A STUDY ON DEALERS OPINION ABOUT ACC

limited AND ITS PRESENCE IN

CHAIBASA DISTRICT WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO ACC LTD, RANCHI

Submitted In Partial Fulfillment Of The

Requirement For The Award Of Post Graduate
Diploma In Business Management Of
“International Institute Of Planning And
Management” New Delhi.

BISHAW DEO MISHRA

DEPARMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PLANNING AND
MANAGEMENT, NEW DELHI
 YR-2008

DECLARATION

This is to declare that the project entitled “Dealers

Opinion about ACC limited and its presence in Chaibasa

District” with special reference to ACC Limited submitted

to “International Institute Of Planning And Management”

New Delhi in partial fulfillment of PGDBM is a record Of

original work done by me during the period of study at

“International Institute Planning And Management” New

Delhi

BISHAW DEO MISHRA

PLACE :
DATE :
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Our sincere thanks to the teaching and non-teaching staff
of “International Institute of Planning And Management “,
New Delhi. For their Assistance and guidance.

I am thankful to Mr. Shailesh Ambastha, sales Head –

Jharkhand & Mr. Abhishek of ACC Cement LTD. Ranchi. I
am thankful to the people who readily concentrated to
provide me practical training in their organization.

Besides, I take this opportunity to express our gratitude

to our parents, family members and friends who
encouraged me in the completion of this project work.
Above all, I am thankful to power beyond us who guided
and helped me to complete the work.

BISHAW DEO MISHRA

 INTRODUCTION

Cement is a fine gray, soft , powdery-types substance. It

is made from a mixture of elements that are found in
natural materials such as limestone, clay, sand and shale.
When cement is mixed with water, it can bind sand and
gravel into a hard, solid mass called concrete.

Cement can be purchased from most building supply

stores in bags. Cement is usually gray. White cement can
also be found but it is usually more expensive than gray
cement. Cement mixed with water, sand and gravel,
forms concrete. Cement mixed with water and sand,
forms cement plaster. Cement mixed with water, lime
and sand, forms mortar. Cement powder is very, very
fine. One kilo (2.2 lbs) contains over 300 billion Grains,
although we have not actually counted them to see if
that is completely accurate! The powder is so fine it will
pass through a sieve capable of holding Water. Four
essential elements are needed to make cement. They are
calcium, Silicon, aluminum and iron.
 HISTORY OF CEMENT
Throughout history, cementing materials have played a
vital role. They were used widely in the ancient world.
The Egyptians used calcite gypsum as cement. The
Greeks and Romans used lime made by heating
limestone and added sand to make mortar, with coarser
stones for concrete.
The Romans found that cement could be made which set
under water and this were used for the construction of
harbors. The cement was made by adding crushed
volcanic ash to lime and was later called‘pozzolanic’
cement, named after the village of Pozzuoli near
Vesuvius.
In places such as Britain, where volcanic ash was scarce,
crushed brick or tile was used instead. The Romans were
therefore the first to manipulate the properties of
cementations’ materials for specific applications and
situations.
Hadrian's Wall, England, a few miles east of
Housesteads.

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, a Roman architect and engineer

in the 1st century BC wrote his "Ten books of
Architecture" - a revealing historical insight into ancient
technology. Writing about concrete floors, for example:
"First I shall begin with the concrete flooring, which is the
most important of the polished finishing, observing that
great pains and the utmost precaution must be taken to
ensure its durability".
"On this, lay the nucleus, consisting of pounded tile
mixed with lime in the proportions of three parts to one,
and forming a layer not less than six digits thick."
And on pozzolana:
"There is also a kind of powder from which natural causes
produces astonishing results. This substance, when
mixed with lime and rubble, not only lends strength to
buildings of other kinds, but even when piers are
constructed of it in the sea, they set hard under water."
His "Ten books of Architecture" are a real historical gem
bringing together history and technology. Anyone wishing
to follow his instructions might first need to find a
thousand or so slaves to dig saw, pound and polish...
After the Romans, there was a general loss in building
skills in Europe, particularly with regard to cement.
Mortars hardened mainly by carbonation of lime, a slow
process. The use of pozzolana was rediscovered in the
late middle Ages.
The great mediaeval cathedrals, such as Durham, Lincoln
and Rochester in England and Chartres and Rheims in
France, were clearly built by highly skilled masons.
Despite this, it would probably be fair to say they did not
have the technology to manipulate the properties of
cementations materials in the way the Romans had done
a thousand years earlier.
The Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment brought new
ways of thinking, which for better or worse, led to the
industrial revolution. In eighteenth century Britain, the
interests of industry and empire coincided, with the need
to build lighthouses on exposed rocks to prevent shipping
losses. The constant loss of merchant ships and warships
drove cements technology forwards.
Seaton, building the third Eddy stone lighthouse (1759)
off the coast of Cornwall in Southwestern England, found
that a mix of lime, clay and crushed slag from iron
making produced a mortar, which hardened under water.
Joseph Aspdin took out a patent in 1824 for "Portland
Cement," a material he produced by firing finely ground
clay and limestone until the limestone was claimed. He
called it Portland cement because the concrete made
from it looked like Portland stone, a widely used building
stone in England.
While Aspdin is usually regarded as the inventor of
Portland cement, Asp din’s cement was not produced at a
high-enough temperature to be the real forerunner of
modern Portland cement. Nevertheless, his was a major
innovation and subsequent progress could be viewed as
mere development.
A ship carrying barrels of Aspin’s cement sank off the Isle
of Shipley in Kent, England, and the barrels of set
cement, minus the wooden staves, were later
incorporated into a pub in Sheerness and are still there
now.
A few years later, in 1845, Isaac Johnson made the first
modern Portland cement by firing a mixture of chalk and
clay at much higher temperatures, similar to those used
today. At these temperatures (1400C-1500C), clinkering
occurs and minerals form which are very reactive While
Johnson used the same materials to make Portland
cement as we use now, three important developments in
the manufacturing process lead to modern Portland
cement: Development of rotary kilns- Addition of gypsum
to control setting Use of ball mills to grind clinker and raw
materials. Rotary kilns gradually replaced the original
vertical shaft kilns used for making lime from the 1890s.
Rotary kilns heat the clinker mainly by radioactive heat
transfer and this is more efficient at higher temperatures,
enabling higher burning temperatures to be achieved.
Also, because the clinker is constantly moving within the
kiln, a fairly uniform clinkering temperature is achieved in
the hottest part of the kiln, the burning zone.The two
other principal technical developments, gypsum addition
to control setting and the use of ball mills to grind the
clinker, were also introduced at around the end of the
19th century.
PROFILE OF CEMENT INDUSTRY:

The Indian Cement industry is the second largest cement

producer in the world, with an installed capacity of 144
million tonnes. The industry has undergone rapid
technological up gradation and vibrant growth during the
last two decades, and some of the plants can be
compared in every respect with the best operating plants
in the world. The industry is highly energy intensive and
the energy bill in some of the plants is as high as 60% of
cement manufacturing cost. Although the newer plants
are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment,
there exists substantial scope for reduction in energy
consumption in many of the older plants adopting various
energy conservation measures.

The Indian cement industry is a mixture of mini and large

capacity cement plants, ranging in unit capacity per kiln
as low as 10 tpd to as high as 7500 tpd. Majority of the
production of cement in the country (94% ) is by large
plants, which are defined as plants having capacity of
more than 600 tpd. At present there are 124 large rotary
kiln plants in the country.
The Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) enjoys the major
share (56%) of the total cement production in India
followed by Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) and
Portland Slag Cement (PSC). A positive trend towards the
increased use of blended cement can be seen with the
share of blended cement increasing to 43%. There is
regional imbalance in cement production in India due to
the limitations posed by raw material and fuel sources.
Most of the cements plants in India are located in
proximity to the raw material sources, exploiting the
natural resources fully. The southern region is the most
cement rich region while other regions have almost same
cement production capacity.

The Indian cement industry is about 90 years old and its

main sources of energy are thermal and electrical
energy. The thermal energy is generally obtained from
coal, and the electrical energy obtained either from grid
or captive power plants of the individual manufacturing
units.

