TOTAL PRODUCT MARKETING PROCEDURES :

A CASE STUDY ON BSRM Xtreme 500W

Submitted to:
Professor Dr. Mohammed Solaiman
Dean, Faculty of Business Administration
University of Science & Technology Chittagong (USTC)
Foys Lake, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Submitted by:
Muhammed Jahangir Alam
Class Roll No. 419
Final Semester, MBA (Executive), Marketing Group, 17th Batch,
Faculty of Business Administration (FBA)
University of Science & Technology Chittagong (USTC)
Foys Lake, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Contact: Mobile No. 01713 161017
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 Dedicated To
My Affectionate Parents
Who Raised Me and
Gave Me the Opportunity
To Reach At This Level

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 Letter of Submission

March 6, 2010

To
Professor Dr. Mohammed Solaiman,
Dean, Faculty of Business Administration,
University of Science & Technology Chittagong (USTC),
Fays Lake, Chittagong,
Bangladesh.

Subject: Submission of the Internship Report

Dear Sir,

This has reference to my intern course as the part of my course study of Master of
Business Administration (Executive). In this connection, I am submitting herewith the
report regarding the topic- The Total Products Marketing Procedures: A Case Study
On-BSRM Xtreme 500W. I think the internship program is very useful and realistic to
gather practical experience about a companys operations and activities. For my study I
have worked and collected data from two available sources as primary & secondary. The
secondary data are collected from the company personnel, annual financial report,
general report and other available sources & records. For collecting secondary data a
formal questionnaire has been prepared to collect information through face to face
interview with customers, architects, engineers, dealers, mason, etc. After collecting
necessary information I have tabulated and analyze that information and finally this report
has been made by using those data. I think this report will help other peoples to gain
knowledge about the company. I hope this will also be beneficial to the students of USTC.

I therefore, pray and hope that you would be kind enough to accept my report and oblige
hereby.

Sincerely yours,

_______________________
( Muhammed Jahangir Alam)
Class Roll No. 419 (Reg. No. 334)
MBA (Executive), 17th Batch,
Marketing Group,
USTC, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

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 AKNOWLEDGEMENT

I like to take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to those without the blessings
and cooperation this report would not have been possible.

First of all I am grateful to Almighty Allah who has created all the things and make it
possible to enjoy them for our good selves. He also gives me opportunity to finish this
report in time.

I like take the opportunity to thank my supervisor of the internship program Professor Dr.
Mohammed Solaiman, Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Science &
Technology Chittagong (USTC), Foys Lake, Chittagong, Bangladesh, for his guidance,
constant and spontaneous support and constructive suggestion. Without his help this
report could not have been possible.

This is the way by which I can extend my heart felt thanks to the contributors of generous
help I have received from many sources of BSRM Group of Companies. I like to express
my tributes and gratitude to Mr. Shekhar Ranjan Kar, Chief Accountant & Company
Secretary & Mr. Md. Habibur Rahman, Senior Manager (Accounts & Finance), BSRM
Group of Companies, Head Office, Ali Mansion, Sadarghat Road, Chittagong, Bangladesh
for giving me the opportunity, appointment for discussions and collection of data from
internal sources.

I will never forget the contribution of all the staff and managers of BSRM Group of
Companies, Head Office, Ali Mansion, Sadarghat Road, Chittagong, Bangladesh who
have spread their valuable advice, suggestion, opinion and time to me. Thank you all the
guys who are directly or indirectly related to this report.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The report deals with an important topic described Products Marketing Problems &
Prospects: A Case Study on BSRM Xtreme 500W. The principal objective of the report is
to analyze the marketing mix of the product-BSRM Xtreme 500W, their effectiveness and
also evaluate the overall performance of BSRM Steels Ltd. On the basis of internship
program I am intending to prepare and submit this report. This practical knowledge has
been brought under eight major sections. The very short first section contains introduction,
background, research problems, objectives, research methodology, beneficiaries and
limitations of the study.

To conduct the study properly some sorts of secondary data were collected from the
company source such as accounts & finance department, the marketing and promotion
department and supply chain and logistic department. But these were not sufficient
enough to come to a decision. To get a clear picture of the market as well as to know their
problems & prospects of market some sorts of primary data also been collected from the
available sources in the market of steel rod industry. As our target is the steel rod industry
we have chosen probability samples of 100Peoples on random basis from the industry
related and other general public. To collect primary data questionnaire & interview method
is followed. Sample has been taken from dealers, real estate companies, architecture,
engineers, masons, students, teachers and other professionals, etc. accomplish the study.
Both primary and secondary data have been used to conduct the study and make a report
properly. I have tried my best to depend on the sources of data that are more reliable and
rational. All the information and data included in the report were updated and from a
reliable source and so little assumptions were made which help make the report further
praiseworthy and reliable in order to use it by anybody for any research program in future.
On the top of that interview was fair, friendly with the important customers and users, so
that the collected information becomes more relevant to the study.

After analyzing all the secondary & primary data I have come to know that there is huge
competition in the market of steel rod industry. There are some major companies in
Bangladesh who are in the market and competing with each other very strongly. Major
companies in this industry are as under:

BSRM ( Prduct-BSRM Xtreme 500W)

KSRM ( 60 Grade Deformed Bar)
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RSRM (60 Grade Deformed Bar)
SARM (60 Grade Deformed Bar)
Rahim Steel ( 60 Grade Deformed Bar)
SARM ( 60 Grade Deformed Bar),
Islam Steel ( 60 Grade Deformed Bar),
Anwar Ispat (60 Grade Deformed Bar),
Basundara Steels ( 60 Grade Bar),
Ira Steel ( 60 Grade Bar), etc.

In the study it was found that BSRM has achieved brand loyalty among the customers and
users for their quality and in time delivery of goods. The other hidden reasons of success
are related to the brand image, corporate branding, complain handling procedures of final
users, fallow both o level or 1 level channel in the distribution system, 6 local sales offices,
long term experience of producing quality materials, updated marketing and promotional
policies, sales promotion or gift for channel members, a group of experienced employees,
etc. But they are facing problems with raw materials & skill ness of the employee. As a
result, sometimes they are facing trouble to compete with their rivals in the market.

It is also found that all the dealers, retailers and customers of BSRM Steels Ltd. are totally
satisfied with the products performance. But there are some sorts of dissatisfaction among
the customers of BSRM Xtreme 500W. They charge premium prices for their products
which are more than the competitors in the market. As a result BSRM loosing lower
income level customers. From the study it is found that if they can reduce the price of
BSRM Xtreme 500W then the market of BSRM Steels Ltd. will be expanded further.

At last a number of recommendations have been suggested for overcome the problems
and for the betterment of the marketing performance of BSRM Xtreme 500W. I have also
presented some important information about the competitors of BSRM Steels Ltd. in the
industry. BSRM is now the market leader in the industry. If the suggested
recommendations can be applied to their mills then the company will gain more
sustainable development for long run in the industry.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sl.# Page No.
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction 10
1.2 Brief History of BSRM Group of Companies 12
1.2.1 Sister Concern of BSRM 12
1.2.2 Benefits of BSRM Xtreme 500W 12
1.2.3 Vision of BSRM 15
1.2.4 Mission of BSRM 15
1.2.5 Financial Strength of BSRM Steels Ltd. 16
1.3 Research Problems 17
1.4 Objectives of the study 18
1.5 Methodology of study 19
1.5.1 Data collection 19
1.5.2 Research description 20
1.5.3 Sample design 20
1.7 Beneficiary of the study 22
1.8 Limitations of the study 23

Chapter 2: Product Management

2.1 BSRM Xtreme 500W- The New Product 26
2.2 The product life cycle 26
2.3 New product development 27
2.3.1 Idea generation 27
2.3.2 Idea screening 27
2.3.3 Concept development & testing 28
2.3.4 Business analysis 28
2.3.5 Beta testing & market testing 28
2.3.6 Technical implementation 29
2.3.7 Commercialization 29
2.4 The product- BSRM Xtreme 500W 30
2.5.1 Product Price 30
2.5.2 Transport/Carrying charges 30
2.6 Order booking system 31

Chapter 3: Logistic Management

3.1 BSRM Mills Infrastructure 33
3.2 In House Storing System 33
3.3 Bending & Delivery System of BSRM Steels Ltd. 33
3.4 Location & Communication 33
3.5 Logistic Support 34
3.6 Local Transport Suppliers 34
3.7 Storing & Bending Facilities at Local Offices 34
3.8 Order Receiving & Delivery Management 35

Chapter 4: SWOT Analysis

4.0 SWOT analysis 38
4.1 Strengths of BSRM Xtreme 500W 38
4.2 Weaknesses of BSRM Xtreme 500W 38
4.3 Opportunities of BSRM Xtreme 500W 39
4.4 Threats of BSRM Xtreme 500W 39

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 Chapter 5: Competitors Analysis
5.1 Competitors of BSRM Xtreme 500W 41
5.2 Major Competitive Brands 43

Chapter 6: Channel Relationship

6.1 Order receiving & supply channels 45
6.2 Internal order receiving & follow up procedures 47

Chapter 7: Promotion Management

7.1 Promotion activities 49
7.2 Promotion budget 49
7.3 Selecting effective promotion tools 49
7.3.1 Advertising 50
7.3.2 Public relation 50
7.3.3 Web materials 51
7.3.4 Seminars & symposiums 51
7.3.5 Conference & trade shows 51
7.3.6 Direct marketing 51
7.3.7 Event sponsorship 51
7.3.8 Merchandising promotion 51
7.3.9 E-marketing 52
7.3.10 Tele-marketing 52

Chapter 8: Implications & Strategies

8.1 Problems of BSRM Xtreme 500W Product Marketing 54
8.2 Suggestions/Recommendation 56
8.3 Conclusions 57

Bibliography 58

Exhibits 59

Appendix: Questionnaire 64

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 Chapter -1

Introduction

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1.1) Introduction:

Marketing research is very important to find out the real position, competitive
advantages, strengths, weaknesses and market position of a company. The subject
company-BSRM Group of Companies, Head office Ali Mansion, Sadarghat Road,
Chittagong, Bangladesh is one of the well established steel rod manufacturing
companies in Bangladesh. The company has started their business in Bangladesh
since 1952. Very recently in 2008 they have introduced their new product- BSRM
Xtreme 500W in the market which is basically an upgraded steel rod brand uses for
building uprising apartment building. Before introducing their new product BSRM were
marketing their products like BSRM 60Grade and BSRM 40Grade Deformed Bars.

This present report highlighted the total market position, strengths, weaknesses, and
competitive analysis of BSRM Xtreme 500W. Although it is not an easy task to find
out the total market situation of a product in a very short time but I have tried to find out
the real position of the product by using related primary and secondary data of the
company from the market. The primary data has been collected from the available
sources of the market whereas the secondary data has been collected from the
company sources, related financial reports of the company and various journals,
printed articles and website of the company.

After critical analysis of the collected data for BSRM Xtreme 500W some of the
findings have been sorted out which are placed as recommendation for betterment of
the companys current position in the later section of the report. There are some ways
of implementation of the recommendations which have been suggested in the
conclusion chapter of this report. I am sure that the subject company-BSRM can
improve their market position by overcoming their weaknesses, proper utilization of
their available resources and implementing the recommendation properly.

As the report is based on a single company-BSRM it may not represent the overall
situation of the industry. Although there were some short comings of my report which I
have explained in the introductory chapter of this report but I am hopeful that the report
can be a source of the real situation of the steel industry. As BSRM holds 25% of the
market share of the industry so it can give some more accurate situation to the users
of this report to know the actual facts of the industry.

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Due to changes and advancement in the steel manufacturing technology the market
situation changes day by day. More and more companies are now trying to upgrade
their manufacturing technology to compete in the market. So, the situation can change
anytime in favour of any company, so I recommend all of the users of this report to
collect and study present data to get the real picture of that company.

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1.2 ) Brief History of BSRM Group of Companies:

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd.(BSRM) has established in 1952 with 4 small
rolling mills in Nasibad Industrial Area, Baizid Bostami Road, Chittagong, Bangladesh to
produce reinforcing bars and structural sections. The mills were founded by Late
Mr.Taheali Alibhai Africawala and Late Akberali Alibhai Africawala the predecessors of
present management.

The mill gradually expanded by adopting European technology. In 1987 the

management decided to extend the plants to produce high quality products like TOR
Steels and 60 Grade reinforcing bars. In 1996 BSRM added a captive billet
manufacturing plants to cater the demand of quality billets as raw materials for rolling
mills. BSRM has established their cold rolling mill to manufacture ribbed high strength
m.s.wires in 2006. Finally in 2008 BSRM Group of Companies has established their
state-of-the-art Danieli,Italy built rolling mills plant - BSRM Steels Ltd. at 4 Fouzderhat
I/A, Chittagong, Bangladesh with updated technology and annual production capacity of
1,35,000M/T 500mpa 75grade m.s.rod. The project is one of the largest in south East
Asia which produce their new products-BSRM Xtreme 500W- a 75grade international
standard m.s.rod for uprising multi storied buildings.

1.2.1) SISTER CONCERN of BSRM

BSRM Group has following sister concerns which are related to the manufacturing of
building materials:

Sl.# Name of Concern Products

01) BSRM Re-Rolling Mills Ltd. D-Bar (60Grade & 40 Garde), Angles,
Channels, I-Beam, Shaft
02) BSRM Steels Ltd. BSRM Xtreme 500W
03) BSRM Wires Ltd. M.S. Wire Rods
04) Meghna Engineering Works Ltd. M.S. Billets
05) BSRM Iron & Steel Co.Ltd. M.S. Billets
06) Chittagong Power Co.Ltd. Proposed Power Co.
(Now used as Central Warehouse)
07) BSRM Re-Cycling Inds. Ltd. Scrap Recycling Inds.
08) Karnafully Engineering Works Ltd. Scrap Recycling Inds.
09) H.Akberali & Company Ltd. House Property
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1.2.2) Benefits of BSRM Xtreme 500W

1) Products Quality
The product quality of BSRM Xtreme 500W is very high. From the very beginning of
their introduction BSRM strictly maintain their product quality. They have their own
laboratories to different places in the country- Chittagong mills, Dhaka, Comilla,
Sylhet, Bogra & Khulna with various testing facilities like compressive strength,
Flexibility, Weld ability, etc. A customer intending to test any of their products can
easily test it at free of cost. So, customers are taking BSRMs products without any
hesitation.

2) Products Range
BSRM has a large numbers of steel products for construction industries. Their
products are-
a) BSRM Xtreme 500W (Deformed Bars) from diameter 5.5mm to 32mm;
b) M.S. Angle of different sizes;
c) M.S. Channel of different sizes;
d) M.S. Plain Bar of different sizes;
e) M.S. I-Beam of different sizes;
f) M.S. H-Beam of different sizes;
g) M.S. Shaft of different sizes;
h) M.S. Rail of different sizes,
i) M.S. Spring Steels of various sizes, etc.

3) Commitment
Commitment is the main aspect in the business. Commitment builds reliability among
the customers for in time delivery of their ordered goods. BSRM try to maintain their
commitment to their customers for in time delivery of their products. So, customers
rely on BSRMs commitment. As a result their brand loyalty increases day by day.

4) Friendly Team
The marketing team of BSRM is very friendly. They treat all the customers big and
small equally and try to help the customers as and when necessary. It has become
their asset for long live in the market.

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5) Experience
BSRM has very long experience of producing steel rods since 1952. As a result they
have been able to build a very strong technical production team at their
manufacturing plants for producing quality products.

6) Production Capacity
The production capacity of BSRM Group of Companies is about one fourth of the
countrys total requirement of steel rods. So they are able to deliver any large
quantity order within a short time. Because of which the acceptability of BSRM
among the largest real estate companies, government organizations and various
foreign companies working in Bangladesh has increased.

7) Upgraded Production Technology

BSRM is very much conscious about the upgraded technology in the industry. They
always try to upgrade their plants with upgraded available technology. As for example
BSRM first launched 500W quality international standard product in Bangladesh.
They are the pioneer in technology in the industry and all other are their followers.

1.2.3) Vision of BSRM:

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Being the best in providing quality products. Employee development for effective use
of time and resources and adoption of best technology. Ensure maximum return on
investment through appropriate strategic planning and judicious use of resources.

1.2.4) Mission of BSRM:

The mission is the ways by which the company wants to achieve the long term vision.
BSRMs missions to achieve their vision are as follows

1) To make the life of the people secure and safe by supplying steel rods with more
strength, more tolerant to the earthquakes, etc. For doing so BSRM has trying to
upgrade their all of the plants with upgraded international technology for
manufacturing quality steel rods for uprising buildings.

2) Providing quality products of international standard to the consumers of steel

industry in Bangladesh. To ensure quality, quality maintaining procedures as well as
the quality standard in the production line has to be established first. BSRM are
always maintaining the quality maintenance procedures to provide quality products
to their customers.

3) BSRM always try to give their customers the quality steel products at a cheaper
price. To keep their product price cheaper they always try to maintain JIT system for
raw materials procurement and direct delivery of finish goods to the customers from
mills site without any storing.

4) From the very beginning BSRM has been trying to be a partner in nation building
activities. A large numbers of renowned government and private largest building
and bridges have been built by using BSRMs rod. Now BSRM are supplying their
products to various largest projects at lower prices. So, they believe by doing so
they are rendering very strong support to nation building activities in Bangladesh.

1.2.5) Financial Strength of BSRM Steels Ltd.:

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 BSRM Steel Ltd. is a sister concern of BSRM Group of Companies which is mainly
manufacturing the subject product-BSRM Xtreme 500Wbrand m.s.rod. The Paid up
Capital of the Companies is Tk.145.00Crore. Annual tern over of the company was
about Tk.1,584.00 Crores in 2009.

Sl.# Particulars 2009 2008

( Up to Sept.,2009)
1 Paid Up Capital 145.00 Crore 145.00 Crore
2 Reserve and Surplus (139.00) Crore ( 189.00 ) Crore
3 Capital Employed 376.00 Crore 371.00 Crore
4 Turn Over 1093.00 Crore 548.00 Crore
5 Gross Margin 110.00 Crore ( 131.00 ) Crore
6 Profit Before Tax 50.00 Crore ( 189.00 ) Crore
7 Profit After Tax - -
8 Basic Earning Per 34.72 ( 153.00 )
Share
9 Manpower ( Persons) 515 487
Officer 78 66
Staff & Worker 437 421

1.3) Research Problems:

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There are many problems for designing & marketing of a new product in to the industry.
BSRM also faces that kind of problems for designing & marketing their new
product-BSRM Xtreme 500W. As steel rod manufacturing industry is very large it faces
various problems in terms of raw materials, technology, skill ness and very strong
competition. Each of the firm faces lots of problems at a time. Within a short time all the
problems can not be sorted out. So, I have to concentrate on some major problems to get
a clear understanding about that. I have sorted out the following problems for designing
and marketing of a new product-BSRM Xtreme 500W by BSRM:

1) BSRMs new state-of-the-art plant for manufacturing BSRM Xtreme 500W has
imported from Italy with huge investment on it. The technology is upgraded and
international standard. But to run the new plant there is no skilled persons in
Bangladesh. As a result they have been appointing skilled persons of iron rod
industries from abroad like India & Pakistan. So, they are paying huge amount of
foreign currency in terms of their salary & pay and the currency are going out of the
country.

2) Product prices for BSRM Xtreme 500W are very unstable in the market. It is said
that BSRM charges their customer with premium prices which is not competitive in
the market and they increase their prices very often. So, customers are dissatisfied
with BSRM prices.

3) Main raw material for steel rod is billets. Raw materials are not locally available in
the market. So, they are defendant to imported billets.

4) BSRM has very strong competitors in the market who are offering very cheap
prices as a result BSRMs can not keep holding their potential customers.

5) In house raw materials storing facilities at BSRM Steels Ltd. is not sufficient and the
main raw materials store is located at other location which requires additional
transportation to mills and ultimately it increases the products prices.

1.4) Objectives of the Study:

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Research objectives are the guide lines for searching the hidden causes of the research
problems. As the present study is about the new product BSRM Xtreme 500W by M/s.
BSRM Steels Ltd. we should concentrate some of the main objectives of our research
study. The main objectives of the present study are to find out the hidden causes of
1) To run the new plant of BSRM Xtreme 500W effectively & efficiently, BSRM
need skilled peoples in their mills. By this study we shall try to find out -
- Why the required skills are shortage in the industry;
- Is there no people to get the required skills at all;
- If there are peoples to achieve such skills then where is the problems to
recruit and train them accordingly;
- The ways to get new skilled persons for the industry.

2) BSRM charges premium prices for their new product- BSRM Xtreme 500W to
their customers which is more than the competitive prices in the market. With
the help of this study we shall try to find out-
- the causes of such customers dissatisfaction;
- Affect of this dissatisfaction in the total sales of BSRMs products, and
- The ways to recover the situation to build a strong reputation in the
market.

3) BSRM sometimes faces raw materials shortage. By this study we shall try to
find out
- Why this raw materials shortage in their firm;
- How it can affect the total production of the firm; and
- To find out the ways to resolve the raw materials shortage for BSRM
Xtreme 500W.

4) BSRM has very strong competitors in the market of steel rod industry. Here we
shall try to find out
- Who are the strong competitors of BSRM Xtreme 500W;
- How they compete with BSRM Xtreme 500W;
- What is the affect of such competition in the market; and
- The policies to protect the BSRM Xtreme 500W in the market.

1.5) Methodology of the Study

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Steel rod manufacturing industry is very large industry in Bangladesh. To gather
knowledge about the present study it is very tough to collect necessary data and
information for this study from a single source. As some of the data for this study are
mainly related with the BSRM, they are only available with the company sources. But to
get some other information such as product performance, competitive advantages of
BSRM Xtreme 5ooW, customers acceptance, etc. are related to the market, so here a
market survey has been conducted. The present study is the embodiment of both primary
and secondary data. Here we want to find out the product marketing performance and
shortcomings so here our research type will be exploratory & descriptive. As our study
is related to the steel industry we data collection should be based on steel industry
related personnel, users such products and general public. As here we faced some
fund and time constrains we have conducted the survey on some representative samples
of 100persons which are selected mainly on probability sampling basis. The samples
are selected on random basis from the market to the easy reach sources. Our primary
data and information have been collected from the sample with structured
questionnaire through direct interview method. Informal discussions and participatory
observation have also been used for primary data collection. The sample respondents
have been randomly chosen from the students, college and university professors,
businessmen, private-public multinational companies high officials, housewives, etc. of
Chittagong while the secondary data have been collected on the basis of the companys
web sites, financial reports, journals, relevant company brochures, prospectus, etc.

1.5.1) Data Collection

There are many sources form which data such as competitors information,
dealer/consumer information, market condition, market size, promotional data and
company information is collected and sorted out. Most of the data was available
with the company, while questionnaire was developed to make the survey for
having some additional market information. However, table 1.1 shows an overview
of collecting data.

1.5.2) Research Description

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After the research problems have been defined carefully the manager and
researcher must set research objectives. Research must have some limited
objectives like one to three. The objective of exploratory research is to gather
preliminary information that will help to define the problems, situation and position
of market such as market potential for a product, price, distribution and promotion
or the demographics and attitudes of consumers. Casual research is to test
hypothesis about cause and effect relationship. As our objective is to find out the
marketing mix analysis, situation and position of product-BSRM Xtreme 500W of
the subject company BSRM Steels Ltd. So proposed research type is
Descriptive Research.

1.5.3) Sample Design:

i) Sample:

A segment of the population is selected as sample for the research.

ii) Population:

In our research, population is all of the dealers, retailers and users of

m.s.rod and general public. It is not possible to collect information from all
the dealers, retailer, engineers, architects, users and general public as they
are located at various corners around the country. Designing the sample
requires three decisions first who is to be interviewed (What sampling unit),
then the researcher must determines what information is needed and who is
most likely to have the required information.

There are more than 800 dealers of BSRM products and I have selected 25
dealers to collect information. There are several individual users like
architect, engineers, home builders, real estate companies employees,
individual building manufacturer, masons, etc. and I have selected 100 ( 15
architects, 15 civil engineers, 20 real estate companies employees, 24
individual building manufacturers, 14 home builders and 12 masons) users
and related persons among them.

iii) Sampling Unit

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 Our sampling unit is 15 dealers, 10 architects, 10 civil engineers, 13 real
estate companys employees, 8 House wives, 18 Teachers & students, 8
individual building manufacturer, 8 home builders and 10 masons. So they
are our sample unit.

iv) Sample Size

How many peoples are interviewed/surveyed it is called the sample size. As

we had selected 100 peoples for interview our sample size is 100. Our
sampling unit is 15 dealers, 10 architects, 10 civil engineers, 13 real estate
companys employees, 8 house wives, 18 students & teachers, 8 individual
building manufacturer, 8 home builders and 10 masons.

v) Data Analysis and Interpretation

The paper is mainly an empirical research work to achieve the principal
objective of the study. Table1 exhibits the distribution of the sample
respondents.
Table 1: Distribution of Sample Respondents
Profession No. Of Respondents
Working Area Male Female Total

Dealers, Dealers, Retailer, Stockist, Suppliers and

Retailers & sellers, etc. of iron rods at different places
Sellers around the country. 15 - 15

Architects, Civil Real Estate Companies, Building Designing

Engineers & Companies, Government, Semi-Govt. and 20 --- 20
Professionals private related organizations, etc.
Employees of Land developer companies, Real Estate
Real Estate companies, Home makers, etc. 10 03 13
Companies
Housewives Home and Residence --- 08 08
Regular and full time students, unemployed
Students & students, intern students, Professional
Teachers (Executive) students from Banks, 12 06 18
Multinational and NGOs, etc.
Individual Professors of Public and Private Colleges 12 04 16
Building and Universities.
Manufacturer &
Home makers
Masons 10 - 10
79 21 100
Total

Source: Field Survey

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1.6) Beneficiary of the Study:

All research projects create some benefits by which everybody who are related to the
research project and who will use it in future can be benefited. The current research also
has some benefits to the persons as listed below:

1) Me, As The Research Student:

The current research is the part of my MBA studies, it will help me to acquire the
practical knowledge about the problems & market position of BSRMs new product-
BSRM Xtreme 5000W.It also help me to know total marketing situation, marketing
style, promotional mix, their strength, weaknesses, opportunity, threat, competitors
analysis and their affects to the market, etc. It can give me the idea about the
market competitors of m.s.rod and position of BSRM as the competitors.

2) BSRM Can Be Benefited:

The total research is focused on the new product- BSRM Xtreme 500W by BSRM
Steels Ltd. The research has highlighted their market position, strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats, their problems, their competitors and their
policies, etc. It also gives some suggestions to overcome the weaknesses of
BSRMs marketing activities. So, if BSRM can implement the suggestions as
recommended then BSRM can be benefited by this research studies.

3) Future Student of USTC Can Be Benefited:

The final report of this research study will be kept in the central library of USTC
which will help future student of USTC to acquire new knowledge on market
research and findings. This will give them some information about BSRM and their
new product- BSRM Xtreme 500W, its marketing process, promotion mix, their
problems, competitors, etc. to get them ready for future works.

4) It will Enhance Knowledge of General Public:

Public as general readers of this research report can gain knowledge about BSRM,
their product marketing and promotion procedures, their SWOT analysis, their
problems, their competitors, their market position, etc. which will enhance their
knowledge. The knowledge will help them to implement the procedures in their
study/working field in future.
- 22 -
1.8) Limitations of the Study:

Limitations acts as the barriers to do something. Like all other researchers I am not
beyond the limitations. So I had to face some limitations for collecting information from the
inner sources of the company. But I have tried my best to stay in line and to gather the
information accurately from the inner sources. As I am the present employee of BSRM
Group of Companies I have been able to collect the information from the appropriate inner
sources. But this report is not free from the limitations. While collecting information and
preparing report I have faced some of the limitations as under:

1) Fund Constraint:
Information collection from the primary market through questionnaire is very much
costly. Most of the dealers and customers are living in the urban area through out
the country. Visiting them at their shop and working place is very costly. But I have
tried to go to them to collect information from them. But as I am the employee of
BSRM they have extended their cooperation to give information sometimes by post,
e-mail and fax messages which enriched the study.

2) Time Constraint:
Although I have very little time to gather information and data to prepare the report
for such a large industry I have tried to be more accurate with the present situation.
I always tried my best to utilize my allotted time for the study.

3) Uneven Information:
The annual reports of the company were not as per my requirement of the study.
So, I have to collect additional information as per my requirement from the
personnel of accounts department to get a clear picture for my study. So, I think it
could not affect my report strongly.

4) Personal Constraint:
As a human being, I personally was not beyond the limitations. As I am the full time
employee I have to collect information on my leisure time and in holidays.

5) Company Secrecy:
Some of the employees of the company are very much loyal to their employer.
Account department is very much conservative department of the company as they

- 23 -
 preserve the financial information of the company. So they did not want to disclose
the company secret information for a research.

