A

PROJECT REPORT ON MARKET SURVEY

OF

RETAIL MARKET AND SALES & PROMOTION IN ROURKELA

FOR

KONARK CEMENT, OCL INDIA LIMITED

SUBMITED TO

REGIONAL COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT (AUTO), BHUBANESWAR

BY

BISWAJIT SAHOO

REG NO-1001247117 PGDM-2010-12

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Project Report title MARKET SURVEY of RETAIL MARKET & SALES PROMOTION in ROURKELA for KONARK CEMENT, OCL INDIA LIMITED is a bonafide work carried out by BISWAJIT SAHOO, Reg no1001247117, PGDM-2010-12, Regional College of Management (auto), Bhubaneswar for fulfilment of PGDM degree. He has worked under our guidance and direction.

Signature

Acknowledgement
Interdependence is a higher value than independence Knowledge in itself is a continuous process. Nevertheless, a day getting a practical knowledge is an important thing & most important thing is the support, guidance, motivation and inspiration provided by the different persons of different sections. At this moment of our substantial enhancement, I find no words to express my gratitude towards those who helped me directly or indirectly in making this report successful. I am indebted & thankful for the assistance received from various individuals. So I thank all those people who contributed to this project from the very beginning till its successful completion.

This project report could not have been completed without guidance of our Prof. Hitesh Kar. I extended to my sincere gratitude to Mr S K Pradhan, Senior Marketing Manager, OCL INDIA LIMITED, Rajgangpur for his constant and able of guidance. He has been instrumental in large measure on the success of project. He suggest this study, and it has been great opportunity to learn about a subject of which had no previous knowledge for this, I am very grateful to him. Last but not least I would like to thank my faculties and colleges.

Questionnaire
1. Which brand the customer prefers the most in your locality? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE AMBUJA OTHERS

2. What are your avg monthly sales for different brands? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

3. Which brand informs you about the change in market price faster? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE AMBUJA

OTHERS

4. Which brand gives better credit facility? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC

LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

5. From which brand you get maximum profit? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC

LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

6. Which brand has better sales promotion activity? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

7. Which brand gives better incentives? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC

LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

8. What is general price range of cement of different companies? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE AMBUJA

OTHERS

9. Which company has better transportation facility? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

10. Which company has better lead time in supply of materials? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

11. Which company response to customer complains? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

12. Which companys representative visits frequently? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

13. Which companys representatives has good relationship with you? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE AMBUJA

OTHERS

14. Any suggestion you want to make?

Table of Content
SERIAL NUMBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NAME OF THE CHAPTER PAGE NUMBER

Executive summary Introduction to the title, Objective, scope of the Project Company Profile Theoretical Background Research Methodology Data Analysis Findings Limitation of the Project Conclusion Recommendations Bibliography Annexure

Executive Summary
The project was carried out at OCL India Limited, Rajgangpur.

Objective
The objective was carried out for two main objectives. The first objective was carried out the market survey for knowing prevailing market condition of Konark cement in Rourkela market. The second objective of project was to study the sales promotion activities undertaken by Konark cement and other competitors.

Research Methodology
The descriptive nature of the research necessitated collection of primary data from retailers of cement through market survey .Personal interview technique was used. Interviews were conducted through the structured questionnaire.

Sampling Technique
Random Sampling technique was used to select the retailers. Out of nearly 200 retailers of cement, randomly 50% of population was considered as a sample size. 92retailers were visited to collect the
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information about the cement market. The project was carried out for a period of 30 days. After collecting the detailed information from the market, analysis of the data was made. The market research has revealed many facts and figures about cement market.

