report on 7up revive @ varun beverages ltd, pepsico india

NEW DELHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

50 (B&C), 60, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi-110062

SUMMER TRAINING REPORT ON

Penetration of 7UP REVIVE in Delhi

For

VARUN BEVERAGES LIMITED

By

JUBIN JOSE JAMES

208

In partial fulfillment for the award of

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

2015-2017

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NEW DELHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT 50 (B&C), 60, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi-110062

SUMMER TRAINING REPORT ON

Penetration of 7UP REVIVE in Delhi

For

Varun Beverages Limited

Under the supervision

of

Mr. Rajeev Gambhir

Marketing Development Manager

Varun Beverages Limited

Submitted by - Submitted to -

Jubin Jose James Dr. Gajendra Sharma

208

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49173

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincere gratitude and extend whole-hearted thanks to my industry mentor

Mr. Rajeev Gambhir for assigning me with this project and the related tasks.

A special mention to Mr. Praveen Kumar and Mr. Akhil Aggarwal for the valuable

guidance and support throughout the duration of my project.

I also thank the whole team of ASM, CEs & PSRs at VBL’s Luxmi Agency without

whom various duties and implementations would not have been possible.

My sincere thanks to my faculty mentor Dr. Gajendra Sharma who devoted his/her

precious time in completion of this training report.

My training and development, my learning and the overall project report would have

not been possible without the guidance, assistance, inspiration, encouragement and

various suggestions from the above mentioned people.

Jubin Jose James

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DECLARATION

I Jubin Jose James, student of New Delhi Institute of Management 2015-2017 Batch

declare that every part of the Project Report Penetration of 7UP REVIVE in Delhi

submitted by me is original.

I was in regular contact with my faculty guide and contacted 11 times for discussing the

project.

Date of project submission: ______________

Jubin Jose James

Faculty Mentor’s Comments:

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________

Dr. Gajendra Sharma

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External Examiner’s Feedback

Date of project submission: _____________

Jubin Jose James

External Examiner’s Comments:

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________

________________________________

Name: __________________________

Organization: ____________________

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Table of Contents

Contents Page No.

Executive Summary 8

Industry Overview 9

Introduction 10 – 37

Tasks & Responsibilities Assigned 38 – 46

Major Contributions 47 – 48

Market Research 49 – 56

Conclusions 57 – 59

Major Learnings & Recommendations 60 – 61

Bibliography 62

Annexures 63 - 68

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Executive Summary

My learning & experience at VBL during the course of 8 weeks was amazing. I got a

remarkable exposure to channel sales & operations & also, marketing execution

procedures. Sales has been widely mistaken with marketing but, both cannot occur

without each other. For example, 7UP REVIVE is not selling well because there is no

promotion in the form of TV ads. But, TV ads are expensive & can be broadcasted

only if there is enough revenue generated through sales.

In this two-month programme, I was exposed to the real-time market areas where I

mastered the technique of selling 7UP REVIVE with some given limitations. At

Luxmi Agency, as a result of various suggestion & implementation of schemes, along

with increased focus on the product, the sales, penetration & the total number of

outlets for 7UP REVIVE soared in the month June. And, the depot over-exceeded its

target sales for the beverage.

During this period I also conducted a survey of the retailers to understand various

challenges & loopholes faced in the sale of the beverage & also to give

recommendations & suggestions to improve sales & penetration.

I concluded the project with certain analysis & findings. Also, the strengths of the

product 7UP Revive is its great taste, attractive blue bottle and health-oriented

beverages. The weak point of the product is low awareness among consumers leading

to low demand. The opportunities which I identified during this project were the fair

price of the product.

This project also helped me mold my interpersonal skillset & formed an optimistic

perspective about sales profile in a FMCG company such as VBL. Few things like

time management & planning, personal grooming, punctuality, etc. have honed me to

become a better manager.

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An Overview of Soft drink Industry in India

Beverage Industry is one of the fast growing industries in India. It can be categorized

into Carbonated & Non-carbonated drinks.

Soft drinks in India will witness further growth in the forecast period. Long summers

and higher spending on packaged products will fuel the growth. However, categories

such as carbonates will negatively affect overall growth and in turn affect soft drinks’

forecast because of its sheer size both in value and volume terms. The majority of

volume and value growth is likely to come from bottled water and juice, which are

being embraced by consumers in urban and rural areas alike. Increased marketing

efforts and communications from soft drinks manufacturers are expected to continue

playing an important role in terms of pushing sales in most soft drinks categories.

According to market research firm Euromonitor, the market for fizzy drinks has seen

growth slow to single digits lately. Sales of fizzy drinks grew 8.42% by volume and

10.82% by value in 2015.

“There is a trend to move towards healthy drinks, products that are more organic and

natural. And therefore, there has been a dip in the growth rates of fizzy drinks sales.

Also, there is a strong seasonal impact on sales of these drinks,” said Dhanraj Bhagat,

partner at Grant Thornton India Llp.

Still, given the relatively higher pricing of natural and health products and a growing

and largely young population, consumption of fizzy drinks will continue to grow.

