Internship Report on PARTEX Beverage Limited (Main Body)

Executive Summary

Marketing is an integral part of business. Its importance is growing day by day in our

country. The developed countries consider it as a crucial part of business. In the recent

years, there have vast implication of marketing strategy in country. It plays an important

role in selling. It helps sales teams find and qualify leads and maintains contact with

prospects throughout the sales cycle. Although sales and marketing reside in different

departments in most organizations, integration between the two can help to improve

overall performance in terms of revenue and profit. A business can never place too much

emphasis on its customers. The customer is the foundation of any business' success. One

of the primary goals of any marketing strategy should be to identify and meet the needs

of the consumer. Considering customer importance at all stages of the marketing process

helps company to ensure greater customer satisfaction and increase its long-term goal of

repeat business. This internship report is on Marketing strategy of drinking water in

Bangladesh: A case study on MUM product of Partex Beverage Ltd.

Partex Beverage Ltd., a sister concern of PARTEX GROUP, is one of the leading

beverage marketers in Bangladesh. At present, the market position of the firm in market

challenger and aims to be market leader in 2012. This report aims to find out the

marketing functions of the firm. The firm has strength in economies of scale, brand

recognition, use of modern technology, etc and weakness in disfavored corporate

planning, not having own R&D department, fewer budget on promotional activities, etc.

The firm has three categories of product e.g. RC, MUM, BIG BOSS, with six flavors.

Generally, it uses competitive pricing in setting price. It uses three level of indirect

channel to distribute the product. The firm uses adverting, sales promotion and public

relations to communicate with the customers. Finally, it is interpreted that the firm

follows selling concept where the modern marketing reach to holistic concept.

Contents Topic Page no Chapter one Introduction 1 Objectives 2 Chapter two: Company overview Partex Group 3 Partex Beverage Ltd. 5 Origin of RC cola 7 Chapter three: Analysis Industry analysis 10 SWOT analysis 15 Chapter four: Findings (Focus on Marketing) Mission 21 A. Product Production 22 Product assortment 23 RC 23 MUM 25 BIG BOSS 25 B. Price Pricing strategy 26 Price list 26 C. Place Hierarchy of Sales Force 27 How the Distribution Channel works 28 Distribution Process 29 Distributors Selection 30 D. Promotion Advertising 31 Sales promotion 31

Publicity and Public relations 31 Picture of promotion 32 Chapter five: Supporting functions Human Resource 33 Information Technology 33 Finance Department 34 Chapter six Limitations 35 Recommendations 36 References 37

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Chapter 2

Introduction Partex Group is one of the largest groups of companies in Bangladesh. This group is conducting

business here for over half of a century. In this long way, the group has made a numerous sister

concerns of it. The total annual turnover of this group is now US$ 600 million. It has over 15000

employees.

Partex Beverage Ltd. is one of the most important sister concerns of the group. It has emerged in

1997 along with only products. The initial number of employees was 150. But now the firm has

three categories of product e.g. soft drinks, mineral water and energy drinks with six flavors. The

annual turnover of the firm is TK 200 crore now. Partex Beverage Ltd. is called PBL in short

deliberately by the concerned people.

The brand of soft drinks of the firm is RC, mineral water is MUM and energy drinks is BIG

BOSS. The firm tries to introduce new product categorized as fruit juice. The firm emphasizes

on competitive pricing in their pricing strategy. They use three level of indirect channel in

distributing the products. The firm uses a communication mix of various tools to reach to

customer and relationship. They have done various activities to support the marketing functions

of their firm

The firm specifies their vision to be a market leader within 2012 and works a lot to make it real.

But they have no R&D department to make way smooth. Because in modern marketing, long

term relationship with customer ensures the sustainability in market. Partex Beverage Limited,

one of the leading soft drink bottlers in the country, has started its journey in 1996. Producer of

RC Cola, RC Orange, Upper 10, RC Lemon, MUM Mineral water etc. The product a drink or

beverage is a liquid specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to basic needs,

beverages form part of the culture of human society. At present Bangladesh has a very

competitive market of beverage. In recent years Partex beverage has emerged as an increasingly

significant media house in Bangladesh.

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As we know that now-a-days people of Bangladesh are becoming very health conscious and pure

drinking water is one of the main components to become healthy and sound. In that light, lots of

companies are coming with different brand of mineral water with different types of package and

promotion. So, there are high responses from the consumer sides on mineral water (Bureau of

Statistics). Here my objective is to find out MUMs Market Penetration Strategy comparing with

other mineral water in the market.

1.1 Origin of the report

In todays world academic education is not enough to enable student compete with confidence

and reach his/her goal without having experience of the outside world. The report which has

given the opportunity to learn about how a particular company sets its Marketing Strategy to

launch its product in the market place to satisfy the organizational goal.

I chose the topic Marketing Strategy of Mum Drinking Water for my internship report

under the supervision of Md. Imranul Hoque, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing,

Jagannath University, Dhaka. My honest effort will regarded as successful if this report fulfills

the objectives of the program.

1.2 Background of the study

Consumers often judge the quality of a product or a service on the basis of a variety of on

formational cues that they associate with the product. Some of these cues are intrinsic to the

product or services, others are extrinsic. Either singly or in composite, such cues provides the

basis for perception of product and service quality. Cues that are intrinsic concern physical

characteristics of the product its self, such as size, color, design etc. In the absences of actual

experience with a product, consumers often within evaluate quality on the basis of extrinsic

cues- cues that are external to the product itself, such as price, brand image, manufacturers, retail

stores, or even the country origin.

Partex Beverage Limited (PBL) is one of the risen mineral water companies in Bangladesh

which serves MUM to the consumer. They have lots of distributors for their distribution who

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serves their product to the retailers time to time. For the institution, most of the time they

distribute directly to the end users or that institution.

