2.

Introduction (Industry profile)

The estimate made by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (1998), the total market of
bakery product, bread and biscuit is estimated at 1.5mn ton and 1.1mn ton respectively. The
cake market is estimated at 0.4mn ton. The organized segment of the biscuit market is
estimated to be 0.44mn tons whereas the unorganized sector accounts for the balance 0.66mn
tons. Bread market is estimated to be growing at around 7% pa in volume terms, whereas the
biscuit market in the recent years has witnessed a little higher growth at around 8-10% pa.
Within the biscuit category, cream and specialty biscuits are growing at faster pace at 20%
pa. Besides the industrial areas in leading metropolis the bakery product & confectionery are
carried on small-scale basis also at household level. Whereas, the confectionery industry has
developed remarkably with the international brand mingling with the domestic market
toffees, chocolates etc. produced at large scale in important industrial regions of the country.
Growth promotional activities in 1977-78 Government reserved the confectionery bread and
biscuit manufacturing for small scale and restricted entry of large producers. During the last 2
decades, small and unorganized players shared the growth in the industry. Currently, there are
an estimated 2 million bakeries across the country engaged in production of bread, biscuits
and other products. The Indian confectionery market is segmented into sugar-boiled
confectionery, chocolates, mints and chewing gums. Sugar-boiled confectionery, consists of
hard boiled candy, toffees and other sugar based candies, is the largest of the segments and
valued at around Rs 2,000crores. The confectionery industry has a current capacity of 85,000
tons, the market is growing at the rate of 10-15% per annum. The estimated annual
production of bakery products in India is in excess of 3 million tons, of which bread accounts
for nearly 50% and biscuits 37% in volume terms in the organized sector. The bakery sector
in India is one of largest segments of the food processing industries; annual turnover in value
terms is approximately $ 900 million.

HISTORY OF BISCUITS INDUSTRY:

Sweet or salty, Soft or crunchy, Simple or exotic everybody loves munching on biscuits, but
do they know how biscuits began? The history of biscuits can be traced back to a recipe
created by the Roman chef Apicius, in which "a thick paste of fine wheat flour was boiled
and spread out on a plate. When it had dried and hardened it was cut up and then fried until
crisp, then served with honey and pepper. The word 'Biscuit' is derived from the Latin words
'Bis'(meaning 'twice') and 'Coctus'(meaning cooked or baked). The word 'Biscotti' is also the
generic term for cookies in Italian. Back then, biscuits were unleavened, hard and thin wafers
which, because of their low water content, were ideal food to store. As people started to
explore the globe, biscuits became the ideal travelling food since they stayed fresh for long
periods. The age, thus, witnessed the boom of biscuits when these were sealed in airtight
containers to last for months at a time. Hard track biscuits (earliest version of the biscotti and
present-day crackers) were part of the staple diet of English and American sailors for many
centuries. In fact, the countries which led this seafaring charge, such as those in Western
Europe, are the ones where biscuits are most popular even today. Biscotti is said to have been
a favorite of Christopher Columbus who discovered America! Making good biscuits is quite
an art, and history bears testimony to that. During the 17th and 18th Centuries in Europe,
baking was a carefully controlled profession, managed through a series of 'guilds' or
professional associations. To become a baker, one had to complete years of apprenticeship
-working through the ranks of apprentice, journeyman, and finally master baker. Not only
this, the amount and quality of biscuits baked were also carefully monitored. The English,
Scotch and Dutch immigrants originally brought the first cookies to the United States and
they were called teacakes. They were often flavored with nothing more than the finest butter,
sometimes with the addition of a few drops of rose water. Cookies in America were also
called by such names as "jumbles", "plunkets" and "crybabies". As technology improved
during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the price of sugar and flour dropped.
Chemical leavening agents, such as baking soda, became available and a profusion of cookie
recipes occurred. This led to the development of manufactured cookies. Interestingly, as time
has passed and despite more varieties becoming available, the essential ingredients of biscuits
haven't changed like 'soft' wheat flour (which contains less protein than the flour used to bake
bread) sugar, and fats, such as butter and oil. Today, though they are known by different
names throughout the world people agree on one thing - nothing beats the biscuit!

HISTORY OF INDIAN BISCUITS INDUSTRY:

Indian Biscuits Industry came into major existence and started gaining a sound status in the
bakery industry in the later part of 20th century when the urbanized society called for
readymade food products at a tenable cost. Biscuits were assumed as sick –man’s diet in
earlier days but today it has become one of the most loved fast-food products for every age
group. Biscuits are always easy to carry, tasty to eat, cholesterol free and reasonable at cost.
States that have the larger intake of biscuits are Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra and West Bengal are the most industrially
developed states holding the maximum amount of consumption of biscuits. Even, the rural
sector consumes around 55% of the biscuits in the bakery products. Indian Biscuits Industry
seems to be the largest among all the food industries and has a turnover of around
rs3000crores. Indian subcontinent is known to be the second largest manufacturer of biscuits,
the first being the USA. The industry is classified under two sectors: Organized and
Unorganized. Bread and biscuits are the major part of the bakery industry and covers around
80% of the total bakery products in India. Biscuits today stand at a higher values and
production level than bread. This belongs to the unorganized sector of the bakery industry
and covers over 70% of the total production. In the year 1990 the total production of bakery
products has risen from 5.19lac tons in 1975 to 18.95lac tons. Today Biscuits contributes to
over 33% of the total production of bakery and above 79% of the biscuits are manufactured
by the small-scale sector of bakery industry comprising both factory and non-factory units in
the country. The production capacity of wafer biscuits is 60 MT. and the cost is Rs. 5678400
with a motive power of 25 K.W. Indian biscuits industry has occupied around 55-60% of the
entire bakery production. Today the large-scale bakery manufacturer like Cadbury, Nestle,
and Brooke bond had traded in the biscuit industry in the year 1953. According to FBMI a
steady growth of 15% per annum in the next 10 years will be achieved by the biscuit industry
of India. Besides, the export of biscuits will also surpass the target and hit the global market
successfully. Today the total production of biscuits in India is estimated to be around 30lac
MT, the organized sector accounts for 65% and the unorganized sector accounts for 35% of
the total industry volume and the organized sector is valued at above Rs 8000crores. While
the biscuit industry is estimated to grow over 15-17% in the next few years the biscuits per
capita consumption in India is 2 kg. India is ranked 3rd after US and China amongst the
global biscuit’s producers. The export of biscuits is approximately 17% of the annual
production, the export of sweet biscuits for the year 2007-08 was Rs 145.93crore and for year
2008-09(April-Dec) was Rs 280crores, the major exporting regions were Haiti, Angola, USA,
Ghana, UAE. The imports are not significant amount as compared to the total consumption.
The penetration of biscuits in India among the urban and rural market is 85% and 55%
respectively. The annual turnover for the organized sector of the biscuits manufacturers at
2001-02 is Rs 4350crores. The annual Growth showed a decline o 3.5% in 2000-01, mainly
due to 100% hike in Central Excise Duty (from 9% to 16%) by the government. Production
in the year 2001-02 increased very marginally by 2.75% where in 2002-03 the growth is
around 3%. Government took initiative for the development as The Union Budget for 2003-
04 granted 50% reduction in the rate of Excise Duty on biscuits i.e. from 16% to 8%. The
Federation’s estimate indicates a growth of approximately 8% to 9% per year. Biscuit is
always hygienically packaged nutritious snack food available at very competitive prices,
volumes and different tastes. According to NCAER analysis, biscuits are predominantly
consumed by people from the lower strata of society, particularly children in both rural and
urban with an average monthly income of rs 750 and above. Indian Biscuits Industry is the
largest among all the food industries and has a turnover of around RS. 4350crores. Biscuits
Industry contributes Rs 8000crore to the FMCG industry today, provides vast opportunity for
growth as per capita consumption of biscuits is less than 2.1 in our Country. India is
classified under two sectors: Organized and Unorganized Branded / Organized to Unbranded.
Unorganized market share of biscuits has been 70% for organized sector and 30% for
unorganized sector. Apart from Big 3(Britania, Parle, ITC) there are around 150 medium to
small biscuits factory in India. The Biscuit Industry employs almost 3.5lac people directly
and 30lac people indirectly. Britania brand is now available in nearly 1.8 million outlets.
Britania claims that it has a superior distribution clout with its presence which is nearly 3.3
million outlets. Parle, the seasoned player itself, says it is available in 1.5 million. Sunfeast’s
next step was to step up its branding and promotion. Indian Biscuits market is 1.1 million
tons per annum at Rs 50 billion. About 90% of Indians buy and eat biscuits. According to
estimates the bakery industry in India is worth Rs.69 billion. Out of which bread and biscuits
hold about 82% of the share. The bread market has a business volume of 1.5 million tones.
The major factors for growth in the segment are brand loyalty volumes and strong
distribution networks. The Indian Biscuits Industry is finding it tough to stand on its ground
due to diversified products on the shelves and also due to a huge inflow of foreign brands. In
2015-16, the cookie segment, which includes brands such as Bournvita biscuits, Britania’s
Good Day and ITC’s Delicious, contributed 30% to the overall market and grew by more
than 13% over the previous year. In contrast, Marie witnessed growth of 7.9% in the same
period compared to 11.9% in 2014-15, while salt crackers declined 3.3% in 2015-16
compared to a growth rate of 3.2% in 2014-15, according to market research firm Nielson. In
fact Parle-G glucose biscuits has become the largest biscuits brand in the country, as the
Indian populace take biscuits with tea and coffee on a regular basis while Parle-G is the
dominant player with over 12% market share in the Rs 25000crore domestic biscuits market,
Good Day which falls in the Cookie category is the second largest player with around 95
market share, Mondelez, maker of Cadbury chocolates and Oreo cookies is betting big on the
market that is growing by over 7% year on year. In terms of volume, India has emerged as
one of the three markets for Oreo, the world’s largest selling biscuits. FMCG major ITC has
carved itself a niche share in the Indian biscuits scenario. The health category in the biscuit
market that includes digestive biscuits is pegged at around Rs 400crore at present and
growing by 15-16% every year. Biscuit is a comparatively low margin food product in the
PMCG (Packaged Mass Consumption Goods) sector. The commodity is also price sensitive,
as a consequence of which, even when the Excise Duty was doubled on biscuits in 2000-01
biscuit manufacturers, including the major brands, were not able hike MRPs to the extent of
the steep increase in the Duty. Taxation, both Central Excise Duty as also State Sales Tax,
other miscellaneous levies i.e. turnover tax, local area tax, mandi taxes, purchase tax, Octroi
etc., has been a major deterrent in the growth of the biscuit industry. The CII Study Report
has identified Biscuit as one of the products that should treated as "Merit Good for the
purpose of liberal tax policy both by the Centre and States. Besides lack of technology
upgradation in manufacturing, packaging etc. has also been a factor affecting the industry,
along with inadequate financial credit and support particularly for the medium and small-
scale biscuit units. On the other hand, the Government of India has identified food processing
industries as a priority area to be encouraged for growth and development and created the
Ministry of Food Processing Industries (which was till then a Dept in the Ministry of
Agriculture), headed by an Ministry of State with Independent charge. Biscuit manufacturing
as well as other bakery products like Bread etc. are agro based industries, with the major
inputs wheat flour/Atta sugar, milk vanaspati/ vegetable oil etc. all being agriculture produce.
Industries such as Biscuit are also languishing as they are not able to achieve their potentials
for higher production, in the absence of the concrete food Processing Industry Policy. FBMI
in close coordination with other organizations and apex Chambers, initiated to urge the Govt.
of India to formulate a comprehensive Policy Document, for smooth growth and harmonious
development of the industry. The Food Processing Industry Policy, which has been evolved
as a result of various workshops, deliberations and representations by a large cross section of
food processing industries, is yet to be finalized. It is hoped that the Ministry of Food
Processing Industries, GOI would initiate action for implementation of the Policy
expeditiously. The enormous Rs. 6000-crore Indian biscuit market will soon have a new
entrant. UK’s premier biscuit company, United Biscuits, is looking at entering this profitable
market by tying up with local firms. United Biscuits is the world’s third largest biscuit firm,
and is currently exploring manufacturing, marketing and distribution options in emerging
markets like India. It is little wonder that UB has identified India as a strong market to
explore, considering India is the world’s second largest manufacturer of biscuits, after USA.
Access to this huge market is said to be ultra-profitable for several international food brands,
and UB is going with the flow. With its focus on bringing new and innovative products to
consumers, ITC steadily gained a Considerable market share which currently stands at 6.3
percent. Apart from good products and aggressive marketing, ITC has the advantage of well-
built distribution channels, thanks to its tobacco business. However, Sun feast still has a long
way to go as it continues to battle it out with the industry’s big two. In this scenario, it would
be interesting to see how well a massive European brand like United Biscuits would fare and
who it would tie up with. Talks are presently on with several firms in India including Parle. It
is said to be eager to tap into the high-margin health segment of biscuits such as its McVitie’s
brand. This would be a good idea in a country which is increasingly becoming health
conscious, particularly the urban population of India.
 3.Company Profile
Over the years, Parle has grown to become a multi-million US Dollar company. In 1929 a
small company by the name of Parle products emerged in British dominated India. Parle
derived from the name of the Indian railway station vileparle near Mumbai. The goal was to
spread joy and cheer to children and adults alike, all over the country with its sweets and
candies. Parle Products has been India's largest manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery.
Apart from the factories in Mumbai and Bangalore, Parle also has factories in Bahadurgarh,
Haryana and Neemrana, Rajasthan, the largest biscuit and confectionery plants in the country.
Each factory has state-of-the-art machinery with automatic printing & packaging facilities.
Parle was established in 1929 and was owned by the Chauhan family of Vile Parle Mumbai.

Head Office

 Mumbai Factory location

Parle Products North Level Crossing,
Ville Parle East,
Mumbai 400057,
Maharashtra, India.

PRODUCT RANGE: - Parle–G, Krackjack, Hide& Seek, Monaco, Milk Shakti etc.

MAJOR BRANDS: - Biscuits, Sweets, Juices, Kismi toffee, Melody, Poppins, 2 in one
éclair. INDUSTRY SIZE: - Parle Products has been India's largest manufacturer of biscuits
and confectionery, for almost 80 years. Makers of the world's largest selling biscuit, Parle-G,
and a host of other very popular brands, the Parle name symbolizes quality, nutrition and
great taste. With a reach spanning even the remotest villages of India , the company has
definitely come a very long way since its inception.

Many of the Parle products - biscuits or confectioneries, are market leaders in

their category and have won acclaim at the Monde Selection, since 1971. With a 43% share
of the total biscuit market and a 15% share of the total confectionary market in India. Apart
from the factories in Mumbai and Bangalore, Parle also have the factories in Bahadurgarh in
Haryana and Neemrana in Rajasthan which are the largest biscuit and confectionary plants in
India. Additionally, it has 10 manufacturing units and 75 manufacturing units on contract
basis. All these factories and manufacturing units are located at the Strategic location so as to
ensure constant output and easy distribution of the product in the market. The Parle biscuits
brands such as Parle G, Monaco, Krack jack and confectionary brands like Melody, Poppins,
Mango bite and Kismi are some strong imagery and popular brands amongst consumers. The
Parle biscuits and confectionaries are fast growing acceptance in international markets such
as Middle East Asia, South East Asia, Africa and few sophisticated economies like USA, UK,
Canada, New Zealand, Australia now relish on the Parle products.

