1.

1 INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY

Nowadays it has become mandatory to do competitive analysis in all field of goods and
service. Competition has become severe in all areas, so competitive analysis will enable the
companies to take plan of action effectively and efficiently.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS:
Competitor analysis in marketing and strategic management is an assessment of the
strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors. This analysis provides both an
offensive and defensive strategic context to identify opportunities and threats. Profiling coalesces
all of the relevant sources of competitor analysis into one framework in the support of efficient
and effective strategy formulation, implementation, monitoring and adjustment.
Competitor analysis is an essential component of corporate strategy. It is argued that most firms
do not conduct this type of analysis systematically enough. Instead, many enterprises operate on
what is called informal impressions, conjectures, and intuition gained through the titbits of
information about competitors every manager continually receives. As a result, traditional
environmental scanning places many firms at risk of dangerous competitive blind spots due to a
lack of robust competitor analysis.
IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL COMPETITORS:
Depending on the purposes of the competitive analysis, it may also be important to identify
potential competitors. The process starts by identifying firms for whom the various barriers to
entry to the industry are low or easily surmountable. These may include the following.
Technology: Firms which possess the technologies necessary to operate in an industry
represent one source of potential competitors. Analysis of patent activity frequently signals
intentions well prior to actual entrance.
Market access: In businesses where market access is a key factor for success, firms with
that access frequently attempt to leverage it by acquiring additional product lines to be sold
in that channel or to those customers.
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Reputation and image: Brand extension strategies are based on the use of a firm's
reputation in one product area to leverage its entry into another. Clairol used its reputation
in hair colouring to enter into the hair dryer business.
Operating knowledge and skills: Regional competitors in a business often expand
geographically. Entenmann's Bakeries moved into Florida and Midwestern markets from
their original North-eastern base, similar to the path taken by Thomas's English Muffins.
Folgerss coffee was originally a regional brand on the West Coast until purchased by
Procter & Gamble which expanded its distribution nationwide

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS FLOWS OUT OF CUSTOMER ANALYSIS

Understand customers needs and wants
Identify current and potential competitors
Perform industry analysis, identify suppliers and common intermediaries
Understand your competitors
Determine competitor strategies (present and future)

BARRIERS TO ENTRY OF NEW COMPETITORS

Economies of Scale
Lack of Product Differentiation
Capital Requirements
Access to Distribution Channels
Buyer Switching Costs
Government Policies and Regulations

COMPETITOR PROFILING:
The strategic rationale of competitor profiling is powerfully simple. Superior knowledge of
rivals offers a legitimate source of competitive advantage. The raw material of competitive
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advantage consists of offering superior customer value in the firms chosen market. The definitive
characteristic of customer value is the adjective, superior. Customer value is defined relative to
rival offerings making competitor knowledge an intrinsic component of corporate strategy.
Profiling facilitates this strategic objective in three important ways.
First, profiling can reveal strategic weaknesses in rivals that the firm may exploit. Second,
the proactive stance of competitor profiling will allow the firm to anticipate the strategic response
of their rivals to the firms planned strategies, the strategies of other competing firms, and changes
in the environment. Third, this proactive knowledge will give the firms strategic agility. Offensive
strategy can be implemented more quickly in order to exploit opportunities and capitalize on
strengths. Similarly, defensive strategy can be employed more deftly in order to counter the threat
of rival firms from exploiting the firms own weaknesses.
Clearly, those firms practicing systematic and advanced competitor profiling have a significant
advantage. As such, a comprehensive profiling capability is rapidly becoming a core competence
required for successful competition. An appropriate analogy is to consider this advantage as akin
to having a good idea of the next move that an opponent in a chess match will make. By staying
one move ahead, checkmate is one step closer. Indeed, as in chess, a good offense is the best
defence in the game of business as well.
A common technique is to create detailed profiles on each of the major competitors. These
profiles give an in-depth description of the competitor's background, finances, products, markets,
facilities, personnel, and strategies. This involves:
Background: location of offices, plants, and online presences history - key personalities, dates,
events, and trends ownership, corporate governance, and organizational structure.
Financials: P-E ratios, dividend policy, and profitability various financial ratios, liquidity, and
cash flow profit growth profile; method of growth (organic or acquisitive)
Products: products offered, depth and breadth of product line, and product portfolio balance new
products developed, new product success rate, and R&D strengths brands, strength of brand
portfolio, brand loyalty and brand awareness patents and licenses quality control conformance
reverse engineering or reformulation
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Marketing: segments served, market shares, customer base, growth rate, and customer loyalty
promotional mix, promotional budgets, advertising themes, ad agency used, sales force success
rate, online promotional strategy distribution channels used (direct & indirect), exclusivity
agreements, alliances, and geographical coverage pricing, discounts, and allowances
Facilities: Plant capacity, capacity utilization rate, age of plant, plant efficiency, capital investment
location, shipping logistics, and product mix by plant
Personnel: number of employees, key employees, and skill sets strength of management, and
management style compensation, benefits, and employee morale & retention rates
Corporate and marketing strategies: objectives, mission statement, growth plans, acquisitions,
and divestitures marketing strategies.

MEDIA SCANNING:
Scanning competitor's ads can reveal much about what that competitor believes about
marketing and their target market. Changes in a competitor's advertising message can reveal new
product offerings, new production processes, a new branding strategy, a new positioning strategy,
a new segmentation strategy, line extensions and contractions, problems with previous positions,
insights from recent marketing or product research, a new strategic direction, a new source
of sustainable competitive advantage, or value migrations within the industry. It might also
indicate a new pricing strategy such as penetration, price discrimination, price skimming, product
bundling, joint product pricing, discounts, or loss leaders. It may also indicate a new promotion
strategy such as push, pull, balanced, short term sales generation, long term image creation,
informational, comparative, affective, reminder, new creative objectives, new unique selling
proposition, new creative concepts, appeals, tone, and themes, or a new advertising agency. It
might also indicate a new distribution strategy, new distribution partners, more extensive
distribution, more intensive distribution, a change in geographical focus, or exclusive distribution.
Similar techniques can be used by observing a competitor's search engine optimization targets and
practices. For example, by conducting keyword research, one may be able to determine a
competitor's target market, keywords, or products. Other metrics allow for detection of a
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competitor's success. Little of this intelligence is definitive: additional information is needed

before conclusions should be drawn.
A competitor's media strategy reveals budget allocation, segmentation and targeting strategy, and
selectivity and focus.[9][10] From a tactical perspective, it can also be used to help a manager
implement his own media plan. By knowing the competitor's media buy, media selection,
frequency, reach, continuity, schedules, and flights, the manager can arrange his own media plan
so that they do not coincide.
Other sources of corporate intelligence include trade shows, patent filings, mutual customers,
annual reports, and trade associations.
Some firms hire competitor intelligence professionals to obtain this information. The Society of
Competitive Intelligence Professionals maintains a listing of individuals who provide these
services.

THE ENTRANCE OF NEW COMPETITORS IS LIKELY WHEN:

There are high profit margins in the industry
There is unmet demand (insufficient supply) in the industry
There are no major barriers to entry
There is future growth potential
Competitive rivalry is not intense
Gaining a competitive advantage over existing firms is feasible

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS:
A competitive analysis is a critical part of any company marketing plan. With this evaluation
market can establish which makes a product or service unique--and therefore what attributes to
play up in order to attract your target market.

