MBA Projects » Business

Strategies of FMCG Companies in Rural Market (Marketing Project)

Yogin Vora — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:54:40 +0000

The Attachment below consist of the following points & explanation

Introduction to Fast Moving Consumer Goods
Examples of the companies – HLL, Colgate, Pamolive, Britannia, Marico.
Marketing Mix (4P’s) of Nirma
Positioning of Nirma (Internationally & Local)
SWOT Analysis of Nirma
Britannia Tiger
Hoarding for Tiger Biscuit
Marketing Mix (4P’s) for Britannia Tiger Biscuits
HLL Nihar Coconut Oil – Introduction
Marketing Mix of Nihar Coconut Oil
Problems & Strengths of Nihar
HLL Medimix – Introduction
Strategies for Medimix
Colgate Pamolive
Marketing Mix (4P’s) for Colgate Pamolive
Conclusion

Happy Independence Day to all Indians !!!

Yogin Vora — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:51:19 +0000

Initial steps to HR – Recruitment

Vidhi Gogri — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:16:43 +0000

We all have heard that, “Employees are assets of a company.” Every company claims to follow and understand this mantra. The function of HR is all about people- managing them, hiring them, etc. To carry out any function in a business, be it marketing, production, operations, you need people. HR brings the people to the organization and its business. It is said marketing is promoting your product in the market place. Similarly, HR is promoting and selling your company in the market. If you can promote your company efficiently you are sure to attract people to work for you.

Every firm whether small or large needs people to do even the minutest clerical work for them. And when there are employees they need to be managed. A small/medium firm may not have a devoted HR department. In that case, the owner or the manager plays the role of the HR head or the firm may hire specialized services of a HR Consultancy. Whereas, large organizations have their own HR department consisting of a head and staff that directly reports to the head. The HR department may have further bifurcations depending on the size of the firm and the number of employees.
When we say we require people for the functions of business, how do we acquire people for these functions? This is done by RECRUITMENT. For recruitment to happen the company has to do a Job Analysis of the job to be assigned to an eligible candidate. Job Analysis is further bifurcated into 2 sub-parts i.e.

JOB ANALYSIS:
This is not a book definition so to say but in layman’s language, Job Analysis means a process where the company analyses and defines the skills required to perform a particular job in the company.
• Job description is a written statement showing job title, tasks, duties and responsibilities involved in a job. It also prescribes the working conditions, hazards, stress and relationship with other jobs.
• Job specifications, also known as man or employee specifications, is prepared on the basis of job specification. It specifies the qualities required in a job incumbent for the effective performance of the job.
Once the Job Analysis is done the job vacancy can be posted on the Company Intranet, Classifieds, Job portals, Recruitment agencies etc.

Recruitment is the step towards Selection. Generally recruitments are either taken care by the HR Department Head or the manager (whoever is responsible for hiring). There is a process for hiring a candidate that is usually to be followed in large organizations. When there is a requirement, the HR department is communicated about the same. The HR department then goes through the database of candidates it has or it would send the requirements through Classifieds, Job portals, etc. By sending these requirements, the organization is likely to get feedback from eligible candidates in the form of CVs. The requirement advertisement should mention the Job Analysis (Job Description and Job Specification) so as to avoid attracting unnecessary applications. This also makes it easier for the HR department to shortlist from the applications and this will help reduce any bias from the HR resulting due to over examining the applications, boredom, etc.
Recruitment and Selection are two different terms even though they are always mentioned together. After the recruitment process is accomplished it gives way to the selection process. Selection process takes place after the HR department has shortlisted from among the received applications. The selection is not a lengthy procedure but depends from organization to organization.
The recruitment process is important in order to avoid any mistakes that would lead to future problems for the company from the candidate’s end. It’s a saying we have heard in our childhood, “one dirty fish pollutes the entire pond.” Similar is the case with employees. One wrong employee in the organization may hamper the growth of the entire organization.

Importance of Marketing Research

Yogin Vora — Thu, 05 May 2011 09:18:42 +0000

1) To make Marketing Decisions: Marketing Research helps the Marketers to make a decision about the product or service. Sometimes a marketer might believe that the new product or services is useful for the customers. However, research may show that customers do not need a product or are meeting their needs with a certain competitor product or so on. Similarly good marketing research strives to provide options for the successful introduction of new products and services. This makes the market entry of a new product or services less risky.
2) Survive the competition: Marketing Research helps in ascertaining and understanding competitor information such as their identity, marketing network, customer focus and scale of operations. This helps in surviving and in certain cases, even leaving behind the competition. Moreover, with market research you can also help understand the underserved consumer segments and consumer needs that have not been met.
3) Helps to decide Target Markets: Research helps provide customer information in terms of their location, age, buying behaviour & gender. This helps the marketers zero in on the target markets and customers for their product & services
4) Maximize profits: Apart from profit maximizing steps such as item optimization, customer profitability analysis, and price elasticity, Marketing research allows you to find out methods that can help you maximize profits for example, products price elasticity research can help you ascertain the impact of an increased price on the sales and the profits of a product. This emphasis on the profitability also helps the company’s focus to shift from maximizing sales to increasing the profits of a company. This helps the company survive in the long run & maximize its profits