INTRODUCTION TO THE TITLE

Today it is fashionable to talk about the new economy. We hear that the business are operating in globalize economy; things are moving at a nanosecond pace. Our markets are characterized by hyper competition. Disruptive technologies are challenging every business and so business must adopt to empower consumer. To become successful in such a competitive environment the business organizations have to be customer oriented. Customers need and want must be taken care of. Built customer and not only products. Customer must be delighted. This information about the market could be collected by the way of proper market survey. From the market survey we get the feedback about the goods or services of the organization .For this purpose this project work is undertaken. The project was carried out for knowing prevailing market condition of Konark Cement in the Rourkela region. The second objective of the project was to study the sales promotion activities undertaken by Konark Cement and its other competitors. The project was carried out in the marker of Rourkela of Sundergarh district, Orrisa. There are five main market players in cement in this region. They are Konark, Ultratech, ACC, Lafarge, Ambuja. Apart from these there are few other brands selling in the market.
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The information about the market was gathered by visiting retailers in the market. Interview of retailers was taken depending upon their accessibility. While doing the project attempt was made to collect maximum information about the market. To get actual and correct information ,it was not told retailers that the survey is conducted by Konark Cement for the obvious reasons .Number of retailers were visited to get the actual picture of the market. Again, the retailers of each grade (according to the performance) were visited, to get each and every detail about the market. Many retailers were reluctant to give the information , as they do not want to disclose their business details.

After collecting the derailed information about the market analysis is done. In the analysis, the observations recorded during the project were carefully analyzed and the results are prepared. The findings and result of the project work are given at the later stage in the report.

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Objective of the Project

This project was undertaken for two main objectives. 1. To carry out market survey for knowing prevailing market condition of Konark Cement in Rourkela.

2. To study the sales and promotion activities undertaken by Konark Cement and other player in the market.

To attain these two objectives various other sub objective are needed to be achieved. These are listed below. To analyze the market share of Konark Cement in Rourkela market. To know the customers preference for the brands of cement. To know the preference of retailer for sorting different brands of cement. To understand the effectiveness of various sales promotion activities of cement. To know preference of retailers for different incentives.
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To analyze the sales promotion activities of various brands. To analyze the transportation facilities for Konark Cement and other cement companies. To analyze the frequency of visits of marketing representative of various companies Thus it attempt to find ways to increase market share, to increase customer satisfaction and thus increase the business prospects

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Scope of the Study

1. The study has been done for the Cement so more or less it helps in understanding the consumer preference towards the cement market.

2. The study can help in analyzing certain weak points of the company, and improving those weak points.

3. The study will help the company to retain and expand its market share.

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Company Profile

The origin of OCL was seeded in the time that signalled India's independence. A dream unleashed. A blue print of growth was drawn. Endeavours to reconstruct economy set in. Indian industry woke up to the key challenge of self- reliance. Agriculture took a turn to modernity with construction of dams across the country. Against such a bubbling background Mr. Jaidayalji Dalmia, an industrialist of farsighted vision set up a cement plant at Rajgangpur during 1950 - 51 at the request of government of Odisha to manufacture super grade cement for use in the construction of Hirakud dam. The plant that went on steam as Orissa cement limited during 1952 transformed itself into OCL India Limited during 1996 to better reflect its multifarious activity. From a modest 500 TPD capacity imported single wet process Kiln of FL Smidth make of Denmark, the house of 'Konark' brand cement has journeyed a long way. To cater the growing demand the company enhanced its installed capacity with addition of its second wet process 600 TPD kiln in 1957.

15

Keeping a steady progress with time and technology, OCL has produced the first clinker through modernized and fully automated dry process plant in 1988 and further enhanced its installed capacity by adding its 2nd clinkerization unit in 2009. In the early fifties OCL has installed four numbers of Ball mills of FL Smidth for cement grinding purpose. Later on, to keep pace with the technological advancement and facilitating manufacture of blended cement, three giant Vertical Roller Mills with combined and separate grinding systems were installed during the Period of 1997 to 2005.

To ensure easy availability and timely supply of cement to the customers in the coastal area of Odisha, a split level cement grinding unit Kapilas Cement Works was set up near Cuttack in 2008. The urge to modernize and continuously upgrade technology has gone beyond the plant and transformed OCL's limestone mines into one of totally mechanized operations from the earlier system of manual mining.

