When questioned about the more important factor between price of the paper and the quality
of the paper, many respondents out rightly picked price over quality, these were the
respondents who had a lesser margin of profit and needed to sell the cheapest product in order
to gain maximum profit. There were also a large number of respondents who believed quality
was definitely the deciding factor to give their customers satisfaction.

4.1.7 Importance of brand name for a copier paper

As much as about 50% of the respondents believed that the brand name was indeed the
deciding factor while selling or buying copier paper. There is goodwill of JK and BILT in the
market and people recognise the product with the name.

4.1.8 Importance of advertising for the success of copier paper

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66% of the respondents answered that they think advertising of the copier brand doesn’t
affect its sales and it’s of no use to boost the sales. Whereas 35% believed that advertising
creates awareness amongst the target market and eventually attracts new customer base.

4.1.9 Importance of promotional schemes by the manufacturer for the wholesalers

About 69% of the respondents went in the favour of promotional schemes, believing that the
wholesalers prefer the brands with better promotional schemes for them, whereas only 35%
believed otherwise.

4.1.10 Switched to competitor brand for any reason

When asked if the respondents had switched to a different brand due to any problem arising
with the brand, the respondents said pricing, quality and availability are the important factors

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that make them switch to a brand with better factors.

4.1.11 Factors affecting a distribution channel

66% of the respondents believed that timely delivery of the consignment makes the
distribution channel strong, followed by 32% of the respondents who said relationship with
the dealer make the channel strong and if they have sore relationship with a dealer they do not
deal with the brand he deals in.

4.1.12 Problems faced while receiving the delivery of a consignment

While receiving the delivery of any order the wholesalers face a few problems which make
their distribution channel weal. Lack of insufficient godown space is the reason that tops the
lists followed by fund management or the credit management policy of a company and stock
unavailability.

4.1.13 Suggestions for Trident paper

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Trident paper is an agro based product; made up of a major proportion of wheat straw and
wood pulp to maintain the strength of the paper. Due to its raw material composition Trident
paper’s quality is not at par with the pure wood pulp based product of JK and BILT. This is
one of the reasons which affect the sales of the paper majorly. The respondents feel that with
the given quality of Trident paper, it charges a premium price to its customer.

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4.2 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

4.2.1 To determine the relationship between problems faced while receiving the
consignment and the monthly consumption of the wholesalers.

Hypothesis 1: There is a significant relationship between problems faced while receiving the
consignment and the monthly consumption of the wholesalers.

The Pearson chi-square value for significance while testing the effect of monthly
consumption on the problems faced by the wholesalers is 0.056 which is greater than 0.05;
thus null hypothesis should be accepted proving that for the given data sample there is a
relationship between problems faced while receiving the consignment and the monthly
consumption of the wholesalers.
Let confidence level be 95%, thus, P = 0.05, obtained p = 0.056
Since P < p, we accept the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant
relationship between problems faced while receiving the consignment and the monthly
consumption of the wholesalers.

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(Where, P is Chi Square value at that significance level and p is calculated Chi Square value.)

4.2.2 To determine whether factors like brand name, pricing, advertising, promotional
schemes make a brand the most used brand.

Hypothesis 2: There is a significant effect of brand name, pricing, advertising, promotional

schemes offered by a brand to make it the most used brand.

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The p-value here refers to a test of the entire model (i.e. the entire collections of independent
variables) as a whole. The p-value comes out to be 0.236, which is more than P value, 0.05.
Let confidence level be 95%, thus, P = 0.05, obtained p = 0.236.
Since P < p, we accept the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant effect
of brand name, pricing, advertising, promotional schemes offered by a brand to make it
the most used brand.

(Where, P is the given value at that significance level and p is the calculated value.)

