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Demand Assessment Survey Report - Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd. Apeejay Infralogistics Private Limited Submitted to: External Guide Internal Guide Mr. Manish Kapoor Prof. Dr K Dhar Senior Executive, AILPL IIM,Calcutta Kamal Kishore Singh Management Trainee, AILPL Submitted by: Ashish Banerjee ENROLLMENT NO: P/MN/R/09/116 1
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Kushaal Sharma

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Page 1: Sip Report[1]

Demand Assessment Survey Report - Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd.

Apeejay Infralogistics Private Limited

Submitted to:

External Guide Internal Guide

Mr. Manish Kapoor Prof. Dr K Dhar

Senior Executive, AILPL IIM,Calcutta

Kamal Kishore Singh

Management Trainee, AILPL

Submitted by: Ashish Banerjee

ENROLLMENT NO: P/MN/R/09/116

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INDIAN INSTITUE OF MANAGEMENT

KOLKATA

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

NAME: ASHISH BANERJEE

COURSE: PGPBM

BATCH: 2009-2011

TELEPHONE: 97560011267

E-MAIL: [email protected]

COMPANY NAME: APEEJAY INFRALOGISTICS PVT LTD.

PROJECT TITLE: SURVEY ON DEMAND ASSESSMENT

APEEJAY INFRALOGISTICS PVT LTD.

PROJECT SUPERVISOR: MR. DHEERAJ RANJAN

TELEPHONE: 9007292767

START DATE FOR INTERNSHIP: 19TH APRIL 2010

END DATE FOR INTERNSHIP: 19TH JUNE 2010

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Acknowledgements

It is not enough to take steps which may someday lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude and special thanks to:

Apeejay Surrendra Group, for giving me the opportunity to spend eight weeks at the company

in fulfillment of requirements of my Summer Internship Program in the esteemed company.

Prof. Gautam Ghosh, Director, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.

Dr. Rajdip Bakshi, Faculty Member, IIM, Kolkata, who helped me in understanding the

objective of the project and in various analyses.

Mr. Ashis Mitra, Faculty Member, IIM, Kolkata, for giving me warm advices to get corporate

appointments.

Mr. Abdul Wahid, CEO, Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Limited. for his contribution regarding

scope and learning of the project.

Mr. Abhijit Sengupta, DGM-HR, Apeejay Surrendra Group, for giving me a chance to work

with esteemed company.

And lastly my very special thanks to Mr. Manish Kapoor, Senior Executive, Kamal Kishore

Singh, MT(Marketing), Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Limited for helping me from the very first

day in each and every aspect of the project.

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Table of Contents

Particulars Page No.

1. Acknowledgements 3

2. Abstract 5

3. Introduction 6

4. Unit Under Study 7

5. Work Atmosphere at Haldia 8-11

6. Project Description 12

7. Research Result & Analysis 13-16

8. Proposed Marketing Strategy 17-27

9. Objective & Limitation of the project 28

10. Recommendation & Suggestions 29

11. Execution of Methodology 30-33

12. List of Companies Considered for Research 34

13. Key Contacts 35

14. Executive Summary36

15. References 37

16. Glossary 38

ABSTRACT

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Logistics is the management of the flow of goods, information and other resources between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet the requirements of consumers. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material-handling, and packaging, and occasionally security. Logistics is a channel of the supply chain which adds the value of time and place utility. Today the complexity of production has increased, so as the safely issues of transport of expensive shipments from one place to the other. Logistics management is that part of the supply chain which plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customer & legal requirements.

Cutting edge competition between companies has put them in search of the best service provider who can efficiently store, load/unload, and transport their shipments in a safe and inexpensive way. Yesteryears logistics parks used to be a large scale places and warehouses holding inventories. Things cannot work in the same way today’s competitive environment. Modern logistics parks rather designed to minimize inventories of finished goods. To minimize problems of assembly lines because of a lack of production ready materials, modern day’s logistics park exclusively keeps the track of regular requirements of production materials for production houses and checks its availability. These are all advanced world class facilities to work in synergy with client’s requirement to perform better and surpass their competitors. AILPL Logistics Park is very much into this category. The value added services along with core logistics services is to help clients to find an edge over their competitors.

As the Indian markets are getting more competitive in the coming years, demand for multi-modal logistics services including value added services is huge. Policy changes like the abolishment of the CST and opening of free trade and warehousing zones are deciding factors for more companies to outsource their logistics services to third party contractors. Moreover, at a time when the strategic importance of an efficient supply chain is gaining wider recognition in the corporate world, Supply Chain Strategy will become an essential resource in formulating overall business strategy for companies.

In today's highly volatile and competitive markets, supply chain leadership separates the winners from the losers--yet some companies continue to restrict their supply chain activities to routine operations and cost control programs. A much better understanding is needed of how supply chain management integrates with strategy and organizational structure to help enterprises compete and grow. Committed service to assist corporate India realize their logistics needs at an optimum cost, enabling them to gain competitive advantage by virtue of better logistics support throughout the value chain is our ultimate goal, because in today's business scenario it is the effective supply chain that will provide them the competitive advantage in the marketplace more than their product.

INTRODUCTION

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Logistics parks refer to a huge area of logistics functional operations that focus on logistics’ organization and management. They aim at providing with services for economic development. At the same time, they are economic functional regions in which relevant logistics facilities can help to decrease costs of logistics, improve efficiency of logistics operation, and perfect products’ circulation and process and the purchase of raw materials. The concept of logistics parks have been introduced into China since several years ago. Japan is one of countries that possess mature logistics in the world. Many domestic scholars in China praise highly for Japan’s experiences in developing logistics parks.

With the liberalization of India economy in the early 90’s, and removal of trade barriers and introduction of FDI, FII and SEZs, the demand for Supply Chain has grown up exceedingly, mainly in Real estate, Production, OEMs, Steel & Bulk, Cement, Oil & Gas sectors. Post liberalization, as Indian economy opened up, with the huge amount of investment the competition has also raised for different companies in different sectors. Supply Chain management became a predominant part of company’s business strategy in the face of cutting edge competition. Sooner or later, Organizations started to realize that logistics outsourcing to a professional third party logistics provider (3PL) can effectively reduce logistics costs and improve enterprise's core competitiveness. It can reduce the burden of logistics from the production houses, and the company can focus its resources to build their own core competencies, and to continuously upgrade to ensure that the firm commissioned by the long-term high profits, and lead the industry in favor of the enterprise's own direction.

Apeejay Infralogistics Private Limited (AILPL) a joint venture between Apeejay Surrendra Group and UK based Eredene Capital Plc, creating infrastructure for facilitating an integrated logistic facility (an integrated logistics park). “Apeejay Surrendra Group” is a diversified conglomerate. Established in 1910 the group recently celebrated its 100 yrs of flagship business venture. With interest in shipping, financial services, hospitality, retail & real estate and tea industry. Its joint venture partner Eredene capital Plc is a UK based company which invest in infrastructure projects in India. Eredene focuses primarily but not exclusively on logistics, distribution, warehouses and port services. The Eredene Group has made nine investments in India to date (Sattva Vendor CFS, Sattva Conware CFS, Pipavav CFS, Baroda ICD, Haldia Logistics Park, Kalinganagar Logistics Park, M J logistics service, Sriva Logistics Solution, Marathan Realty and gopi resorts). Three of its investments are second investments with established Indian partners.