The drive for excellence through continuous technological up-gradation has resulted in many 'Firsts' for OCL. A few of them are, The first auto kiln control system based on fuzzy logic in India, The world's largest cement and slag grinding Vertical Roller Mill during 1997,The second such Cement Vertical Roller Mill during 2001, The third Cement Vertical Roller Mill again with 60% additional capacity and first in the world
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Market in 2005.In 2003 OCL became the first Cement manufacturer in eastern India and one amongst the only four Indian Cement manufacturers who are accorded with the right to use American Petroleum Institutes (API) monogram for its Oil Well grade cement, approved for use in various Oil Well constructions. The target centric investments in R&D and application specific product development have both enabled OCL to enlarge and include in its product range various grades of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) like 43 and 53 grades; 53S Grade cement for use in the manufacture of railway sleepers; Portland Slag Cement (PSC); Fly Ash based Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement (SRPC); OIL Well Cement (Class G Type HSR/MSR) and Masonry Cement.

For a brief spell OCL also ventured into manufacture of a wide range of cement allied products including spun pipes etc., in early sixties of the last millennium and became a prime source of high strength reinforced spun pipes and pre-stressed concrete poles. It was the first manufacturer of pre-stressed concrete railway sleepers. Decades later, the company still reigns supreme as a supplier of railway sleeper grade cement in India.

Industrial Research & Development had always been the backbone of OCL's product supremacy. Apart from harnessing the fruits of in-house research for direct
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application to product and process development related spheres, OCL regularly commissions the services of Dalmia Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (DISIR) in carrying out application oriented specific research projects. This immensely helps OCL to draw upon the knowledge of scientific community as well and use it for the betterment of both the industry and the consumer to whom the Benefits of such research ultimately reach. A company is primarily known for the products it makes and the services it renders. In the ultimate count it is quality that holds the key.

'Konark' Brand cement of OCL has been extensively used in the construction of the prestigious Hirakud Dam in Odisha and in building some of India's largest roads, bridges and Industrial plants - including the Vidyasagar Setu in Kolkata ,the Gandhi Sagar Bridge in Patna , as well as in the construction of port facilities at Haldia and Paradip. OCL is proud that it was 'Konark' cement, which was exclusively used in essential restoration repairs by Archeologically Survey of India in Lord Jagannath Temple at Purl. To name a few remarkable Projects where Konark Cement has been recently used are Modernisation of TISCO/Jamshedpur plant, 2.2 Million ton Integrated Steel plant of Electro Steel Integrated in Bokaro, Jharkhand, A 3 Million ton Integrated Steel Plant of Jindal Steel and Power at Angul, Odisha An all weather new private Port at Dhamara near Bhadrak in Odisha built jointly by TISCO and L&T placed confidence on Konark in using its
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cement. A first all concrete road connecting the busiest commercial town of Odisha with its only Port Paradip in underway with all its requirement met from Konark cement A 3 Million ton integrated steel plant of Bhushan Steel and Power alongwith 500mw of power plant placed its confidence on Konark for its vital installations and used maximum quantity for installation of BF and other systems. Vedanta Aluminium, Jharsuguda building a world class Aluminium Refinery and a 2400MW IPP is another testimony of the confidence placed in Konark. Besides cement OCL India Limited also produces refractory product which was started in 1954. Over the years, it has become one of the largest and wellequipped state of the art Refractory plants in India covering a wide range of products for use in the Ferrous & the non-ferrous Industries. Its customer base spreads from iron and steel to cement, aluminium, glass, copper, chemicals and hydrocarbon industries. Today, OCL enjoys a huge market share in India and overseas extending to five continents across the globe.