6) Managing the Out Side People:

It is really very hard to manage the dealers, engineers, architects, mason, etc. to
give information. But I have tried to manage them properly.

7) Area Constraint:
As my information collection is for my personal interest I had to select a small area.
But the steel rod manufacturing industry is very large and stake holders are located
all over the country. So collecting information from a small area may not represent
the accurate picture of the industry. But I am pretty sure that it can reflect the actual
situation in a small picture.

- 24 -
 Chapter - 2

Product Management

- 25 -
2.1) BSRM Xtreme 500W- The New Product

BSRM Xtreme 500W is basically a mild steel rod of international standard, the quench
and temper facility for up to 75 tons/hr and 500mpa bars . To cater with the upcoming
demand for housing of billions of people all over the world the engineers and architects
have designed the multistoried housing project. To build the projects it is necessary to use
the building materials with more strength and durability and BSRM Xtreme 500W is the
international standard m.s.rod which offers all the required quality.

2.2) The Product Life-Cycle

Product Life Cycle (PLC) is a very useful tool for conceptualizing the changes that may
take place during the time that a product is on the market (David Jobber). It is quite
flexible and can be applied to both brands and product lines (Polli and Cook). The
conventional product life-cycle shows how a product goes through 4 stages during its life
in the marketplace. At each stage in the product life-cycle, there is a close relationship
between sales and profit. Therefore, when a product goes into decline, profits decrease.
Again when a product is introduced to the market, growth is slow due to limited
awareness. Soon as the product establishes itself, sales start to increase during the
period of growth. As the product reaches maturity, the company needs to inject new life
into the product; either by creating brand extensions or variants (i.e., product
differentiation) otherwise the product will reach maturity and start to decline.

Hence, to ensure a sustainable product life cycle of BSRM Xtreme 500W needed to
undertake market research. In this regard, BSRM searched for answers to the following
questions:
What changes taking place in society are likely to affect the manufacturing product
(i.e., m.s.steel rod, angle, channel, etc.)?
How might new technologies such as convergence technologies affect the business
of the m.s.steel rod?
What are likely to be the future market trends of the m.s.rod?
Where are the opportunities within the market place?
What new categories would appeal to the target market?
How far do consumers think the brand could stretch into the market for different
product?

- 26 -
BSRM needed to understand how the product can be extended into a series of variants
which would keep the core product strong, but grow the brand as a whole.

In time delivery capability is another key issue. If newly launched products BSRM Xtreme
500W is successful in the target markets, BSRM must have the service delivery capacity
to meet consumer demand as well as the supply chain necessary to reach those
consumers.

2.3). New Product Development

In order to develop a new product BSRM Xtreme 500W BSRM gone through the
following stages:

2.3.1) Idea Generation:

This is the very first step that BSRM followed for developing a new product. The
corporate level managers and Marketing & Promotion Department of BSRM invited
ideas about the new and innovative m.s.steel rod of 75grade features so that it can
enjoy a competitive edge over its rivals. In this regard, the company Marketing &
Promotion Department invited ideas from -----
customers of corporate and general sales, such as designers, builders,
architect, etc.
competitors (competing brands),
focus groups (sample respondents from different occupations),
employees (m.s.steel rod company executives and other officials),
salespeople (corporate sales team, agents, dealers, franchisee, etc.),
corporate spy (ambitious but competent executives of the other competing
cell phone companies),
trade shows

2.3.2) Idea Screening:

From the generated ideas of 75 grade m.s.steel rod by the stakeholders, the
concerned company had considered the few best ideas and screen or drop those
- 27 -
which were less effective in nature. The object is to eliminate unsound concepts prior
to devoting resources to them. Here, the screeners asked following three questions:
will the customer in the target market benefit from the
product/service?
is it technically feasible to offer the product/service?
will the product be profitable when offered and delivered to the
customer at the target price?

2.3.3) Concept Development and Testing:

After screening the poor ideas a good concept of new product developed with the
following marketing and engineering details
Who is the target market and who is the decision maker in the
purchasing process?
What product features must the product incorporate?
What benefits will the product provide?
How will consumers react to the product?
How will the product be produced most cost effectively?
prove feasibility through rapid prototyping
What will it cost to design and deliver it?

The company then tested the concept by asking a sample of prospective customers
what they think of the idea.

2.3.4) Business Analysis:

After the concept tested given a positive outcome it was analyzed from the business
perspectives. In this context, BSRM-
estimated likely selling price based upon competition and customer
feedback
estimated sales volume based upon size of market
estimated profitability and breakeven point

2.3.5) Beta Testing and Market Testing:

- 28 -
On the basis of the findings and recommendations of the business analysis BSRM
primarily conducted a beta test and later on a market test. BSRM - as a m. s. rod
manufacturing company in such phase did the following.
developed a physical prototype of the product
tested the product in typical usage situations such as daily
conversations
conducted focus group customer interviews or introduce at trade
show for a limited number of sample prospect customers who
represent different occupations
made adjustments where necessary
developed an initial run of the product and sell it in a test market area
to determine customer acceptance

2.3.6) Technical Implementation:

As the results of both the beta and market tests were affirmative, then BSRM
proceeded for
New program initiation such as new features development, new

promotional campaign, etc.

Resource estimation such as availability of trained employees, project
finance, etc.
Publication of the requirements
Engineering operations planning such as tower and network set up
Department scheduling
Collaboration with the suppliers
Publication of the Resource plan such as layout details
Program review and monitoring
Contingencies - what-if planning

2.3.7) Commercialization:

This phase of new product development is often considered as post-NPD. In fact,

BSRM at this phase moved to commercially market the new product BSRM Extreme
500W to its target market Real Estate companies. The steps of the company in this
phase were to:
physically launch the product-BSRM Xtreme 500W in the
Bangladesh market

- 29 -
 produced and placed advertisements and other promotions
fill the distribution pipeline with product BSRM Xtreme 500W

2.4) The Product BSRM Xtreme 500W:

This element relates to how the company meets the needs and wants of customers. As
the local tendency for high rising building is growing up day by day there is a significant
requirement for new grade of international standard and strength of m.s.steel rod. The
growth in higher living standards also creates opportunities for BSRM Group of
Companies to upgrade the products standard (i.e. Grade 75) for its various customers like
real estate companies; govt. authorized builders, contractors, engineering workshops,
private companies and individual home manufacturers.

2.5) Product Price of BSRM Xtreme 500W:

BSRM charges premier pricing for their products. They have brand loyalty and potential
customer for their products which is a plus point for marketing their products. The price is
very unstable here in the industry which is mainly related to the suppliers of m.s.scrap and
billets in home and abroad. Renowned upgrade brands/grade of m.s.steel rod such as
BSRM Xtreme 500W manufacturing by BSRM Steels Ltd. charges a premium price (i.e.
higher rate) as it is the market leader and the other feature such as the higher grade, more
strength and smooth finishing of the brand and product quality.

2.5.1) Current Products Prices of BSRM Xtreme 500W

Size: Price (Ex-Mill )
M.S.Deformed Bar:
8mm to 25mm Tk.47,500.00
28mm to 32mm Tk.48,000.00

BSRM Family also manufacture & sale M.S.Deformed Bar of 60-Grade & 40-
Grade, M.S. Angles, Channels, Wire Rods, I-Beam, M.S.Rail, M.S.Shaft,
M.S.Spring Steel, etc.

