A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON SALES & DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES OF BIRLA CORPORATION LIMITED AND ITS COMPETITORS AT DURGAPUR

Presented by: Amit Kumar Giri-I M08013

CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION TO CEMENT INDUSTRY IDEA ABOUT CEMENT COMPANY PROFILE THE CEMENT PLANT-DURGAPUR OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FINDINGS SUGGESTIONS LIMITATIONS CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION TO CEMENT INDUSTRY

Indian cement industry dates back to 1914 - first unit was set-up at Porbandar with a capacity of 1000 tones. Currently India is ranked second in the world with an installed capacity of 188.97 million tones. 55 - 60% of the cost of production are government controlled. Continuous Growth approximately 1.3 times of the countrys GDP. Construction is the biggest industry after agriculture in India. It is a industry worth Rs.300 Thousand Crores. During 2007-2008 cement demand grew 8%,with a firmly country wide rise in prices.

MAJOR PLAYERS OF CEMENT INDUSTRY IN INDIA

The Associated Cement Companies Limited (ACC) UltraTech CemCo Ltd. Gujarat Ambuja Cements Limited Grasim Industries Limited Century Textiles and Industries Limited Birla Corp Limited The India Cements Limited Jaiprakash Industries Limited Lafarge

IDEA ABOUT CEMENT

A cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. Cement are made by grinding a mixture of limestone, clay and other corrective materials e.g., Laterite, Bauxite, Iron Ore etc., burning the appropriate mixture at a high temperature, cooling the resultant product called to impalpable powder along with gypsum. Essential constituents are lime, silica, iron, alumina and phosphorus oxide.

TYPES OF CEMENT IN INDIA

Clinker Cement Ordinary Portland Cement Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement Portland Pozzolana Cement Rapid Hardening Portland Cement Oil Well Cement White Cement Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement

COMPANY PROFILE

Birla Corporation Limited is a multi- product conglomerate. It plays significant roles in the Cement, Jute, PVC floor Covering, Auto Trim and Steel casting industries. The concentric around the triangle represents this very multi-dimensional nature. The apex of the triangle is a visual representation of the force that drives the entire corporation the unifying force in search of excellence. The circle represents the inspiration to explore new frontiers of growth.

ORIGIN & GROWTH

The company was founded by Late Shri G.D.Birla and was incorporated on 25th August 1919, in the name and style of The Birla Jute Manufacturing Company Limited. Thereafter Shri M.P.Birla took over the reins of the company and he helped transform it from a jute mill to a leading multi-product. After the demise of Shri M.P.Birla in 1990, Smt. Priyamvada Birla took over as the Chairman of the company. After the demise of Smt. Priyamvada Birla on 3rd July 2004, Shri R.S.lodha took over as the chairman of the company and under his Chairmanship, company has attained new heights

THE PLANT OF B.C.L.DURGAPUR

Durgapur Unit of Birla Corporation Limited has two plants:Durgapur Cement Works Durga Hi-Tech Cement

The product of the Durgapur Cement plant

The Products of D.C.W/D.H.T.C are following: Birla Cement Samrat : Birla Cement(43-Grade): Birla Premium Cement(53-Grade):-

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH TYPE UNIVERSE :- Descriptive : Cement dealers in the AsansolDurgapur Belt. SAMPLING UNIT : A Dealer. SAMPLE SIZE : 40 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES: Simple random sampling COLLECTION OF DATA
 Primary Data: Primary Data was collected through a detailed
questionnaire survey and personal interviews of dealers.  Secondary Data

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

 Primary objective: To study the sale & distribution of Durgapur cement works along with other brands, in Asansol and Durgapur Area.  Secondary objectives: To find out the market share of Birla/Birla Cement Samrat in that particular area. To find out the major competitors of Birla cement in that particular area. To know the perception of dealers regarding the sales & distribution strategy of D.C.W. To find out the possible newer methods for advertisement and methods for increasing sales of Durgapur cement works.

Findings
Cement Division of BCL is the biggest cement manufacturing plant in W.B at single located area. The plant has so many departments for the effective production. Birla Cement is at third position with 18% of market share in this area. The monthly sales volume of average dealer is 20 metric tones. Birla cement is sold in this area due to its quality perception. Dealers count the preference of Masons,engineer & contractor. The main promotional activities are done by the co. is wallpaintings. The services are provided by BCL to dealers are quite good than other brands. After the interaction or communication with the dealers, I come to know that some of them wanted to shift the brand.

SUGGESTIONS: The company should choose Television Media for the sales promotion of its Cements like others companies. The company should provide gainful scheme or incentive to the dealers sincerely. The company is showing poor communication with the dealers. They have to be more attentive in this case and focus on the opinion survey of the dealers. Local F.M. stations of Asansol and Durgapur are also reaching a good part of listeners. So these can also be used for the advertisement purpose. A proper storage of these raw materials should be maintained to keep steady production of cement. Delivery of the cement to the handling as well as the dealers should be at the right time, based on the requirement.

LIMITATIONS
Most of the dealers were not interested to give their time for the survey. Some of the respondents may have told their average monthly sale more than the actual. Because all of them think that the monthly sale attached with the market image of their shop. Due to the monsoon in West- Bengal, most of the dealers used to shut their shops. Completion the survey within 1 months time was a bit difficult.

CONCLUSION
There is a capability and potentiality for D.C.W. to penetrate into the market in the area of my survey due to certain advantage like nearness of the market from the factory premises, ability of depots etc. Though the interaction or communication with the dealers, masons, engineers, etc are well but it is to be improved future Promotional activities are also to be done sincerely and professorially to increase the sales. Durgapur Cement Works (Birla/Birla Samrat) has two major competitors- AMBUJA and LAFARGE CEMENT. Market share increases with the increase in no. of dealers. Price is the major factor that matters for a customer while purchasing cement