Table of Contents HISTORY : LEVER BROTHERS--UNILEVER LTD. ........................................................... ......................................................................................... .............................................. ................ 2 UNILEVER PAKISTAN................................................................. ............................................................................................... ............................................................. .............................................................. ............................... 2
UINLEVER UINLEV ER BRANDS ................................. ................ .................................. ................................... ................................... ................................... .................................... .............................. ............ 4 FOOD BRANDS................................. ................ ................................... ................................... ................................... ................................... ................................... ................................... ..................... .... 4 BADAMI ................................................................................................................................................................................................ .......... 4 BLUE BAND ........................................................................................................................................................................................ ........... 4 BROOKE BOND A1 ........................................................................................... .......................................................................................... 5 BROOKE BOND SUPREME ........................................................................................................................................................... ........... 5 CORNETTO .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ENERGILE ........................................................................................................................................................................................... ........... 5 FRUTTARE ................................................................................................................................................................ ..................................... 6 KNORR............................................................................................................................................................................................................. KNORR............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 LIPTON ............................................................................................................................................ ................................................................ 6 MAGNUM ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 PEARL DUST ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 RAFHAN .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 UNILEVER ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 WALL'S DESSERTS ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 WALL'S HEARTBRAND ............................................................................................................................................................................ 8 WALL'S KID'S RANGE .................................................................................................................................................................... ........... 8
HOME CARE BRANDS ................................................................................................................................. 8 COMFORT....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 RIN ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... ........... 9 SUNLIGHT ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 SURF EXCEL ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 VIM .................................................................................................................................................... ............................................................. 10
PERSONAL CARE BRANDS ..................................................................................................................... 10 CLEAR .............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................. 10 CLOSE UP .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 DOVE ................................................................................................................................................ ............................................................. 11 FAIR & LOVELY ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 LIFEBUOY SHAMPOO ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11 LIFEBUOY SOAP ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 LUX .................................................................................................................................................... ............................................................. 12 POND'S ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 REXONA ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 SUNSILK........................................................................................................................................................................ ............................... 13 VASELINE ................................................................................................................................................................ .................................... 13
UNILEVER PAKISTAN ORGANOGRAM .............................................................. ............................................................................................. ............................................................ .............................14
HISTORY: HISTORY: FROM LEVER BROTHERS PAKISTAN PAKISTAN TO UNILEVER PAKISTAN LTD. Unilever was created in 1930 when the British soap maker Lever Brothers merged with the Dutch margarine producer, Margarine Unie. At the time, an international merger was an unusual move. But the owners of the two companies could see that bringing together complimentary businesses with strong global networks would create new opportunities.Both the companies were competing for the same raw materials, both were involved in large-scale marketing of household products and both used similar distribution channels. Between them, they had operations in over 40 countries. Margarine Unie grew through mergers with other margarine companies in the 1920s. William Hesketh Lever founded lever Brothers in 1885. Lever established soap factories around the world. In 1917, he began to diversify into foods, acquiring fish, ice cream and canned foods businesses. In the Thirties, Unilever introduced improved technology to the business. The business grew and new ventures were launched in Latin America. The entrepreneurial spirit of the founders and their caring approach to their employees and their communities remain at the heart of Unilever's business today,employing 265,000 people, Unilever has two parent companies Unilever NV and Unilever PLC - which, despite being separate businesses, operate as a single unit with the same board of directors. Unilever's corporate centers are in London.
UNILEVER PAKISTAN LTD No matter who you are, or where in the world you are, the chances are that our products are a familiar part of your daily routine. Every day, around the world, people reach for Unilever products.
HISTORY: HISTORY: FROM LEVER BROTHERS PAKISTAN PAKISTAN TO UNILEVER PAKISTAN LTD. Unilever was created in 1930 when the British soap maker Lever Brothers merged with the Dutch margarine producer, Margarine Unie. At the time, an international merger was an unusual move. But the owners of the two companies could see that bringing together complimentary businesses with strong global networks would create new opportunities.Both the companies were competing for the same raw materials, both were involved in large-scale marketing of household products and both used similar distribution channels. Between them, they had operations in over 40 countries. Margarine Unie grew through mergers with other margarine companies in the 1920s. William Hesketh Lever founded lever Brothers in 1885. Lever established soap factories around the world. In 1917, he began to diversify into foods, acquiring fish, ice cream and canned foods businesses. In the Thirties, Unilever introduced improved technology to the business. The business grew and new ventures were launched in Latin America. The entrepreneurial spirit of the founders and their caring approach to their employees and their communities remain at the heart of Unilever's business today,employing 265,000 people, Unilever has two parent companies Unilever NV and Unilever PLC - which, despite being separate businesses, operate as a single unit with the same board of directors. Unilever's corporate centers are in London.