2.5.2) Transport/Carrying Charges:

- 30 -
 (1) Dhaka/Savar/Chandpur/MouluviBazar/ Sylhet/B.Baria/teknaf add Tk. 700/= PMT

(2) Comilla/Feni/Noakhali/Cox's Bazar/Chakaria add Tk. 400/= PMT

(3) Bogra/Serajgonj add Tk. 1,100/= PMT

(4) Khulna/Jessore/Faridpur/Kushtia add Tk. 1,000/= PMT

(5) Rangpur / Rajshahi / Naogaon / Pabna add Tk. 1,200/= PMT

(6) Tangail/Mymensing/Kishorgonj add Tk. 900/= PMT

(7) Barisal add Tk.1,300/= PMT

(8) Baraiyarhat/Mirsarai/Rangunia/Patiya/Fatickchari Nazirhat/Sathkania add Tk.200/=

PMT

2.6) Order Booking System:

If a customer wants to buy BSRMs products he has to book his order with any of their
offices with advance payment before 2-3 working days of the delivery of the products. If
the payment is made by cheque then the delivery will be affected after encashment of the
related cheque. There are two types of booking system such as 1) C&F Site delivery and
2) Mills gate delivery. For C&F Site delivery basis order customer has to pay carrying
charges in addition with the ordered product prices as applicable as per list as stated
above.

- 31 -
 Chapter - 3

Logistic Management

- 32 -
3.1) BSRMs Mills Infrastructure:
BSRM has very strong infrastructure. BSRM Steels Ltd., which is producing BSRM
Xtreme 500W, is situated at 4, Fouzderhat Industrial Area, Chittagong, Bangladesh beside
the main Dhaka-Chittagong highway. The total mills are placed on 16 acres of land area.
The total investment for mills is about 450crore Bangladesh Taka. The main state-of-the-
art with latest technology rolling mill, WTP and APC systems have been imported from
Danielli, Italy.Total building structure of BSRM Steels Ltd. has imported from M/s.PEB
Steels, Vietnam. All other related mills and parts are imported from Germany, India and
Singapore.

3.2) In House Storing Systems of BSRM Steels Ltd.:

BSRMs raw materials stack yard is situated out side their mills which are at Shitalpur. But
they have their finished products storing capacity of 2lac M/Tons at their mills. There are
five modern overhead cranes supplied by Konecrane, Singapore which can carry raw
materials and finished products from one end to another of their mills.

They have very large spare parts store in the mills where they have stored all the required
spares for more than 5 years.

3.3) Bending & Delivery System at BSRM Steels Ltd.:

At present BSRM has five rod bending & loading points at their mills site. Four way
bridges weigh the weight of the loaded goods to deliver to their customers.

3.4) Location & Communication to Other Parts of the Country:

As BSRM receives their orders from all over the country they have to arrange delivery of
their products to the customers accordingly. BSRM Steels Ltd.s mills are situated at
Fouzderhat besides the Dhaka-Chittagong highway so they get competitive advantage to
arrange delivery by road very easily. All of their products are delivered to the customers by
- 33 -
road. As the mills are situated outside the town it is free from all kinds of communication
problems and traffic jams. So, they can arrange the delivery of their products
uninterruptedly.

3.5) Logistic Support:

BSRM has 35 numbers of new vehicles of their own which are managed by their Logistics
Department. Besides that they are hiring additional long vehicles and trucks as per their
requirement from the local transport suppliers. The main operation is controlled by their
head offices Logistic Department. But the works are executed at their mills by mills
Customer Service & Logistics Department.

3.6) Local Transport Suppliers:

BSRM has only 35 numbers of new vehicles of their own but they require much more
vehicles to make delivery of their products to the customers. To meet their day to day
requirement now they are hiring long vehicles and trucks from the local transport
suppliers. The transport suppliers who are supplying transport to BSRM are as under-

1) M/s. M.M. Transport Co. Ltd. About 20 Vehicles per day

2) M/s. Al Safa Transport Co.Ltd. . About 8-10 Vehicles per day

3) M/s. Sayera Transport .......... .. About 5-6 Vehicles per day

4) M/s. Rasul Hoque Transport . About 5-6 Vehicles per day

There are some other transport suppliers who are not regular suppliers.

3.7) Storing & Bending Facilities at Local Offices:

Storing and delivery of raw materials and finished products are very essential for smooth
running of a business. Maintenance of delivery schedule is also a vital decision for
marketing a product. BSRM has recently taken decision to store their materials at various
local office godowns and they have arranged bending, weighing and delivery facilities at
that godown. For doing this they are now sending full length straight rebar to their store at
Dhaka and Bogra where after bending the rods deliveries are made to the customers. As a

- 34 -
result their delivery lead time to the points has reduced a lot. Now customers are very
much pleased at those places.

3.8) Order Receiving & Delivery Management:

Total sales volume of Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM) Ltd. is about Receives 2
types of orders from their customers, such as i) Order on C&F Site Delivery Basis & ii)
Order on Ex-Mills basis.

BSRM arrange delivery of their products to the customers in the following separate ways-

a) Direct Orders:

BSRM receives some direct orders from the potential customers. For delivery of
goods against such kind of orders BSRM use 0 level channel and goods are
directly delivered to customers by company vehicles.

BSRM Mills Customer

0 Level Channels

b) C&F Site Delivery Basis Order :

BSRM receives orders on c&f delivery basis. For such type of orders the goods to
be delivered to the dealers or customers through company/hired vehicles. For
delivery against such kind of orders BSRM uses 1 level of channel.

BSRM Mills Dealer/Local Customer

offices

1 Level Channel

c) Mills Site Delivery Orders:

The customers can take delivery of their ordered goods directly from the mills site.
For delivery of the goods against the Ex-Mills order the customer has to arrange
the transport to take delivery from their mills at 4, Fouzderhat Industrial Area,
Chittagong. They give delivery of their products by rotation of the placed order. To
deliver the goods against the orders of mills site BSRM use 1 level channel.

- 35 -
 BSRM Mills Dealers Customer

1 Level Channel

d) Orders Through Local Offices:

The deliveries against the orders which are received through BSRMs local offices
are made through 1 level channel. In this system the goods generally delivered to
the local offices and then to the customers. Here 1 level channel is used.

BSRM Mills Local Office Customer

1 Level Channel

But the goods may be received by the customers directly then here 1 level channel
is effective.

Mills Customer

1 Level Channel

BSRM has its own logistic department. Employees of the logistic department are directly
related with the delivery and transportation of customers ordered goods. They are
responsible to make delivery to the customers in time.

