1.

1 INTRODUCTION
In todays economy all manufacturers need to pay attention on how to bfoodpro
indiad strong long-term relationships with their dealers chain. In fact, it has been
demonstrated that short term policies aimed to provide dealers immediate benefits
(e.g., price discount) may prevent the development of long term and fruitful
relationships. Also supporting dealers in promoting manufacturers products has been
proved as a sustainable strategy in the long run.
These issues have been debated in then field of Distribution channel management. In
particular, researchers emphasised that manufactures cannot ignore in designing long
term growth-oriented policies, strategies aimed dealers satisfaction. Furthermore, in
order to successfully plan business growth, it has been remarked literature the central
role played by communication. In fact, researchers underlined the failure in channel
communication is likely to affect the relationship between organizations and its own
dealer structure
Such remarks suggest that in order to effectively foodpro indiad a long term
relationship with an own dealers chain, a manufacturer has to adopt a systematic
approach aimed to foster market consensus on aside, and mutual benefits on the other
side. In particular, in the innovative and revolutionary high-tech industry,
manufacturers in order to achieve the desired sales revenues cannot ignore the need
to continuously promote activities aimed to both update dealers employees skills
and motivation.
This paper is the result of a research project conducted by the researcher with a
manufacturer operating in the consumer durable Industry. It is based on the
hypothesis that in order to successfully support dealers, manufacturer has to design
long term oriented policies aimed both bfoodpro indiad up a growing potential
customers awareness of company product a side, and increase dealers employee
skills and motivation on the other side.
1

1.2 NATURE OF THE PROBLEM

The efficiency and success of many organizations may be strongly based on the
distribution channels. This structure involves different agents and distinct
organizations that, despite the convergence in the objective to offer a certain product,
may have conflicting interests.
A marketing channel or distribution channel is a set of interdependent organizations
involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or
consumption and the members of the channel depend on each other to make their
job (idem). The correct management of these agents is, therefore, a fundamental
issue.
Attending their purpose of providing products and services for the use or
consumption and satisfying the final market users no matter if they are consumers
or industry buyers a large amount of the channel structure make use of brokers that
execute some kind of role on the products and service distribution.
It emphasize the importance of channels that link specific activities which are
connected to the functions of distribution and final users necessity serving, dividing
these causes based on the demand and supply. Therefore it is obvious to keep the
channel members satisfied and motivated to keep the momentum of the business
going. Any disturbance on this may cause loss on the sales or even losing the channel
member.
Considering this fact, the study was pertaining to the satisfaction of the dealers of
Foodpro india who belongs to the class II and Class III towns. In many times the
companies fail to give good service to those dealers because of the lack of resources
or the reachability etc. this study is to find out the satisfaction level of these dealers

of foodpro india since nearly the 20% of the sales of foodpro india is from the rural
market.

1.3 OBJECTIVES
1. To find out how the dealers rate the promotional activities carried down by
foodpro india
2. To find out whether there is any co relation between the experience and the
type of promotion they needed.
3. To know the impact of after sales service provided by foodpro india and the
satisfaction level of the dealers
4. To know how effective are the employees in dealing with the dealers

1.4 HYPOTHESIS

Ho:

There is no significant relation between the dealers experience and their

Satisfaction Level on the Promotional Activities.

H1:

There is a significant relation between the dealers experience and their

Satisfaction Level on the Promotional Activities.

INDUSTRY PROFILE

The Indian food processing industry is one of the largest in the world
in terms of production, consumption, export and growth prospects. Earlier, food
processing was largely confined to the food preservation, packaging and
transportation, which mainly involved salting, curdling, drying, pickling, etc.
However, over the years, with emerging new markets and technologies, the sector
has widened its scope. It has started producing many new items like ready-to-eat
food, beverages, processed and frozen fruit and vegetable products, marine and
meat products, etc. It also include establishment of post-harvest infrastructure for
processing of various food items like cold storage facilities, food parks,
packaging centers, value added centers, irradiation facilities and modernized
abattoir.
The liberalization of the Indian economy and world trade as well as
rising consumer prosperity has thrown up new opportunities for diversification in
the food-processing sector and opened up new avenues for growth. Demand for
processed and convenience food is increasing constantly because of urbanization,
changing life-style and food habits of the people.

As per the available information, it produces annually 90 million tones of milk

(highest in the world); 150 million tones of fruits and vegetables (second largest);
4

485 million livestock (largest); 204 million tons of food grains (third largest); 6.3
million tons of fish (third largest); 489 million poultry and 45,200 million eggs.
As a result, Indian food processing industry has become an attractive destination
for investors the world over.

There are various food laws applicable to food and related products in India:
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954 and Rules (Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare).
The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976, and Standards of
Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977.
Agriculture Produce (Grading and Marking) Act (Ministry of Rural
Development).
Essential Commodities Act, 1955(Ministry of Food and Consumer
Affairs).
Fruit Products Order (FPO), 1995.

Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963.

Environment Protection Act, 1986.
Pollution Control (Ministry of Environment and Forests).
Industrial Licenses.
BIS Act, 1986.

 VOP (Control) Order - 1947.

