EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Throughout the course of Principles of Marketing, the essence of marketing and

its application has been emphasized. For an organization, not only it’s immediate
and competitive, but also macro environment is important as it needs to survive
and sustain itself whilst operating in these environments. Spice industry all over
the world can be referred to as a subset of the food industry. Spices stand at
prominent positions in Pakistani imports and exports.. The spice industry of
Pakistan annually grows at a rate that is above 50%. Within this industry, 80%
market share is with unbranded loose spices and the rest with branded packed
spices. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs and National Foods both are the leaders in
branded packed spice category each holding 40% share in 2010, while other
prominent players include Chef’s Pride, Ahmed Foods, Habib Foods and Zaiqa
Foods. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs was founded in 1981 in a single room as Shan
Masala. Later, due to its popularity, it went on to become Sheikh Abdul Aziz &
COs. It has presence in 60 countries today and deals in six broad categories of
offerings. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs has capitalized on the changing market
trends and consumer tastes and through product trials, it has made sure to churn
out offerings that are best in line with consumer tastes. It maintains global
presence primarily through exports and follows more than one growth strategy
simultaneously. With fourteen departments and state of the art technology and
customer focused marketing strategies and campaigns; Sheikh Abdul Aziz &
COs has become synonymous with authentic traditional cuisine of good quality
and taste.

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 MISSION AND VISION

COMPANY MISSION AND VISION

Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs’ mission explains its success, “To continuously
develop and produce quality products that meet the customers and markets
demands, compatible with applicable regulatory requirements. To be a
consumer oriented company with keen insigne of food products ensuring quality
panty consistency and authentic taste to operate with state of the art technology
to obtain optimum results and retain highest quality standard thrived efficient
and motivation human resource and inculcate in them a sense of participation
and proved for personal goals and development.”
Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO’s vision is “to be a dominant global player in food
products and socially responsible company that attains its quality standards so
that Shan stands for tradition, trust and good taste.

ANALYSIS OF MISSION AND VISION

Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs through its mission and vision want to project their
ambition to become a ‘global leader’ in food products while maintaining ‘quality
standards’ so that its name becomes synonymous with these two phrases. It intends
doing this by maintaining its focus on their customers and the applicable regulatory
requirements of the markets it is operating in, be it local or international. Along with
these core values, it intends preserving and upholding other values like purity,
authenticity and consistency; which it credits for the phenomenal growth it has seen
over the past decade. The company intends to grow on the back of cutting edge
technology, with the proven best practice of CPI (Continuous Process Improvement),
and it realizes that a major portion of its past success and the future drive towards its
development and the achievement of its goals will be hinged on the motivation level,
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the training, and ultimately the efficiency of its human resource.

INTRODUCTION TO Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COS

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs came into existence in 1981 when it began operations from a
single room. Shan Masala as it was back then, launched full range of spices to cater to
local public,
due to its popularity. Shan started exporting after a few years due to increased
international popularity. But after sometime, the need to reposition the brand was
felt. It needed to be repositioned as a food brand rather than a spice brand. Re-
imaging the organization became necessary for re-positioning of the brand; it was a
job well done and led to continued success of Shan on national and international
fronts. Now, Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs is well known as a brand of easy to cook
mixes for Pakistani food. The name of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs has become
synonymous with highest quality and exquisite taste. It continues to carry on, the
tradition of authentic cuisine to farthest parts of the world. There are six broad
categories of varieties Shan deals in including recipe mixes, plain spices, dessert
mixes, basmati rice, pickles and salts.

Today, Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs has presence in 60 countries. The brand is
exported to UK, USA, and Middle East and now to Far East regions as well
Organizational Hierarchy

Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs comprises 14 departments all together:

1) Supply Chain
2) Information Technology
3) MIS
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 4) Procurement
5) Engineering & Services
6) Production
7) Communication
8) Human Resource
9) Export
10) Import
11) Quality Control
12) Research & Development
13) Sales
14) Marketing

Following is the organizational hierarchy of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs

In the below hierarchy:

CEO: Chief Operating Officer

GM: General Manager

BM: Brand Manager

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 Managing
Director

CEO

General Marketing &

Manager Sales Exports

Director GM Sales Office

(Production) Director GM Manager Director /GM

Director GM Regional Sales BM (plain spices,

(Procurement) Manager instant mixes)

Territory Sales Category

Manager Owners

Regional Sales Category

Manager Owners

Territory Sales Category

Manager Owners

Regional Sales
Manager

Territory Sales
Manager

Regional Sales

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 Manager

Territory Sales
Manager
TARGET MARKET

Females aging from 18 to 45 years compose the main target market of Sheikh
Abdul Aziz & COs. This is because of the reason that in our part of the world,
women are mostly related to the food and cooking. Hence, Sheikh Abdul Aziz &
COs develops products that are according the needs and wants of these women
no matter if they are stay-at-home or working, single or married ones.