2. Salient features of Indian cement industry

  Indian cement industry is the second largest in the
world with an installed capacity of 135 MTPA. It
accounts for nearly 6% of the world production.

 There are 124 large plants and around 365 mini

plants. The industry presents a mixed picture with
many new plants that employ state-of-the-art dry
process technology and a few old wet process plants
having wet process kilns.

 Production from large plants (with capacity above 1

MTPA) account for 85% of the total production.

 The cement industry has achieved significant

progress in terms of reducing the overall energy
intensity.

 Dry process plants that the weighted average

thermal energy consumption was 734 kCal/kg
clinkers, and weighted average electrical energy
consumption was 89 kWh/tonne of cement. The best
energy consumption are 692 kCal/kg. clinker and 66
kWh/ton of cement.

3. Quantitative details:
The energy intensity of the all the dry process plants
(cost of energy as percentage of total production cost of
packed cement) varies from 29 to 61%. This is observed
to vary with the vintage of the plant, the technology
employed by the plants and the type of cement
produced. Specific thermal and electrical energy
consumption for the plants ranges between 692 – 879
kCal/kg. of clinker and 66 – 127 kWh/ton of cement
produced (product mix) respectively. The specific
electrical energy also includes the energy consumed in
packing, plant utilities and plant lighting. The reasons for
wide range in specific energy consumption can be mainly
attributed to the differing equipment configuration
employed in different sections of the plants by various
cement.
Production of Cement Across States
 1993
1970 1981 1985-86 1990-91 QM
-94
Shar Shar
Q Q Q
e e
Andhra
1.45 10.4 2.67 12.9 4.87 15.2 8.64 17.7 8.62 16 9.99
Pradesh
Karnataka 1.45 10.4 1.62 7.8 2.78 8.7 4.11 8.4 5.27 9.8 5.39
Kerala 0.05 0.4 N.A. - 0.25 0.8 0.28 0.6 0.38 0.7 0.38
Tamil
2.39 17.1 3.46 16.6 3.72 11.6 4.18 8.5 5.05 9.3 5.26
Nadu
South 11.6 17.2 19.3 21.0
5.34 38.3 7.75 37.3 36.3 35.2 35.8
Zone 2 1 2 2
Assam 0.05 0.4 0.19 0.9 0.17 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.15 0.3 0.17
Bihar 1.75 12.5 1.52 7.3 1.21 3.8 1.18 2.4 1.09 2 1.17
Meghalay
N.A. - 0.03 0.2 0.09 0.3 N.A. - 0.11 0.2 0.11
a
Orissa 0.63 4.5 0.84 4.1 0.87 2.7 1.17 3.5 1.18 2.2 1.34
West
N.A. - 0.36 1.7 0.36 1.1 0.41 0.8 0.44 0.8 0.44
Bengal
East Zone 2.43 17.4 2.94 14.2 2.7 8.4 3.06 6.3 2.97 5.5 3.23
Gujarat 1.78 12.8 1.71 8.2 2.61 8.1 4.27 8.7 4.37 8.1 4.84
Madhya 13.8
2 14.3 4.06 19.6 7.07 22.1 11.4 23.3 25.7 14.4
Pradesh 7
Maharasht
N.A. - 0.63 3 1.47 4.6 4.05 8.3 4.13 7.6 4.3
ra
West 11.1 19.7 22.3 23.5
3.78 27.1 6.4 30.8 34.8 40.3 41.4
Zone 5 2 7 4
Haryana 0.52 3.7 0.46 2.2 0.55 1.7 0.63 1.3 0.53 1 0.55
Himachal
N.A. - 0.18 0.9 0.64 2 N.A. - 1.03 1.9 1.09
Pradesh
Rajasthan 1.39 10 2.3 11.1 4.13 12.9 5.63 11.5 5.72 10.6 6.29
Uttar
N.A. - 0.65 3.1 1.09 3.4 1.35 2.7 1.71 3.2 7.93
Pradesh
North
1.91 13.7 3.59 17.3 6.41 20 7.61 15.5 8.99 16.6
Zone
Other
0.49 3.5 0.09 0.4 0.14 0.5 1.32 2.7 0.36 0.7 2.28
States
13.9 20.7 32.0 48.9 54.0
All India 100 100 100 100 100 58
5 7 2 2 1

(Million tonnes)
GROWTH OF CEMENT INDUSTRY: A PROFILE
At the outset it may be recognized that cement is one of
the core industries defined under the Industrial Policy
Resolutions adopted in the early stage of planning in
India. Its growth implications essentially have to be seen
in the larger context of national economy rather than in a
regional or sub-regional context.
There are three important features characterizing the
industry. First, the basic raw material for the industry is
limestone, which like all minerals is fixed in quantity.
Therefore, the present rate of its use should consider
demand-supply situations in the long run. Second, and
more important is that the industry may potentially have
adverse environmental impact through three different
routes: (a) converting culturable/non-culturable land from
their present uses into quarries and thus, disturbing the
vegetation and ecosystem; (b) removing the limestone
from the soil and thereby affecting the moisture profile as
well as the structure of aquifers; and (c) creating air
pollution which could be hazardous for human as well as
animal health and for crop-yields. The third important
feature of the industry is that it generates limited direct
linkages in the regional economy where the industry is
located though, its indirect linkages are likely to be quite
significant. The indirect linkages mainly take place in the
form of (a) infrastructural development and provision of
basic amenities (i.e. roads, ports, schools, hospitals etc.
(b) development of irrigation (i.e. dams, canals etc.) and
(c) housing-construction - all having substantial income-
employment linkages at the level of national economy.
It is therefore important to examine the industry's growth
profile by focusing on the important questions such as:

 What should be the optimum rate of exploration /

utilization of Limestone
 What is the nature and magnitude of the
environmental impact at the projected rate of
growth?
 How much would be the direct employment-income
linkages
within the region's economy livelihood of people.
Decontrol, Liberalization and Growth: Macro Trends:

In view of its vital importance for the national economy

the industry, for a very long time, was covered under the
Essential Commodities Act, and was subject to various
controls at the stages of mining/quarrying, acquisition of
land, production, distribution, prices etc.1 These controls
were necessary because of the supply-side constraints
like availability of investible funds, infrastructural
bottlenecks in terms of coal-power-wagons and cost-
effective technology that obtained during the initial
stages of industrialization.2 As a result, the industry till
about the early eighties was marked by the "shortage"
syndrome. The supply gap.
 Growth of Cement Industry Over Five Year Plans in India

Plan End Year Capacity Production

Target Achieve- Growth Rate (%) in Target Achieve- Growth Rate (%) in Achieve-
ment Achievement ment ment
II 1960-61 15 9.3 - 13 7.97 -
III 1965-66 15 12 5.8 13 10.97 7.5
IV 1973-74 N.A. 19.76 9.6 18 14.66 4.2
V 1978-79 23.5 22.58 2.9 20.8 19.42 6.5
VI 1984-85 43 42 17.2 32.5 30.13 9.2
VII 1989-90 62 61.55 9.3 45 45.41 10.1
Annual 1990-91 N.A. 64.36 4.6 49 48.9 7.7
1991-92 N.A. 66.59 3.5 55 53.61 9.6
III 1994-95* N.A. 82.33 23.6 61.50 62.35 5.4

(Million tonnes)

Source: Cement Manufacturers' Association (1995), Basic Data: Indian Cement Industry, Updated
31.3.95, New Delhi

Various studies examining the industry's performance

have noted significant improvement in response to the
policies of decontrol/ liberalization. Table 1 presents a
trajectory of the growth of cement industry through the
various five-year plans. It is observed that the industry
had started growing fast since the Sixth Five Year Plan
i.e. immediately after the policy of partial decontrol in
1982. The growth process continued and got further
consolidated during the recent phase of economic
liberalization. It may however be noted that the initial
spurt of growth in the period was more significant
probably because of the long pending demand in the
market. In the process, the industry could also step into
the export-market in 1989-90 i.e. prior to the
liberalization phase. Thus by the turn of the eighties i.e.
within less than 10 years, the industry got shifted from
the status of a net-importer to a net-exporter.
In terms of regional spread, the industry has maximum
concentration in the western zone especially in Madhya
Pradesh. The state, having 18 major cement plants
constitute nearly one-fourth of the total capacity for
cement production in the country (Table 2). This is
followed by Rajasthan (15.4%), Andhra Pradesh (12.9%)
and Gujarat (11.1%). Over time, the southern zone has
lost in terms of the relative share while all the other
zones have gained; the major gainer however is
Rajasthan in the north zone
EMPLOYMENT LINKAGES
Cement industry is among the more capital-intensive
industries in India, especially, its capacity to generate
direct employment is quite limited. This is reflected in
the fact that whereas the industry contributes about 2.5
per cent in the total value added in the manufacturing
sector, its contribution to the sector's employment is only
about 1 per cent. The pattern holds both for all India as
well as for Gujarat (Table 6). At all India level, it requires
investment of about 4.75 lakes for employing one person
in the cement factory.

