A REPORT

ON

SHELL INDIA LTD-LUBRICANTS SERVICES

Business Plan

SUBJECT : Business to Business

ORGANISATION NAME : Shell India Pvt Ltd
INDUSTRY TYPE : Oil & Gas Production & Exploration & Lubricants
TITLE OF THE PROJECT : B2B Plan for Shell Lubricants
Shell aspires to be a forward-thinking energy company and aims to meet global energy
demand in an affordable and responsible way. Shell is one of the most diversified
international oil company in India's energy sector. It is a major private sector supplier
of crude products and chemicals to India. With over 4000 staff in the country, Shell has
a significant technology Centre, a financial business operations Centre and operates a
joint venture LNG receiving and re-gasification terminal. Shell has signed MOUs for a
floating LNG terminal in the country. Shell also has a downstream business marketing
fuels, lubricants and specialty products.

Shell has a long history of investment in India and we remain committed to helping the
country to meet its energy needs by bringing the highest quality products and services
to its people safely and responsibly.
 CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT-------------------------------------------------------------------
---- 1

EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2

HIGHLIGHT OF SHELL
COMPANY------------------------------------------------------ 3

1. Company
summary--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
2.
Mission-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---- 4
3. Break through
Services---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
4.
Trademarks--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---- 4
5. Markets &
customers------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

-------------------------------------------------------------------- 5

TECHNOLOGY-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---- 8

1.
Challenges---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- 9
 FUTURE
SERVICES---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

MARKET ANALYSIS
SUMMARY---------------------------------------------------------- 10

1. Target
market--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
2. Segmentation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11
3.
Positioning---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- 13
4. Market
Trends------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14

SERVICES BUSINESS
ANALYSIS---------------------------------------------------------- 15

1. Market
Highlight----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16
2. Competition & Buying
Pattern--------------------------------------------------------------------17
3. Main
competitors-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17
MARKETING
STRATEGIES----------------------------------------------------------------- 18
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me for
the completion of this project.

My deepest thanks to Prakash Pandit sir for Guiding of the project for guiding and
correcting various error of mine with attention and care. He has taken pain to go
through the project and make necessary correction as and when needed.

I would also thank my Institution without whom this project would have been a
distant reality. My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleague & also various
employees of Shell Company in developing the project and people who have
willingly helped me out with their abilities. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my
family and well-wishers.
1
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Industry Overview: As a result of the increasing development in the industry and industrial
machineries during the past decade, the use of lubricants as one of the mechanisms that
leads industry forward, is necessary. The use of lubricants is in the advanced equipment,
harsh working environment, high temperature and pressure.
IOCL,HPCL,BPCL,CASTROL,SHELL,TOTAL are major oil companies, are major
manufactures of lubricant in India.
Engine oils constitute the largest share of lubricant consumption by product type.
Although rapidly growing motor vehicle parks will support gains, engine oils will be
subject to downward pressure from lengthening drain intervals, and as a result will
grow in line with the average pace. Hydraulic fluids and process oils will see the
fastest gains, due to the wide range of applications these products are used in. Like
hydraulic fluids, other products such as general industrial oils, gear oils, and greases
are widely used in a variety of applications and will benefit from the trends of
mechanization and industrialization in developing regions.
This project includes shell lubricants future planning of launching wordclass lubricants for
various industries & their Experience & technological advancement in products which will
benefits the customers.It also includes their marketing Mix startegies in order to peneterate
the market and earn more market share whioch is currently 15% especially in Engine oil
Segments.It is also estimated that in india the demand for the hydraulic oil is also goiung to
increase because pf rise in infrastructure projects so shell is also looking to do further
development of its hydraulic oil product.
2
HIGHLIGHTS OF SHELL COMPANY
COMPANY SUMMARY

Shell is one of the most diversified international oil company in India's energy sector.
It is a major private sector supplier of crude products and chemicals to India. With
over 3000 staff in the country, Shell has a significant technology center, a financial
business services center and operates a joint venture LNG receiving and re-
gasification terminal. It also has a downstream business marketing fuels, lubricants
and Specialty products. Shell Lubricants India operation is part of Shells long-term
commitment to India and its support for the country's increasing energy needs. Shell
Lubricants customers in India include Wartsila, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford and
Thermax.