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Evaluate the competitors by placing them in strategic groups according to how directly they
compete for a share of the customer's dollar. For each competitor or strategic group, list their
product or service, its profitability, growth pattern, marketing objectives and assumptions, current
and past strategies, organizational and cost structure, strengths and weaknesses, and size (in sales)
of the competitor's business. Answer questions such as:
Who are your competitors?
What products or services do they sell?
What is each competitor's market share?
What are their past strategies?
What are their current strategies?
What type of media are used to market their products or services?
How many hours per week do they purchase to advertise through the media used in this
market?
What are each competitor's strengths and weaknesses?
What potential threats do your competitors pose?
What potential opportunities do they make available for you?
A quick and easy way to compare company product or service with similar ones on the market is
to make a competition grid. Down the left side of a piece of paper, write the names of four or five
products or services that compete in the market. To help you generate this list, think of what your
customers would buy if they didn't buy the product or service.
Across the top of the paper, list the main features and characteristics of each product or service.
Include such things as target market, price, size, method of distribution, and extent of customer
service for a product. For a service, list prospective buyers, where the service is available, price,
website, toll-free phone number, and other features that are relevant. A glance at the competition
grid will help to see where the product fits in the overall market.

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HOW TO GATHER COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE ON THEIR COMPETITORS:

One fast way to hamstring the small business is to ignore the competition. While companies busy
ignoring them, they may be chomping away at their market share. If they don't know what the
competition is up to, they can't make the intelligent decisions that will keep the customers for us
or entice new ones. But as a small business person, how can they gather the competitive
intelligence they need to keep or expand their market share? Here are six ways:
1) Pay attention to their ads.
Of course competitors read the local newspapers, watch the news, listen to the radio, and
spend time surfing for information about their industry. But when they do, don't just pay attention
to the articles; "read" the ads, too. The competitors' ads can tell a lot about the particular audience
they're trying to target and what particular products or services they're trying to promote - useful
information indeed when theyre planning their own promotions or advertising campaigns.
2) Visit regularly.
The best competitive intelligence is current intelligence. So if the competitors have brick-andmortar stores, make it a point to make regular visits. Dropping by is a great way to keep an eye on
what products or services are being promoted, check on prices, and even get display ideas.
Does this competition have a website? Visit it regularly, too. Websites can be particularly rich
mines of information, telling you more about their competitions plans, marketing strategy and
even the company's personnel than they could ever find out in a single visit to their physical plant.
For more on gathering competitive intelligence through competitors websites, read watch '
Through Their Websites.
3) Ask your business colleagues.
The next time competitors with their networking group or socializing with some business
colleagues, ask some of them individually what they know about their competitors by name. They
may say, for instance, "Have they heard of J.B.'s Big Business?" Or if they know the person is
aware the business exists, company might say, "Hear anything about J.B.'s Big Business lately?"
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Keeping their ear to the ground this way might net some advance knowledge of their competitor's
plans, such as a coming sale, a personnel change or even a wish to sell the business.
4) Ask their customers/clients.
This doesn't mean company should hang out outside their store buttonholing people when
they come out. But some of their customers/clients may be their customers/clients. Or they may
encounter some of their customers/clients in social situations. It's easy enough to ask someone if
he or she has ever dealt with the competitors. If a person says he has, ask what he thought of the
service he got or the work the competitor did. What the competition's customers tell you might be
something your business could improve on or give an idea that could adopt. Don't be afraid to
delve; remember, company looking for information that they can use. If someone says, "The
service was great", that doesnt tell anything except that he liked it. Dig deeper by asking a question
such as, "What did they especially like about the service?" or "What do company think they did
especially well?"
5) Be a customer.
It surprises that more people don't do this as it's such a great way to keep on top of whatever
new products and/or services and their competition comes up with and find out just how the
competitor's customers are treated. If I'm selling coffee and someone else is selling coffee at the
other end of the street, wouldn't it make sense for me to go over and have a cup of coffee? Besides
being able to compare things such as price, products and customer service on the spot, I might
even gather some great tips about how the other guy does things that could improve competitors
own operations.
6) Sign up.
The competitor's business may offer customers some sort of membership or customer loyalty
program. Membership usually includes being notified of sales or events by mail or email. Don't
pass up this opportunity to keep up with what their competitor is offering her customers. Also sign
up for their competitions newsletter, if there is one. It's another super easy way to gather
competitive intelligence.
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When it comes to their competition, the more they know about what they're doing now and what
they're planning to do in the future, the better decisions theyll be able to make about their own
small business. Gathering competitive intelligence on their competitors needs to become one of
the regular habits.

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1.2 NEED FOR THE STUDY

The study is an attempt to get information on how customers are

approached by TNPL and how customers feel about TNPL product and service. This in turns helps
in knowing about the competition in the market, Strategies used by the competitors and measures
to improve cordial relationship with customers.

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1.3 SCOPE FOR THE STUDY

This study is conducted with the perspective of promotional strategy and ways and means to
improve them. This study aims at giving suggestions to TNPL about the ways in which the
promotional strategy can be increased.
The internship was done under TNPL Chennai
The paper industry is a highly competitive market
This study provides an insight to the current market scenario and the competitors in it.
Thus it can help to find out or to predict the future of TNPL in market.

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1.4 OBJECTIVES FOR THE STUDY

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
To identify the positioning strategy adopted by the competitors for the TNPL.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
To identify the customer satisfaction of TNPL product.
To find out the various promotion practice adopted by the competitors
To identify the strength and weakness of those competitors products
To ascertain the customer preference for the product.
To identify the strategy to improve the TNPL service.

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1.5 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This Research is mainly dealt for understanding the competitors their strength and our
weakness.
This Research is also focuses on changing preference of customers because in todays time
there are so many options for a customer to choose from.
This Research also studies that product are reaching up to the expectation of customer or
not.
This research also studies the effectiveness of TNPLs promotion.

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1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study was conducted in the Chennai hence the finding cannot be considered as
universal.
Time was the main constrain which restricts.
Due to the limited number of questions allowed, pure and clear responds are not obtained.
Respondents are mostly illiterate in the concern so understanding was an issue.

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2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE

Paper is a material made in thin sheet as an aqueous deposit from linen rags, wood
pulp or other form of cellulose which is used for writing, printing and wrapping etc..,

Paper plays a vital role in communication purpose. Paper was invented by TSAI-LUN
in LEI-YANG province of china. The first paper machine was invented by a French man,
NICOLOUS-LOUIS ROBERT in 1799. In India the first paper machine was set up at Scram pore
in West Bengal.

Ts'ai Lun seems to have made his paper by mixing finely chopped mulberry bark and
hemp rags with water, mashing it flat, and then pressing out the water and letting it dry in the sun.
He may have based his idea on bark cloth, which was very common in China and also made from
mulberry bark. Ts'ai Lun's paper was a big success, and began to be used all over China. By the
400's AD, people in India were also making paper. People all over the Islamic world soon began
using paper, from India to Spain. By 1250 AD, the Italians had learned to make good paper and
sold it all over Europe. In 1338, French monks began to make their own paper. Once they had
learned to make paper, they became more interested in also learning about Chinese printing, and a
man called Gutenberg produced the first printed Bible in 1453. By this time, people in the country
of the Aztecs (modern Mexico) had also, independently, invented paper. Their paper was made
out of agave plant fibers, and people used it to make books.

Meanwhile, in China people were using paper in more and more different ways. They
were using it for kites, and even for toilet paper! Pulp and Paper manufacturing industry is one of
the largest among the top ten in the world. Today the world paper production has crossed 300
million per annum.

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2.2 COMPANY PROFILE

To be the market leader in the manufacture of world class eco-friendly papers by
adopting innovative technologies for sustainable development.

TNPL was formed by the Government of Tamil Nadu in April 1979. The primary
objective of the company is to produce Newsprint, Printing and Writing paper using bagasse a
sugarcane residue as the primary raw material. The registered office of the company is situated at
Gundy, Chennai.

The products are being marketed throughout the country and also being exported to 20
countries around the world. The factory is situated at kagithapuram in Karur district of Tamilnadu.
The initial capacity of the plant was 90,000 TPA of Newsprint, Printing and writing paper, which
commenced production in the year 1984. The capacity was doubled to 1, 80,000 TPA in January
1996 after implementation of the first project. Recently the capacity has been further enhanced to
2, 30,000 TPA in April 2003 through up gradation of both the paper machines.