PARLE G: The Evolution It has been a strong household name across India. The great taste,
high nutrition, and the international quality, make Parle G a winner. No wonder it’s the
undisputed leader in the biscuit category for decades. It is consumed by people of all ages
from the rich to poor, living in cities and in villages. While some have it for breakfast for
others it is a complete wholesome meal. For some it’s the best accompaniment for Chai,
while for some it’s a way of getting charged whenever they are low on energy. The incredible
demand led Parle to introduce the brand in special branded packs and in larger festive tin
packs. By the year 1949, Parle Glucose biscuits were available not just in Mumbai but also
across the state. It was also sold in parts of North India. Looking at the success of Parle G, a
lot of other brands biscuits were introduced in the market and these brands had names that
were similar to Parle G. Biscuits so that if not by anything else, the consumer would err in
picking the brand. Originally packed in the wax paper pack, today it is available in a
contemporary, premium pack with attractive side fins. The Parle g was only biscuits brand
that was always in short supply. It was heading towards becoming an all-time great brand of
biscuits. The advertisement of Parle brand began in 1980s. It was mainly advertised through
press ads. The communication spoke about the basic benefits of energy and nutrition. In
1989s, Parle g released its Dadaji commercial, which went on to become one of the most
popular commercial advertisement for Parle G. The commercial was run for a period of 6
years. Parle G grew bigger by the minute. In the year 1997, Parle G sponsored the tale-serial
of the Indian superhero, Shaktimaan that went on to become a huge success. The personality
of the superhero matched the overall superb benefit of the brand. Parle extended this
association with Shaktimaan and gave away a lot of merchandise of Shaktimaan, which was
supported by press communication.

Every nation dreams of a better tomorrow. And every nation's tomorrow lies in the hands of
its children; the young stars who shape the future of the nation. So, it's important to nourish
these young stars, after all it's a question of the nation's future. Filled with the goodness of
milk and wheat, Parle-G is a source of all-round nourishment. Treat yourself to a pack of
yummy Parle-G biscuits to experience what has nurtured and strengthened millions of people
for over 70 years. A meal substitute for some and a tasty and healthy snack for many others.
Consumed by some for the value it offers, and many others for its taste. Whatever the
occasion, it has always been around as an instant source of nourishment. Little wonder that
it's the largest selling biscuit brand in the world. PARLE FUTURE GENIUS There’s no
school like childhood. And there’s no teacher like curiosity. At Parle, we believe that every
child has the potential to become a genius if allowed to follow their curious minds and
explore without limitations. That‘s why we made the futuregenius.com website. A tool for
both parents and children to help identify the spark of genius in a child, nurture it and give it
a platform to be showcased on.

The extensive distribution network, built over the years, is a major strength for Parle
Products. Parle biscuits & sweets are available to consumers, even in the most remote places
and in the smallest of villages with a population of just 500. Parle has nearly 1,500
wholesalers, catering to 4,25,000 retail outlets directly or indirectly. A two hundred strong
dedicated field force services these wholesalers & retailers. Additionally, there are 31 depots
and C&F agents supplying goods to the wide distribution network. The Parle marketing
philosophy emphasizes catering to the masses. They constantly endeavour at designing
products that provide nutrition & fun to the common man. Most Parle offerings are in the low
& mid-range price segments. This is based on their understanding of the Indian consumer
psyche. The value-for-money positioning helps generate large sales volumes for the products.
However, Parle Products also manufactures a variety of premium products for the up-market,
urban consumers. And in this way, caters a range of products to a variety of consumers.

The Boston consulting Group‘s portfolio matrix allows a firm to visually display information
about each of its. The BCG matrix has as its axes the market growth rate (Broken into high
and low growth) and the relative market share as compared to the largest competitors (high
and low relative market share). The BCG matrix method is based on product life cycle theory
that determine the product portfolio of a unit which contains both high growth product & low
growth product having 2 Dimensions: Market share & Market growth.

1. STARS: (High growth & High market share) Stars are market leaders and growing fast.
Stars have large reported profits but require a lot of cash to finance the rapid growth. As per
the company‘s survey, Parle G is touching the peek of success & therefore comes under the
STAR category thereby the Co. can invest a large sum for its upliftment .

2. CASH COWS (Low growth, High market share) A cash cow usually generates more cash
than is required to maintain its market share. It is in low-growth market but has a dominant
market share. Profits & cash generation should be high due to its Low growth, the investment
needed to be Low to keep Profits High The products like krackjack, parle Marie, hide & seek
comes under this category.

3. QUESTION MARK: (High growth, Low Market share) It has worst cash characteristics
because of High demands & Low returns due to Low market share makes the Co. to sell off
& deliver cash. Products like CHOX, NIMKIN KREAMS GOLD, PARLE 20-20, MONACO
JEERA comes under this.

4. DOGS: (Low growth, Low market share) The products like SIXER, JEFFS, MUST
BITES, MUST STIX &MUST CHIPS Conclude with DOGS as they need to be Divested
because they are doing no good for the Co. & have remained as an liability.

One clear trend that has come up in the bakery industry is the preference for lighter and
healthier foods. Now one can have multigrain bread, brown bread, sweet bread or even
gluten-free bread if someone is intolerant to this family of proteins found in grains like wheat,
rye, etc. And these products are not limited to a few urban cities. They have spread across the
length and breadth of the country. And it is not only breads which have become healthier.
The same can be said of biscuits, cakes, pastries and many other items. The rise of diabetes in
the country has also led to a rise in the demand for sugar free and healthy bakery products.
Overall, this trend towards healthier items has been driven by increasing health awareness.

So the time now has come for companies like sustenance foods which newly
introduced handcrafted granola that is gluten free, packed with nuts and seeds and sweetened
with locally sourced organic honey to flourish. The trend towards healthier bakery items has
grown so strong that it is not just new bakeries that are analyzed with lighter items. Even
traditional bakeries are now bringing in new products to cater to the growing demand for
healthier foods. Another trend that has emerged in recent years is a preference for homemade
items. The pure variety of homemade chocolates that becomes available during festivals
points towards the growing demand for such items in the country. The demand is growing not
just for homemade chocolates, but also for other bakery items. These trends also show that
the people are not shying away from paying a little more than what they prefer if they get the
products of their choice – healthy, hygienic and tasty. This is especially true in urban India,
though the trend is catching fast in other areas of the country as well.

All these diviners well for small unorganized bakery stores in India because they
can now concentrate on producing quality products without bothering much about whether
they would be able to make reasonable profit out of the products that could be priced slightly
higher

The growth of an industry also brings its own challenges and the most important of them
being increasing sufficient capacity to meet the new age demands. For example, to meet the
demand for healthier food, bakery store or shop need to invest in making the facilities more
hygienic and also hiring new people with knowledge of such products.

Making facilities hygienic also requires that there should be adequate number of toilets,
handwashing facilities and changing rooms for the workers. According to Guidance
Document on Food Safety Management System” produced by Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI), it is important for food production facilities to have wash basins,
drying facilities (cloth towel should not be used), soap, dustbin, tap and suitable temperature
controlled water supply. It also requires the facilities to have sufficient number and separate
hygienically designed toilets with proper flushing facilities for male and female employees.

The toilets shall not open directly to the food production area and shall be
maintained in neat and clean condition. Getting the right people is another challenge. This is
because, traditionally the industry has not put much attention on imparting training on various
facets of the industry to make the workforce future ready. This is not to say that the training
institutes in the country are not equipped to impart proper training. But there appears to be a
need for the industry to build a culture of regular training and also give emphasis to young
aspiring bakers that investing in education to learn the nuances of the bakery industry is
worth their time and money.

Innovating new products is another big challenge for industry in view of

increasing competition in the market. There is also need to increase awareness about the
digital technologies and convenience of social media platforms that can help bakeries in the
unorganized sector reach a wider market.

Employee Engagement
Definition of 'Employee Engagement' A business management concept that describes the
level of enthusiasm and dedication a worker feels toward his/her job. Engaged employee
cares their work and about the performance of the company, and feels that their efforts make
a difference. An engaged employee is in it for more than a paycheck.

Employee engagement, also called worker engagement, is a business management concept.

An "engaged employee" is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about their work,
and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization's interests. According to Scarlett
Surveys, "Employee Engagement is a measurable degree of an employee's positive or
negative emotional attachment to their job, colleagues and organization that profoundly
influences their willingness to learn and perform at work". Thus, engagement is distinctively
different from employee satisfaction, motivation and organizational culture. A modernized
version of job satisfaction and influential definition of engagement is "an employee's
involvement with, commitment to, and satisfaction with work. Employee engagement is a
part of employee retention." Harter and Schmidt's (2003) most recent meta-analysis can be
useful for understanding the impact of engagement. The opposite of employee engagement is
a zombie employee. A zombie employee is a disengaged employee that will stumble around
the office, lower morale and cost the company money.

Employee engagement is derived from studies of morale or a group's willingness to

accomplish organizational objectives which began in the 1920s. The value of morale to
organizations was matured by US Army researchers during WWII to predict unity of effort
and attitudinal battle-readiness before combat. In the post war mass production society that
required unity of effort in execution, (group) morale scores were used as predictors of speed,
quality and militancy. With the advent of the knowledge worker and emphasis on individual
talent management (stars), a term was needed to describe an individual's emotional
attachment to the organization, fellow associates and the job. Thus the birth of the term
"employee engagement" which is an individual emotional phenomenon whereas morale is a
group emotional phenomenon of similar characteristics.

More recently employee engagement has become an area of focus within organizations for
the purpose of retention as a means of avoiding expensive employee replacement costs
resulting from staff who voluntarily quit their jobs. According toSociety o f Human Resource
Management the cost of replacing one $8 per hour employee can exceed $3,500, which gives
companies a strong financial incentive to maintain their existing staff members through
strong employee engagement practices.

Engaged employees care about the future of the company and are willing to invest
discretionary effort.[4] Engaged employees feel a strong emotional bond to the organisation
that employs them, which results in higher retention levels and productivity levels and lower
absenteeism. When reliably measured, positive employee engagement can be causally related
or correlated to specific positive business outcomes by workgroup and job type. Scarlett
Surveys refers to these statistical relationships as engageonomics.

Emotional attachment[edit] Only 31% of employees are actively engaged in their jobs.[5]
These employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. People
that are actively engaged help move the organization forward. 88% of highly engaged
employees believe they can positively impact quality of their organization's products,
compared with only 38% of the disengaged.[6] 72% of highly engaged employees believe
they can positively affect customer service, versus 27% of the disengaged.[citation needed]
68% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact costs in their job or
unit,

compared with just 19% of the disengaged.[4] Engaged employees feel a strong emotional
bond to the organization that employs them.[7] This is associated with people demonstrating
a willingness to recommend the organization to others and commit time and effort to help the
organization succeed.[8] It suggests that people are motivated by intrinsic factors
(e.g.personal growth, working to a common purpose, being part of a larger process) rather
than simply focusing on extrinsic factors (e.g., pay/reward).[9] Involvement[edit]

Eileen Appelbaum and her colleagues (2000) studied 15 steel mills, 17 apparel
manufacturers, and 10 electronic instrument and imaging equipment producers. Their purpose
was to compare traditional production systems with flexible high-performance production
systems involving teams, training, and incentive pay systems. In all three industries, the
plants utilizing high-involvement practices showed superior performance. In addition,
workers in the high-involvement plants showed more positive attitudes, including trust,
organizational commitment and intrinsic enjoyment of the work.[7] The concept has gained
popularity as various studies have demonstrated links with productivity. It is often linked to
the notion of employee voice and empowerment.[10] Commitment[edit]

It has been routinely found that employee engagement scores account for as much as half of
the variance in customer satisfaction scores. This translates into millions of dollars for
companies if they can improve their scores. Studies have statistically demonstrated that
engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, more customer-focused, safer, and
less likely to leave their employer.

Employees with the highest level of commitment perform 20% better and are 87% less likely
to leave the organization, which indicates that engagement is linked to organizational
performance.[11]For example, at the beverage company of MolsonCoors, it was found that
engaged employees were five times less likely than non-engaged employees to have a safety
incident and seven times less likely to have a lost-time safety incident. In fact, the average
cost of a safety incident for an engaged employee was $63, compared with an average of
$392 for a non-engaged employee. Consequently, through strengthening employee
engagement, the company saved $1,721,760 in safety costs in 2002. In addition, savings were
found in sales performance teams through engagement. In 2005, for example, low-
engagement teams were seen falling behind engaged teams, with a difference in performance-
related costs of low- versus high-engagement teams totaling $2,104,823.3 (Lockwood). Life
insurance industry[edit]

Two studies of employees in the life insurance industry examined the impact of employee
perceptions that they had the power to make decisions, sufficient knowledge and information
to do the job effectively, and rewards for high performance. Both studies included large
samples of employees

(3,570 employees in 49 organizations and 4,828 employees in 92 organizations). In both

studies, high-involvement management practices were positively associated with employee
morale, employee retention, and firm financial performance.[7] Watson Wyatt found that
high-commitment organizations (one with loyal and dedicated employees) out-performed
those with low commitment by 47% in the 2000 study and by 200% in the 2002 study.[12]
Productivity[edit]

In a study of professional service firms, the Hay Group found that offices with engaged
employees were up to 43% more productive.[13] Job satisfaction is also linked to
productivity.[14]

The most striking finding[citation needed] is the almost 52% gaps in operating incomes
between companies with highly engaged employees and companies whose employees have
low-engagement scores. High-engagement companies improved 19.2% while low-
engagement companies declined 32.7% in operating income during the study period[citation
needed]. For example, New Century Financial Corporation, a U.S. specialty mortgage
banking company, found that account executives in the wholesale division who were actively
disengaged produced 28% less revenue than their colleagues who were engaged.
Furthermore, those not engaged generated 23% less revenue than their engaged counterparts.
Engaged employees also outperformed the not engaged and actively disengaged employees in
other divisions.[4]...