MISSION

To continuously deliver shareholder value by:

Manufacturing and supplying oil products and services that satisfy the
needs of our customers
Constantly achieving operational excellence
Conducting our business in a safe, environmentally sustainable and
economically optimum manner
Employing a diverse, innovative and results-oriented team motivated to
deliver excellence

BREAKTHROUGH SERVICES:

Shell Lubricants will develop a unique thermic fluids that provides customers various
benefits to customer like reduce downtime. Currently Dowtherm plays a major player
0
in thermic fluids which can be applied from temperature ranges from - 30 C to 400
0
C. We are developing such thermic fluids which can be applied from temperatures
0 0
ranges from -10 C to 450 C available at cheaper price.

TRADEMARK:

Shell Lubricants has trademark under which its product are sold

NEODENE linear alpha and internal olefins are essential ingredients in materials such
as polyethylene, lubricants, drilling muds and detergents.
LARGE MARKET:

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The rate of growth is at 2.3 and 1.6 per cent per year vis--vis 0 2 per cent globally
2.5 per cent of world lubes market, perhaps, amongst the highest in the world. The
Indian lubricants market would grow at a considerable CAGR rate thus exceeding
USD 7713 million by 2017. Rapid expansion of the power generation and distribution
infrastructure has created a strong demand for transformer oils in India. Industrial
engine oils including marine and railroad, metalworking fluids, and hydraulic fluids
are other important product categories. Industrial lubricant demand is dependent on
industrial production and growth trends in the economy. The per capita lubricant
consumption in India is quite low compared to developed countries. However, a
comparison with other developing countries like China and Indonesia reveals
significant potential in India for growth in lubricant consumption.

CUSTOMERS:

The Company will primarily target agriculture industries to aviation industries in

country. The company will also develop plans to negotiate deals with big businesses.
The biggest competitive threat for synthetic lubricants will come from its competitors.
However, we will have a competitive advantage over competitors by offering lower
prices on all products and services. Customers in this industry are sensitive to both
quality and price, and at shell lubricants they will benefit from both offerings.
Shell lubricants has a world-class management team with direct knowledge of the
industry, extensive research experience, and unique administration skills. The
company projects that during the second half of Year 1 it will generate revenues of
$250 million. Projected revenues for Year 2 and Year 3 are $500 million and 900
million, respectively.
4
PRODUCTS & SERVICES OF SHELL LUBRICANTS

Shell Argina & Gadinia Power Engine Oils

These engine oils are suitable for three distinct applications:

Marine propulsion engines for small to mid-size vessels

Marine auxiliary engines
Stationary power generation

Shell Corena - Compressor oils

These compressors oil provides followings benefits

Extra-long life of compressors & improved efficiency

Severe applications
Reliable Protection from wear & tear of compressors

Shell Diala - Electrical oils

The Shell Diala range of transformer oils helps to protect your equipment and to
ensure efficient operation throughout its lifetime. The Shell Diala range has been
extended with the introduction of new Gas to Liquid based products to meet the
demands imposed by the reduced size, increased loads higher voltages and longer
operational lifetimes of todays transformers. The following are the benefits of oil

Extra gas absorbing performance

Reliable performance

Shell Gadus - Greases

The Shell Gadus range has been developed to deliver best value through enhanced
wear protection, long grease life and system efficiency. From greases that offer
reliable performance for standard applications to specialist low noise, high-
temperature and heavy-load greases, there is a Shell Gadus product that can help to
optimize your systems efficiency and costs of operation. The following are the
benefits of oil