UNILEVER PAKISTAN LTD No matter who you are, or where in the world you are, the chances are that our products are a familiar part of your daily routine. Every day, around the world, people reach for Unilever products.
Incorporated in 1948, we, Unilever Pakistan Limited, are one of the most prominent multinationals in the country today. We are proud of being a part of Pakistan’s history, contributing towards the growth and prosperity of the nation, providing 150 million people with a better future, a better tomorrow. Our passion for understanding people's concerns and desires, our ability to create products that fulfill those needs and our skills in getting those products to market drives our growing success - and has mad e us one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies. Unilever is one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies of the world, represented in 150 countries of the world with over 200,000 employees. Unilever Pakistan employees around 1400 people on their payroll and many thousands indirectly, contributing to the economic growth of the nation and catering the daily needs of 173 million people approx. The company had a turnover of Rs. 23.3 bn (Euro 309 mn) in 2007, and enjoys a leading position in most of its core Home and Personal Care and Foods categories, e.g. Personal Wash, Personal Care, Laundry, Beverages (Tea) and Ice Cream. The company operates through 5 regional offices, 4 wholly owned and 6 third party manufacturing sites across Pakistan.
UINLEVER BRANDS FOOD BRANDS Unilever is one of the world's leading food companies. Our passion for understanding what people want and need from their food - and what they love about it - makes our brands a popular choice.
BADAMI "Badami" is Wall’s response to the traditional kulfi.
BLUE BAND Blue Band is essential for a family’s healthy growth and development and to enjoy a lifestyle full of vitality.
BROOKE BOND A1 Brook Bond A1 is the strong cup of tea that gives the strength to face challenges and stand up for what you believe in.
BROOKE BOND SUPREME Brooke Bond Supreme is part of life for the Pakistani consumer, bringing families closer together with its rich taste and traditions
CORNETTO The Cornetto experience consists of a delicious, crispy-baked wafer, coated inside fro m top to bottom with a chocolate layer, rich ice cream inside, topped off with sauce and chocolate chips.
ENERGILE Bringing Vitality to your life.
FRUTTARE Fruttare’s mission is to inspire in people the freedom to indulge by providing both pleasure and health through the natural goodness of fruit without the guilt of too many calories.
KNORR Knorr believes in adding magic to every day meal moments.
LIPTON Lipton is Tea – Tea is Lipton.
MAGNUM Celebrate pleasure with the tempting Magnum range – an irresistible combination of thick, cracking chocolate with creamy vanilla ice cream.
PEARL DUST Lipton Pearl Dust is the Sindhi soul that imbues intimacy and warmth in a couple’s relationship
RAFHAN From the highly nutritious and healthy Corn Oil to the lip smacking Desserts – Rafhan today offers a complete meal package with the cherry on top!
UNILEVER Unilever Food Solutions helps chefs serve tasty, wholesome meals that keep guests coming back for more. We create ingredients that save precious prep time in the kitchen, without compromising on flavor or flair.
WALL'S DESSERTS At Wall’s, we like to think we have one of the best jobs in the whole world; making delicious frozen dessert treats for the whole family.
WALL'S HEARTBRAND The Wall’s Heart brand stands for a good honest scoop of pleasure.
WALL'S KID'S RANGE Wall’s Kid's Range brings to you the surprise of delicious frozen desserts wrapped around fun and adventure.
HOME CARE BRANDS In many parts of the world we lead the home care market, with brands such as Omo, Surf, Comfort and Cif. It's more than just hygiene – with homes and clothes that are clean and cared for, we help you get more out of life.
COMFORT Comfort fabric conditioner helps your loved ones feel cared for everyday through clothes with amazing shine and fragrance that no detergent alone can deliver.
