Chapter 14

Case 14.1: Indian Engineering Ltd (IEL)

Problem definition:
IEL is a 40 year old engineering company with a turnover of over Rs 700 Cr. Sales and
market shares are sagging in the last few years and the blame is on the sales team. The sales
team points out many lapses from other functions which is affecting their performance and
morale.
Question 1:
It is reasonable to expect the sales team to be responsible for sales and market share losses.
The first step is to make the products technically contemporary and competitive. This will
reduce the time spent on order taking and collections which can be fruitfully utilized to spend
more time with customers in the field.
Sales team also requires training on soft skills regularly and support of a robust IT system for
handling data an generating reports.

Question 2:
Production should action orders / indents from the sales team as per a schedule so that sales
can promise and deliver as per commitments. Sales people also would then need to spend less
time on chasing dispatches of orders booked.
The role of the distribution partners is to extend to getting orders and servicing them.
Achieving targets will only earn them incentives and not otherwise.
The entire logistics planning process can be based on forecasts converted into materials
planning, production planning and dispatch planning. Sales will then have the responsibility
of giving accurate and timely forecasts and working on inventory norms where applicable.
Lessons learnt:
Sales and marketing cannot effectively fight competition if the products are not
contemporary.
Maximum time of the sales team has to be spent meeting customers, developing
business and delivering service.
Business has to be IT enabled to reduce time spent on paperwork.
Service functions like production and logistics have to deliver a high level of service
to their first customer the company sales or marketing team.

Case 14.2: Teekha Spices Ltd Case

Problem definition:

Teekha is in business for over 50 years and their spices are a house-hold name. They have
over 1000 stockists. Their branded rice business has not done well in the last two years. They
are not sure if they should continue in the business or exit it. They need some action plans if
they have to continue the rice business.
Question 1:
The product has to be right in terms of quality, price and consumer benefits. Success in one
product group (in this case spices) does not automatically guarantee success in another
product. The channel partners cannot be taken for granted and need to be gently persuaded
to make a success of a new product. Top management has to be serious about any biz it gets
into.
Question 2:
Focus on rice quality. Buying after proper testing and selling only old rice may need
investment in working capital
High-light excellent quality and train sales team and distributors in selling methods for rice.
Fortunately the products are complimentary and can be sold in the same kind of outlets
Distributors in A and B category markets should be told firmly that selling rice and making it
a success is part of their responsibility. They will have to consistently achieve secondary sales
targets for 6 months.
The sales team will support them. In addition, marketing efforts like advertising and
promotions will happen.
Question 3:
TSL should not exit the rice business. The product is complimentary to spices same outlets,
same consumers and use in the kitchen. The biz has got enormous potential. After getting the
quality right, it should re-launch rice with a clear strategy in terms of coverage and targets.
Lessons learnt:
Entering a new business on the sheer performance of the distribution network on
existing products may not always work
The distribution network and the sales team need to be taken into confidence before
launching such new initiatives. The effort has to be planned with them.
The product has to be of the highest quality before hitting the market other-wise the
sales team or the channels will not put their heart into selling it.
Top management has to be serious about any business it gets into.

Case 14.3: Aswin Healthcare Ltd (AHL) Case

Problem definition:
AHL has over 600 distributors, 4 RMs, 15 ASMs and 150 PSRs. Their customers include
hospitals, nursing homes, chemists, labs and general stores. As the manner of working and
working hours of the customers vary, the GSM has decided to change the customer mix of the
100 PSRs in the major cities. You are to comment on the soundness of the proposal in
ensuring better customer service.

Question 1 & 4:
The suggested route of breaking up the list of customers to be called upon by the PSRs is in
the right direction.
However, there is a small flaw in the proposal. The groups of PSRs has to be divided into 2
groups and not into 3.
The two groups of PSRs will be:
PSRs in group 1 will call on doctors and chemists as these two customers are related.
Moreover, the time utilization for these two types of customers is complimentary.
Unless the same group meets doctors and chemists, it is not possible to keep track of
what doctors are prescribing and which chemist is honouring these prescriptions.
PSRs in group 2 will only call on hospitals, nursing homes and labs as all of them
have the same manner of dealing with company reps. This group can also plan to use
their time more productively as they know the right time to contact the customers.

Question 2 & 3:
It really does not matter as to how many company salesmen a distributor has to deal with if it
is only 2 or 3.
With the suggested revised solution, the distributor has only two company salesmen to deal
with. The PSR for doctors and chemists is the same and can co-ordinate his work well.
Lessons learnt:
Beat plans of salespeople and distributors should take into account the types of
customers to be covered. There should be no wasted time or criss-crossing in the
territories.
Beat plans are to be planned to maximize calls per day and the number of productive
calls out of these