The largest production capacity in India at a single location and paper machines with
built in flexibility for manufacturing Newsprint, Printing and writing papers in the same machine.

TNPL has the unique arrangement with the sugar mills for sourcing the raw material in
the form of exchange of steam/fuel for bagasse. TNPL is committed to manufacture and supply
eco-friendly papers to customers satisfaction with the emphasis on continual improvements in its
quality management systems. Meeting customers requirement with eco-friendly raw materials
(viz.., Bagasse) for paper making through continuous process improvements is TNPLs Quality
policy, Quality standardization without compromise on environment is being accomplished with
online quality control at various stages of production. Despite opening up of Indian markets for
imports, TNPL has been consistently recording increasing in year by year, which demonstrates the
companys commitment to Quality. Direct interaction with customers through customer service

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cell has helped the company in meeting the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) ranging from 7.01
to 7.50. Customized products are also being manufactured by TNPL to meet the customer delight.

The Online Integrated Information system (OIIS) a mini ERP package developed by CMC
ltd.., for TNPL integrates the flow of information from all the section of the company covering
Production, Materials, finance and Marketing etc.., Thus OIIS has greatly improved information
for faster and timely decision making for assured product quality. The automated process control
facilities ensure complaint free products at various stages up to the final packing and dispatch.

By using bagasse as the primary raw material instead of wood. TNPL is saving
deforestation of about 30,000 acres of forestland every year. Due to the usage of bagasse the
chemical consumption in the pulp bleaching process is lower. TNPLs effluents completely
comply with the norms set by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. TNPL is adopting activated
sludge treatment system. Further the treated effluent water is being used to irrigate 1500 acres of
land around the factory. The farmers are cultivating cash crops such as sugarcane, groundnut etc..,
and using TNPL effluent water. TNPL has obtained the prestigious ISO 14001 certificates from
RWTUV, Germany for successfully establishing and applying environmental management system
for development manufacture and supply of paper.
TNPL has installed a bio machination plant to generate methane gas from the effluent
water and use it as a field as substitute for furnace oil in the lime kilin saving 10 KL of furnace l
every day.

MARKETING DEPARTMENT

The marketing functions are done at corporate office in Chennai and the factory at
kagithapuram. The company has branch offices at Bangalore, Calcutta, Delhi, and Mumbai. Each
branch office has its own go down and is functioned by the company. It also operates in place like
Cochin, Luck now, and Cut tack, which are not maintained by the company.

The marketing is headed by the director (Finance) the marketing operations are
comprised. There is a good demand for the companys products, despite the premium prices.
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Quality of both Newsprint & printing & writing paper are comparable to imported products prices
much lower.

This has assured that TNPL not only meets requirements of the customer but ensures their
Satisfaction also. Online quality control has been the hallmark of TNPL.

TNPL sells its entire production printing & writing paper is being sold through a network of
dealers and distributors speed across the country. The following are the distribution network for
TNPL products.

COMPETITORS FOR TNPL

JK
ITC Bhatrachalam
Bathravathy Paper Mills
Ballarpur Industries
SPB Ltd.
Sirpur Papers
West Coast paper
INTL Paper

FUNCTIONS OF MARKETING DEPARTMENT IN TNPL

The marketing functions start from Madras Corporate office and the factory and
pugalur. The company has branch office at Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay, Cuttak, pune, Bangalore,
Cochin, Chandigargh, Visagapatnam, and Jaipur. Each branch office has the godown and is
functioned by the company. The marketing department is headed by the Director finance. He
assists the day-to-day affairs at the corporate office by the manager marketing, who in terms
assisted by senior sales officers and sales assistants. The site office is assisted by the chief manager
marketing.

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DISTRIBUTION NETWORK FOR PRINTING AND WRITING PAPER

(PWP)
For printing and writing paper (PWP) TNPL distributes through indentors and through direct sales.

Manufacture (TNPL)

Dealers

wholesalers

Consumers

A) Direct sales.
Manufacture (TNPL)

Consumer

TNPL is also making direct sales to certain major customers. Some for the major direct
customers are Navneet Publications Ahmedabad, Tamil Nadu Text Book Corporation, Director of
Stationary and Printing Govt of Tamil Nadu etc., TNPL has recorded the highest production of
30248 Mts. TNPL is having the Indentors network covering the length and breadth of the country.
The indentors procure order from a customer and are responsible till the payments received by the
company.

TNPL is poised to achieve 40,000 Mts. Of branded Note book production during 20132014. The inventors are appointed by the company based on the past experience in the field, his
financial status and past performance, they will collect orders from various retailers and the same
will be forwarded to the marketing department. The payment is guaranteed by the inventor on
behalf of the part. The compensation for risk taking and processing the orders from the consumers
and retailers will be rewarded in the form of turnover discount per metric tons basis to the
inventors. Some of the retailers those who have more retail shops will be considered for stockiest
level. For other than Tamil Nadu and other southern states, the retailers and consumers are not
ready to purchase from Tamil Nadu because of lorry freight as if increase the cost of the paper per
metric tonne. There are around 59 inventories in India. Exports are done through exports dealers.
Major direct consumers are

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 Banks
Tamil Nadu Textbook Corporation, Chennai.
Transport Corporation
Kerala book and publication society, cochin
Universities

B) Indenters sales.

Manufacturer (TNPL) Indenters Wholesaler Retailers Consumers.

TNPL is having the Indenters network covering the length and breadth of the country. The
indenters procure order from a customer and are responsible till the payments received by the
company.

ORDER PROCESSING

Mostly the indenters are appointed by the company based on the past experience in the field,
this financial status and past performance. The Indents should be sent in the prescribed format and
should be complying with all respects like codes of materials, indenter, and consignee are must.
Received indents will be processed at Chennai and sent to the site office every month of
production, production plan for the next month. Indents of those parties who names are the
outstanding list will not be processed. Two copies of processed indents one for the consignee and
another for the indenter with order acceptance number will be sent to the indenter.

The orders are collected from the various retailers and the same will be forwarded by the
indenters to marketing department TNPL. The marketing department consolidates the orders and
gives information to production department for manufacture of required paper with the date of
paper dispatch. The production department produces the particular variety of paper and delivers it
to the marketing godown. Then the marketing department will inform to the customer and the head
office marketing department. Then the finished product will be arranged for transportation.
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PAYMENTS

The general terms of payments are by way of Demand Draft. However they accept local cheques
in the following collection centres.

Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Luck now, Mumbai, Patna

For the payments, the company gives various commission and discounts to the Indenter (or)
Customers are as follows.

A) Cash Discounts

Cash discounts will be allowed, as per the term announced by TNPL from time to time cash
discounts for advance payment will be deducted and shown in the invoice itself. For other than
advance payment, parties may deduct the cash discount as specified in the invoice while making
payment. For advance payment, DD should be sent for the exact value of the materials less the
applicable discount.

B) Trade Discount

Trade discount is given through invoice to customers. The statement is passed by monthly
basis.

C) Star Discount

Star discount is given to particular customer only. If any customer purchases 16 MTS per
month he gets star discounts.

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D) Regional Discount

Regional discount is based on the delivery place of the goods. This discount differs from
one area to another area.

E) Off take Incentive

Off take incentive is allowed to indenters for taking materials. Security deposit will be
collected as per policy of TNPL based on the quota allowed. At present the deposit payable Rs.
10000 per tonne. Interest at 12% per annum on the security deposit will be paid way of credit
Note in year.

Annual Incentive

Discount is issued to indenter all the end of every financial year. Eligibility to get annual
incentive the following two conditions.
Invoice outstanding not more than 90 days of the customers.
Throughout the year the customer should have achieved the minimum quota.