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CHAPTER 5: INTERPRETATIONS, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 INTERPRETATIONS
5.1.1 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS
Relying on the responses given by the respondents, the researcher came up with findings
which were used to make conclusions and give recommendations. The main findings are
based on the results of data analysis done using statistical tools and after applying TPM
approach are:

OBJECTIVES FINDINGS

1. The amount of investments paper industries

have made in India, there is sure going to be a
1. to analyse the pulp & paper industry and
strong presence of Indian industries in Asia.
copier brands in central India
2. Looking at the market trends, Trident will
emerge as a market leader very soon.
1. The distribution channel of Trident is getting
stronger by the day. Though the central India
2. to study the distribution channel of Trident has a lot of scope in terms of market expansion
and its competitors for both wholesalers and corporates.
2. JK, BILT have a strong presence in central
India.
1. The minor fuguai which existed in the form
of lack of awareness, less follow-up by the
3. to adopt the practices of Total Productive sales person, samples not reaching all the
Maintenance which will strengthen the samples, lack of sampling material with the
channel FOS.
2. All the fuguais were rectified by adopting
proper TPM practices. (TPM PPT)

1. Increase awareness of Spectra as a substitute

of My Choice to be used in high speed
machines and in rainy season.
2. Contacted Strategic Marketing Department
4. to propose strategies to strengthen the to execute order for production of samples.
distribution channel of Trident’s copier paper 3. Frequency of market visits by FOS to be
in Central India increased from twice a month to three times a
month. FOS asked to present daily reports to
their supervisor. (Report Format)
4. Promotional materials like pamphlets, mails
to be sent to major retailers across the cities.

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5.1.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
This section gives a detailed discussion of the findings from this study.

1. Increase awareness of Spectra as a substitute of My Choice

It was found during the course of the study that many wholesalers who purchase the copier
paper in bulk also use high speed photocopying machines. My Choice being a lower GSM
(70) product has less bulk when compared to its competitors. Trident being an agro-based
paper industry relies only on wheat straw for manufacturing the product. Due to this change
in the raw material composition, My Choice does not perform in high speed photocopy
machines and in the rainy season it absorbs moisture which does not let it work in the
machines. This problem was resolved by Trident’s another brand of copier paper called
Spectra which is a higher GSM paper (75) product and does not get stuck in the machine or
absorb moisture in the rainy season. The wholesalers need to be made aware of the presence
of Spectra as a substitute of My Choice to expand our market.

2. More samples of Trident copier brands should be available with the FOS
In the cities Bhopal and Indore, a portion of market is still left untapped which needs to be
made aware of Trident’s product. In order to make them understand the quality and value of
Trident’s products samples of all the brands should be made (with minimum 25 pages of a
copier brand) and distributed to the prospective customers of Trident copier paper. The
wholesalers want a product which gives them quality print out on a quality paper without
dealing with the hassles of their machines or the paper. Trident provides quality goods to its
customers but in order to make the prospective wholesalers believe in the quality of Trident’s
paper, samples need to be distributed across the cities.

3. Frequency of market visits by FOS should be increased

The cities like Bhopal and Indore have an area of about 500-700 km2, therefore it is difficult
to visit the entire market in few days times. It was found out in the research that there is a lot
of potential in these markets where the wholesalers are interested in buying Trident’s product
but due to less visits by the FOSs the wholesalers is not able to get acquainted with the person
himself and also its products. It is advised that the visits by these FOSs should be increased
from twice a month to thrice a month in each outlet. Also, to keep them motivated and to
avoid any failure in executing the above order, the FOSs are asked to present a daily report to
their supervisors.

4. Promotional materials like pamphlets, mails to be sent to major retailers

across the cities
To remind the wholesalers and other potential customers of Trident’s products, regular

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promotional material like pamphlets, mails need to be sent to the wholesalers by the dealer.
This will create awareness in the market about Trident’s products and create a brand
positioning in the minds of the customers both existing and prospective. Also the dealer
should personally push the product to his major customers in order to convert them to repeat
customers.

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5.2 CONCLUSION

Today’s competitive business environment has resulted in increasing pressure for many
companies in almost every industry. In such an environment, companies must fill customer
orders, accurately, quickly and efficiently. At the same time, they must reduce inventory,
implement reverse logistics and consider other important logistical factors to reduce their
overall costs. A company’s supply chain constitutes several interactive processes, which are
important to the integrated logistics system. In order to reduce costs for every single
component of a supply chain, companies may have to redesign their supply chain network
and consider every operation as part of a whole. After years of focusing on reduction in
production and operation costs, companies are beginning to look into distribution activities as
the last frontier for cost reduction.