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INTRODUCTION

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PEPSICO INDIA

PepsiCo is a world leader in convenience foods and beverages, with 2007 revenues of

more than $39 billion and more than 185,000 employees across the world. Its world

renowned brands are available in nearly 200 countries and territories. PepsiCo gained

entry to India in 1989 by creating a joint venture with the Punjab government-owned

Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation (PAIC) and Voltas India Limited. This joint venture

marketed and sold Lehar Pepsi until 1991, when the use of foreign brands was allowed;

PepsiCo bought out its partners and ended the joint venture in 1994. Firstly Pepsi was

banned from import in India, in 1970, for having refused to release the list of its

ingredients and in 1993, the ban was lifted, with Pepsi arriving on the market shortly

afterwards.

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PepsiCo has grown to become the country’s largest selling food and beverage Company.

One of the largest multinational investors in the country, PepsiCo has established a

business which aims to serve the long term dynamic needs of consumers in India.

PepsiCo India and its partners have invested more than U.S. $700 million since the

company was established in the country in 1989. In India, PepsiCo provides direct

employment to 4,000 people and indirect employment to 60,000 people including

suppliers and distributors.

The group has built an expansive beverage, snack food and exports business and to

support the operations are the group’s 43 bottling plants in India, of which 15 are

company owned and 28 are franchisee owned. In addition to this, PepsiCo’s Frito Lay

snack division has 3 state of the art plants. PepsiCo’s business is based on its

sustainability vision of making tomorrow better than today. Our commitment to living

by this vision every day is visible in our contribution to our country, consumers, farmers

and our people.

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PepsiCo India’s expansive portfolio

Pepsi, 7 UP, Miranda and Mountain Dew, in addition to low calorie options– Diet Pepsi

and 7Up Light; hydrating and nutritional beverages such as Aquafina drinking water,

isotonic sports drinks - Gatorade, and 100% natural fruit juices and juice based drinks

– Tropicana, Tropicana Twister and Slice.

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Competitor Analysis

1. Coca-Cola

The major competitor of Pepsi through out the world is Coca Cola. Following will

give a brief of the competition between the rivals:

Although the goals of both the companies are the same, the two companies rely on

somewhat different marketing strategies. Pepsi has always taken the lead in

developing new products. Further, Pepsi has always taken more risks, acted rapidly,

and was always developing new advertising ideas.

Pepsi has positioned itself as a youth drink which is considered to be more modern and

lively as compared to Coca Cola. Also, Pepsi has always played around innovations so

as to lead the market.

COMPARATIVE PRODUCTS

Flavor Pepsi Coke

Cola Pepsi Coca-Cola, Thums up

Clear Lime 7up,Mountain Dew Sprite

Cloudy Lime Nimbooz Masala Soda Limca

Orange Miranda Fanta

Water Aquafina Kinley, Bonaqua

Lemon Nimbooz, Mirinda Lemon Minute Maid

Hydrotonic

drink

7up Revive, Gatorade N/A

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2. Parle Agro

Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd Beverages include fruit drinks, nectars, 100% Juice, sparkling

drinks. Product lines like Frooty, Appy Classic & Appy Fizz are tough competitors of

Pepsi brands

3. Xalta Packaged drinking water & flavored sodas

4. Bisleri Packaged drinking water & flavored sodas

5. Paper boat juices

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VARUN BEVERAGES LIMITED

Varun Beverages Limited, the flagship company of the RJ Group was incorporated in

1995. It is a company based in Gurgaon that provides bottling and distribution services

for PepsiCo India. The Managing Director of the company is Mr. Ravi Kant Jaipuria, a

leading businessman in the soft drink industry in India. VBL is PepsiCo’s prime

franchisee company which manufactures & markets carbonated drinks like 7up,

Miranda, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi; non-carbonated soft drink Slice; Aquafina

packaged drinking water & juice based drinks such as Tropicana. It has exclusive

franchise rights for Northern & Eastern India. It also owns the franchisee for Yum

Restaurants International including more than 46 Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in

India. In Delhi alone VBL has two bottling plants in NOIDA region & ten CFA agents

& large network of distributors spread evenly across the city. Its major competitors are

that of Pepsi namely Coca-Cola, Parle Agro, Bisleri & Xalta. VBL was awarded

"International Bottler of the Year" in 1998.

Head office at Gurgaon

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Group Companies under

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Vision & Mission

Vision

“To become the most Successful & Profitable Beverage Company in the world having Market Leadership in the

territories we operate.”

Mission

Being a Global, Growth Oriented and Profitable Organization by:

Offering best quality & refreshing product to every customer &

consumer

Being a preferred employer providing consistent growth path,

respect & empowerment

Creating value for our stakeholders by driving excellence in our

operations

Being responsible towards environment & society

Values

We hold strong values in business and fully respect our customers,

associates and community

Our diversity and unity brings creativity to our relationships within

our group, and to our associates

We continuously excel to achieve and maintain leadership position

in the chosen businesses; and delight all stakeholders by making

economic value additions in all corporate functions

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Key Milestones of VBL

1960’s - Firmly ventured in beverage bottling with its first plant in Agra

1991 - Exclusive bottling agreement with PepsiCo through existing plant Agra

1995 - Devyani Beverages Ltd (DBL) started its operations through its first plant at

Greater Noida

1996 - New plant under Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL) started its operations at Jaipur

1998 - Acquired Nepal territory renamed as Varun Beverages (Nepal) Pvt Ltd.

- Also, PepsiCo acquired 26% shares in VBL

1999 - Started operations in Alwar, Jodhpur & Kosi

2000 - Acquired Goa territory under Goa Bottling Co. Ltd (GBCL)

2004 - Devyani Beverages Ltd merged with Varun Beverages Ltd

2008 - Acquired North East territory through North East Pure Drinks Pvt Ltd (NEPD)

2009 - Acquired West Bengal territory from PepsiCo

2010 - Sri Lanka Territory from Ole Spring Bottlers

- GBCL renamed to Varun Beverages International Ltd (VBIL)

2011 - NEPD merged in VBIL

2012 - VBIL acquired PepsiCo’s 26% stake in VBL

2013 - VBIL merged with VBL and all overseas subsidiaries became subsidiaries of

VBL

- VBL acquired Delhi territory from Pearl Drinks Ltd

2015 - Acquired 6 territories (UP, Uttarakhand, Himachal, Punjab, Haryana and

Chandigarh) & 4 bottling plants from PepsiCo

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Awards & Recognitions

Varun Beverages Limited has been awarded prestigious awards such as ‘Best Bottler

in the World (1997)’ and more recently ‘Best Bottler in the Country’ (2011) for its

contribution to PepsiCo business.

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Board of Directors

Ravi Kant Jaipuria, Promoter and Chairman

Varun Jaipuria, Whole-time Director

Raj Pal Gandhi, Whole-time Director

Kapil Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer & Whole-time Director

Kamlesh Kumar Jain, Chief Financial Officer

Udai Dhawan, Nominee Director

Ravindra Dhariwal, Independent Director

Girish Ahuja, Independent Director

Naresh Kumar Trehan, Independent Director

Pradeep Sardana, Independent Director

Geeta Kapoor, Independent Director

Sanjoy Mukerji, Independent Director

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Organizational Structure of VBL

Chairman

Managing Director

Chief Operating

Officer

Production Manager

Finance Manager

Personal Manager

Head Of Sales

Marketing Devel.

Manager

Sales Managers

ASMs & TDMs

Senior CEs & CEs

Pre-Sale Reps

Delivery Agents

Merchandisers

ASM (Marketing)

Marketing Exec.

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Products & Services

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4Ps of PepsiCo in association with VBL

Various Brands, their SKUs & Pricing

Competitive product pricing type of pricing policy is implemented by PepsiCo India.

S.no. SKU

M.R.P per

bottle (in

Rs.)

Rate per

Pack (in

Rs.)

Pack

Size

(per

Case)

1 200ml RGB Pepsi 12 264 24

2 250ml CAN Pepsi 25 520 24

3 300ml RGB Pepsi 15 324 24

4 600ml PET Pepsi 35 755 24

5 600ml PET Diet Pepsi 35 755 24

6 1.25ltr PET Pepsi 60 635 12

7 2ltr PET Pepsi 85 705 9

8 200ml RGB Mountain Dew 12 264 24

9 250ml CAN Mountain Dew 25 520 24

10 250ml CAN Mountain Dew Game Fuel 25 520 24

11 300ml RGB Mountain Dew 15 324 24

12 600ml PET Mountain Dew 35 755 24

13 600ml PET Mountain Dew Game Fuel 35 755 24

14 1.25ltr PET Mountain Dew 60 635 12

15 2ltr PET Mountain Dew 85 705 9

16 200ml RGB Mirinda Orange 10 216 24

17 250ml CAN Mirinda Orange 25 520 24

18 300ml RGB Mirinda Orange 15 324 24

19 600ml PET Mirinda Orange 35 755 24

20 1.25ltr PET Mirinda Orange 60 635 12

21 2ltr PET Mirinda Orange 85 705 9

22 2ltr PET Mirinda Lemon 85 705 9

23 200ml RGB 7UP Clear 10 216 24

24 250ml CAN 7UP Clear 25 520 24

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25 300ml RGB 7UP Clear 15 324 24

26 500ml PET 7UP Clear 30 660 24

27 600ml PET 7UP Clear 35 755 24

28 1.25ltr PET 7UP Clear 60 635 12

29 2ltr PET 7UP Clear 85 705 9

30 350ml PET 7UP Nimbooz 20 430 24

31 200ml RGB 7UP Nimbooz Masala Soda 12 264 24

32 500ml PET 7UP Nimbooz Masala Soda 35 755 24

33 1.25ltr PET 7UP Nimbooz Masala Soda 60 635 12

34 350ml PET 7UP Nimbooz 20 430 24

35 200ml RGB Slice 12 264 24

36 600ml PET Slice 35 755 24

37 1.2ltr PET Slice 62 659 24

38 200ml RGB 7UP Revive 14 300 24

39 330ml RGB 7UP Revive 25 540 24

40 500ml RGB 7UP Revive 35 755 24

41 300ml RGB Lehar Soda 9 192 24

43 600ml PET Lehar Soda 15 260 24

44 1ltr PET Aquafina 20 145 12

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Promotional Services

Chilling equipment like Visicooler, Trolleys & Ice boxes –

• Provided exclusively to Pepsi outlets to store & serve the beverages

chilled

• Available in storage capacity ranging from 220ltrs to 1100ltrs, in single-

door & double-door variants

• Pepsi introduced Visi Planogram (P7MDS; initials of brands) to

focus/identify Pepsi brands & products. Also known as brand execution.