SEO (Control) Order - 1967.
Market Analysis for the Industry
Food processing sector is indispensable for overall development of
an economy as it provides a vital linkage and synergy between the agriculture
and industry. It helps to diversify and commercialize farming; enhance income
of farmers; create markets for export of agro foods as well as generate greater
employment opportunities. Through the presence of such industries, a wider
range of food products could be sold and distributed to the distant locations.
The term 'food processing' is mainly defined as a process of value addition to
the agricultural or horticultural produce by various methods like grading,
sorting and packaging. In other words, it is a technique of manufacturing and
preserving food substances in an effective manner with a view to enhance their
shelf life and improve quality as well as make them functionally more useful.
The Indian food processing industry is one of the largest in the world
in terms of production, consumption, export and growth prospects. Earlier,
food processing was largely confined to the food preservation, packaging and
transportation, which mainly involved salting, curdling, drying, pickling, etc.
However, over the years, with emerging new markets and technologies, the
sector has widened its scope. It has started producing many new items like
ready-to-eat food, beverages, processed and frozen fruit and vegetable
products, marine and meat products, etc.
6

It also include establishment of post-harvest infrastructure for processing of

various food items like cold storage facilities, food parks, packaging centres,
value added centres, irradiation facilities and modernized abattoir.

FDI in Food Sector in India

Actual FDI inflow in food processing sector in 2004-05 and 2005-06
(till November 2005) was Rs. 332.00 crores. Automatic approval is granted for
foreign investment up to 51% in high priority industries, which include all food
processing industries (except milk food, malted foods and flour) and all items of
packaging for food processing industries. Investors need to file an application
with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the prescribed format and approval is
ordinarily granted within 15 days. For foreign investment higher than 51% and
for investments in industries outside the high priority industries, clearance has to
be obtained from SIA. Applications are processed on a case-by-case basis on
merit and usually SIA takes about 2 months for the process. Applications for
setting up a 100% Export Oriented Unit is also required to be filed with the SIA.
For setting up a unit in an Export Processing Zone (EPZ), application has to be
filed with the Development Commissioner of the concerned EPZ. Foreign equity
of up to 24% of the total shareholding is also being permitted in the small-scale
sector.
7

Under automatic procedures, foreign technology agreements are

being permitted in respect of industries that are designated as high priority
industries. The use of foreign brand names and / or trademark of goods are also
now being permitted freely. To provide access to international markets, majority
foreign equity

holding up to 51% equity is being permitted for international trading companies

that are primarily engaged in export activities. FDI in a company engaged in
cash and carry wholesale trading is now permitted up to 100% under automatic
route. The present policy only permit FDI up to 100% in Cash and carry
wholesale trading, which is distinct from retail trading, involving sale to
individual customers through normal retail outlets. Recently Government of India
has allowed retail trading in single brand items. FDI is not allowed in any other
agricultural sector activity.

Policies and Regulations

Since liberalization, several policy measures have been taken with
regard to regulation and control, fiscal policy, export and import laws, taxation,
exchange and interest rate control, export promotion and incentives to high
priority industries. Food processing and agro industries have been accorded high
priority with a number of important reliefs and incentives. At present, no
industrial license is required for almost all of the food and agro processing
8

industries except for some items like beer, potable alcohol and wines, cane sugar,
hydrogenated animal fats and oils etc. and items reserved for

exclusive manufacture in the small-scale sector. Items reserved for Small Scale
Industry (hereinafter referred as SSI) include pickles and chutneys, bread,
confectionery (excluding chocolate, toffees and chewing gum etc.), rapeseed,
mustard, sesame and groundnut oils (except solvent extracted), ground and
processed spices other than spice oil and oleoresins, sweetened cashew nut
products, tapioca sago and tapioca flour. In order to boost the food-processing
sector, the Centre has permitted under the Income Tax Act a deduction of 100 per
cent of profit for five years and 25 per cent of profit in the next five years in case
of new agro processing industries set up to package and preserve fruits and
vegetables. Excise Duty of 16 per cent on dairy machinery has been fully waived
off and excise duty on meat, poultry and fish products has been reduced from 16
per cent to 8 per cent.
Food-Parks
In a bid to boost the food sector, the Government is working on
agrizones and the concept of mega food parks. Twenty such mega parks will
come up across the country in various cities to attract Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) in the food-processing sector. The Government approved 105 proposals
between January 2002 and May 2005 from foreign industrialists to set up food
9

processing industries in India involving Rs 643.47 crore (US$ 144 million). The
ministry has released a total assistance of Rs 105.22 crore (US$ 23 million) to
implement the Food Parks Scheme. It has so far approved 50 food parks for
assistance across the country. The Centre also plans Rs 100 crore (US$ 22 billion)
subsidy for mega food processing parks.
Fiscal-Policy and Taxation
Wide-ranging fiscal policy changes have been introduced
progressively. Excise and Import duty rates have been reduced substantially.
Many processed food items are totally exempt from excise duty. Custom duty
rates have been substantially reduced on plant and equipments, as well as on raw
materials and intermediates, especially for export Production. Corporate taxes
have been reduced and there is a shift towards market related interest rates. There
are tax incentives for new manufacturing units for certain years, except for
industries like beer, wine, aerated water using flavoring concentrates,
confectionery and chocolates etc. Indian currency (Rupee) is now fully
convertible on current account and convertibility on capital account with unified
exchange rate mechanism is foreseen in coming years. Repatriation of profits is
freely permitted in many industries except for some, where there is an additional
requirement of balancing the dividend payments through export earnings.

10

COMPANY PROFILE

Introduction
M/s. Food Pro India is a small-scale business unit. It is a
Propritorix firm. The name of the Propritorix is Foodpro Radhakrishnan. It is a
manufacturing unit. The items manufactured in this unit are Banana chips,
mixture, muruke, pakkavada, peanut candy, madhura seva, tapioca chips, sesame
ball/bar etc.