Dispatch of materials
For the dispatch of materials TNPL to use the 2 ways of transportation modes.
Road Transportation
Rail Transportation

Insurance

Transit insurance can be arranged at the request of the Indenter/Customer, the amount will
be charged in the invoice. The present premium is payable at 0.17% of invoice value. Insurance

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claims should be filed by the customers with insurance and followed by them for settlement.
However TNPL will render assistance on this matter.

EXPORTS

TNPL exports its finished products to 17 countries. Despite severe competition and only a
gradual upward movement in the international prices. TNPL has achieved phenomenal growth in
the area of exports. TNPL has broad based the exports and achieved the highest ever exports of
25262 Mts valued at Rs 77.40 against the 18760 Mts of wood free of paper valued at Rs 47.77
crores exported in the previous year.
Being an ISO 9001 accredited company, TNPLs efforts have been oriented towards
developing new products to suit specific customer and specific endues. This ISO 9001 quality
assurance procedure ensures consistent quality and assures in carrying out timely corrective action.

Exporting countries are:

Australia

Kenya

Philippines

Taiwan

EGYPT

Malaysia

Singapore

Turkey

GREECE

Myanmar

Sri Lanka `

U.A.E

Indonesia

Nepal

Sudan

U.K

TNPL is having marketing offices at the major cities of the country to regulate the
marketing activities. Regular customer meets are arranged for continuous customer feedback
corrective action.
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During 2013- 2014 the company has sold 7708 tonnes of Newsprint and 1, 93,532 tonnes
of printing & writing papers. Of this, 41264 tonnes of printing & writing papers exported valuing
Rs. 127.68 cores. The exports recorded a growth of 37% in quantitative terms and 47% in value
terms during the year 2013-2014compared the previous year. Thus TNPL recorded now peak in
Exports during 2013-2014

The company has achieved all time highest production of 1, 96.240 MT and all times
highest sales of 2, 01,279 MT during the year 2013-2014

Symbolic of TNPL commitment to the environment, the World Wide Fund for nature
(WWF) has entered into a pact with TNPL to use the panda logo in TNPL branded products.

EXCISE DUTY
It is a kind of tax collected by central Government on the production. Applicable
Excise duty is 16% for printing & writing paper. Newsprint is exempted from excise duty. There
is no excise duty for export sales and sock branch sales.

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2.3 PRODUCT PROFILE

TNPL offers high-quality surface sized and non-surface sized paper to suit the needs of
modern high speed printing machines. TNPL's cutting edge technology backed by experienced
professionals ensures quality products to customers. TNPLs manufacturing processes are
equipped with state-of-the-art control systems to maintain critical quality parameters on line. The
paper produced by TNPL is eco- friendly as the pulp is manufactured out of renewable raw material
and is subjected to Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleaching. As the paper is acid free,
It has a longer color stability and enhanced permanency in terms of strength characteristics.

TNPL caters to the requirements of multifunctional printing processes like sheet-fed, web
offset, and digital printers. The paper reels have uniform profile with strength properties to cope
even with high speed machines. TNPL manufactures Printing and Writing Papers in substances
ranging from 50 GSM to 90 GSM.
TNPL Ultra White Maplitho
TNPL Elegant Mapilitho
Hi-Tech Maplitho
TNPL Maplitho
Radiant Printing
Commander
Hardbound Notebook
TNPL Offset Printing
Cream wove
Copy Crown
TNPL Copier
Students' Favourites
Super Print Maplitho
Perfect Copier
Ace Marvel

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2.4 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

BOOK REVIEW:
Competitor Analysis provides an insight for our firm by complementing with
understanding the competitors current strategies, information on their products and services,
critical vulnerabilities and likely competitive moves. It is basically a strategic management tool
which has to be screened carefully. Dangerous assumptions can creep into managerial thinking
about competitors: Competitors cannot be systematically analysed, We know all about our
competitors because we compete with them every day. Neither assumption is generally true
(Porter, 1980).

Major competitors:
The major competition for our firms comes from various bus operators like mega bus,
first bus etc. and taxi operators like Hampden etc. There are plenty of private cabs running
throughout our proposed business area with providing extra features like overnight services, callon arrivals etc. The heavy investment the firms (private and public) put in to their operations and
services makes clear about the stiff rivalry in this field. The financial support enjoyed by the
leading companies from the Government also adds to the concern. Resources and capabilities of
the firms are also high. In fact our firm has to come in to play with the mammoths of this industry.

Matching the Expectations:

The success of the firm wholly depends on matching the customers expectations with the
services. Considering the needs of our targeted customers, it is important to analyses the
competitors services in a particular way to evaluate their actual strength. It also helps in finding
the advantage they possess over our firm. Considering the time factor of our prime business, we
can negotiate that buses provide a reduced threat comparing to the taxi services. The main player
here in this regard will be Hampden taxis who are private taxi operators providing call on taxi
services. Customers have the privilege of getting the taxi arrived at their door step at a calls and...
Page | 26

IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL COMPETITORS:

Depending on the purposes of the competitive analysis, it may also be important to
identify potential competitors. The process starts by identifying firms for whom the various
barriers to entry to the industry are low or easily surmountable. These may include the following.
Technology: Firms which possess the technologies necessary to operate in an industry
represent one source of potential competitors. Analysis of patent activity frequently signals
intentions well prior to actual entrance.
Market access: In businesses where market access is a key factor for success, firms with
that access frequently attempt to leverage it by acquiring additional product lines to be sold
in that channel or to those customers.
Reputation and image: Brand extension strategies are based on the use of a firm's
reputation in one product area to leverage its entry into another. Clairol used its reputation
in hair coloring to enter into the hair dryer business.
Operating knowledge and skills: Regional competitors in a business often expand
geographically. Entenmann's Bakeries moved into Florida and Midwestern markets from
their original North-eastern base, similar to the path taken by Thomas's English Muffins.
Folgerss coffee was originally a regional brand on the West Coast until purchased by
Procter & Gamble which expanded its distribution nationwide

2.1.2 JOURNAL RIEVIEW:

According to Porter (1986), Competitive strategy aims to establish a profitable and sustainable
position against the forces that determine industry competition. Thus, there is a combination of
external (industry level) and internal (search for competitive advantage) issues. The figure 1,
clearly justify that the essence of formulating competitive strategy is relating a company to its
environment from which the company generates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats. The analysis of the external and internal factors improve the company choosing the best
competitive strategy.
Treacy and Wiersema (1995). The total customer solution refers to the competition based on
customers` economics which requires a deep understanding of their needs, offering a good package

Page | 27

of products and services and an integrated supply chain, including suppliers and customers. This
approach has similarities with the focus differentiation strategy from Porter (1986) and similarly
to the customer intimacy strategy by Treacy and Wiersema (1995). In the system lock-in, the
system is considered as a whole, not only concerning with products or consumers, but including
suppliers and complementary. The purpose is to achieve success with the lock-in of agents that
contribute to the value expansion (complementary), the lock-out of competitors, by attracting
buyers.
Momaya and Selby (1998). Based on their definition of competitiveness in terms of financial
performance, they argue that the first component of sector competitiveness may appear quite
satisfactory from the perspective of an investor; however, it can fail to recognize viewpoints of
some of the important stakeholders within the industry. The industry competitiveness is given as
the extent to which a company satisfies the needs of customers from the appropriate combination
of the product/service characteristics such as price, quality, and innovation, satisfies the needs of
its constituents and offers attractive return on investment and the potential for growth
Clark and Montgomery, (1999). Moreover, we use this to develop a hierarchy of competitor
awareness that is central to our hypotheses on competitor analysis. Further, we introduce the
concept of resource equivalence to facilitate the comparison of the abilities of indirect and potential
competitors to meet the same set of customer needs as direct competitors. This allows us to offer
a differentiated approach to competitor analysis.
Peteraf and Bergen (2001) Competitor identication, classifying candidate competitors on the
basis of similarities in terms of their resource endowments and the market needs served. We do so
by asking the simple question of whether two r s serve the same customer need presently or have
the ability to do so in the near future. The aim of this stage of analysis is to help managers to
maximize their awareness of competitive threats and to classify the types of competition that they
face so that we may develop a hierarchy of competitor awareness that may be linked to competitor
analysis.
According to Mintzberg (2001), the generic strategies should follow a logical sequence that starts
at the creation of the business, observing the demands and constraints of its specific business
segments within an industry. The changes proposed from Mintzberg (2001) characterized the way
Page | 28