Generating engagement[edit]

Commitment theories are rather based on creating conditions, under which the employee will
feel compelled to work for an organization, whereas engagement theories aim to bring about
a situation in which the employee by free choice has an intrinsic desire to work in the best
interests of the organization.[15]

Recent research has focused on developing a better understanding of how variables such as
quality of work relationships and values of the organization interact, and their link to
important work outcomes.[16] 84% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively
impact the quality of their organization's products, compared with only 31 percent of the
disengaged.[4] From the perspective of the employee, "outcomes" range from strong
commitment to the isolation of oneself from the organization.[17] The study done by the
Gallup Management Journal has shown that only 29% of employees are actively engaged in
their jobs. Those "engaged" employees work with passion and feel a strong connection to
their company. About ⅔ of the business units scoring above the median on employee
engagement also scored above the median on performance.[7] Moreover, 54% of employees
are not engaged meaning that they go through each workday putting time but no passion

into their work. Only about ⅓ of companies below the median on employee engagement
scored above the median on performance.[7]

Access to a reliable model enables organizations to conduct validation studies to establish the
relationship of employee engagement to productivity/performance and other measures linked
to effectiveness.[16] Drivers of engagement[edit]

While it is possible to measure engagement itself through employee surveys, this does not
assist in identifying areas for improvement within organisations. There are a range of factors,
known as drivers, that are thought to increase overall engagement. By managing the drivers,
an organisation can effectively manage engagement levels of its employees. Drivers such as
communication, performance clarity and feedback, organisational culture, rewards and
recognition, relationships with managers and peers, career development opportunities and
knowledge of the organisation's goals and vision are some of the factors that facilitate
employee engagement. Some points from the research are presented below:

* Employee perceptions of job importance - "...an employee's attitude toward the job's
importance and the company had the greatest impact on loyalty and customer service than all
other employee factors combined."[4]

* Employee clarity of job expectations - "If expectations are not clear and basic materials and
equipment are not provided, negative emotions such as boredom or resentment may result,
and the employee may then become focused on surviving more than thinking about how he
can help the organization succeed."[8]

* Career advancement/improvement opportunities - "Plant supervisors and managers

indicated that many plant improvements were being made outside the suggestion system,
where employees initiated changes in order to reap the bonuses generated by the subsequent
cost savings."[18]

* Regular feedback and dialogue with superiors - "Feedback is the key to giving employees a
sense of where they’re going, but many organizations are remarkably bad at giving it."[8]
"'What I really wanted to hear was 'Thanks. You did a good job.' But all my boss did was
hand me a check.'"[13]

* Quality of working relationships with peers, superiors, and subordinates - "...if employees'
relationship with their managers is fractured, then no amount of perks will persuade the
employees to perform at top levels. Employee engagement is a direct reflection of how
employees feel about their relationship with the boss."[17]

* Perceptions of the ethos and values of the organization - "'Inspiration and values' is the
most important of the six drivers in our Engaged Performance model. Inspirational leadership
is the ultimate perk. In its absence, [it] is unlikely to engage employees."/>

* Effective Internal Employee Communications - which convey a clear description of "what's

going on". "'If you accept that employees want to be involved in what they are doing then this
trend is clear (from small businesses to large global organisations). The effect of poor internal
communications is seen as its most destructive in global organisations which suffer from
employee annexation - where the head office in one country is buoyant (since they are closest
to the action, know what is going on, and are heavily engaged) but its annexes (who are
furthest away from the action and know little about what is happening) are dis-engaged. In
the worst case, employee annexation can be very destructive when the head office attributes
the annex's low engagement to its poor performance… when its poor performance is really
due to its poor communications.

* Reward to engage - Look at employee benefits and acknowledge the role of incentives. "An
incentive to reward good work is a tried and test way of boosting staff morale and enhancing
engagement." There are a range of tactics you can employ to ensure your incentive scheme
hits the mark with your workforce such as: Setting realistic targets, selecting the right
rewards for your incentive programme, communicating the scheme effectively and
frequently, have lots of winners and reward all achievers, encouraging sustained effort,
present awards publicly and evaluate the incentive scheme regularly.[19] It further tends to
improve the overall productivity. Potential red flags[edit]

 Inappropriate use of Benchmark Data - some of the more well established Employee
Engagement survey companies will state that the most important part of post survey follow
up is related to comparison of internal survey data to numerous external benchmarks. This
seems to have rubbed off onto internal sponsors who demand very specific benchmarks.
Whilst some research analysts claim that the standard comparisons by industry sector are
flawed others disagree. Is it right to compare a Bentley employee to one from Vauxhall (GM)
because they are in the same automotive sector? The alternative argument is that both
organisations would likely draw from similar worker pools and would as such wish to better
understand expectations of workers in that industry and how they compare to competing
employers.  A focus on data gathering rather than taking action may also damage
engagement efforts. Organizations that survey their workforce without acting on the feedback
appear to negatively impact engagement scores.[5]  According to the Conference Board
and other recent studies, employee engagement has deteriorated significantly in the US and
the UK over the last five years. Measuring and managing

the wrong or incomplete set of engagement drivers is partly if not mostly to blame. Rigorous
engagement measurement encompasses 15 attitudinal drivers formed by employee
experiences. <reference ScarlettSurveys> Initiatives[edit]

Some of the initiatives commonly undertaken by HR departments towards employee

engagement are:[20]

 On-boarding: When an employee joins the organisation s/he needs to be exposed to the
organisations policies and culture. There may be some fresh out of campuses that need to
know the basics of communication skills and job related skills. During the induction
programme itself, they can be given an exposure about these aspects, skills sets and the
expectations. The onboarding event experience itself leaves a mark on the minds of the new
recruits about the company’s desire to enhance their skills.  Learning and development
events: When business practices and processes are changing. In this environment, there is an
acute necessity for enhancing the skill levels of employees already discharging various
functions. Engagement levels[edit]

Organisations that believe in increasing employee engagement levels concentrate on the

following levels:[21]
 Culture: It consists of a foundation of leadership, vision, values, effective communication,
a strategic plan and HR policies that are focussed on the employee. Commitment - It is the
foundation of engagement. Employees with high level of organisational commitment are
willing to exert considerable effort for the organisation and make discretionary contributions.
 Cooperation: It encompasses positive relationship among employees within a group. It is
the inherent willingness of individuals working in a team to pull in the same direction and
achieve organisational goals.  Taking responsibility: Taking initiative and responsibility to
become a part of the solutions is an important ingredient of engagement. For an employee to
display loyalty towards his organisation, the first thing he needs to do is to take
responsibility. “Taking responsibility” refer to feeling empowered. Employees who feel
empowered have a sense of belonging and excitement about their jobs, they feel engaged at
an emotional level and are willing to give their best all the time.

The Benefits of Engaging Employees:

A positive attitude held by the employee towards the organization and its values. An engaged
employee is aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance
within the job for the benefit of the organization. The organization must work to develop and
nurture engagement, which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee.
Here are the key benefits of employee engagement: ·Better performance. Engaged
employees work smarter, not harder. They keep looking for ways to improve performance
and they keep finding them. This means more sales, lower costs, better quality and innovative
products. Better communication. Engaged employees communicate – they share
information with colleagues, they pass on ideas, suggestions and advice and they speak up for
the organization. This leads to better performance, greater innovation and happier customers.
Greater customer satisfaction. Engaged employees go out of their way to meet
customers’ needs. Customers aren’t slow to notice and this leads to higher levels of repeat
business, at a lower cost to the business than that of acquiring a new customer. Better
team-working. Employee engagement is about increasing the employee’s connection with the
principles, strategies, processes, culture and purpose of the organization. It is a matter of
commitment and encouragement. It is a matter of focusing on business results, and the
employees having a clear sense of responsibility for delivering on the business agenda.  


                             
    Greater commitment and team working. Engaged employees really care
about the future of the organization they work for, they feel proud to work for the company
and they get on better with their colleagues. Lower employee turnover and greater
ability to recruit great people. Engaged employees don’t leave, despite offers to work
elsewhere and they actively seek out new people who they believe can help the company get
even better.

Engagement

Feeling Valued & Involved Training, development & career. Immideate Management
Performance Appraisal Communication Equal opportunities & fair treatment Pay & Benefits
Health & Safety Co-operation Family Friendlyness Job Satisfaction

IMPORTANCE

Employee Engagement Drives Sustainability Strategy

While the majority of employees fall under the umbrella of not engaged (emotionally
detached) and actively disengaged (negatively view the workplace), few companies even
know how to engage their employees in social and environmental sustainability. Consider
these statistics:

 “Fewer than 1 in 3 employees worldwide (31%) are engaged.” (2011 Employee

Engagement Report by Blessing White Research)  “Nearly 1 in 5 (17%) are actually
disengaged.” (2011 Employee Engagement Report by Blessing White Research)
Why Are Organizations So Bad at Employee Engagement?

 measuring employee performance and holding employees accountable,

 providing the communication necessary to align each employee’s actions with the
organization’s overall business goals,

 pursuing the employee development necessary to ensure success, and

 making a commitment (time, tools, attention, reinforcement, training, and so forth) to

keeping employees engaged over the long haul because they fundamentally believe and
understand that no other strategy will produce as much success – for both the business and
the employees.

Additional Critical Factors to Ensure Employee Engagement

These factors also influence the willingness of employees to stay engaged and contributing.

 An effective recognition and reward system: in a recognition system that promotes

employee engagement, recognition is available, frequent, and recognizes actions that are truly
worthy of recognition. Effective recognition always involves verbal or written
acknowledgement from the employee's manager in addition to any physical reward supplied.
 Frequent feedback: the downside of the standard employee performance appraisal is that it
is a one-time deal. Effective performance feedback takes place every day, minimally, weekly
for employees who need less interaction with their manager. Effective feedbackfocuses on
what the employee is doing well and what needs improvement. It is clear and specific and
reinforces the actions that the manager wants to see the employee regularly perform.

 Shared values and guiding principles: engaged employees thrive in an environment that
reinforces their most deeply held values and beliefs. Employees are most successful in an
organization in which their personal values are in sync with the organization's stated values
and guiding principles.

 Demonstrated respect, trust, and emotional intelligence on the part of the employee's
direct supervisor: managers who relate effectively with employees, who demonstrate that
they are personally interested in and care about their employees, and who elicit employee
input and opinions, are golden.

 Positive relationships with coworkers: engaged employees need to work, not just with nice
people, but with coworkers who are equivalently engaged. Coworkers who demonstrate
integrity, team work, a passion for quality and serving customers, and who are passionate
about what they do at work, make ideal coworkers in a workplace that fosters employee
engagement.

Employee engagement is fostered by a work environment that exhibits these characteristics.

Want to make progress? Start work in each of these areas. Your success is ensured.

Examine the variables that can impact your employee engagement strategy and increase their
engagement. 1. Age Young employees and those over fifty are more engaged. Managers
need to take steps to ensure employee engagement doesn’t sink from partial to complete
disengagement. Managers should consider intervention and training opportunities specially
aimed at workers in their forties. 2. Length of Service Those employed for at least three
years are more engaged than the newly employed. However, engagement is low among
people with more than twenty years of service, often due to lack of motivation or career path
maintenance.

3. Position Within the Organization Those at VP level or above are the most fully
engaged. The economic climate and pessimistic attitude toward “corporate America” may
account for the relatively low level of engagement among senior managers. 4. Education
Level Surprisingly, people with post-graduate degrees are less engaged than people with only
an undergraduate college degree or some college experience. This could be attributed to the
fact that the most educated are underemployed, overqualified, or have greater expectations
that have yet to be met. 5. Income level Higher income correlates with higher level of
engagement. Unsurprisingly, the most disengaged are those earning less than fifty thousand a
year. However, multiple factors can influence and alter this; for example, managers can help
employees feel that their work is important to the company, help them feel valued, and show
them ways in which they can grow in their career. 6. Full- or Part-time Employment Part-
time workers are less engaged. In the U.S., part-time workers’ engagement may increase over
time, but they continue to stay much less engaged (26%) than full-time employees (36%). 7.
Type of Industry Client-facing employees, for example, those in sales or customer service,
are the type of employees companies most need to engage. These employees tend to be the
lowest paid, but their position is critical to customer satisfaction. High-level performance
boosts customer satisfaction and company revenue. In some job sectors such as education,
manufacturing, and government, employee engagement is significantly low.

HR and Employee Engagement relationmship:-

HR Responsibility How it relates to employee engagement Strategic HR Planning  People

are the main resource that organizations have for delivering services  Strategic HR
planning links HR management directly to an organization's strategic plan and that means
that staff will have meaningful roles tied to the strategic direction of the organization 
Strategically planning how your organization will meet its current and future HR needs and
how people will be supported and nurtured within your organization is

critical for success

Operational HR Planning

 At an operational level, organizations put in place HR management practices to support

management and staff in achieving their day-to-day goals  Whether it's determining how
many employees are needed to deliver services over the next year or how performance will
be monitored, the HR management practices and activities need to be planned to answer the
question: "Where is our organization going and how will it get there?"  An operational plan
ensures that employees are properly supported

Compensation and Benefits

 Though usually not ranked the most important, compensation is an important factor in job
satisfaction  An employee who feels adequately compensated monetarily is more likely to
stay with your organization Developing HR Policies  Policies and procedures both
communicate the values of your organization and provide everyone with a consistent process
to follow  Policies and procedures provide your employees with a process to follow and
that knowledge can help them confidently approach situations, particularly difficult situations
Employment Legislation and Standards  Provincial/territorial and federal governments
outline the minimum requirements to ensure a safe and equitable work environment for
employees Job Descriptions  Job descriptions are basic HR management tools that can help
to increase individual and organizational effectiveness  A well-written job description sets
an employee up for success by outlining their responsibilities and the parameters of their
position  Job descriptions also show how an employee's position contributes to the mission,
goals and objectives of the organization Performance Management  Performance
management is an ongoing process where the manager/supervisor and employee work
together to plan, monitor and review an employee's work objectives or goals and overall
contribution to the organization  Motivates employees to do their best  Establishes clear
communication between the manager and the employee about what s/he is expected to
accomplish  Provides on-going, constructive feedback on performance  Establishes plans
for improving performance, as necessary  Identifies the skills and abilities of each
employee so that work assignments build on

and reflect an employee's strengths  Identifies individual employees for more challenging
work  Assists and supports staff in achieving their work and career goals by identifying
training needs and development opportunities  Contributes to the succession management
plan so that employee skills are developed and employers develop the skills they need to fill
an potential HR gap in the future Learning, Training and Development  Investing in
training programs helps employees develop personally and professionally Workplace
Diversity  Creating an environment where people feel welcome and safe from harassment
and discrimination motives staff to perform  Absenteeism and performance problems
decrease while productivity, morale and employee retention increases Work Teams and
Group Dynamics  When you develop and support effective teams, you enhance the power
and feeling of satisfaction of individuals working on the team  When a team works well, it
means that staff trust one another and that leads to better sharing of knowledge and
understanding Conflict Resolution  In a healthy workplace, there will be conflict 
Having a conflict resolution policy and a process will mean that conflict is constructive and
not destructive Workplace Wellness Initiatives  A healthy workplace means more than just
warding off colds and the flu  It is more holistic and takes into consideration the physical,
spiritual, environmental, intellectual, emotional, occupational and mental health of employees
 Wellness promotion doesn't just benefit the employee — an organization filled with
healthy, balanced and fulfilled employees is a productive workplace that retains its
employees Employee Recognition  Giving employees a sense of shared values and purpose
by creating a relationship with them is important  When you thank employees you value
them and that, in turn, is motivating  Updating staff on organizational issues through
internal communications like e-mail updates and newsletters builds the sense of team and
their value to the team Staff-volunteer relations  Develop a sense of team with staff and
volunteers contributing to the organization's mission
Besides the traditional all organisations use, empowering employees by delegating them
responsibilities and giving them autonomy to take decisions regarding their job on their own
can also increase their productivity. It is

worth going beyond the traditional management tools of connectivity to help employees
remain motivated and dedicated to perform their tasks. To achieve this, the organisations can
design effective employee engagement strategies on the basis of the model explained below.

1. Unify the Experiences: Conduct an employee engagement survey in order to find the
factors responsible for engaging and disengaging employees. Unify the common experiences
and problems and design employee engagement strategies accordingly. Sharing of feedback
in written is one way of communicating the experiences and problems. 2. Evolving Through
Open Communication: Open communication or face to face communication in the form of
discussions can really help in bringing the various issues and identifying the main problems
in the organisation. It is very essential to establish a proper communication where everyone
can put their views and suggest a solution too. Most of the top organisations ask for
suggestions and new ideas from their employees and then offer rewards on giving the best
proposal. 3. Providing Proper Communication Channels: Some employees are comfortable
with open face-toface communication styles whereas there are some who want to give
feedbacks and suggestions in written. Discovering the best channel of communication and
establishing a proper route to share feedbacks and views plays a vital role. 4. Enabling
Conversation Fluidity: Whichever way of communication you choose, ensure that it has
required fluidity. There should not be any hindrance in the established method of
communication. Not being able to provide feedback or share problems and experiences can
lead to frustration and distress among employees. Therefore, ensure that there are no barriers
to communication. This can also result in disengaging the engaged employees. 5. Manage
Communication: Managing communication is the last but the most important step in the
entire process. Managers should keep a check on the entire process in order to ensure that it is
not adversely affecting the health of the organization. They must make sure that it serves the
desired purpose and is not being used negatively.
Strategies to enhance employee engagement: -

1. Invest in training and development: As an employer, you are expected to increasingly

recognize the importance of fostering an environment of growth and learning to bring out the
best in everyone and truly advance the stars. You can develop in-house training departments,
ally your company with special training houses and universities, send employees to relevant
external training programs identified by themselves in conjunction with their supervisors,
offer internal rotational programs and overseas assignments as a key career development
opportunity and commit to your employees learning and development in a multitude of other
creative and meaningful ways. Besides the company's training activities, career plans and
professional development opportunities ought to be routinely discussed and formalized. One
your employees feel your company has invested in them in this manner, they are far more
likely to uphold its best interests and keep an eye to furthering its goals and enhancing its
welfare.