When the wholesaler sell their product to retailer or institutions, sometimes the wholesalers give

them credit facility. Now MUM wants to run out them from this strategy (wholesaler). They

want to distribute their product to the retailers or institutions through distributors or directly, not

through wholesalers while other competitors like Super Fresh, ACME, Duncan Kinley, Jibon,

Pran etc. are selling their product through wholesalers. Super Fresh come up with different types

of pack sizes where MUM has only 2 types of pack sizes. Super fresh are offering some kinds

promotion to their dealer to promote their product and increase their sales and increase the

awareness of their brand. In that concern I have to find out that what MUM should do for their

dealer and at the same time for their end user.

1.3 Objective of the project

General objective

The general objective of this study is to complete the report. As per requirement of Business

Administration, Department of Marketing of Jaganntah University, Dhaka, all students need to

prepare a report for the (MBA) course to acquire practical knowledge about real business

operation.

Specific Objective

The report that I have to do as a student of Marketing, must have some specific objectives. The

specific of the report is to explore the Marketing Strategy of Mum Drinking Water of

Partex Beverage Limited (PBL).

Identifying the market size & market share.

Identifying the target consumers according to demographic segmentation social class.

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Identifying marketing & sales objectives according to positioning of the product. i.e.

Identifying the product attribute(s) (hygiene, convenience, safety, environmentally

responsible etc.) that are highlighted in the communication message.

Identifying the perception of quality compare to different mineral water brands.

Identifying the pricing policies.

Identifying the effectiveness of distribution strategy

Identifying different promotional activities that the company offers like credit facility,

discount, occasional gift, incentive etc.

Identifying the standardization of the product

Identifying the awareness of the consumers regarding the product in percentage.

1.4 Scope of the project

1.4.1. Gathering information

Gathering the information from different places in Dhaka city.

Collect information from different types of age group, habitants etc.

What are the benefits of those consumers who are taking these mineral waters like

MUM, ACME, Pran, Jibon, Pani, Fresh, Ifad etc.

Whether consumer prefer different types of pack sizes. Are the consumers satisfied

about the quality of MUM? Habit and life style of the consumer who take mineral

water. Does advertising play a positive role to increase the awareness of their brand?

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1.4.2. Analyzing the information

Analysis the above information from facts gathered and discussed with management of

MUM.

1.5 Limitations of the study

There are some limitations of the study that might have prevented in reaching more faithful

result. The limitations are stated below:

Because of unavailability of the information of DPHE, CAB it was not possible to

make the report as accurate as possible.

Time is one of the constraints of the study. The time duration to prepare the assignment

is not enough to learn about the Marketing Strategy of any organizations product.

Besides, some important aspects of the report could not be covered because of time

constraint. If more Marketing and other related factors that affects the market

potentiality could have been considered, then the result might have contained more

validity.

Every organization wants to maintain the confidentiality of the information. Because of

this reason, the managers and officers who were interviewed did not disclose much

information

1.6 Methodology

1.6.1. Sources and methods of data collection

For this study it will require both the Secondary and Primary data.

Secondary Data

In the report I use both internal and external secondary data.

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1.6.1.1 Internal Secondary Data

We collected some data (Market share, growth rate etc) from the management of

PBL.

1.6.1.2 External Secondary Data

To compare some data we collected some information from different organizations

and BSTI.

Primary Data:

Primary data is always known as survey data. This type of data is collected from the respondent.

For this study we collected the primary data by taking personal interview with the consumer and

different types of institution.

Sampling Plan

Target Population

People from different profession dink mineral water. So those who drink mineral water are our

targeted population

Sampling frame

60 different outlets where the company serves their products are sampling frame.

Sampling unit

Every individual who are chosen for questioning are considered as sampling unit.

Sampling size

The sample size is near about 60 for this report.

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Sampling method

As there are so many outlets located in different places in Dhaka city which cost very high to

go everywhere, convenient sampling technique is applied.

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Chapter 2

Literature review

Marketing a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain

what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and values with

others. Marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and

build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return.

Product Life Cycle (PLC) The course of a products sales and profits over its lifetime.

It involves four distinct stages: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline stage. The

product life cycle stage in which a products sales start climbing quickly.

Pull Strategy A promotion strategy that calls for spending a lot on adverting and

consumer promotion to build up the consumer demand. If the strategy is

successful, consumers will ask their retailers for the product, the retailers will

ask the wholesalers, and the wholesalers will ask the producers.

Push Strategy A promotion strategy that calls for using the sales force and trade promotion to push the product through channels. The producer promotes the product to

the wholesalers, the wholesalers to retailers, and the retailers promote to consumers.

Packaging The activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper for a

product. Traditionally, the primary function of the package was to maintain and protect

the product. In recent years, product safety has also become a major packaging

concern.

Product Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It include physical objects, services,

persons, places, organizations, and ideas.

Price The amount of money charged for a product or service, or the sum of the values

that consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or services.

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Distribution or place includes company activities that make the product available to

target consumers.

Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the products and the

persuade target customers to buy it.

Brand Awareness Brand awareness is the ability of a potential buyer to recognize or

recall that a brand is a member of a certain product category. A link between product

class and brand is involved

SWOT Internal analysis to identify the companys Strengths, Opportunities,

Weakness and Threats.

Vertical Marketing System (VMS) A distribution channel structure I which producers,

wholesalers and retailers not as a unified system.

Satisfaction The extent to which a products perceived performance matches a buyers

expectations. If the products performance falls short of expectations, the buyer is

dissatisfied. If the performance matches or exceeds expectations, the buyer is satisfied

or delighted.

(Kotler & Armstrong, March 14, 2011).

Marketing strategy: objectives Your marketing objectives will focus on how you

increase sales by getting and keeping customers. To explain how to do this, experts talk

about how best to package your products and services, how much to charge for them

and how to take them to market. A marketing strategy will help you tailor your

messages and put the right mix of marketing approaches in place so that you bring your

sales and marketing activities together effectively in an effective marketing plan.