Location
The business is located hardly three kilometers away from the main
town, Thiruvalla. This is the first unit in this location. So it is considered as a
viable unit in this location. Hence, the chances of local competitor would be
negligible.

11

3.1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Channel satisfaction and its consequent impact on channel relationships has been an
important concern of both practitioners as well as researchers during the last three
decades. This is in reaction to a worldwide trend towards foodpro indiading closer,
and more integrated relationships between manufacturers and channel intermediaries.
It is being realized that one of the major prerequisites for achieving effective
integration of channel operations is the existence of high levels of commitment to the
relationships. The focus of managerial decisions with regard to channel management
has thus shifted to a large extent on creating and maintaining relationship
commitment. As Morgan and Hunt (1994) in their seminal work on channel
commitment has put it relationship commitment is central to all the relational
exchanges between the firm and its various partners.
Drawing from studies from diverse domains such as marriage, social exchange,
organizational behavior etc. they feel that, Commitment and trust are very important
because they encourage marketers to (1) work at preserving relationship investments
by cooperating with existing partners (2) resist attractive short-term alternatives in
favor of the expected long-term benefits of staying with existing partners and (3)
12

view potentially high-risk actions as being prudent because of the belief that their
partners will not act opportunistically.
Channel satisfaction is undoubtedly a major factor that could lead to greater levels of
channel commitment. Channel member satisfaction is defined as an overall positive
affective state resulting from the appraisal of all aspects of a firms working
relationship with another firm (e.g. Frazier, Gill and Kale 1989, Gaski and Nevin
1985). However, there exists considerable variation among channel theorists on the
exact definition of channel satisfaction (Andaleeb, 1995). In order to reduce this
apparent variation in conceptualization, Geyskins and Steenkamp (2000) proposed a
two way classification of channel satisfaction wherein satisfaction is defined in terms
of its economic antecedents and social antecedents. Economic satisfaction is
described as a channel members evaluation of the economic outcome that flows
from the relationship with its partners such as sales volume, margins and discounts.
Social satisfaction on the other hand is defined as a channel members evaluation of
the psychological aspects of its relationship in that interactions with the exchange
partner are fulfilling, gratifying and facile.
When we talk about customer service and/or satisfaction, we talk about creativity.
Creativity allows us to handle or diffuse problems at hand or later on in the process
of conducting the everyday business. We talk about how, or rather what, does the
organization have to do to gain not only the sale but also the loyalty of the customer.
We want to know the payoff of the transaction both in the short and long term. We
want to know what our customers want. We want to know if our customers are
satisfied. Satisfaction, of course, means that what we delivered to a customer met the
customers approval. We want to know if customers are delighted and willing to
come back, and so on. Fleiss2 and Feldman3 present examples of that delightfulness
in their writings. Fleiss has written about Ben and Jerrys ice cream and Feldman has
discussed excellence in a cab ride.
As important as delightfulness is, some of us minimize it, or even totally disregard it.
At this point, we fail. Some of the issues that will guarantee failure in sales,
satisfaction, and loyalty are:

13

 Employees must adhere to a rigid chain of command

Employees are closely supervised
Conflictin whatever formis not allowed
Rewards are based on carrot-and-stick principles
Wrong objectives are measured

3.2 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction is a key and valued outcome of good marketing practice.
According to Drucker (1954), the principle purpose of a business is to create satisfied
customers. Increasing customer satisfaction has been found to lead to higher future
profitability (Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994), lower costs related to defective
goods and services (Anderson, Fornell, and Rust 1997), increased buyer willingness
to pay price premiums, provide referrals, and use more of the product (Reichheld
1996; Anderson and Mittal 2000), and higher levels of customer retention and loyalty
(Fornell 1992; Anderson and Sullivan 1993; Bolton 1998). Increasing loyalty, in turn,
has been found to lead to increases in future revenue (Fornell 1992; Anderson,
Fornell, and Lehmann 1994) and reductions in the cost of future transactions
(Reichheld 1996; Srivastava, Shervani, and Fahey 1998). All of this empirical
evidence suggests that customer satisfaction is valuable from both a customer
goodwill perspective and an organizations financial perspective.
A firms future profitability depends on satisfying customers in the present retained
customers should be viewed as revenue producing assets for the firm (Anderson and
Sullivan 1993; Reichheld 1996; Anderson and Mittal 2000). Empirical studies have
found evidence that improved customer satisfaction need not entail higher costs, in
fact, improved customer satisfaction may lower costs due to a reduction in defective
goods, product re-work, etc. (Fornell 1992; Anderson, Fornell, and Rust 1997).
However, the key to bfoodpro indiading long-term customer satisfaction and
retention and reaping the benefits these efforts can offer is to focus on the
development of high quality products and services. Customer satisfaction and
14

retention that are bought through price promotions, rebates, switching barriers, and
other such means are unlikely to have the same long-run impact on profitability as
when such attitudes and behaviors are won through superior products and services
(Anderson and Mittal 2000). Thus, squeezing additional reliability out of a
manufacturing or service delivery process may not increase perceived quality and
customer satisfaction as much as tailoring goods and services to meet customer needs
(Fornell, Johnson, Anderson, Cha, and Everitt 1996).