RIN Consumer insight shows that one of the leading drivers that indicate a good wash is the level of whiteness and brightness that clothes have after the use of a detergent powder. Rin is formulated to offer whiteness and bring back life in your everyday clothes.
SUNLIGHT Sunlight aims to transform the chore of washing clothes into a moment of delight for Pakistani housewives by giving them a magical wash experience of lemons and thousands of flowers.
SURF EXCEL Remember when you were a child? How you were free to explore, returning home covered in dirt and other stains that you wore like the badges of an intrepid discoverer?
VIM The globally renowned brand with its revolutionary one-wipe degreasing formula, now in Pakistan!
PERSONAL CARE BRANDS Our personal care brands, including Dove, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pond's, Rexona and Sunsilk, are recognised and respected around the world. They help consumers to look good and feel good – and in turn get more out of life.
CLEAR Clear spells confidence for the young Pakistanis of today.
CLOSE UP Our mouths are our gateway to life. We use them to eat, drink, talk, laugh, smile and what not!
DOVE To help you enjoy your own brand of beauty, Dove provides an extensive range of cleansing and personal care products.
FAIR & LOVELY Asia’s leading fairness brand.
LIFEBUOY SHAMPOO Providing healthy hair to all Pakistani consumers.
LIFEBUOY SOAP Lifebuoy's goal is to provide affordable and accessible hygiene and health solutions.
LUX Lux brings out the star in you!
POND'S Making a real difference to women's skin and the way they live their lives.
REXONA With Rexona you know your deodorant won’t let you down.
SUNSILK Sunsilk provides real solutions to women's everyday hair needs everywhere.
VASELINE To help you enjoy great, healthy skin everyday.
UNILEVER PAKISTAN ORGANOGRAM In Unilever the hierarchy is very lean, in general the whole setup is centralized, all the matters are to be reported to the head office and all the policies and targets are approved at the higher level. But at the branch level the structure is decentralized. A generalized Organogram of Unilever Pakistan head office with reference to designations is mentioned below:
CHAIRMAN
VICE PRESIDENT HUMAN RESOURCE
VICE PRESIDENT SUPPLY CHAIN
VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING
VICE PRESIDENT SALES
VICE PRESIDENT FINANCE
DIRECTORS
DIRECTORS
DIRECTORS
DIRECTORS
DIRECTORS
HR
BRAND
SALES MANAGERS
FIN / COMERCIAL
MANAGERS
MANAGERS
MANAGERS
ASSISTANT MANAGERS
ASSISTANT MANAGERS
ASSISTANT BRAND MANAGERS
ASSISTANT MANAGERS
ASSISTANT MANAGERS
JUNIOR
JUNIOR
JUNIOR
JUNIOR
JUNIOR
MANAGERS
MANAGERS
MANAGERS
MANAGERS
MANAGERS
MANAGERS
GENERAL TRADE SALES HIERARCHY
OUTSOURCED SALES FORCE:
ORGANIZATION OF THE SALES FORCE: The organization of the sales force at Unilever is “Combination Organization”. The structure of most sales forces is combination of two or more of the types of specializations, such as combination of Product specialization and Customer Specialization, or combination of
Customer specialization or Geography specialization. Unilever too uses a combination of “Product and Geographic specialization”. Because Unilever has a range of products for all of its products, therefore, there are different sales personnel for each of its products. And as evident from the sales structure of the organization, the sales force is also organized by the geographical regions of the country. Strategic decisions have been taken by RSM whereas Administrative decisions have been taken by NSM. They sell based on what they want to sell strategically and what they don’t want.
DIVISIONS IN PAKISTAN: Pakistan is divided in three geographic regions for the sales operations; these divisions are supervised by the General Sales Manager.
Central
South
North
REGIONS IN PAKISTAN:
Regional Sales Manager
ROM RSM(LHR)
RSM(KHI)
RSM(MLN)
RSM(SUK)
RSM(FSD)
RSM(ISB)
RSM(JHL)
Unilever has 7 regions in Pakistan on where they send a direct sales force. These seven regions include:
Karachi and Hyderabad
Lahore
Islamabad
Sukkur
Multan
Faisalabad
Jhelum
In rest of the regions, Unilever sends its outsourced sales Team which is hired through their distributers.