Marketing strategy: knowing customers A successful marketing strategy depends on

understanding your customers, what they need and how you can persuade them to buy

from you. There's no substitute for knowledge. Experience and regular two-way

communication will tell you a lot about your customers. But targeted market research

will build a more detailed picture of customer segments with similar needs. It will help

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you understand how to target these people so you're not wasting time on people who

aren't interested in your offer. But you'll also need to understand how your market

works - where do your customers find out about your offer, for example? Your strategy

should even tell you how you measure up against the competition and what new trends

to expect in your market. Marketing strategy: making a plan A marketing plan

explains how to put your strategy into action. It will set marketing budgets and

deadlines, but it will also tell you how you're going to talk to your target customers -

whether that's through advertising, networking, going to trade shows, direct marketing,

and so on.

Crucially, it will tell you when to talk to your customers. Timing your activities to fit

their buying cycles will save money and maximize sales.

Finally, your marketing plan should look to the future: it should outline how you

follow up sales and what you're doing to develop your offer.

As with any plan, progress should be regularly measured and reviewed to see what's

working and what isn't, so you can set new targets as your market changes.

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Chapter - 3 3.1 Company Overview PARTEX Group:

PARTEX Group is one of the largest companies of our country. It was established in

1962. PARTEX Group consists of 17 industries. Net worth at current market price

nearly US $150 million. It has over 350 distributors around the nation. There are more

than 45,000 outlets which make its products available. And PARTEX Group has over

15,000 employees.

Figure: PARTEX Group

Mission Our mission is to provide value at an economic cost, progress in diversity, and

continue to contribute to the growth of industrialization in Bangladesh by being the

market challenger

Chairman

Vice-Chairman

M. D. Danish

M.D. Ambar pulp

& paper

M.D. Ambar Cotton

M.D. Partex

Bevarage

Director

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Partex group started modestly in 1959 in tobacco trading and with prudent

entrepreneurship of the Founder Chairman, Mr. M.A. Hashem. Today it has a stake in

tobacco, food, water, soft drinks, steel container, edible oil, wooden board, furniture,

cotton yarn and the IT sector. After the independences of Bangladesh the Chairman set

up M/S Hashem Corporation (Pvt) Ltd. in Chittagong city to meet the large demand of

food and materials needed for sustaining the needs of the new nation through imports.

From importing at that time, today Partex Group has matured to the multi million dollar

diverse investments. A dedicated work force and committed board members led by our

Chairman and backed by a market oriented corporate strategy has been the cornerstone of

our success. Today the group has over twenty family owned private limited companies

with a sizable turnover. Ours is a dynamic organization always exploring new ideas and

avenues to expand and grow further.

The Aim Partex Beverage Limited consists of 2 products these are RC Cola and MUM.

MUM offers a variety in consumer choice; 500 ml as individual and 1500 ml as a family

pack size.

The sky is not the limit for them but their expectations are within limits. Their

imagination soars beyond conventional barriers. They share their beloved motherland.

They want to serve her better in the greater quest for national economic emancipation.

Enterprise is their life. They manufacture quality substitute consumer and industrial

products. They offer consumer satisfaction keeping environmental and human factors in

mind. It is this thrust that gives their organizational integrity. They treasure their

reputation and protect it zealously

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Figure: Partex Beverage Ltd.

The way

To sincere traveler, the way is never too long. Partex group comes in this stage finishing

a lot of way and obviously wants to go so far. They want to pass their way by convince

their customers and progress in diversity. They believed in "progress in diversity and

service through entrepreneur". We are merchants and missionaries, doers and dreamers,

entrepreneurs and professionals. We are futuristic with emphasis on creative thinking and

dynamic activities.

Vision: To become market leader in the beverage industry.

.

M.D. Patex Beverage

Director Marketing

G.M. S & D

D.G.M. Marketing

G.M.. F & A

Director Commercial

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3.2 Partex Beverage Ltd.: Core functions

3.2.1 Mission:

We delight our customers with superior quality product through flexible operations.

In order to support the mission, Production department is performing the following

activities successfully:

Support brand portfolio / new product launch.

Availability/product harmonization.

Quality/ meet international standards.

Low cost producer.

Backward vertical integration:

Partex Beverage requires most of its suppliers to deliver raw materials just in time for

using on its production line. They only need CSD chemical which they use for flavor and

perform for bottling. Other than that they produce everything here with their automated

machineries. They usually buy those raw materials from suppliers twice a year.

3.2.2 Focus on Sales and Marketing

Mission:

To reach our target consumers in the most efficient and effective way through our strong

distribution channels in every market place where we do business. This department

identifies the areas in which best practice must be achieved to enable markets to meet its

objectives, which are:

Create an efficient entry barrier against local competition.

Improve our distributor's status to the trade pioneer among all FMCG companies.

It has the responsibility to reach the ultimate consumers through trade. e.g. Retailer. The

emphasis is not only on what volume is being sold to the retailers (Sell-In), but also on

the volume sold out to consumers (Sell-Out).

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The mission of Sales and Marketing department "To reach our target consumers in the

most efficient and effective way through our strong distribution channels in every

market place where we do business."

The Marketing Department and the Production Department activities are highly

correlated. According to the needs of the Marketing Department, Production Department

carries out the CSD manufacturing. The marketing Department forecasts the sales volume

of the different brand soft drink for the coming business year and based on this; prepare a

marketing plan known as the Sales Operational Plan (SOP). According to the Plan,

Marketing Department communicates the brand wise sales target for each month to the

Production Department. Based on the SOP, Production Department sets its production

schedule. The inventories of CSD are also evaluated at this stage to find out the actual

output to be produced.

Partex Beverage has a well-defined mission for the selling and marketing of products,

which to reach our target consumers in the most efficient and effective way through our

strong distribution channels in every market place where we do business.

A well-organized trade marketing team is working continuously to make this .mission

successful; furthermore the whole country has been divided into three regions to perform

the selling activities efficiently.

3.2.2(a) Hierarchy of Sales Force:

GM of Sales

Head of Sales Manager

Regional Sale Manager

Area Sales manager

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3.2.2(b) How the Distribution Channel works:

The Company sells their product to the distributors; in turn the distributors sell to the

retailers and cash & carry as well. Cash & carry are nothing but wholesalers. Cash &

Carry are needed because at times the retailers may not have adequate funds to buy the

required quantity.