3.3 MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

While it seems clear that increasing customer satisfaction is
beneficial to a marketing manager, how to measure it is less clear. Customer
satisfaction has been studied from the perspective of the individual customer and
what drives their satisfaction (Oliver and Swan 1989; Oliver 1993; Fournier and
Mick 1999) as well as from an industry-wide perspective to compare customer
satisfaction scores across firms and industries (Fornell 1992; Anderson, Fornell, and
Lehmann 1994; Fornell et al. 1996; Mittal and Kamakura 2001), while other research
has examined customer satisfaction in a single organization (Schlesinger and
Zornitsky 1991; Hallowell 1996; Loveman 1998) or across several organizations
(DeWulf, Odekerken-Schrder, and Iacobucci 2001). In addition, specific tools for
measuring customer satisfaction have been developed in the past, including
SERVQUAL (Parasuraman, Berry, and Zeithaml 1988, 1991). Thus, there exists an
ample literature on which to draw when attempting to measure customer satisfaction.
In attempting to measure customer satisfaction, it is possible that attributes can have
different satisfaction implications for different consumer and market segments the
usage context, segment population, and market environment can influence
satisfaction and product use (Anderson and Mittal 2000). Failure to take into account
15

segment-specific variation may lead a firm to focus on the wrong aspect for a given
set of consumers (Anderson and Mittal 2000). Furthermore, consumers with similar
satisfaction ratings, yet different characteristics, may exhibit different levels of
repurchase behavior (Mittal and Kamakura 2001). It is clear, then, that market and
consumer segments should be important factors to consider when measuring
customer satisfaction and its implications.
Garbarino and Johnson (1999) did consider segments in the customer base in their
study of satisfaction where they analyzed the different role played by satisfaction
between low relational and high relational customers. Their study, however, involved
customers from only a single organization. Our approach extends this work by
studying customers from multiple organizations, and shares some similarities with
Anderson and Sullivan (1993) with respect to the type of analysis and sampling
methods. The goals of their research, however, were to study the antecedents and
consequences of customer satisfaction rather than investigate how different types of
satisfaction may influence the overall measure of customer satisfaction. In addition,
our theoretical approach shares some similarities to Hutchison, Kamakura, and
Lynch (2000) who posited that unobserved heterogeneity is a problem for
interpreting results from behavioral experiments. The basic point of their argument is
that aggregation may create effects that do not exist in any segments, or may mask
effects that do exist. The present study makes a similar point and provides an
analytical method for overcoming such a problem. Kekre, Krishnan, and Srinivasan
(1995) examine heterogeneity of effects across individual customers of a single
company using a random effect ordered profit model. These models are similar to the
hierarchical linear models considered here, and a single customer could be
considered a subunit.
3.3.1 Sub segments vs. Subunits
Other authors have examined the heterogeneity of customer satisfaction effects.
Danaher (1998) shows how latent class regression can be used to segment customers
16

and estimate regression effects by segment simultaneously. Our work is different in

that we assume pre-defined subunits our concern is not to define segments that
have different effects. For the problems examined here, the subunits already exist.
Danaher (1998) identifies segments of customers (end users) who place different
emphasis on different service attributes. Malthouse (2002) defines such a process as
sub segmentation. A firm has targeted a market segment and acquired customers/end
users. It then sub segments these customers/end users from a market segment into
smaller, more homogeneous groups based on some criteria such as utility for aspects
of the product in the case of Danher (1998).
An important conceptual question concerns when one approach should be preferred
over the other. We make two points in response to this question. First, the pre-defined
subunit approach to studying heterogeneity is more appropriate when the resulting
managerial actions will be implemented at the subunit level. Second, managerial
actions implemented at the subunit level are most reasonable when there is
homogeneity within a subunit and heterogeneity across subunits; when this is not the
case the organization should seek actions that can be implemented for sub segments
of customers within a subunit. We give several examples to illustrate these points.
Consider the case of a newspaper owner, discussed in more detail below. An owner
in the U.S. has multiple newspapers and wants to know whether to invest in
improving either the service or the content of its individual papers. Investing in
content could involve hiring additional reporters so that local news can be covered
more thoroughly, adding pages to existing sections, adding special-interest sections,
etc. For most newspapers in the U.S. these actions would have to be taken at the
subunit level. One might object by suggesting, for example, that large metropolitan
newspapers (which represent only a small percentage of U.S. newspapers) could
improve content for specific suburban communities by hiring reporters and adding
customized local sections. We would argue that the suburban zone would be a
subunit.

17

A second example can be when actions primarily involve reach media. If a company
is communicating a single message with, for example, television, newspapers,
billboards, etc., the message must be tailored to the subunit reached by the media. A
third example is managerial actions that are most naturally applied at the subunit
level of retail stores, car dealerships, supermarkets, and bank branches, as discussed
previously. A corporation could send employees of certain subunits, but not all, for
specialized customer service training programs. Corporations often choose where to
locate subunits, and might opt for more expensive locations in regions where
convenience is more important. In addition, pricing strategies often must be
executed at the subunit level (Singh, Chintagunta, and Dube 2002).Of course; there
are numerous examples of situations where customer sub segmentations are more
appropriate. See Danaher (1998) or Malthouse (2002) for further discussion and
examples.
The present research represents the first study of which we are aware to measure
customer satisfaction from a representative sample of customers who are in turn from
a representative sample of organizations in a single industry. The analysis was
replicated in a second industry to confirm that the findings are not unique to a single
industry.