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Product Portfolio

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Theoretical Background
PROMOTION

Promotion is persuasive communication. It is a highly visible element in the marketing mix. It tells the target customer product, price, and place. It tells also known as marketing communication. Promotion consist of activities that facility exchanges with target customers through persuasive communication to stimulate demand. According to Professor Philip kotler:- Promotion includes all the activities the company undertakes to communicate and promote its products to the target market. In modern marketing the question is not whether to promote but rather what to say, to whom and how often. A good product, an attractive price and an accessible distribution must be supported by an effective promotion to satisfy customer needs. Promotion activity include advertising, sales promotion, public relation, and direct marketing. Promotion can also be viewed as the management of the customer buying process of pre-purchase, purchase and post purchase.

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FUNCTION OF PROMOTION:- Promotion is a tool to influence target customer and to face competition. It performs four functions:-

Information Persuasion Reminding Reinforcing

PROMOTION MIX The promotion mix is the combination of advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling and direct marketing tools that help achieve marketing objective 1. ADVERTISING: - Advertising in any paid form of no personal communication by an identified sponsor to promote product. 29 2. PUBLIC RELATION: - It refers to programmes designed to promote or protect a company image and products. Publicity is any unpaid form of communication through media about an organization, its policies and products. 3. PERSONAL SELLING: - personal selling is personal communication with customers to persuade them to buy products. It permits interaction and relationship building. Sales persons provide feedback about the market, competitors and customers. 4. DIRECT MARKETING: - It is persuasion by manufacturer to specific customers. The tools of direct marketing are: 1. Face
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to face selling 2. Mail 3. Catalogue marketing 4. Telephone 5. E-mail 5. SALES PROMOTIONS: - Sales promotion has been increasing in popularity as a tool. Marketers are using it aggressively. Sales promotion refers to short term incentives to stimulate demand. It is used to create a stronger and quicker purchase response. It can be directed at consumers, middleman and sales personnel. It supplements advertising and facilitates personal selling. According to Professor William J. Stanton:- Sales promotion refers to demand stimulating devices designed to supplement advertising and facilitate personal selling. According to professor Philip kotler:- Sales promotion consists of diverse collection of incentives tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker and or greater purchase of particular product /services by consumer or trade. OBJECTIVE OF SALES PROMOTION 1. Objective for consumer promotion:- (a) Encourage greater purchase volume (b) Attract new customer (c) Introduce new products 2. Objective for trade promotion:(a) Carry and push new item (b) Increase resellers inventories (c) Attract new channel members (d) Offset competitive promotion (e) Better store display
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3. Objective for sales force promotion (a) Motivate sales force (b) Support new product METHOD OF SALES PROMOTION Sales promotion methods differ according to the target audience. They can be directed at consumer promotion, trade promotion, and sales force promotion (a) Consumer promotion method- Free sample Coupons Rebates Premium Price off Contests Display/Demonstration (b)Trade promotion methods Allowance Prices-off Sales Contest Gift items Credit facilities Trade show

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Research Methodology
The research methodology is the way systematically solve the systematically solve the research problems. The main objective of the research was to know the market condition of Konark Cement and to study the sales promotion activities undertaken by various cement companies. For this, right at the beginning the research plan was prepared. This includes all the detail of how to go about research work of Konark Cement. RESEARCH PLAN Definition of research problem The research problem can be defined as follows 1. `What are the cement being used by various customer in the region of Rourkela and what are their expectation from the cement. 2. What the market trend is of cement and brand awareness of Konark Cement. DATA COLLECTION The descriptive nature of research necessitates collection of primary data from retailers through market survey, personal interview technique was used and interview were conducted through structured questionnaire the question were asked in prearranged manner. The market research was conducted over a period of 30 days. Data was tabulated, analyzed and suggestion and recommendation were given.