3.2.2(c) Distribution Process:

i.Regional Go-down: There are three regional go-downs throughout the country to fill

every regional demand just at the time of need and to overcome various uncertainties

related to physical distribution of products, every regional go-down is directly controlled

by separate Regional Manager to face the regional physical distribution challenge.

Factory

Sales Depots

Distributors

Retailer

Consumer

Internal Carrying Agent

Cash & Carry

Figure: Distribution channel

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ii.Distribution Warehouse: All distributors have their own warehouse, where MUM can

be kept safely while not degrading its product quality. Distributors buy MUM from the

Company and from that point ownership and all responsibilities of the products go under

the distributors.

iii. Opening Stock at Distributors Office: Apart from the warehouse, every distributor

also maintains another stock at their office. This stock is for maintaining any change in

market demand instantly. Dealers sometimes sell RC through their counters to face

special situation.

iv. Delivery Van: All the delivery vans are owned by the dealers to assure the supply of

RC on the door of wholesalers and retailers just according to their demand. There are two

types of delivery vans. One is Pickup van and another is Rickshaw van.

v. Retailers: Retailers are at the end of the physical distribution system of cigarette

Selling products directly to the consumer.

vi. Distributors: The financial standing of the distributors, their reputation in the local

region, and prior related business experience are some of the key criteria examined when

a distributor is selected. The Head of sales, Regional manager and MD of the Company

make a decision check the evaluation forms and field recommendations. After a

distributor is selected they issue a letter of intent that specifies certain requirements of

the company. After these requirements are satisfactorily fulfilled, a formal -'letter of

appointment' is issued.

Distributors buy fixed volumes of MUM from the Company at a set price and resell to the

retailers. The company closely monitors their activities and performance and ensures

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them to operate in the market at the highest standard. Distributors follow a work routine

set by the company, generating paper work, and reports as required. Distributors are

assigned a certain geographic region within which they sell their MUM. Different routes

are assigned within the region that helps to sell their stock.

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Chapter 4

4.1 Overview of the Beverage Market in Bangladesh:

After independence the food habit of Bangladeshi people has been changed a lot.

Besides our traditional food consumers of Bangladesh like to take western food also

after 1980s. As a result of global marketing this was not too hard for the consumers.

Different foreign food companies were established in Bangladesh. Beverage industry is

one of them. But more interestingly we dont know beverage is also our cultural food

because beverage doesnt mean only carbonated drinks. Yoghurt, soup and lacchi are also

beverage of our own tradition which consumed for the last 100 years in

Bangladesh. But carbonated beverage is new in Bangladesh and today my research is on

carbonated beverage market in Bangladesh and consumer reaction to it.

At present Bangladesh has a very competitive market of beverage. Bangladesh has a

relatively hot weather and people tend to be thirstier. So they prefer to take drinks most

of the time. From the year 2000 more than 12 Beverage Companies were operating

business in Bangladesh and most of them are foreign companies some of them are

popular and some are not so popular. Among these Partex beverage is one of the

renowned companies.

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4.2 Product Portfolio of MUM The introduction of MUM in market was an excellent decision of the firm. From the beginning it has achieved a strong brand image and helps to enhance corporate image of

the Group. It is introduced in 2003. It has acquired Government and Institutional buyer

mainly. The product line of MUM is as follows.

500ml Pet,

1.5Liter Pet, 5 Liter Pet.

Producer & Marketer - Partex Beverage Ltd., units of Partex Group

1. Brand name MUM

2. Type of the product Natural drinking water

3. Pack size 500ml,1500ml & 5 l

4. Packaging

Primary packaging PET (Polyethylene Terepthalate) Secondary packaging A tray made of corrugated paper

contains 12 bottles which is covered by shrink wrap

5. Product attributes

Product quality

Strictly following guideline & standard specification of quality level of WHO, IBWA, ICDDRB, Food and Nutrition Dept. of DU

It is free from adulteration and contamination Produced under hygienic condition Obtained BSTI license Unique packaging feature Safe & pure natural

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Calcium 29 mg/L Potassium 2 mg/L

Bicarbonate 134 mg/L Sulphate 1 mg/L

Sodium 4 mg/L Magnesium 1 mg/L

Chloride 10 mg/L Fluoride -

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4.3 Marketing Strategy of MUM 4.3.1 Target market On the consumer side: on the consumer side, the target market is all levels (school,

college, university) students, all government and private employees, politician, young

people and the people of rural areas and who are suffering from diseases caused by

drinking impure water.

On the business side: on the business side, the target market is all wholesaler and retailer

and large department shop in the country. These buyers want high profitable product to

sales.

4.3.2 Market share of MUM

There are about 119 mineral water companies in our country. Currently all of them are

playing a vital role in the market. More or less each and every mineral water brands keep

a market share. Among all 119 mineral water brands MUM is holding around 45 %

market share.

Year Market Share (%)

2012-2013 78

2010-2011 45

2008-2009 38

2006-2007 13

4.3.3 Production Department

To assist the production department, an office has been set up near the factory, which is

in Gazipur. All the manufacturing process is done there. It is headed by a plant manager,

who reports to the production director at the head office.

4.3.4 Product

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From the survey report one can assume that MUM has basically a good image in the

mineral water market. This product comes with 3 pack sizes -500ml, 1500ml & 5000ml

which is greatly appreciated by the consumers. Quality perception is very much high to

all the traders, institutions, and consumers. From the survey it is seen that a particular

brand influence the purchasing behavior of a consumer and this is MUM. The reasons

are- its reliability, feature, authentication and features. Mostly these four things of MUM

influence the purchasing behavior of a consumer. Perception about the quality of

product

Reliability

For the sake of consumers, MUM makes its product with a great reliable

mechanism.

It is free from adulteration and contamination.

Produced under hygienic condition

Obtained BSTI license.

Feature

Safe and pure natural drinking water. It is balance for people of all ages

Using price tag, expire date, bar code.

Using attractive packaging, labeling, and liner cap for lucrative get up.

