MARKETING STRATEGIES

OF
ULTRATECH CEMENT

SUBMITTED BY:
NIKHIL MALPANI 42
PRATIK KAKANI 44
RAJESH LADHA 45
JAY SHAH
ABOUT ULTRATECH
The Aditya Birla Group is India’s truly multinational corporation. Global in vision, rooted
in values, the Group is driven by a performance ethic pegged on value creation for its
multiple stakeholders.
A premium global conglomerate, the Aditya Birla Group is a dominant player in all of the
sectors in which it operates. Among these are the viscose staple fiber, metals, cement,
viscose filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilizers, insulators,
financial services, telecom, retail, BPO and IT services.
In India, Groups is the 2nd largest player in CEMENT BUSINESS. UltraTech Cement
Limited is one of the cement manufacturing company of this group with an annual
capacity of 18.2 million tonnes.
UltraTech Cement Limited has five integrated plants, six grinding units and three
terminals — two in India and one in Sri Lanka.

UltraTech Cement is the country’s largest exporter of cement clinker. The export
markets span countries around the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

UltraTech’s subsidiaries are Dakshin Cement Limited and UltraTech Ceylinco (P)
Limited.

UltraTech is India's largest exporter of cement clinker. The company's production

facilities are spread across five integrated plants, five grinding units, and three terminals
— two in India and one in Sri Lanka. All the plants have ISO 9001 certification, and all
but one have ISO 14001 certification. While two of the plants have already received
OSHAS 18001 certification, the process is underway for the remaining three. The
company exports over 2.5 million tonnes per annum, which is about 30 per cent of the
country's total exports. The export market comprises of countries around the Indian
Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Export is a thrust area in the company's
strategy for growth.
COMMUNICATION (PROMOTION):
2005 saw one of the high profile brand launches in the country. The launch was
significant and different because it was the launch of a cement brand. Another
uniqueness was that it was a rebranding exercise. L&T's cement business was acquired
by Aditya Birla Group in 2004 for Rs 2200 crore making Grasim the 8th largest cement
producer in the world.

Grasim was having cement brands like Birla plus and Birla super in the 150 mn TPA
Cement market in India. L&T was a leading brand in the premium segment of the
cement market. The acquisition gave Grasim an entry into the premium segment of the
market.

L&T cement which enjoyed leadership position in the premium cement market
epitomized engineering prowess , technology quality and modernity. This has enabled
the brand to command a premium over the other cement brands. Grasim was allowed 8
months to use the L&T brand.

Grasim was faced with a tough task. The time was short and there were two choices,
merge the L&T brand with existing Grasim brands or launch a new brand . The
company decided on the later and did it with style.

The name Ultratech was chosen after careful marketing research. Since L&T does not
mean anything by virtue of the brand name, Grasim wanted the new brandname to
portray significant intrinsic value of the brand. Hence the name Ultratech was chosen.
Since Grasim didnot want to dilute the premiumness that L&T enjoyed, a high decibel
ad blitz was launched to announce that L&T is now Ultratech. The campaigns was
backed with direct marketing where the company officials met the 5500 odd stockists
and authorised dealers explaining the new brand and company policies.

The campaign had lot of significance.

1. It had to make sure that the new brand did not lose the qualities of L&T
2. The new brand should be able to command the same level of premium of L&T.
3. Time was short
4. It was a risky affair.
Ultratech was positioned as the ' Engineer's choice" cement emphasizing on the
qualities such as Quality, Modernity and technology. The gamble has paid off well for
Aditya Birla group and Ultratech was able to carry the legacy of L&T cement.
COMPETITION (BRANDS):
The basic Overview of the cement industry is given as below which clearly shows that
the market for the new comers is not so easy to survive unless and until they have a
competitive advantage over others.

Cement Companies (nos.) 52

Cement Plants (nos.) 130
Installed Capacity (Million Tonnes) 165
Cement Production (Million Tonnes) 152
Exports (Million Tonnes) 9.5
Turnover (Mn. USD) 9700

MAJOR COMPETITORS: There are as we saw above a huge competition in this sector
and thereby Ultratech Cement Ltd. has to be more strategic but the major competitors of
Ultratech are:

✔ ACC
✔ AMBUJA CEMENT
✔ BINANI CEMENT
✔ INDIA CEMENT
✔ SHREE CEMENT

DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS:
UltraTech's distribution network is very widely spread out in the country with over 5,500
dealers and 30,000 retailers. It enjoys a leadership position in all the markets that it
serves. We are committed to preserving the brand's premium and its market share. The
company has enlisted the support of all of its business associates. This includes
dealers, stockists, retailers, builders and engineers, among others.
UltraTech Cement Limited proposed to unveil 200 Building Solutions Retail Stores
(UTBS) across India before the end of this calendar year, according to the Chief
Marketing Officer of the company. The concept was unique in the construction industry
and would advocate a "plan, build and support" philosophy, seeking an enhanced
shopping experience for consumers, he said. Inaugurating four UTBS in nearby towns
of srirangam, Mannachanallur, and Thuraiyur recently, he said UTBS could help a plot
owner get information on how to choose and buy quality construction material.
Customers can also get a list of recommended outlets offering construction products
like wood, paint, fittings, sand, bricks and others. Besides, UTBS offer free consultancy
services on legal opinion, obtaining plan approvals and clues from Vaasthu Sastra.
UTBS would also offer complete support through tests at the construction site, ensuring
quality standards, he said. Such stores were already functioning successfully at Rajkot
and Gurgaon, he said. The group has 11 composite plans, seven split grinding units and
four bulk terminals that include one in Sri Lanka and 40 ready mix concerete plants. The
UltraTech distribution network will now be pan-India with over 14,000 dealers and
60,000 retailers, he added.

CUSTOMERS:
The customers in the cement industry are generally larger clients such as Retail
Industry, Construction Sectors, etc.

PRICE:
Ultratech would benefit from lower imported coal cost/pet coke cost in its cement business,
whereas its VSF business would benefit from lower sulphur prices. As a result, we
estimate Rs5-6/bag savings in cement cost and Rs10/kg savings in VSF cost. Also with the
excise cut the rate of bag cement has come down to Rs 2-3/bag. This is really going to
have an impact of the sale of the cement in the coming quarter.

PRODUCTS:
✔ Ordinary Portland cement
✔ Portland blast furnace slag cement
✔ Portland Pozzolana cement
✔ Cement to European and Sri Lankan norms
✔ Ready Mix Concrete (RMC)

TECHNOLOGY:
When it comes to Technology, Ultratech is isn’tfar behind. The Latest e-CMS Cash
Collection system which they are implementing in collaboration with HDFC bank has
increased their savings to a greater extent.
 CONCLUSION

There are certain areas which should be taken care of in order to increase
the savings, to make the working process flexible and the market :

✔ More Promotional Campaigns in eastern and some parts of northern areas.

✔ Educating Zones about web CMS facility.

✔ Customerization of banks MIS as per our Accounting System.