18

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 TITLE OF THE STUDY

A Study on DEALERS SATISFACTION of FOODPRO INDIA Thiruvalla

4.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem for the study was to estimate the dealers satisfaction of FOODPRO
INDIA and if not in which areas they are not satisfied with the service of the
company.

4.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study covers respondents form the class II and Class III towns in Pathanamthitta
district who are the dealers of food products. The result of the study can be used as a
support data for FOODPRO INDIAs comprehensive marketing programme.

4.4 NATURE OF THE STUDY

The type of research followed is mainly analytical and to a certain extent descriptive
in nature. Analytical research is the method used to analyze and draw inference from
a set of facts or collected data. This analysis is used to arrive at new information and
facts.

4.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

19

The research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it
constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. The
data was collected from 50 dealers from Pathanamthitta district. A scheduled
questionnaire was used to collect primary data on the other hand; secondary data was
collected using books, magazines and websites. Graphical tools including bar
diagrams, pie charts and statistical tools including percentage & chi-square analysis
were used in the process of analysis and interpretations of the collected data.
4.6 UNIVERSE
The dealers of foodpro india in the entire Pathanamthitta district concertedly
contributed to the universe.

4.7 POPULATION
50 dealers from the universe were selected randomnely for the survey.

4.8 SAMPLING
Simple random sampling was the method adopted for the selection of sample from
the above-mentioned universe.

4.9 SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION

Both primary and secondary data were used for the data collection
4.9.1 PRIMARY DATA
The primary data was generated through the questionnaire by soliciting
the response of the dealers of foodpro india. The questionnaire has been tested for its
validity before the research is been conducted. The reliability test has given an Alpha
value of 0.604. The reliability statistics has been given below.
20

21

TABLE 4.1
Case Processing Summary

Cases

Valid

100.0

Excluded a

.0

Total

100.0

a. List wise deletion based on all variables in the

procedure.
TABLE 4.2
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha

No of Items

.604

10

4.10 TOOLS USED FOR THE STUDY

Various statistical tools have used for the study.
1. Reliability test has been conducted f finding out the Alpha value for the
questionnaire used for the survey.
2. Statistical tool like ANOVA is used for testing the Hypothesis generated
3. Statistical tables, Charts and Diagrams are used for the presentation of the
data.
4. Analysis being carried down by the help of statistical software like SPSS
4.11 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
22

 Since the study was within a period of 8 weeks, time factor was a major
constraint.
The study was based on the assumption that the respondents will always be
truthful and correct. But this assumption might not be true always.
The study depends upon responses of the respondents, who are believed to be
giving the right information. Thus the accuracy of the survey and its findings
depends a lot on the respondents and their responses.
This sample size cannot represent the features and characteristics of the
universe to its entirety.
The study was confined to the Pathanamthitta district, so the results may not
be the same in other parts of Kerala which are having different market
conditions.

23

5 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

TABLE 5.1
EXPERIENCE IN DEALERSHIP
Sl No.

Criteria

No. of respondents

1
2
3

1 3 years
4 7 years
8 10 years

2
8
15

Above 10 years

25

TOTAL

50

24

FIGURE 5.1

1-3 YEARS; 4

4-7 YEARS; 16

ABOVE 10 YEARS; 50
8-10 YEARS; 30

25

INFERENCE:
The experience of the dealers matters a lot in this analysis to find the degree of
dealers satisfaction. The percentage analysis gives the percentage of their
experience in their dealership and if it is higher the analysis have the higher value.
Of about 50 dealers 50% of are having above ten years experience and 30% are in
the business of about 8-10 years. The other 16% have 4-7 years of experience and
the rest 4% of the dealers have 1-3 years experience. Since the chart above shows
the dealers have considerable experience and their answers are valued much and
their statements are very much helpful for the analysis to come effective.

26

TABLE 5.2
QUALITY OF PRODUCTS
Sl No.
1
2
3
4

Criteria

No. of respondents

VERY GOOD
GOOD
SATISFACTORY
POOR
TOTAL

24
18
8
0
50

27

FIGURE 5.2

SATISFACTORY; 16%

Very Good; 48%

GOOD; 36%

28

INFERENCE:
The chart above shows the degree of reliability on the quality of products the dealers
have. From this inference we can analyses the quality offers to their customers. Most
of the dealers said the quality of is unbeatable. Around 48% dealers have the opinion
that it is very good, 36% of the dealers say the quality is good and only a mere 16%
of them have the opinion Satisfactory. No one reported on poor quality products
from.

29

TABLE 5.3
CREDIT PERIOD ALLOWED
Sl
No.
1
2
3
4

Criteria

No. of respondents

VERY GOOD
GOOD
SATISFACTORY
POOR
TOTAL

18
22
10
0
50

30

% of
respondents
36
44
20
0
100

FIGURE 5.3

50

GOOD; 44

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

POOR; 0
Very
Good;
Very
Good36

SATISF
ACTORY; 20
SATISFACTORY

GOOD

31

POOR

INFERENCE:
This table shows the degree of dealers satisfaction on the credit period allowed by
the company to them. Most of the dealers are satisfied with the credit period allowed.
36% of the dealers are very much satisfied about the credit period offered to them.
44% of the dealers are voted Good and 20% of the dealers find no faults and
almost satisfied with the credit period allowed. None of the dealer has reported that
the credit period allowed is not matching with them.

32

TABLE 5.4
RATING OF PROMOTION ACTIVITIES
Sl No.