• Improves product availability, visibility & display

• Trolleys & Ice boxes are provided where storage & display area is less

Schemes & discounts on volume purchase –

• Mixing of various packs of brands with same pricing

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• Schemes on bulk purchase

• Cash & Card discounting

Promotional events –

• Game shows & contests

• Free sampling during product launch

• Lucky draw

Services to Eating & Dining outlets –

• Billboards & signage

• Stickers, banners/posters, LED menu displays, danglers, umbrellas

• Table mats, straw stands, table menu cards

• T-shirts for waiters

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Geographical Spread of Manufacturing & Distribution

VBL is a major manufacturer, marketer & distributor (bottling operations) of soft drinks

for PepsiCo in India and accounts for 47% of its beverage business in India.

As of April 30, 2016, VBL operated 16 production facilities across India and five

production facilities in their international licensed territories with capacity of 146

million cases p.a. in India and 42 million cases p.a. in the overseas territories.

VBL has its own backward integrated facilities for manufacturing preforms, plastic

caps, crowns, corrugated boxes and lamination sheets, which results in significant

process efficiencies and cost saving.

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In India, VBL has the license to supply beverages in the territories of Uttar Pradesh,

Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Kolkata, Goa, North East, Uttarakhand, Punjab,

Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

It has a strong distribution network including

55 depots

2350 dealers/distributors

426,000 outlets and

A fleet of 1,443trucks

As of March 31, 2016, we have been granted franchises for various PepsiCo products

spread across 17 States and two Union Territories in India.

VBL has also been granted the franchise for various PepsiCo products for the

territories of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Mozambique and Zambia. In addition, the

company is in the process of setting up facility in Zimbabwe in anticipation of

franchise rights being granted by PepsiCo Inc. for such territory.

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Redefined Distribution System

PepsiCo India’s earlier focus was to drive wide availability & enable easy access to

their brands for consumers. Pepsi has redefined its distribution methodology to

strengthen their competitive advantage in the emerging consumer & market scenario.

Their new approach is more holistic touching consumers in multiple ways at the point

of purchase & more importantly, creating opportunities for customer to receive brand

message & experience.

They are proactively addressing these emerging trends by approaching distribution &

channels in a much broader way. They are shifting emphasis from mere reach or

availability expansion to touching consumers with a Three-way convergence of –

Product availability,

Brand Communication, &

Higher level of brand experience

Thus, they are going beyond delivering products & creating greater engagement &

interaction around the purchasing experience. Pepsi’s reinvention of distribution

system is built on an understanding of emerging trends, the retail environment & the

growth of its brands.

VBL is primarily responsible for the execution of this distribution system &

implements

Go-to-market approach along with the PSR system for order-taking

Every PSR is equipped with the SAMNA tool for order-taking

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Order Booking System & MIS tool

Sales Automation Management for the New Age (SAMNA)

Manufacturing organizations of PepsiCo’s stature rely heavily on their distribution

chains. In order to equip their distributors with a way to capture secondary sales data,

the company created a go-to-market solution called Sales Automation Management

for the New Age (SAMNA).

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The solution, designed by PepsiCo’s IT team, involves deploying handheld devices

(smartphones) at the distributors‟ end. The company’s SAP environment, which

handles primary sales information, is the source of inventory data for SAMNA.

Salespeople can retrieve information on stocks and promotional schemes by logging

into the SAMNA portal, and use the same for daily transactions such as order

capturing, invoicing, and reporting. SAMNA’s MIS reports give distributors visibility

of the business, and the sales reports help them in reconciliation and billing. SAMNA

(Sales Automation Management for the New Age) which is used in PepsiCo

distribution network.

It is integrated with Tally ERP 9 (MS Excel as intermediate). SAMNA has greatly

increased the efficiency of the sales team.

Information on schemes, Planogram etc. is readily available on the device. The

salesperson no longer has to depend upon manual data entry to record transactions.

After each sale, entry can be made into the hand held device itself and using.

EDGE/3G connection the data is updated onto a centralized system thereby

eliminating the chance of committing a mistake. It has become even easier to monitor

the performance of a PSR for the CE as he/she just has to connect the device to

computer to review the performance IT. Hassled to an ease in stock management for

the ADC.

The solution has the distinction of being one of the largest secondary sales solution in

the country. Apart from letting distributors gain visibility on the supply chain, thereby

increasing the productivity. SAMNA has also aided PepsiCo in understanding sales

patterns, resulting in better market analysis.

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Turnover

According to data from Varun Beverages’ filings with the registrar of companies

(RoC), in calendar year 2014, the firm posted standalone revenue of Rs.2,063 crore,

up from Rs.1,779 crore in the previous year.

It reported a profit of Rs.43.3 crore in 2014 against a loss of Rs.8.5 crore in the

previous year.

RoC data shows that PepsiCo. India reported a loss of Rs.177 crore in financial year

2014-15, down from Rs.280 crore the previous year. It reported revenue of Rs.8,130

crore in 2014-15, a 13% increase over the previous year.