BASIS FOR TERRITORY FORMATION IN UNILEVER There are many elements that help and interact to determine the type and character of the territory, some of them are;
Number and types of outlets
Type of major channels
Shopper base and profiles (Population Census)
Geographical Spread
COMPETITORS NETWORK AND ACTIVITIES
General economic conditions
Development of infrastructure
Distribution network
Distribution Philosophy (Unilever may plan to extend coverage till the incremental volume break-even with the cost to serve, it could be COGS or ROI driven philosophy)
TERRITORY DISTRIBUTION IN KARACHI: In rest of the regions, Unilever sends its outsourced sales Team which is hired through their distributers. In Karachi are about 25000 outlets/Accounts. Sales force in Karachi for all the Unilever products constitutes of 900 Sales Representatives. They contribute one day to each
Product Line. There are about six different Areas in Karachi and for each area they have an individual Area Sales Manager.
ESTIMATED OUTLETS PER DAY Adding up the volume from each outlet as per catalog can give is the number of calls to be managed in a day based on volume. This gives them the estimated volume per representative in a day. Each sales person has to cater to minimum of 30 POPs in a day. This volume forms the basis for daily target setting and balancing the loads for delivery purposes.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF UNILEVER TERRITORY DESIGN FEATURES
BENEFITS
CUSTOMER-RELATED Intensive market coverage
Produce higher sales
Excellent customer service
Customer Satisfaction
Effective time management
Lower cost of operations
SALESPERSON-RELATED Foster motivation
Lead to less turnover
Performance Evaluation
Higher Incentives
COMPANY-RELATED Focused Services
Lead to less wastage
DISTRIBUTOR RELATED Efficient Coverage
lower cost of distribution
TERRITORY BASES: The Bases for territory formation followed in Unilever Pakistan is Sales Potential. Territories are divided according to the “Income groups”, the terminology used by the National Sales Manager. When further discussion and as the Interview proceeded, we gathered that the territories are formed according to the sales Potential for each category of products. For the skin Cleansing Products, the territories are formed according to the Income Groups and according to the turnover each Income Group brings in for the company. The accounts are divided in three types of Income Groups:
Income Group A: Income group A, that bring in a business of more than Rs. 25000 in a month, constitute of about 5000 outlets in Karachi Income Group B: Income Group B, that bring in a business of more than Rs. 15000 in a month, constitutes of about 9000 outlets in Karachi Income Group C: Income Group C, that bring in a business of below Rs. 15000 in a month, constitutes of about 11000 outlets in Karachi
An average Sales Person makes about 20-40 calls a day for each Income Group Calls Made In a week
Outlets In Karachi
2-3 times a week
About 5000
B-Class Outlets
1-2 times a week
About 9000
C-Class Outlets
At least once in Week
About 11,000
A-Class Outlets
ROUTING: Routing refers to establishing a sequence of locations a salespe rson will visit. When asked, the Area Sales Manager replied that for its Skin Cleansing Products, they follow Straight Line Method. This pattern iis often achieved by identifying customer locations that are situated at the outer perimeter of the territory. The sales person begins with a call on a customer located at the outer perimeter and then works back to the home base. Straight line Routing Method
UNILEVER TERROTORY COVERAGE PLAN PJP (PERMANENT JOURNEY PLAN) Unilever Follows straight line pattern called Permanent Journey Plan, Every DSR has to sell One BRAND/PRODUCT LINE each day, Dedicated DSR Product wise for all Major Accounts and ONE DSR for small towns and remote areas.
Unilever assess the current volume base of territory as per individual route Plan in PJP’s for all distributors/sales representatives, (Take monthly averages to identify current base of the outlets). Sales Rep has to cover all the routes in their territory for complete territory assessment.
Based on the current volume calculate and record the gross margin generated on each route. Calculate the estimates cost of servicing that route and record the available ‘margin per person’.
After Sales Rep initial assessment they plan the field coaching days for each sales representative on all his routes. Identify and discuss the potential opportunity with representatives after each full day field contact. Review the situation for all PJPs in the light of skill gaps, market opportunity and brand trends.