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RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATS The Research instrument chosen for conducting the survey was structured questionnaire was prepared as show as in the annexure. The questionnaire includes open ended as well as close ended question, few open ended question were included to obtain the perception of the retailers. The questionnaire designed and a pilot survey was made with the questionnaire and then changes were made accordingly with the questionnaire. SAMPLE PLAN A sampling technique was chosen for the study was Random Sampling Technique. This is the most common method of selecting the sample. This is because the retailers are localized in different part of the marker a group of retailers are chosen are random from large group. It gives all retailers in a group and equal chance of being selected for the purpose of the survey. SAMPLE SIZE Out of nearly 100 retailers in cement market of Rourkela region around randomly 70% of total population was considered as the sample size. CONTACT METHOD Personal interview method was used for conducting the market survey. Personal interview had the benefit one to one communication between the researcher and the respondent. If the respondent is having any doubt or queries in their mind, they can get their doubts clarified from the researcher on the

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spot and so superior of data was collected from the survey was collected from the survey.

ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION

Detailed information was collected for the project marker survey for retail marketing and sales promotion activities of Konark Cement for the area of Rourkela market. The information was collected by visiting the retailers of cement present in Rourkela market. The interview of retailer taken in a friendly atmosphere so as to encourage them to give right information, without any hesitation. Because of some inherent limitation of telephonic interview, the method of personal interview was used. ANALYSIS The analysis of the collection information was made in scientific manner. Different manner rank was given to each alternative of particular questions, in the questionnaire. A particular rank was given in the following manner; Rank- 1 For the most favorable alternative Rank- 2 For the moderately favorable alternative Rank- 3 For unfavorable alternative Rank- 4 For most unfavorable alternative Rank- 5 Unfavorable To come at the conclusion, total of each alternative of all the sample size retailers was made. Thus the sum of an alternative having least score considered to be most

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favorable. In this manner, result is prepared for various important parameters of the survey. With the help of results so obtained, the findings are recorded in the form of graphs. The market of cement Changes as the area changes. The demand for particular cement for particular cement is much less. This is because of the crazier Trend of particular market. Thus the demand for the cement is not that price sensitive. Price is not the criterion for selection of rejection of particular brand is adapted on the type of application of cement and the brand name in market. Thus the awareness among the customers about the particular cement plays a vital role. The major types of customers are the builders and masons. The individual customers are there, but their demand is not more. The customers are ready to give slightly high price, but he wants quality cement, thus he is quality conscious. The customer perceives quality of cement as good quality because of effective marketing. So effective marketing is necessary. The retailer in the marker plays an important role in the sale of the cement. They have some expectation from the cement companies; they expected credit facility, good sales promotion schemes, and timely delivery of cement, etc. In brief cement market is sensitive to marketing. The better & more the marketing the more is possibility of sales. The observations and findings of the market survey about market share and sales promotion activities are given at the next stage, in the report.

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SWOT Analysis of Konark Cement

SWOT-analysis is done to understand the external and internal environment of the organization. SWOT, which is acronym for strength, weakness, opportunity and threats, is also known by TOWS-analysis. Though such an analysis, is strength and weakness exist within an organization can be matched with the opportunity and threats operating in environment, so that an effective strategy can be formulated. An effective organizational strategy, therefore, is one that capitalizes on the opportunity through the use of strength and neutralizes the threats by minimizing the impact of weakness Below is the SWOT- analysis of Konark cement. in cement market.

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Strength People ask for bleakness in cement and Konark cement has this. Cement grade is good and people are satisfied..

Customer choice. It is the market leader in Orissa. It has a good brand image in Cement. Weakness Great need of strategic way for promotion and advertisement for both dealers and customers. Not Exist all over the country Price and margins is not match with dealers and retailers expectation respectively. Guaranty given by company is from the date of manufacturing which is not acceptable for the dealers and retailers.

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Opportunity Strong infrastructure requirement for the development of the country and the country is developing in the utter pace. No of the medium class people is growing. Institutional market like corporate and government offices, school society complexes are growing in large scale, which will increase the requirement.

Threats
Cheep priced brand are grabbing rapidly a large chunk of lower income customer base. Other brands like Ultratech & ACC provide maximum profit to the both customer as well as to the retailers.