Recent Funding

The Material Creditors of VBL as on December 31, 2015 is Hongkong Tianyi

International Holding Co. Ltd. for an amount of 322.57 INR million

Ravi Jaipuria has plans to raise $300 million by the end of 2016 through Initial

Public Offer (IPO). "IPOs will be the best way to stabilize businesses," VBL has

hired a couple of banks recently and the work on the IPO has been started.

Ravi Jaipuria also said that he plans to raise $100 million -$125 million for

about 10% equity stake in Varun Beverages in a pre-IPO deal by the end of

December 2016.

Standard Charted Private Equity has invested $48 million and $32 million in the

firm in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

AION Investments II Singapore Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of New York-

headquartered investment major AION Partners is investing Rs. 600 crore in

VBL. As a part of its investments, VBL will receive Rs. 300 crore, which the

bottler will use in refinancing its existing debt and expansion of its operations,

in exchange of non-convertible debentures to AION. AION in a joint venture

between private equity firms Apollo Global Management and ICICI Venture,

invested $90 million in Varun Beverages in October 2013 through a mix of

primary capital infusion and purchase of shares from Standard Chartered Private

Equity.

PepsiCo said that it would invest Rs.33, 000 crore in the India by 2020.

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HR Practices in VBL

Currently, VBL has a total attrition rate of approximately 2%. The same for

each depot may vary

As in March 2016 a new initiative was implemented for the purpose of retention

of good performers in VBL. Steps taken towards employee satisfaction include

awards to best CE & best PSR every month

Provident Fund was introduced & implemented for all VBL employees in 2016

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TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIES

ASSIGNED

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7UP REVIVE: An Overview

7UP REVIVE was launched in Delhi in March 2016. 7UP Revive is a health-oriented

beverage which helps to refresh and replace the fluids that the body needs when out

and about in the hot sun. It is an international brand having strong presence in

Vietnam and Malaysia, This hydrotonic drink is one of the most popular drinks for

young people. When one is out and about in the hot sun, the body loses fluids and

electrolytes. True to its name, 7UP Revive is an ‘Active Hydration Drink’ with

vitamins and electrolytes that help the body stay active.

7UP Revive contains Vitamins B3, B6 and B12 which are known to play an essential

role in energy metabolism and electrolytes like Sodium and Potassium needed to

replenish some salts that body loses in sun.

The product is in the ‘Introduction stage’ in the product life cycle and since its launch

in March, it has been struggling to make a presence due to various factors.

The drink is marketed to the youth but, there is a mixed response in terms of liking the

product. The sales number have been declining & PepsiCo with VBL has been able to

do very little to breathe life into the product.

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Objective of the project

My main objective was to increase the ‘Customer Count’ which meant placing

any/all of the three SKUs of 7UP REVIVE in various outlets in the above

mentioned regions in Delhi

The increase in the ‘Customer Count’ will indicate the penetration as well as

daily sales

This involved devising an action plan for various implementations & for

planning my daily route rides; after identifying potential yet weak markets from

the Monthly Route-wise Penetration Report obtained via MIS (refer April, May &

June Penetration figures in Annexures)

Depot Assigned – Laxmi Agency, Kirti Nagar, Delhi

Locations Assigned – Central Delhi & West Delhi

Duration of the Project – 8 weeks

Daily Schedule

Attendance & Sales report – The first & foremost task was to confirm my attendance

at the depot, then report the total sales of 7UP REVIVE of the previous day to our

industry mentor. This piece of data was obtained from the MIS. All the updates &

report sharing took place on a daily basis in the WhatsApp group.

Gate-meeting – It is the daily meeting between the ASM, CEs & the PSRs where

sensitive updates were conveyed like the day’s sales targets, the progress made,

discussions & resolution of issues, sharing sales & penetration figures and/or other

important updates & clarifications.

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Route Rides – This is where I visit different markets with the CEs or PSRs to assist

them to make sales. In order to confirm my location, the GPS location along with the

route name was sent to the industry mentor via WhatsApp. (Refer Annexure 2)

Weekly Progress

Week 1

I was briefed about the company & was assigned at Shree Krishna Enterprises,

Mayur Vihar Phase –III

Under the supervision of the Sr. CE Mr. Prateek Aggarwal, I visited various

markets in East Delhi to observe & learn the overall working of the PSR & CE,

the SAMNA system of order-taking & the order fulfillment undertaken by DA

I also learnt about few terminologies commonly used in the field like Visi-

purity, Visi-charging & merchandising

General observations were made about the working on the basis of opinions &

feedbacks received from the retailers & the end consumers

Gate-meeting - The ASM addressing the PSRs about their sales target

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Week 2

I was assigned the main project namely ‘Penetration of 7UP REVIVE in Delhi’

by our industry mentor

I was made in-charge of one of VBL’s cream depots, Laxmi Agency which was

responsible for distribution activities in the central & western regions of Delhi

In the Weekly Penetration report till 8th May, the Customer Count was just 54

(circled in red) out of 555 total target outlets.

This report also indicates the total & SKU-wise sale of 7UP REVIVE on 8th

May (highlighted in red)

By the end of second week, the Customer Count doubled to 107 out of 555

target outlets

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Week 3

By the end of second week, the Customer Count increased to 146 out of 555

target outlets

Week 4

The fourth week penetration figures were 221 outlets. This indicated that I had

added 75 new outlets in that week.