Sales Rep discusses the market potential with manager with special focus on ‘low margin per person’ routes. Plan for revised targets, revised outlets and if any support needed for personal development. Based on assessment of available potential allocate the new targets and monitor them closely for each sales representatives. Sales Rep submit the performance results with their PJP improvements plan to their manager. Sign off the coaching sheet with their report for future reference/ record in the training log book.
Unilever does not include overheads, warehousing costs, capital cost and other related costs as the objective here is to access the economic viability of the routes. A route becomes selfsustained only when its potential has been fully exploited. This is a form where they have to build the territory do the necessary building investments.
TERRITORY BREAKEVEN ANALYSIS After allocating the resources they carry out the breakeven analysis for their territory. They estimate the minimum possible volume required to sustain each individual route. Elements that need to be calculated for the breakeven analysis are as follows:
Salary of all representatives.
Fuel and maintenance cost for all vehicle deployed (driver, patrol, parking Road tax, repairs, regular maintenance etc)
Communicate gross margin available on all categories as per the product mix estimated territory volume.
and toll.
Gross Margin (3) - Cost (1+2) = margin per person # of Representatives If the Margin per person is around 50% of the gross revenues for the territory then they have a balanced route.
CHANNEL AND TERRITORY FOCUSED PLAN Depending on the size of distribution operation and types of outlets, they have a territory whose designed is based on either channel/ category focus or on geographical spread. (Geographical basis of territory is suitable for less segmented markets and rural territory coverage)
Channel focused territories would require more travel time as compared to territories based on geographical only. They need to ensure the effectiveness of the coverage plan and ensure sustainability for regular coverage. Channel category focused territory PJPs are required where we have the need and resource to provide the viable added services in the group of selected outlets. Once they have done the analysis based on the above factors, they would be in a position to determine the number of people and vehicles required to service their customer. Based on the estimated volume per route, they can easily estimate territory volume and get a sound basis for forecasting.
DISTANCE FROM START TILL END POINT AND BACK The travel time varies from territory to territory. Number of outlets to be added in a PJP would depend on the coverage area (Rural and Urban), geographic spread and the distance between the outlets. There is an inverse relationship between the number of outlets and the distance travelled. The distance has plotted on the map for planning purpose.
ADMINISTRATION TIME Distributor sales representative has to submit a consolidated report on sales orders and receipts each day in order to ensure smooth operations. (Data on the HHT also needs to downloaded or transmitted to the main system). He needs to communicate the market information and competitive moves to help and update the plans accordingly.
TIME PER CALL Classification of each customer within the PJP would determine the time spend. Ideally same channel outlets should be together to ensure the uniformity in services and implementation of channel plans. Bigger customers would take more time in the steps to be performed during a sales call eg. Counting of the stock levels, moving stocks from the back room to the shelves for the display and temporary merchandising. CALL FREQUENCY
The number of times they visit a particular outlet in a week or in a month would directly impact the number of people deployed. Normally they manage their coverage on weekly frequency. Exceptions could be there for either twice a week/month coverage depending on
their customer needs. If the frequency is increased from twice a month in once a week than they need to double the human resource in providing coverage to the same number of outlets.
PJP REVIEW / DEPLOYMENT Either in developing or reviewing PJP for a territory they need to analyze the factors identified below to determine the adequacy of their current resources (Number of people deployed, vehicles etc) ultimately the objective’s to ensure a proper coverage plan to effectively service the customers.
NUMBER OF CALLS PER DAY The number of outlets they were planned for each day would depend on the type / class of outlet. If AB type stores than more time needs to be budgeted for those as assigned as D&E category outlet. Again if the location of outlets are in busy business centers than an appropriate margin for parking needs to be made. If servicing Key accounts (AB type) then they have 10-13 outlets on an average (variation on number of outlets depends on their size and potential). For convenience stores, kiosks etc. they don’t go beyond an average 30 -35 outlets.
VOLUME PER CALL On the basis of outlets record maintained either on the PC or manually on the call register/card would help in assessing the average outlet volume as per category. This would allocate appropriate time and even balancing the outlet to manage the delivery loads or the under loads.