Long life
Improved efficiency
 Lithium complex
High temperature
Multipurpose

5
 Shell Morlina - Bearing and circulating oils

Efficient bearing and circulating systems are characterized by their ability to

operate at or beyond their original design parameters. Consistent and reliable
lubrication, whatever the operating conditions, is key. To meet the challenges of a
wide range of equipment designs and applications, Shell has designed a portfolio
of oils that enables you to choose a product to match your technical and
operational needs. The following are the benefits of oil

Extra long-life
Extra protection
Severe applications
Industrial applications
High speed applications

Shell Omala - Gear oils

The longer an oils life, the less fluid maintenance your equipment requires, so it can
continue to operate without interruption. Customers using Shells standard products,
such as Shell Omala S2 G, are extending oil -drain intervals by up to 200% for some
applications. Customers are trading up to synthetic oils, such as Shell Omala S4 GX,
for even longer oil life and other benefits.

The following are the benefits of oil

Extra life
Energy savings
Worm drives
Reliable protection

Shell Risella X - Process Oils

Shell Risella X oils are high-quality technical white oils, based on gas to liquids (GTL)
technology, that offer valuable performance advantages. Shell Risella X oils offer
excellent performance in selected applications because unlike other oils, they are made
from pure synthesis gas. This leads to final products with a distinct molecular structure
providing extra purity and excellent performance in selected applications. The
following are the benefits of oil

Colourless
 Odorless
No Sulphur
Low volatility
Low pour point high flash point high viscosity index
Outstanding UV and thermal colour stability.

6
 Shell Spirax - Axle and Transmission Oils
Shell Spirax oils are designed to help keep your transmission components
protected so that they can go on working efficiently. For example, Shell Spirax S6
AXME and Shell Spirax S6 GXME have special frictional properties and high
fluidity that reduce power loss, lower the operating temperature and offer higher
mechanical efficiency.Their benefits have been demonstrated through extensive
laboratory tests and over 20 million kilometres of field trials.

Exceptional performance
Energy efficient
Low maintenance
Versatile applications

Shell Tellus Hydraulic Fluid

To meet the challenges of a wide range of hydraulic equipment and applications, Shell
has designed a portfolio of fluids that enables you to choose a product to best match
your needs. It includes extra-long-life synthetic technologies capable of up to four
times standard life, through to cost-effective, reliable products for less-demanding
applications. The following are the benefits of oil

Ultra-low temperatures
Water resistant
Energy saving
Extra-long life & protection
Energy savings

Shell Tonna - Slideways oils

Shells Tonna range is especially designed to lubricate machine tool slides, tables and
feed mechanisms. With excellent frictional properties, very good slideway adhesion
and excellent anti-wear performance, it can be relied on to provide efficient machining
accuracy and reliable protection for your equipment. The following are the benefits of
oil

Wear & corrosion protection

Long oil life
System efficiency
7
 Shell Turbo - Turbine oils

Shell has developed a range of turbine oils that enables users such as power companies
and process plant operators to select the oil that will deliver optimum value to their
operations through enhanced protection, long oil life and high system efficiency. The
following are the benefits of oil

Increased the oil-drain interval

Reduced lubricant and maintenance costs
Enhanced production capability.
Reduced journal bearing failures
Extended the bearing life
Improved plant reliability.

Shell Rimula Truck & Heavy-duty Engine Oils

Shell Rimulas adaptive technology gives outstanding wear protection with reduced
viscosity for improved fuel economy. The following are the benefits of oil

Acid protection
Deposits protection
Wear control

Shell Helix car engine oils

Shell Helix engine oils are designed to meet your needs, whatever your driving
challenges. From the first synthetic motor oil designed from natural gas, Shell Helix
Ultra with PurePlus Technology, to premium multi-grade oils for everyday driving
environments, the Shell Helix range has an oil to suit every engine.
Performance
Less top-ups
Engine cleanliness

Services:
Services are the form of product that consist of activities, benefits, or satisfaction
offered for sale that is essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of
anything. The services that provide shell India limited are given below

There is credit card that given to the customer, in presence of these

credit card shell provide all types of services without getting charges.
When customer of shell going for pouring oil then also clean the
 transportation that is coming for being filled the oil.