By 1991 the average number of persons engaged by the

large cement manufacturing unit was about 376, which is
higher than the average for all industries. In fact, the
actual employment might still be higher if we do not
consider the two major units, which have been closed
down in the state. However, taking an average of about
800 persons for the capacity of 1 mt. the future
employment for 25 mt. in Gujarat could be about 20,000.
This is almost equal to the number of household (i.e.
20,000) likely to be affected by the future growth of
cement industry in the state.

Apart from employment in the manufacturing unit, the

industry is also likely to generate substantial employment
in transportation and other related activities like quarries
and service sector etc. A crude estimate about the
transportation activity suggests that a plant of capacity
of 1 mt. can produce 3125 tonnes per day for about 320
working days in a year. With an average loading capacity
of 10 tonnes, it would require 312 trucks per day.
Assuming that each truck employs 2.5 persons, the total
employment generation would be of the order of about
781 persons for 320 days per annum.

Besides this direct employment, the industry is likely to

have significant indirect employment linkages. It is
generally observed that production of 1 mt. of cement
gives employment to 1 lakh persons.1 This would mean
that with future expansion in Gujarat the industry may
generate employment for about 25 lakh persons. But this
employment may not necessarily be within the region or
even within the state.
ACC (ACC Limited) is India's foremost manufacturer of
cement and concrete. ACC's operations are spread
throughout the country with 14 modern cement factories,
more than 30 Ready mix concrete plants, 20 sales
offices, and several zonal offices. It has a workforce of
about 10,000 persons and a countrywide distribution
network of over 9,000 dealers. ACC's research and
development facility has a unique track record of
innovative research, product development and
specialized consultancy services. Since its inception in
1936, the company has been a trendsetter and important
benchmark for the cement industry in respect of its
production, marketing and personnel management
processes. Its commitment to environment-friendliness,
its high ethical standards in business dealings and its on-
going efforts in community welfare programmers’ have
won it acclaim as a responsible corporate citizen. ACC
has made significant contributions to the nation building
process by way of quality products, services and sharing
its expertise.

In the 70 years of its existence, ACC has been a pioneer

in the manufacture of cement and concrete and a
trendsetter in many areas of cement and concrete
technology including improvements in raw material
utilization, process improvement, energy conservation
and development of high performance concretes.

• ACC’s brand name is synonymous with cement and

enjoys a high level of equity in the Indian market. It
is the only cement company that figures in the list of
Consumer Super Brands of India.

The company's various businesses are supported by a

powerful, in-house research and technology backup
facility - the only one of its kind in the Indian cement
industry. This ensures not just consistency in product
quality but also continuous improvements in products,
processes, and application areas.

ACC has rich experience in mining, being the largest user

of limestone, and it is also one of the principal users of
coal. As the largest cement producer in India, it is one of
the biggest customers of the Indian Railways, and the
foremost user of the road transport network services for
inward and outward movement of materials and
products.

Heritage - A Corporate Saga

Ours has been an interesting story – one that inspired a

book. ACC was formed in 1936 when ten existing cement
companies came together under one umbrella in a
historic merger – the country’s first notable merger at a
time when the term mergers and acquisitions was not
even coined. The history of ACC spans a wide canvas
beginning with the lonely struggle of its pioneer F E
Dinshaw and other Indian entrepreneurs like him who
founded the Indian cement industry. Their efforts to face
competition for survival in a small but aggressive market
mingled with the stirring of a country’s nationalist pride
that touched all lifestyles – including trade, commerce
and business.

The first success came in a move towards cooperation in

the country’s young cement industry and culminated in
the historic merger of ten companies to form a cement
giant. These companies belonged to four prominent
business groups – Tatas, Khataus, Killick Nixon and F E
Dinshaw groups. ACC was formally established on August
1, 1936. Sadly, F E Dinshaw, the man recognized as the
founder of ACC, died in January 1936. Just months before
his dream could be realized.

F. E. Dinshaw – the
founder of ACC
ACC stands out as the most unique and successful
merger in Indian business history, in which the distinct
identities of the constituent companies were melded into
a new cohesive organization – one that has survived and
retained its position of leadership in industry. In a sense,
the formation of ACC represents a quest for the synergy
of good business practices, values and shared objectives.
The use of the plural in ACC’s full name, The Associated
Cement Companies Limited, itself indicates the
company’s origins from a merger. Many years later, some
stockbrokers in the country’s leading stock exchanges
still refer to this company simply as ‘The Merger’

ACC stands out as the most unique and successful

merger in Indian business history, in which the distinct
identities of the constituent companies were melded into
a new cohesive organization – one that has survived and
retained its position of leadership in industry. In a sense,
the formation of ACC represents a quest for the synergy
of good business practices, values and shared objectives.
The use of the plural in ACC’s full name, The Associated
Cement Companies
Limited, itself
indicates the
company’s origins from a merger. Many years later, some
stockbrokers in the country’s leading stock exchanges
still refer to this company simply as ‘The Merger’.

ACC's First Board Meeting in 1936 at The

Esplanade

Sir Nowroji B Saklatvala was the first chairman of ACC.

The first Board included distinguished luminaries of the
Indian business world of the time – names like J R D Tata,
Ambalal Sarabhai, Walchand Hirachand, Dharamsey
Khatau, Sir Akbar Hydari, Nawab Salar Jung Bahadur and
Sir Homy Mody among others.

A Strategic Alliance

The house of Tata was intimately associated with the

heritage and history of ACC, right from its formation in
1936 up to 2000. Between the years 1999 and 2000, the
Tata group sold all 14.45 per cent of its shareholding in
ACC in three stages to subsidiary companies of Gujarat
Ambuja Cements Ltd (GACL), who are now the largest
single shareholder in ACC. This has enabled ACC to enter
into a strategic alliance with GACL, a company reputed
for its brand image and cost leadership in the cement
industry.

Holcim - A New Partnership

A new association was forged between ACC and the

Holmic group of Switzerland in 2005. In January 2005,
Holcim announced its plans to enter into a long-term
strategic alliance with the Ambuja Group by acquiring a
majority stake in Ambuja Cements India Ltd. (ACIL),
which at the time held 13.8 per cent of the total equity
shares in ACC. Holcim simultaneously announced its bid
to make an open offer to ACC shareholders, through
Holcomb Cement Pvt Limited and ACIL, to acquire a
majority shareholding in ACC. An open offer was made by
Holdcem Cement Pvt. Limited along with Ambuja
Cements India Ltd. (ACIL), following which the
shareholding of ACIL increased to 34.69 per cent of the
Equity share capital of ACC. Consequently, ACIL has filed
declarations indicating their shareholding and declaring
itself as a Promoter of ACC.
Holcim is the world leader in cement as well as being
large suppliers of concrete, aggregates and certain
construction-related services. Holcim is also a respected
name in information technology and research and
development. The group has its headquarters in
Switzerland with worldwide operations spread across
more than 70 countries. Considering the formidable
global presence of Holcim and its excellent reputation,
the Board of ACC has welcomed this new association.
 METHODOLOGY
Statement of The Problem

The achievements of marketing objectives are twofold ie,

consumer satisfaction and profitable sale. Customer
satisfaction is gained and it greatly depends upon the
manner in which the marketing functions are organized.

Demand in Tea Industry is hence considered as an

important one. The penetration of other companies into
the market is the main problem faced by the company
due to which considerable less market share appears
.Conducting a market research and collecting dealers
opinion regarding the quality, pricing, servicing and the
margin provided by the company is also equally
important.