TERRITORY OVERVIEW Good territory management contributes to the development of:
Strong business partnerships
Achievement of growth targets
Better use of resources
It is important that you know your territory and have a detailed knowledge on outlet mapping to from manageable clusters. You need to understand your responsibility in managing all the resources available. Managing territory is the role of an ambassador in building long term trade relations for the company.
You don’t work in isolation and the effectiveness of your work has an impact on the work plan of others. Your efficient execution contributes toward the achievement of broad company objectives.
TERRITORY MANAGEMENT Ideally sales territories at Unilever are structured in a way that facilitates planning and control of the selling efforts. A strong territory structure has helped Unilever in implementing selling discipline and demarcates the operational span for their distributors.
TERRITORY Unilever defines territory as a customer base in which they operate. All the current and potential outlets that are counted in a geographical boundary represent a sale territory.
MANAGEMENT Management refers to planning, setting direction and control of sales team involved in providing basic and value added services. The aim is to ensure the implementation and quality performance of tasks in order to achieve predefined objectives.
BASIS FOR TERRITORY FORMATION IN UNILEVER There are many elements that help and interact to determine the type and character of the territory, some of them are;
Number and types of outlets
Type of major channels
Shopper base and profiles (Population Census)
Geographical Spread
COMPETITORS NETWORK AND ACTIVITIES
General economic conditions
Development of infrastructure
Distribution network
Distribution Philosophy (Unilever may plan to extend coverage till the incremental volume breakeven with the cost to serve, it could be COGS or ROI driven philosophy)
TARGETS SETTING Annual targets are reflected in the targets set for each distributor. The distributor targets would then be allocated to each sales representatives working for that distributor according to his territory potential. Based on their annual targets they set monthly, weekly and even daily distribution targets as per brand and outlet. They need to incorporate the brand cycle activities in their targets be abide to take full advantage of the promotional support and to ensure regular availability of stocks.
PLANNING FOR ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES The first step in the planning for achieving objectives is to assess the territory volume through building SMART journey plan. All outlets in the territory are mapped for coverage (Mapping stands for actual mapping on a plot) and potential permanent journey plan (PJP) is the starting point in the working of a distributor sales representative. The number of outlets in a day will determine the potential available and effective utilization of his entire day. Time is one able sales force resource and needs careful planning. The journey plans are made for each route which than forms a section of the sales representative or his territory. All routes have assigned number of customers for each sales representative. The flow or the sequence outlets is kept in line with the customer needs and the logical next outlet with respect to time and distance. If possible the workload is balanced each day for an effective utilization of time during the week. PJP is a flying document which needs to be updated regularly. New outlets needs to brought under coverage, changes in road networks require appropriate action etc. they ensure that the routes and journey plans are valid and updated regularly.
MONITORING SELLING ACTIVITIES To monitor selling activities, Unilever use a device called HHT (Hand Held Terminal) . There’s a scanner at the back of the device which is used to track the existing location of a Sales Rep. When a Sales Rep reaches an outlet, a detector, present at the outlet detects the Sales Person and notifies the system of sales Supervisor that the sales rep has reached the location. After this, report of the order gets uploaded in the Unilever’s server. This way manager sitting in the office can track the following:
Presence
Order Details
Current Location
Time Spent in every outlet
Purchasing Pattern of an account for cross selling and up selling
Premium products are marked red in the device means Sales Rep has to sell this product. Sales Rep also sell product based on the class i.e. they sell soap to C class accounts, whereas sell body washes to A class accounts. Big SKU’s will not be allowed to sell in small outlets.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT If there are 100 outlets a Sales Rep has to cover according to the given plan then his performance will be measured on completing the atleast 95 outlets. If Sales Rep completes 94 outlets then it will not be counted as an effective coverage. Time Report can be extracted from the system i.e. how much time he spends in one outlet. Approximately 5-6 minutes are required to serve an outlet. Through this, the sales supervisors ensure a minimum of 3% ROI per month.
EXPECTATIONS Following is the descriptive objective set for each sale representative for better results;
Key elements for managing a territory at Unilever are the basis for running an efficient operation.
Effective use of “Territory Management Planning Model” to clarify, identify and determine
the implementation plan for the agreed objectives.
To appreciate the process for field implementation through building a “Territory operation Plan” for eliminating time wastages.