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 TECHNOLOGY

Shell Lubricants technology leadership based on three factors

Innovations
Partnership
Applications

1. Innovations
Shell Lubricants, the global market share leader in finished lubricants, announced the
launch of a next generation motor oil in India, Shell Helix Ultra with Shell PurePlus
Technology - the companys most advanced motor oil ever, featuring a base oil
designed from natural gas. Pioneering an entirely new way to produce premium motor
oils, Shell Helix Ultra PurePlus Technology is manufactured through a revolutionary
Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) process that converts natural gas into a crystal-clear base oil with
virtually none of the impurities which are found in crude oil. The result is Shells most
advanced synthetic motor oil to date.

2. Partnerships

Shell partnership with world class car brand named Ferrari which fulfills all their
requirements of lubricants for the brand.

Shell Lubricants has partnered with BMW, becoming the official supplier for service
oil fills for BMW cars. The deal means that Shell will provide oil for BMW service
Centres in more than 140 countries, including India, from January 2015

Shell Lubricants Partnership with Wartsila, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford and Thermax in
India.

3. Applications
Whatever your industry, there is a comprehensive range of products and services that
are designed to help add value to your operations. Our ultimate-performance synthetic
lubricants offer outstanding protection, long lubricant life and system efficiency
benefits which are continuously proven in real-life applications. We can help you
reduce your total cost of equipment ownership by maximizing the value of using Shell
lubricants.
9
 CHALLENGES
Customer driven products creations: To understand the needs of
specific customers is very difficult once their requirements is understood it take
a lot of times & experience to manufacture the product at large scale. Once
launched should create awareness about the applications of it.

Customer interactions: For long sustaining of business it is essential

to have a constant interaction with the customer in order to get back the
reviews about the product.

Pricing: Often when it comes to pricing B2C & small scale industries
customer are price conscious for them price is more issue than benefits which
is why many small scale industries often have a problem with machine
breakdown.

Retention of customers: Todays in highly competitive lubricants

market retention of customer is a major task which is why many company
offers competitive advantages as well as value propositions to its customer.
Intelligent order routing: Each of the commercial print vendors the
company will work with has different capabilities and a unique set of
requirements that are taken into account when determining how to fulfill an
order. By considering account product type, pricing, geography, and shipping
options, Print Solutions will strive to route each order individually to the
vendor with the best combination of quality, delivery time, and price.

Shell lubricants believes that, with our technology expertise, we will be able to
address these challenges while also handling large numbers of customer design
sessions and orders. We feel this represents a competitive advantage.
10
 FUTURE SERVICES
Shell lubricants focuses on developing thermic fluids which can be applied up to
temperature of 450 0 C.With our experience scientists & world class R&D Centre
across globe we will soon be able to launch the product at competitive prices.

We are also focusing on increasing distributors in India which will help us to

distribute the products even at the remotest part of India. We are also looking to
provide the ATF to aviation industries which help us in gaining the market share
especially in India.

MARKET ANALYSIS SUMMARY

Shell lubricants will focus on small and large business customers in India. We plan to
aggressively pursue and acquire customers through direct selling and convert them into
repeat paying customers. We will continually strive to provide consumers with more
cost-effective avenues, offering a world class lubricants with great benefits.

Shell lubricants stay ahead of, and capitalize on, emerging market trends such as the
organization is developing itself according to the modern needs. We believe that the
global trend is now towards cleaner fuel and advances in lubricant technology. This
will provide a continuously improving, superior customer experience and grow value.

The lubricants market is highly competitive market small & big companies entered
into market for the production of lubricants. We can beat these new players by
developing best quality & added value to our existing customers which will help us to
gain our market share.Curently we face a lot of competition from HPCL, BPCL &
IOCL in India.