Dealers expect more margin and credit

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Data Analysis, Presentation & Interpretation

Analysis, Presentation & Interpretation-1
Dealers brand preference

Name of the brand Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others

No. Of Dealer Percentage 39 12 14 3 1 1 55.71 17.14 20.0 4.28 1.42 1.42

ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others

Figure 1Dealers Brand Preference

Interpretation
The above table and figure shows that the Brand Konark Cement is the market leader in Rourkela Region. It holds more than 50% of market. The brands ACC and Ultratech are the other 2 brand which is preferred by the dealers. Rarely you will find other brands. A local brand Samrat Cement is also have existence in the market, but it has very little market share

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Analysis, Presentation & Interpretation-2

Customers brand preference

Name of the brand Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others

No. Of Dealer Percentage 39 12 14 3 1 1 55.71 17.14 20.0 4.28 1.42 1.42

ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others

Figure 2 Customer brand preference

Interpretation
In this region the customer prefer the Konark cement the most. It captures nearly 55% of total cement sales where as if the whole state is taken into consideration the market cap of Konark Cement is about 30%. The customer prefer this brand more may be due to the presence of the plant in this region.

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Analysis, Presentation & Interpretation-3

Average Monthly Sales of Different Brands

Name of the brand Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others Total

Avg monthly Percentage sales in tonnes 5000 1800 2100 48.97 17.62 20.56

530
480 400 10210

5.19
4.70 3.91 100

15 4 6 33 Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja 21 23 Others

Figure 3average monthly sales(in tonnes)

Interpretation
This data show that the maximum consumption of cement brand in the region of Rourkela is Konark cement which is about 48% of the total sales of the cement. As it is the market leader in Orissa, it covers about 30% of total sales in the state. But in Rourkela it has more customer preference and covers almost half of the total sales.

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Analysis , Presentation & Interpretation-4

Which Brand informs Faster about change in price Name of the N0. dealers Percentage

brand Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others Total

38 15 17 0
0 0

54.28 21.42 24.28

0
0 0 100

70

N0. dealers
0 0 0 brand 17 Konark Ultratech ACC 38 15 Lafarge Ambuja Others

Figure 4Information about change in market price

Interpretation More than 50% of retailers said that Konark cement inform faster about the change in price, so that they can take precautionary action against i
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ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION-5

Credit facility provided by company

Name of the brand Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others

No of days
10 21 21 15
25 30

No of days
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 10 21 21 15 No of days 25 30

Figure55 Credit facility( in days)

Interpretation
The local brand Samrat is giving the highest credit period of 30 days where as brands like ACC and Ultratech are giving credit for 21 days. The Konark cement is giving credit for only 10 days. So that the retailers are not able to have more stocks in their godown.

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ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION-6

Maximum share of profit

Name of the Percentae brand of profit(%) 33 Konark 23 Ultratech 21 ACC 6 Lafarge 4 Ambuja 15 Others

15 4 6 33 Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja 21 23 Others

Figure 6 percentage of total profit

Interpretation
The above table and data shows that what is the percentage of profit a retailer get from different brands. It shows that a retailer gets about 33% of its total profit from konark cement. The local brand Samrat gives maximum margin. Other brands which contribute towards profit are Ultratech and ACC.

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ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION-7

Ranks given by retailers to companies for sales promotion
Name of the company Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 12 0 Konark Ultratech ACC 36 19 3 2 0 Lafarge 2 2 0 Ambuja 0 Others 16 11 9 20 Rank 3 Rank 2 31 16 Rank 1

Rank 1 36 12 19 0 0 0

Rank 2 16 31 16 2 2 0

Rank 3 11 9 20 3 2 0

Total no of retailor 63 52 55 15 12 15

Figure 7rank for sales promotion

Interpretation
Nearly 36 retailers out of 63 gave Konark cement no.1 rank in sales promotion. Also ACC and Ultratech are good in sales promotion. Other brands are havin very low level of sales promotion.

