PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT - DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES MBA IVSEMESTER (Model Question Paper) INDUSTRIAL MARKETING Time:

3 hours PART A (5 * 4 = 20 marks) (Answer any FIVE questions)

Max. marks: 100

PART B (5 * 12 = 60 marks) (Answer as per the choice indicated) 9. Differentiate between consumer and industrial products in terms of demand, highlighting the
unique challenges faced by industrial marketers. (OR) 10. Draw a categorization scheme for industrial products, giving Indian examples.

11. Consider any one model of industrial buyer behaviour. How will such an understanding benefit a
marketer? (OR) 12. How would you evaluate market segments in order to decide on a target segment.

13. Discuss the implications of Product Life Cycle theory to industrial marketing strategy.
(OR) 14. Describe in detail the factors that determine the pricing strategy of an industrial marketer. 15. When is Niche marketing a suitable target-market strategy for an industrial marketer? How is it practiced? Illustrate with real life examples. (OR) 16. Explain the channel design process, say for a manufacturer of industrial lighting equipments. 17. What are the sources of channel conflicts? Give examples. What are the mechanisms available to resolve those conflicts? (OR) 18. Describe the characteristics of industrial services, highlighting the problems they pose for marketers and how marketers can tackle them.

PART C (1 * 20 = 20 marks) (Compulsory) 19. Case study: Analyze the following case study about Star Engineering Co. Ltd. (SECL)
The CMD of SECL encountered a problem of deciding how to allocate the funds to various products. The company had limited financial resources and to maintain a growth in sales and profits, he thought that it was important to allocate the available funds in a balanced manner. The

General Managers (GMs) of each of the five product-groups were asking for funds for the expansion of their operations. Product A was the transformer coils sold to the manufacturers of equipment used in telecom exchanges. The total market for the transformer coils was growing at an average rate of 25% per annum. The companys product was well accepted by the customers in terms of quality, and it was considered as the market leader with a market share of 20%. To keep pace with the growth and to maintain leadership, the GM wanted to increase the production capacity with an additional investment of Rs.20 crores in plant and equipment. Product B was the cable jointing kits for jelly-filled cables used in telecom industry. Although telecom industry was having a good demand, and was growing at the rate of 15% per annum, the jelly-filled cables and jointing kits were getting slowly substituted by fibre-optic cables and different type of jointing kits. The information on the rate of substitution was not available from the Department of Telecom (DoT). Due to growing competition, the market share of the company had come down from 80% 5 years ago but it was still the market leader among the seven players. Out of the total group sales of Rs.250 crores, the turnover contributed by this product was Rs.150 crores. This product which was contributing to the expansion and diversification projects of the company had faced with the problems of substitution and competition. Product C was the electric point machines used by railways for changing tracks electrically instead of the old method of mechanical track changing. The demand for this product from the Indian Railways was growing at the rate of 7-8% per year and the company was exploring the export markets. Since the companys market share of 40% was the highest amongst the three manufacturers, including a multinational company, the GM was confident of getting business from international markets if he was allowed to expand the production capacity by investing Rs.25 crores. Product D was the steel forgings required by diverse industries. The unit which produced this product was sick and was located at Mangalore. The company took the management of the unit three years ago with an objective of turning it to a healthy unit in about two years. Despite investing Rs.30 crores and giving the best management attention for more than two-and-a-half years, the unit continued to make losses. The market share of the product was only 5%. The domestic market for steel forgings was growing at the rate of about 8-10% but there was tremendous demand in international markets. The basic problems faced by the unit was poor quality and high rejection rate. The GM wanted to improve the quality and try for ISO-9000 certification, for which certain equipment needed replacement. An investment of atleast Rs.15 crores was required for this. Product E was the switch mode power supply (SMPS) required by electronics industry. The total market for SMPS was growing at the rate of 20% per annum. This was a new product to the company, introduced about six months ago. The production capacity could not be increased as the company could not meet the funds requirement of Rs.50 crores due to financial constraints. There were only four suppliers of SMPS. Although the market share of the company was only 6%, it had good potential to become a market leader. The total requirements of funds for all products was atleast Rs.110 crores. However, the management could arrange for only Rs.50 crores. Questions: 1. Analyze the scenario from a corporate and product planning perspective. 2. What recommendations would you make to the CMD?

(10 marks) (10 marks)

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