5) Increasing the sales: Increasing the sales of your product or services helps the company in maximizing its profits. By understanding the customers needs, wants & attitude towards the products and determining whether your products fit the bill, marketers can increase their sales. This helps in not only increasing the sales to the target customers and people already using the product but also converting the non-users into customers for the product

7 P’s of FACEBOOK [Marketing Mix]

Yogin Vora — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:20:38 +0000

Facebook is a privately owned website and social network founded in 2004 by Harvard university students Mark Zuckerberg with his fellow students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. It was operation in the limited area of Harvard in 2004 and become fully accessible in 2006. The main purpose for launching the website was bringing a connection between Harvard students, to know each other more and in better way but now the same purpose is being followed worldwide.

Product

• Facebook has launched number of products including friends, messages, games, groups, photos, links, videos, a marketing space, advertisements, products pages, uncountable applications and a lot more.
• Users can communicate so well with their far off friends by sending them virtual gifts according to the occasion for a minimum price of one dollar. This type of applications are visible on almost every user profile on the occasion like Christmas, Eid, Independence day celebrations, birthdays etc (Michelle, 2008).
• Facebook offers social plug-in, graph API, Social Channels, Authentications and the open graph protocols to the web developers.
• Proxy and private settings are provided to the users to settle up their profile availability along with the customization of the material being loaded up on their profiles.
• Users are now provided access to Facebook through their mobiles; this has rendered more clicks to Facebook by increasing the daily user percentage because of any time access.
• Facebook has provided an opportunity to Facebook users to register their complaints for the website access, while improving the services miles forward.

Price

• People that are lured into Facebook enjoys all services free of cost, while one controversial statement says that this is a virtual cost by means of using personal information of users but this actually is not the case, as one can put as much secrecy and privacy one can.
• Facebook earns most of the revenues by the commercial groups, online events that are organized by the company, advertisements that come on the side of logged on page.
• Facebook being a private company doesn’t opens up its revenue earning units but always welcomes Brand advertising, performances advertising. Virtual goods and Microsoft advertising and has earned up to 1.1 billion dollars from this, according to a rough estimate (Dempsey, 2006).

Place

• Almost 600 million users are registered with Facebook, being accessed mostly by U.S community.

• The network is most popular nowadays as it can be accessed anywhere, in schools, colleges, universities and homes throughout the world.
• Facebook has its availability along the globe and Egypt revolution is commendably associated with the promotions provided by Facebook.

Promotion

• Facebook had become partner with Microsoft, Pandora and Yelp according to a planned strategy, and has earned a lot of promotion by taking this step, by increasing user number along with ads promotion on Facebook by different companies (Rosmarin, 2006).
• The website is providing small businesses big blow opportunities to establish and this promotes face usage as well, by their product customers being Facebook users ultimately.

Extended Mix:

People:
Facebook employs about —- people

Process:
Systems used for the FB servers, the thousands of applications, games available to the public

Physical Evidence:
Nothing per se, but if we are to measure, we can measure the FB site and chat connectivity

SWOT Analysis of Adani Power Ltd.

Yogin Vora — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:50:42 +0000

Adani Power Ltd
Strengths

• Strong execution track record on the back of the huge success of Mundra Port
• The diversified nature of the Adani Group (especially its presence in ports and coal trading) augurs well for Adani Power
• Stellar operational efficiency (FY10 average PLF was 85%+ compared with India’s national average of 78%)
• Minimal exposure to merchant power (23% compared with JSW’s 56%)

Weakness

• All of Adani’s power plants use Chinese equipment
• Conflict of interest given that other promoter owned companies are also in power generation
• Limited bargaining power vis a vis delays in coal supplies from Adani Enterprises as it is Adani Power’s holding company

Opportunities

• private sector (this is equivalent to 10x Adani’s installed capacity) and Adani Power will be a relatively strong contender for these UMPPs
• Given group’s presence in coal mining and India’s rising coal imports, domestic coal mining offers a huge opportunity for Adani Enterprises This in turn will reduce
• Adani Power’s coal cost as currently Adani Enterprises is the biggest supplier of coal to Adani Power

Threats

• The 5x increase in private sector generation capacity by FY13 could result in merchant power rates getting compressed.
• The rising Maoist insurgency (with its greatest influence in states having the largest coal resources) could result in delays and higher costs.
• The improving trend in T&D losses due to rising investment in T&D could result in the fading of India’s power deficit at a quicker pace than expected.