- 36 -
Chapter - 4

SWOT Analysis

- 37 -
4.0) SWOT Analysis for BSRM Xtreme 500W

For each and every research it is important to analyse the companys internal factors as
well as related external industry factors to find out firms strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. Strength and weaknesses are related to the firms internal
factors. On the other hand opportunity and threats are related to the firms external e.g.:
industry environment. So, to get a clear picture of BSRM Xtreme 500W we have
analysed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis. Some of
our finding is as under:

4.1) Strengths of BSRM Xtreme 500W:

BSRM Xtreme 500W has following strength points:

i) Family branding;
ii) Market reputation for quality products;
iii) Own billet manufacturing plants ensures in time delivery of raw
materials;
iv) Country wide sales network;
v) Brand loyalty;
vi) Near to the import port reduce raw materials cost;
vii) Strong financial support;
viii) Extra benefit offerings as-
20% Stronger than grade 60 steel
15% Less Steel Required than grade 60 steel
Superior Bend ability
More meter of steel per ton
Better bonding with Concrete
Safety Weld able
Needle Straight Bar

4.2) Weaknesses of BSRM Xtreme 500W:

- 38 -
 BSRM Xtreme 500W has following weaknesses:
i) High Price, Minimum Tk.1000.00/MT over then the competitors price;
ii) Minimum Order Quantity (Minimum Full Truck Load, 20M/T) for Direct
Orders;
iii) Delivery Lead Time, sometimes 5-7days after placing orders;
iv) Confusion about quality of BSRM Xtreme 500W & 60 Grade
Deformed Bar;
v) Sales Network to rural areas;
vi) Dependency on import scraps;

4.3) Opportunity of BSRM Xtreme 500W:

BSRM Xtreme 500W has following opportunities:

i) Large market and increasing demand ( now BSRM has only 20% of
market share);
ii) Previous long time experience in the industry;
iii) Market reputation for financial support;
iv) Well experienced employees and working forces;
v) Strong share index increasing the demand for the products;
vi) More direct sales offices can increase the products sale in long run;

4.4) Threats of BSRM Xtreme 500W:

BSRM Xtreme 500W has following threats:
i) Up gradation of competitors mills and plants for manufacturing
75grade deformed bars;
ii) Increase of competitors in large numbers;
iii) Premier pricing sometimes loosing potential customers;
iv) Irregular demand sometimes creates delivery problems;
v) Minimum Order Quantity (Minimum Full Truck Load, 20M/T) for Direct
Orders;
vi) Delivery Lead Time, sometimes 5-7days after placing orders;
vii) Confusion about quality of BSRM Xtreme 500W & 60 Grade
Deformed Bar;
viii) Sales Network to rural areas;

- 39 -
 Chapter - 5

Competitors Analysis

- 40 -
5.1) Competitors of BSRM Xtreme 500W

The industry which has very strong competitors in the market, generally, price competition
in that industry is very strong. As a result, sometimes the market becomes very unstable.
Steel rod industry is such kind of industry which is very unstable in terms of prices.
Government has very nominal control in this industry. The competitors can hike their price
as per their intension. It is said that there is a cartel in the industry which mainly control
the market price of the rod.

BSRM is one of the pioneer and leading manufacturers and suppliers of steel rod for
construction industry. In the meantime they have established a brand loyalty for their
products by supplying quality products to their customers for a long time. The groups total
production capacity is about 5lac M/T per annum which is about 25% of the countrys total
demand for steel rod. Its the highest production capacity by a single company. So the
company is the market leader and offers premier prices for their products. Sometimes they
control the market for pricing. All of the other competitors are basically followers in the
market. The major competitors of BSRM in the industry are as follows-

1) Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills(KSRM) Ltd.

Chittagong, Bangladesh.
2) Rahim Steel Mills Co. (Pvt.) Ltd.
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
3) Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills(RSRM) Ltd.
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
4) Seema Automatic Steel Re-Rolling Mills (SARM) Ltd.
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
5) Baizid Steel Mills Ltd.
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
6) Islam Steel Mills Ltd.
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
7) Basundhara Steel Complex Ltd.
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
8) Abul Khair Steel Mills Ltd.
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
- 41 -
 9) GPH Ispat Ltd.
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
10) Ananda Metal Engineering
Dhaka, Bangladesh.

11) Asif Steels Ltd.

Dhaka, Bangladesh.
12)Bangladesh Steel Complex Ltd.
Dhaka, Bangladesh.

13)Anwar Ispat Ltd.

Dhaka, Bangladesh.

14)Ira Re-Rolling Inds. Ltd.

Dhaka, Bangladesh.

15)Khaled Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.

Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Among the competitors KSRM, Rahim Steels, RSRM, SARM are very strong competitors
for BSRM Xtreme 500W which have captured about 50% of the market share in the steel
industry. In the mean time, all the above mentioned firms already have taken BMRE
program to their plant for up gradation and manufacture equivalent products like BSRM
Xtreme 500W. So it is very crucial to BSRM to hold their market share to compete in the
long run.

There are some competitors in the industry like Shitalpur Steel Mills Ltd., Motaleb Steel
Mills Ltd. and A.R.Steels Ltd. who are basically hand rolling mills and producing small
number of products which has very small effects in the market.

- 42 -
 Others; 21% BSRM; 25%

GPH ; 6%

Baizid; 6% KSRM; 12%

SARM; 6%
RSRM; 8% Rahim Steels; 16%

Some of the competitors have very strong backward linkage industries like ship breaking
industry, billet manufacturing plants, other supporting industries and trading houses. They
have very strong effect in the manufacturing process. Such as BSRM has own ship
breaking yards, billet manufacturing industry. KSRM & SARM also have same facilities.
RSRM has their own billet manufacturing plant. As they have backward linkage industries
they can produce their products in a lower cost which is one of the competitive
advantages for them to be successful in the industry. So they are in the driving seat in the
industry.
Market share of competitors as shown in the figure:

5.2 Major Competitive Brands

BSRM Xtreme 500W is the 75Grade of international standard steel rod. Although they are
the pioneer in the industry for introducing 75Grade products in the market but in the
meantime, some of their competitors have already entered in the market with same grade
steel rod. Some of the main competitors products are as under-

Name of the Competitor Brand name of New Product

1) Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills(RSRM) Ltd. X-Power-75
2) Baizid Steel Industries Ltd. (BSIL) BSIL QSL 500+
3) Seema Automatic Steel Re-Rolling Mills (SARM) Ltd. Supreme 500W
4) Abul Khair Steel Industries Ltd. SUPERSTRUCTURE 400 & 500
5) Islam Steel Mills Ltd. Ultra 500W

- 43 -
Some of the strong competitors are still with 60 Grade Steel Rod such as Kabir Steel Re-
Rolling Mills (KSRM) Ltd., Rahim Steel Mills Ltd., GPH Ispat Ltd. They are upgrading their
production systems to produce same grade products.

Chapter - 6

- 44 -
 Channel Relationship

6.1) Orders Receiving & Supply Channels:

Marketing channel decisions are among the most critical decision facing management.
Marketing channel can be viewed as set of interdependent organizations involved here in
the process. Total distribution/delivery system of BSRM is mainly in two types-

a) Direct Orders & Direct Supply:

BSRM takes direct orders by e-mail, telephone, etc. Basically some potential
buyers are directly sending their orders to head office. Real estate companies,
dealers are such kind of buyers.
Order Receiving:

BSRM H.O. Customers

Delivery of Goods:
BSRM Mills Customers

- 45 -
 0 Level Channel

b) Order & Supply Through Dealers:

BSRM has more than 800 (eight hundred) dealers and distributors all over the
country. They distribute their products to their customers through them against the
orders which are received through them.
Order Receiving:

BSRM H.O. Dealer Customer

Delivery of Goods:
BSRM Mills Dealer Customer

1 Level Channel

c) Orders & Supply Through Local Offices :

BSRM has 6 (six) local offices throughout the country by which they mainly control
their sales and marketing activities. The offices are located at Dhaka, Sylhet,
Moulvibazar, Bogra, Khulna & Comilla. All the goods against direct marketing
orders are being distributed through these offices. They also monitor their customer
care activities through the local offices.
Order Receiving:

BSRM H.O. BSRM Local Office Customer

Delivery of Goods:

BSRM Mills BSRM Local Office Customer

1 Level Channel

- 46 -
6.2) Internal Order Receiving & Follow Up Procedure:

After receiving the order at any point of BSRMs sales personnel of BSRM input the data
to the central network at Head Office. After receiving the data the Customer Service
Department (CSD) arrange checking with the respective office and get approval from the
competent authority. If the receipt of payment is confirmed then the CSD Department
arranges issuance of related Delivery Order (DO) in favour of the customer. Once the DO
is issued then the data has been transmitted to the respective CSD Department at mills for
final delivery. Then the CSD Department arrange delivery of the materials to the customer
accordingly.

