A Success Story in B2B Branding

Presented to: Prof. Nitin Joshi Presented by: Sachin Kumar

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

world's first branded Cold Rolled Steel

Largest private sector steel marketer in India. Crude steel production capacity of 6.8 million tonnes per annum.

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Jamshedpur (India)

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Branding for credibility and comfort

A physical and accountable distribution system Branding by de-commoditizing steel Dealing with a professional organization

On February 27, 2003, TATA STEEL launched the worlds first branded cold rolled steel (CRS) calledIMS_ Virar Sachin Kumar_ Viva TATA Steelium in Goa.

Benefits of branding

Branding will give rise to a customized product in terms of value performance pricing Help to meet our customers needs better. Branding will go a long way in meeting the challenge of gaining a

sustainable competitive edge.

It will add value to the product and help in highlighting it in the otherwise fragmented market for cold-rolled steel.

It will not only help in product identification, but will also boost
the element of brand recall, thereby creating a niche

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Volume-wise, the Indian CRS market was almost equally divided between

Small - less than 60 tonne a month

Large - above 60 tonne to 1,500 tonne a month

The large number of customers were generally neglected and served small by a few wholesalers.

The chemical composition, mechanical properties, and surface finish of the CRS that were suitable only for simplistic applications and not for deep drawing, bending, forming and artistic uses. Superior quality materials available from import were beyond the reach of small customers. Several compromises like local annealing, heat treatment, cutting, welding, etc., were necessary before use.

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Small customers were having little access to the manufacturer of CRS. They had to move from shop to shop to buy their regular requirements as availability of materials with the retailers was never certain. Such retailers usually did not entertain quality complaints from customers as they did not receive support from wholesalers or manufacturers. Accordingly, the need for transacting with a professional organization instead of market-based retailers was strongly felt by the small customers.

Identity and quality of CRS purchased from the retailers were often doubtful. Other manufacturers apparently sold identical CRS of different specifications including inferior grades at lucrative price and terms. Manufacturers name and other details were usually marked only on the packaging materials that could be easily manipulated by a dishonest retailer. In spite of being aware about these problems, a small customer had little option but to rely on these retailers.
Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Frequent non-availability of required items, searching for alternate availability, negotiatingprice and other terms, taking the hassle of lifting the coil from a retailer/wholesaler, delivering the same to a cutter and closely following up with them for the desired size and shape. These customers were in fact willing to pay little more to get the materials in the manner required by them. Customers, in general, were annoyed with the sales techniques of retailers/ wholesalers/brokers and felt that most of them tried to push them into buying odd-sized CRS

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Key Facilities Advantage over Competition Coupled shallow bath Lower idle time and improved productivity hydrochloric acid pickling Less damage of the strips Uniform product quality Low acid and energy consumption Tandem cold rolling mill Better gauge and shape accuracy No damage during storage Lower cost in terms of investment, manpower, and consumables Less off-gauge and higher yield Batch annealing Can take care of orders in small lots which is the characteristic of Indian retail market Can get close to customers requirement of draw- ability, ductability along with strength Skin passing Precise amount of surface roughness is imparted,
Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Market Prior Branding

Tata Steelium

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar

Sachin Kumar_ Viva IMS_ Virar