Criteria

No. of respondents

VERY GOOD

GOOD

15

SATISFACTORY

27

POOR

5
TOTAL

50

33

FIGURE 5.4

POOR; 10%
Very Good; 6%

SATISFACTORY; 54%

GOOD; 30%

34

INFERENCE:
The promotion, one of the Ps of marketing is most important for the survival of any
business concern, be it public or private, service or production. From the analysis,
the promotion activities carried out by company is found to be satisfactory. 6% of
dealers found it extremely well and 30% of the dealers have reported as Good.
54% of the dealers are satisfied and the rest 10% of the dealers are reporting poor..

35

TABLE 5.5

OPINION ABOUT PRICING

Sl
No.
1
2
3
4

Criteria

No. of respondents

% of respondents

10
24
16
0
50

20
48
32
0
100

VERY HIGH
HIGH
AVERAGE
LOW
TOTAL

36

FIGURE 5.5
60

50
48
40

32

30

20

20

10

0
very high

high

average

37

low

INFERENCE:
This table shows the opinion of the dealers and customers about the price of the
companys products. At any time, the price of a companys product is always
discussed; even it is maintained at a low cost. But when asked to a lot of customers
the real fact is revealed. Among the 50 dealers, 20% of them reported that the
product is priced the highest, 48% of them are reporting it is higher but not the
highest. 32% of the dealers are satisfied with the price, because of the products
quality. And none of the dealers have reported that the price is lower and no problem
to deal with that.To compete with the low cost products available in the market, the
company has recently launched products like meat sausage, crunchy burger etc.

38

TABLE 5.6

Employees relationship to dealers

Sl
No.
1
2
3
4

Criteria

No. of respondents

HIGHLY SATISFIED
SATISFIED
MODERATE
DISSATISFIED
TOTAL

12
28
10
0
50

39

% of
respondents
24
56
20
0
100

FIGURE 5.6

60
56

50

40

30
24
20

20

10

0
highly satisfied

satisfied

moderate

40

0
dissatisfied

INFERENCE:
In the pursuit of marketing, maintaining good relationship with the dealers is
essential. The employees of the firm should maintain a good rapport with the dealers
in order to carry on their business in a smooth fashion.
This table shows that no dealer has a trouble in dealing with the employees of
foodpro, which is also a main factor affecting the dealership and their satisfaction.
The friendly relation with the dealers helps much better for an organization to
flourish.
Here, in the case of foodpro, the replies depicts that they have understood this
concept very well. 24% of the dealers are proud to be the dealers of foodpro and 56
% are much satisfied. 20 % produce average results and none of them have reported
a poor relationship with the employees of the company.

41

TABLE 5.7

Sl No.
1
2
3
4

OPINION ABOUT AFTER SALES SERVICE

Criteria
No. of respondents
HIGHLY SATISFIED
3
SATISFIED
10
MODERATE
35
DISSATISFIED
2
TOTAL
50

42

FIGURE 5.7

Dissatisfied; 4% Highly Satisfied; 6%

Satisfied; 20%

Moderate; 70%

43

INFERENCE:
After sales-service, is very much important for a manufacturing company to bloom.
In that matter, Foodpro finds a little problem with the dealers. They are quite
satisfied, because, no product will be of under-quality and a very few if found to be
defective, are replaced and repaired sooner.
From the above figure, it is evident that from the after sales service offered by the
company 6 % and 20%, so totally 26 % of the dealers have no problem and they are
satisfied well. But 70 % of the dealers noted that the service is only moderate and 4%
of the dealers find some problems in the after sales service.
On observation, the dealers are having problem with the after sales service which is
unavoidable. They say that it takes time for the product to get repaired and having
comparatively less problems with the replacement; hence they do use local
mechanics for the sudden repair.

44

TABLE 5.8
DEALERS EXPECTATION ON PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY
Sl
% of
Criteria
No. of respondents
No.
respondents
1
DISCOUNT
32
64
2
GIFT
4
8
3
PRIZE
5
10
4
OTHER OFFERS
9
18
TOTAL
50
100

45

FIGURE 5.8

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%

Discount; 64
Gift; 8

40%

Prize; 10

30%

Other Offers; 18

20%
10%
0%
Discount
Gift
Prize
Other Offers

46

INFERENCE:
Some dealers have the suggestions, and the suggestions about the promotional
activities are, shown in the table. It becomes essential for the manufacturing
organization to satisfy its dealers by the way to sustain and compete. Foodpro
already offering discounts and they are satisfied with it. Hence the 64 % of the
dealers find no problem with the promotional activity and they get what they expect.
18% of the dealers expect offers when they purchase in bulk. 8% expect for the gift
items and 10% expect prizes to be offered.

47

TABLE 5.9

PROMOTING FACTOR
Sl No.

Criteria

No. of respondents

1
2
3

PROMOTION
BRAND NAME
COMPANY POLICY

5
25
3

MARGIN

12

SCHEMES
TOTAL

5
50

48

FIGURE 5.9

Schemes; 10% Promotion; 10%

Margin; 24%

Brand Name; 50%

Company Policy; 6%

49

INFERENCE:
While talking with the dealers about the main factors which drive them to deal with
foodpro, it came out that most of the dealers prefer on Brand name to be the first
factor. About 50% of the dealers are dealing with Foodpro products because of its
Brand name. 24 % of the dealers have voted for margin and 10% for the promotional
schemes and 6% for the company policies. Though the dealers prefer margin,
promotional schemes etc apart from the Brand name, they believe that it is the Brand
name of the company and its products which are the main factors behind their
promotion of the brand.