Objectives of Study
1. To find out the presence of ACC Cement in the town
of Chaibasa District
2. To find out the dealer’s opinion about certain aspects
ACC Cement such as pricing, Quality, Servicing and
margin provided by the company.
3. To analyze competitors stagey
Scope of The Study
 The study has been conducted to find out the
market share of ACC cement and to collect the dealer’s
opinion regarding its quality, servicing and margin
provided by the company in the town of Chaibasa
District.

Analyzing the survey data, and there by giving

the best possible suggestions as solutions to the
problems faced by the company.

Need For The Study

The need for the study was felt due to the fact there
was a decline in the market share of ACC Cement in
Chaibasa District. The research work also acted as a
source to find out the competitors present market
situations and ACC dealer’s psychology regarding the
ACC Cement.

Period of Study

The survey was conducted as a part of the

curriculum of PGDBM program me and the survey was
conducted for the period of 60 days.

The first two one week I spent at Jhikpani at

production centre of ACC Cement Limited in order to get
more details regarding the production and packaging and
other details about the company. The next 6 weeks was
utilized for carrying out the survey in Chaibasa District.

Universe of Study

The study has been carried out at ACC Cement

Limited, Chaibasa. And the market survey has been
carried out at all town of Chaibasa District and they had
been classified under 5major regions.
Sources Of Information

The dealers and the sub dealers were the major

sources of information for the primary data.

The secondary data was collected from the annual

report and net and other records maintained by the
company.

The above-received data (primary and secondary)

forms the basis for entire analysis.

Research Design

The survey was conducted in 3 major regions of

Chaibasa District and a total of about 150 respondents
were collected. The information given by they were the
backbone behind the research work.

Tools For Collection Of Information

The primary data was collected by means of

questionnaire, interview and schedule method for getting
information from the respondents a detailed
questionnaire has been prepared and by interview and
schedule method and necessary information was
collected. Forms the primary data.

Tool for Data Analysis

 Tools for data analysis includes simple arithmetic
calculations like averages, percentages, charts, graphs
etc.

Limitations Of The Study

1. This study is mainly focused on Chaibasa district only

and it cannot be taken for granted as the situation
for the other districts in Jharkhand.

2. It has its own uniqueness in certain aspects as far as

ACC Cement is concerned.

3. Some or the respondents were reluctant to give

some information

4. Secondary report is taken from annual report and

broacher of the company and internet
 ACC PLANTS IN INDIA

Name of the Locati Process

State
Company on Used

Himachal
ACC Ltd. Gagal Dry
Pradesh

Uttar Grinding
ACC Ltd. (G) Tikaria
Pradesh Unit

ACC Ltd. Lakheri Rajasthan Dry

Kymor Madhya
ACC Ltd. Dry
e Pradesh

Chaiba
ACC Ltd. Jharkhand Dry
sa

Grinding
ACC Ltd. Sindri Jharkhand
Unit

Dry and
ACC Ltd. Jamul Chhattisgarh
Semi-Dry

Chand
ACC Ltd. Maharashtra Dry
a

ACC Ltd. Wadi Karnataka Dry

ACC Ltd. - New Wadi Karnataka Dry

ACC Ltd. Macher Andhra

ial Pradesh
ACC Limited, or ACC as it is popularly known, is India’s
foremost manufacturer of cement. Formerly called The
Associated Cement Companies Limited, ACC’s corporate
office is located in Mumbai.

HISTORY

Market
The Indian cement industry dates back to 1914 when the
first unit with a capacity of 1000 tonnes was established
in Porbandar.Today, India is ranked second in the world
with an installed capacity of nearly 154 million tonnes
and turnover estimated at about US$ 4.5 billion
(Rs.20,250 crore).While per capita consumption of about
95 kilograms as against a world standard of nearly 260
kilograms appears small thedemand drivers are all there.
Growth in the housing sector, the establishment of a
central road fund for national highways and bridges and
increasing rural demand are all expected to push the
industry’s growth to more than 10% per year. (Source:
indiamarkets.com) About 60 major companies and some
300 mini cement plants form the backbone of the
industry. In this scenario ACC stands tall as India’s first
name in cement and concrete. ACC has an installed
capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum and a market
share of 13%. This makes it the highest selling brand in
India.The company’s operations is spread throughout the
country. Newly reorganized into three regional profit
centers, the company operates fourteen modern cement
factories, fifteen ready mix concrete plants, a bulk
cement handling terminal, nineteen sales units and 54
zonal offices. It has a workforce of 8900 persons. The
company’s countrywide supply chain is an enviable
marketing and
distribution
network that
comprises 194
warehouses,
more than
9,000 dealers
and 50,000
retail outlets.
The establishment of ACC is an Indian corporate saga
that inspired the writing of a whole book. The company
was formed in 1936. when ten existing cement
manufacturers came together under one umbrella – the
country’s first notable merger, at a time when the term
mergers and acquisitions was not even coined. The
history of ACC spans a wide canvas beginning with the
struggle of its pioneer F E Dinshawand other Indian
entrepreneurs of the cement industry. Their efforts to
face competition for survival in a small but aggressive
market mingled with the stirring of a country’s nationalist
pride that touched all walks of life– including trade,
commerce and business. The founding companies
belonged to four prominent business groups – Tatas,
Khataus, Killick Nixon and F E Dinshaw. ACC was formally
established on August 1, 1936. Sir Nowroji B Saklatvala
was the first chairman.The new company had four
managing directors, one from each constituent group. Its
first Board included distinguished luminaries of the Indian
business world of the time – J R D Tata, Ambalal
Sarabhai,Walchand Hirachand, Dharamsey Khatau, Sir
Akbar Hydari, Nawab Salar Jung Bahadur and Sir Homy
Mody. The elaborate teakwood panelled board room in
Cement House, with its enormous teakwood table, bears
eloquent testimony to this heritage. Today the company
is part of the Holcim group of Switzerland, which is the
world leader in cement, concrete and aggregates. ACC
changed its name from its original The Associated
Cement Companies Limited, to simply ACC Limited on
September 1, 2006.
Product
The company manufactures Portland cements for general
construction while blended products include fly ash and
slag based cements. Both these varieties of cement are
acknowledged for their high quality with special
properties that offer durability and resistance to
aggressive environments. In addition to conserving
valuable mineral resources and reducing waste, the
production of these blended cements helps reduce the
emission of carbon dioxide. ACC set up India’s first facility
for distribution of cement in bulk in 1956, but most
cement in India is still sold in bags of 50 kilograms. The
company introduced cement in 25 kilograms as also
jumbo bags.
Brand Values
Having enjoyed the status as the leading brand in cement
for more than six decades, the name ACC is synonymous
with and almost generic to the cement category. The
brand is preferred because it offers customers an
assurance of top quality that is easily demonstrated
through long lasting structures. Other products and
services of ACC, such as ACC Concrete are also
associated with the same qualities of proven expertise,
reliable performance and durability. But more than its
products, ACC stands out as a brand name that denotes
trust and dependability. Employees, dealers, suppliers
and associates share a strong bond with the company
and a sense of togetherness with all stakeholders. The
brand promise is essentially of a strong, caring and
supportive partner characterized by the integrity and
leadership qualities of its people. The company has just
unveiled a new corporate identity that includes a
refurbished new logo. It is designed to be simple yet
more colorful and vibrant and aimed to convey more
dynamic and contemporary look
 PROCESS OF MAKING ACC LIMITED
Raw Materials

The main raw materials used in the cement

manufacturing process are limestone, sand, shale, clay,
and iron ore. The main material, limestone, is usually
mined on site while the other minor materials may be
mined either on site or in nearby quarries. Another
source of raw materials is industrial by-products. The use
of by-product materials to replace natural raw materials
is a key element in achieving sustainable development.

Raw Material Preparation

Mining of limestone requires the use of drilling and

blasting techniques. The blasting techniques use the
latest technology to insure vibration, dust, and noise
emissions are kept at a minimum. Blasting produces
materials in a wide range of sizes from approximately 1.5
meters in diameter to small particles less than a few
millimeters in diameter.