The logistics park will be providing multi functional facilities for storage, distribution, efficient transportation, ancillary support services and trade facilitation infrastructure under one roof capable of providing "End to End Logistics Support" to customers. The full array of integrated supply chain management services promises to deliver results directly to the bottom line of its clients.

UNIT UNDER STUDY

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Apeejay infralogistics Pvt. Ltd has got two logistics park. One at Haldia, West Bengal and the other one is at Kalinganagar, Orissa. I have taken up the Haldia unit under my study and visited almost all the companies which has a production base in Haldia and got a city office in Kolkata. There are other kinds of companies also covered under this project which doesn’t have a production centre in Haldia but uses Haldia port for their overseas operation. Some of the third party logistics companies in Kolkata were also reviewed under the project.

Services & Facilities:

Storage & Material Handling

Warehousing facilities – open & covered, ambient & temperature controlled.

Multilayer Racking equipment with advanced Material Handling Equipments.

Multifunctional & shared warehouses with cross docking facilities.

Open storage of bulk materials.

Bagging, packing/repacking, labeling, sequencing, kitting, sub-assembling etc.

Distribution & Transport

Consolidation, Deconsolidation, Reverse Distribution, Delivery optimization,

JIT- Delivery, Merge-in-Transit etc.

Project cargo Management

Trains & Locomotives, Industrial Plants & Air Separation Plants, Aircrafts,

Naval & Pleasure Crafts, Heavy Duty Vehicles, Defense Equipment, Port

Equipment Etc.

Value-Added-Services

End-to-end expertise (includes exclusive services like manufacturing support,

Freight forwarding, Customs Management, ICD (Inland Container Depot),

4PL Services and Vendor management), Cost Savings, Shipment Visibility,

Increased Access to Space.

WORK ATMOSPHERE AT HALDIA

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Haldia is a city and a municipality in east Midnapur, West Bengal. It is a major seaport and industrial hub located approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Kolkata.

The city was developed as a major trade port for Calcutta (Kolkata), intended mainly for bulk cargoes. The industrial city has several major factories, including South Asian Petrochemicals Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Exide Industries, Shaw Wallace, Tata Chemicals, Haldia Petrochemicals and Hindustan Unilever, in addition to various light industries.

Now being in the domain of so many Industries, our company Apeejay infralogistics automatically gets the advantage to get prospective clients. Most companies which have a production base in Haldia have got an export wing too. So the chance of logistics outsourcing by those companies automatically increases. If we take the example of Haldia Petrochemicals they mainly export to countries like China, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia & other south Asian countries. They export to some of the European countries too. Now for any big company which is production centric, faces problem in maintaining its huge burden of logistics function on its own. It is easier to rely on some other logistics service provider partly or fully. Just like HPL, its warehouse and maintenance is maintained by the company itself, but its transport and export/import responsibilities are outsourced by the company. Linc Road lines, CCI Logistics are some of the companies working with HPL for last couple of years as said by the export manager. Apart from big companies like HPL, MCC or Electro Steel there are relatively smaller companies like Rohit Ferro-Tech, Sunrise chemicals which completely outsource their logistics function. These are totally production centric companies which cannot handle their extra burden of logistics. They need to outsource their logistics responsibility to some other company.

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Take another example of Electrosteel Castings Limited (ECL). Rated as a three star export house by govt. of India, they mostly export DI spun pipes and DI fittings both domestically and internationally, mainly in South East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The total logistics responsibility is maintained, organized and facilitated by the company itself. It demands huge manpower, responsibility and time. “Given a choice I would definitely like to work with AILPL for our future overseas operation through Haldia Port” as said by Mr.B.Govindranjan, Sr. General Manager, ECL

So the work atmosphere of Haldia throws a huge opportunity to our company Apeejay infralogistics. Proper promotion and branding will help to acquire maximum business opportunity in times to come.

Haldia Advantages

Positive and encouraging approach of HDA. (Haldia Development Authority) in assisting industries in all respect.

Speedy Allotment of land by HDA.

Proximity to Haldia Port.

Excellent Road, Water and Rail Connectivity.

HDA provides road, water and drainage up to doorsteps.

Uninterrupted, dedicated and easily available power supply.

Single window facilitation provided by HDA.

Financial Incentives and subsidies in Haldia by state and central govt.

Haldia port is well equipped with the latest telecom facilities provided by BSNL, Reliance, Airtel, Vodafone etc. and postal services. The conventional cable networks have already given way to the optical fibers. Other modern means of communication such as Internet and mobile telecommunication.

Availability of skilled, semi skilled and unskilled work force.

Proposed road from Kolkata Airport to Haldia with a bridge on Hooghly at Raichak-Kukrahati is already in execution stage.

Rail Connectivity: Haldia port is connected with the broad gauge line of the South-Eastern Railways, Also a circular railway connecting the core industrial areas to provide additional facilities to the industries are among the plans for the future.

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Haldia Disadvantages

Instable political atmosphere is the root cause behind increasing IR (Industrial Relation) problems.

Silt in Haldia port channel rises up to ‘alarming level’.

Currently, the average draught at the port, which is the depth of the river bed plus the water level during high tide, is 6.9m

Bulk carriers carrying only up to 12,000 tons of cargo can enter at this draught.

Currently, many ships are waiting to enter Haldia, but only hope is to get in during high tide, but those that arriving later are diverted.

Functioning of the Haldia port, which is administered by the Kolkata Port Trust, has been significantly affected due to heavy siltation of the Auckland channel, the major navigational route in and out of the facility that has disallowed the entry of ships carrying large vessel loads. Consequently, the shipping ministry's technical advisory committee had recommended the opening of an alternative route, known as the Eden Channel, to improve the situation; the channel cannot be fully operational before October 2011.

Major Upcoming Industrial projects in Haldia 

Haldia is in the process of being declared a PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemical & Petrochemicals Investment Region); this will ensure better and alternative external linkages and other infrastructural facilities.

Establishment of Mega Chemical Industrial Estate / SEZ at Nayachar.

2000 MW Power Project of CESC.

Polysilicon Project (Integrated Solar Photo Module Projects).

Shipyard Project of Bharati Shipyard Ltd. and Euclix Shipbuilders Ltd. Cals Refinery – 5 MMPTA oil refineries in phase I (Investment of Rs. 4000 Cr.)

Pharma and Bio-Tech Park.

Cold Rolling Mill Plant of Sino Steel

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Tank Farm of Ruchi Infrastructure Ltd.

Rohit Ferro-Tech is setting up its 2nd unit in Haldia, to produce 100,000 TPA of ferro manganese/ Silico Manganese by installing Six 9 MVA Submerged Arc Furnaces.

Edible Oil Projects of Gokul Refioils Ltd.,  Ruchi Soya, JhunJhunwala Edible Oils etc

Textile Park

Food Park

IT Park

Education Hub

Proposed planes for up gradation of infrastructure by HDA

Proposed bridge over river Hooghly (Raichak-Kukrahati).

FTWZ of IL&FS, Logistic Hub of Apeejay Surrendra Group.

Construction of new 50 MGD Water Treatment Plant (Phase-I – 25 MGD) on BOT basis by Ranhill of Malaysia, JUSCO and IDFC joint venture.

200 acres new Township in Radhamadhabchak.

Setting up health city, Knowledge Park, Sports & Cultural Complex.

Developing Geonkhali as a standalone tourist & leisure destination.

Proposed sewerage and drainage network.

Central Bus Terminus.

Shopping Mall with Multiplex.

Developing Mahishadal, Tamluk, Nandakumar Heritage-cum-Buddhist Tourist Centre.

Clean & Green Haldia Program.

Proposed Hotel and Shopping complexes of Smithy Projects and Rose Valley.

Commercial cum residential project of CESC Projects Ltd.

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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The education of circumstances is superior to that of tuition. - William Wordsworth.

Nature of Work: The project mainly required my meetings and appointments with senior level management personnel from different companies from different sector. I also had to interact with logistics managers or export managers of some companies. The procedure sometimes involved my direct meetings with those personnel or a sometimes appointment was taken through phone calls.

Nature of the Project: As the name of the project implies that it is a demand assessment survey, my primary job was to gather information regarding the logistics operation of different companies. Based on the data that I collected through this survey, my main job was to formulate a marketing strategy for our company Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd.

Goals & Objectives: The objective of the project was to accumulate information regarding the logistics function of various companies specially those companies which has a production base in Haldia or uses Haldia Port for their overseas operation. While the main goal was to formulate an adaptable marketing strategy for our company Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd based on the data gathered through demand assessment survey for the company.

Methodologies: The market research was carried out in Kolkata itself after taking appointments with logistics managers or senior management people from different companies. Sometimes it required more than one appointment with one company and more than one person to address to, in order to collect information. Mostly a questionnaire consisting 20 questions is used for the survey.

Experience and Learning: I have learned that identifying good resources is the key in getting a project on its feet. I uncovered many useful resources and I have become more familiar with the people who are experts in the field of logistics. I have become more aware of the real world business scenario and modus operandi of logistics industry. The main problem that I faced initially in the project was that there was no client list given as ours is a new company and yet to start its operation. So I faced some problems to decide the people I have to take an appointment with for the research aspect of the project. As a representative from a new company moreover being an MBA student with little domain knowledge about logistics industry, it has been tough initially to face top level company executives who are prompt, smart and expert in their field for the purpose of research. But in the process of my interaction with different company executives, I learned the ways to communicate effectively, understanding real world business scenario and how to use data and information gathered through a research process to build an effective marketing strategy for a business organization.

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RESEARCH RESULT & ANALYSIS

(The market research was done based on the data and information collected from more than 25 companies)

Market research is considered as any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy. It is significantly different from marketing research. Marketing research is concerned specifically about marketing processes, while Market research is concerned specifically with markets.

As part of my projects I had to do a thorough Market research for our target customers and gather as much information as possible, later a significant Marketing research was also done to formulate an adaptable Marketing Strategy for our company Apeejay Infralogistics.

The research results show that logistics is a problem not only in Haldia, but also in entire west Bengal. The problem is even more in West Bengal compared to the rest of India. Experts in this sector believe that nearly 94% of the logistics and distribution requirement is dominated by a large number of small fleet owners (5-10 Trucks) and these accounts for 80% of the revenues. Even the freight forwarding segment of the industry is dominated by small time customs brokers and clearance agents. There is a dearth of third party logistics service providers who can efficiently handle large cargos and freight forwarding. Vender management, sequencing, assembling, kitting, cross docking are the very basic problems that companies face. The reason behind the problem is:

1. Production Company’s primary focus is on production, not on logistics. So they have to or needs to outsource their logistics operation.

2. There is hardly any company which can give a world class logistics support to these production houses on full time basis, in eastern India especially in Haldia. So the work is mostly done on the basis of mutual cooperation. Take the example of HPL. Warehouse and CFS is maintained by the company itself, but transport and freight forwarding is outsourced to CCI Logistics and Linc Road lines. That’s how operation is done.

Now getting our company Apeejay Infralogistics as a full time logistics service provider for primary logistics function like CFS, VMI, sequencing, sub-assembling, kitting, packaging, Labeling, Cross-docking and support functions like consolidation, deconsolidation, reverse distribution, delivery optimization and JIT delivery covering main aspects of logistics operation for those companies will remove the burden of logistics operation from those production houses by outsourcing total logistics operation to our company AILPL. There are companies like Indian Oil Corporation; Electrosteel Castings handles their total logistics operation on their own. But talking to the management people from their logistics department, what I observed is that, being a very big player in their sector these companies got the resource and manpower to handle their entire logistics operation on their own.

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If we consider Electrosteel Castings exclusively, they belong to the domain of Steel & Bulk Industries. Handling the entire logistics operation on its own costs roughly 15-20% of the total cost incurred by the company. But given a chance to work with a full time total logistics service provider is no bad option. These companies are also ready to initiate a talk with senior management people from our company AILPL.

Converting any of these companies as our client can be considered as a big success. These companies are as big in their arena that once they are converted as our client, more companies will follow and it will be much easier for us to enhance our brand image.

There are a lot of companies like Britannia, ITC Ltd, Spice Mobile and Ingram Micro (a fortune 500 company which gives logistics and distribution support to IT companies) has got a strong presence in eastern India. ITC itself is a Kolkata based company which is considered as one of the most respected companies in India. All these companies have got a strong export wing. But surprisingly none of these companies uses Haldia port for their overseas operation.

Take the example of Xenitis Group. The group has got its computer components manufacturing unit at Sugandha, Hooghly, West Bengal and started manufacturing computer components along with manufacturing of assembled and branded desktop PCs. Global Automobiles (a Xenitis Group Company) has got eastern India's first Two Wheeler manufacturing unit factory at Chinsurah, Hooghly. The group has got tie-ups with cma-cgm shipping Lines and outsourced its logistics operation to universal agency. The main problem behind not using Haldia port as sighted by the logistics Manager Mr.Partho Basu is that Calcutta port is nearer to their factories. Using Haldia port will increase the transport cost of shipments. ITC being in the domain of eastern India for so many years uses Chennai Port for all exports and it gets controlled from Bangalore. Ingram Micro provides logistics and distribution support to IT companies all over India but uses Chennai port only. As said by Mr.Jayanta Chatterjee, Manager Sales(wb), Spice Mobile that their products get imported from China & Korea which gets assembled at Noida plant from where it is distributed all over India. They are not in touch with any port other that Chennai Port.

The possible reason that I identified behind avoiding Haldia port in spite of having a strong presence in Eastern India, is that there is a lack of efficient third party logistics service provider who can efficiently take the responsibility of heavy and expensive shipments from company’s production centre to the Haldia port with utmost care and off course at a reasonable rate. If we at Apeejay Infralogistics can extend the distribution and transport facility beyond the domain of Haldia and take the responsibility of carrying shipments from any production centre anywhere in eastern India to the Haldia port safely and at a reasonable rate, the no of our prospective clients increases numerously. The same is also applicable to the import operations. Shipments coming from Haldia Port can be delivered to the warehouse of different companies in different parts of the country. This will not only establish us as a safe and efficient handler of large and expensive cargo traffic, but also we can reach to those companies which not necessarily has got a production base in Haldia.

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There are many companies which has no production centre in Haldia but still uses Haldia port for their overseas operation example Dabur India, Eveready Industries etc. These companies have already outsourced their logistics operation to some third party service providers for couple of year’s contract. So even if they want to work with us, they have no scope to do that right now as said by Mr.Joydip Bhattacharya, logistics Manager, Eveready Industries.

Consider Rohit Ferro-Tech, a Ferro Alloy manufacturing company. The company has got one of its units in Haldia, West Bengal to produce 100,000 TPA of ferro manganese/ Silico manganese by installing Six 9 MVA Submerged Arc Furnaces and it’s another unit in Orissa with Four 16.5 MVA Submerged Arc Furnaces at Kalinganagar Industrial Complex.

I talked to the Logistics manager Mr.Manoj Gupta. He seems to be very much aware of our logistics park both in Haldia and Orissa. According to him our presence also in both Haldia and Kalinganagar is something noteworthy. Rohit Ferro-Tech exports High Carbon Ferro Chrome, High Carbon Ferro Manganese, and Silico Manganese to Europe, Far East, and Middle East, USA and imports specially Chrome, Coal & Coke, Manganese from Turkey, Oman, Australia, Vietnam & China. The Company has got Rs. 1 Billion turnover in last fiscal year.

Having its presence in both areas of Haldia and Kalinganagar this company is a highly prospective customer for us because of our presence in both the above places too. In final words Rohit Ferro-Tech is one of those rare companies with whom we have the best chance to work with.

The research results do show some negative indications too. Take the example of TIL (Tractors India Pvt. Limited). The company has been India’s one of the leading providers of a wide range of equipment that represent some of the finest in global technology. Partnerships include NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc. [NMHG] - a part of NACCO Industries Inc-USA, and, Astec INC-USA. TIL’s plant at Kolkata is the only purpose built mobile crane manufacturing facility in India. The plant is a fully integrated facility and is certified under ISO 9000:2000 and EN 729 international standards. The company is considered as a market leader in mobile cranes and material handling equipment. They are the exclusive dealer for Caterpillar products in North and East India, Bhutan and Nepal. When I spoke to Mr. S.P.Mallik, Sr. Manager-Commercial & Logistics, he said, they used to have full time operation through Haldia port and worked on partial outsourcing of logistics responsibility. But now they have reduced their operation through Haldia port by 95%. Most of their operation is through Calcutta Port these days. The problem he sighted is the degrading condition of Haldia port because of rising level of Silt. Less no of Ships are coming to Haldia port, most of them needs to wait to enter the port and many gets diverted to Calcutta Port on a later stage adding to the total cost of Logistics.

To address the seriousness of the problem, when I talked to some of the Calcutta Port Trust Officials, they say Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) is instructed to take up silt removal at Haldia Dock Complex. The no of dredgers has increased, and DCI, Shipping Ministry Govt. of India and Calcutta Port Trust authority is working hard to address the problem.

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The Shipping Ministry along with Calcutta Port Trust authority is looking at fast-tracking the progress of other capacity augmenting facilities such as the establishment of jetties at Salukhali and Sagar which would require 700 and 1,000 acres respectively. Both the project is under review by State Govt. and Shipping Ministry, Govt. of India.

There are ongoing talks on a new facility at Diamond Harbour. The defense and shipping ministers are reviewing the project and working out a deal to allow the Kolkata Port Trust set up a facility at Diamond Harbour as proposed by Mr. Mukul Roy, Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping.

Any problem in Haldia Port will hamper the export / import operation for companies. Just like TIL, many companies will try to operate through other ports in India rather than hanging up with Haldia port if the present condition does not improve. But Apeejay Infralogistics has its base in Haldia and we cannot shift to some other place just like our clients. And any decision taken up by the ministry to move the base to Salukhali or Diamond Harbour will only downgrade our advantage to get maximum business opportunity. Our business is entirely dependent on Haldia Port. And if its present condition does not improve, we have something to seriously think about.

SWOT ANALYSIS – AILPL Logistics Park.

S (strength) - World class infrastructure & facilities, Integrated Logistics Support, under the brand Image of Apeejay Surrendra Group, Eredene has other logistics parks at many places in India, most of them are in operational stage.

W (Weakness) - AILPL being a new company yet to prove itself.

(Opportunity) - First of its kind in eastern India, Lack of potential competitors, Excellent business environment of Haldia with the presence of large no of Production houses from Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Steel & Bulk, OEMs, real estate and many 3PL companies. Most of them needs logistics support from a third party to survive as the competition increases.

T (Threat) - Degrading condition of Haldia port and coming of less no. of ships in last couple of years is in turn going to affect the overall export / import operations. In cascading effect, it is going to hamper the logistics and supply chain in Haldia. Currently, the average draught at the port, which is the depth of the river bed plus the water level during high tide, is 6.9m and the port authority says that the Silt in Haldia port channel rose up to ‘alarming level’. Apart from this, the unstable political atmosphere is the cause behind increasing IR problems in Haldia.

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PROPOSED MARKETING STRATEGY

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.”

- Peter Drucker.

 Provider & Producer Level Marketing Strategy: Apeejay Infralogistics, a new company in infrastructure and logistics business is mostly unknown to different other companies. Companies which have got a factory or plant in Haldia knows little about our logistics park but companies working outside of Haldia know almost nothing about us. Our phase I operation is due to start from September ’2010. So this is the time for some aggressive branding exercise in order to reach our potential prospective clients. This kind of marketing strategy I termed as ‘Provider level strategy’.

Every company wants their shipments to reach their desired destination safely and at a reasonable rate. These companies possess a level of expectation while dealing with any logistics service provider. But the actual result they get definitely not the same result as expected. The difference between the expected and actual can be termed as ‘gap’. These kinds of gaps are sometimes due to some unavoidable problems like Industrial Relations (IR), Changing political atmosphere at Haldia, frequent strikes called by political parties in West Bengal, Maoists problem in West Midnapur, Jharkhand and Bihar. Whatever be the unavoidable problem is, it hampers the growth and satisfaction level of the production houses.

I have tried to gather information not only on the logistics operation of companies which I target, but also to get information about those logistics service providers with whom they work with. Those companies I categorize as our competitors and tried to address the ‘Gap’ between the expected and actual service provided to those companies in terms of logistics. How our “End-to-End” logistics support can really make a difference to our clients was also discussed with some of the senior management persons from different organization.

Provider Level Strategy is mainly about what our company Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd. Should do independently. It is mainly about the general branding and promotional strategies to adopt in order to reach our prospective clients.

Producer Level Strategy is mainly like a personalized counseling for different organizations. It addresses the particular Gap’s of the service provided to it by its current logistics service provider and how our company Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd. can address those gaps by its “End-to-End” logistics support facilities.

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Provider Level Analysis

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Making a prospective client list for AILPL(i.e. Companies to Target)

Market research to know about their Logistics Operation

List of Competitors of AILPL

Exclusive Branding & Promotional strategies to adopt

Converting Companies as Clients

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Producer Level Analysis:

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Making a prospective client list for Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd.(i.e. Companies to Target)

Market Research to know with whom they have outsourced their Logistics operation

How far their service can satisfy the logistics demand

Discussing the Gap’s (difference between expected service and actual service they have got in terms of logistics)

How these Gaps has affected the overall growth of business

How our company Apeejay Infralogistics can address this Gap’s

How our “End-to-End” logistics support can really make a difference to our clients.

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Market Segmentation

Haldia being one of the major ports in the country has been the reason behind gathering of so many industries at one place. The place is crowded with companies from Heavy Engineering Sector, Steel & Bulk, Battery, Chemicals, automobiles, FMCG, consumer durables, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), cement, real estate and many 3PL companies. In order to use Haldia port for export or import, every company needs to handle the logistics. Some companies handle it themselves, some on partnership and some companies totally outsource it to service providers. Now most of the companies which are present in Haldia are from manufacturing sector (may be chemicals, steel, automobiles etc.). Logistics is not something which is primary focus to them. So they are mostly in search of logistics service providers who can handle their shipment efficiently in a safe and inexpensive way. As of now, there is no such logistics service provider in Haldia who is equipped with world class facilities to simplify their client’s logistics demand and help with support facilities.

So, a large portion of the market is untapped. This leaves us with an advantage of being one and only “One-stop-logistics solution provider” to the industry cluster in Haldia as well as to the eastern part of India.

I have categorized the list of our prospective clients into three levels.

Level I - is the top priority companies which are regular users of Haldia port. Most of them have got their production centre in Haldia, but companies like Dabur don’t have any production centre in Haldia but is very much involved with Haldia port for their exports.

Level II - is second on priority list. These are mostly smaller production houses or some companies who deal with Haldia Port occasionally. They mostly deal with some other port in India but uses Haldia port as a substitute. Some 3PL companies also added in this category.

Level III - are those companies which rarely use Haldia port or uses Haldia port in case of emergency only. There are other companies in this category too. Companies which handle their logistics on their own and not looking for any change in recent future are also included in this category.

The importance of this market segmentation results from the fact that our prospective clients (may be understood as buyers of our services) are no homogenous group. Actually, every buyer has individual needs, preferences, resources and behaviors. Since it is virtually impossible to cater for every customer’s individual characteristics I have tried to group customers to market segments by variables they have in common. These common characteristics allow developing a standardized marketing mix for all customers in one segment. Thus, every segment can be addressed with an individually targeted marketing mix.

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LEVEL I LEVEL II LEVEL III

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd.

DHL India Ltd. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. ( BHEL )

Rohit Ferro-Tech TNT India Pvt. Ltd. Graphite India Ltd.

Tata Steel Ltd. UPS logistics Pvt. Ltd ACC Ltd.

Mitsubishi Chemicals Ltd

Gati Ltd. Xenitis Group.

Electrosteel CastingsLtd.

Tractors India Pvt. Ltd. Ashok Leyland.

Sunrise Chemicals RDB Rasayans Tata Motors

Dabur India Ltd. Crompton Greaves Limited

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Larsen & Toubro Procter & Gamble (I) Ltd.

Renuka Sugars Ltd. Manaksia Ltd.

Castrol India G.P.Tronics Pvt. Ltd.

Tata Chemicals Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd.

Exide Industries Ltd.

Eveready Industries Ltd.

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Proposed Positioning Strategy

Developing a positioning strategy depends much on how competitors position themselves. Some organizations want to develop a me too strategy and position themselves close to their competitors so customers can make a direct comparison when they purchase Or they want to develop a strategy which positions themselves away from their competitors offering a benefit which is superior depends much on the marketing mix strategy the organization adopts. The pricing strategy must reflect the benefit offered and the promotion strategy must communicate this benefit.

After the selecting the target market segment, the next stage is to decide how to position our self within that chosen segment. It refers to ‘how we want our consumers to see us as a product’. What message about our product or service are we trying to put across? 

The message that we need to put across for proper positioning in our chosen market segment goes like this:

1. Customization of goods & services according to the requirements of individual clients and Individual project consultancy management to handle seasonal influences in logistics demand.

2. World class infrastructure and some never before enjoyed logistics facilities in India at lowest logistics rates at all times.

3. Core logistics facilities, Logistics support facilities, value added exclusive services.

4. 90 acres of land and huge manpower involved to satisfy the logistics need, is very well connected with NH41 and Haldia Port.

5. Installation of basic infrastructure in supporting region of the Logistics Park, Strengthening of the automotive industry and job creation for the community.

6. The cost advantages and increased process stability to the OEMs.

7. Cost synergies, an improved environment and strategic position to the suppliers.

8. Additional business opportunities for service providers to reduce operational cost.

9. Reduction and discount on fees in case of Shipping Delays.

10. Apeejay Shipping can work in synergy with Apeejay Infralogistics.

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With the increase in the level of competition between companies day by day, every company wants to perform better. In order to maintain their competitiveness, all parties involved in the process including manufactures, vendors and logistics service providers must be able to offer and provide a swift and individually customized service to their clients. A general methodical service offered to all companies will never work. But such an individually customized service cannot be achieved using conventional technologies and modes of operation. A modern purpose built logistics park close to the product source and enjoying excellent transportation links is very well equipped with to meet these individual challenging demands.

Yesteryears logistics parks has been just large scale places and warehouses holding inventories. Things cannot work in the same old fashion in today’s competitive environment. Modern logistics parks rather designed to minimize inventories of finished goods. Modern day’s logistics park exclusively keeps the track of regular requirements of production ready materials for production houses and checks its availability. These are all advanced world class facilities to work in synergy with clients to perform better and surpass their competitors. AILPL Logistics Park is very much into this category. The value added services along with core logistics services will always help our clients to find an edge over the others. The exclusive services offered includes cross-docking, customs clearing, merge-in-transit, pick-and-pack, repair or refurbishment, reverse logistics, sub-assembly, dust proof & temperature controlled storage. Consultancy services are systems integration and process reengineering, quality control, insurance & banking and up-to-date IT infrastructure.

The transportation infrastructure directly concerns the further development of Logistics Park, amounts of logistics enterprises live in logistics parks etc. Thousands of vehicles came in and out the logistics parks every day. Therefore, the transportation infrastructure nearby should meet this needs. Without proper planning, the logistics parks will bring about heavy burden for transportation. So transportation problem is particularly addressed in AILPL Logistics Park. The 90 acres of land, conveniently located 7 km from Haldia Port, 200 mtr before Broujalal Chowk with a 140 mtr frontage on NH41 and 60 mtr frontages on state highway, will ensure that the logistics park is well connected and hence enjoys a fast and smooth link to the highway.

Installation of basic infrastructure such as roads, drainage, sewerage, water supply and other utilities will uplift the infrastructure of the supporting region of the logistics park. Support & shared facilities like food court, drivers’ amenities, fire fighting, CCTV, green belt, fuel & service station, worker’s residence, Offices for logistics and trading companies, conference centre and premium accommodation for company and client executives will complement the construction of the logistics park.

In today’s demanding atmosphere, proper positioning in the target market segment will position us as a need to our prospective clients. We will become an integral part of the supply chain activities by simplifying logistics in a fast, safe and inexpensive way for our clients.

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Short Listing Target Companies

Brochures printing & ppt presentation

Fixing appointments with prospective Clients

Detailed Discussion on various issues

Business understanding & Requirements

Negotiation on company agreement / contract

Long Term / Short term commitments

Commencement of Business Relationship

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Proposed Promotion & Branding Strategy:

In the process of doing this project I found branding and proper brand promotion is the most important part of the marketing process of any business organization. Brand is basically understood as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, indeed to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Brand equity is understood as the ways to capitalize on a brand and take the maximum advantage on a brand. It is reflected in the way consumers think, feel and act with respect to the brand as well as in the prices, market share and profitability.

The Brand awareness of ‘AILPL’ will refer to our customers' ability to recall and recognize the brand under different conditions and link to the brand name, logo and so on to certain associations in memory. It will help the customers to understand to which service category ‘AILPL’ belongs to, why to choose ‘AILPL’. It will clearly refer to the exclusive services that are sold under the brand name. It also ensures that customers know which of their needs are satisfied by the brand.

A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can be communicated clearly to the target market. Here goes the proposed promotional strategy for Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Limited.

Advertising:  Here our focus is on B2B advertising techniques. We need to put across big hoardings and billboards in Haldia showing AILPL Logistics Park as the best logistics park in eastern India with top of the league facilities to simplify business strategies and logistics demand for our clients. We need to put up ads in Business Magazines like Business Week, Business Today, and Business world, Outlook Business, Business Barons and Business India. These are the few Business magazines in India that have an excellent market. Fractional ads in every issue can be more cost-efficient. Ads can be put up at business websites and business pages of newspapers.

Creating Effective B2B Ads: When readers see a headline or glance at an ad, it is being tested in their mind. They have to be able to answer "yes" to the following questions: Is there anything here for me? If I read this, will it be of benefit to my job? Will it help my company? We need to work hand in hand with advertisers, ad creators and publishers. What advertisers can do is help the ad creators by supplying knowledge of the market, products and customers. What publishers can do is deliver top value for advertising in their publications by conducting studies of their readers, market trends and reader acceptance of their editorial, and doing independent audits.

Sales promotion:  Could involve using special offers and off season discounts to promote selling of services. It includes cost advantages, Cost synergies, Reduction and discount on fees in case of Shipping Delays or in the rush hour season.

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Building Networks: In my company visits, I was often asked about our existing clients. As we all know, ‘nothing draws a crowd like a crowed.’ Getting some initial companies as our clients will open up doors for us for many more clients. This in the process will help us build a network in the industry. Marketing the relationship that we have initially with some of our clients will help us getting many more clients. “Networks of relationship have their own dynamic and each company and its relationships are part of the pattern of influence and change that flows through them” – Devid Ford.

So each and every client itself will promote our chance to get more clients which is the best part of any promotional strategy.

Direct Mail: Is the sending of publicity material to a named person within an organization. In the ‘Key Contacts’ Section I have enlisted many names of the person who received our company profile. But there are many things that are to be done. Our company profile, promotional offers (long term / short term), seasonal benefits, extra benefit for that particular company should reach the logistics Dept. and senior management people of our prospective clients. This will clarify exactly how we can help them in simplifying logistics and why should they work with us. By personalizing advertising, response rates increase thus increasing the chance of sales of our services. 

Direct Marketing: No. of customer-direct (CD) channels can be used to individual prospects and customers through brochure, catalog, and web sites and on further extension birthday cards, anniversary gifts, holiday tickets and a small premium can be offered to client’s executives to retain a good long term personalized relationship.

Recommendations by HDA: Haldia Development Authority is the governing body for the development in Haldia. All the companies working in Haldia keeps a sound contact with HDA. If we can manage to get a contract (or merely a recommendation) from them to the existing companies to support them in logistics function, it will help us immensely in promoting our brand value.

Marketing Outsourcing: Though this method is not recommended, but can be considered only if our adopted marketing techniques do not generate much awareness and response from our prospective clients. Responsibility of promotional activities can be outsourced to a B2B marketing firm.

Here goes the proposed Branding Strategy for Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Limited.

Face - to - face meeting with Senior Executives & Logistics Managers: This is probably the best way for brand promotion. This method not only shows the willingness to work for that particular client, but also clarifies any doubt about the services offered from our side and how it can deliver value to our clients.

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Attending Seminars & Sponsoring Industrial Events: Industrial events are the places where people from the business world gather under one roof. So the chances to interact with cross sectional Industries are much more in events like this. This will add to the brand awareness and mark our presence in the industry.

Capitalize on 100 years old Apeejay Surrendra Group: Apeejay Surrendra Group has pioneering business venture in Hospitality, Shipping and Tea business in India. It is undoubtedly one of the biggest brands in the industry. It is considered as one of the most reputed business icon in eastern India. Every company with which I interacted knows about Apeejay Surrendra Group. Apeejay Infralogistics being a brand extension from Apeejay Surrendra Group is something companies will surely consider. So we have better chance than our competitors in the fight to get market share in the logistics business in eastern India.

Capitalize on existing operational excellence of Eredene capital’s other existing logistics ventures: Eredene has got 9 investments in India so far. All of them are in infrastructure and logistics sector. So it has got undoubted expertise in logistics business. So their experience is priceless to the company. We need to capitalize on this experience. The network, Client’s data and contacts it has already got from its CFS, ICD or Logistics Parks from other parts of the country has to be scrutinized to get a better database of our prospective clients in Haldia and any mistakes committed before should be avoided in Haldia. The secret to our enduring brand will lie in delivering an experience rather than just a collection of services.

Active Participation with CII: These events are best place for us to interact with the leaders in the field and network with the peers. Events like ‘Logistics Summit’, ‘Building Warehousing Competitiveness’, ‘World Class Logistics Parks for India’ and ‘Logistics colloquium’ which is due on Jul 23, 2010 at Taj Hotel Kolkata are must to attend.

Quality Certification: Get a quality certification like ISO 9001-2000, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 etc. These certifications establish us as a genuine player in the industry.

Company Website: Our company website www.ailpl.com should be updated regularly and latest news and happenings should be flashed in an attractive way. It should mention the client list once the operation starts.

Safety & Security: Safely and security is the most important aspect associated with any brand. A safety certification is important and real time measures have to be taken for hazardous and non hazardous goods such as liquid and gases. Establishing ourselves as a safe provider of logistics services will add to our brand equity.

Proper branding and promotional strategies will help us to reach more clients. We can take the maximum advantage from the hugely untapped logistics market in Haldia provided the Industry knows us well and rely on us for our world class logistics support in a safe and inexpensive way.

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OBJECTIVES & LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT

The objective of the project was to find the target customers for AILPL, gathering information about their logistics operation and finding the competitors of our company AILPL. While the main goal was to formulate an adaptable marketing strategy for our company Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd based on the data gathered through demand assessment survey.

The Project required my meetings with Logistics Managers or senior management people from companies not only in Haldia & Kolkata, but also any part of eastern India, as there are many companies which export / import through Haldia Port but not necessarily have got a production base in Haldia. Ex: Dabur India, Xenitis Group – Global Automobiles etc. But due to time constrain, I had to stint myself in Kolkata region only and surveyed only those companies which has got a city office in Kolkata. As an 8 weeks project I had to cut short my company list to visit and tried to cover only the big players in the sector which estimates to more or less 25 companies. As there was no official prospective client contacts given to me, I tried to list down my own choice of companies which has a probability of using Haldia port for overseas operation and needs to outsource logistics, moreover they needs the help of logistics park to handle the demand of huge logistics operation. Given a chance to cover some companies which doesn’t exist in Kolkata but are big players in Haldia Port like Tata Chemicals, MCC, I could have been able to gather more information for research purpose.

The other limitation of the project was that, there was no available power point presentation of the company brochure. So when some of the companies asked me to send a soft copy of company profile in their mail id before my visit, I could not do that.

There was no branding exercise done before by our Company Apeejay Infralogistics apart from company visits and pushing brochures to the logistics dept of some companies. So, when I visited some senior management people from some companies the obvious question that I faced is, they were still not much aware of such a huge green field project in Haldia by Apeejay Surrendra Group. So, I think there is a gap in the marketing process adopted by our company AILPL so far, and we need some active participation for some brand building exercise before we start our phase I operation in September.

Moreover, I worked for a company which is yet to start its operation. So the obvious question that I faced is being a new player in the field of logistics, how can we claim to have expertise? The question was addressed skillfully that Eredene (the JV partner of AILPL) has many logistics park in different parts of the country, ours’ is a new company but the governing body has got enough experience in the field of logistics. That’s why we claim to have expertise.

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RECOMMENDATIONS & SUGGESTIONS

Recommendations & Suggestions regarding AILPL Logistics Park:

We have our permanent base in Haldia. If the condition degrading condition of Haldia Port does not improve, our clients will divert their operation through some other port and we will be the biggest loser. There is an urgent need to initiate talk with Haldia Development Authority and Port authority for some immediate development in Haldia Dock complex.

It was also observed that companies which work through Haldia port for export operations are mostly connected with many shipping liners. Apeejay Shipping being one of the oldest and reputed names in shipping industry can consider Apeejay Shipping to work in synergy with Apeejay Infralogistics.

The distribution and transport facility can be extended beyond the domain of Haldia and take the responsibility of carrying shipments from any production centre anywhere in eastern India to the Haldia port safely and at a reasonable rate. It will increase the no. of our prospective clients’ numerously. The same is also applicable to the import operations. Shipments coming from Haldia Port can be delivered to the warehouse of different companies in different parts of the country. This will not only establish us as a safe and efficient handler of large and expensive cargo traffic, but also we can reach to those companies which not necessarily has got a production base in Haldia.

Though these are the recommendations regarding the facilities & services of the Logistics Park, other recommendations regarding the marketing plans can be found in the ‘proposed marketing strategy’ section.

Recommendations & Suggestions regarding the project:

The project has been a wonderful learning experience for me; just one suggestion to do the project in a better way is give the trainee a well researched client list which clearly enlists all our target customers. The list must not include companies only from Haldia; any company in eastern India which operates through Haldia port can be enlisted. The trainee can be given the contacts of prospective clients’ executives and their phone no. that can be found in ‘Key Contacts’ section.

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EXECUTION OF METHODOLOGY

A questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was used to find information regarding the logistics operation of different companies. There was an ‘Introductory Letter’ also designed by me consisting facilities and company profile of Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd.

The exact copy of the Questionnaire that I designed and used for the survey and research purpose is given bellow:

Demand Assessment Survey for Apeejay Infralogistics.

Company name ……………………………………………..

Interviewed person………………………………………….

Designation…………………………………………………

Q1. Do you currently work with logistics service providers whose services you would like to use in Haldia as well?

If so, please state their names

Q2. Are you already in contact with any logistics service provider in Haldia?

If so, please state their names

Q3. Do you have your own warehouse facility? Yes / No.

If so, how much warehousing space do you need?

Q4. Is customs clearing a hindrance for you? Yes / No.

Q5. Which of the following logistics services do you want to outsource to a logistics service provider?Ocean freight forwarding Yes NoAir freight forwarding Yes NoWarehousing Yes NoCross docking Yes NoValue adding logistics (e.g. labeling, packaging, etc Yes NoValue adding services (e.g. order management, customer /financial services) Yes NoTransportation of full loads Yes NoTransportation of part loads Yes NoParcel distribution Yes NoAncillary support service Yes No

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Customs Clearing Yes NoQ6. Brief description of your products (price range, product category etc).

Please attach product list or pictures if possible

Q7. Product packing: Please describe how your products are packed. (e.g. in carton boxes, in big bags, in drums, etc.)

Q8. Do you use bar-code identification on your products? Yes / No.

Q9. Production & Transport Information:

Average quantity per inbound shipmentAre the products palletized at origin?Number of palletsNumber of cartonsNumber of SKUsAverage weight (kgs)

Q10. Is special handling equipment required? Yes / No

If so, please specify

Q11. Are there any special storage requirements (e.g. temperature controlled, dust proof storage, high security, etc.) Yes / No.

If so, please specify

Q12.Are value adding activities required (e.g. assembling, packing, labeling) Yes / No

If so, please specify

Q13. In which way will the orders be received in the warehouse?

Mail □ Telephone □ Fax □ E-mail □ Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) □

Q14. Are there seasonal influences in the order pattern Yes / No.

If so, please specify

Q15. Do you expect to have rush orders Yes / No.

If so, please specify

Q16. Normal delivery lead time (from order entry until delivery) _ _ _ _ _ _ days.

Q17. Do you have preference for any specific mode of transport? Yes / No.

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If so, please specifyQ18. Are special administration/finance related value adding services required? Yes / No.

If yes, specify the activities (e.g. fiscal representation, customer invoicing,Inventory management, customer services, etc.)

Q19. Are special IT-related services required? Yes / No.

If yes, specify (e.g. bar-code driven operation, tracking and tracing, real-timeaccess to warehouse management system, etc.)

Q20. Any additional remarks that might be helpful for understanding your specific logistics requirement:

Thank You

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The market research was carried out in Kolkata itself after taking an appointment with logistics manager or any senior management people from different companies. Sometimes it required more than one appointment with one company and more than one person to address to, in order to collect information. The questionnaire was used in face to face meetings with Logistics Managers or Sr. Management Executives. A modified version of the questionnaire E-Mail format was used to mail to some of the company executives who stays outside of Kolkata or don’t have time for a face to face meeting.

The project mainly required my meetings and appointments with senior level management personnel from different companies from different sector. I also had to interact with logistics managers or export managers of some companies. The procedure sometimes involved my direct meetings with those personnel or a sometimes appointment was taken through phone calls.

An exact copy of the introductory letter is given bellow:

Letter Of Introduction from Apeejay Infralogistics Private Ltd.

Apeejay Infralogistics private limited(AILPL), a joint venture between Apeejay Surrendra Group and UK based Eredene Capital Plc. creating industry infrastructure projects for facilitating integrated logistics business facility (an integrated logistics park). It will be providing multi functional facilities for storage, distribution, efficient transportation, ancillary support services and trade facilitation infrastructure under one roof capable of providing "End to End Logistics Support" to customers. 

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Apeejay Group

Apeejay Surrendra Group is a conglomerate with interest in industries like Shipping, Real Estate, Retail, FMCG, Financial services and Hospitality. Joint ventures include Logistics and Shipyard.

Eredene capital PLC

Eredene Capital PLC is a UK-based company which invests in infrastructure projects in India. It focuses primarily on logistics, distribution warehouses and port services. The group has nine investments in India till date.

What makes AILPL special

1. First of its kind in eastern India.2. “One Stop Shop” concept for all logistics requirements of the customer.

3. End-to-end supply chain management services that delivers results directly to your bottom line.

4. Professional on-site operations supervision.

5. Single point of contact for responsible, responsive and effective communications.

Value Added services:

Core logistics facilities: CFS/ICD with container yard. Warehouse/distribution centres/Temperature controlled storage. Covered/open sheds, Truck terminals, Weighbridge, Admin building.

Logistics Support facilities: Fuel/service station. Container & truck repairing. Insurance & banking. Drivers amenities.

Infrastructure facilities: Power/water & Sewerage connections & wide roads. Fire fighting, Compound wall, High mast lighting, IT infrastructure. CCTV

Support facilities: Offices of logistics & trading companies. Conference centre, Hotel accomodation, food courts & recreation facilities. Residential workers.

At Apeejay Infralogistics Private Limited (AILPL), we believe to be a world class Integrated Infrastructure Logistics Company, complying to the best of industry standards and shall be managed effectively & efficiently catering to third party logistics to best of customer service. We will realize our vision through a strategy of building up sustainable relationships with all our stakeholders by demonstrating an absolute commitment to operational excellence.

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THE LIST OF COMPANIES CONSIDERED FOR RESEARCH

(Companies attempted for the purpose of Demand Assessment Survey for Apeejay Infralogistics)

Manufacturing

Haldia Petrochemicals LimitedEveready IndustriesCrompton Greaves LimitedExide IndustriesManaksia LimitedRDB RasayansMitsubishi ChemicalsTractors India LimitedSunrise Chemicals Electro Steel CastingEverest IndustriesRohit Ferro-tech Xenitis Group

FMCG/consumer durables

ITCBritanniaBiskfirmDabur IndiaSpice Mobile

3PL companies

Ingram MicroG.P.Tronics Pvt. Limited

(The list shows only those companies where I had a face-to-face meeting with company executives. The list does not include companies whose information & data was collected through phone calls, journals, research papers and Internet; like Crompton Greaves, P & G, Graphite India Ltd, Mother Dairy Calcutta, Berger Paints, UB Group, MRF Tyres and BHEL.)

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KEY CONTACTS

Mr. Biswarup Bandapadhay (Logistics Manager) & Mr. B. Govindranjan (Sr. General Manager) Electrosteel Castings Limited. 033 – 2283-9990 / 033 – 4009 – 0633.

Mr. Sumit Sen (Logistics Manager – Haldia Unit) Manaksia Ltd. 033 – 2231 – 0050.

Mr. Samiran Pal (Logistics Manager – Eastern Zone) Dabur India Ltd. 033 – 3941 – 2525.

Mr. S.P.Mallik, (Manager Commercial & Logistics) Tractors India Pvt. Ltd. (TIL). 033 – 6633 – 2087.

Mr. Partho Basu, (Manager Logistics) Xenitis Group. 033 – 2282 – 5932/36.

Mr. Joydip Bhattacharya (Manager Logistics) Eveready Industries. 033 – 3058 – 7851.

Mr. Biswajit Bose (Manager Logistics), Exide Industries. 033 – 2283 – 2238/39. Extn.181.

Mr.Deepak Rungta (Managing Director), Sunrise Chemicals.

Mr. Jayanta Chatterjee (Manager Sales – WB), Spice Mobile.

Mr.Manoj Gupta (Head. Supply Chain), Rohit Ferro-Tech. 9330711117.

Mr. Bhaskar Bhattacharya (Manager Logistics), Ingram Micro. 9836306213.

Mr. Sandeep Jain (Logistics Supervisor), RDB Industries. 9332087685.

Mr. S.K.Debnath (Head. Logistics Operation) & Mr. Dhrubajyoti Chatterjee (Deputy Manager – Exports), Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. 033 – 2283 – 1640/43/45. 9830074318.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Logistics costs in India equals 13 percent of the GDP, which is significantly higher than those of the developed countries, where it equates to only around 10 percent. Even a slightest reduction would result in considerably huge savings for the country. A comparative study conducted by the World Bank on trade logistics performances among countries has ranked India in the 39th position for present and future capabilities in logistics. These data shows that there is lots of scope for improvement in Indian Logistics Sector. In the recent economic downturn, the emphasis to reduce costs and improve efficiencies across sectors has put the spotlight on the supply chain, where there are ample opportunities to value - engineer processes. Experts in this sector believe that nearly 94% of the logistics and distribution requirement is dominated by a large number of small fleet owners (5-10 Trucks) and these accounts for 80% of the revenues (Datamonitor 2007). Even the freight forwarding segment of the industry is dominated by small time customs brokers and clearance agents. This poor logistics performance and lack of proper logistics infrastructure has affected the associated industries. High logistics costs in the manufacturing sector (Mostly Steel & Bulk, OEMs) have seen a reduction in the FDI investments in this sector. The country is trying to improve its logistics capabilities and the government is encouraging more investments in developing logistics infrastructure like roads, railways and ports.

Today's market leaders increasingly recognize supply chain management as critical to their overall strategy. Supply Chain Strategy addresses this need, and brings the best new ideas and practices to help executives turn their supply chain into a competitive advantage. Committed service to assist them to realize their logistics needs at an optimum cost, enabling them to gain competitive advantage by virtue of better logistics support throughout the value chain is has to be the ultimate goal of modern logistics service providers. Because in today's business scenario it is the effective supply chain that will provide them the competitive advantage in the marketplace more than their product. The government is aware of the necessity of modern logistics infrastructure as a result of the above developments. In order to develop technologically advanced logistics facilities and to liberalize the logistics sector, the central government has been giving impetus to the sector through a number of initiatives such as allowing 100% FDI, eliminating CST, introducing VAT, encouraging public private partnership (PPP), and 100% income tax exemption for port development projects. A research in this area has forecasted the Indian logistics industry to be valued at nearly $385 billion with nearly 12% increase in the organized sector by the year 2015.

Being a player in this industry, it is very clear for us that we have a tremendous chance and growth opportunity in our business. The problem of organized logistics service in West Bengal is even more compared to the rest of India. So we have a better chance of business here at Haldia given its cross sectional industry presence, largely untapped market in logistics and lack of potential competitors. The govt. initiatives and proposed public private partnerships in this sector, will surely add more no of Logistics Park or Logistics service providers in eastern India

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especially in Haldia. It will only increase our level of competition. So, the need to continuously upgrade of our services and client network seems to be the survival strategy in the face of competition.

REFERENCES

Understanding business marketing and purchasing: an interaction approach- By David Ford.

Why Money Matters – Wall Street Journal.

Marketing Logistics - by Martin Christopher, Helen Peck.

Business Opportunities in Rail Logistics Parks in India - Lancaster Management School publication.

Japanese Logistics Park’s Construction and Development - Fuhua Wang (Tianjin University, China)

Marketing Research – by Aaker, Kumar, and Day.

Marketing Management – by Philip Kotler.

www.wikipedia.org

www.scholer.google.com

www.informaworld.com

www.cii.in

www.business-standard.com

www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

www.reliancelogistics.com

www.thehindubusinessline.com

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GLOSSARY

ICD Inland Container Depot

CFS Container Freight Station

ED Electronic Data

SPV Special Purpose Vehicle

PPP Public- Private Partnership

CII Confederation of Indian Industries

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FII Foreign Institutional Investment

SEZ Special Economic Zone

EXIM Export – Import

MMLP Multi-modal logistics parks

IR Industrial Relation

CD Customer-direct

OEMs Original Equipment Manufacturers

FMCG Fast Moving Consumer Goods

NH National Highway

HDA Haldia Development Authority

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