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ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION-8 General price range of different brands

Name of the brand Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge ambuja others Current market price 235 234 232 233 232 190

Current market price

250 200 150 100 50 0 Current market price 235 234 232 233 232 190

Figure 8current market price

Interpretation
The price of cement is always fluctuating and it changes according to the market condition. There is a seasonal effect on the price too. When this survey was done the price were fallen drastically from about rs290 to rs235 in one month of time. The reason was unseasonal rain. Normally the price of Konark cement is a little higher than other brands.

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ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION-9 Rank given on the basis of transportation facility
Name of the company Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others Rank 1 43 14 13 0 0 0 Rank 2 13 24 29 2 2 0 Rank 3 7 14 13 3 2 0 Total no of retailor 63 52 55 15 12 15

70 60 50 40 30 24 20 10 0 Konark Ultratech ACC

Figure 9 ranks on the basis of transportation

7 13 14 13 Rank 3 Rank 2 29 Rank 1 43

14

13

3 2 0 Lafarge

2 2 0 Ambuja

0 Others

Interpretation
In transportation also the Konark cement is ranked by most of retailers. It may be due to the location of the plant which is just 40 km away from Rourkela. Nearly 36 retailers said that Konark cement is the best in suppling the goods and it has a lead time of only 24hrs.

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ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION-10

Rank of the companies on the basis of response yo customer complains

Name of the company Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others Rank 1 22 25 23 0 0 0 Rank 2 13 14 15 2 2 0 Rank 3 18 13 17 3 2 0 Total no of retailor 63 52 55 15 12 15

Rank 1
0 0 0 Konark 23 22 Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others 25

Figure 10rank on the basis of response to customer complains

Interpretation
On the basis of response to customer complains the brands Konark, Ultratech and ACC are equally good. 22 retailers ranked Konark as no. 1 where as ACC and Ultratech were ranked 1 by 23 and 25 retailers respectively.

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ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION-11

RANK OF COMPANIES ON THE BASIS OF VISIT OF MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES

Name of the company Konark Ultratech ACC Lafarge Ambuja Others

Rank 1 29 23 18 0 0 0

Rank 2 17 21 20 2 2 0

Rank 3 16 8 15 3 2 0

Total no of retailor 63 52 55 15 12 15

70 60 50 40 30 20 29 10 0 Konark Ultratech ACC 23 18 3 2 0 Lafarge 2 2 0 Ambuja 0 Others 16 8 17 21 20 15 Rank 3 Rank 2 Rank 1

Figure 11RANK ON THE BASIS OF VISIT OF MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES

Interpretation
All the retailers told that all the companies marketing representatives visit their stores frequently. Here also the Konark cement is ranked 1 by maximum no. of retailers. Other two main competitors ACC and Ultratech were also very close to Konark cement.

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Findings
OTHER REASONS STATED BY RETAILER FOR BRAND PREFERENCE:KONARK

Better quality Good name in the market Timely available Immediately respond on the competitors strategy. Better packaging Local Producer

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ULTRATECH

Sells easily in the market the customer demand for them. Customer choice. Good name in the market as it carries the goodwill of L&T. High market awareness. Sells more ACC People ask for ACC. Service is good. Dhalai karne ke liye people ask for ACC. Very superior quality cement as compared to others Selling form the very first day the shop came in to being & sells easily They have same price prevailing for wholesale at dealers/stockiest retailers end.
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LAFARGE

Customers choice. Price is suitable as per customers pocket Rate & profit Good relationship with the people at Lafarge
AMBUJA