TARGET MARKET SEGMENTS STARTEGIES

A target market is the market segment which a particular product is marketed. It is
often defined by Industrial sectors.

Targeting strategies is the selection of the customers you wish to service. Including;

How many segments to targets

Which segment to target
How many product to offer
Which product to offer in which segments
1
1
Targeting strategy decision is influenced by:

Market maturity
Diversity of buyers need
The companies size
Strength of the competition
The volume of sales requires for profitability

Market Segmentation
Levels of Market Segmentation:
There are three levels of market segmentations
Mass
marketing
Segment
marketing
Niche
marketing

Mass Marketing:
Shell India limited go for the Niche marketing because its prices are high with some
extra benefits to customers. Internationally its products are goes into international
market.

Segment Marketing

1. Segmenting Customers Based on Firmographics

Firmographics is to B2B marketing what demographics is to B2C marketing: it is a

method of segmenting customers based on the shared qualities (or demographics) of a
particular segment. Firmographics segmentation groups customers based on things like
the size of the business (either in terms of number of employees or by annual revenue),
where the company is located, what the competitive nature of their industry is, etc.

Firmographics are relatively inexpensive to collect and use for segmentation, and its
not difficult to convey to the sales department what the Firmographics description of
any particular customer segment looks like. On the downside, Firmographics have the
same disadvantages as demographics for B2C marketing. Just because a customer is a
40-year-old female does not mean she wants to buy dish detergent, and just because a
company has 1,500 employees and an annual revenue of over $5 million doesnt mean
they need a cloud service provider. The conclusions you can draw from segments
based on Firmographics are limited.

2. Segmenting Customers Based on Tiering

Customer tiering is a method of segmentation based on how well the customer matches
the goals of your business. For instance, you can use customer tiering to segment
customers based on how much revenue you can expect them to bring to your business
during the duration of your relationship, or by how closely that customer matches your
own sales and marketing strategies.

12

This is a forward-thinking approach to segmentation, because it ranks the importance

of a customer or lead based on the most important factor how much that customer
can potentially bring in terms of value. The downside is that you cant assume the
needs of all the customers in a specific tier are the same, so its hard to develop a
marketing message to suit any particular tier.

Segmenting Customers Based on Needs

This model segments customers based on their needs. Of all the methods of
segmentation, this one offers the marketer the most accurate way to target their
customer segments. Its highly scalable, because the marketer can designate as many
needs-based segments as they like. The drawback is that the needs of customers can be
difficult to determine, or even to define. Its also hard for marketing to express to the
sales reps who will be working with each customer segment.

Reach Force helps marketers increase revenue contribution by solving some of their
toughest data management problems. We understand the challenges of results-driven
marketers and provide solutions to make initiatives like marketing automation,
personalization and predictive marketing better. Whether you have an acute pain to
solve today or prefer to grow your capabilities over time, Reach Force can unify, clean
and enrich prospect and customer lifecycle data in your business, and do it at your own
pace.

Marketing Channel:

Marketing channels are set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of

making a product or service available for use or consumption
The entities involved in the distribution of Shell Lubricants in India are:
Supply Chain
Department Shell
Depots
Distributo
rs Fuel
Stations
Consumer

1
3

POSITIONING

Shell creates its lubricants both for the global and Indian construction
equipment market through forming research and development alliance with
original equipment manufacturers. Providing engine oils for extended
equipment uptime in differential weather conditions is also key for Shell. Shell
Lubricants works with OEMs to draw on the technical knowledge and expertise
to deliver a range of heavy duty lubricant products, business services and
maintenance solutions that can help to add real value to the operations.
Komatsu, Schwing Stetter, Ashok Leyland, and Eicher are some of the OEMs
of repute with whom we are having an alliance for formulation of heavy duty
lubricants and marketing endorsement. It is worth mentioning here that Shell
Rimula, heavy duty diesel engine oils from the Shell Lubricants portfolio, is
designed to protect construction equipment even in extreme conditions.
Through the use of adaptive technology, Shell Rimula reacts to the operational
conditions of the equipment to help provide optimal equipment protection.