In the research, it was found out that the factors which will make Trident’s copier brands’
channel effective and stronger would be the following factors: Increase awareness of Spectra
as a substitute of My Choice to be used in high speed machines and in rainy season; more
production of samples of all the brands; frequency of market visits by FOS to be increased
from twice a month to three times a month; FOS should be asked to present daily reports to
their supervisor; promotional materials like pamphlets, mails to be sent to major retailers
across the cities.

A majority of the suggested factors have already been either implemented or the order for the
execution has been made. With the efforts of all Trident’s distribution channel will definitely
become more effective and efficient in the near future.

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6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 Time constraint was a limiting factor because the study had to be concluded within a short
time.
 As the study is conducted in only Madhya Pradesh, the findings and suggestions of this
empirical study may not be representative of the universe.
 There may be a chance of individual's experience dominating the interpretation of the
data.
 Respondents may not have given their exact views or hidden some information
deliberately.

7. SCOPE FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS

 The study can be further continued in order to get a deeper understanding of the market.

 The researcher can expand the area of research, extending it to the other major cities of
Madhya Pradesh, or even states like Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

 The researcher can study the distribution channel of Trident Paper’s competitors and point
out the differences between them and point out what makes its distribution channel
effective.

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8. REFERENCES

 ICRA Equity Research Service JK Paper Limited- December 5, 2011 Industry: Paper &
Paperboard

 Importance of distribution channels- Marketing channels for national economy

Professor Zdenko Segetlija, PhD
University of J.J.Strossmayer, Faculty of Economics in Osijek
Professor Josip Mesarić, PhD
University of J.J.Strossmayer, Faculty of Economics in Osijek
Davor Dujak, MSc
University of J.J.Strossmayer, Faculty of Economics in Osijek

 Kotler, Philip. Marketing management: analysis, planning, implementation, and control.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 1997. 9e

 A Review of Distribution Related Problems in Logistics and Supply Chain Research

Xu Yang, Department of Marketing and Decision Sciences, San Jose State University,
Washington Square, San Jose, California, USA

 Mentzer, J. T. (2004): Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management: Twelve Drivers of

Competitive Advantage, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications

 Distribution channels and their roles In the enterprise, Szopa p., pękała w., Polish Journal
Of Management Studies, 2012

 Trident official website: http://www.tridentindia.com/

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9. APPENDICES
9. 1 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR RETAILERS/WHOLESALERS

1. Are you aware of the following copier companies?

o JK o Orient
o BILT o Century
o Trident o West Coast
o TNPL o Khanna

2. How much purchase do you make in a month from the above copier companies? (For
retailers/wholesalers)
o 1-5 cartons o 10-20 cartons
o 5-10 cartons o More than 20 cartons

How much purchase do you make in a month from the above copier companies? (For
jobbers)
o 1-5 reams o 10-20 reams
o 5-10 reams o More than 20 reams

3. Which copier brand is mostly used in your area?

o JK- Max, Cmax, Red, Green o Trident- My choice, Spectra, Royal
o BILT- Copy, Image touch
o Member’s Mark
4. What are the factors which make it the most used brand? (Please tick.)

Price
Quality
Availability
Packaging
Promotional schemes
Advertising
GSM

5. How do you place your order to purchase copier paper?

o By contacting dealer o Dealer contacts you

Please select your level of agreement with the following statements:

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
1 2 3 4 5

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 1 2 3 4 5
6. Price is important than quality
of the paper.
7. Brand name is the deciding
factor while purchasing copier
paper.
8. Advertising is important for
the success of copier paper.
9. More promotional schemes for
the dealers should be
introduced.

10. Have you switched from any copier company? If yes, why? (Please tick.)

Pricing
Quality
Availability
On time delivery
Promotional schemes

11. What are the factors that contribute to better distribution channel?

o Relationship with dealer o Minimum lead time

o Relationship with the sales person

12. Mark the problems that you face while receiving the delivery of the consignment.

o Fund management o Lorry unavailability

o Stock unavailability o Insufficient godown space
13. In which below mentioned attributes would you like Trident to improve their products?

Pricing
Quality
Availability
Delivery time
Promotional schemes

9.3 SPSS FILES

 SPSS Data entry file (Please click to view the file)
 SPSS Output file (Please click to view the file

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