a firm competes such as quality, design, support, image and prices. In other terms these elements
can be defined and divided in accordance with the strategy of differentiation or cost leadership.
Therefore, out of the generic strategies proposed by Mintzberg (2001), it is important to analyse
the industry environment and how to compete which resemble Porter`s view (1986) to adopt
competitive generic strategies in accordance with the industry competitive forces.
Hax and Wilde (2001) developed another step in the evolution process of the generic strategies.
Based in three strategies and supported by the concepts of best product, customer total solution
and the system lock-in they tend to improve the competitive strategies. The best product strategy
refers to the competition based on the economics of the product, and may follow strategies of cost
leadership or differentiation. According to them, if there is an ambiguous situation of cost
leadership and differentiation,
Flanagan et al., (2005). According to whom the competitiveness refers to an objective - a high,
rising standard of living for its citizens and high, rising returns on investment to its owners
respectively. On their turn, Waheeduzzan and Ryans (1996) point out that competitiveness belongs
to the eye of the beholder (it means different things for different people). Besides those elements,
competitiveness is also related to high productivity, profitability (Flanagan et al., 2005), innovation
and value for shareholders (Momaya and Selby, 1998), among other qualities. In summary, as
stated by Flanagan et al. (2007), the ultimate purpose of competitiveness is to improve and achieve
a better long-term performance for firms.

Page | 29

3.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH
Research is an academic activity and as such the term should be used in a technical issue.
According to Clifford Woody research comprises defining and refining problems, formulating
hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions
and researching conclusions and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they
fit the formulating hypothesis.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is the way in which research problems are solved systematically. It
is a science of studying how research is conducted scientifically. Under it, the researcher acquaints
himself/herself with the various steps generally adopted to study a research problem, along with
the underlying logic behind them. Hence, it is not only important for the researcher to know the
research techniques/methods, but also the scientific approach called methodology.
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
A research design is the arrangement of condition for collection and analysis of data in a
manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.
RESEARCH DESIGN USED IN THE STUDY
Descriptive Research
Descriptive research consists of surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different types. The
main objective of descriptive research is describing the state of affairs as it prevails at the time of
study. The term ex post facto research is quite often used for descriptive research studies in social
sciences and business research. The most distinguishing feature of this method is that the
researcher has no control over the variables here. He/she has to only report what is happening or
what has happened. Majority of the ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies
in which the researcher attempts to examine phenomena, such as the consumers preferences,
frequency of purchases, shopping, etc.
In this researcher adopted this technique as it performs that fact finding.
Page | 30

Research Instrument:
A Structured questionnaire has been as an instrument for this study. Structured
questionnaire is those in which that are definite concrete and predetermined questions relating to
the aspects for which the research collects data, same questionnaire has been used for all the
respondents.
Questionnaire Design:
The structured questionnaire consists of open ended, multiple choice, closed ended,
demography question and the ranking questions.

PROPOSED SAMPLING METHOD:

The researcher has adopted a non-probability method to solicit the opinions from the
customer (respondents). Under Non Probability sampling the Convenience sampling has been used
by the researcher.

NON PROBABILITY SAMPLING:

In non-probability sampling method, the elements in the population do not have any
probabilities attached to being chosen as sample subjects. This means that the finding of the study
cannot be generalized to the population. However, at times the researchers may be less concerned
about generalizability and the purpose may be just to obtain some preliminary information in a
quick and inexpensive way.

CONVENIENCE SAMPLING:
Non probability samples that are unrestricted are called convenience sampling.
Convenience sampling refers to the collection of information from members of population who
are conveniently available to provide it.

Page | 31

POPULATION SIZE
The population for this study on printing press in Chennai
3.2 SAMPLE SIZE
The total number of unit in the sample is 100 customers

3.3 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

It is important for a researcher to know the sources of data which he requires for
different purposes. Data are nothing but the information. There are two sources of information or
data
Primary Data
Secondary Data
PRIMARY DATA
The primary data are those that are collected for first time and thus happen to be
original in character. The primary data used for this project was collected using questionnaires.
The questionnaire was framed in such a manner to obtain correct information, graded suitable for
the study.
SECONDARY DATA
The secondary data has been collected the company profile and other details were from the
website, books, journals, magazines.
In this study have a primary data and secondary data.

Page | 32

ASSUMPTIONS, CONTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS:

ASSUMPTIONS:
The results could be skewed because of a small sample size of 100 only.
CONTRAINTS:
There may be bias in the collected information.
Few respondents were unwilling while answering due to their busy schedule.
The time limit was only 90 days.
Responds are mostly illiterate in the concern so understanding is lack

PERIOD OF STUDY
This study is conducted for three month (December March 2015)
3.4 TOOLS USED FOR THE STUDY
The statistical tools applied for the study may include
Chi-square test analysis
T Test
Anova test

CHI-SQUARE
Chi-square is a statistical test commonly used to compare observed data with data we
would expect to obtain according to a specific hypothesis. For example, if, according to Mendel's
laws, you expected 10 of 20 offspring from a cross to be male and the actual observed number was
8 males, then you might want to know about the "goodness to fit" between the observed and
expected. Were the deviations (differences between observed and expected) the result of chance,
or were they due to other factors. How much deviation can occur before you, the investigator, must
conclude that something other than chance is at work, causing the observed to differ from the
expected? The chi-square test is always testing what scientists call the null hypothesis, which states
that there is no significant difference between the expected and observed result.
Page | 33

The formula for calculating chi-square (x2) is:

x2= (o-e)2/e

ANOVA TEST
Anova is a statistical test which analyses variance. It is helpful in making comparison of
two or more means which enables a researcher to draw various results and predictions about two
or more sets of data. Anova test includes one-way anova, two-way anova or multiple anova
depending upon the type and arrangement of the data. One-way anova has the following test
statistics:
Anova Formula
F = MST/MSE
Where,
F = Anova Coefficient
MST = Mean sum of squares of total
MSE = Mean sum of squares due to error.

Questionnaire:
Prepared in such a way that is correct the comprehensive objectives of the study. Open end,
multiple choice of questionnaire adopted in this research.

Period of study:
The time period of the study is 3 months.
Page | 34

T Test

T Test is often called Student's T test in the name of its founder "Student". T test is used to compare
two different set of values. It is generally performed on a small set of data. T test is generally
applied to normal distribution which has a small set of values. This test compares the mean of two
samples. T test uses means and standard deviations of two samples to make a comparison. The
formula for T test is given below:

Formula

Where,
x1 = Mean of first set of values
x2 = Mean of second set of values
S1 = Standard deviation of first set of values
S2 = Standard deviation of second set of values
n1 = Total number of values in first set
n2 = Total number of values in second set.

Page | 35

4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTREPRETATION

TABLE 4.1.1
THE TABLE REPRESENTING THE GENDER
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

MALE

72

72%

FEMALE

28

28%

TOTAL

100

100%

CHART 4.2.1
THE CHART REPRESENTING THE GENDER

80

72

70

PERCENTAGE

60
50
40

28

30
20
10
0
Male

Female

Inference:
From the above table it can be found that 72% of the respondents are male and 28% of
the respondents are female.

Page | 36

TABLE 4.1.2
THE TABLE REPRESENTING THE AGE OF RESPONDENTS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

21-30

21

21

31-40

14

14

41-55 YRS.