1
4MARKET TRENDS
In the recent past, the Indian lubricant market has witnessed a phase of consolidation.
Multinationals with better technology, brand name and finances have the power to
launch themselves on their own in the market. However, with increasing number of
competitors it is not possible for everyone to carve a niche in the market. This sector
has witnessed considerable amount of mergers and acquisitions. British Petroleums
recent acquisition of Castrol is one example. Elf lubricants acquisition with Total
Lubricant. Merger of Pennzoil with Shell Lubricants. Companies find themselves
fighting a tough battle for survival. In the OE sector also lubricant manufacturing,
companies are entering into collaborations with vehicle manufactures. Maruti Udyog,
Hyundai Motors, Hindustan Motors, TAFE, Toyota, and Skoda have entered into
collaboration with IOC and Castrol for some of their models. Some companies like
Bharat Petroleum and Tide water Company collaborated with Hero Honda and
TVS.Trend of Retail marketing is getting established7 ,accordingly some private
players also have their outlet established i.e Castrol has Castrol point where every
product range is available, and Castrol Bike Point where servicing of vehicle is done.8
Servo has Servo Shoppe . Then trend is changing in retailing sector for retaining their
position in the market and compete with the competitors.

SERVICE BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Shell Rapid Lubricants Analysis is an oil condition monitoring service that helps you
to keep your vessels running smoothly by identifying potential oil or equipment
failures before they become critical. Shell Rapid Lubricants Analysis will help your
business to save money and time on maintenance caused by equipment failures. It is an
early-warning system that aims to give you the peace of mind that your equipment and
lubricants are in optimum working order. The following are the benefits of this
analysis

Used-oil analysis is a key tool in managing preventive and predictive maintenance.

Many leading shipping companies use Shell RLA as an important part of their planned
and predictive maintenance strategies to help deliver
Greater equipment reliability and reduced downtime through early
diagnosis of potential faults
Analysis results for all normal samples available within 48 hours of
samples reaching the lab
Quick and timely results
Lower machine repair costs
High safety standards
Precise monitoring of operating efficiency.
1
 5MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Sales volumes in the lubricant segment in India reached 5 million tonnes with
year-on-year growth of 7 % in 2013-2014. The low market growth has been
primarily attributed to high performance long lasting lubricant and superior
engine technology availability in the domestic segment. Automotives constitute
the biggest segment, accounting for 60-63% of the total of volume sales in
India.

India's lubricant market is highly consolidated, with the four largest

manufacturers controlling 90% of the market share. The domestic lubricant
marketspace has witnessed an aggressive decline in operating margins and
profitability, which is attributed to higher raw material (i.e. crude) and
advertising expenses.

In 2011, the average raw material prices increased by 21% for manufacturers. A
majority of the government controlled enterprises IOCL, BPCL and HPCL
focus on distributing lubricants from 35,000 fuel stations in India. On the other
hand, private manufacturers such as Castrol India operate a regionally diverse
distribution network with approximately 270 stockiest with a coverage of
70,000 retail outlets.

COMPETITION & BUYING PATTERN

Recent deregulations in the lubricant market have promised many new opportunities
for the private lubricant manufacturers. Private participants will also gain a presence in
the market and hence there will be competition between participants that will ensure
the growth of the sector. The monopoly of the public sector holding will no longer
exist. Private Player like Reliance, Essar, and Shell are also selling their products
through petrol pumps. Companies like Gulf, Valvoline, Veedol, Elf, are also making
their presence felt in the market. In the couple of years, the industry is going to witness
sea changes.

Customer Buying Behavior

Factors affecting the buying behavior are presently as follows:

Brand Awareness:- With lubricants becoming a fast moving consumer good and the
brand preference of the consumers witnessing a change, brand image plays a key role
in affecting the consumers decision to buy a Brand Awareness is a major issue in
lubricant sector.
Price Sensitivity:- The transformation from the administered pricing mechanism to
free pricing has increased the importance of providing cost effective product to the
users. Thus product costing and competitive pricing are key factors affecting the
market.