50

TABLE 5.10

DEALING WITH COMPETITORS

Sl

Criteria

No.

No. of respondents

% of
respondents

YES

50

100

NO

50

100

TOTAL

51

FIGURE 5.10
100
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
yes

no

52

INFERENCE:
Most of the dealers deal with the competitors also. This is because it is very essential
for them to satisfy their various kinds of customers who have different brand and
product preferences.

53

TABLE 5.11

SUPPLY PRODUCTS IN TIME

Sl

Criteria

No.

No. of respondents

% of
respondents

YES

50

100

NO

50

100

TOTAL

54

FIGURE 5.11

100
100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
yes

no

55

INFERENCE:
From the above table it is inferred that the company supply good all of their dealers
in time.

56

TABLE 5.12

FACTORS EXPECTING FROM FOODPRO

Sl
No.
1
2
3
4

Criteria

No. of respondents

% of respondents

10
24
16
0
50

20
48
32
0
100

VERY HIGH
HIGH
AVERAGE
LOW
TOTAL

57

FIGURE 5.12

50

48

45
40
35
32

30
25
20

20

15
10
5
0
very high

high

average

58

0
low

INFERENCE:
48% of the respondents are expecting high factors from the company, 32 % are
expecting low factors from the company and 10% are expecting very high factors
from the company and none of them low factors from the company

59

TABLE 5.13.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE PRODUCTS

Sl

Criteria

No.

No. of respondents

% of
respondents

YES

NO

50

100

50

100

TOTAL

60

FIGURE 5.13.

YES
NO

100

INFERENCE:
none of the dealers have any complaint about foodpro products

61

TABLE 5.14

RECOMMENDATION OF DEALERS TO THEIR CUSTOMERS

Sl

Criteria

No.

No. of respondents

% of
respondents

YES

50

100

NO

50

100

TOTAL

62

FIGURE 5.14

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
YES

NO

INFERENCE:
All of the dealers are recommending the company to their customers

63

TABLE 5.14
SUGGESTION TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE
PRODUCTS
Sl

Criteria

No.

No. of respondents

% of
respondents

YES

50

100

NO

50

100

TOTAL

64

FIGURE 5.14

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
YES
NO

INFERENCE:
All of the dealers are give suggestion to the company for improvement
65

ANOVA Table for Comparison of Dealers Experience with their Satisfaction on

the Promotional Activities:
Hypothesis:
Ho : There is no significant relation between the dealers work life and their
Satisfaction Level on the Promotional Activities.
H1 : There is a significant relation between the dealers work life and their
Satisfaction Level on the Promotional Activities.
TABLE 5.11
ANOVA
EXPERIENCE
Sum of
Squares

df

Mean Square

Sig.

Between Groups

3.048

3.048

22.857

.005

Within Groups

.667

.133

Total

3.714

66

From the table above, Degree of Freedom = 1, the value of F = 22.857, the
significance lesser than 0.05, thereof the null hypothesis is rejected, by accepting the
alternate hypothesis. Therefore, there is a significant relation between the dealers
experience and their Satisfaction Level on the Promotional Activities, and most of
the well experienced dealers are satisfied with the promotional activities.

6.1 FINDINGS

Foodpro have got an array of well established dealers. The dealers have a good
track record of their business.
The dealers are satisfied with the quality of the products which are offered by
Foodpro. None of the dealers said that the products are of poor quality.
It is found that the price is a little higher for the Foodpro products but when
considering about the quality, the product is worth the price. Most of the
dealers are satisfied with the price, because of the products quality and none
of the dealers reported that the price is lower so no problem to deal with that.
The friendly relation helps much better for an organization to flourish. Here, in
the case of Foodpro, the feedback depicts that they have understood this
concept very well. The dealers are happy with the involvement of the
employees of FOODPRO INDIA.
On observation, some of the dealers are having problem with the after sales
service which is unavoidable. They say that it takes time for the product to get

67

repaired, hence they do use local mechanics for the sudden repair but no
problem faced on the replacement front.
Most of the dealers also deal with the competitors. This is because it is very
essential for them to satisfy the customers who have different brand and
product preferences.
From the observation, it is found that there are complaints about the
profitability and price of Foodpro products. Because the margin they are
getting is less compared with the immediate competitors.
There is a significant relation between the dealers experience and their
Satisfaction Level on the Credit Period allowed and most of the well
experienced dealers are satisfied with the credit period. The company gives
less credit period to the new dealers. When they prove to be good with their
payment pattern, the company gives extension on the credit period and
payment modes.
There is a significant relation between the dealers experience and their
Satisfaction Level on the Promotional Activities, and most of the well
experienced dealers are satisfied with the promotional activities given by the
company such as hoardings, name boards, display aids etc.
While talking with the dealers about the main factors which drive them to deal
with FOODPRO, it came out that most of the dealers prefer on Brand name to
be the first factor other than the profitability.
All of the dealers are recommending the company to their customers
From the above table it is inferred that the company supply good all of their
dealers in time.
68

6.2 SUGGESTIONS
The main objective of every analysis is to find the faults and road blocks of a
business.
Some of the suggestions, based on the 4Ps of marketing are:
PRODUCT
Foodpro products are well known for their durability, and they take very care
about their goodwill
Most of the dealers are not highly satisfied with the after-sales service given
by the company. It should be taken care of because it is the vital factor in
every business. For this, a Gap analysis can be done to find out where the
company is lacking in delivering the after sales service activities, and the
effective measures can be taken.
Opening more service centers across Kerala is needed for the better after sales
programme. The major towns like Kottayam, Alappuzha, and Palakkad are
not having a service centre for the company at present. By opening service
centers at these places, the company can cater to the needs of a wide customer
base across Kerala.
Periodic training programs should be conducted for the technicians as the
company is extending the product line periodically. They should become
familiarized with the technical specifications of the products for providing
better after sales service.