44

44

ABOVE 55YRS.

21

21

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.2
THE CHART REPRESENTING THE AGE OF
RESPONDENTS
50

44

45

PERCENTAGE

40
35
30
25

21

20

21
14

15
10
5
0
21-30

31-40

41-55 YRS.

ABOVE 55YRS.

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that people who belong to the age group of
21-30 cover 21% of the respondents while people who belong to the age group of 31-40yrs cover
14% of the respondents and people who belong to age group of 41-55 cover 44% and above 55
cover 21%.
Page | 37

TABLE 4.1.3
THE TABLE REPRESENTING THE QUALIFICATION OF RESPONDENTS

PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

BELOW 10TH

14

14

12 STD

23

23

U.G

42

42

P.G

21

21

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.3
THE CHART REPRESENTING THE QUALIFICATION
OF RESPONDENTS
45

42

40

PERCENTAGE

35
30
23

25

21

20
15

14

10
5
0
BELOW 10TH

12 STD

U.G

P.G

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that people who are below 10th cover
only 14% of the respondents while people are HSC pass cover about 23% and people who are
qualified as undergraduates cover about 42% and people who are qualified as postgraduates cover
about 21%.
Page | 38

TABLE 4.14
THE TABLE REPRESENTS HOW THE RESPONDENTS CAME TO KNOW ABOUT
TNPL
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

PRINT MEDIA

ELECTRONIC MEDIA

11

11

14

14

DEALER

68

68

TOTAL

100

100

(WEBSITE)
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
MEMBERS

CHART 4.2.4

PERCENTAGE

THE CHART REPRESENTS HOW THE RESPONDENTS CAME TO

KNOW ABOUT TNPL
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

68

7
PRINT MEDIA

11

14

ELECTRONIC MEDIA
FRIENDS AND
(WEBSITE)
FAMILY MEMBERS

DEALER

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 7% of the respondents came to know
about TNPL from print media while 11% of the respondents came to know about it from electronic
media and 14% from friends and family while 68% of the respondents came to know about TNPL
from dealers.
Page | 39

TABLE 4.15
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE CUSTOMERS BONDING WITH COMPANY
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

0-1YRS

14

14

2-3YRS

30

30

4-5YRS

28

28

MORE THAN 5 YEARS

28

28

TOTAL

100

100%

CHART 4.2.5
THE CHART REPRESENTS THE CUSTOMERS BONDING
WITH COMPANY
35
30

PERCENTAGE

30

28

28

4-5YRS

MORE THAN 5
YEARS

25
20

15

14

10

5
0
0-1YRS

2-3YRS

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 14% of the respondents have less than
one year association and 30% of the respondents have two to three years association and 28% of
the respondents have 4-5 years association while 28% have more than five years

Page | 40

TABLE 4.1.6
THE TABLE REPRESENTS WHY THE CUSTOMERS CHOSE TNPL
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

DISCOUNTS

16

16

PRICE

49

49

QUALITY

21

21

SERVICE

10

10

OTHER

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.6
THE CHART REPRESENTS WHY THE CUSTOMERS CHOSE
TNPL

PERCENTAGE

60
49

50
40
30

21
20

16
10

10

0
DISCOUNTS

PRICE

QUALITY

SERVICE

OTHER

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 16% of the respondents prefer TNPL
because of discounts while 49% prefer TNPL because of price and 21% of the respondents prefer
TNPL because of quality and 10% of the respondents prefer TNPL because of service and 4%
come under the other category.
Page | 41

TABLE 4.1.7
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE MOST SOLD PRODUCTS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

OFFICE AND CONSUMER

55

30

SPECIALTY

20

17%

FINE PAPER

25

40%

TOTAL

100

100

PAPER

CHART 4.2.7
THE CHART REPRESENTS THE MOST SOLD
PRODUCTS

PERCENTAGE

60

55

50
40
30

25

20
20
10
0
OFFICE AND
CONSUMER PAPER

SPECIALTY

FINE PAPER

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 55 of the respondents prefer office and
consumer paper while 20% prefer specialty and 25% prefer fine paper.

Page | 42

TABLE 4.1.8
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY COMPARED
TO ITS COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT

35

35

GOOD

21

21

AVERAGE

16

16

BAD

14

14

VERY BAD

14

14

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.8
THE CHART REPRESENTS THE PERFORMANCE OF THE
COMPANY COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS

PERCENTAGE

40

35

35
30
25

21

20

16

15

14

14

BAD

VERY BAD

10
5
0
EXCELLENT

GOOD

AVERAGE

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 35% of the respondents feel that TNPL
is excellent and 21% of them feel that its service is good while 16% consider it average and 145
feel that it is bad and another 14% feel that it is very bad.

Page | 43

TABLE 4.1.9
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT COMPARED TO
THE COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT

21

21

GOOD

21

21

AVERAGE

35

35

BAD

VERY BAD

16

16

TOTAL

100

100%

CHART 4.2.9
THE CHARTREPRESENTS THE QUALITY OF THE
PRODUCT COMPARED TO THE COMPETITORS
40

35

PERCENTAGE

35
30
25

21

21

20

16

15
10

5
0
EXCELLENT

GOOD

AVERAGE

BAD

VERY BAD

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 21% feel that TNPL paper quality is
excellent 21% feel that it is good while 35% consider it average and 7% consider it bad and 14%
feel that it is very bad

Page | 44

TABLE 4.1.10
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TNPLS PROMOTION
COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT

14

14

GOOD

AVERAGE

21

21

BAD

28

28

VERY BAD

30

30

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.10
THE CHART REPRESENTS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TNPLS
PROMOTION COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS
35
28

PERCENTAGE

30
25

30

21

20
15

14

10

5
0
EXCELLENT

GOOD

AVERAGE

BAD

VERY BAD

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 14 % of the respondents feel that TNPL
promotion campaign is excellent and 7% feel that it is good and 21% feel that it is above average
and 28% feel that it is very bad and 30% consider it very bad.
Page | 45

TABLE 4.1.11
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT COMPARED TO ITS
COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT

21

21

GOOD

35

14

AVERAGE

14

35

BAD

14

14

VERY BAD

16

16

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.11
THE CHART REPRESENTS THE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT
COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS
40

35

PERCENTAGE

35
30
25

21

20
15

14

14

AVERAGE

BAD

16

10
5
0
EXCELLENT

GOOD

VERY BAD

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 21% of the respondents feel that TNPL
promotional campaign is excellent while 35% feel that it is good and 14% consider it average and
14% consider it bad and 16% feel that it is very bad.

Page | 46

TABLE 4.1.12
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE AVAILABILITY OF COLOR PAPERS COMPARED
TO ITS COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT

21

21

GOOD

21

21

AVERAGE

28

28

BAD

23

23

VERY BAD

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.12
THE CHART REPRESENTS THE AVAILABILITY OF COLOR
PAPERS COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS
28

30

PERCENTAGE

25

21

23

21

20
15
10

5
0
EXCELLENT

GOOD

AVERAGE

BAD

VERY BAD

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that it can be found that 21% of the
respondents consider that TNPL paper color is excellent. And 21% of them feel that it is good
while 28% of the respondents feel that it is average and 23% of them feel that it is very bad and
7% consider it very bad
Page | 47

TABLE 4.1.13
THE TABLE REPRESENTS POSITION TNPL PRODUCT
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT

19

19

GOOD

31

31

AVERAGE

29

29

BAD

11

11

VERY BAD

10

10

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.13
THE CHART REPRESENTS POSITION TNPL PRODUCT
35

31

PERCENTAGE

30

29

25
19

20
15

11

10

BAD

VERY BAD

10
5
0
EXCELLENT

GOOD

AVERAGE

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that it can be found that 19% of the
respondents consider that TNPL positioned excellent. And 31% of them feel that it is good while
29% of the respondents feel that it is average and 11% of them feel that it is very bad and 10%
consider it very bad
Page | 48