SWOT Analysis of Torrent Power Ltd.

Yogin Vora — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:14:15 +0000

Strengths:

• The integrated player in India across the entire value chain –generation, transmission and distribution
• The only successful player in the private distribution franchisee business
• The only power utility company with positive FCFF in FY10
• Zero reliance on Chinese equipment
• Stellar operational efficiency (FY10 average PLF was 90%+ and T&D losses were sub-10% compared to the national average of 78% and 25%+ respectively)
• One of the strongest balance sheets in the sector with FY10net debt: equity of 0.6x compared with ~1.5x for peers
• Strong Board of Directors with a high profile of independent directors such as Keki Mistry and Kiran Karnik

Weakness:

• Lack of disclosure in the annual report on key items. For example, there is no break up of revenues between generation, transmission and distribution
• The Kanpur franchisee has still not started functioning as the local state electricity board is creating issues in the light of
• Torrent having won the distribution contract Fuel tie up and financial closure for the near-term pipeline(1.5GW or ~96% of current installed capacity) is yet to take place

Opportunities:

• There is a huge opportunity for private sector power utilities in India (particularly for those utilities that have Torrent’s battle hardened execution capabilities)
• Private distribution franchisees is a big (and relatively untapped) opportunity in India given the poor financial position of the state electricity boards
• Given Torrent’s presence in the T&D segment, the growing scope for private sector participation in this space offers a huge opportunity particularly as the Government’s focus switches from power generation to power T&D

Threats:

• The 5x increase in private sector generation capacity by FY13 could result in merchant power rates getting compressed.
• Difficult to replicate the success of Bhiwandi in other private distribution franchisees as opposition from the local SEBs (who do not want to see private sector distributors in their area) is very strong
• Given that the KG Basin gas does not seem to be ramping up and infrastructure bottlenecks in the transportation of imported LNG (and the resultant crunch in the supply of gas) can be a negative for Torrent as 75% of its incremental capacity is gas based, which does not have fuel tie-up.
• Any delays in the construction of the Dahej SEZ will also delay the upcoming 1.2GW project in Dahej (will account for 37% of Torrent’s total capacity)

Reliance Venture Capital

Milan Vazir — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 18:53:06 +0000

Reliance Venture Capital
Reliance Venture Asset Management Limited

Introduction
It was incorporated in 2006, as Reliance Technology Ventures Ltd. On March 3, 2010, company changed its name from Reliance Technology Ventures Ltd to Reliance Venture Asset Management Ltd.
As the worlds of finance, technology, markets and people expand and converge, Reliance Group’s horizons are constantly expanding. Reliance Venture Asset Management Limited (RVAM) has been promoted by the Reliance Group to leverage emerging and high growth potential technologies, business models, world class management teams and markets to look ahead at future opportunities that can be enriched and enhanced by taking advantage of the group and its ecosystem. The company was ranked 30th in the Red Herring Top 100 Global Venture Capital Firms in 2009-2010 and was the only India based corporate venture capital company to feature in the ranking.
The venture capital industry is hotting up, with opportunities opening up in new sectors. To be part of this new growth story, Reliance Venture Asset Management is looking at investments in sectors such as microfinance, education and clean tech but it want to direct their funds into ancillary businesses as compared to those that directly comprise these sectors. The VC firm has already invested in a number of growth stage startups such as Yatra.com, Dhama Innovations, Suvidhaa Infoserve and Reverse Logistics and is now keen to invest another $50 million this year in startups.
Recently on 24th March 2011 the company announced that it will Exit from Dhama Innovations and some other portfolios. The CEO stated that it had recorded more than triple-digit IRRs on Dhama, similar is the case with other portfolios, and at present it is looking for an exit option.
Reliance and other VC companies mostly look for the businesses which are directly or indirectly related to their own business which helps to earn good return.
To sum up, it can be seen that the need of Venture Capital is growing in the Indian Economy with more and more people obtaining to start their own Business, there is high potential of Venture Capital Companies to grow in such a pace. Aerospace and defense sectors, both of which have typically been considered as government domains have a lot to gain with private sector involvement, given the kind of demand enjoyed by these sectors. Education, micro finance and clean tech are already enjoying a lot of investor interest.