OBJECTIVES
Business objectives

Shan takes pride in its practices regarding client and customer interaction as
derived from Islam. Their strong connection and respect for Islam drives the
company’s core values. Therefore they have agreed upon not to accept anything
but the best in raw material from the suppliers as Islam teaches to entertain our
Islamic brothern similarly as we would treat ourselves.
Driving from the same concept of Islam Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs also provides
quality to its utmost limits in the products that it offers. Its is the main reason for
their how cost as Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs has the latest technology which is
one of its kind in south east Asia. The V-look technology and the coal grinding
technology is only an example to their dedication to provide nothing but the best
to their consumers.
It’s the world class quality that brings the blind trust of the consumers on Shan
products that it will not only be hygienically prepared but would be secure from
any harmful ingredients that loose spices offer.

Value proposition of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs is to be receptive towards

innovation and experimentation in food and in life, while remaining a brand that
will provide the highest quality products to its customers and will never comprise
on this idea.
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Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO considers all major food brands, packed and loose,
retailer’s brands, ready to cook or raw food as its potential competitor. The direct
competition is with National Foods, Meehan’s, Sheehan’s, Ahmed’s, Young’s and
the like.

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Marketing objectives
As the strong connection of the Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs owners with Islam, the
company does not believe in advertisement heavily on any advertisement
medium. Since the product offerings are seasonal the company does advertise in
Ramadan and come with its advertising campaigns. Shan advertisement does
not show any celebrity or prominent
figure to drive sales, rather it just compromises of show-reel showing hands with
background music and rotating dishes. The company also conducts BTL
activities and holds up demonstrations of cooking with its Spices and product
offerings on different venues. All the marketing strategies are customer centric or
customer oriented so that it can leverage on already well-developed consumer
goodwill for the company.

Shan due to its consumer centric marketing strategies and with market
intelligence has started targeting teenagers as they are the future decision
makers in households. Shan is aiming to educate and persuade the teenage
population with innovative campaigns and with demonstrations to provide them
complete information on not only Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs but also regarding the
superior quality that if offers to them. This is a very strategic move as when the
time will be right, Shan usage will increase many folds because these teenagers
will then already be loyal to the Shan product offerings

With its proactive research and development department Shan is always on the
move to newer and better opportunities that it can cash upon. Regardless of this
it has not filled some basic gaps such as products for fisheries and the likewise
cuisines

GROWTH RATE

The food industry in Pakistan is a developing industry and is witnessing growth.

The main reason behind this is that buyers have started to shift from loose to

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packed spices, thus changing the cooking and eating habits. The claimed growth
rate of the entire industry is more than 50% annually.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs with a colossal annual growth of more than 50% was
quick to respond to the driving forces and key success factors of the industry and
today, it proudly is the most preferred spices company. It has become the
industry giant holding almost 40% of the market share belonging to the branded
spice dealers. It has over the period of time, managed to win the heart share of
consumers that has translated into its brand loyalty and true friendship with
consumers.

Company Products
Products Range of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs
The products of Shan can be broadly categorized into 6 categories, with multiple
sub-categories. The different product offerings of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs are:

• Recipe Mix

- Biryani Mixes
- Stir Fried Foods
- Curry Spice Mixes
- Deep Fried Foods
- Barbeque
- Vegetarian Foods
- Instant Foods
- Breakfast

• Plain Spices
- Khushbudaar Lehsan
- Zaiqedaar Adrak
- Khatta Khatai
- Qasuri Methi
- Karara Zeera
- Taiz Laal Mirch
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 - Taaza Dhaniya
- Zaafrani Garam Masala.
- Teekhi Kaali Mirch
- Khaalis Haldee

• Dessert Mixes
• Basmati Rice
• Pickles
• Salts

Even after having more than just spices in the portfolio, Shan is considered the
Recipe Mix expert. Within Biryani alone it has nine different variants, two spicy
and seven milder ones. And it is the first one to come up with ‘Taaza Dhaniya’ in
the Plain spice category. Every single offering of Shan has its own identity.

Product Offerings within Spice Mix Category

The Spice mix division at Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO Industries happens to be the
oldest product category of the company. The category has a total of 67 different
products, which are broadly divided into 11 categories, some of these categories
are
• Authentic Curries
• Traditional Stir Fries
• Tasty Instant Food
• Tempting Vegetables
• Delectable Biryani
• Sumptuous BBQ
• Lavish Fried Food
• Yummy Chat
Looking at the product portfolio of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs, it is seen that Sheikh Abdul
Aziz & COs has given is consumers an offering for every occasion and every type of
taste. Be it traditional cuisine mixes like Biryani or an offering in the Dessert category;
Shan has an offering to complement all the good things in life associated with food. Out
of all its categories, the Spice Mix category is the oldest and is still used synonymous
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with the name Shan i.e. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs is still referred to as Shan Masala by
many. This shows how strong the spice association is with Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs.
Other categories like Basmati Rice, Dessert Mixes, Pickles and Salts were introduced
later. It is seen that Shan itself promotes its Spice Mix category most with minimal or no
marketing expenditure on the rest of its categories. Shan advertises its traditional recipe
mixes and spices the most, because it wants to remain top of the mind and top of the
heart brand. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs is believed to be the leader in the Spice Mix
category and it takes utmost effort to ensure that the leadership crown is not worn by
anyone else but only Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs. Following is what some offerings from
Shan’s product portfolio look like:

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 Micro enviorment
Supplier

Suppliers can seriously affect the Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs marketing. They provide
the resoures needed by the Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO company to produce its
goods.Marketing manager policies are affected by them.

Public

Public is a group that has a actual interest in the company. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO
company identify the public that affect its strategies. These are fellows.

o Financial publics
o Government public
o Media public
o General public
o Internal public

Customer

Consumer markets consist of individuals and households that buy the products for
personal use. Their taste for the product can be changed at any time, in result, the
company enviorment is distrubed.

Market intermediaries

Any disput with market intermediaries can cause of decrease in sales. Companies
whole environment is affected due to them.

Technology

Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO uses the latest technology to produced its product. In 2012
shan import the machienary for packing the products. This machine can pack upto
30,000 packet.

Strategic and Marketing Analysis

Market Segmentation:

The market segmentation can be explained by defining demographic, geographic,

and behavioral factors that are most important for Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs.
Demographic Factors
The basic demographics that Shan caters to are the women of today belonging to
age group of 18 years and above with socio-economic class of middle lower of
above. Her martial status can be married or single, cooking for the household or
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 just trying out new things

Geographic Factors
Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO has not segmented itself on the basis of geographical
segmentation. Their distribution ranges from valleys of Quetta to the Khyber Pass and
to the seas of Karachi. It has more than 500 distributors in its supply arsenal. However
some recipes are more famous in particular areas of the country than others because
of sub-culture preferences. For e.g. the white Nihari, Sindhi Biryani, & Qorma mix are in
huge demand in Karachi and the demand in Lahore consists mainly of Pulao, Murgh
Choley & BBQ mix.
Behavioral Factors:
Being born Pakistani, loving food is in our blood. Spicy and delicious food is a main
part of our lives. Be it the celebrations of Eid or marriage ceremony of a beloved,
it’s the food that give colors to the events and that bring the relatives for a quality
time
Another behavioral factor is related to the double income phenomenon that is
growing everyday. Both the man and the woman of the house are earning to
support the family and they require ease and convenience when it comes to
cooking factor.

The purchase behavior changes according to the seasons. If on one occasion Fruit chart
masala is in demand because of Holy Ramadan, BBQ mixes could be in demand on Eids
or in summers when families invite friends over on BBQ parties. The Haleem & BBQ mix
are in greater demand during the winter season while Chana Chat mix is purchased more
often in summers

SWOT ANALYSIS Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COS

Strengths

 Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO has a very strong heritage and legacy behind it which has
given it a strong goodwill in households. 
 Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs enjoys an approximately 50% market share in the recipes
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 mixes category. 
 Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs is a leading exporter of food items from Pakistan providing it an
opportunity to tap the large global market which helps it to expand at a rapid pace. 
 Shan has a wide range of products and SKU’s available consolidating its presence
in various niches and keeping its customers loyal to the brand. 


Weaknesses
 Shan is not present in Jams and marmalades, Ketchups categories like National
foods thereby loosing an opportunity market. Many loyal Shan customers purchase
National products in these categories which is causing loss of potential sales. 
 Shan has a low market share outside Karachi in the Punjab market where National
enjoys market leadership. This is due to weak distribution of Shan products in
Punjab market which is causing loss of potential sales. 
Opportunities

 Shan can vertically integrate to produce its own raw materials which will not only
reduce costs but will also provide it more control over the quality of input. 
 Shan currently has a very low advertising spend in the FMCG industry. It can
deploy brand activations and other innovative campaigns to switch customers from
the loose/ unbranded segment to Shan products. 
 Shan can also horizontally expand its scope like national foods and enter the other
related food categories where it can tap its loyal customers with minimal extra
efforts.
Threats

 The biggest threat to Shan is the high inflation in Pakistan coupled by a global
recession which is putting pressure on the profits and sales. 
 The prevalence of counterfeit products is also threat to Shan causing loss in
goodwill and potential sales. 
 The emergence of newer brand with deep pockets can also damage Shan’s
market share due to heavy advertisement while keeping the product quality
close to that of Shan

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 RATING AGAINST CUSTOMER BUYING CRITERIA

The table below suggests what is the weight age customer gives to each of
the non priced attributes and how is Shan and National performing against
them

National
Shan
QUALITY & PRICE

Non Price Attributes

WEIGHTAGE
affecting Customer
%
Choice

%
Product-Related
1. Quality 25 22 22
2. Packaging 10 10 10
3. Variety 18 16 14
5. Brand Name 15 14 12

Service- Related %

1. Recipe 20 18 15
2. Availability 12 8 10

Positioning

Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs position statement is “To the confident and convenience
seeking woman of today, our wide range of Shan spice mixes offer premium quality
products, made with the finest ingredients like no other.” It is just for the fact that the
consumers should be provided with solution of having a tasty meal in no time with
home made mixes of recipes and spices

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 Positioning Map

Sheikh Abdul
Aziz & COs

National foods

40%
Chef’s
pride
15%
Other

5%

Brand
Other players in the industry are:

 Mehran Foods 
 Ahmed Foods 
 Habib Foods 
 Zaiqa Foods 
 Kitchen Secrets 

PRICING POLICIES, PROMOTIONAL AND DISTRIBUTION PLANS

Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs is present in 6 broad food categories which are as follows:
 Recipe Mix 
 Plain Spices 
 Dessert Mixes 
 Basmati Rice 
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  Pickles 
 Salts 

Though there are many competitors in the Spice Food business, but the main competitor or
rival of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs is National Foods. Shan has a strong market share in the
Recipe mixes category from which it derives most of its revenue. Shan is most famous for its
Biryani Masala for which today it has nine different variants.

Pricing Policy
The pricing of all Shan offerings varies and depends on each Stock Keeping Unit (SKU).
However, the price ranges for five (out of six) categories of Shan product offerings are as
follows:

Recipe Mix: 
The Recipe mixes range from Rs.20 to 45 
Plain Spices: 
Pricing of Plain spices varies SKU wise. For example, 50 grams red chilli powder is
available at a price of Rs.40 and150 grams at Rs.120 
Dessert Mixes: 
Desserts are all priced at Rs.40
Pickles
Pickle pricing is Rs.170 for 1000 grams, pricing varies also.
Salts
Iodized salt is priced at Rs.25 (800 grams) and plain salt at Rs.22 (800 grams)

It is seen that on a general note, Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs’ offerings are based on parity
pricing and are similar to those of its rival National Foods. According to sources, this
similar pricing is not due to any price war that exists between both companies but is
because the raw materials of both are similar in nature for many offerings. If the cost of
raw materials increases, both have to increase their prices and again their prices show
similar trend after increase.

Promotion

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 The estimated marketing budget for Shan is Rs.100 million for all their ATL and BTL
activities in the year 2012. The company does most of its marketing on seasonal
basis especially before and during Ramadan and near Eid. The breakdown for the
budgeting is 80% for ATL activities and 20% for BTL activities. In the recent times
Shan has put more emphasis on its export and only comes up with new marketing
campaign for new products.

Shan does not advertise as a ritual and can be termed as quite conservative when it comes to using
mass media fro promoting itself. It does not believe in advertising rigorously. The advertising is done
seasonally only; however it does conduct certain promotional campaigns and activities. Almost all of
Shan’s promotions are addressed towards women. The advertisements of Shan’s offerings focus
entirely in the females of the family. The marketing strategy is very customer oriented i.e. Shan
emphasizes on marketing its products keeping in mind its customers thus having a customer centric
view. Such a marketing strategy allows it to leverage on the goodwill already in the market.

It has started to reach out to a wider audience keeping in mind the changing lifestyle to
nuclear families and convenience seekers. Shan has recently realized that a potential part
of the population i.e. the teenagers are the ones that will become tomorrow’s decision
makers. Thus, it aims at informing, reminding and persuading teenagers through
innovative campaigns with proper information regarding the superior quality of Shan
products. This way, Shan will be their most preferred choice when they become the
decision makers in the kitchen.
More recently, the major marketing or promotional expenditure done by Sheikh Abdul Aziz
& COs is on making deals with television channels for their commercial air time. One of
their most recent deals was with Geo news and Geo entertainment in which they
committed Rs. 12 million for one month of heavy advertisement in both prime and non
prime time advertisement. Few of the BTL activities that the company does and plans on
continuing is branding of shows in which the contestants can directly interact with the host
of the cook. Along with that it also does mall activities which is direct marketing to educate
the potential consumers.

Distribution

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 At Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs, special care is placed upon meeting market and
customer demands in a fitting and timely manner. It is therefore, ensured by the
Supply Chain team that goods or shipments reach their destinations well in time to
match market trends and customer demands.
Shan makes sure that its authentic brands are distributed by efficient and top of the line
distributors. Shan has a separate Sales department focusing on International Modern Trade
(IMT) and Local Modern Trade (LMT). This department maintains direct relationships with
variety of shops to meet their customized requirements. This practice helps Shan to keep a
close and direct relation with high sales outlets which is pivotal for its greater profits and
market share.
Sales teams are totally monitored by Territory Sales Manager (TSM) and Regional Sales Manager
(RSM). Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs helps by extending all possible marketing support to its
distributors in to create awareness of its quality products in the international market in mutual
sustainable business interest. Company’s TSMs and RSMs work on the basis of
area wise policy for distribution, be it local distribution or export. Products are distributed
on the basis of geographic segmentation. For instance, in posh areas no display of the
sachet packs will be seen in the stores whereas in underprivileged areas only sachets are
supplied.
In Pakistan alone Shan has 500 distributors; from Karachi to Skardu. The sales force of
Shan supplies its products to these distributors and some direct distribution is also done
mainly in Karachi market.
The distribution channels of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs include:
 Retail 
 Wholesale 
 Hyper Markets 
(e.g.Macro) 
 International Chains 
(e.g. Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Lulu Hypermarkets, Panda, Safeer, Mall of the Emirate,,
Reliance India)
Shan is the largest exporter of premium quality packaged spices, spice mixes, food mixes, rice
mixes to USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Holland, Malaysia, Middle east, South Asia, Japan,
Singapore, Australia, and many other countries of the world.

It also exports its products to the Far East, Bhutan, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand
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etc. In totality, it has its presence in almost 60 countries worldwide. It is the first Pakistani
brand that has been officially launched in India and Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs plans to
extend its availability in other lucrative markets around the world.
The Above The Line (ATL) activities of Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs include advertisements
on television, radio and print (magazines and newspapers). Following are some of its
famous ATL campaigns
 Expert 
 Ramadan ad 
 Radio ads with tara ra ra ra music 
 Backgrounds music with rotating dishes 
 Khanon mein shaan Shan Zindagi Asaan 
 5 mins Qorma 
Following is an ad of when Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs launched its pouch pack for Achaar
(pickle):

Some of the Below The Line (BTL) activities done by Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs as part of
its promotion are as follows:
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  College Activities 
 Cooking Demonstration Programs 

 Activities/ Programs involving localities 

(E.g. programs for Memon community in areas of Bahadurabad and Sindhi Muslim
Society – Memoni Biryani Masala) 

Product and new product strategies and pipeline

Growth Strategy

Pakistan’s food industry is growing rapidly and is on the growth stage of its life cycle.
The prime reason for that is that consumer are becoming brand conscious these days
and are switching from unbranded looses spices to packed branded spices which in
turn indicates that cooking and eating habits are also changing. The growth rate of
whole industry currently is more than 50% annually, which is phenomenal opportunity
for company like Shan to capitalize by filling that gap.

Shan was vigilant and responded well enough to the market conditions. Today
Shan’s growth rate is more than 50% and it is industry giant having about 40% of
the share of branded spices industry. Shan has remained successful in achieving a
soft corner in people’s hearts which has resulted into a strong brand loyalty.

It’s very difficult to compete in spice industry with top-down or centralized

organizational structure because of the fact that different departments’
performances are inter-dependent. Shan realized this and it now has decentralized
structure. Every worker is welcomed to participate in decision making and can
come up with new ideas and thoughts to improve the product or the production
process. This helps the strategist in understanding that what is attitude of an
average employee about the company and that feedback aids in forming better and
improved strategies. By involving employees in decision making process gives

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 employees a sense of ownership and they feel right at home where they have a
say.
Product Strategy
Shan in an entrepreneurial venture and it is following market development strategies,
product development strategies and penetration strategies as it is expanding its
product line to new customer base in various locations, setting up product lines such
as spices, pickles, etc and sustaining its global position mainly through exports. Shan
has great prefers vegetable. Similarly in Pakistan Shan has wide range of meat mixes
as people are meat lovers and highly prefer meat diet. Shan is currently present in
over 60 countries and is performing to maximum of its potential to become the global
leader. Therefore, based on conceptual understanding form the Strategic Marketing
Management course, it can be called a ‘transnational’.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs has the competitive edge of technology and innovation.
Company develops new methods and techniques to test its new products and generate
trials in the market to measure the market response before they formally launch any
product. So we can say that research is an integral part of the company and the new
product is brought in keeping in view the customer preferences and needs.

The spices mixes at Shan’s production plant are created with the exquisite and genuine
flavors having the cultural and traditional touch. Shan believes in the best as it never
compromises on standards of finest quality and engraves the old age recipes into modern
packaging keeping the freshness intact.

The raw material is an initial and important part of whole product strategy. Shan strongly
holds the belief that excellent quality is majorly dependent on the first-class quality raw
material processed with the help of state of the art technology. For this very reason the
purchase department at Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs thoroughly selects the best quality
spices from fields, local bazaars and international markets. Raw material is also procured
from number of countries such as black pepper is imported from India, Africa, Thailand
and various other countries. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs pays special attention in obtaining
raw material as different spices are imported from the places where those spices are
grown best.