Service

It is also appreciated by the consumers because its service is very good. It is

available to everywhere. Such as

Retail Market Grocery shops, Tea stall, Confectionary, Fast foods, Sweet

shops, Panaceas, General restaurant, Pastry shops in Bus-train-launch

terminals etc.

Institutional Market- Hospitals, clinics, Chinese restaurant, cafeteria,

Luxury Hotels, Govt. & private offices, Banks, Insurance, Office of different

ministers, Parliament, UN Bodies, NGOs, National & International Air

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Services, Social programs, Religious programs, Stadiums, Play ground, EPZ

etc.

Authentication

Pure hygienic natural drinking water

People of all ages

Strictly following guideline & standard specification of quality level of WHO,

IBWA, ICDDRB, Food and Nutrition Dept. of DU

4.3.5 Price

At first when MUM introduces itself to the market they set market skimming pricing

because they had the quality product. They set high price for MUM. But now they are

Following backward pricing strategy because other brands price was much lower than

MUM. As everyone knows that the market is price sensitive thats why MUM set the

price as reasonable as possible. For this reason consumers are also satisfied with their

price. If we give a look at the survey data we will see that most of respondents also said

that its pricing is excellent. Not only this but also most of mineral water brands almost

set the similar price for same size. In this case consumers are getting more benefit from

MUM by giving the similar amount such as high quality, assurance of purity etc. Yet

their quality perception is good enough but they dont charge the high price for their

product.

Pack Size (ml) Price (in TK)

500 15.00

1500 25.00

5000 65.00

4.3.6 Channel of Distribution

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MUM distributes two pack sizes of mineral water throughout Bangladesh. The products

are distributed from the factory to the sales depots. They have a strong distribution base

with 350 distributors and dealers nationwide and 64 distributors in Dhaka city. Hundreds

of eager, energetic and effective sales representatives are working, supported by their

dedicated sales and marketing division. To their vast sales and distribution network of

dealers, they have 6 sale depots (warehouse) located at strategic points. These are

Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal. There are 64 districts in

Bangladesh and to maintain smooth and efficient distribution, they have mobilized

adequate distributors and dealers to serve these regions. Distribution is carried out by

their transport fleet supplemented by dealers transport also. They cove approximately

33,000 wholesalers and retail; outlets through this network, covered by 180vehicles of

various sizes backed by 540 sales personnel. They are one of the largest distribution

organizations in Bangladesh. This network makes possible the flow of goods from the

producer, through intermediaries to the buyer. The success of any new product in the

market place greatly depends on an effective and responsive distribution network, which

they ensure.

Figure: Channel of distribution

Distributors Selection:

Factory

Sales depots

Distributors

Cash & Carry

Consumers

Retailers

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The financial standing of the distributors, their reputation in the local region, and prior

related business experience are some of the key criteria examined when a distributor is

selected. The Head of sales, Regional manager and MD of the Company make a decision

check the evaluation forms and field recommendations. After a distributor is selected

they issue a letter of intent that specifies certain requirements of the company. After

these requirements are satisfactorily fulfilled, a formal -'letter of appointment' is issued.

Distributors buy fixed volume of product from the Company at a set price and resell to

the retailers. The company closely monitors their activities and performance and ensures

them to operate in the market at the highest standard. Distributors follow a work routine

set by the company, generating paper work, and reports as required. Distributors are

assigned a certain geographic region within which they sell their product. Different routes

are assigned within the region that helps to sell their stock.

4.3.7 Promotion

Sometime company gives promotion to the wholesaler or retailer or consumer to increase

their sales. In some cases company promotes to attract those consumers who are attracted

by the other brands. In this case MUM gave promotion to the retailer to increase their

sales. They gave 4 bottles as free for per carton. Then they change their strategy and they

started giving 2 bottles free for per carton. But the present situation is, MUM gets so

popularity that they stopped giving promotion to the retailers. Because their sales are so

high, they do not need to give any promotion to the retailer to increase their sales. Once

upon a time MUM gave some promotion to the consumer also such as T-shirt, cap etc.

But right now they dont give any promotion to the consumer too.

22 | P a g e

Figure: Promotion strategy of MUM

4.3.8 Sales strategy:

Sales strategy is directly linked to marketing strategy since all sales will be started in the

New Year 2008 on 1st January. All agents will use their van for distributing their

products.

4.3.9 Marketing communication:

Marketing communication mix include ads, sales promotion, personal selling, public

relation and direct marketing will be used for creating brand awareness as well as new

line for increasing sales. Partex Beverage Ltd will use an ads campaign to built brand

awareness and support to distributors for increasing sales

MUM-giving promotion

4 bottles free per carton

2 bottles free per carton

Not available

1st Situation T-shirt, cap etc.

2nd Situation

MUM-giving promotion

Not available

Present Situation

23 | P a g e

a) Advertising

PBL uses various media to make promotion of their product. This complicated channel

use helps them to make awareness of their product. The media that they use are as

follows

Television ad in numerous channels.

Cinema hall advertisement.

Outdoor advertisement such as Bill board.

Sponsorship with Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Partex group acts as a sports club now. Example, Cricket Team.

Pop items such as Calendar.

Shop and vehicle branding.

b) Sales promotion:

The firm uses various modes of sales promotion like giving with the price, reducing price

for a short period to increase total sales. This tool is used for short time increase in sales

by the firm.

c) Publicity and public relations:

To build public relations the firm tries to maintain good relations with companys

various publics by obtaining favorable image.

Publicity is such a tool of promotion where they cannot control the promotional activities.

In Bangladesh in cinema and drama, we observe using MUM. This use creates publicity

for the firm.

4.3.10 Supporting Functions:

a) Human Resources

HR Mission: Embedding winning culture where people always strive to excel.

To develop the most vital element of the organization that is human resource, Partex

Beverage has put in a lot of efforts in responding to various changes and problems

24 | P a g e

through effective formulation and implementation of human resource strategies through

the HR department.

Bridging the gap between top level and lower level management: Improved performance through attractive reward system Strive for excellent management practice

From recruitment to selection and also from employee welfare to industrial relations, this

department has to play an important role.

b) Information Technology

Information Technology department was mainly acting as a supporting service for all the

other functions of Partex Beverage. As the emergence of super information highway and

other technological advancement made the business world more competitive, Company

also made necessary adjustments towards the changes and in continuation with that

process. IT was made as a separate department in February 2002. The head of IT is also a

member of the executive committee and he is supported by the function support IT

managers.

c) Finance Department

Finance department is responsible to evaluate the economic performance of the

Organization. Company strictly uses the budget as part of the strategic plan to go for

operational activities. The company budget helps to measure its performance acting as a

tool for feed forward and also for feedback. The company at the beginning of the year

starts its operation with the budgeted sales, target, cost, investment and other financial

activities. The company for control purpose evaluates its performance at the end of each

month. It helps to give the actual information of cost, sales and other data and compares

with the budget allocation or target. In this way it finds the variances, then find out the

reasons and take necessary corrective action or review the budget. The overall

responsibility of doing this goes to the Cost Accountant and Head of Finance of the

Company.

25 | P a g e

Finance Department audits the expenditure at a regular interval to ensure that rules and

regulation are properly adheres the operation. External auditor also checks all the

Company Financial system and also prepares the annual financial report. If they find any

deviation they report to the Chief executive for taking corrective action. Any new

proposal is analyzed from the viewpoint of future prospects of the plan, through

Profitability, Capital Investment and Shareholders wealth. Here the Finance department

gives special consideration on the Return on Investment (ROI) of the proposal. Detailed

month wise cost analysis is done in detailed to access the variances. At each financial

point's corrective action are taken to remain within the budgeted plan.

4.3.11

PLC (Product Life Cycle) of MUM

Through product life cycle any one can know the present situation of a product. Which

position a product is in we can be able to know from the PLC graph. From the data and

company information we know that at present MUM is in growth stage. Because at

present their market share is 45% where in the previous year their market share was 38%

and year before previous year their market share was 13%. It means they are in growth

stage. If we give a look at the graph we can see the current position of MUM

26 | P a g e

Figure: PLC of MUM

As MUM can satisfy the market so they are in growth stage where their sales are

climbing quickly. In this situation they are attracted by the opportunities for profit and

they started facing new competitors. Where new competitors are coming up with more

pack sizes, different typed of promotions, different pricing strategies etc. For this reason

the market is expanding and they had to reduce their price slightly.

4.3.12 Push & Pull Strategy

When MUM was at the primary stage they followed push strategy to reach the product to

the consumer, to increase their sales. Not only in case of MUM, has any type of product

usually followed push strategy for the first time. When people get the knowledge about

the product and get the high consumer acceptance than the manufacturer do not need to

follow push strategy. In case of MUM such a thing was take place. MUM does not need

to follow push strategy right now because the awareness of MUM grows in such a way

that everyone knows what MUM is. MUM does not need to push the retailer to pull the

Introduction Stage

Growth Stage

Maturity Stage

Declining Stage

M U M

27 | P a g e

consumers for more sales. Consumers come to the retail shop and ask for MUM.

Consumers pull the retailers to deliver them the product onetime. MUM creates such an

awareness in the consumers mind that maximum consumers when want to purchase they

never ask for a mineral water, they look for MUM. In this situation MUM does not need

to follow push strategy, they are following pull strategy.

Figure: Pull Strategy

4.3.13 Marketing System MUM follows two Marketing systems to reach their product to the end user. These are:

Horizontal Marketing System

Manufacturer Distributor

Retailer

End User

28 | P a g e

Vertical Marketing System

But they usually follow Vertical Marketing System

Figure: Vertical Marketing System

As this case manufacturer and distributor act as a unified system reach the product to the

retailer for sale. From the factory manufacturer send the product to their distributor,

distributor deliver the product to the retailer and at last consumer get the product from the

retailer.

4.3.14 SWOT analysis

Manufacture

Distributor

Retailer

End User

29 | P a g e

SWOT is a tool by which we can justify the companys internal analysis. We need to

conduct SWOT to identify Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to market the

product.

Strength

Excess production capacity

Good transportation facilities

Competitive market

ISO 9001 certified

Holding highest market share in market

Market is rapidly growing

Company create Partex standard to follow only the standard of MUM

Attractive advertising media

Obtained BSTI license

Production under hygienic condition

High brand image

High consumer perception

Weakness

Not the market leader.

No Research and Development (R&D) department.

Fewer budgets on promotional activities.

Disfavored corporate planning

Dependency on ad agency

Do not perform any in any promotional activities

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Opportunities

Industry sale is increasing.

Scarcity of natural fresh water in Dhaka city due to pollution

Good product demand as this is a basic need

People are becoming very much health conscious

Threats

Potential competitors.

Natural disaster

Growing up overhead cost.

Political instability

Regulatory forces

Competitors come with variety sizes of bottles

4.3.15 Marketing research:

Partex Beverage Ltd conducted a marketing research for understanding the market

situation of mum plus mineral drinking water. It will also conduct marketing research to

measure mum plus mineral water awareness before, during and after marketing

campaign, study consumer satisfaction and identify opportunities for future product

development efforts.

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Sales and Distribution Department

Figure: Sales and Distribution of MUM

MD Partex Beverafe

Director - Marketing

GM S & D

Regional sales manager

Sales operation manager

Distribution manager

Market development manager

Area Sales manager

Sales Officer

Statistical Officer

Assistant Sales Officer

Sales representative

Regional distribution

Officer

Depot in charge

Distribution Assistant

Assistant distribution

Officer

Distribution Assistant

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Marketing Department

Figure: Marketing Department of MUM

MD Partex Beverage

Director - Marketing

DGM - Marketing

Brand Manager

Brand Officer

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Commercial Department

Figure: Commercial Department of MUM

Director Commercial

GM Commercial

Manager Commercial

Commercial Officer

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Chapter 5 5.1 Analysis

Figure: Variation in bottle sizes of different brands

The above table shows that Jibon offers 4 pack sizes to the market for the consumer

where MUM has only 3 pack sizes. Although MUM has only 3 pack sizes but these are

very much popular. From the table we can see that Super Fresh takes the second place

carrying with 3 pack sizes. And Pran, Duncan and other mineral water brand offers same

as MUM.