2. Respect employee's needs for work/life balance: The days of clocking in 24-hour days to
pay your dues and earn your company stripes have thankfully given way to a nicer, gentler
culture at most of today's organizations as more and more employees have made it clear that
achieving work/life balance is an overriding priority for them. As a top employer today, you
should be cutting no corners in ensuring you do nurture and retain top talent by taking a more
holistic approach to your employees' welfare. Work arrangements increasingly available at
leading corporations – and which you should aim to implement - include flexible hours, part-
time, job-sharing, telecommuting in additions to sabbaticals for long-serving personnel or
those pursuing special outside interests and extended leave periods for new parents. To cater
to the latter specifically, more and more companies are also offering on-site day care, vital
family support hotlines and more comprehensive family benefits (Why not consider looking
into some of those?) Make sure you are doing what it takes - within the realms of reason and
sound business practice - to respect and cater to your key employees’ priorities outside of the
office and take into consideration the full circumstances of their lives and the outside
demands on those lives.

3. Create favorable work conditions: A vital responsibility in being the Top Employer that
you are today consists of increasingly employing creative measures to invest in your
employees’ well-being and this extends to providing workplaces and work conditions that are
pleasant and conducive to innovation, hard work, creativity and productivity. Besides
generous vacation schemes which employees should be actively encouraged to take and
frequent offsites to get away from the grind, wellbeing during office hours could also be
nurtured with onsite recreation areas, gyms, office sports teams and friendly company
cafeterias that offer wholesome, healthy foods. Meetings, communication flow, company
activities, office and communal area layouts should all be designed to promote a sense of
inclusion and well-being and to maximize employees' level of satisfaction and encourage
their active participation. As a top employer yourself you are undoubtedly aware that
employees who feel your company cares for them and respects them are in turn far more
committed and more likely to contribute positively to the company’s welfare and bottom line.

4. Maintain open channels of communication: As a top employer firmly entrenched in the

“most efficient employers” zone, you are also undoubtedly aware of the importance of
allowing a smooth and unhampered flow of information and communications across layers
and functions. Make sure you are encouraging employees at all times to articulate their ideas,
aspirations and concerns; and also keep them up to date, through regular communications,
with regards to the company's direction, vision, mission, objectives, performance and new
initiatives. Conducting regular employee appraisals is a must as is allowing for 360 degree
feedback (where employees are also permitted to voice their concerns with and expectations
of the organisation and their immediate management). Ask employees routinely during these
appraisals - and in other forums - what extra responsibilities they would like to assume.

Discuss their goals, aspirations and short and long-term objectives and factor them into the
unit's planning activities. Listening to employees, even when their requests cannot be met, is
a vital ingredient in enhancing employee loyalty. Successful employee engagement also
requires honest and constructive feedback on a routine basis. This feedback is vital both as a
motivational tool and in channeling talent in the right direction, building on strengths and
addressing weaknesses.

5. Create an environment of diversity and inclusion: Employees who feel valued, respected
and

included are more likely to contribute positively to your company's bottom line and display
loyalty and commitment to the company. Many companies have taken concrete steps to foster
an atmosphere where employees of every rank are included in the decision-making process
and their input on all matters big and small is valued and appreciated – why not follow their
steps and look into diversity programs, cross-cultural hiring practices and culture committees
which promote emotional well-being across the organisation (through social and team-
building events)? These are all increasingly important tools in the human resources lexicon of
today's progressive organizations. Many leading corporations have also formalized coaching
programs whereby trained psychologists and/or coaches work with top employees to help
them understand their own strengths and priorities and consequently to map their potential
contributions to the corporation and their own professional advancement over the short,
medium and long term.

6. Formalize reward and recognition programs: Studies have shown, time and time again, that

employees who feel valued, recognized and appreciated are the most loyal. As a Top
Employer, you must make sure formal mechanisms for evaluating and rewarding employees
are in place, are competitive and are in sync with industry norms. Do recognize outstanding
performance and reward it on a periodic basis. Do set regular special initiatives that identify,
celebrate, motivate and incentivize your star employees and promote their loyalty and
retention. A meritocratic environment where driven, career-minded professionals earn the
rewards and recognition they deserve for their special efforts is one that will be most
successful in retaining key personnel over the long-term.

7. Participate in community outreach programs: Corporate philanthropy has shown to

increase

employee loyalty. Why not adopt CSR programs- not just as a means to give back and to
participate in your larger communities but also as a measure to win the support and respect of
your employees? Employees feel a greater sense of pride and purpose working with an
employer that is publicly committed to altruism, particularly when the causes the company is
committed to are in line with theirs and benefit the greater community in a tangible manner.
Employee Engagement at Parle Products Pvt. Ltd.

 Student’s Work Profile (roles and responsibilities)

1. Joining formalities for the new employees.

2. Updating the employee details in the Human Resource Information System (HRIS).

3. Filing of joining forms, medical reports, performance appraisal forms, non-disclosure

agreements etc.

4. Labeling of file.
5. Tracking the attendance for the employees on contracts (creating an ex-cell sheet).

6. Coordinating the events in the company.

7. Coordinating the HR induction program, ISMS awareness program. (Collecting the

feedback forms and the attendance from the employees).

8. Updating and verifying the employee photos, E-mail ids and other information.

9. Issuing of lunch coupons and tracking the list of employees for it.

10. Participated in internal auditing.

11. Helping the employees in answering their queries to certain extent.

12. Issuing temporary access for the employees who fail to bring access cards.

13. Making attendance register for contract employees.

14. Relating to other departments for stationeries, training attendance etc.

15. Helping the hr team in their work.

 Description of Live Experiences I had a good experience in the company, the culture and
communication in the organization was very fair. The supervisors in the company had a nice
interaction with the employees and they give a feedback which can lead employees to
improve and perform with fullest potentials. I had coordinated various events in the company
like induction program, ISMS awareness programs and many other events for special days. I
had experienced the urge of management to keep the employees involved in the work and
take the optimum usage of their potentials. The working environment is fair and the company
provides adequate resources to keep the employee work to their fullest interests. And lastly I
experienced the importance that the company takes for security and quality to employees and
costumers respectively.
 4.Objective
PRIME OBJECTIVES

To study marketing in detail.

To know importance of marketing.

To understand the concept of marketing clearly by means of Parle biscuit demand analysis.

To find out the marketing strategy used by the Parle & Parle Agro. OTHER OBJECTIVES

To find out the competitive activity and merchandising through retailer of PARLE G
BISCUIT.

To find out the consumer preference according to retailer view.

To find out the satisfaction levels towards service provide by PARLE G.

To find out the major competitor of PARLE G BISCUIT.

DATA COLLECTION METHOD

Data collection is an elaborate process in which the researches makes a planned research for
all relevant data. Data is the foundation of all market research. Data are facts may be obtained
from several sources. Data can be classified as:

PRIMARY DATA

It is gathered for the first time by the researchers. If the secondary data is found to be
inadequate or unavailable, the researcher goes for primary data. COLLECTION OF
PRIMARY DATA The researcher was assigned to do a comparative study on PARLE G
BISCUIT. In order to accomplish the job, the researcher adopted the two-way strategy to
collect the primary data. Secondly to complete the job in a more genuine way, retailer survey
was conducted sample of 20 rational retailers were taken and they were supplied with a
structured non-disguised questionnaire. The idea was to seek out the market position of Parle
G biscuit. The data collected was to collected from different wholesale & retail outlets of
biscuit namely  Shop  Confectioners  Kirana and general stores.

SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data is the data borrowed from secondary sources by the researcher. Secondary
data can be internal or external i.e., internal records of the company or information available
from library and other statistical organization. In a market Research Project Field Work Has a
very vital role to play. As a matter of fact, it‘s the back bone of any Market Research Project
Field work basically consists of collection of primary data, In this project, researcher had to
undergo a lot of Field Work. For the purpose researcher has visit various cinema halls , public
attractive places, colleges & school canteens etc. The whole area which was to be surveyed
was divided into different segments randomly. Simultaneously survey of both retailers and
consumers was carried out. The researcher worked in the field for a span of one & half
months. Later on whole data which was collected from field was well scrutinized & tabulated
for analysis. Its interpretation has been provided in most easy to understand manner with the
help of suitable diagram & charts.

A. Planning
It is a process of deciding the business objectives and charting out the plan/ method for
achieving the same. o What, which, when, where, how – these questions should be answered
during the planning phase. o This includes determination of what is to be done, how, and
where it is to be done, who will do it and how result are to be evaluated. o This function
expected to be carried out throughout the organization. It should be performed by the
manager at all levels.

B. Organizing

Make Things/Resources available + Inform the roles of each person involved. o According to
Allen, the organizing refers to “the structure which results from:

• identifying and grouping the work,

• defining and delegating responsibility and authority and

• establishing relationships.”

To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful to its functioning i.e. personnel,
raw materials, machineries, capital etc.

Once objectives are established, manager has to develop plan to achieve them with help of
human resources as well as material resources.

Managers will group people into departments according to the tasks performed.

Managers will also lay out lines of authority and responsibility for members.

An organizational structure is the outcome of organizing. This structure coordinates and

motivates employees so that they work together to achieve goals.

C. Directing

Directing involves communication, leadership and motivation.

Communication is the process of passing the information and understanding it from one
person to another person.

Leadership is the function whereby the person or manager guides and influences the work of
his subordinates.

Motivation is to motivate the employee to give their best to the organization.

• 2 broad categories of motivation: Financial & Non-Financial

D. Controlling

Manager must ensure that performance occurs in conformity with the plans adopted,
instructions issued & the principles established. This is the controlling function of
management.

The controlling involves-

• Establishing standards of performance.

• Measuring current performance and comparing it against the established standard.

• Taking corrective action that does not meet the standard.

In the absence of sound control, there is no guarantee that the objectives which has been set
will be realized.

E. Innovation & Representation

These are also two important additional managerial functions.

Innovation means creating new ideas which may either result in the development of new
products or finding new uses for older ones. It is necessary to grow better.

The manger has to represent himself for the organization. A manger must win support
effectively from different groups (either internal or external).

RESEARCH:

A research is a carefully investigation or inquiry through search for new facts in any branch
of knowledge. “Research comprises of defining and redefining problem, formulating
hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, reaching
conclusions, testing conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulated hypothesis.”

RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the research smoothly and
effectively. It is a detailed plan of the activities in the project to be done. The research design
facilitates the smooth flow of various research processes which results in more accurate
results with minimum usage of time, effort and money. It includes the research approach,
sample and sampling design, observational design, data collection tools and methods and
statistical design. The research that was conducted was qualitative in nature since it was open
ended, flexible and non-statistical.

SAMPLE DESIGN

A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to
the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the sample.
The sample design is determined before data are collected.

The sampling used for the study is convenience sampling. The chances of errors were
less, for the data, due to commonality of the product and positive response of each of the
respondents. Also, the data to be collected was of type which could be answered by anyone
who eats biscuits. There was no duplication of the samples as all the samples were from
different areas which were in the proximity of the interviewer. The sample was up to date and
the study was conducted recently and hence the data was relevant for the current timing.

 Universe (Population):

The universe chosen for the research study is the various intermediaries of Parle G specially
the Distributors, Wholesaler, Retailers of the Parle G.

SAMPLE SIZE:

The number of the sampling units selected from the population is called the size of the
sample. The sample size of the research was the 462 respondents consisting of the
wholesalers, retailers and the distributors falling under the Market area of the Kumar Trading
Concern, Agra from whom the primary data of research was collected which is as follow as
per the market:

SAMPLE FRAME: Sample frame is the complete list of all the elements in the population
from which the sample size is drawn. The sample frame used by us were the retailers,
wholesalers falling under the geographical areas of KUMAR TRADING CONCERN of Agra
like Bodla market, Shahgunj market, Sultanpura market, Bundu katra market, Sadar market,
Prakash nagar market, Gaspura market, Rajpura Chungi market, Jaipur house market, Arjun
nagar market and Deori road market.

 Sampling Procedure:
The procedure adopted in the research study is probability sampling, which is also known as
chance sampling. Under this sampling design, every item of the frame has an equal chance of
inclusion in the sample and there is no biasness in the data collected of the research. Results
can be generalized and used when we have the sampling frame.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECETION

The data was collected through primary sources. In the initial stage, discussion was done with
the ASM (Area Sales Manager) of the Agra region then the data was collected from the
distributors. Based on this, a closed and somewhat open ended non disguised questionnaire
was prepared. The survey was conducted taking structural personal interviews of the
wholesalers, retailers and customers of the Parle with the help of the questionnaire. Feedback
was also taken from the respondents of the Parle to get an idea of their perception about the
Parle and its various products and explore the problem if any faced by the wholesalers or the
retailers. The data of the Parle were collected through the following sources:

 Primary Sources: Primary data are in the form of “raw materials” to which statistical
methods are applied for the purpose of analysis and interpretations. It is the first hand data
that is collected directly from the respondents. In such sources of data collection the
researchers himself/ herself goes to the field and enquires with the various respondents and
collects data from them. The primary data of the research were collected through the
discussions with the retailers, wholesalers and the customers. For the collection of the
primary data following methods were used:  Observation method: The observation method
is the method in which we as a researcher just observe the activities and behavior of the
various retailers, wholesalers, distributors and the salesman of the company. Some part of the
research wasbased on the observation methods also since we came to know the behavior of
the salesman towards the various marketing intermediaries.

 Survey methods: The survey method is another methods of primary data collection in
which we the researchers collects the data and information from the intermediaries by
interviewing them. The interview may be structured or unstructured, Formal or informal
.While going through the research the survey was specially done on the basis of unstructured
and in-depth interview.

 Secondary Sources: The secondary sources of data mainly consist of data and information
that is already published and collected by the previous researchers. It may be collected from
records, company websites, libraries and from the various journal and articles published
about the company and discussion with the management of the organization also we collected
the data from the reports already published by the previous researchers.

NATURE OF THE RESEARCH Descriptive research, also known as statistical research,

describes data and characteristics about the population or phenomenon being studied.
Descriptive research answers the questions who, what, where, when and how. Although the
data description is factual, accurate and systematic, the research cannot describe what caused
a situation. Thus, descriptive research cannot be used to create a causal relationship, where
one variable affects another. In other words, descriptive research can be said to have a low
requirement for internal validity.