Customers preference Good cement, plastering work is good

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Problem Faced by Retailers

RETAILERS REGRETS

The stockiest occasionally inform about the price change in the market. They do not make personal visits to the counters frequently. Price should be stabilized in the market. Price stability in regard to the price set by the company as well as wholesalers (i.e. all the wholesalers should have the same price offered in the market). The management should not interfere in the price offered by the counterperson to the customers. They need price flexibility to shoot up the sale. Dispatch being closed every start of the month is a problem is a problem for them to stick to the commitments made by them to the customers. Small quantity ordered is not furnished on time. Pressurize them for taking more quantity for more quantity for transportation facility.
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Konark cement now does not give any gifts at the counters. It is not providing much credit facility

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Limitation of the Study

1. Lack of cooperation from the retailers in regard to giving interview 2. It was found in some cases dealers showed inclination towards certain brands which gave them more margins when compared to others. 3. It was experienced during the survey that it was difficult to convince or make the retailers and dealers understand the important of the project

4. As the retailers and dealers thought that it was

unwise for the to give their details of business as they feared competitors would take advantage.

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Suggestions
A very exhaustive study has been made, keeping in the essence of the objective of the project. With the efforts put on the project a detailed analysis was conducted and result were derived, based on the results and market response few suggestions are discussed below A Price fluctuation creates problems for retailers as the cannot keep the commitments of price to customers The reach to the rural market need to be strengthened Transportation to rural areas need to be strengthened, a significant amount of business is lost because of this. At time it has been seen that the delivery commitments an the side of the company is not prompt, this creates a bad name and again business is lost On interviewing Dealers/Retailers the most important thing they said was about the price flexibility, they want that the company should give them the price flexibility to play in the market. (As the company has outlined that the price offered by the company should only be offered to the customer, it should not increased to the customer, it should not be increased or decreased

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CONCLUSION
To attain the objective of the project detailed information was collected from the market of Rourkela. The market research has revealed many facts and figures about the cement scenario in the market prevailing. In the market, Konark cement is well known brand of cement and it is the market leader in Orissa. This is the result of the good quality of the Konark cement along with their effective marketing efforts, which covers the whole market customers of Konark cement are highly satisfied with the use of it, as they do not face any problem after using it. There are 5 major players in the Rourkela market. The major completion is between the 3 brands of cement. But the brand Konark cement is way ahead of the other two competitors, because of good marketing efforts, Konark cement is able to grasp some share of various other brands. The market survey undertaken shows that effective marketing efforts play a vital role in creating the goodwill for the brand. The distribution channel of cement industry must be well designed and made effective this ensures timely availability of cement to customers.

Though Konark cement is the market leader and is way ahead of other brands, it should not take the competition from other brands lightly. It should maintain the quality for which it is known. It should keep the customer satisfied, so that they will not switch to other brands and Konark cement will remain the market leader. It should try expansion plans in other states of the country too.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

1. Research Methodology: C.R. Kothari Wishwa Prakashan Darayaganj New Delhi 2nd Edition-1995

.2. Marketing Management: Philip Kotler Prentice Hall of India pvt. Ltd New Delhi-100011 13th Edition

WEB SITES
1. www.oclindia.in 2. www.google.com 3. www.ibef.org
4. www.msn.com 5. www.indianexpress.com
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Annexure Questionnaire
1. Which brand the customer prefers the most in your locality? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE AMBUJA OTHERS

2. What are your avg monthly sales for different brands? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

3. Which brand informs you about the change in market price faster? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE AMBUJA

OTHERS

4. Which brand gives better credit facility? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC

LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

5. From which brand you get maximum profit? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC

LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

6. Which brand has better sales promotion activity? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

7. Which brand gives better incentives? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC

LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

8. What is general price range of cement of different companies? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE AMBUJA

OTHERS

9. Which company has better transportation facility? 52

KONARK

ULTRATECH

ACC

LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

10. Which company has better lead time in supply of materials? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

11. Which company response to customer complains? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

12. Which companys representative visits frequently? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE

AMBUJA

OTHERS

13. Which companys representatives has good relationship with you? KONARK ULTRATECH ACC LAFARGE AMBUJA

OTHERS

14. Any suggestion you want to make?

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