Material is loaded at the blasting face into trucks for

transportation to the crushing plant. Through a series of
crushers and screens, the limestone is reduced to a size
less than 100 mm and stored until required.

Depending on size, the minor materials (sand, shale,

clay, and iron ore) may or may not be crushed before
being stored in separate areas until required.

Raw Grinding

In the wet process, each raw material is proportioned

to meet a desired chemical composition and fed to a
rotating ball mill with water. The raw materials are
ground to a size where the majority of the materials are
less than 75 microns. Materials exiting the mill are called
"slurry" and have flow ability characteristics. This slurry is
pumped to blending tanks and homogenized to insure the
chemical composition of the slurry is correct. Following
the homogenization process, the slurry is stored in tanks
until required.

In the dry process, each raw material is proportioned

to meet a desired chemical composition and fed to either
a rotating ball mill or vertical roller mill. The raw
materials are dried with waste process gases and ground
to a size where the majority of the materials are less than
75 microns. The dry materials exiting either type of mill
are called "kiln feed". The kiln feed is pneumatically
blended to insure the chemical composition of the kiln
feed is well homogenized and then stored in silos until
required.

Preprocessing

Whether the process is wet or dry, the same

chemical reactions take place. Basic chemical reactions
are evaporating all moisture, calcining the limestone to
produce free calcium oxide, and reacting the calcium
oxide with the minor materials (sand, shale, clay, and
iron). This results in a final black, nodular product known
as "clinker" which has the desired hydraulic properties.

In the wet process, the slurry is fed to a rotary kiln,

which can be from 3.0 m to 5.0 m in diameter and from
120.0 m to 165.0 m in length. The rotary kiln is made of
steel and lined with special refractory materials to
protect it from the high process temperatures. Process
temperatures can reach as high as 1450oC during the
clinker making process.
 In the dry process, kiln feed is fed to a preheated
tower, which can be as high as 150.0 meters. Material
from the preheated tower is discharged to a rotary kiln
with can have the same diameter as a wet process kiln
but the length is much shorter at approximately 45.0 m.
The preheated tower and rotary kiln are made of steel
and lined with special refractory materials to protect it
from the high process temperatures.

Regardless of the process, the rotary kiln is fired with

an intense flame, produced by burning coal, coke, oil, gas
or waste fuels. Preheated towers can be equipped with
firing as well.

The rotary kiln discharges the red-hot clinker under

the intense flame into a clinker cooler. The clinker cooler
recovers heat from the clinker and returns the heat to the
preprocessing system thus reducing fuel consumption
and improving energy efficiency. Clinker leaving the
clinker cooler is at a temperature conducive to being
handled on standard conveying equipment.

Finish Grinding and Distribution

 The black, nodular clinker is stored on site in silos or
clinker domes until needed for cement production.
Clinker, gypsum, and other process additions are ground
together in ball mills to form the final cement products.
Fineness of the final products, amount of gypsum added,
and the amount of process additions added are all varied
to develop a desired performance in each of the final
cement products.

Each cement product is stored in an individual bulk

silo until needed by the customer. Bulk cement can be
distributed in bulk by truck, rail, or water depending on
the customer's needs. Cement can also be packaged with
or without color addition and distributed by truck or
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Market Share Analysis

Market share analysis is another useful

marketing control tool. However, if it is not handled
properly and interpreted correctly, it can throw up highly
misleading information. It becomes an effective control
to only when it needs the following preconditions it is
accurately measured , it is measured both at macro and
micro levels ; the comparisons of targeted and actual
market shares are also made both at macro and micro
levels, and the comparisons are made over reasonably
long spell of time.

Before a firm attempts a market share based

evaluation and control, it must have clarity on whether it
is consciously seeking definite share of the market .It is
implied in any market share evaluation that the
marketing performance will be assessed based on the
market share. It is also implied that a definite minimum
shares of the market is the real aim of the firm
.Otherwise, the evaluation becomes a purely theoretical
exercise and loses its control potential.

Market share analysis can be utilized for

evaluating the market performance of a firm; for setting
targets for the firm and for developing long-term sale
forecast for the firm.
 Market share has to be measured on rational
grounds. Comparisons may be made with the most
efficient firms in the industry, or the Industry leader, or a
group of growing firms. Comparisons can be made
against industry average performance. Whatever be the
criteria of comparison, the general economic conditions,
which have a bearing on the industries performance,
have to be five due weight age .Quite often the market
share of a firm may go up substantially without any effort
on the part of its marketing department the increase may
be due to environmental factors. Unless these
dimensions are understood in the proper respective,
market share analysis will give the wrong interpretation.
So it is essential to use market share analysis in an
intelligent and objective manner. It is also essential to
understand ones production boundaries correctly to
make share analysis purposeful. Shares can be worked
out a product sub-category level. Product category level,
national level and regional level. Each measurement has
its own use and implications.

The scope Of marketing research

Marketing research departments have been steadily

expanding their activities and techniques. The eight
most common activities, in order of importance, are
determination of market characteristics, development of
market potentials. Market shares analysis, sales
analysis, competitive – product studies, of business
trends .Less than half of the firms do their own
advertising research or carry out any marketing
operations research.

These studies have benefited over the year from

increasingly sophisticated technique. Many techniques
were developed outside of marketing by researches in
economic, statistics, sociology, social psychology, and
psychology. They were drawn in and amended by
marketing researcher who recognized opportunities for
their use. Many of them such as questionnaire
construction and area sampling come long naturally and
were quick and widely accepted as belonging in the
corpus of marketing research practices .others such as
motivation research and mathematical methods came in
uneasily, with prolonged and heated debates among
practitioners over their practical usefulness. But they ,
too, settled in the corpus of marketing research
methodology or at least the parts that stood the test of
time.

Organization of marketing research departments.

The size and reporting arrangements of

marketing research departments vary
tremendously among industries and companies.
Each the name of the departments varies from
“marketing research department” to “market
research department” commercial research and
business research.”
In smaller companies, marketing research
departments consist of a few professional
researchers and clerical assistants. In larger
companies, the departments may contain one or
two dozens full-time employees. A few companies
have very large staffs. For example, proctor &
gamble, has a field staff of over 120 trained
analysts testing and checking its products.
Generally, the largest research departments are
found in the larger advertising agencies, where the
media number is 33 employees. Large consumer
and industrial companies average 10 employees
the number of full time employees does not
necessarily reflect the volume of work because of
varying company ratios of inside to outside work.
The employees within the firm do not generally
carry out field work but rather advise management
on needed research , research design, and proper
interpretation of information.
Management’s use of marketing research

The growth in the number of marketing research

departments suggested extremely rapid acceptance of
marketing research by American Business. Yet this
impression must be qualified. About 45 percent of the
responding companies reported no formal marketing
research department. Furthermore, companies reported
no formal marketing research department. Furthermore,
companies with departments often operated with very
small budget.” The typical corporations’ investments in
marketing research are minimal … and it indicates
reluctance within industry to invest in research dealing
with people, markets and marketing to the extent that
would seem to be called for by corporations that espouse
the so called modern marketing concept.
Market – share Analysis

Many management look for the true measure of

their success not in absolute sales performance but in
their sales performance relative to competitors the key
statistic in this connection is their market share.

There are at least two reasons for managements

interest in market share measurement for appraising
performance .In this first place , it suggest whether
changes in company sales were due to uncontrollable
outside forces or weakness in the company’s marketing
program. If a company’s sales fall but its market share
remains constant, this implies that the whole industry
was affected by similar environmental forces. In the
second place, the market share standard implies a
comparison of the company’s performance with the
average performance of the other companies in the
industry rather than with the performance of the best
companies .If management could not maintain its share
of the market , the implication is that the companies
marketing mix or its execution is seriously at fault.

Market share measurement is a useful tool because

these two assumptions have some validity. But several
qualifications should be kept in mind to avoid drawing the
wrong conclusions from market share measurements.

The assumptions that outside forces affect all

companies in the same way often not true.
 The surgeon general report on the harmful
consequences of cigarette smoking caused total cigarette
sales to falter but not quality for all companies. The
companies that had established a reputation for better
filter were hit less hard.