5.Scope of the study

Biscuits

The company's factories have an annual capacity of 433,000 tonnes. The brand names of
biscuits include VitaMarieGold, Tiger, Nutrichoice Junior, Good day, 50 50, Treat, Pure
Magic, Milk Bikis, Good Morning, Bourbon, Thin Arrowroot, Nice, Little Hearts and many
more. Tiger, the mass market brand, realised $150.75 million in sales including exports to
countries including the U.S. and Australia, or 20% of Britannia revenues in 2006.

In a separate dispute from the shareholder matters, the company alleged in 2006 that Danone
had violated its intellectual property rights in the Tiger brand by registering and using Tiger
in several countries without its consent. Britannia claimed the company found out that
Danone had launched the Tiger brand in Indonesia in 1998, and later in Malaysia, Singapore,
Pakistan and Egypt, when it attempted to register the Tiger trademark in some of these
countries in 2004. Whilst it was initially reported in December 2006 that agreement had been
reached, it was reported in September 2007 that a solution remained elusiv.

In the meantime since Danone's biscuit business has been taken over by Kraft, the Tiger
brand of biscuits in Malaysia was renamed Kraft Tiger Biscuits in September 2008. 46
Britannia initiated legal action against Danone in Singapore in September 2007. The dispute
was resolved in 2009 with Britannia securing rights to the Tiger brand worldwide, and
Danone paying Rs220 million to utilise the brand.

ITC In July 2003, ITC forayed into the Biscuits market with the Sunfeast range of Glucose,
Marie and Cream Biscuits. Sunfeast's brand essence connotes happiness, contentment,
satisfaction and pleasure. In a span of 9 years, Sunfeast has well-established presence in
almost all categories of biscuits and is also a key player in the pasta and instant noodles
segments. Sunfeast Biscuits straddle all segments of the market led by Dark Fantasy at the
premium end. High quality married with exciting innovations has helped drive this category.
Dark Fantasy Choco Fills has wowed the Indian consumer with its innovative centre-filled
format and high-quality packaging. In addition, the launch of the Dream Cream range of
biscuits in two exciting and innovative dual cream formats further reinforces ITCs
commitment to continuously delight the consumer. 6.3 Priya Gold Surya Food & Agro Ltd.
was incorporated in November 1992 and commenced its commercial operations of
manufacturing & selling of biscuits under brand

in October 1993. Over a period, we have established strong manufacturing capabilities and
have invested substantially in developing consumer preference for our products. trademarks /
brands ―Haq Se Maango‖ & ―Priyagold‖ have emerged as one of the most powerful brands
in the FMCG sector. They are committed to invest in brands, manufacturing capabilities,
deliverables and distribution strength. They have three plants located in Greater Noida,
Lucknow & Surat. & also outsource some of our requirements to another plant located in
Hyderabad. capacities have reached 1,50,000 MT p.a.,

which along with strong brand building and distribution capabilities have enabled us 47 to
command a sizable market share in the biscuit market despite competition from well-
established players in the industry. After establishing foothold in biscuit industry, they
continued to adopt strategy to identify and commercialize profitable growth opportunities by
leveraging established brand and distribution network. Following this strategy, they
diversified into manufacturing of ―fruit juices‖ through wholly owned subsidiary ―Surya
Fresh Foods Ltd.‖ in January 2006. The manufacturing facility is located at Greater Noida,
U.P. We have consciously invested in creating markets for fruit juices and have established
brands such as ―Fresh Gold‖ & ―Treat‖. strategy of strengthening the brands especially the
umbrella brand ―Priyagold‖ has resulted in creating immense brand recall value. They are
continuing with our effort of strengthening the brand with a scientific approach, which will
result in growth of customer base, price premium, consumer loyalty which is expected to
result in increased earning and ultimately enhancing enterprise value of company.

POSITIONING STRATEGY OF PARLE

The relevance and importance of conventional marketing, especially in the fast moving
consumer goods category, has slid down to give way for more aggressive market savvy
solutions that can revolutionise the way products sell these days. While dealer productivity
and market penetration are still important in the overall marketing activity, the brand has to
evolve and revolve in a different orbit "" it has to reposition itself if it really wants to make a
difference in the highly competitive market. Positioning a product firmly in the consumer's
mindset has been one of the major marketing challenges that has enamoured many a
marketing guru. As organisations are re-engineering themselves to be more productive,
products also need to reposition themselves if they want to stay ahead in the marketing war
game. Consequent to the changing parameters, both tangible and intangible, if the products
do not respond and reorient themselves to the new environment, they run the risk of
becoming obscure. The point here is that however much financial wizardry an organisation
might deploy, however much R&D they get into, however much technology they enjoy,
unless brand building takes the front seat with clear-cut strategies that predispose the product
behaviour, the chances of creating a winner is quite remote. The name of the marketing game
is therefore repositioning your brand and thereby, the competition. When the stakes are high
and when you are not able to take the competition head-on, the only way to survive and build
on an equity is through repositioning.

The success of Shaktiman from Parle-G again has tremendous scope in retailing,
merchandising and event marketing. May be this was a deliberate strategy from Parle to
reposition its biscuits with a shakti(power) aura against the much hyped biscuit brands. Parle-
G eventually might use the Shaktiman umbrella strategy to replicate the success for its other
brands in these markets. Small wonder then, that Parle-G, with its mass market appeal and
distribution in over 4.25 lakh retail outlets, is today the number one biscuit brand in the
world.

PARLE AGRO

Parle Agro is an Indian private limited company that owns several popular brands including
Frooti, Appy, LMN, Hippo and Bailley. Several Parle soda brands including Citra, Thums
Up, Limca, Gold Spot and Maaza were sold to Coca Cola in 1993 for a reported $40 million.
At the time of sale, the Parle brands together had a 60% market share in the industry. The
brand was strong in South India. Citra was phased out by 2000 to make way for Coke's
international brand, Sprite. Parle Agro commenced operations in 1984. It started with
beverages, and later diversified into bottled water (1993), plastic packaging (1996) and
confectionary (2007). Frooti, the first product rolled out of Parle Agro in 1985, became the
largest selling mango drink in India. The original Parle group was amicably segregated into
three non-competing businesses. But a dispute over the use of "Parle" brand arose, when
Parle Agro diversified into the confectionary business, thus becoming a competitor to Parle
Products. In February 2008, Parle Products sued Parle Agro for using the brand Parle for
competing confectionary products. Later, Parle Agro launched its confectionery products
under a new design which did not include the Parle brand name. In 2009, the Bombay High
Court ruled that Parle Agro can sell its confectionery brands under the brand name "Parle" or
"Parle Confi" on condition that it clearly specifies that its products belong to a separate
company, which has no relationship with Parle Products.

THE KEY PEOPLE OF PARLE AGRO NAME DESIGNATION

Prakash Chauhan Chairman & MD Schauna Chauhan CEO Alisha Chauhan Director Nadia
Chauhan Director 50 PARLE AGRO BRANDS Beverages Confectionery Snaks Water Frooti
Butter Cup Softease Hippo Bailey Appy Butter Cup Hippo RoundRound Appy Fizz Mintrox
Grappo Fizz Frewt Eclair Saint Juice Softease Mithai LMN PARLE AGRO is a trusted name
in the Indian beverage industry and has been refreshing India since more than two decades
with leading brands like Frooti, Apply Classic, Apply Fizz, Bailley, Saint Juice, LMN &
recently launched Grappo Fizz. Parle Agro Pvt., Ltd. manufactures, distributes, sells, and
exports fruit drinks in India and internationally.

The company offers fruit and milk drinks, packaged water, and apple and mango drinks in
polyethylene terepthalate (PET) bottles and containers, and tetra packs. The company also
operates a health and fitness studio for woman. The company distributes its products through
franchisees. Parle Agro Pvt., Ltd. Was founded in 1985 and is based in Mumbai, India. Parle
Agro has been a trusted name in the beverage industry providing wholesome and healthy
agro-based drink brands. It has successfully launched some of India's leading beverages like
Frooti, Appy etc.

VISION:-

To be the leaders in our business. We will stand apart from the competition by being the first
inthe market to innovate.

MISSION:- ―

We will be the leaders in our business by maintaining high quality, introducing new and
innovative products, reaching every part of India, remaining customer-centric, constantly
upgrading our knowledge and skills. To provide consumers superior, wholesome agro based
food and drink brands through which parle can build a profitable; growth oriented
organization‖ FUNCTIONAL AREA :-

Administration, Market, Purchasing, Production and Quality Department. SIZE OF THE

ORGANIZATION :-

MANPOWER :-

Parle group has a manpower strength of over 2500 employees, including over 400
professionals.

TURNOVER :-

The Parle Group turnover is over 950 crore in 200.

MARKETING STRATEGY OF FROOTI

For those who have seen it carefully, the new brand campaign for Frooti reveals a subtle shift.
It shows the newly signed brand ambassador Shahrukh Khan glugging the mango drink from
a PET bottle, rather than a tetra pack, which is no longer as respected as it used to be and
which also made Frooti most instantly identifiable when it was launched for the first time.
The Rs 1500 crore brand is ready to move to its next phase of growth, in a world filled with
competitors like Coca-Cola's Maaza and PepsiCo's Slice on the one hand and carbonated
beverages on the other.

For instance getting on board one of the most recognised faces is being touted as the game
changer for the 27-year old homegrown brand considering it has never resorted to getting a
celebrity endorser before. Feels marketing consultant Harish Bijoor, "Frooti's big strength is
the fact that it has been around for donkey's years. It has become generic to the category
altogether." This is a strength and a weakness as well, in his view, which the brand has to
manage swiftly and carefully. Nadia Chauhan Kurup, MD and CMO, Parle Agro agrees that
the biggest challenge has been to get the magic back for a brand as old as Frooti. It's trying to
combat some part of that challenge by getting the recognised face of Shahrukh Khan
onboard. Frooti seems to be the last in the race to join the celeb-band wagon: the other
players in the mango beverage space already have their ambassadors: Maaza features the
pranks of Imran Khan and Parineeti Chopra while Slice has Katrina Kaif 's sensuous Aam
Sutra moves. 53 The recent commercial shows a bunch of kids in a football field watching
Shahrukh Khan gulping Frooti. He looks around when he is done and what he sees is a bunch
of young adults whose longing for Frooti apparently has them lapse into a childlike state of
wonder. He simply asks them 'what?' which snaps their reverie. Shares Sajan Raj Kurup,
founder and creative chairman, Creativeland Asia, "One of the key tasks in the brief was to
capture the feel of relishing a bottle of Frooti and up the appetite quotient for the beverage."
Even as the initial thoughts read more like 'oh no not again', Kurup wanted to create drool
value purely through human emotions, reactions and expressions. Prakash Varma of Nirvana
Films has directed the film. The team was very clear on how to use the celeb power of Khan
without letting the brand get ambushed. Shares Nadia Chauhan Kurup,

"The campaign is breaking not just the category clutter or the advertising clutter, but it is
even breaking the celebrity endorsement clutter." It is not often that SRK has been used in
such a way where the only dialogue he gets to mouth is 'what?'" she says. When asked if he
charged any lesser because he was made to talk less, she grins and shares how she wishes that
it worked like that in which case "we would have just kept him silent." According to Satbir
Singh, managing partner & chief creative officer, Havas Worldwide, "The usually talkative
SRK quietly polishing off a bottle of Frooti makes it stick. Most agency and marketing teams
would have him mouth a hundred words in praise of the brand." Studies have shown that
culturally, kids and women prefer mango drinks just as the core audience for cola/ caffeine
drinks (Mountain Dew, Red Bull etc) is men. Alpana Parida, president, DY Works feels that
this campaign reaches out to all ages and appeals to the child in men, to kids themselves and
certainly the mothers who are both shoppers and consumers. It lifts the humble Frooti from a
kiddie realm and will probably do more for the brand than all its past campaigns put together.
According to Jitender Dabas, head of strategic planning, McCann Worldgroup, "A mango
drink is about the pleasure of consuming mango and with this campaign Frooti seems to be
coming back to its core." But is this the new positioning or just a commercial, is what he
would like to know. 54 Along with the brand film, the marketing plan includes outdoors,
BTL, mall activation, visibility at retail outlets (POP) and strong digital presence.
Interestingly the first leg of this campaign was launched on the social media and as per Kurup
in less than a week, its total timeline deliveries amounted to 52 million. It managed to garner
over 8 million twitter handles and a whopping count of 80,000 tweets.

Frooti's YouTube channel views increased by 2.5 million and subscribers increased by 600%.
Even as the brand spends 40% more on it's marketing this year compared to the last, it will
have to quickly address one of its biggest weak spots — its relatively feeble presence in the
returnable glass bottle (RGB) space. The returnable glass bottle is at the top in the pecking
order of the caste system of packaging of soft drinks followed by the PET bottle and then the
tetra pack at the bottom-rung, shares Bijoor.

This has been a pain-point that the brand is trying to tackle on a war-footing. Agrees and
shares Nadia Chauhan Kurup, "Currently there are only four manufacturing plants for RGB
which would eventually go up to 20 plants. The bottle form is one of the highest penetrated
packing formats and there is a huge market for it." The glass bottle format has been launched
in a phased way in some markets and would be increased soon as manufacturing capacity
increases. And perhaps that's what it will take for Frooti, the oldest brand in the category, to
give a better account of itself in a growing market for mango beverages.

TALK WITH THE DISTRIBUTOR

I had visited a distribution unit of Parle Biscuits, which is situated in MALAD, N.K
ENTERPRISE. He proved to be very co-operative and resourceful . He gave me adequate
information, which is required in the project. Below is the information gained through the
visit :- 1. Which are the products of parle you distribute? Ans. Parle –G, Krack Jack, Monaco,
Milk-Shakti, Hide N Seek , Fun Center, Cheeslings, Jeffs, Marie Choice, Parle Magic,
Monaco Bites etc. 2. What are the yours distribution channel ? Ans. We distribute product
through salesman Whose supply products in nearby area. As per customers order. 3. In which
areas you supply the products of parle? Ans. We supply only in malad and kandivali . 4. How
do you tackle competition? Ans. Parle faces competition by just keeping up the quality and
prices as per the pre-defined standards. There are no levels in it. It has stable marketing
strategies. 5. Problem faced, if any? Ans.

There used to be some problem due to imitation brands like, Parole G, Parale G, Parel G, etc.
But now people identify the brand very well. They recognise by the sweet girl‘s image on the
pack and the PARLE on it written in Red. It act as the logo. So, now this drench is cleared
off.

Without these aspects marketing is not possible. Marketing strategy is all about marketing
a product. In these marketing mix sellers, retailers, buyers, and wholesalers play an important
role. There is lot of scope in marketing strategy. Parle company had made huge profit by
marketing there products in India and in foreign countries. It was concluded that Parle is the
first preference of both the customers and retailers (Organized and unorganized both) because
of its price and brand image. The Parle Biscuit brands, such as, Parle-G, Monaco, Krackjack,
Marie Choice, Hide and Seek enjoy a strong imagery and appeal amongst consumers across
the world. Which has resulted into Parle-G being the ―world‟ s largest selling biscuit". The
Parle name symbolizes quality, health and great taste. Constantly innovating and catering to
new tastes PARLE-G has built its reputation. Parle Products Pvt Ltd. is now lagging in
services to retailers because of improper supply and distribution in some areas and
competitors taking advantage of these points. Parle Company should take into consideration
the opportunities and threats as discussed above. This will help the company to maintain its
brand image furlong time. Parle Agro is a leading Indian Food and Beverage Company, the
only Indian transnational giant with the past experience of having successfully launched
leading soft drinks like Frooti, Appy, and Bailley´. Toady its brand portfolio consists of No.1
brands like frooti along with Appy, and Bailley.

