UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER S CONCERN & DEVISING A PLAN FOR CUSTOMER S SATISFACTION

Project guide: Mr. K. Karmakar AGM(marketing) BALCO, KORBA MENTOR:Subah kataria Submitted by: Alok Ghosh Sumit Namdev

INTRODUCTION BALCO
BALCO was incorporated in 1965 as a public sector undertaking. Till 2001, BALCO was a public sector enterprise owned 100% by Government of India (GoI). In the year 2001, GoI divested 51% equity and management control in favour of Sterlite Industries (I) Limited. BALCO is located in Chhattisgarh region at korba near bilaspur. It majorly contributes in the national GDP by producing aluminum around 350000 tonnes per annum.

BALCO is executing a US$ 863 million expansion plan to increase its aluminium production. It set up a 540 MW electricity generation plant for captive consumption.It is also setting up GREENFIELD SMELTER at Korba. Its capacity proposed to be increased by 9,00,000tna. The cost of project is presumed to be around $800 m. BALCO has been the first in the Indian Aluminium Industry to produce the Alloy Rods, which is a Feedstock for all Aluminium Alloy Conductors, needed for todays power transmission lines.

Vedanta Resources plc (Vedanta) is a London listed FTSE 100 diversified metals and mining major.The Group produces aluminium, copper, zinc, lead,iron ore and commercial energy. Vedanta has operations in India, Zambia and Australia and a strong organic growth pipeline of projects. With an empowered talent pool of 30,000 employees globally, Vedanta places strong emphasis on partnering with all its stakeholders based on the core values of entrepreneurship, excellence, trust, sustainability and growth.

Objectives of The Project

To initially make a brief study of the Aluminium industry both in the global scenario and in the Indian scenario To make brief study of the company i.e. BALCO To find out the importance of solving the customers complaints To make study on the customers complaint resolution method carried out by BALCO To study the customer satisfaction strategy as carried in-house by BALCO and to study about the Customer Satisfaction

Aluminium products
Rolled Products

Ingot
Hot Rolled Coils Billet Hot Rolled Plates Wire rod

Cold Rolled Coils and Strips

Vision
To achieve global standards of excellence in productivity and customer satisfaction The Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd. (BALCO) culture finds expression in its five core values: 1.Commitment to excellence 2.Commitment and competence of the people 3.Customer satisfaction 4.Globally one of the lowest cost produces 5.Team work.

Mission
To harness the profitable and growing CCR market from 1 million ton per annum. To achieve and sustain cost leadership in the global market To become a vibrant, learning organization by building skills and competencies of employees for growth. To be a responsible and respectable corporate citizen.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
The very success of any enterprise depends largely on its ability to satisfy and retain their customers. Any business without a focus on customer satisfaction is at the mercy of the market. Without loyal customers eventually a competitor will take away your customers and your customer retention rate will decrease. A successful enterprise knows very well what the key drivers of satisfaction are, the areas that will have the greatest impact in improving customers overall perception of our service. Best practice companies also monitor customer feedbacks over time and communicate a strong message about their commitment to serve their customer. As per the marketing concept, a firm can realize all its business goals by generating customer satisfaction. The idea may sound somewhat utopian. In reality, it is an workable proposition.

Benefits of Measuring Customer Satisfaction

Learning strategies for improving services Learning customer expectations Identifying common reasons for customer dissatisfaction Improving customer retention Making customers feel valued Uncovering missed opportunities to demonstrate your capacity to solve problems and win back customers confidence Improved competitive position Helping to decide where best to spend improvement dollars to make sure you spend it where it matters the most.

Customer Satisfaction Strategy Overview

When we talk about customer service or satisfaction, we talk about creativity. It allows us to handle or diffuse problems at hand or later on in the process of conducting everyday business. We talk about how or rather what the organization has to do to gain not only the sale but also the loyalty of the customer. He wants to know the pay of the transaction both in the short and long term. We want to know what the customer wants; we want to know if our customers are satisfied. Satisfaction of course means that what we delivered to the customer met his / her approval. We want to know if the customer is delighted and is willing to come back.