TABLE 4.1.14
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE OFFERS GIVEN BY THE COMPANY COMPARED
TO ITS COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT

23

23

GOOD

33

33

AVERAGE

24

24

BAD

VERY BAD

11

11

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.14
THE CHART REPRESENTS THE OFFERS GIVEN BY
THE COMPANY COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS
33

35

PERCENTAGE

30
25

24

23

20
15
9

10

11

5
0
EXCELLENT

GOOD

AVERAGE

BAD

VERY BAD

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 23% of the respondents feel that
TNPL offer is excellent and 33% feel that it is good while 22% consider it average and 9% consider
it bad and 11% feel that very bad.
Page | 49

TABLE 4.1.15
THE TABLE REPRESENTS THE QUALITY OF PACKAGING COMPARED TO ITS
COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

EXCELLENT

28

28

GOOD

35

35

AVERAGE

23

23

BAD

VERY BAD

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.15
THE CHART REPRESENTS THE QUALITY OF
PACKAGING COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS
40

35

PERCENTAGE

35
30

28
23

25
20
15
10

BAD

VERY BAD

5
0
EXCELLENT

GOOD

AVERAGE

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 28% of the respondents feel that
TNPL package is excellent and 35% feel that it is good while 23% consider it average and 7%
consider it bad and 7% feel that very bad.
Page | 50

TABLE 4.1.16
THE TABLE REPRESENTS TO FIND IF TNPL IS DISTINCT AMONG ITS
COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

STRONGLY AGREE

14

14

AGREE

35

35

NEITHER AGREE NOR

21

21

DISAGREE

14

14

STRONGLY DISAGREE

16

16

TOTAL

100

100

DISAGREE

CHART 4.2.16

PERCENTAGE

THE CHART REPRESENTS TO FIND IF TNPL IS DISTINCT

AMONG ITS COMPETITORS
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

35

21
14

STRONGLY
AGREE

14

AGREE

NEITHER
AGREE NOR
DISAGREE

DISAGREE

16

STRONGLY
DISAGREE

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 14% strongly agree that TNPL product
is distinct from its competitors and 35% of them agree while 21% are neutral and 14% disagree
and 16% strongly disagree.
Page | 51

TABLE 4.1.17
THE TABLE REPRESENTS PROMOTION ACTIVITIES HAVE ATTRACTED THE
CUSTOMER
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

HIGHLY QUALITY LESS

56

55

28

26

12

11

100

100

PRICE
HIGHLY QUALITY
HIGHLY PRICE
AVERAGE QUALITY
LESS PRICE
LESS QUALITY LESS
PRICE
TOTAL

CHART 4.2.17

PERCENTAGE

THE CHART REPRESENTS PROMOTION ACTIVITIES HAVE

ATTRACTED THE CUSTOMER
56

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

28
12
4
HIGHLY QUALITY
LESS PRICE

HIGHLY QUALITY
HIGHLY PRICE

AVERAGE QUALITY
LESS PRICE

LESS QUALITY LESS

PRICE

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 56% of respondents are attracted to
highly quality less and 4% of attracted to highly quality highly price while 28% are average quality
less and 16%. Less quality less price
Page | 52

TABLE 4.1.18
THE TABLE REPRESNTS THE SATISFACTION LEVEL OF CUSTOMER
REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF SIZES COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

YES

70

70

NO

30

30

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.18
THE CHART REPRESNTS THE SATISFACTION LEVEL
OF CUSTOMER REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF
SIZES COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITORS
80

70

PERCENTAGE

70
60
50
40

30

30
20
10
0
YES

NO

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 70% of the respondents are satisfied
with the available sizes and 30% are not.

Page | 53

TABLE 4.1.19
THE TABLE REPRESENTS IF THERE IS A DEGRADATION OF QUALITY OF THE
PRODUCT OVER THE PERIOD OF TIME
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

YES

44

44

NO

56

56

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.19

THE CHART REPRESENTS IF THERE IS A

DEGRADATION OF QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT OVER
THE PERIOD OF TIME
56

60

PERCENTAGE

50

44

40
30
20
10
0
YES

NO

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 44% of the respondents feel that
there is a change in quality of paper of TNPL from its competitors and 56% feel negatively

Page | 54

TABLE 4.1.20
THE TABLE REPRESENTS IF THE CUSTOMER WILL SUGGEST TNPL TO
OTHERS
PARTICULARS

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

YES

63

63

NO

37

37

TOTAL

100

100

CHART 4.2.20
THE CHART REPRESENTS IF THE CUSTOMER WILL
SUGGEST TNPL TO OTHERS
70

63

PERCENTAGE

60
50
37

40
30
20
10
0
YES

NO

Inference:
From the above table and chart it can be found that 63% of the respondents they will
suggest TNPL paper to others and 37% of the respondents they wont suggest others

Page | 55

CHI-SQUARE
Gender * the respondents know about TNPL
Cross tabulation
Know about TNPL
print media
Count
Male

% within Gender
% within Know about
TNPL

Gender

% within Gender
% within Know about
TNPL
Count

Total

% within Gender
% within Know about
TNPL

friends and
family

dealer

54

72

6.9%

9.7%

8.3%

75.0%

100.0%

71.4%

63.6%

42.9%

79.4%

72.0%

14

28

7.1%

14.3%

28.6%

50.0%

100.0%

28.6%

36.4%

57.1%

20.6%

28.0%

11

14

68

100

7.0%

11.0%

14.0%

68.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Count
Female'

electronic
media

Total

CHI-SQUARE TESTS

Value

df

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

8.134a

.043

Likelihood Ratio

7.524

.057

Linear-by-Linear Association

2.024

.155

N of Valid Cases

100

Page | 56

Interpretation:
From the above table it shows that Chi-square value is less than .05 there exists a significant
association between the gender and the manner in which the people came to know about TNPL. Therefore
the alternate hypothesis is accepted. Majority of the males & female came to know about TNPL from the
dealers. It is also evident that 72%of the male respondents use TNPL product.

Page | 57

ANOVA
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Sum of squares
Between groups
Within groups
Competitive
analysis

Df

Mean square

276.810
3053.300

3
96

3330.110

99

92.270
31.805

Sig.

2.901

.039

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Duncan
Qualification

Subset for alpha = 0.05

1

12th
UG
PG
10th
Sig.

18
44
26
12

2
23.4444
25.9773

.159

25.9773
27.9615
28.4167
.201

Interpretation:
From the table value it is evident that, there exists a significant difference between competitive analysis and
the educational qualification. Therefore the alternate hypothesis is accepted.
From the post-hoc analysis it can be observed that people who are qualified as 12th do less competitive
analysis than people who are qualified as 10th pass and postgraduate. People who are qualified as
undergraduate does not come under either of the category.

Page | 58

T-TEST

Group Statistics
Gender

Mean

Std. Deviation

Std. Error Mean

Competitive Male

72

24.9028

5.50841

.64917

analysis

28

30.0000

4.91408

.92867

Female'

Independent Samples Test

T-test for Equality of Means
T

Df

Sig. (2-

Mean

Std.