International Food Brands in India

Vidhi Gogri — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:31:32 +0000

We all loved it when our relatives staying abroad or just back from a vacation bought chocolates, cookies etc. from there. Being kids we would love to show it off to our friends in school. We still do. When we have it in our hands we feel a sense of pride (I still don’t know why). Earlier there were a few shops that kept these “imported” food items which sure burnt a big hole in our parent’s pockets. Even today they are expensive but with the trend of westernized culture it’s like a must have. And the taste is also very tempting.

In India, people knew of peanut chutneys but never heard of peanut butter. They wondered how that could be eaten. Well today, children and adults both love the taste of it. Cornflakes for breakfast?? Never heard of because in India we would have Cornflakes chiwda (makai ka chiwda). Thanks to globalization and the western culture, more and more companies are interested in bringing their products to the potential Indian market. India is a booming and potential market for the foreign food companies. This is because the need for fast and easy food, because of the fast life.
We all have heard of Oreo-it is a trademark for a popular sandwich cookie by the Nabisco Division of Kraft Foods (Wikipedia). Oreo cookies are expensive than the normal Indian brand biscuits we eat. But now Oreo is launched in India by Cadbury and it costs cheaper. It’s cheaper but same. Even Kellogg’s is an international that launched in September, 1994 in India. Initially the product was not accepted in India but then this life has bought acceptance for the product. Indian breakfast would always be the one with ghee, oil etc but then came the fad of weight loss and healthy food and thus the acceptance of Kellogg’s.
An international brand may not be launched in India with some Indian business house every now and then but the availability of these products have increased manifold. A lot of shops have opened up and are offering these food items to the masses. For e.g. Alfa stores in Vile Parle, Mumbai, offer a large variety of such products. People who haven’t visited foreign countries need not crave for Swiss chocolates or cheese etc. because all they have to do is visit a shop that offers these varieties and their problem is solved.
Not just the packed food brands but also restaurants like Pizza Hut [Yum! Restaurants International (YRI)], KFC [Yum! Restaurants International (YRI)], McDonalds etc have opened up in India. They have become very popular amongst the youth population as well as old aged people. You can find a new McDonalds or Pizza Hut open in any possible corners in India. These restaurants are become very popular in India because they offer quick services. For e.g.:- when you order in Pizza Hut they will tell you the time your order will take to arrive on the table. Even the ambience is very comfortable. I once heard from a professor that the colour red instills hunger in you and the colour yellow brings happiness. That is the reason a lot of these restaurants use red and yellow on the walls or the upholstery.
To sum up, we understand that the new India, the spread of the western culture in India is incomplete without the flavors, spices, taste of these countries. We all savour these food products and will continue doing the same. We are also finding something new about these food products all the time especially all the foodies.

MATRIX PARTNERS – A Venture Capital Firm

Milan Vazir — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:40:23 +0000

Matrix Partners is a US based private equity investment firm focusing on venture capital investments. The firm invests in seed and early stage companies in the United States and India, particularly in the software, communications, semiconductors, data storage, Internet or wireless sectors. Some of the top companies Matrix has been associated with include Apple Computer, FedEx, Veritas and Sycamore Networks.

In India, Matrix Partners are committed to building a long term relationships with the entrepreneurs who have the potential to grow and become industry leading companies. Many of its investment in new and innovative businesses have resulted into many companies going public and many going for M&A’s.
Matrix follows a sector based approach for investment which will above average returns. Their portfolios of sectors include consumer products and services, education, infrastructure, financial, healthcare, and internet and mobile.
Their style of management involves not interrupting the day-to-day operations on the business but only on the critical issues and top level decision making of the top management.
Some of the well renowned companies in India where Matrix has invested are:
• Yo!China
• FIITJEE
• Tree House
• Itz Cash
• Muthoot Finance
• Ace2Three
• Seventymm
• Asklaila
During the past year, Matrix has helped Muthoot Finance, one of the largest gold loan providing companies to go public i.e. come out with its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and also invested additional capital to the tune of INR 100 Crore in Tree House which is one of the fastest growing pre-school education providing companies in India.
One of the main focuses of Matrix Partners is to look for outstanding entrepreneurs to build industry technology companies, who have good business ideas and help them to develop their business ideas. Matrix Partners help the entrepreneurs to frame strategies, and being involved in top level management. It follows sector-agnostic investment strategy.It has developed an exceptionally strong network of contacts and entrepreneurial know-how.
It invests in companies primarily targeting the Indian domestic market with a sector independent investment strategy focused on generating exceptional returns.Companies that have gone public out of Matrix Portfolio have generated over $100 billion of market value. With having all the strategy’s in place it has been able to enjoy the highest return in the industry.