16
Purchase Locations: - Purchase form stockiest, dealers, distributors, mechanics, and
retail stores offered to the storeowners and mechanics prompt them to purchase a
particular brand.

Lube oil changing habits: - The period at which the lubricant is to be drain varies
from customer to customer.

Technology awareness: - Very few customers are aware about the changing
technology they are influenced by some advertisement, information from mechanics
regarding using advanced technology lubricants.

MAIN COMPETITORS
Currently India is our third-largest market after the US and China, and we will
continue to bring in new technology-enabled solutions.

IOCL servo Lubricants has 30% market share in India.

HPCL lubricants has 20 % market share in India.
Shell Lubricant 12 % market share in India.
BPCL MAK lubricants has 17% market share in India.
Total lubricants 15% market share in India.
Others are having 6% market share in india

Looking at the market share of each lubricant companies shell lubricants is the fourth
largest player in lubricants industries in India. It face a lot of tough competition from
Castrol & IOCL because of its cheap price better availability of products.
17
STRATEGIES

MARKETING MIX STARTEGIES

Product Life Cycle
Product Life Cycle Stages:
Product Life Cycle means the changes in the sales volume of the product over the life the
product. In market there is always ups and downs are present because this is a dynamic
world. Everything will have to finish after certain time period, by finishing their life, so
the life cycle of Shell is.
The stages through which individual products develop over time are called Product
Life Cycle. The classic product life cycle has four stages.
Introduction Stage:

At the introduction stage market size and growth is slight. It is possible that substantial
research and development cost have been incurred in getting the product to this stage.
In addition, marketing costs may be high in order to test the market, undergo launch
promotion and set up distribution channels.
Growth Stage:

The growth stage is characterized by rapid growth in sales and profits. Profits arise due
to an increase in output [economies of sales] and possibly better prices. At this stage,
its cheaper for business to inset in increasing their market share as well as enjoying
the overall growth of the market. Shell lubricants India introduction stage is
successfully done because it comes from the international market and enters in Indian
market. Now company has about 10-15 % of market share which is third largest
contributor of lubricants and still growing
Maturity Stage:

The maturity stage is perhaps the most common stage; it is in this stage that
competition is most intense as companies fight to maintain their market share. Here
both marketing and finance becomes key activities. Marketing spend has to be
monitored carefully, since any significant moves are likely to be copied by
competitors. Shell India not yet enters in maturity stage.
Decline Stage:

In the decline stage the market is shrinking, reducing the overall amount of profit that
can be shared amongst the remaining competitors. At this stage great care has to be
taken to manage the product carefully. Shell India is a brand name and company is not
in decline stage because their sale increases day by day.

1
 8 Pricing

Price is the amount of money for which a product is offered in the market. The amount
of money charged for the product of services of sum of the value that consumer
exchange for the consumers exchange for the benefits for having or using the product
of services price is only which brings revenue in the market, so it plays a tremendous
role in the market.

Basic Objectives of Pricing

Survival:

Shell India ltd also tends to its lubricants in order to survive the tough competition
lubricants industry. The pricing of fuels is not in the bands of Shell India limited or any
other such company.

Maintenance of current profit:

The next objective of pricing is the maintenance of current profits. At the moment shell
India ltd is the third largest leader in fuel and lubricants industry and there for tends to
maintain its profits through appropriate pricing.
Product quality Leadership:

Shell lubricants and fuels have been especially formulated to meet the demanding
requirements of a wide range of customers in most sectors of the company.
Selection of Pricing Method:

Companies usually select the price of their products in accordance to the following
three: customer demand schedule, the cost function and competitors price. However
companies adopt various strategies in order to price their products.
The strategies adopted by the shell India ltd are:
1 Price of competitors product
2: Price premium for high quality
3: Price premium for high purity
 4: Price premium for better services
5: Is the appropriate price for shell.