The assumption that a company’s should be judged

against the average performance of all companies also in
not always valid. A company with greater than average
opportunities should register a growing market share if
its market share remains constant this imply deficient
rather than average management.

If a new form enters the industry, then existing firm’s

market share may fall. Here in case share a fall in the
company is performing below the average of the
industry.

Sometimes the decline in the company’s market

share is the result of a deliberate policy to improve
profits. Management, for example may drop unprofitable
customers or products with resulting decline in market
share.

Market share fluctuates for many reasons. For

example, the market share in a particular period can be
affecting by whether a large sale is made on the last day
of the period or at the beginning of the following period.
A Current shift in market share does not always have
significant marketing implications.
 Market share analysis like sales analysis, increase in
value when the data are disaggregated along various
dimensions .If the data are available, the company might
watch the progress of its market share by product line,
customer type , region , or other breakdowns.

International Harvesters truck sales is Los Angeles

metropolitan areas registered an absolute measures
between 1952 and 1953. An analysis of their market
share, however shown a steady decline .Apparently total
truck sales in Los Angles were growing faster than
Harvesters sale. This led the company to consider
whether it was handicapped by too for sales braches in
the Los Angeles are relative to its competitors.

A company would also want to note the market

share trends of individual competitors. It will want to
know which companies are gaining and losing customers,
and from what other companies these against and losses
are coming .It will want especially to note the trend in the
market share of its closest rival , if the rivals share is
growing relatively faster, then the company will want to
remain its basic marketing strategy.

The fundamental theorem of market- share

determination. We left answered the questions of what
the company’s market share should normally be at the
light of its competitive marketing offering.t

The most popular theory is that the market shares of

various competitors will be proportional to their
marketing – effort shares. This normal expectation can be
called the fundamental theorem of market –share
determination and is symbolically expressed in questions.
If a firm is not enjoying a normal market share, how can
it be explained? At least four different hypotheses can be
advanced. The existence of differences in marketing
helps to explain why market shares may suddenly rise for
particular companies when no changes have occurred in
their relative marketing expenditures. This can happen
when a firm develops better advertising platforms or
finds more effective advertising media. Usually the
qualitative and quantities effects of marketing and the
matter is further complicated by the probable increase in
advertising by competitors. Nevertheless, when market
shares finally stabilizes, it will be clear whether the firm
performs at average or greater than average
effectiveness in spending marketing funds.

Market effectiveness should be generalized to

include qualitative advances enjoyed by the firm that are
not directly related to the qualitative advantages enjoyed
by the firm that are not directly related to the quality of
the good current marketing expenditures . For example,
the firm may be located on a superior site, and this can
give it a long-term advantage over competition .Or the
firm may enjoy an unusual among of good will stemming
from the personality of the founder that causes better
sales than could be expected simply based on share- of –
marketing expenditures. In general where market shares
and effort shares diverge for a substantial period of time,
the analyst might search for the cause in qualitative
advantages of cement firm over competition.

2. Random – Factors Hypothesis

The random factors hypothesis holds that in any

particulars period the respective shares may diverge
from the it’s normal value because of weather, loss or
gain of few important customers, inventory stock outs,
and so on. Therefore, management must be careful in
interpreting and responding to current market- share
changes a 2 percent decline in market share may reflect
normal variations is brand loyalty or point to a real
decline in the company’s marketing effectiveness . If
there is no evidence of the latter management might wait
to see what happens to market share in the next period.
Market share may rise again, indicating normal
fluctuations, or it may fall again, indicating the some
systematic factor may be at work. Any changes in market
share should be judged against the known variance of
market share changes, and if the change appears to be a
rare event in probability terms, immediate action may be
called for.

3. Lagged – Adjustment Hypothesis

 A third interpretation of a discrepancy between
current market shares and marketing effort shares is that
the difference is temporary and in time will diminish and
disappear. For example, a Nielsen study on new- shares
for a new product must initially spend approximately 20
percent of total industry marketing expenditure
.obviously this excessive level or marketing expenditure
is only temporary in order to enable the firm to break into
the market .After getting of its 10 percent share of
market the firm can slowly bring down its percent of total
marketing expenditures without losing its 10 percent
market share . or if it continues to spend 20 percent of
the market ; otherwise something is wrong is wrong with
its product or marketing effectiveness.

4. NONLINEAR MARKET-SHARE HYPOTHESIS:

The preceding three hypotheses all accept the

fundamental theorem of market share determination and
provide reason for observed divergences. It is
conceivable that the theorem does not hold and that
increased marketing effort first produces increasing and
they decreasing returns in the way of market share. This
was the conclusion drawn.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING INFORMATION

SYSTEM AND MARKETING RESEARCH.

Marketing research may be defined as the through

and objective gathering and analysis of data that pertain
to a given problem in marketing.
SCOPE OF MARKETING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.

For about 60 years, there has been a steady growth

in marketing research departments, reflecting
management’s recognition of the importance of this
activity. In a broad based study sponsored by the
American Marketing Association 77 percent of the
responding companies reported having a formal
marketing research department.

PROCEDURE IN MARKETING RESEARCH

1. DEFINE THE OBJECTIVE

Research should have a clean idea of what they are

trying to accomplish in a research project – that is, what
is the goal of the project .Usually the objective is to solve
a problem, but this is not always so. Often the purpose is
to define the problem, or to determine whether the firm
even has a problem. To illustrate a manufacturer of
commercial air- conditioning equipment had been
enjoying a steady increase in sales volume over a period
of years. Management decided to make a sales analysis.
This research project uncovered the fact that although
the company’s volume had been increasing. Its share of
the market had declined. In this instance, marketing
research uncovered a problem that management did not
know existed.
2. CONDUCT SITUATION ANALYSIS

The situation analysis involves obtaining information

about the company and its business environment by
means of library research and extensive interviewing of
company officials. The researchers try to get a “feel” for
the situation surrounding the problem. They analyze the
company. Its market its, competition, and the industry in
general. In the photo accessory, case the researchers
studied, several trade magazine articles in the library and
held extensive discussions with company executives and
workers.

In the situation analysis, the researchers also try to

define problem more clearly and to develop hypotheses
for further testing. In a research project, a hypothesis is a
tentative supposition or a possible solution to a problem.
It a well- run project, each hypothesis should be prove or
disproved on the way to fulfilling the projects objectives.
3 & 4. CONDUCT INFORMAL INVESTIGATION

Having gotten a feel for the problem, the researchers

are now ready to conduct an informal investigation to
some extent this step overlaps the preceding one, which
involves getting background information investigation
consists of talking to people outside the company
intermediaries, competitors, advertising agencies, and
customers.

5. PLAN AND CONDUCT FORMAL INVESTIGATION

If the informal investigation has shown that the

project in economically feasible. Management then
determines what additional information is needed. The
next step for the researcher is to plan where and how to
get the desire data.
 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
The importance of market share analysis for any
industrial concern need not be over –emphasized. The
existence of adequate demand can make substantial
difference between the success and failure of an
enterprise. It is important for the management to pay
particular attention to the planning of the target market.
This chapter analysis the available data to find out the
presence and estimate the market share of ACC cement
in selected town of chaibasa district.

Chaibasa is unique in every aspect compared to

other district of Jharkhand. It has got its own
specialties’ .It is one of the oldest district headquarter in
Jharkhand.

Another characteristics features of the district is that

it has many mines, rich iron ore. One of the largest
cement production unit of acc cement at jhinkpani .There
are several mines in it which provide raw material to the
big giant industries like TATA STEEL, RUNGTA MINES ,
ACC CEMENT and many more small companies. A good
share of ACC cement production is contributed by
chaibasa district. It provide large number of
employments to the people of this place.
The towns which comes under chaibasa district are
as follows :

Region 1 - Chaibasa Town

Region 2 Chakradharpur

Region 3 Sonua

Region 4 khutpani

Region 5 Jhinkpani
 REGION 1

The demand for various brands of cement in

Chaibasa Town

90

80

70

60

50

40 Series 1

30

20

10

0
ACC LAFARGE UTCL AMBUJA OCL BIRLA
GOLD
 Market shareof variousbrandsin chaibasa
Town
4%
5%
6%

10%
ACC
LAFARGE
UTCL
AMBUJA

55% OCL
BIRLA GOLD

20%
 Dealer’s Opinion about Chaibasa Town

Market Servicing

The opinion of the respondents regarding servicing are as follows

Table 4.1

No. Of %
Respondents

Regular by ACC 39 96.67

CEMENT

Irregular 01 03.33
96.67 % of the respondents told that they were getting
regular servicing from

M/S Lalit Sharma

Who is the wholesale distributor of the company for the

region.
 Pricing

Respondent’s opinion regarding pricing of the ACC

Cement

Is as follows.