CASE STUDY

In 2009, Parle Products Pvt. Limited (Parle), a leading Indian manufacturer of biscuits, had
the honor of producing the best-selling brand of glucose biscuits in the world by volume,
Parle-G. Parle-G biscuits sold for about U.S. $ 1 per kilogram, and as very few processed and
ready-to-eat products were available at that price, Parle-G was closely associated with the
offer value for money (VFM). Impending problems in this brand category for Parle was the
fact that the prices of raw materials from the two main raw materials for the Parle-G biscuits
(which account for 55 percent of their value inputs) rose enough in the past 18 months to
reduce the field from 15 percent to less than 10 percent. Pressure to restore fields led Parle to
consider price increases more previous attempt caused a sharp decline in sales. Parle later
turned increase production costs by reducing the weight of the package, franchise production,
reducing supply chain costs and reduce packaging costs. Parle could not ignore the
deeprooted perception of VFM in the development of short-and long-term marketing plans to
maintain the success of Parle-G in the market. These plans are required to address
segmentation, positioning, and changing demographics Indian when considering potential
rise in Parle-G biscuits. Leading biscuit and confectionary-maker Parle Products is all set to
extend its promotional campaign for its flagship brand Parle G into the digital arena. With
this, the campaign enters into its next phase and ropes in renowned author Ruskin Bond as a
guest blogger to write for its microsite – TheFutureGenius.com. The edutainment site,
TheFutureGenius.com is an interactive portal where parents can interact and share videos,
audio clips and documents to showcase their child‘s talent.

Parle Agro re-enters fizzy drinks market New coffee-flavoured product, Café Cuba, to
hit market next year Two decades after selling its popular soft drink brands, Parle Agro is re-
entering the carbonated soft drink (CSD) segment with its new coffee-flavored fizzy drink,
Café Cuba. Unveiling the product here on Tuesday , Prakash Chauhan, Chairman &
Managing Director, Parle Agro, said the sweetened carbonated beverage in a coffee flavour
would be `the first of its kind‘ in India. ``We wanted to create a unique product that would be
well differentiated in the market,‖ he pointed out Two decades The Mumbai-headquartered
company today makes Frooti, Appy, Appy Fizz, baked snacks, toffees and Bailley packaged
drinking water, and has a turnover of Rs. 2,000 crore. It had sold its iconic soft drink brands
namely Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot and Citra, to CocaCola over two decades ago. Mr.
Chauhan said Café Cuba would be launched nationally next January-February. A diet version
could follow soon, he added. ―We are targeting a turnover of Rs. 1,000 crore in the first 12-
18 months after launch. We will consider exporting the product once it is established here.
We expect to have a significant presence in the Rs. 15,000-crore CSD segment in India,‘‘ he
said, The product will be launched in cans priced at Rs. 20 for a 250 ml pack, and in PET
bottles at Rs. 15 for a 250 ml pack. Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and Chief
Marketing Officer, Parle Agro, said Café Cuba would target consumers in the 17-30 years
age group.

6.Different services and products offered by the company

Some Major Biscuits Brand of Parle There are large number of biscuits manufactured by the
Parle but following are the few major brands of Parle that made it world’s largest biscuits
selling company:
A. MONACO: It was launched in 1942. It is the pioneered biscuits falling under the category
of Salted Cracker and is truly any time brand of the Parle. Under the Monaco family the
Monaco Cracker, Monaco cheese, Monaco bites are some biscuits. The Monaco is available
in Classic Salted and Zeera flavors.

B. KRACKJACK: It is the biscuit that was launched in the year 1972. It is India’s first
biscuits with the original sweet and salty taste that has been loved by the millions of the
consumers of the world.

C. MAGIX: Magix is escaped into the delicious Magical Masti of rich creamy goodness with
Parle Magix. Parle Magix is available in many flavors such as chocolate, orange, elaichi,
pineapple, mango.

D. HIDE & SEEK: Hide & seek was launched in 1996. First of its kind chocolate chip
cookies in India Hide & Seek is best known today for its rich chocolaty experience. The Hide
& Seek is available in Chocolate chip and Caffe-Mocha flavors. It is also available in flavors
of Hide & Seek bourbon, Hide & Seek Fab, Hide & Seek Choco Rolls and many more
flavors.

E. 20-20 COOKIES: The 20-20 Cookies of Parle is filled with the richness of cashew, the
goodness of butter and tinge of Jeera. 20-20 has become every household’s favorite snacks.

F. PARLE– G: The Parle-G is the oldest biscuits manufactured by the Parle till now. It is
filled with the goodness of Milk and wheat. Parle-G has been a source of all-round
nourishment for the nation since 1939. As its unique taste expanded over the globe, Parle-G
was declared the world’s largest selling biscuits brand by Nielsen in 2003.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF PARLE: Parle products with its wider

platter of Hide & Seek of biscuits and sweets like Parle-G, Krackjack, Monaco, Melody,
Mango bite and many others since 1929 is also actively engaged to change and uplift the
social face of India. As a part of Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, Parle is keenly
involved in overall development of younger generation with focused endeavor to build new
face of India and spread happiness and joy all over. Parle centre of Excellence as an
institution is dedicated to enrich the lives of people through conducting various cultural
programs across all region to facilitate the all-round development of the children. Every year,
Parle organizes Saraswathi Vandana in the state of West Bengal during the festival of
Saraswathi Puja, inviting schools from all across the state to participate. The event is one of
much fun fare and celebration, keeping alive the culture and traditions of ages. Our
involvement in cultural activities has seen the inception of Golu Galata in TamilNadu, held
during Navaratri. It gives a platform to all the members of a household to showcase their
creativity and being judged by imminent personalities. Thousands of families participate and
celebrate the occasion on a grand scale. These events give Parle the chances to interact with
children on one to one basis, and promote their belief of fun and health for the whole family.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY

An organization structure defines how activities such as task allocation, coordination, and
supervision are directed towards the achievements of organizational aims. It can also be
considered as the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals see their
organization and its environment. Organization structure is teamwork of the formal
relationship that has been established. The purpose of the structure is to assist in regulating
and directing the efforts of an organization so that they are in coordination and consistent
with organization.

Organization structure of the company shows the interrelationship between employer and
employee or vice-versa. It shows a clear-cut line of authority, responsibility and
accountability. Among the various types of organization structure Parle has adopted Vertical
management structure. An organization can be structured in many different ways, depending
on their objective. The structure of an organization will determine the modes in which it
operates and performs. Organizational structure allows the expressed allocation of
responsibilities for different functions and processes to different entities such as the branch,
departments, workgroup and individual. Organizational structure affects organizational action
in two big ways. First, it provides the foundation on which standard operating procedures and
routines rest. Second, it determines which individual get to participate in which decision-
making processes, and thus to what extent their views shape the organization’s action.

The term marketing mix refers to unique blend of Product, Place, Promotion & Pricing
strategies designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market. Marketers
have to make many decisions in developing a marketing mix that will satisfy their target
customers. However, all of the variables that make up the marketing mix can be reduced to
four basic categories.

PRODUCT MIX PRODUCT LEVELS

Core benefit- the core benefit of biscuits is to satisfy hunger of the consumer. Basic product-
in the second level, the basic product is biscuits. Expected product- the consumers expect the
product to have a good taste and also give nutrition. Augmented product - parle biscuits
increase a person‘s energy levels. This is not always expected by the consumers and hence
exceeds customer‘s expectations. Potential product- in the future parle could come up with
different products such as a snack which could be a combo of chocolate and biscuit.
Classification of products.

Based on tangibility- Parle biscuits are tangible, i.e. one can see and touch them.

Based on functional life- Parle biscuits are consumables since biscuits form apart of food and
have a short life.

Based on price and quality- most of Parle biscuits such as Parle-G, Monaco, Krack jack are
mass products but a few Parle biscuits such as Parle hide and seek and Milano are premium
or prestige products.

Based on utility- Parle biscuits are convenience goods. They are staples since they are bought
by consumers regularly.

Also they are partly impulse products. Consistency The product consistency generally
depends on 3 parameters.

1) Production

2) Distribution

3) Consumer end-user

The production process of every parle biscuit follows some basic ingredients like wheat
flour, vegetable oil, inverted syrups, skimmed milk powder ,etc. then depending upon the
product, extra ingredients are added for e.g. in Monaco there might be an extra amount of salt
put in to give it that prominent salt taste, to hide & seek, chocolate chips are added. Etc. Parle
uses the same distribution channels for selling all its products under the biscuit category i.e.
1st , 2nd & the 3rd level of the distribution channels. The basic end use of all parle products
remains the same – eating it‘s imply to satisfy hunger. Products like parle-g may also be
consumed for the intake of high glucose levels for immediate strength & energy.

RAW MATERIAL USED Wheat flour Sugar Partially hydrogenated edible vegetable oils
Invert syrup Leavening agents (503 Baking powder) Milk solids Salt Emulsifiers (E 322 or E
471 or E 481) Dough conditioners (E 223) and contains added flavors. PROCESS LAYOUT
OF PARLE PRODUCTS LTD. PARLE G is made at parle products ltd. at vile parle. First of
all the parle products buys RAW MATERIAL from the various suppliers and stored into the
store room. This raw material is then sent to laboratory for testing and after testing only it is
used for manufacturing. The raw material consist of Wheat flour, Sugar, Partially
hydrogenated edible vegetable oils, Invert syrup, Leavening agents (503 Baking powder)
Milk, solids Salt Emulsifiers (E 322 or E 471 or E 481) and Dough conditioners (E 223).
Such a mixture of raw material is taken and mixed into STEPHAN MIXTURE, which is high
power mixture machine. Specially made for mixture of dough, from which the mixture is 30
passed to molder called ROTARY MOULDER. Through that molder approximately 10,000
come out in a minute. Molder had 260 cups fitted in it which gives shape to the biscuits and
an impression embossed on it of parle-g. From rotary molder the dough is passed through a
260 feet long OVEN which is approximately 340* c.

In oven there are three stages to be followed –

1. Removal of moisture.

2. Building the structure of biscuits.

3. Colorings of biscuits take place.

From oven the hot biscuits are placed on the COOLING CONVYOR, which is 260 feet long
and the biscuits continues to run on it for 5 to 7 minutes so that the biscuits become cool and
all the moisture that biscuits contain gets evaporated. And because of the above reason the
factory has ―

S FLOW LAYOUT‖ in the factory. The conveyor continues to move to COUNTING UNIT
where biscuits are counted and seen that it is going on properly or not. The conveyor
continues till the biscuits reach the STALKING TABLE at which the biscuits are packed in
very orderly manner. From cooling conveyor sum biscuits are diverted through AUTO
FEEDING MACHINE to another stalking machine where packing is done. From stalking
table the biscuits are moved on conveyor to MULTI PACK WRAPPING MACHINE were 16
biscuits are packed into a regular parle g wrapper so that the weight of 16 biscuits comes up
to 100 grams. Then 24 packets of parle g biscuits are packed into a POLY BAG. And after
packing it into poly bag it is sent to SEALING MACHINE where it is sealed,
 Then it is sent to CORRUGATE BOX SECTION in which 6 poly bags are placed
and then the boxes are kept on conveyor and sent to DISPATCH SECTION from where the
biscuits are sent to various places in India and all over the world. All Parle products are
manufactured under the most hygienic conditions. Great care is exercised in the selection &
quality control of raw materials, packaging materials & rigid quality standards are ensured at
every stage of the manufacturing process. Every batch of biscuits & confectioneries are
thoroughly checked by expert staff, using the most modern equipment.

INVENTORY

The inventory of the company that is the raw material is of a week. They store such inventory
in store room and then are sent for testing in laboratory and after testing it is sent for
production. SHIFTS There is nearly 10,000 employees working in the company and are
working in three shifts.35,000 tons of biscuits are manufactured in a day of one particular
product, and there are such nine-product manufactured in the factory.

WASTAGES

There are two type of wastage in factory. First is the waste materials fallen on ground. Such
waste material is of 1% which is marginal and acceptable which goes into total waste. Second
types of waste are the biscuit collected in tray of the multi-pack wrapping machine, since
these biscuits are broken they are not packed and sold to the customer but collected in other
tray and sold as broken pieces and sold for less price for cattle feeding. LOOSE BISCUIT On
the stalking table one to two rows of baked biscuits are kept aside for selling it as loose
biscuits. They are normally assumed to be damaged biscuits but they are not damaged or
broken but company keep such loose packets of biscuits to sell it to the local people for
marginal rate of 33 Rs / kg.

FOLLWING ARE THE MACHINERY USED IN MANUFACTURING STEPHEN MIXER

The Stephan TK Mixer is an ideal component to fully automatically feed the down-stream
make-up equipment for biscuits, bread, rolls, buns, cake, sweet goods, cookies and crackers.
ROTARY MOULD ·

structure in corrosion-proof; anodized aluminumand Aisi 304 stainless steel · satin stainless
steel paneling · swivel wheels and support feet · trays loader with automatic chain feed ·
feeder roller anodizedaluminum · 1.00 kW speed validator

COOLING CONVEYOR
 The biscuit coming from stripping conveyor is directed on to the cooling conveyor to
transfer the heat in the biscuit to atmospheric air as it is passing on it. The total travel of the
cooling conveyor is 1.5 times the oven length. As per need specifications it need the travel of
150 ft. LAMINATOR

Laminators are generally used for production of all kinds of hard biscuits, crackers and
cocktail snacks. With laminator it is possible to create a puffy pastry-like structure, which is
of decisive importance for the quality level and consequently for the sales success.
Laminating of Dough band improves the weight/volume ratio considerably.

BISCUIT BAKING OVEN

The oven body consists of steel steam tight tunnel with equally divided zones of the radiators.
Stainless steel expansion joints are provided between these zones in order to eliminate the
expansion of the oven section. The inspection doors are provided for inspection of the baking
goods during the process. Baking System: The baking in the heating chamber takes place by
radiators located under and above the wire mesh band which distribute heat for uniform
baking. The recirculation heating gases of these radiators can be controlled for each zone
separately. The closed recirculation system is having slight vacuum so that combustion gases
cannot enter into the baking chamber. The ventilating fan is for circulation of the heating
gases through the recirculation system and thermostatically controlled burners provide the set
temperature of the heating gases.

ROTARY CUTTER

The single head rotary cutter prints fine design on a continuously fed dough sheet and also
cuts out the individual dough piece. The unit powered by 1.5KW helical geared motor and
speed controlled by AC frequency controller. Drive is given to cutting roller only to
accommodate different sizes of dies in this machine.

COUNTING UNIT

The counting unit counts and see that the biscuit making process is going fine or not, i.e. as
per the program set in the machine, program is set as per the grams required. Generally 16
biscuits are taken by the counting unit so that it leads to 100 grams. MULTIPACK
WRAPPING MACHINE
This machine helps in wrapping the biscuits on the particular wrapper fixed on the roller of
the machine. The wrapper is feed into the machine and the sealing of the wrapper is done by
four heater roller, which is fitted on the machine. This heater roller heat up the plastic and
seals the packet. And at the same time the jaw cutter cut the packet on the cutting edge
marked i.e. as per the grams of the packet which is feed in the automatic machine (100 – 120,
120 – 150, 150 -170, 170 - 190).