69

PRICE
The company is offering discounts and allowances in the form of trade
discounts to the dealers. But the existing trade discount packages are
benefiting the dealers who are doing big volumes of business. The dealers in
the class II and Class III towns may not be able to do that much volume. In
order to improve the rural sales, existing trade discounts should be made in
that way which should be motivating those dealers to do the business.
Cash discounts are offered to the dealers who are making advance payments. It
is now merely 2%. Increasing that level may motivate the dealers for the cash
purchase as they are getting this benefit other than the trade discounts.
PLACE
The company should focus more on the rural market as it contributes nearly
20% of the total sales and is an untapped market too. It can be beautifully done
through the newly introduced low cost products.
The company is having a different channel for the low end model. Either by
adding members to this channel or by using the existing Members the rural
market can be captured.
It will be better to have a feedback from the dealers at regular intervals, to
minimize the communication gap in the distribution process between the
dealers and company people.

The dealers have some complaints about the delivery of goods. The company
is using road transport for the delivery of goods with the help of different
transporting companies. It should be taken care of while selecting the
transporter. So that the deliveries can be made in time.
70

PROMOTION
The company is now mainly focusing on the Push strategy for promotion.
Since the competition is strengthening, Pull strategy also can be used along
with this.
The existing trade promotion schemes are not offering much to the small scale
dealers. There should be good trade promotion schemes which support the
smaller dealers too.
The immediate competitors are far ahead of Foodpro in using the Pull strategy.
Foodpro should concentrate more on advertising through Visual Media.
Billboards or hoardings can be used as an outdoor promotional method instead
of the existing wall paintings. The billboards are to be more attractive.
In store advertising can be designed to increase the number of spontaneous
buying decision. Studies revealed that nearly 70% of all buying decisions are
made in the store.
To encourage repeated purchases, Foodpro can take many short-term actions
such as price promotions, coupons, displays, and repetitive advertising.
Admissibility of brand ambassadors plays an important role in the advertising
campaign. Presently Foodpro is not having a brand ambassador for the
promotion.

71

7. CONCLUSION
Competing is the global brand and it is difficult one. From the survival point of view,
FOODPRO INDIA should enter into all aspects of marketing activities to improve
the product life in the future market. The company has mostly achieved in satisfying
its dealers and as well as its customers. It is evident from this study and FOODPRO
INDIA is advised to maintain its Quality on its products so as to retain this stage
forever. The study has been successful in knowing the Dealers Satisfaction with
Foodpro India
In order to successfully design long term policies aimed to foster manufacturersdealers relationships, it has been demonstrated that manufacturers must give up
decisions exclusively oriented to generate immediate benefits. In fact such policies
may disclose future company failure.
The study is not entirely devoid of limitations. The sampling methodology deviates
substantially from a pure random sampling based methodology and therefore reduces
the generalisability of the study. Future studies could look at different contexts as
well as inclusion of other moderators.

72

ANNEXURE
A Study on DEALERS SATISFACTION of FOODPRO INDIA Thiruvalla with
special reference in the PATHANAMTHITTA district.
Questionnaire
Name:
Address:
1. How long you are dealing with FOODPRO products?
1-3 years

4-7 years

8-10 years

above 10 years

2. How do you feel about Quality of FOODPRO products?

Very Good

Good

Satisfactory

Poor

.3. What do you feel about credit period given by FOODPRO?

Very Good

Good

Satisfactory

Poor

4. How do you rate the Promotional Activities given by FOODPRO?

Very Good

Good

Satisfactory

73

Poor

5. How do you rate Price of FOODPRO products compared with the following
competitors?
Very high

High

Average

Low

6.. What do you feel about the employees dealing with you in FOODPRO?
Highly Satisfied

Satisfied

Average

Dissatisfied

7.. What do you feel about after sales service given by FOODPRO?
Highly Satisfied

Satisfied

Moderate

Dissatisfied

8. What type of promotional activity do you prefer with FOODPRO products?

Discount

Gift

Prize Offers

Others (Specify)..

9. Which factor enables you to be the dealer of FOODPRO products?

Promotion
Margin

Schemes

Company Policy

Brand Name

74

10. Are you dealing with other companies?

Yes

No

11. Whether the expected quantity of FOODPRO products is supplied to you in time?
Yes

No

12. What are the factors that you expect from FOODPRO?
Very high

fo

high

average

low
13. Do you have any complaints about FOODPRO products?
Yes

No

If Yes, specify the reason,

Delivery of goods

Quality of products

After sales service

Pricing

75

14. Do you recommend your customers about FOODPRO products?

Yes

No

If No, specify the reason,

15. Do you have any suggestions to improve the quality of FOODPRO products?
Yes

No

If Yes, specify,

76

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WEBSITES

http://censusindia2001.com
http://gogetpapaers.com
http://ibef.org
http://naukrihub.com/india/consumer-durables
http://scribd.com
http://shine.com
http://stanforduniversity.edu
http://foodprointernationallimited.com

78