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 Going price rate

Going price rate means that a company bases the price of its product in accordance to
the price offered by its competitors. In fact shell Lubricants Indias competitors are
like;
1. IOCL
2. Castrol
3. HPCL
4. BPCL
5. Total

Promotions
At the moment Shell India has a market share of about 10-15% in India. It is trying
hard to become the market leader in India. Marketing staff is very efficient and their
main objective is satisfying the customer and people have the brand loyalty.
Product knowledge:
As there are so many products offered by the shell, it is very important that the
customers have full knowledge about the product. Shell India informs customers by
their marketing and positions itself in their mind.
Subliminal marketing:
According to the shell manager they do subliminal marketing by keeping their prices high.
High prices mean superiority. This will automatically appeal to the customers as this is
human psychology high prices means high quality. So shell will be considered as the best
quality provider.

Advertising: Promotion
Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas,
goods or services by an identified sponsor.

Objective of Advertising:
Another feature to become a good market leader is to heavily advertise in order to compete
with the competitors and to create more awareness amongst already existing and new
customers.
Shell also adopts the same strategy. It advertises both on electronic and print media to keep its
customers well informed. The company has also started a magazine named Spirit to promote
its products.

2
0Kinds of Advertisement:
There are different kinds of advertisements which a company may adopt during the
PLC. Shell also requires advertising its products in order to create awareness about the
new or already existing products.
The types of advertisements which Shell India Ltd. Has adopted are as follows:

Informative Advertisement:
The type of advertising which is done during the introduction stage of a product is
known as informative advertising.
Shell adopted this strategy when it launched its Shell Helix CNG Oil. It adopted all
kinds of media to inform the public about the new product. Shell advertised through
Television, News Papers, billboards, etc. to build a good product image in the minds of
the customers.
Persuasive Advertising:
The advertising done to compete with the competitors and to create more demand of
the product in comparison to the competitors products, is known as persuasive
advertisement.
Shell India Ltd. also adopts such strategy to compete with its competitors. You must
have seen various adds of Shell featuring celebrities like Michael Schumacher in order
to make them attractive and also adds in which comparison is made among Shell and
competitors products. Comparison features include purity, viscosity, efficiency and
performance.
2
 1PLACE

The oil and lubricants space is unique from the branding perspective as even though
people may be aware of a brand, the challenge is of its availability at petrol pumps,
service centres etc. From the marketing point of view, how do you grapple with the
issue of supply?

For lubricants, the value chain comprises consumers, mechanics on whom consumers
depend upon for getting their work done, the retailer who decides which products will
be placed and finally the distributor who works towards profit maximization.

We are focusing our efforts in building stronger relationships and

engagement with each touch point in a way that meets their needs as well as helps
them understand why Shell is a better product. This will automatically ensure that
our product receives better acceptance and push across the value chain
supplemented by direct sales through our retail outlets.
Some of the programmes that we have implemented include first-of-its-
kind demo kits in the industry which demonstrate the role of lubricant in
front of your eyes and display advantages over key competitors. We are very
happy to have created these tools that are now placed with over 10,000 retailers
at a very affordable price.
Further Shell has developed a very insightful programme for mechanics
to reward them for their loyalty by not only offering gifts but connecting to
their emotional needs of training, insurance and experiences that money
cannot buy. We currently have 50,000+ mechanics across the length and
breadth of India enrolled into this program.
For our retailers we have devolved Shell Superstar loyalty program,
where the more they buy, the more they approve with Shell. This is also
working well in terms of its reception in the market. It is a continuous two way
communication where they can log on to our websites and talk to us rather than
a one-off engagement.
Apart from these marketing efforts, to ensure availability in our select
target geographies, we also have a strong and ever evolving network of
distributors in place, which in turn is supplemented by our go-to-market
strategy and distributor value propositions. The retail (petrol pumps) arm of our
Shell corporate business also helps us in widening this reach.
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