Table 4.2

No of Respondents %

High 16 40

Acceptable 24 60
 Above 40% of them told that the pricing of the ACC
Cement is

On the higher side. In addition, 60% of them admitted

that it is only

Acceptable.
 Product (Quality)

Dealer’s opinion about the quality of the cement is

as

Following

Table 4.3

Quality

No of Respondents %

Average 4 10

Good 8 20

Excellent 28 70
 Margin

Table 4.4

No of Respondents %

Adequate 05

13.33

Inadequa 35 86.67
te

In the case of margin most of them have a clear-cut idea

about the

margin they are getting 86% of them are not satisfied

with the
margin they are getting. According to them, it is
inadequate. 13.33%

told that it is adequate.

 Rating of the following brands on a scale of 1-6 according
to customer

Preference of brands 1 being the highest.

ACC LAFARGE UTCL AMBUJA OCL BIRLA GOLD

RATING 1 2 3 4 5 6

REASON: ACC being the best quality in cement & More

demand
 Rating the following brands of cement on a scale of 1-6
according to

Retailer preference of brands 1 being the highest

AC LAFARGE UTCL AMBUJA OCL BIRLA GOLD

C

RATIN 1 2 4 6 3 5
G

REASON: Customer demand most and superior quality

than others.

In the case of margin most of them have a clear cut

idea

About the margin they are getting . 86.6% of them are

not
 Satisfied with the margin they are getting . According to
them it

Is inadequate. 13.33% told that it is adequate.

 Region 2- Chakradharpur

1. Chakradharpur.

Chakradharpur is the second major

town in the chaibasa district which is famous for railway
divisional headquarter. It has railway link with most of the
important cities.

The area is surrounded with mountains and it has lush

green valley. It is a developing place so more and more
amount of new buildings are being constructed so
demand is more here and due to less supply of the
cement they are facing problems .The less supply has
increased the competition and other brands of cement
Are being pitched so it is affecting the sale of the
company.

The company which has utilized the potential

of Chakradharpur market to fullest extend is ACC
cement. They Are enjoying the benefit of a reasonably
good market share here.
Brand
 Share Market of different brands in
Chakradharpur Town

From the diagram, it is clear that ACC cement is a

well ahead in selling
Their premium cement. They are selling 55% of the
cement in the area.

whereas Lafarge, UTCL and other cements brands are

just 45% market

demand in those areas.

Dealers Opinion About the ACC cement

Servicing

The opinion of the respondents regarding the

distribution of

ACC cement is shown below.

No. Of
Respondents

Regular by ACC 17
70

Irregular 03
10
 Not Selling 05
Lafarge 20
 Pricing

The opinion of respondents regarding pricing of

ACC

Cement is as follows.

No Of Respondents %

Acceptable 14 56.67

High 06 23.67

Not selling ACC 05 20

56.67% have the opinion that the price of the ACC

cement is

Acceptable. 23.67 % feel that the price for the Acc

cement is

High . 20% of the shops are not even selling the ACC
cement.
 Product ( quality)

The opinion of dealers about the quality of ACC

cement

Is as follows.

NO. OF %
RESPONDENTS

AVERAGE 0 0

EXCELLENT 16 63.33

GOOD 04 16.6
7

NOT SELLING ACC 05 20

 63.33 % of them have the opinion that the ACC cement
has excellent quality

. 16.67 %

Told that it has got good quality. Nobody was there to

say that it has just

average quality .

20% of them are not selling ACC cement because of less

supply of the cement.
 Margin

The opinion of dealers about the margin provided

by

ACC cement limited is shown below.

No Of Respondents %

Adequate 2 6.67

Inadequate 20 73.3
3

Not selling 3 20
ACC cement
 73.33% of them have complained that the margin
provided by the

Company is not sufficient ie, it is inadequate. 6.67 % of

them have the

Opinion that the current margin provided by the company

is adequate.

20% of the dealers are not selling ACC cement.

Rating of the following brands on a scale of 1-6 according
to customer

Preference of brands 1 being the highest.

ACC LAFARG UTCL AMBUJ OCL BIRLA

E A GOLD

RATIN 1 2 6 4 5 3
G

REASON: Being the best quality cement.

 Rating the following brands of cement on a scale of 1-6
according to

Retailer preference of brands 1 being the highest

AC LAFARGE UTCL AMBUJA OCL BIRLA GOLD

C

RATIN 1 2 4 6 3 5
G

REASON: Customer demand most and superior quality

than others
 REGION 3. SONUA

Sonua is also a small town in Chaibasa

district.

Here people are mostly very poor and there is small

market

Clustered at a point. There are only three cement shops

one

Of them are main dealer of ACC and other two are sub
dealer of

ACC so it has very good hold of the market there. There

are able

To sell maximum acc cement in that area. In main dealer

sell

80-85 t of cement in a month.

 OCL
4% Sales
AMBUJA BIRLA GOLD
UTCL 3% 0%
3%

LAFARGE
20%

ACC
70%
 View of the Dealer regarding the pricing Dealer’s
Opinion about ACC cement

Servicing

No Of %
Respondents

Regular by ACC 5 66.67

3 33.33

Irregular

ACC According provides regular servicing to 66.67 %

of

The dealers 33.33 say that he is irregular in giving them

servicing.
of ACC cement.

Pricing

No. Of Respondents %

High 6 77.77

Acceptable 2 22.22

77.77 % of the respondents told that the pricing of the

ACC cement is high.

22.22 % of the respondents viewed it as acceptable.

 Quality

No. Of Respondents %

Average 1 10.00

Good 2 30.00

Excellent 5 60.00

Opinion Regarding margin

No Of Respondents %

Adequate 0 0
Inadequate 9 100

100 % of the respondents told that the margin provided

to them is

Inadequate. There was no body to say that it is adequate.

The margin is

Only rs 5 to even in summer they told they sell it at the

cost price only.

Rating of the following brands on a scale of 1-6

according to customer

Preference of brands 1 being the highest.

ACC LAFARG UTCL AMBUJA OCL BIRLA

E GOLD

RATIN 1 2 6 3 5 4
G

REASON: Being the best quality cement.

Rating the following brands of cement on a scale of 1-6

according to

Retailer preference of brands 1 being the highest

AC LAFARGE UTCL AMBUJA OCL BIRLA GOLD

C

RATIN 1 2 5 6 3 4
G

REASON: Customer demand most and superior quality

than others

Khuntpani is a block of the chaibasa district. It is also an

underdeveloped place
People over here Are poor. It is on the developing stage
so new building is being

Constructed and new schools Roads are being under

construction so demand for

Cement is increasing day by day and here Also ACC is

only considered as the best

Cement and used for construction.

It is also surrounded by the mountain and lot of

people work for making the

Stones goods and Leaves and trees.

REGION 4 KHUTPANI
 Dealers Opinion About the ACC cement

Servicing

The opinion of the respondents regarding the

distribution of

ACC cement is shown below.

No. Of
%
Respondents
Regular by
ACC
9
70

Irregular 2
10
 Not Selling 3
20
Lafarge
Rating of the following brands on a scale of 1-6 according
to customer

Preference of brands 1 being the highest.

ACC LAFARG UTCL AMBUJ OCL BIRLA

E A GOLD

RATIN 1 5 6 4 2 3
G

REASON: Being the best quality cement.

Rating the following brands of cement on a scale of 1-6

according to

Retailer preference of brands 1 being the highest

AC LAFARGE UTCL AMBUJA OCL BIRLA GOLD

C

RATIN 1 2 4 6 3 5
G
REASON: Customer demand most and superior quality
than others
 FINDINGS

AN
D

SUGGESTIONS
 FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

FINDINGS

The objective of the study was to find out the market

share and dealers opinion about ACC cement in selected
town of chaibasa district. The study was based on data
collected from the dealers and their opinion regarding the
product.