95% Confidence

tailed)

Differenc

Error

Interval of the

Differenc

Difference

Lower

Upper

Equal
variances
Competitive

assumed

analysis

Equal
variances

-4.277

98

.000

-5.09722

1.19182

-7.46235

-2.73210

-4.499 54.853

.000

-5.09722

1.13307

-7.36809

-2.82635

not assumed

Interpretation:
There is significant difference between competitive analysis and the gender of respondents .The
obtained t-test value is accepted at1% significance level. Based on the mean value it can be found that (M
= -5.09722, D = 1.19182) strongly agree that TNPL products are most preferred for their use

Page | 59

FINDINGS

1. It is observed that 72% of the respondents are male and 28% of the respondents are female.
2. It is observed that people who belong to the age group of 21-30 cover 21% of the
respondents while people who belong to the age group of 31-40yrs cover 14% of the
respondents and people who belong to age group of 41-55 cover 44% and above 55 cover
21%.
3. It is observed that people who are below 10th cover only 14% of the respondents while
people are HSC pass cover about 23% and people who are qualified as undergraduates
cover about 42% and people who are qualified as postgraduates cover about 21%.
4. It is observed that that 7% of the respondents came to know about TNPL from print media
while 11% of the respondents came to know about it from electronic media and 14% from
friends and family while 68% of the respondents came to know about TNPL from dealers.
5. It is observed that 14% of the respondents have less than one year association and 30% of
the respondents have two to three years association and 28% of the respondents have 4-5
years association while 28% have more than five years
6. It is observed that 16% of the respondents prefer TNPL because of discounts while 49%
prefer TNPL because of price and 21% of the respondents prefer TNPL because of quality
and 10% of the respondents prefer TNPL because of service and 4% come under the other
category.
7. It is observed that 55 of the respondents prefer office and consumer paper while 20% prefer
specialty and 25% prefer fine paper.
8. It is observed that 35% of the respondents feel that TNPL is excellent and 21% of them
feel that its service is good while 16% consider it average and 145 feel that it is bad and
another 14% feel that it is very bad.
9. It is observed that 21% feel that TNPL paper quality is excellent 21% feel that it is good
while 35% consider it average and 7% consider it bad and 14% feel that it is very bad
10. It is observed that 14 % of the respondents feel that TNPL promotion campaign is excellent
and 7% feel that it is good and 21% feel that it is above average and 28% feel that it is very
bad and 30% consider it very bad.
Page | 60

11. It is observed that 21% of the respondents feel that TNPL promotional campaign is
excellent while 35% feel that it is good and 14% consider it average and 14% consider it
bad and 16% feel that it is very bad.
12. It is observed that 21% of the respondents consider that TNPL paper color is excellent.
And 21% of them feel that it is good while 28% of the respondents feel that it is average
and 23% of them feel that it is very bad and 7% consider it very bad
13. It is observed that 19% of the respondents consider that TNPL positioned excellent. And
31% of them feel that it is good while 29% of the respondents feel that it is average and
11% of them feel that it is very bad and 10% consider it very bad
14. It is observed that TNPL offer is excellent and 33% feel that it is good while 22% consider
it average and 9% consider it bad and 11% feel that very bad.
15. It is observed that that 28% of the respondents feel that TNPL package is excellent and
35% feel that it is good while 23% consider it average and 7% consider it bad and 7% feel
that very bad.
16. It is observed that TNPL product is distinct from its competitors and 35% of them agree
while 21% are neutral and 14% disagree and 16% strongly disagree.
17. It is observed that 56% of respondents are attracted to highly quality less and 4% of
attracted to highly quality highly price while 28% are average quality less and 16%. Less
quality less price
18. It is observed that 70% of the respondents are satisfied with the available sizes and 30%
are not.
19. It is observed that 44% of the respondents feel that there is a change in quality of paper of
TNPL from its competitors and 56% feel negatively
20. It is observed that 63% of the respondents they will suggest TNPL paper to others and
37% of the respondents they wont suggest others
21. Majority of the male respondents came to know about TNPL from recruitment consultancy
while majority of the respondents came to know about TNPL from job advertisement.
22. People who do less competitive analysis are qualified as 12th and people who are qualified
as 10th and postgraduate do more competitive analysis.

Page | 61

SUGGESTIONS

1. Since many of the respondents have come to know about TNPL from dealers, incentives
can be given to the dealers to fetch more customers.
2. ITC & JK are comparatively offering an improved quality of paper. So TNPL should also
work towards improvement in quality of paper
3. TNP dealing should improve on specialty and fine paper
4. Advertisement and the promotional campaigns should be improved.
5. Paper color should be improved
6. TNPL should prepare a marketing plan to distinct themselves among other player in the
market
7. More offers should be given to its customers.

Page | 62

CONCLUSION

Every manufacturing concern may have a key advantage and a key disadvantage. TNPL
should concentrate more on increasing its promotional and advertisement campaign. It should also
work towards the improvement in quality of paper and give due importance to products that are
preferred by the majority of the consumers. Consumer is the king is the general idea so they should
be given due importance in attaining competitive advantage.

Page | 63

QUESTIONNAIRES
NAME:
AGE:
GENDER:

[ ] Male

[ ] Female

QUALIFICATION:
1) How did you come to know about TNPL?
a) Print media ( )
c) Friend and family ( )

b) Electronic media (web site) ( )

d) dealer

( )

2) For how many years youre the esteemed customer of TNPL

a) 0-1year

b) 2-3 years ( )

c) 4-5 years

d) more than 5 years ( )

3) Why you Prefer TNPL?

a) Discounts ( )

b) Price

c) Quality ( )

d) Service ( )

e) Others (please specify)

4) What kind of product do you prefer more?
a)Office and consumer paper

b) specialty c) fine paper

5) How would you rate the overall performance of the company to its competitors?
a) Excellent (

b) Good ( )

c) Average ( )

d) Bad

( )

e) Very bad ( )
6) How do you rate the TNPL paper quality and quantity compared with JK paper and ITC paper?
a) Excellent (

b) Good ( )

c) Average ( )

d) Bad

( )

e) Very bad ( )

Page | 64

7) How do you rate the TNPL price compared to JK paper and ITC Paper?
a) Excellent (

b) Good ( )

c) Average ( )

d) Bad

( )

e) Very bad ( )
8) How do you rate the TNPL promotional activities compare with JK paper and ITC paper?
a) Excellent (

b) Good ( )

c) Average ( )

d) Bad

( )

d) Bad

( )

c) Average ( )

d) Bad

( )

c) Average (

d) Bad

( )

e) Very bad ( )
9) How do you rate the TNPL paper color compared to JK paper and ITC paper?
a) Excellent (

b) Good ( )

c) Average ( )

e) Very bad ( )
10) How do you rate the TNPL package compared to JK paper and ITC paper?
a) Excellent (

b) Good ( )

e) Very bad ( )
11) In your opinion how TNPL products is positioned
a) Excellent (

b) Good ( )

e) Very bad ( )
12) Do you agree that cannon product any distinct among the competitors?
a) Strongly agree ( ) b) agree ( )
d) Disagree ( )

c) neither agree nor disagree ( )

e) strongly disagree

()

13) Which type of promotion activities have attracted you

(a) Highly quality less price ( )

(b) highly quality highly price ( )

(c) Average quality less price ( )

(d) less quality less price ( )

14) Are you satisfied with TNPL on available sizes compared to JK paper and ITC paper?
a) Yes ( )

b) No ( )
Page | 65

15) Do you observe any change of quality in TNPL paper compared to JK paper and ITC paper?
a) Yes ( )

b) No ( )

16) Are you expecting any offers from TNPL compared to JK paper and ITC Paper?
a) Yes( )

b)No( )

17) Would you suggest the TNPL products to others?

a) Yes ( )

b) No ( )

Page | 66

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS REFERRED:
Marketing Research: G C Baris
Marketing Management: Philip Kotlers

Marketing management : PHILIP KOTTLER

Fundamentals of marketing : WILLIAM STANON
Competitive Advantage by Michael Porter
Service marketing - thakur publication

Service marketing : Dwayne Gremler, Mary Jo Bitner

Research methodology for business by C R Kotheri
Statistics for management by Dr P N Arora and Mrs s Arora
Research methodology for business by Uma sekeran
WEBSITES
www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Competitor_analysis
http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/competitive-analysis

http://www.netmba.com/strategy/competitor-analysis
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6965486/COMPETITOR-ANALYSIS#scribd
http://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=COMPETITIVE+A
NALYSIS

Page | 67