This week marked the end of the first half of my SIP. SAMNA also generated

the ‘Total 7UP REVIVE Sales figures’ & the ‘Route-wise Penetration in MAY’

(Refer Annexures 3 & 4)

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Week 5

After analysis of the Penetration report I planned the routes that had to be given

more emphasis

I, then continued my daily route rides with more sale dialogues & techniques

Gave the suggestion to mix various similarly priced SKUs in one crate as per

demand

Week 6

The sixth week was an very important week both for VBL & for me as there

was a market visit of a PepsiCo Official scheduled on 8th June to evaluate the

presence of 7UP REVIVE in Delhi

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The Official visited Lodhi colony. He was pleased to see the visibilty of the

beverage in almost all outlets in that market. Even my supervisors & mentor

gave me sigh of appreciation

Week 7

In the seventh week there was a realization that majority of the ‘A-class’ & ‘B-

class’ outlets were covered which stagnated the sale. Also, 7UP REVIVE was a

slow-moving product so there was no regular demand for the same

I gave the suggestion of giving out 7UP REVIVE through scheme with another

frequently selling primary SKU like the 1ltr Aquafina.

The ASM passed the scheme of “1ltr Aquafina k ek case k saat 2 bottle Revive

free”

By the end of the week the Customer Count shot up to 376 outlets from 128

outlets in the sixth week.

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Week 8

I had prepared a Retailer survey along with other interns which got approved by

our industry mentor

Next step was to plan our route rides accordingly to carry out the survey in our

respective territories

A plan was laid to visit at least three market routes for next 6-7 days to conduct

the survey in at least 90 outlets

Also continued the scheme implemented in the previous week

My depot had over-exceeded the target outlets by 25 new outlets

47 Jubin James

MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS

48 Jubin James

320

330

340

350

360

370

380

390

353.1

344.7

383

Sales (No. of cases sold)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Penetration (in %)

0

200

400

600

800

261230

609

Customer Count (Outlets reached)

49 Jubin James

MARKET RESEARCH

50 Jubin James

Research Objective

To find out the level of awareness among the retailers about 7UP REVIVE

To find out whether the retailers & end consumers agree with the current pricing

of the product

To find out the problems faced by retailers in selling 7UP REVIVE in their outlets

To get feedback & suggestions for improvement to improve its sales

Research Design

Sample size – 85 outlets

Sampling Plan – Random sampling technique from the list of existing Pepsi retailers

Type of study – Pilot study

Collection of data –

Primary data – Obtained the list of A-class & B-class outlets from MIS

Secondary data – Survey undertaken by route rides

Method of data collection –

Personal Interaction with the retailers

Structured Schedule (Refer Annexure 1)

51 Jubin James

Analysis & Findings

1. Are you aware of 7UP REVIVE?

All respondents gave an optimistic YES when asked about 7UP REVIVE.

Therefore, the third question was not applicable on any respondent

0 20 40 60 80

Seen the Ad onTV/Youtube/Newspaper

Seen posters or bannerssomewhere

Someone from PepsiCo hadinformed me

Seen someone drinking it

Customer asked me

Seen it displayed in other shops

All of the above

2

39

70

14

14

13

2

2. If you are aware of 7UP REVIVE then tell us how?

52 Jubin James

70 respondents said that the Pepsi salesman/PSR had informed them. This

meant that the PSRs fulfilled their duty of introducing the new beverage in their

respective routes

Only 14 said that their customers had ever asked for it which is an alarming

situation

Also, very few had actually seen any Ad or some posters anywhere which

clearly indicated lack of sales promotion taken up by Pepsi

A bit more than half of the population (i.e. 52.3%) got banners, hanging

danglers & sampling

But, on the contrary there is about 17.4% of population that has still not got any

kind of physical promotional service which has hampered sales in their outlets

53 Jubin James

When asked about how it tasted, only 38.3% of the population had an optimistic

response towards 7UP REVIVE

30.2% of the population says that the product is just fine

About 20% did not like it at all

But, 11.6% of the population still haven’t tasted the beverage which indicates

improper sampling conducted during launch

54 Jubin James

Price being the factor, 45.3% of the population felt that product’s pricing was

fair

At the same time, 44.1% of the population felt that the price is high. This

indicates that Pepsi has failed to identify the suitable pricing in the appropriate

market

Only 8.1% of the population felt that the price is low

Out of 85 respondents, only 2 outlets had excellent sale

Only 15 outlets had good sale

Only 14 had average sale

But, there were 32 outlets with low sale & 21 outlets with no sales at all which

may lead to red flag for the product

It was clear that Pepsi did not focus on 7UP REVIVE as compared to its other

brands

55 Jubin James

Based on the sales & demand, approximately 30% of the outlets still have the

very first lot of the beverage & are reluctant to give repeat orders

There is merely 6% of the outlets where sale has been good

Majority of the population give orders on monthly or weekly basis. This means

that 7UP REVIVE is a slow-moving beverage

58

38

10

45

4

22

2

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Low/No Customer Demand

Low Margin

Other Competitive/similar products availablelike Urza, Gatorade, Redbull etc.