The packets coming out from the wrapping machine in a minute is programmed in computer
and can be changed as per the need. POLY BAGS Poly bags contain 24 packets of parle g
biscuits in one poly bag. There are 4 workers employed on this section who take care of the
work by putting 24 packets of biscuits in the bag and forwarding it to sealing machine
section. SEALING MACHINE

The sealing machine has heater rod for sealing the poly bag in which 24 packet of biscuit are
placed, and it have a conveyer belt on other side so that when the poly bag passes through the
heater and get sealed then it is passed to the tapping machine. TAPPING MACHINE Six
such poly bags are placed in one such corrugated box and the box is passed through the
tapping machine where are tapped and then sent through a long diversion conveyer belt. This
belt helps to transfer the box to the dispatch section directly. 36 boxes are arranged on pallet
in the dispatch section, from where they are transferred to the various dealers all over the
India and worldwide. 34 Brand The Parle Biscuit brands, such as, Parle-G, Monaco and
Krack jack enjoy a strong imagery and appeal amongst consumers. Be it a big city or a
remote village of India, the Parle name symbolizes quality, health and great taste. And yet,
this reputation has been built, by constantly innovating and catering to new tastes. This can
be seen by the success of new brands, such as, Hide & Seek and Hide & Seek, Milano.
Product Strategy New Old New Brand Name Old Parle follows both line extension and brand
extension for its products. For a product like Parle-G it followed line extension with the
introduction of Parle-G milk Shakti and Parle-G magix which has 2 flavors- choco and
cashew.

Initially Parle used to produce only confectionaries. Parle followed brand extension with the
introduction of products in the biscuits and snacks category. In this way, by concentrating on
consumer tastes and preferences and emphasizing Research & Development, the Parle brand
grows from strength to strength. Line Extension Brand Extenstion Multi Brand New Brand
35 Product Life Cycle Parle as a company has reached the maturity stage in its products life
cycle; since products such as parle-G, parle Monaco, parle Krack jack which form a major
part of parle products ‘sales have captured most of India ‘s market. But for its premium
biscuits parle hide and seek and parle hide and seek Milano the products are in the growth
and introduction stages respectively. Parle hide and seek was introduced in 1998 with flavors
such as mint, orange and chocolate. But it did not really succeed in capturing the consumer ‘s
attention.

So after a few years it was re launched with just one flavor i.e. chocolate flavor with new
packaging. After the re-launch it has started gaining attention of its potential buyers and
hence is in the growth stage of its life cycle. It has to fight for its stand in the market since it
faces competition from Britannia ‘s good-day choco nuts. 36 Packaging and Labelling
Packaging: The time spent by a customer for picking up a product from a retail outlet is a few
seconds; therefore a package should appeal to a customer within such a small interval of time.
In this, both packaging & labelling play an important role in attracting customers both
visually & psychologically. Packaging: For Parle G: Parle G was initially recognized by its
iconic white and yellow stripped wax paper wrapper with the baby face on it. Many
competitors have tried to sell their lower quality products by copying the packaging, trying to
sell their biscuits as Parel-G; Parle-Jee etc. Due to increasing competition Parle G now uses
plastic wrappers for its packaging. Parle-G comes in 8 different sizes: 25gms, 44gms,93.5
gms, 231gms, 340.5gms, 462gms, 577.5gms and a 1kg pack just for Rs.30 which is not
usually offered by other brands. Parle Hide & Seek: It initially came out with 3 variants:
Mint, Orange & Chocolate which wasn‘t accepted by the masses. However, the production of
Mint & orange flavors was stopped. Chocolate is the only flavor that is running successfully
since it is India‘s first chocolate chip biscuit.

Hide & seek biscuit's current packaging has been modified along with lower prices & better
affordability rates. Thus there is a change in size of the product which is prevalent in the ads.
One of the advertisements shows movie actor, Hrithik Roshan walking with a pack of hide&
seek biscuits in the back pocket of his jeans emphasizing on the small size of the product.
Parle hide & seek Milano: This product of Parle has a flashy purple coloured packing which
attracts customers with the whole look of Italian chocolate chip cookies. Labelling:
Consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious. So it is essential to display the
contents of every product. Every packet of Parle G, Parle hide & seek, Parle hide& seek
Milano has information about the ingredients used, nutrition facts, mailing& emailing
addresses asking for feedback, phone number, packaging date etc. All this along with the
brand name and directions are printed in Hindi too.

PRICING MIX

The Parle marketing philosophy emphasizes catering to the masses. It constantly endeavors at
designing products that provide nutrition & fun to the common man. Most Parle offerings are
in the low & mid-range price segments. This is based on its cultivated understanding of the
Indian consumer psyche. The value-for-money positioning helps generate large sales volumes
for the products. Parle G has adopted the Market Penetration strategy i.e. low price along
with capturing of a large market Also they focus on low prices and provide good quality
products at the same time, which means it uses the value pricing method. This benefits Parle
G by having a competitive edge in terms of large market share which is around 40%: both
rural and urban presently. For setting the price of Parle hide & seek biscuit, a survey was
taken in the urban &semiurban markets; on the basis of which hide & seek was introduced. It
was found that the potential consumers were ready to pay a premium price for an innovative
product like chocolate chip biscuits. Thus, Parle adopted market skimming where the product
is high priced and also of high quality. It includes the cost of chocolates, packaging & other
processing cost. All these show customer status, which is also one of the reasons for parle
hide & seek‘s high price. A separate example for explaining the pricing strategy of Parle is its
product Parle Creams For this product Parle uses going rate method only as a reference rate.
In this case, Parle Creams were introduced after Britannia‘s Cream Treats with similar
variants but at Rs.5 per packet of biscuit and not Rs.10 like that of Britannia‘s cream treats.

PLACE MIX

The extensive distribution network, built over the years, is a major strength for Parle
Products. Parle biscuits & sweets are available to consumers, even in the most remote places
and in the smallest of villages with a population of just 500. Distribution Channel levels:
Parle has nearly 1,500 wholesalers, catering to 4, 25,000 retail outlets directly or indirectly. A
two hundred strong dedicated field force services these wholesalers &retailers. Additionally,
there are 31 depots and C&F agents supplying goods to the wide distribution network. So it is
seen that Parle has 1 level, 2 level & 3 level distribution channels levels. Level 1- availability
to all departmental stores. Level 2- Since it‘s an FMCG product this channel exists for
customers scattered throughout the country. Level 3 - Mass consumption & suitable for
national & international coverage. For e.g. Parle‘s international operations consist of serving
markets in the Middle East, Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Australia and North America
for which the 3 level distribution channel exists. Parle has a multi-channel marketing system
since it uses more than two marketing channels to reach all its customer segments.

PROMOTION MIX

The marketing mix tools used by Parle are Sales promotion, Advertising, and Public
relations. Sales Promotion Parle uses the Sales force promotion tool for all its employees.
Every year it holds day fairs at branded venues where games and fun events are organised for
the employees of Parle and their families; where Parle products are give away prizes.
Advertising Parle-G started being advertised in the 80's. It was advertised mainly through
press ads. The communication spoke about the basic benefits of energy and nutrition. In1989,
Parle-G released its Dadaji commercial, which went on to become one of the most popular
commercials for Parle-G. The commercial was run for a period of 6 years. Parle-G grew
bigger by the minute. Be it the packs sold, are as covered or the number of consumers. It
became a part of the daily lives of many Indians. It wasn't a biscuit any more. It had become
an icon . The next level of communication associated the brand with the positive values of
life like honesty, sharing and caring. The year 2002 went down as a special year in Parle-G's
advertising history. A year that saw the birth of G-Man a new ambassador for Parle-G. Not
just a hero but also a super-hero that saves the entire world, especially children from all the
evil forces. A campaign that was not just new to the audiences but one that involved a
completely new way of execution that was loved by children all over the world -Animation.
A TV commercial that showed G-Man saving the children from the evil force called
Terrolene launched this campaign. It was also supported by print medium through posters and
streamers put up at the retail outlets. Another campaign that was launched by Parle for Parle-
G was - ‘G‘ maane‘GENIUS‘‘. For this a series of ads were shown in which a little kid eats
Parle G and tricks the wise and experienced people. 40 Just a few months back a reminder
TV commercial was launched for Parle-G where the product is being called ‘hindustan ki
takat’ . Most of the Parle-G TV commercials tell us that brand awareness is being done by
capturing consumer emotion. Heavy promotion plays a major role in creating brand
awareness. Such is the case of Parle hide & seek biscuit‘s television advertisements. The ads
of parle hide and seek are portraying actor Hrithik Roshan. This tells us that the product is
being promoted by celebrity endorsement to increase awareness of this product and help
capture the consumers‘ attention. Public Relations Parle has done the following for enhancing
public relations: In the year 1997, Parle-G sponsored the tele-serial of the Indian superhero,
Shaktimaan that went on to become a huge success. The personality of the superhero matched
the overall superb benefits of the brand. Parle extended this association with Shaktimaan and
gave away a lot of merchandise of Shaktimaan. The children just could not get enough of
Parle-G and Shaktimaan. In the year 2002, it was decided to bring the brand closer to the
child who is amajor consumer. A national level promo - `Parle-G Mera Sapna Sach Hoga'
was run for a period of 6 months. The promo was all about fulfilling the dreams of children.
There were over 5 lakh responses and of that, over 300 dreams were fulfilled. Dreams that
were fulfilled ranged from trips to Disneyland at Paris &Singapore; meeting their favorite
film star Hrithik Roshan; free ride on a chartered plane; 20 scholarships worth Rs 50,000; a
special cricket coaching camp with the Australian cricketer - Ricky Ponting; etc. Golu Galata
contest - In Tamil Nadu, traditionally, women decorate various dolls made of clay during
Navaratri celebrations by setting up 7-9 steps. This display is well decorated and friends and
relatives are invited to witness the same. Through a detailed research, Parle found that due to
time pressures, this tradition is slowly dying and is getting restricted to a select few
households. Thus, to revive the fading event, Parle had introduced the novel promotion called
Parle Golu Galata contest in 2005. After the encouraging response and resounding success of
the 2005 Golu Galata contest, in 2006 Parle Products Pvt. Ltd took the contest to Chennai,
Madurai, Trichy, & Kumbakonam. (Golu means Doll & Galata means Dhammal.) 41

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR For Parle-G:

In India it is a habit to have biscuits along with chai or tea - Parle G is referred to as "biskut"
in rural areas - thus when asked for biskut to a shopkeeper it simply means Parle-G biscuit in
rural areas. Understanding consumer behavior is tough. The study of consumer behaviour
includes the knowledge about the consumer, his buying motives & buying habits. Keeping all
this in mind, the factors influencing the buying behaviour of consumers are: Parle-G being a
consumable product is not influenced by factors like cultural factors. As shown above, social
factors are further sub divided into 3 parts namely reference groups, family & social role &
status.

1) Reference Group People, especially kids are always influenced by the people around them.
They are influenced by friends, relatives, family members specially elder siblings, etc. so if
they see anyone around them having parle-G biscuit, they too want to eat it.
2) Family In his case also, if it‘s a usual habit of the family members to have pale-G with tea
or coffee, the kids in the growing stage or any new member joining the family for tea will
form a similar habit or the later will be offered the same biscuit.

PERSONAL FACTORS

The factors whose intensity differs from person to person are together termed as personal
factors. They are as follows: -

1. AGE Parle-g is consumed maximum by the kids in the age group of 5-10 years i.e. the
growing age group. Kids, who have formed the habit of having Parle-G in their early
stages of life, continue this practice even after growing up. They continue their
consumption of ParleG even after they grow up.
2. O C C U P A T I O N The buying behaviour of the consumer is influenced also by the
occupation he or she belongs to. In case of Parle-G, the purpose for buying the product
varies from a person with a high post in a M.N.C. to a poor laborer. For the executive
employee, he may or may not buy the product. He may buy a more expensive or an
imported biscuit brand because he can afford it. Also he may buy it only to be one of
the many snacks available to him. On the other hand, a poor laborer would buy a
packet of Parle-G simply to satisfy his hunger. For him, it is not matter of choice or
luxury, but a necessity because it‘s the easiest & the cheapest he can get.
3. I N C O M E Income of a person decides its core expenditure segment. If a laborer
earns a fixed amount & if a biscuit like parle-g which for sure ensures high level
glucose content & immediate energy regained, he would defiantly opt to buy a parle
biscuit packet & not spend even that minimal amount of Rs.4 on anything else .But
since Parle-G is a low-priced, value for money product a person‘s income does not
really play a role in influencing the purchase of the product. Consumers of all income
groups do buy the product.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
1. Motivation For Parle-G the main & the basic motivation which pulls consumers
towards buying it is simply hunger. This is what pulls the consumers towards the
purchase of Parle-G. Also, since biscuits are perceived as snacks, when a consumer is
drinking tea he or she is motivated to buy Parle-G at that time.
 2. Perception consumers believe Parle-G to be a good quality product which is cheap
too. They also perceive it to be a great snack with tea. For Parle hide & seek: SOCIAL
FACTORS
1) Reference groups- parle hide & seek is targeted at the youth. So for this product
consumers are influenced by their friends and siblings.
2) Status- Parle hide & seek is a high priced product. So consumers in the higher
income groups would prefer to buy the product over other brands since it would be a
matter of higher status.
PERSONAL FACTORS
1) AGE The advertisements of this product are such that people in the age group from
15 to 28 are likely to be influenced to buy this product. But at the same time, since this
product has been endorsed by a celebrity (Hrithik Roshan) and since it is made of
chocolate chips, children are also likely to be major consumers.
2) OCCUPATION
Major Consumers for Parle hide & seek are students. 3) INCOME Since it is a high-
priced product; the potential consumers for this product are high income earners. A
person who is earning more is more likely to buy this product than a person who earns
comparatively lower income.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTOR
Perception Consumers perceive this brand as ‘tasty and crispy’. Chocolate not very
sugary. It is perceived as a brand leader in this segment and some firmly believe that
there is no competitor while mostly people regarded ‘Britannia bourbon‘ as its main
competitor ; very few consumers know that ‘good day- choco nuts‘ is its competitor.

Political Impact

o Internal Political Events

• Increasing economic disparities among regions are emerging as a political risk capable of
provoking serious socio- political tensions that could lead to localized violence from time to
time.

• The states likely to be advancing economically are: Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra,
Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Those likely to be lagging economically are: Assam, Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

o External Political Events

• Any outbreak of hostilities between India and its neighbors could disrupt trade and
negatively affect the solvency of some importers.

• India could benefit greatly from free trade.

o Policies

• A number of policy initiatives have been taken from time to time to promote growth of the
processed food sector in the country. Some of these are:

▪ Most of the processed food items have been exempted from the purview of licensing under
the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951, except items reserved for small-scale
sector and alcoholic beverages.

▪ Food processing industries were included in the list of priority sector for bank lending in
1999.

▪ Automatic approval for foreign equity upto 100% is available for most of the processed
food items excepting alcohol and beer and those reserved for small scale sector subject to
certain conditions.

o Developmental

• Assistance under various plan schemes.

• Widening the R&D base in food processing by involvement of various R&D institutes and
support to various R&D activities. • Human Resource Development to meet the growing
requirement of managers, entrepreneurs and skilled workers in the food processing industry.

• Assistance for setting up analytical and testing laboratories, active participation in the
laying down of food standards and their harmonization with the international standards.

o Promotional

• In order to create awareness about the potential and prospect of food processing industries
in the country, this Ministry provides,

a) Assistance for organizing workshops, seminars, exhibitions and fairs.

b) Assistance for studies/surveys etc.

c) Publications and films.

o Regulatory

• Implementation of Fruit Products Order (FPO), 1955.

• Implementation of Meat Food Product Order, 1973.