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Possible Future Prospects:
Shan is currently in spice mixes and pickles but it can find niche market such as diet
conscious people and bring in the spices for that market. Shan also can diversify its
product offerings and can enter into jam and ketchup market as national is already
playing in that category.

Brand Development
Management Control
Control is one of the managerial functions like planning, organizing, staffing and
directing. Everything managers do in following-through on decisions taken to achieve
defined goals within an established timetable, is considered management control. It is
important because it helps to check the errors and to take the corrective action so that
deviation from standards are minimized and stated goals of the organization are
achieved in the desired manner. This constitutes three main activities:

· Setting standards
· Measuring actual performance
· Taking corrective measures
An earlier view of control saw this concept in action only after errors were detected, but in
the modern view of management, control is a foreseeing action.
“Management control can be defined as a systematic effort by business
management to compare performance to predetermined standards, plans, or
objectives in order to determine whether performance is in line with these standards
and presumably in order to take any remedial action required to see that human
and other corporate resources are being used in the most effective and efficient
way possible in achieving corporate objectives” – Wikipedia.
SETTING STANDARDS

Management control takes place at a number of levels within an organization namely:

strategic, operational and tactical levels. In effect, control variables at one level cascade to
the next level below and translate in nature and focus accordingly. For example, these
controls may predominantly be financial in nature at the strategic level but translate to
departmental activities at the operational level, and hence encompass both financial and

23
non-financial information. Further down to the tactical level, they translate into
productivity both for the groups and the individual. Therefore, the focus of this exercise in
any organization is on finance, performance appraisal and benchmarking.
Marketing activities are inherently more volatile due to the constantly changing business
environment which is driven by the needs and wants of the market. Therefore, for
marketing performance to be measured correctly, the appropriate criterion for marketing
activity needs to be determined, namely: annual plan, profitability, efficiency and strategy.
For Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs, the criteria to measure marketing success should be
evaluated from the following factors:
· Measurement of awareness (of the product range)
· Feedback on customer satisfaction
· Market share data – both in terms of levels of sales, and repeat business

Annual plan
Measures the extent of marketing success over a period of time. Sheikh Abdul Aziz &
COs should be on analyzing:
· Sales
· Market share
· Expenses
· Customer perception
Budgeting

The process of developing any kind of strategy and its budgeting are intertwined.
Budgeting process translates marketing strategy into financial terms, and is the single
most common control mechanism. It serves not only to quantify plans but also to
coordinate activities, highlight areas of critical importance and assign individual
responsibilities. Difficulty, time, negotiation, and paperwork: all figure into the budgeting
process. Simply put, it is a tool for resource allocation and acquiring the approval for all
such allocations. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs’ managers preparing a budget should look into:
Budgeting guidelines – policy and procedure relating to budget formulation. Includes

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assumptions, methods, and presentational requirements.
Cost behavior – understanding the cost drivers within an area of responsibility and how
those costs are allocated.
Timescale – specific time and manageability considerations set for budgetary periods,
example financial year or a rolling budget, with forecasts over regular intervals.
Objectives – specific aims and goals and how they will be assessed.

Though budget types can be historic, zero-based or activity related, it is recommended

that Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs pursue activity related budgeting for their marketing pursuits
since such a budget would have calculation rules such as percentage of sales, or average
industry spending, and these precursors are used to determine the available funds for
marketing.
Profitability
Creates a systematic basis for allocating cost and defining profit both in terms of
products or marketing activities. Ultimately it should help Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO’s
decision making in terms of:
· Expansion
· Reduction or elimination of product offerings
· Resource allocation through various distribution channels.
Efficiency control
Gains optimum value from the marketing assets. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & CO managers
should look for value for money by analyzing the impact of promotional activities and
setting controls on:
· Sales
· Advertising
· Directing marketing
Monitoring marketing performance
When deciding on how to monitor marketing performance, reasonable standards
need to be allowed. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs’ emphasis should be on monthly
monitoring (or weekly in case of critical situations). The question in mind should be,
· What is the time period that allows the most realistic and accurate picture of our
marketing performance?
· Which KPIs need to be at the center of attention at the moment?

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 · Is there a need to create new KPIs?
Improving marketing program and their effectiveness
In order to establish a better marketing control system, the biggest obstacle at Sheikh
Abdul Aziz & COs may be the oft-repeated element of resistance. Being a ‘seth’
company, there might be a lack of constructive and positive attitude at the top
management. The basic objective of any top management should be to make its sales
and marketing people more effective.
Practicality and clarity should be addressed when implementing changes. This could
be done through a series of thought provoking questions:
· What specific actions should be taken?
· When should the actions be taken?
· By whom should the actions be taken?
· What could be realistic starting and completion dates?
· Who shoulders the responsibility of implementing these corrective actions?
Strategic control
Reviews marketing strategy and its subsequent implementation, in terms of the direction
towards strategic organization goals. This exercise comprehensively examines marketing
activities and assesses their effectiveness and makes recommendations to improve
marketing performance. It is usually conducted in the form of a:

Marketing audit

MEASURING ACTUAL PERFORMANCE

Ratios:
A simple and effective technique to measure performance is in terms of ratios.
However these should not be used in isolation but should rather be considered in
relation to trends and comparison with planned or standard ratios. Additionally, it is
important to acknowledge that though these ratios are a quick and effective way to
establish performance, they are mere indicators and hardly identify the source of a
pending problem. It is also important to define the standards and be consistent with
their use when using ratios, for example, profit before or after tax is to be considered
Many businesses operate with lower acceptable ratio; however a ratio that is too high

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shows that the organization is not making optimum use of its financial resources by
holding too much cash. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs can use these ratios to analyze the level
of asset involvement in its marketing efforts.

Variance analysis:
Used along with budgetary control, Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs would be able to
examine the variation between the actual and planned results and this applicable to a
range of marketing activities. The comparison would be made against budget
forecasts, and the reasons for prevailing differences would be easily identified and
examined within the areas of concern and their component parts. More specifically,
variance analysis could be applied to sales price and sales volume and the values of
variance can point to either of the two reasons. The management of Sheikh Abdul
Aziz & COs can thus examine why revenue targets fell short of the intended volume
or intended price. This technique can further be used to analyze other factors such as
profit, cost and market size.

Performance appraisal:
In this form of management control, the focus is on achieving better results from
groups or individuals. Such a framework is based on planned objectives, levels of
achievement and competence. Management is required to have good people skills
and its attitude to be constructive in nature. This would involve them using three
specific managerial skills

· Reviewing performance – though a normal management activity, Sheikh Abdul Aziz

& COs should emphasize the use of objective criteria to be used as the basis of
such reviews. Far too often our industry and business environments use personal
preferences and pre-conceived notions about employees to write performance
reviews. The result is a deteriorating workforce which lacks motivation and hence a
required level of commitment towards company vision, mission and objectives.

The review criteria should be communicated and all work and personal
development plans should be considered in tandem with the communicated criteria.

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 · Giving feedback – related to performance in terms of actual results and observed
behavior. It is again important to mention here that Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs does
not just focus on the negatives when giving feedback, since such practices are
common in the Pakistani business environment. It is pertinent to be specific yet
descriptive when referring to actions, behaviors and judging overall results. More
importantly, suggestions should focus on key aspects of improvements that
managers would like to see in their workforce.
· Counseling – in order to overcome the observed weaknesses and build on the
noted strengths, performance appraisals should firstly be positive in nature, and
Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs’ management should be ready to counsel staff so as to
build a workforce that is not only equipped and geared towards achievement but
also motivated and committed enough to go attain the company goals.

THE NEED FOR TAKING CORRECTIVE MEASURES:

If a planned marketing activity is not meeting its intended objectives, it calls for
corrective actions. Since there is a wide range of possible outcomes, it is obviously
prudent to have the corrective actions which are addressing the areas where the
problem exists. Following are a few broad categories where problems may exist, and
the corrective actions that may be taken to address them.

Unsuitable marketing objectives and strategy

Usually the starting point for any organizational activity, it is quite possible to have
incorrect objectives which are the real problem. Not reading the organization
environment correctly may lead to this, and this ends in having objectives that are
too ambitious or unrealistic. Conversely, it is also possible that the resources an
organization holds are insufficient to meet the stated objectives. For example a
sudden reduction in income which was not expected may shrink funding, and it
would become difficult to sustain a planned marketing activity under the new
financial constraints.
Unsuitable marketing tactics
This is where the marketing mix may not be having the required impact on target
market audience. The pricing levels may have been set too high which hindered
participation, or the message being sent out in an advertising campaign may have

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 been incorrectly perceived. Similarly it is also possible that the wrong audience may
have been targeted at the outset, or that the target audience did not have easy
access to tickets. Another reason could be that the sponsors were not impressed by
the levels of corporate hospitality.

Insufficient marketing budget

This is something that should be done at the beginning of a planned activity. The
resource availability should be verified and more importantly budgeted, so that
hindrances from cash constraints can be avoided later. The success of marketing
tactics depend on this, and if not handled earlier, the impact of marketing campaign
will not be felt because of the later need to cut corners.
Last but not the least, it is very important to do a gap analysis prior to taking
corrective actions. The discrepancies between planned and actual results must be
pinpointed before any such corrective actions can be implemented.

TAKING CORRECTIVE MEASURES

A corrective action is a change implemented to address the weakness identified in

a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to:
· Customer complaints
· Abnormal levels of internal non-conformity
· Non-conformities identified during an internal audit

Business organizations do not have unlimited resources at their disposal. Management

control can therefore lead Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs to a more effective and efficient use of
its resources, helping it to channel their efforts towards marketing initiatives and their
achievement. This in turn will help them achieve their financial objectives in a controlled
manner. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs’ marketing efforts should not only help management
decision making, but also give support and direction to the day-to-day marketing active
ties, since it is the customer needs and the satisfaction of those needs that at the end of
the day become the judgment criteria for those efforts. Having a structured and rational
approach to conducting marketing initiatives may well be appreciated more within Sheikh
Abdul Aziz & COs than taking a piecemeal approach, as it would demonstrate action

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towards specific organizational objectives and their marketing solutions.

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Some recommended corrective actions for Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs:
· Obtain regular feedback from customers
Continuously increasing customer demands and the constantly competitive work
environment calls for organization
Wide learning as a continuous process rather than mere quality control. Sheikh
Abdul Aziz & COs should view its organization as an integrative system
responsible for customer service and satisfaction. Taking regular feedbacks would
therefore help transform any unsatisfied customers into satisfied ones.
Dedicated call centers
It is important to have synchronization between company objectives, customer
service standards and customer satisfaction levels. Running and maintaining a
dedicated call center (or outsourcing this function to a reputable company), which
gathers current customer perceptions continuously will help compare and align
Shan’s business service standards with its objectives and the customer attitudes.
Monitoring marketing performance
The question to who should be responsible for monitoring has three possible
alternatives: top management, marketing management, or the combination of the
two. It is recommended that Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs goes for the combination
alternative as this approach allows direct marketing management to take immediate
and timely corrective actions, and concurrently allows top management to have the
necessary visibility but only from a control perspective. Since Sheikh Abdul Aziz &
COs is known to be a ‘seth’ company, this combination approach would suit its
operations better than the other two alternatives.
o Regular marketing audits
conducting periodic, comprehensive, systematic and independent investigation of
Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs’ marketing activities, with the goal of identifying possible
opportunities as well as potential challenges will help the organization think pro-
actively and evaluate the success of the corrective actions. Marketing audit is one
way of helping organizations do the things they want to do, but moreover do it right
the first time..
Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs does conduct yearly audits, but we feel that increasing the
frequency will improve the marketing function. These audits need to be carefully planned
and conducted so as to ensure that the time and resource expenditures are kept to a

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minimum.

· Extending use of ERP system

Organizations these days make extensive use of MIS to help them achieve
increased profitability through optimizing their resources. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs’
has been aware to this, and their business savvy is portrayed by the fact that it has
been utilizing a customized ERP system to achieve these very goals. They have
running modules in:
o Inventory management – material resource planning
o Production planning
o Sales
o Accounts
o HR

The use of these modules however is still in the nascent stage and needs to grow into
areas where management control can be brought about effectively. Sheikh Abdul Aziz
& COs needs to further explore their current ERP system to employ some of the
famous techniques such as kaizen or activity based costing.

From the perspective of marketing management it can also employs various

organizational controls through this ERP system such as

o Sales forecasting
o Sales force and reseller incentive programs
o Sales force management system
o Customer relationship management

Marketing dashboard
A tool used to simplify marketing reporting and analysis. It continuously tracks
marketing metrics, related information and trends and presents everything on a one

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 page report. It will help Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs by
o Staying a step ahead and focused
o Providing a better insight into marketing related problems
o Communicating information to everyone involved
o Saving management valuable time
o Measuring marketing effectiveness
o Making smart decisions
o Continuously tracking marketing activities and metrics like
sales per customer, product, region, industry, etc sales from
new products / customers

Profit and margins per customer, product, region, industry, etc.

profit and margins from new products / customers market
share

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 Recommendations

Apart from everything one of the growing sectors in food industry is of frozen foods,
though a news field for Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs but with the current performance in
spices and the quality it maintains, Shan has strong chances of making its marks in the
frozen food category as well which is currently led by K&N. Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs
existing distribution and production facilities can help in this initiative.

Though the new generations are realizing the benefits of open spices to packaged
branded ones, but there still need to be developed effective marketing strategies after
understanding the trends in how people are using spices and for what reasons are they
using them. Convenience, environmental concerns, increasing acceptance of food as
having therapeutic value are some of dimensions organizations need to study and develop
new uses for their spices.

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 REFERENCES

PRIMARY SOURCES

Mr. M. Saad Khalidi

Brand Manager
Sheikh Abdul Aziz &
COs

Email: saad@shanfoods.com saadkhalidi@gmail.com

SECONDARY SOURCES

Ahmed, Rutaba,

Available at: http://jang.com.pk/thenews/may2008-weekly/health-13-05-

2008/index.html

Foodtech, “Industry Overview, Pakistan- Steady Pace for Successful Growth”,

Pakistan.

Available at: http://www.foodtechpakistan.com/Indsutry%20Overview.htm

Sheikh Abdul Aziz & COs

“Introduction, Company History and Mission Statement” [online]

Available at: http://www.shanfood.com

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