Business simulation Module 3 (for Assessee)

Note: This is a group activity. 5 minutes will be given for reading the case the group will be given
questions along with its options there will be discussion of 4 minutes for each question where every
individual member will have to provide their choice among the four options and they will also have to
discuss the rationale behind their choice.

Module III (Strategic Thinking):

The following case would be read by the participants and then will be asked to choose a strategic plan
for the company which will be beneficial for the company. This choice has to be made from among 16
alternatives which will be given as options. Each of these options will have binary coding (presence or
absence) of all the 4 behavioural indicators of Strategic Thinking.

Market Scenario: Branded crisps market is one of the fastest growing market in India. A nation which
was long obsessed with foreign packaged brands like Lehar, Uncle Chips from global giants like Pepsi
and Coca Cola has recently developed its interest in branded traditional crisps, thanks to the marketing
strategies of brands like Haldiram, IndySnack etc. There are many organized and unorganized players
in the market and in the organized sector, IndySnack stands at 3rd position with 15 percent in the
category followed by Lehar (25 percent) and Haldiram (30 percent) respectively.

Lehar is backed by global beverage giant Pepsi and spends a lot in marketing and sales efforts. The
backing behind these brands is so huge that its unviable to compete with them in marketing and
branding. Haldiram on the other hand was the pioneer in Indian traditional crisps market and due to
innovative product and brand image enjoys a special image among customers. IndySnack also had a
loyal segment of customers it is especially popular among urban customers and thus ranks first in this
segment. More than 75 percent of the overall market is still covered by unorganized sector, but with
the growing standards of living and increasing hygiene awareness organized sector is growing far much
rapidly. The advantages that unorganized sector has is their reach to the customers as they are present
in almost every street in our country and their selling of product at relative cheap price.

Challenges: Recent ban on Maggi-a popular brand due to some issues in the ingredients has shaken the
whole organized foods market. It has also increased the expectation from the customer regarding the
quality of food they eat. As IndySnack sources raw material from various vendors so it has become a
challenge to keep the quality standards checked at all steps rightly from procuring to manufacturing
and storage. Due to stringent standards of FSSAI on companys product there has been a supply side
issue and it has become hard for the company to achieve its manufacturing targets.

Moreover, there has been a fluctuation in the prices of raw material like edible oil, spices and flour
which has also posed a challenge as there is already a price war in the industry. Due to less marketing
expenditure IndySnack has not been able to attract young buyers (Children and teenagers) which make
the biggest segment of market. Recently there has developed a trend of online selling of food items
and traditional crisps market is not immune to this.

Strategy: Mr. Gyanprakash Lahoti a third generation member of the founding family along with other
board members has set an optimistic target to become market leader in the next five years. Mr. Javed
Ateeb, the new CEO and MD of the company is well aware of the impending challenges to the growth
of the company. He has to come up with a plan to achieve the target set by the board and win their
confidence.
On the basis of your reading please answer following questions:

You will be given 4 minutes to give your choice for each question and also discuss the rationale behind
each question:

1. What according to you what is the biggest weakness of the company?

a. Presence of big players in the market
b. Extremely stringent regulations by the government
c. Unreliable supply of raw material
d. Company not diversifying in non-traditional but popular snack segment
2. What according to you what is the biggest strength for the company?
a. Already an established and recognized brand in traditional snacks segment
b. A family owned business making a better connect with the customers
c. Presence of a growing young population which makes the biggest segment of sales in the
market
d. Large size and capacity of the company
3. What according to you will be future course of action for the CEO?
a. Expenditure of advertisement
b. Increase in product line, introduction of new traditional products
c. Opening company owned retail stores in cities
d. Opening franchise based stores

4. What according to you will be challenges for the company in upcoming 5-10 years?
a. To tackle the unorganized market which holds 75 percent of the existing market
b. To insure un-interrupted supply of raw material
c. To raise funds to compete with other players in advertisement
d. To increase production capacity

Suppose government has banned sales of snacks by unorganized sellers selling who do not have
approval from FSSAI due to a serious incident of food poisoning of children after they ate from one
such unorganized seller, what will be the best course of action for the company?

a. Further increasing the quality

b. Opening of company owned stores in those areas where such unorganized shops were
previously present
c. Opening of franchise based stores in those areas where such unorganized shops were
previously present
d. Expenditure on advertisement to increase brand recognition of the company among those
customers who previously used to buy unorganized shops