Tools For Tracking Customer Satisfaction Strategy

Customer satisfaction surveys: Complaint & Suggestion System: Ghost Shopping:

Major Customers of BALCO

NATIONAL SMALL INDUSTRIES CORPORATION HINDUSTAN SEALS LTD BAJAJ AUTO LTD GOETZE INDIA LTD TATA MOTORS LTD GANGA JAMUNA LTD HIREN ALUMINIUM LTD STERLITE INDUSTRIES LTD METAL POWER COMPANY LTD SUNDARAM CLAYTON LTD INDIA PISTONS LTD ORDNANCE FACTORY AMBAJHARI HINDUSTAN AERONAUTICS LTD BHILAI STEEL PLANT ROURKELA STEEL PLANT VISAKHAPATNAM STEEL PLANT

Marketing process
CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS
ENQUIRY

REGIONAL MARKETING OFFICE / PRODUCT MANAGER

IS THE MATERIAL FEASIBLE / AVILABL

TO PRODUCE

PURCHASE ORDER

Request for produce

IS THE MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN STOCK

PERFORMA INVOICE
STOCK / WAREHOUSE PAYMENT ADV / LC / BG

MANUFACTURING ORDER TO PLANT

MATERIAL PRODUCTION SAP DELIVERY ORDER BILLING / INVOIC E

DESPATCH

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

CRA
Phase I Exploratory Phase Phase II Measurement Phase

Depth Interviews were conducted to Quantification of all expectations through capture the expectations of customers a systematic measurement tool, using a and map interaction areas in order to to the
structured questionnaire and Performance scale.

provide context/ perspective performance measurement.

Analysis of The Survey

On the basis of the survey BALCO found some vital areas where they want to improve themselves. These areas are fallows
1 2 3

Product & Packaging

4

Billing & Payment

5

Ordering
6

Company Personnel

Delivery of goods

Contract ing

Complaint handling

Relationship Building

BALCO - Improvement Areas

Surface finish of the product Adequacy of channels available for enquiry (email, regional office etc.) Completeness of the invoice with respect to the quantity purchased, price, discounts and packaging details etc. Ability to keep quality related rejection low Timely receipt of Credit Note Timeliness of Account Reconciliation Ability to maintain the appropriate physical properties of the product Ability to commit a time for delivery Adequacy of options available for payment (Letter of credit, Bank Guarantee etc.) Ability to build rapport Packaging of products as specified in the invoice Sturdiness of packaging Timeliness of delivery of product as per commitment Dimensional Tolerances - length Condition of product delivered Transparency in pricing Ability to understand your needs as a customer Quality of price structure provided Adequacy of information to track delivery (details of transporter, truck driver`s contact etc.) Ability to solve your problems, queries, complaints, etc. Condition of product delivered Timeliness of loading of product at plant Condition of packaging on delivery

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The general methodology adopted for the project was a survey based approach where an attempt was made to gather relevant information and feedback from the customers. The objectives of the study were formulated. They have been outlined in the previous page. Secondary data was collected from official manuals, journals, metal bulletin and company website. The data collected were presented in the form of bar graph, pie chart, line graphs and other graphs. They were processed and analysed and the results were interpreted.

LOGISTICS
FUNCTIONS OF LOGISTICS: Purchasing /Procurement Transportation Material handling Packaging

Logistics process
Dispatch plan by marketing to logistics

Check the available stock

Transport placement

Loading of placed transport Gross wt. of truck

Shipment

PROBLEMS:
Shift timing Drivers mistake Weight bridge Problem at loading site: Problem, which is related to finished product,: Other product loading:

SUGGESTION: One concern person from the logistic department associate with the security office at get with well-defined program which help to minimize the truck turnaround time Increase the size of working space is warehouse. Another gate at plant 1 & 2 helps to minimize the truck turnaround time. Increase the size of warehouse. Follow-up for each truck. Weight Bridge in front of logistics at plant. Another gate at plant 1& 2. Coordination and cooperation among each department

FINANCE
MARKET SHARE Marketing functions have been centralized at Korba for better customer service. Sales through Consignment agents have been stopped to maximise direct sale to actual customers. Marketing policy has been redefined to make the document simple, better debtor management and bringing more clarity on discount structure. Central sales tax has been reduced from 4% to 2% thus increasing the Ex- factory sales.

FINDINGS
Production capacity is increasing year by year. BALCOs market share is growing rapidly. Domestic supply and export will be doubled in future. Brownfield project double its productivity. Availability of bauxite ores, coal mines in abundance. Sufficient water resource available. Wire rods segment is most preferrable in BALCO. Old customer are dealing with BALCO mainly because of good brand image.

SUGGESTIONS
BALCO needs to develop its customer relationship management (CRM). Though the customers are satisfied, there is scope for improvement in the relationship part. Customers are not highly satisfied when it comes to contacting BALCO to register a complaint. An online customer complaint section can be included in the official website of BALCO and a dedicated operator for quick resolution of complaints. BALCO can have better evaluation of the customer satisfactions by using the database of complaints so that organization could better align its products and services to meet customer expectations. The knowledge base mentioned above could be integrated with all other functions and process of the company with the help of a strong IT framework. This could help in taking care of customer needs and expectations at all functional levels. BALCO should respond to customer complaints quickly which will improve customer loyalty. A speedy response can add 25% to customer loyalty.