Throughout the whole internship it is clear that although MUM carries only 3 pack sizes

but these are very popular for the consumers

For 500 ml MUM, Duncan, Pran and other mineral water brands charges comparatively

high price. And other 2 brands like Super Fresh and Jibon charges lowest price. In case of

1.5 liter MUM, Duncan, Pran, and other mineral water brands charges high price and

Jibon charges the lowest price.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Variation in bottle sizes

MUM

Pran

Fresh

Duncan

Jibon

Others

35 | P a g e

As MUMs brand image is good enough thats why they charges high price for their

product. In this case high price dont effect on their sales. When a consumer buys mineral

water their intention is to take a fresh and purified mineral water. As consumers are

reliable on MUM, thats why retailers are also interested to take MUM in their retail shop

with high price.

Different Pack Sizes 500ml/600ml 1 Liter 1.5 Liter 2 Liter 5 liter Price (in TK) Price (in

TK) Price (in

TK) Price (in

TK) Price (in

TK) MUM 15 25 65 Super Fresh 15 30 Duncan 15 Pran 15 Jibon 15 30 Others 15 25 30 From the questionnaire survey it is clear that MUM is only popular brand to the

consumer. 96% of the respondents told that it is the most popular brand and 4% was

neutral.

Being a most popular mineral water brand to the consumer they are enjoying the

competitive advantage.

36 | P a g e

Figure: Average sales/day (all pack sizes) It is clear that MUM has the biggest sales (app. 1 carton). Sales are the ultimate result for

any product. So from the above graph we can say that MUM is in a very good position as

they have their higher sales. So we can also say that they have their highest market share.

Popualar96%

Neutral4%

PopualarNeutral

0

5

10

15

MUMSuper FreshPranDuncanJibonOthers

37 | P a g e

Figure: Which occupational group prefers mineral water most?

Students are the largest segment for mineral water. As students are young age and they

are very health conscious thats why they drink mineral water most. They dont mind to

spend 15 Taka for purified water.

Figure: How frequently consumers purchase mineral water per day?

44 respondents out of 60 are saying that consumers purchase mineral water on a regular

basis and 16 respondents are saying that consumers purchase mineral water occasionally

0

5

10

15

20

25

StudentsService personBusiness personHouse hold personOthers

44

16

Regular DrinkerOccasional Drinker

38 | P a g e

(like in a very hot season people want a cold drink to meet their thirstiness but there are

no cold drink in that particular shop in that case they buy a cold mineral water).

As we can see from the previous questions that the tendency of the consumer is growing

day by day thats why they buy mineral water on a regular basis.

Figure: Influencing of the purchase behavior based on a specific brand Only 12 respondents told that no particular brand influence the purchase behavior of a

consumer and a big segment (rest of the 48 respondents) told that a particular brand

influence the purchase behavior of a consumer that is MUM.

MUM has high consumer acceptance, brand image, quality perception and low price

moderate. Consumers get more benefit from MUM than other mineral water brands. As

MUM has high consumer preference and from the previous question it is seen that MUM

has highest sales thats why retailers are interested to keep MUM into their shop yet

distributor of MUM is not giving that much promotion to them.

Yes, 48

No, 12

YesNo

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Chapter 6 6.1 Findings (Focus on Marketing)

Mission:

To reach our target consumers in the most efficient and effective way through

our strong distribution channels in every market place where we do business. This

department identifies the areas in which best practice must be achieved to enable markets

to meet its objectives, which are:

Create an efficient entry barrier against local competition.

Improve our distributor's status to the trade pioneer among all FMCG companies.

It has the responsibility to reach the ultimate consumers through trade e.g. retailer. The

emphasis is not only on what volume is being sold to the retailers (Sell-In), but also on

the volume sold out to consumers (Sell-Out). The Marketing Department and the

Production Department activities are highly correlated. According to the needs of the

Marketing Department, Production Department carries out the CSD manufacturing. The

marketing Department forecasts the sales volume of the different brand soft drink for the

coming business year and based on this; prepare a marketing plan known as the Sales

Operational Plan (SOP). According to the Plan, Marketing Department communicates the

brand wise sales target for each month to the Production Department. Based on the SOP,

Production Department sets its production schedule. The inventories of CSD are also

evaluated at this stage to find out the actual output to be produced. A well-organized

trade marketing team is working continuously to make this mission successful;

furthermore the whole country has been divided into six regions along with almost 3

hundred distributors to perform the selling activities efficiently.

Findings (Focus on Production) MissionWe delight our customers with superior quality product through flexible operations.

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In order to support the mission, Production department is performing the following

activities successfully:

Support brand portfolio. Availability/product harmonization. Quality/ meet international standards. Low cost producer.

For smooth production they use backward integration because they produce almost

everything needed to produce the product except CSD chemical.

Backward integration Partex Beverage requires most of its suppliers to deliver raw materials just in time for

using on its production line. They only need CSD chemical which they use for flavor and

perform for bottling. Other than that they produce everything here with their automated

machineries. They usually buy those raw materials from suppliers twice a year.

MUM has high consumer acceptance, brand image, quality perception and low price

moderate. Consumers get more benefit from MUM than other mineral water brands. As

MUM has high consumer preference and from the previous question it is seen that MUM

has highest sales thats why retailers are interested to keep MUM into their shop yet

distributor of MUM is not giving that much promotion to them.

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Chapter 7 Recommendation & Conclusion 5.1 Recommendation

MUM can extend their pack sizes because there is a demand of 1 Liter from

consumer side. When it is a matter of 2 or 3 drinker, 500 ml is small and 1500 ml

is big. When these 2 or 3 consumers need a mineral water they have to switch to

other brand through their first choice is MUM

Young age segment is comparatively bigger than other age segments. So by

targeting this segment some advertisement can be created.

Some promotions can be given for this segment thus they become more

motivated to purchase MUM.

MUM van sponsor to sports program in different school, colleges and university

etc.

As this is a very hot season MUM can provide cold mineral water to the

consumers using small size van, like Ice-cream van.

Improve features as per the current market demand and effectively focused, so

customers will interested to purchase.

Price their products such a manner that it will not too expensive but most of the

features are included

Quality need to be improved

To improve different features like attractive packaging etc.

Creative and attractive communication should be emphasizing where features and

benefits are focused effectively.

Use different media for communication.

Increase the distributor to expand the market.

Ensure that retail stores and super shops have available their products.

Try to satisfy the consumers which can decrease the threat to shift of consumers

in other companys product.

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5.2 Conclusion

There is a saying, Water is life. Based on the study it is seen that most of the people want crystal clear water for drinking as basic need. Totally pure and hygienic quality drinking water is a basic need for people, particularly the urban and sub-urban sector in Bangladesh. To provide the people with safe and pure drinking water, Partex Beverage started producing MUM in 500 ml and 1500 ml bottle. Most of the consumer always prefer and seek reasonable price for good quality that MUM serves to the consumers. It is being distributed nationwide by Partex Beverage as well as their owned Danish distributor network. For the packaging of their product they use PET (Polyethylene Terepthalate) bottle which is a package for food and non-food products because it is inexpensive, light weight, resalable, shatter resistant and recyclable. From the study, we came to know from the mineral water market that how the consumer think, how they behave when they want to purchase a mineral water from the market.

7. Executive Summary+table of contentch-1Chapter 2

ch-2Chapter 2Literature reviewMarketing a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and values with others. Marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build ...Product Life Cycle (PLC) The course of a products sales and profits over its lifetime. It involves four distinct stages: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline stage. The product life cycle stage in which a products sales start climbing quickly.Pull Strategy A promotion strategy that calls for spending a lot on adverting and consumer promotion to build up the consumer demand. If the strategy is successful, consumers will ask their retailers for the product, the retailers will ask the wholesa...Push Strategy A promotion strategy that calls for using the sales force and trade promotion to push the product through channels. The producer promotes the product to the wholesalers, the wholesalers to retailers, and the retailers promote to consumers.Packaging The activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product. Traditionally, the primary function of the package was to maintain and protect the product. In recent years, product safety has also become a major packaging c...Product Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It include physical objects, services, persons, places, organizations, and ideas.Price The amount of money charged for a product or service, or the sum of the values that consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or services.Distribution or place includes company activities that make the product available to target consumers.Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the products and the persuade target customers to buy it.Brand Awareness Brand awareness is the ability of a potential buyer to recognize or recall that a brand is a member of a certain product category. A link between product class and brand is involvedSWOT Internal analysis to identify the companys Strengths, Opportunities, Weakness and Threats.Vertical Marketing System (VMS) A distribution channel structure I which producers, wholesalers and retailers not as a unified system.Satisfaction The extent to which a products perceived performance matches a buyers expectations. If the products performance falls short of expectations, the buyer is dissatisfied. If the performance matches or exceeds expectations, the buyer is sa...(Kotler & Armstrong, March 14, 2011).Marketing strategy: objectives Your marketing objectives will focus on how you increase sales by getting and keeping customers. To explain how to do this, experts talk about how best to package your products and services, how much to charge for t...Marketing strategy: knowing customers A successful marketing strategy depends on understanding your customers, what they need and how you can persuade them to buy from you. There's no substitute for knowledge. Experience and regular two-way communicat...you understand how to target these people so you're not wasting time on people who aren't interested in your offer. But you'll also need to understand how your market works - where do your customers find out about your offer, for example? Your strateg...

ch-3Chapter - 3Figure: PARTEX GroupEnterprise is their life. They manufacture quality substitute consumer and industrial products. They offer consumer satisfaction keeping environmental and human factors in mind. It is this thrust that gives their organizational integrity. They treasur...Figure: Partex Beverage Ltd.3.2 Partex Beverage Ltd.: Core functionsGM of SalesHead of Sales Manager

ch-4Chapter 45 Liter Pet.Producer & Marketer - Partex Beverage Ltd., units of Partex Group4.3 Marketing Strategy of MUM4.3.1 Target marketOn the consumer side: on the consumer side, the target market is all levels (school, college, university) students, all government and private employees, politician, young people and the people of rural areas and who are suffering from diseases cause...On the business side: on the business side, the target market is all wholesaler and retailer and large department shop in the country. These buyers want high profitable product to sales.4.3.2 Market share of MUM4.3.3 Production Department4.3.4 ProductFrom the survey report one can assume that MUM has basically a good image in the mineral water market. This product comes with 3 pack sizes -500ml, 1500ml & 5000ml which is greatly appreciated by the consumers. Quality perception is very much high to ...ReliabilityFeatureServiceAuthentication4.3.5 Price4.3.6 Channel of DistributionFigure: Promotion strategy of MUM4.3.8 Sales strategy:Sales strategy is directly linked to marketing strategy since all sales will be started in the New Year 2008 on 1st January. All agents will use their van for distributing their products.Marketing communication:

Bridging the gap between top level and lower level management:Improved performance through attractive reward systemc) Finance Department

Figure: PLC of MUM4.3.12 Push & Pull StrategyFigure: Pull StrategyFigure: Vertical Marketing System4.3.14 SWOT analysisStrengthWeaknessOpportunitiesRegulatory forcesCompetitors come with variety sizes of bottles4.3.15 Marketing research:Partex Beverage Ltd conducted a marketing research for understanding the market situation of mum plus mineral drinking water. It will also conduct marketing research to measure mum plus mineral water awareness before, during and after marketing campai...

ch-5 & 6Chapter 5Figure: Variation in bottle sizes of different brandsFigure: Average sales/day (all pack sizes)Figure: Which occupational group prefers mineral water most?Figure: How frequently consumers purchase mineral water per day?Chapter 6

ch-7Chapter 7Recommendation & Conclusion5.1 Recommendation5.2 Conclusion