Economical Impact

o The state of the country and unemployment rates can affect the food processing industry.

o To meet the demand for healthier food, bakery store or shop need to invest in making the
facilities more hygienic and also hiring new people with knowledge of such products.

o The industry experiences a rise in revenue when it sales other products such as Pizza,
Muffins, Sweet rolss, Doughnuts, Coffee, Tea, Shakes, etc along with breads, cakes, pastries,
etc.

o Food interest rates, taxation, and consumer spending affect the options and opportunities
presented in the food processing industry. Although there is a slowdown in sales, bakery food
is a convenience and a necessity to many still.

Social Impact

o Rapid transformation in the lifestyle of Indians, particularly those living in urban India, has
resulted in dramatic increase in the demand for processed food. The main reason why
processed food is luring the urban Indians is the convenience that it offers to cooking, as they
don't need to spend hours in kitchen to get that appetizing food.

o Increase in overseas travel and the presence of foreign media in the country has resulted in
more Indians opting for processed food. For instance, in 2007, above 5Million Indians had
traveled abroad and the number is likely to rise by 15% to 20% every year.

o Also, it's likely to double in the five years to come. These trends entail significant growth
potential for the food processing industry in future and, as a result, add to the attractiveness of
investment in this sector.

o The demographic trend and lifestyle patterns, of the society that a retailer intends to serve,
decide the retailer’s strategy. Traditionally, children seldom accompanied their parents while
grocery food shopping.

o Apart from quality and range of products, value for money and attractive displays, the
human touch has a vital role to play.
o There is also emphasis on schemes and promotions, which, as the study ratifies, do pull
customers. Further the trend is towards more convenience and flexibility in terms of
exchange/ return policies, which play a vital role in encouraging the purchase.

o Smart, polite and courteous sales people might make all the difference for a store, which is
like any other in terms of its Product offerings.

Technological Impact

o The computerization of the various operations in a retail store, including inventory

management, billing and payments as well as database (of customers) management,
widespread use of bar coding, point-of-sale terminals and Management Information System
has changed the face of retailing drastically demographic trend and lifestyle patterns, of the
society that a retailer intends to serve, decide the retailer’s strategy. Traditionally, children
seldom accompanied their parents while grocery food shopping.

o Apart from providing the retailers with better and timelier information about their
operations, the technology also does the job of preventing theft, promoting the store's goods
and creating a better shopping atmosphere.

o They make the customer's life a lot easier by facilitating the use of developments like credit
cards. Toll free 800 numbers have brought about a revolution in consumer's ordering and
feedback mechanism.

o Emerging technologies will also facilitate just-in-time management of certain products

within the store. These trends are already visible in the music and greeting card industries. o
Advancement in food technology can play an important role in not only harmonizing quality
norms, but also by developing good manufacturing practices, including 106 conformity to
traceability norms hazard analysis at critical control points (HACCP).

o Codex has also incorporated HACCP system for identifying risk and their control. HACCP
also covers pathogenic bacteria also. Though the quality norms of these global bodies are
accepted as base for reference, countries are allowed to set more stringent norm.

Environmental Impact

o The challenges to food processing are socio economic environment, subsistence agriculture,
fragmented value chains and lack of infrastructure for post-harvest management and
processing. Some issues are country specific: role of federal and state government, policies
regarding marketing of agriculture produce, and food safety regulations.

o Sub-optimal growth of the food processing industry can be attributed to the vicious circle
of high unit cost low demand, low capacity utilization again leading to high unit cost.

o Affordability is also a major issue in the domestic market.

o Price differential between fresh and processed food in India is very high relative to
convenience, hygiene and health values of the processed food. In the developed countries
processed and fresh food compare well in prices.

o There is need for working out synergy between business and environment for sustainable
development. The Govt. will bring together environmentalists, industrialists, policy makers
and NGOs at State.

o The Govt. will compliment the efforts of various other Govt. departments, Public Sector,
Private Sector, Industry associations, Cooperatives, Consumer action groups, NGO etc. to
provide a healthy, and enabling environment.

o The Govt. recognizes the need to achieve these objectives by way of removal of
restrictions, private sector participation, enhanced Market opportunities, rationalization of tax
structure and positive interface with the industry.

Legal Impact

o Land and Property Laws

• There is a shortage of good quality space and rents are high for what is available.

• Only Indians can own property in India, which complimenting the restrictions placed on
FDI, restrict the entry of foreign players.

• The initial urban planning of cities was done with smaller plots in mind which along with
rigid building and zoning laws make it difficult for procurement of retail space.

• The urban land ceiling act and rent control acts have distorted property markets in cities

o Labour Laws
• The labour laws instituted to protect store workers are not flexible enough to support the
modern formats of retailing. These rigidities in the law constrain the operations of modern
retail outlets. Working hours are restricted, with shops required to close one day of the week
and the hiring of part-time employees is difficult, however, in Bangalore, the State
Government has permitted flexibility in the use of labour without doing away with the
associated benefits accruing to it.

o Taxes

• Corporation tax is 38% and this would be even higher at 45% for a foreign business. Even
essential basic foodstuffs are taxed (8% on milk).

• The varying sales tax rate across states make supply chain management an even more
difficult task for retailers.

• With the expected introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) in April 2005, some of the
sales tax anamolies in the supply chain could get correct over a period of time.

o Legal Requirements

a) Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,1954

b) Milk and Milk Products Order (MMPO)

c) Fruit Products Order, 1955

d) Standard of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977

e) Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963

f) Voluntary Standards regulated by organisations involved with voluntary standardisation

and certificates systems concerning quality parameters in food

g) Oils, Deoiled Meal and Edible Flour Control Order 1967 and Vegetables Products Control
Order, 1976

h). Meat Food Products Control Order, 1973

o Restrictions on FDI

• A strong FDI presence in food processing sector is expected to not only boost the retail
scenario, but also act as a driving force in attracting FDI in upstream activities as well. This
will be more prominent in food processing and packaging industries because many large
retail chains also promote their own brands by way of backward integration/contract
manufacturing
 7.Swot Analysis
Parle-G, India’s premier glucose biscuit, is much more than the world’s largest selling brand
of biscuit. Started way back in 1939, Parle-G is not just the oldest and trusted brand names in
India, but also a very great example of a real social enterprise. Parle-G is a biscuit which is
consumed by people of all ages, from the very rich to the very poor, living in cities and in
villages. For some it’s the best accompaniment for chai, while for some it’s a way of getting
charged whenever they are low on energy. Moreover, the biscuit is a meal substitute or
supplement in a country like India which faces acute child and mother malnutrition etc.

STRENGTHS of Parle Biscuits:

 Low price as compared to competitors

 Sizeable market share in the country.

 Offers variety of products under its brand.

 Different sizes of packets are available.

 An experienced team of sales and marketing executives.

 Deep and effective coverage

 Largest distribution system.

 Good advertising and visibility

 Celebrity brand ambassadors

 Most trusted brand having high brand loyalty

 Top of the mind biscuit brand

WEAKNESS of Parle Biscuits:

 Breakage of biscuits while delivering to retailers

 No proper replacement system for broken biscuits to retailers

 Improper and irregular supply.

 Fewer shares in Premium biscuit market.

 Dependent on its flagship brand, Parle-G

 Poor packaging in family pack of glucose biscuits.

 Lack of schemes for retailers and distributors.

 Many competitors in this segment

 Nothing unique in the product now.

OPPORTUNITY of Parle Biscuits:

 Rising demand for innovative packaging in packaged foods.

 Retaining loyal retailers or wholesalers.

 Improving supply system for established brands.

 Huge scope for some Parle products in medical shops.

 Information revolution brought about by the television.

 Good scope for snacks and namkeens, if launched and properly promoted by Parle.

 Tie-up with schools as a part of meals

 Tie-up with corporates/hotel chains THREAT of Parle Biscuits

 Highly advertised brands such as Britannia.

 Ever increasing competition from multinationals and local companies.

 Increase in sale of cheap local bakery products.

 Emerging substitutes like wafers, snacks and toast.

 Margin war among the major Brands

 Similar biscuit categories

Threat:

• Highly advertised brands:

One of the major competitors of the Parle Company is Britannia. Though parle has one of the
best biscuits in the market but as said earlier the packaging and advertising reflects your
brand. And in this case the Britannia is further than Parle.
• Ever increasing competition from multinationals and local companies:

Due to other company’s strong marketing skill giving a strong competition to Parle. Other
multinational new companies are entering the market and grabbing attention as they are
coming up with brand ambassadors such as Shah Rukh Khan, Hritik Roshan, and Rahul
Dravid.

• Increase in sale of cheap local bakery products:

There are local retailers who have increased their sale and distribution system giving
competition to Parle. Also, their products are comparatively cheaper than Parle products so
this is a threat to the company.

• Emerging substitutes like wafers, snacks and toast:

Earlier it was just the biscuit which was available as snacks item. Now there are many other
Products like wafers and toast. Thus, company is facing threat due to the new substitute also
people prefer more wafers, chips, nachos etc. Thus, it is threat for the Parle biscuit product.
Parle has also started to go with new trends and has launched Parle wafers. Full Toss,
namkeens etc.
 8.FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
While going through the research following findings were made from the study:

 The goods that are ordered by the retailers and wholesalers were not delivered on
time.
 Price cut strategy is extensively used by the wholesalers.
 Damaged products are not returned back on time.
 Different schemes and offer must be brought by the company.
 The products must be delivered to the small retailer in the cartoons whether they order
for small or bulk quantity.
 We also found that the retailers/wholesalers wished for 1 month of credit but it was
only for 1 week.
 It was also found that the salesman don’t reach to each and every outlets that resulted
to new counters in few markets.
 There were also the demand of hoarding boards, hanger or stand for goods and bags
and many more items from the retailers and wholesalers side.
 Rat cutting was not taken back by the distributors.
 It was also seen that the salesman don’t reach to the outlet on regular basis that causes
grievances in the outlets owners.
 While going through the research we founded some new counter so such counters
must be visited on regular basis by the salesman.
 Shopkeeper must be motivated and advised by the salesman to keep Parle products
brand in their outlets.
 Shortage of goods from the packages or cartoons.
 Demand for high % commission as was given before.
 There were markets closer to the distributors where neither single of the salesperson
visited it except few outlet shops.

As already discussed above, there are certain issues and flaws associated with the distribution
channels of the company so in order to implement it effectively and efficiently we would like
to suggest certain recommendation to the company:

 Being the top most biscuits selling brand of India and the World the company should
time to time know the changing taste and preferences of the customer.
 The customer must be motivated to purchase and taste the biscuits by launching the
effective media strategies.
 The various marketing strategies of the company needs to be formulated and changes
as per the changing needs and preferences of customers also strategy of competitors is
to be known. d) The regular feedback must be collected by the company to attract the
customer and convert the potential customers to loyal customers.
 The company must be able to know the target customers and the other one so that the
plans and policies can be formulated as per their needs and desires.
 The goods ordered by the outlets must be delivered on time.
 Damages and rat cuttings must be returned back on time so that the wastages can be
minimizes.
 Differ schemes and offers must be provided and communicated to the outlets by the
distributors and the company.
 The goods must be delivered in cartoons or package either it is purchased on bulk or
small quantity.
 The salesman should reach to each and every outlets of the market. j) The shortage of
goods from the packet or cartoons must be restricted or stopped from the distributors
end.
 Gradually highly advertised brands such as Britania is causing a big threat to the Parle
because of competition.
 The company should be able to handle the margin war seen in the markets among the
major brands.
 Various marketing and sales strategies must be made by the experienced team of the
sales and marketing executives and department.
 The company should launch the glucose biscuits of the family pack in the good
package.
 9.CONCLUSION
The bakery sector is one of the largest food processing and production Industry in India. It is
the largest industry having 8-12% contribution in total GDP of the nation. From the research
we can conclude that Parle is the largest selling biscuits brand in India. Because of its healthy
ingredients and good distribution channel it is the leading biscuits brands in India from the
date of establishment because of its branded biscuit of Parle Glucose which is the leading and
most selling brand of the Parle and also due to which the Parle was able to be the most
dominating and leading biscuits manufacturers in India. The taste and flavor of the glucose
biscuits of that time and at present time is same as it is said by the company and the various
stakeholders of the company. The company has also been in gradually upgrading of their
technology and the marketing strategies as per the changing needs of the customers. The
biscuits brand produced by the company is consumed by all the age group population. The
product of Parle is regarded as a best compliment of tea and coffees. Some people regard it as
energy charge up since it is energy content when they are low on energy, they consume it for
energy gaining and being active. Parle Company having excellent marketing and promotion
strategies practices mass marketing for Parle-G brand which appeals to masses. It is a product
liked by everyone and doesn’t cater only to a specific group or part of the whole market.
Thus, it is mass production, mass distribution and mass promotion of Parle-G for all buyers.
It is only the biscuits brand having large diversified product ranges along with the low ranges
to high ranges of biscuits starting from rs.2 to rs.50.

Since being the top most biscuits selling brand in India, Parle-G has been able
to maintain its market share ratio in India since a longer period of time because of the quality,
tastes and preferences is satisfied by the company of the customers and it had been able to
retain its large customers with gradually improvement in their technology, marketing
strategies and many more also it is the only products that is found nearly in each and every
outlets. While going through the research the maximum of the outlets were decorated with
the brands of the Parle that it represented the accessibility and availability of the Parle brand
biscuits in the Agra region. The three major attributes which influences the position of the
biscuits in the market were Quality, Price and Distribution of the biscuits. Parle-G also enjoys
the market share as it is in the market for more than 60 years hence it has a follow up from
different generation. The distribution channels take into consideration and see to it that there
is somehow lag in the supply of the biscuits in the market. The competitors for the biscuit are
very recent and have been proved to be threat to the Parle since they are also coming with
various strategies. Other companies have come with Glucose biscuits too but they have not
been able to capture the market that successfully.

The quality of some competitors is competitive up to the mark as compared to

Parle-G. The price is highly competitive in the market and it is the cheapest among all the
biscuits in the glucose biscuit segment. The value for money that people get from Parle-G is
much better as compared to any other biscuit. Parle Company had made huge profit by
marketing their products in India and in foreign countries. The Parle biscuits brands such as
Parle-G, Monaco, Krackjack, Marie Choice, Hide and Seek enjoys a strong imagery and
appeal amongst consumers across the world which has resulted into Parle-G being the
“World’s Largest Selling Biscuits”. The Parle name symbolizes quality, health and great
taste. Constantly innovating and catering to new tastes Parle-G has built its reputation. Parle
product is now lagging in services to retailers because of improper supply and distribution in
some areas and competitors taking advantage of these points. But it is not the perfect solution
because at some place they cannot control the selling price of the products and it affects the
sales of the company. As per the solution of this problem the company should mention the
price of the products in its advertisement. Parle Company should take into consideration the
opportunities and threats as discussed above. This will help the company to maintain its
brand image for long time. Parle Agro is a leading Indian Food and Beverage Company, the
only Indian transnational giant with the past experience of having successfully launched
leading soft drink like Frooti, Appy and Bailey. Today its brand portfolio consists of No.1
brands like Frooti along with Appy, Fizz and Bailey.
 10.BIBLIOGRAPHY
During the research the following sources were used for collecting the information:

Books  RESEARCH METHODOLOGY – by Kothari C.R.

 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY – by C. Murthy

 LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT – by Raghuram G.

Websites  www.parleproducts.com

 www.Economic Times.com -2011/03/03

 www.The Hindu business line.com – 2012/02/02

 www.wikipedia.org.com

Magazines  Business Today

 Business World

 Business India