I.T SYSTEMS Key remedy for a lot of issue is the automation of distribution network. The data is helpful in assessing the customer base coverage and the prioritization of customers for investment of resources. IT has helped Unilever in planning out trade coverage planning in a number of ways, some of them are;
In classifying outlets by channel, type and volume
In calculating the coverage of each Brand with productivity, activity etc.
Building up of territories based on volumes, break-even analysis, focus etc.
Implementation of incentive planning through installing commission system, targets achievements reporting system etc.
Unilever operates around philosophy of fire preventing approach rather firefighting approach.
ON THE JOB EXERCISE FOR TERRITORY MANAGERS AT UNILEVER Unilever believes in learning as an ongoing process and for this purpose they invite all territory managers once in a month to participate in different exercises, one example listed below;
EXERCISE Formulate your territory operation plan based on the tools defined earlier. The format will facilitate you planning and plugging in the necessary details. You must expand and decide the tactics based on SWOT analysis and discuss them with your managers. Go through your Territory Operation Plan document with your manager. Ensure that it is a line with overall company’s strategy and captures all the key areas.
SELLING TIME Since there’s less paper work now because of the current technology being used therefore selling time is 90% whereas 10% is on other activities.
BENEFITS OF A GOOD TERRITORY DESIGN A good territory design would always deliver optimum geographic area coverage and a balanced workload for all the resources deployed. This would mean maximum sales and profits. It would help in maintaining a good co-ordination and better control among the distributor sale representatives and identification of performance assessment indicator in each cycle. It can be used as an effective tool to build the confidence and higher motivation among the team through transparency and recognition. A part from the geographical demarcation, the selection of outlet in each channel is a second major factor at Unilever to balance the volume and it’s very much important to monitor the channels with similar clusters for provisioning of appropriate channel tailored support. Quality customer services are yet another major outcome Unilever is enjoying from its effective territory design.
NEED FOR TERRITORY FORMATION AT UNILEVER The formation of a territory at Unilever is done with a basic objective by measuring performance within smaller outlets or town clusters for providing a focused approach. Starting at a territory level also helps in easily managing the expected results and initiating controls within a relatively smaller area. Basis for territory formulation can be evaluated either by; 1. 2. 3. 4.
Absolute sales volume and growth Relative market share Profitability of the distribution operation Span of control
The biggest challenge for Unilever in territory formulation is the achievement of optimum coverage levels over a sustainable cost structure. Any deployment of resource would demand a thorough understanding of the opportunity areas and competitive strengths. For a wider coverage, if too many distributors are created/hired, the business base might become fragmented, and in that case Unilever sales force may not be able to provide sufficient after sales service/support to the trade. Also, it may not be economically viable to invest in the growing IT needs that capture valuable POP (Point of Purchase) data in HHT (Hand Held Terminal).
PROFESSIONALISM Territory management starts with resource planning to make best use of available resources, and for this purpose Unilever must expand its coverage at an optimal level to ensure regular supply to the trade through available routes to the market. The way sales force works in a territory and the outcomes is the direct reflection on the professional approach of Unilever sales team. Each territory is a smaller part of the total market and hence involved all sort of managerial duties required in field operations limited to
scaled down level. An effective and efficient territory management develops the territory and hence builds career growth for the individual working in the territory.
APPENDIX A: QUESTTIONNAIRE Basic Core Information: 1. Number of sales force In Karachi? 2. Heirarchy model of sales organisation? 3. What are the basis of territionalization ( geography, potential, workload, servicing requirements? 4. How many outlets do they have in Karachi? 5. How are they classified(on what basis are they called major and minor accounts, do they get you more business)? 6. For example how many A category accounts do they have? how many B category accounts and how many of them belong to the C category? which of them are major accounts and why? 7. How many sales call a sales rep does in one day for each account? Territory Design and Building Methods: 8. Who takes decisions related to territory management? 9. What is the type of sales organization (for eg. Geographic specialization, customer specialization, product specialization, combination organizations) 10. What is the model of their territory management? 11. What are the reasons for establishing the current territory model? 12. What are the methods used by them for territorization? 13. What are the routing patterns used by them. 14. Work load basis : Number of sales people, number of accounts frequency of calls (all the requirements to compute work load basis) Territory Management:
