Manufacturers of one of the oldest and largest telecommunication

Continued...In 2009 beginning, Suparshwa further introduced the concept of Key Results Area (KRA) for each functions of the firm, those were in line with the MBO. To implement KRA, he listed out the basic strength of the MTC.The illustrative list of strength submitted by him to Mrugesh indicated the product reliability, dealer network, engineering designs, timely adherence to the delivery schedule, and capability to support new design development.

Suparshwa realised that in spite of all these, MTC lacked clarity of purpose and strategic direction itself. Even though, MTC was established as a company involved in the manufacturing of products, the demand of level of products and outsourcing was sluggish. Though the turnover increased, profit percentages were not attractive. (Refer Exhibit: a and b).

In fact, over the years, several changes had been made in the organisational structure of MTC, to suit the changing requirements. The foremost change made at MTC was the implementation of Strategic Business Units (SBUs) concept in 2003. It was done to get the business focus.

As part of SBU strategy product management concept was introduced. The idea was to centralise the support mechanism required by the front-line staff in marketing and manufacturing. Thus, Marketing Service Department (MSD) was created with 10 coordinating managers and all orders were routed through them, since they co-ordinated the critical functions of production, planning, engineering, design and despatch. This exercise brought to light many things – there was no specialisation, direct sales were taking over dealers’ sales, each salesman was selling several products and versions convincing the outsourcer by selling several product processes, with neither due care about costs nor delivery schedule commitment in a scientific way. The convincing salesman had no authority to negotiate prices. The coordinating managers were providing a buffer. This awareness did help combat recession trends. Click here to read more...

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how does one assess a candidate’s job-related competencies?

Structured questions can serve as guidelines for conducting your interview and understanding a candidate’s suitability to the job’s specific needs. For example, a branch head for one of your sales offices may require certain skill sets different from those required by his counterparts at other locations. The reasons for this may be cultural or historical (factors that contributed to the success or failure of the previous incumbent), and understood only by you, your boss and your HR manager; in this case it will be useful to factor them into your interview plan.

The challenge for all recruiters is how to establish with a reasonable degree of certainty that they are making the correct choice. No recruitment system is failure-proof. Each individual is unique, but by focusing our efforts on looking for competencies relevant for the job, we can minimise the probability of making the wrong choice in selection.

Like all management decisions, judgement plays an important role in selection and the probability of decisions going right or wrong exists equally. The role of systems and practices is to improve the strike rate of correct decisions, which is the purpose of competency-based interviewing. Eliminate the temptation to make hiring decisions based on ‘gut feel’ or the apparent ability of a candidate to perform based on superficial criteria such as ‘personality’, an impressive résumé, or other criteria based on impression and personal liking. Read More...

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POWER BRANDS 2010-11 UNVEILED

Planman Marcom unveiled Power Brands 2010-11, a research driven brand book of India’s most powerful brands on February 4, 2011 at Hotel Intercontinental Eros, Nehru Place, New Delhi. The biggest brand book of India featuring the most powerful brands across the categories is a first of its kind initiative that will act as a strategic tool in reinforcing the supremacy, legacy and credibility of brands, thereby bridging the gap between perception of consumers and the brand. The first book in two different avatars, Power Brands offers its readers a never before experienced interpretation about the brands on the most exhilarating writing and an extra-ordinary style of design and production complimenting the theme of the book, Evolution to Revolution.

The grand evening opened with a classic performance by Australia’s leading strings sensation ‘MASKE’ followed by a Power speech from Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri and famous Ad Guru Alyque Padamsee. The highlight of the evening was the unveiling of the much-awaited book, Power Brands 2010-2011, which was followed by felicitations for all Power Brands of India in their respective categories. The mega launch was attended by the who’s who of the corporate world making it a complete powerful evening.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Managing The Retail Return Nightmare

Product life cycles have been crashing, while product variety has been increasing, making markets harder to predict

Most retailers consider product returns to be a costly but natural consequence of doing business. Consumers will inevitably return unwanted or faulty products. However, over the past few years the levels of retail returns have been increasing dramatically. Research undertaken at Cranfield indicates that the value of retail returns in the United Kingdom is currently running at £6 billion annually, while some estimates in the United States put the value at around $100 billion. With costs spiralling, retailers and manufacturers need to take an integrated and holistic approach to managing the problem.

The reasons for this dramatic growth can be explained by a number of factors. Liberal return policies have often been associated with high returns and although some companies have tried to be more restrictive, for many, it is central to their value proposition and hard to change. Marks & Spencer (a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London), for example, used to offer a 90 day return policy, but conceded that they needed to reduce it.

They still offer a very generous 35 days. The most significant factor has been the increasing number of channels to market, notably, online sales. Originally, retailers plied their trade through their stores. Customers could see the product before they bought and staff were on hand to provide product information. Internet retailing does not allow this and so customers will often ‘try before they buy’ by ordering a number of items to be delivered. Once the right product has been selected they will return the surplus – often at no cost to themselves. The result means that online retailers can expect return levels as high as 30%.

However, liberal return policies and the changing channels to market do not tell the whole story. In fact, much of the retur

ns problem is the result of poor planning and decision making in the supply chain. To understand the problem we need to look at the revolution that has been taking place in our supply chains. Much of what is sold on the high street today has been outsourced and off-shored to contract manufacturers in low cost economies. This has extended the lead time for supply. In addition, product life cycles have been crashing, while product variety has been increasing, making markets harder to predict. Traditional theory will tell you that in order to provide high service levels in unpredictable markets, over longer lead-times, you need to hold a lot of safety stock. But then, the problem with holding lots of stock with a short shelf life is the risk of obsolescence. The cost of obsolete stock not only includes the costs of reverse logistics, but also the loss in asset value.

Effective management of retail returns certainly calls for a holistic approach, which extends well beyond supply chain operations, and normally requires integration of financial, product design, marketing, commercial and purchasing functions. It may also need to look outside the business at suppliers and customers. In our experience, very few companies know the full cost of reverse logistics.

Therefore, the first thing to establish is the size of the prize and develop a clear business case for change. It is not uncommon to find more staff dedicated to reverse logistics operations than forward logistics, when you take into account staff in call centres, customer service and repair centres.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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KARBONN’S RURAL TO URBAN SAGA

KARBONN HAS MADE WAVES IN SEMI-URBAN AND RURAL MOBILE HANDSET MARKET. HERE, SHASHIN DEVSARE TALKS TO SURBHI CHAWLA ON HIS PLANS TO SCORE IN URBAN INDIA

He started late in the telecom revolution in India entering the mobile handset market in 2009 only. But within the first year, Shashin Devsare, Executive Director, Karbonn Mobiles has taken quantum leaps to make his company a major player in the semi-urban and rural market. With over 5 million mobiles sold till date, Shashin aims to take on urban India replete with confidence.

You have a very aggressive marketing strategy; what can we expect from Karbonn Mobiles in terms of the entire 360 degree plan?
I think that the high impact activities are going to continue. The important thing is that we have seen a lot of clutter being created, so, obviously we would be looking at clutter breaking activities. The approach is going to be in terms of defining ATL and BTL activities in such a way that there is a high impact that is created at market place and consumer segments, whether it is semi-urban, rural or urban. Initially we were only looking at semi-urban and rural markets but now we are also looking at urban customers.

What marketing strategies are you adopting for the urban market?
Obviously the marketing mix has to undergo a change once your target audience definition becomes broader. Media mix will undergo a change. What we are going to look at is similar high impact activities like IPL.

Now that you have a fair brand presence, will you focus entirely on BTL marketing activities?
There are two strategies. One is that we have a very interesting array of products that are going to be unleashed in the second half of this year, so we are going to be looking at specific product messaging. Secondly, it is going to be through BTL which is the product experience itself.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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One-Eyed Monsters or Design Calamity?

After 18 months, 40 focus groups and a secret operation worthy of Mission Possible-IV, London has finally unveiled the the mascots for Olympcs 2012. The one-eyed figures, called Wenlock and Mandeville (created by London-based creative agency Iris) are intended to capture the imagination of children and work as well in the digital world as they will in costume form at trackside in 2012. “Our brief was to create mascots that would excite and inspire young people and encourage them to get involved in sport,” said Grant Hunter, Creative Director, Iris London to the media. The mascots apparently pay homage to London taxis, by sporting a yellow light on top of their head, with an initial in the middle. While Wenlock is named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock (where, in the mid-19th century, the Wenlock Games became the inspiration for the modern Olympic movement), Mandeville’s name is derived from Stoke Mandeville hospital, in Buckinghamshire, (the birthplace of the Paralympic Games).

Design critics the world over are calling the mascots a “design calamity” and feel that thousands of pounds have simply been wasted on their creation. The controversy follows a similar row over the 2012 logo, which was unveiled in 2007 after organisers spent £400,000 on its design. Sebastian Coe, Chairman, London Oganising Committee, however, defended in public, “We’ve created our mascots for children. By linking young people to the values of sport, Wenlock and Mandeville will help inspire kids...” Really?

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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The journey has surely been very exciting so far, but going forward, the times may turn challenging. Amit Nandi, Head - Probiking, Bajaj Auto shares

Are you also planning to take the format overseas also?
As of now, there are no plans to take the format overseas. We will be limiting ourselves into the Indian market only.

With the KTM bikes making their inroads into the Indian market in the coming time, how will you be able to make the showroom as a distinctive place for the three – Bajaj, Kawasaki and KTMs?
The KTMs will be available in the Indian market by next year. In fact, all the bikes that are meant for performance from Bajaj will find a place in the Bajaj’s Probiking showrooms. We will have a separate section for Bajaj products as well as the Kawasakis and KTMs.

How different will be the marketing strategy in the case of the Kawasaki products?
In case of premium bikes, the marketing strategy focuses more on interacting with the consumers and to give him an experience wherein he gets to touch feel and ride the product. That’s how the prospective consumer converts into a loyal consumer.

What are the other plans for the format in the current year?
According to the plan outlined, we shall be standing at 35-40 Probiking showrooms wherein the figure currently stands at 32 showrooms.

How has the role changed for the Probiking showrooms after the launch of Kawasaki products in the Indian market?
The importance has certainly gone up as now we have almost 80-90% market share in the above 250cc market and there is a market for superbikes that will grow with the time.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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THE (DIS)LOYALTY MARKET UNVEILED

The need for a greater customer intimacy is getting amplified by the changing trends in consumer behaviour

The need for a greater customer intimacy is further getting amplified by the changing trends in consumer behaviour, which are engineering a shift from Customer Relationship Management to Customer Managed Relationships, where customers want organisations to be more transparent with the information they have on them and give them the choice to define how that information should be used to make the consumption of products and services more convenient for them. Organisations need to start thinking on these lines and ready themselves for this shift in the balance of power or they will find themselves increasingly irrelevant to their customers. Perhaps its not too late for everyone to consider seriously what Robert Lauterborn proposed (in as early as 1990) to do away with the product oriented 4Ps of marketing, which was the bedrock of all marketing strategies for several decades, to the customer oriented 4Cs – Consumer wants and needs, Cost to satisfy, Convenience to buy & Communication for our times.

Loyalty practitioners have hailed this approach all along and brought to market many strategies that resulted in organisations coming closer to their customers. The early adopters – airlines, hotels & retail companies have led from the front and now almost every business is thinking about it to build sustainable & profitable relationships with customers. It therefore comes as no major surprise that all forms of loyalty marketing have seen an unprecedented growth in the last decade. An estimate on the spending through loyalty marketing in India is an impressive Rs.3,500-4,000 crore, and with the advent of technology in mobile marketing & social networking giving marketers the power to reach & build a relationship with every customer, the marketing budget will continue to split in favour of such programs. Ultimately, the consumer marketer relationship will have to tread on carefully with its ear to the ground in these times where change is the only constant but for the fact that the consumer is driving it.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
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Planman Technologies – IT Solutions at your finger tips
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Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website