No promotion taken up by Pepsi

No fridge or other cooling methods

Just happy with existing/popular Pepsiproducts

All of the above

9. If you do not keep/hesitate to keep 7UP REVIVE, then tell us why?

56 Jubin James

When asked about problems faced by the retailers, majority of the population

(i.e. 58) said that there is low/no demand for 7UP REVIVE in their outlets

And, 45 respondents say that this situation persists because Pepsi is not willing

to promote this product

Other problems such as low margin & popularity of existing Pepsi brands also

hamper sales

Based on the feedbacks, the problems & area of improvement was categorized

into 6 broad suggestions/complaints

32% of the respondents felt that awareness among end-consumers can be raised

by advertising it in high frequency with maximum reach in the city

Advertising with a blend of better schemes for the retailers may curb the

problem of low demand for 7UP REVIVE in the city

57 Jubin James

CONCLUSIONS

58 Jubin James

Upon in depth investigation it is revealed that the budget for 7UP REVIVE was

kept comparatively lower than the other Pepsi brands. This directly restricted its

marketing activities which affected its sales

Lack of advertising (mainly TV ads) was the main concern of the continuous

decline in sales

Even after being a very good product, the overall sales of 7UP REVIVE is

declining due to lack of popularity & awareness

My study & analysis also reveals that the number of repeat purchases were

either stagnant or otherwise declining at steady rate

Under the pressure to complete their sales target, the PSRs pitch for the most

popular & fast-moving products. Therefore in the process, 7UP REVIVE is

ignored

The Merchandisers were not placing warm displays at the outlet counters further

aggravating the problem

The existing stock of 7UP REVIVE is not selling well therefore, many cases of

product expiry are emerging

Due to all the above mentioned factors, the retailers refuse to keep more of 7UP

REVIVE to be on the safer side as Pepsi does not facilitate credit to them

59 Jubin James

SWOT Analysis

60 Jubin James

MAJOR LEARNINGS &

RECOMMENDATIONS

61 Jubin James

Learnings

The effectiveness of channel sales under the distribution model in the FMCG

industry

The functions of different personnel in hierarchy of sales dept.

The art of selling involving interaction with clients & customers, objection

handling & resolution to their problems

Mapping & presentation of sales figures & sales reporting

Effectively implementing various POS tools to improve visibility & awareness

of the products

Importance of advertising of the product for the effectiveness of its sales

Various target completion tactics such as scheme creation & ready stock method

Recommendations

Advertising is the key. My analysis with the inclusion of retailer’s feedbacks is

that by increasing the broadcast of TV ad in certain channels in the primetime

will definitely bring about more awareness among the public

An event or a game show can be organized at various places in Delhi to give the

beverage a better exposure

ASMs & the CEs must emphasize on its sales through PSRs by daily route-rides

& resolving day-to-day problems in their territories

Loading of Ready stock method (obligation of selling pre-fixed number of

cases) can be implemented on weekly basis

Creation & implementation of new schemes can boost the sales

A daily sales journal to be kept in the depot which can be used for entry of daily

sales & to verify the same in SAMNA

Revising the price of 200ml RGB from Rs.14 to either Rs.12 or Rs.15 so that

they can be mixed with other brands (RGB crates) with similar pricing

62 Jubin James

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Industry overview retrieved from www.euromonitor.com/soft-drinks-in-

india/report

Selective sections obtained & compiled from Intro to VBL.ppt

Certain sections of Company profile obtained from varupepsi.com

Information of funding obtained from www.bloomberg.com,

economictimes.indiatimes.com & www.business-standard.com

Weekly Customer Count Data retrieved from SAMNA system at Sapera Basti,

Mayur Vihar Phase – III office

Sales reports, Penetration status & Customer Count Data report obtained from

SAMNA system at Luxmi Agency

http://www.euromonitor.com/soft-drinks-in-india/report

http://www.euromonitor.com/soft-drinks-in-india/report

http://www.bloomberg.com/

63 Jubin James

ANNEXURES

64 Jubin James

Annexure 2 – Routes Ride Schedule

The following table shows all the markets/routes I covered in the span of 8 weeks:-