All the objectives of the study were analyzed by using

simple mathematical calculation such as percentages,
simple averages etc. this chapter is an attempt to
summarize the findings of the study based or which a few
suggestions have been made.

REGION 1- CHAIBASA TOWN

Since chaibasa is a big town it has got a good
market for the acc cement. the acc cement is costlier
than the other brands .the quality of the cement is
superior than the other competitor brands so it has great
demand in these area. Here 96.67 % of the people are
regular with acc cement.

They are the market leader. The scope to influence the

customers, acc cement is a leading in that area. It is
because of their strategic planning and sales
promotinoary measures.
 REGION 2- Chakradharpur

Chakradharpur being the second major town in

chaibasa district has a reasonably good market share for
cement. The sale of the acc cement is quite high than any
other brands it the area. And the market share are 76 % .
Having understood the nature of the market, acc is
dominating the market through sales promotionary
measures to both dealers and customers. It started
distributing the nearby small towns also, where acc
cement is yet to have a look into, which is a success ,
shows the survey details.

REGION 3- SONUA

At Sonua apart from having underdeveloped place

and all the de motivating factors acc has managed to be
the market leader .

ACC supplier are not able to meet the demand of the

dealers there and providing adequate supply of the
cement in that area else it will yield more sale in that
place and they are bound to replace the acc cement with
other brand in case of lack of supply of the acc cement.
 And the dealers will show their interest in selling
the acc cement if they get a regular supply.
AND THE REGION 4 & 5 MARKET IS FULLY IN HANDS OF
ACC

CEMENT ONLY . THEY ARE THE MARKET LEDER IN THESE

AREAS

ALSO. THEY ARE ABLE TO SELL THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT

OF

CEMENT LEAVING BEHIND THE OTHER COMPETITORS IN

THOSE

AREAS . DUE TO LACK OF ADEQUATE SUPPLY THERE IS

SOME

PROBLEM ELSE NO ONE CAN COMPETE THEM IN THESE

AREAS IN

ORDER OF SELL AND THE QUALITY OF CEMENT.

 COMPETITORS STRATEGY

The immediate competitor is Lafarge some of their

strategies capture the market share is noted below.

1. Extensive advertising progamme.

They have given much importance to advertisement

through the media, such as TV, Newspaper, Movie halls
and so on.

By way of adopting frequently publicity methods,

ACC Cement is able to make up the minds of the common
consumers with the knowledge of the availability of the
brands constantly.

2. Sales promotionary measures

 After creating a favorable impression in the minds of
the people they induce them to buy their product by
adopting sales promotionary measures.

a) LOW PRICE

The price of Lafarge is some places lower

than the leading brand acc cement.

b)Gift schemes and coupons

By introducing certain gift schemes such as giving

free trip to goa, manali with family and other such
free incentives also attract the dealers and it
increases the sale of the product fairly well.

c) Beside customers, dealers also get benefited if

Lafarge is marketed.

d)Dealers are getting high margin compared to the

margin provided by the other companies.
 Dealers opinion about the acc cement in
ChaibasaDistrict as a whole are as follows

1.Servicing

77.78% of the Dealers are of the opinion that

the servicing provided by the company is regular. 15.55
% says it is irregular. 6.66 % of the Dealers are not selling
ACC.

2.Pricing

58.15 % of them are saying that it is high and

35.18 % says it is only acceptable 6.66% are not selling
ACC.

3.Quality

70% says its excellent in quality while 20% says that

it is good. And 10 % are not selling it and nobody told
that it is worst in quality.

4.Margin
 86. 67% says it is inadequate while 6.67 % says it is
adequate and .6.67 % are not selling ACC.
Dealers opinion about Servicing in CHAIBASA
DISTRICT
Dealers Opinion about pricing in CHAIBASA
DISTRICT
Dealers opinion about Quality in CHAIBASA
DISTRICT
Dealers opinion about Margin in CHAIBASA
DISTRICT
 SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

From the data analyzed the following suggestions and

recommendations are given.

1.Increase the margin paid to the dealers so that

they will get motivated to sell it.

2. Otherwise, to introduce gift schemes or prizes

for dealers to regain their interest in selling
acc cement.

The dealers’ complaint was that they

receive less commission on selling ACC cement.
Hence to motivate them steps must to taken to
increase the margin paid to them or introduce
some gift seems to dealer.

3.To Supply adequate cement to the dealers on

time .
The dealers’ complaint was that they receive
less supply cement According to their demand ,
if they get ample amount than the sell of the acc
cement will increase many fold.

4.Distribute ACC cement in other towns of

chaibasa district also.
 The analysis revealed that acc
distributers are not distributing Cement in only
selected places of chaibasa district. But the trend
Showed that in other towns also acc cement have a
reasonable demand.

5.Find dealers in each town if the supply seems

to be laborious and

Uneconomical.

During the survey it became to clear

that they don’t have even dealers in certain towns
where other cement brands have got reasonably
good

Demand.

6.Adoption of strict measures to improve sales

and retain quality

Majority of the respondents agreed that

it is having a reasonably

Good quality. So retaining the quality is highly

important in the
 Marketing point of view.

7.Extend the advertisement facility by media

such as t v and newspapers
Also ensuring that it reaches the low class
people too.

8.Introduce new product as different types of

cement

9.Introduce gift schemes to customers too.

Since the acc is priced high than other many

brands so it should focus

On these scheme. So introducing gift

schemes to customers will inspire

Them to buy the product.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS :

PHILIP KOTLER - MARKETING

MANAGEMENT

WILLIAM J. STANTON - MARKETING

MANAGEMENT

RAMASWAMY & NAMAKUMARI - MARKETING

MANAGEMENT

C.R. KOTHARI - RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

D.D SHARMA -
MARKETING RESEARCH
SIBRAJAN MISRA - ORIGIN &
GROWTH OF

ACC
INDUSTRY IN INDIA

JOURNAL:

ACC CEMENT

PUBLICATION:

ANNUAL REPORT – ACC CEMENT LIMITED

QUESTIONNAIR

Q1. Which cement company would you associate the

following with :

(1) Availability.

(2) Quality.

(3) Brand pull.

 (4) Service.

Q2. What drives your decision to stock a particular brand:

[Rate from 1 to 5,5 being the most preferred]

Profit margin.
(2) Channel Discipline.

(3) Relationship with the wholesaler.

(4) Credit.

(5) Quality of cement.

(6) Logistics Support.

(7) Price.
(8) Brand Pull.

(9) Marketing/ Promotional Initiatives.

(10) Technical/ Sales Support.
Q3. Rate the following parameters from 1 to 6 ,6 being
the most preferred.

ACC LAFARGE UTCL AMBUJA OCL BIRLA GOLD

Margin
Qualityof cement
Relationwith company
Credit
Logisticsupport
Price
BrandPull
MaketingInitative
Technical support

Q4. What comes to your mind when I say ACC

cement?

Q5. How much importance would you attach to the

following modes of advertisement in creating
demand ? please rate out of 5.

Television. (2) Shop Paintings. (3) POP

Material
 (4) Hoarding (5) wall Paintings.

Q6. Do you stock ACC in your counter?

Q7. Reasons for purchasing / not purchasing ACC?

Q8. What is your brand wise sale from counter?

ACC LAFARG UTCL AMBUJ OCL BIRL

E A A
GOLD
SALE(m
t)

Q9. Rate the following brands on a scale of 1-6

according to customer preference of brands 1
being the highest.

ACC LAFARG UTCL AMBUJ OCL BIRLA

E A GOLD
RATIN
G

REASON :

Q10. Rate the following brands on a scale of 1-6

according to retailer preference of brands 1 being
the highest.

ACC LAFARG UTCL AMBUJ OCL BIRLA

E A GOLD
RATIN
G

REASON:

Q11. In your opinion what is impacting the sale of

ACC cement with respect to other brands.

Q12. Would you be interested in taking dealership

of ACC?

Thinking about ACC & its products, what are your

suggestions or recommendations?
Name of the sub Dealer:

Mob. No.

Location :