Date Route

no. Route Name

Total

Crates

sold

Complaints & Feedback

2nd May - 14th May SKE, Sapera Basti. Assigned Luxmi

Agency from Week 2 Market Observation under PSR

16th May Distributor Shankar Mkt For Market observation & learning under CE &

PSR 17th May Distributor Shankar Mkt & Gol Mkt

18th May 26 Nehru Mkt 5 No Demand

19th May 4 Chanakyapuri Momo Mkt 6.5 Not interested

20th May 6 Bengali Mkt 12 Sampling not done properly

23rd May 12

Dhaula Kuan, Subroto

Park 5 Expired, need return/replacement

25th May 22 Rajouri Garden 2 Unresponsive Mkt

28th May 5 INA Mkt 0 Need replacement for expired bottles

1st June 2

Lajpat Nagar, Central

Mkt 6 Visi related issues, No demand

6th June 35 South Moti Bagh 1 Slow moving product

6th June 10 Satya Niketan 5 Give TV ad

7th June 14 Khan Mkt 1 Unresponsive Mkt

8th June 9 Lodhi Colony 2.5 Slow moving product

9th June 9 Lodhi Colony Mkt visit by Revive officials from Pepsi

10th June 1 Defence Colony 2.5 Not interested

11th June 15 Pragati Maidan 2 Cancelled

11th June 3 Sarojini Nagar 4 No customer awareness

13th June

- 23rd

June

Selective Market Routes Conducted Retailer Survey

65 Jubin James

Annexure 3 - Route-wise Sales figures of 7UP REVIVE

Route Code

Route Name APRIL MAY JUNE

PSR2 NETAJI NAGAR PAKORA MKT. 6 1 3

R001 DEFENCE COLONY 12.5 14 22

R002 LAJPAT NAGAR - CENTRAL MKT. 10.3 10 18

R003 SAROJINI NGR 35 18 37

R004 CHANKYAPURI, MOMO MKT 23.5 24 17

R005 INA 11.5 6 16

R006 BENGALI MKT 12 23 8

R007 LAJPAT NAGAR 1 AND 2 11.3 6 4

R008 MALCHA MARG 6 11 7

R009 LODHI COLONY 12 4 14

R010 SATYA NIKETAN, MOTI BAGH 18 9 19

R011 VASANT VIHAR 68.5 65.5 54

R012 DHOULA KUAN ,SUBROTO PARK 18 35 31

R014 KHAN MARKET 6 4 10

R015 PRAGATI MAIDAN 3.5 0 7

R019 CHANKYAPURI 20.5 6.2 11

R020 SOUTH AVE.NORTH AVENUE 35 30 37

R021 MALLS,TAGORE GARDEN 16.5 28 25

R022 RAJORI GARDEN 10 18 5

R025 DP01 KUSUMPUR PAHARI 0 0 11

R026 DP02 NEHRU MARKET (TAIGORE/RAJOURI GARDEN)

4 4 4

R028 LAJPAT NAGAR - 3 0 6 4

R035 SOUTH MOTI BAGH 13 22 16

GRAND TOTAL 353.1 344.7 383

66 Jubin James

Annexure 4 - Route-wise Penetration of 7UP REVIVE in APRIL

Route Code

PSR Name Route Name 7 UP Revive

Customer Count

Penetration

R009 DEEPAK KASHYAP LODHI COLONY 11 16%

R010 SATEESH YADAV SATYA NIKETAN, 14 18%

R011 GULAB CHAND VASANT VIHAR 25 31%

R012 ARUN DAHIYA DHOULA KUAN ,SUBROTO PARK

13 16%

R025 DINESH YADAV DP01 KUSUMPUR PAHARI 0 0%

PSR3 MONU YADAV KOTLA 1 0 0%

PSR4 ARJUN RANA KOTLA 2 0 0%

R035 ASHOK KUMAR SOUTH MOTI BAGH 8 15%

Anil Choudhary 95 13%

R003 ARUN KUMAR SAROJINI NGR 31 40%

R005 SHEKHAR INA Market 9 13%

R006 DEEPAK TRIPATHI BENGALI MKT 14 29%

R014 SHUSHIL MISHRA KHAN MARKET 7 13%

R015 DEEPAK UPADHYAY PRAGATI MAIDAN 4 9%

R020 RAMESH MITHARWAL SOUTH AVE.NORTH AVENUE 10 14%

Brij Mohan 75 20%

R001 ROHIT KUMAR DEFENCE COLONY 8 13%

R002 PRADEEP KUMAR LAJPAT NAGAR - CENTRAL MKT.

8 15%

R004 AAMIR KHAN CHANKYAPURI, MOMO MKT 17 25%

PSR2 ARIF KHAN PAKORA MARKET 11 28%

R007 VARUN DAHIYA LAJPAT NAGAR 1 AND 2 4 8%

R008 TARIK ANWAR MALCHA MARG 9 16%

R019 RAJ KUMAR CHANKYAPURI 14 25%

R028 VINEET RAI LAJPAT NAGAR -3 0 0%

Shudhanshu 71 16%

R021 MUKESH RATHOR MALLS,TAGORE GARDEN 7 10%

R022 VILAYAT HUSSAIN RAJORI GARDEN 5 7%

R026 RAUSHAN KUMAR DP02 NEHRU MARKET (TAIGORE GARDEN)

8 13%

Abhinav 20 8%

Total 261 14%

67 Jubin James

Annexure 5 - Route-wise Penetration of 7UP REVIVE in MAY

Route Code

PSR Name Route Name 7 UP Revive

Customer Count

Penetration




R012 ARUN DAHIYA DHOULA KUAN ,SUBROTO PARK

24 30%





Anil Choudhary 80 11%







Brij Mohan 56 15%


R002 PRADEEP KUMAR LAJPAT NAGAR - CENTRAL MKT.

9 17%







Shudhanshu 65 15%



R026 RAUSHAN KUMAR DP02 NEHRU MARKET (TAIGORE GARDEN)

5 8%

Utkarsh 29 11%

Total 230 12%

68 Jubin James

Annexure 6 - Route-wise Penetration of 7UP REVIVE in JUNE

Route Code

PSR Name Route Name 7UP REVIVE

Customer Count

Penetration





R002 PRADEEP KUMAR LAJPAT NAGAR - CENTRAL MKT. 13 24%










R012 ARUN DAHIYA DHOULA KUAN ,SUBROTO PARK 34 43%








R026 RAUSHAN KUMAR DP02 NEHRU MARKET (TAIGORE GARDEN) 32 53%



TOTAL 609 35%