Customer

Order Placed

BSRM Local
Office
- 47 -
 Information/Data sent

BSRM H.O.

Approval given

BSRM H.O.CSD

Delivery Order issued in favour of customer & data sent

BSRM Mills CSD

Arrangement for delivery of goods to Customer

Chapter - 7

- 48 -
 Promotion Management

7.1) Promotional Activities:

BSRM has a strong team of employee in their Marketing & Promotion Department headed
by the Head of Business & Product Development.

BSRM develop their branding and promotional activities with the help of M/s Unitrend
Ltd.,Dhaka. They are mainly developing and circulating the promotional campaign for
BSRM to various media.

7.2) Promotional Budget for BSRM Xtreme 500W:

Total promotional budget for BSRM Xtreme 500Wwas about Tk.8.00 crore in 2009 which
is about 0.51% of their annual tern over and the budget is decided by the management on
residual method.

- 49 -
7.3) Selecting Effective Promotional Tools:

BSRM settled on a strong positioning statement, it develops various strategies for its
marketing programs. For BSRM this means considering programs such as:

Conference & Direct Public Advertisin Work Shop

Trade Show Marketing Relation g

Marketing Communications Tele

E-
By Marketing
marketing
BSRM

Merchandisin Website Sign Event Seminar &

g Promotion Materials Board, Sponsorship Symposium
Billboards

Others; 5%
Sem inar,Sym po; 5%
TV Ads; 20%
M e r.Prom otion; 5%

Public Re lation; 10%

Billboard,Sgnbrd ; 20% Ne w s Paper Ads; 35%

Figure: Promotional Activities & Budget allocation by BSRM.

7.3.1) Advertising:
- 50 -
At present BSRM adopt various advertising policy for promotion of their products. They
use print media such as news papers, magazines and various TV channels for circulating
their ads. Basically they circulate informative ads for their product. As they are in the line
from 1952, sometimes they also circulate reminder ads for their products. Sometimes they
distribute products brochures, leaflet, etc. among the engineers, users and general public.
As a result they get huge coverage of their products to general public. In general BSRM
expend 45% of their promotional budget on TV ads, 20% on daily newspapers ads on
local & national,10% on billboards and signboards,10% on public relation activities (such
as road dividers, donations, helping the poor on various occasion, etc.), 5% on
merchandising promotions,5% on seminar, symposiums, conference, event sponsorship,
etc. and 5% on others.

7.3.2) Public Relations:

BSRM participate in various fairs organized by CSE, Organization of real estate

companies to send the messages of their company. They have strong tie with various print
media as they are circulating their ads by them. Sometimes news papers cover events or
news of BSRM products where they discuss about the product of BSRM.

7.3.3) Web Materials:

BSRM strongly believe that now-a-days without a web site no company will be successful.
So they developed their website by putting information about their company & their
products. They placed products brochures, usage instructions and other product related
info on their web. They placed their price list and purchasing procedures to their web.
Anybody can enquire by sending a message to them. As a result communication system
has developed.

7.3.4) Seminars & Symposiums:

Sometimes BSRM arrange seminars and symposiums for their dealers, engineers and
masons as they are the ultimate users of the BSRM products. By these seminar &
symposiums they communicate their messages to the attendant.

7.3.5) Conferences and Trade shows:

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BSRM arranges various conferences for engineers and dealers where they communicate
their messages to them. They attend various conference and trade show.

7.3.6) Direct Marketing:

As BSRM is the pioneer and renown company in the steel manufacturing industry they
have a lot of loyal & potential customers all over the country. They place their orders with
BSRM directly through their local offices.

7.3.7) Event Sponsorships:

BSRM sponsors various Real Estate Fares, Seminars and Symposiums, donate food and
cloth in flood effected area and many more. BSRM provides road dividers to the traffic
police department which is dividing the roads to control traffic jam.

7.3.8) Merchandising Promotions:

BSRM gives various promotional gifts such as umbrella, table clock, T-shirts, Mug, Key
Ring etc. with their company logo and products information & ad to the dealers, engineers
and masons as they are the ultimate users of BSRM products. They also give discount of
Tk.1,000.00 per ton to the dealers.

7.3.9) E- Marketing:

BSRM sometimes communicate their promotional activities through e-mail

correspondence. As most of the major buyer of BSRM are well educated and
technologically advanced they really like to get promotional news by e-mail.

7.3.10) Tele- Marketing:

BSRM sometimes takes telephonic-marketing procedures for their promotional activities.

They communicate information of changes of their product by telephone to the
sophisticated buyers as engineers, dealers, real estate companies other sophisticated
customers of their products.

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Chapter - 8
- 53 -
 Implications & Strategies

8.1 Problems of BSRM Xtreme 500W Product Marketing

BSRM Steels Ltd. Is the producer of BSRM Xtreme 500W has a large number of
customers all over the country. They are facing various problems for producing and
marketing their products. As a result, some sort of customer dissatisfaction has arisen in
the market. But the management of BSRM is very much positive to solve the problems in
the root level. Problems which are facing by BSRM are generally in the following types:

1) BSRM faces skill shortage for their new plant BSRM Steels Ltd. We can find out
following problems to fulfil their skilled employee shortage:
a) As the mill is of upgraded with state-of-the-art high technology, local employee
& labourers are not skilled with such sophisticated technology.

- 54 -
 b) BSRM prefer foreign skilled employees rather than the local employees. Huge
investment is required to train a local employee. But BSRM is unwilling to train
them as the migration rate of local employee is very high in the industry.
c) Foreign expert of BSRM mills are not willing to train local peoples as there is a
fear of to be jobless.
d) To educate about new technology infrastructure development is required but
BSRM has no such facilities at this time.
2) Some customers are expecting competitive prices from BSRM. But to fix the prices at
market level we found following problems:
a) BSRM charges premium prices which they think is logical in terms of their
quality and goodwill.
b) BSRM argues that to maintain the quality of their products they have to
expend more in their production process and quality assurance;
c) BSRM has achieved goodwill in the market for supplying standard products at
a prestigious price. To bear the prestige they are keeping their prices high in
the market.
3) BSRM suffers for raw materials shortage. I think the following problems are related to
this shortage:
a) They have no sufficient billets manufacturing firms to supply raw materials as
per their requirement.
b) Their production capacity is very large but they did not build backward linkage
industry for manufacturing billets accordingly. As a result, they are mostly
dependent on imported billets;
c) Sometimes imported billets are profitable than local production so they are
unwilling to procure them locally.

4) Prices of steel rod in the markets are very unstable. It mainly depends on the scrap
and billets rates of the international and home market. BSRM can not compete in the
market with the lower prices for the following reasons:
a) Some of the competitors have backward linkage industries for producing their
raw materials, as a result their production cost is stands low.
b) Competitors marketing channels are very strong as a result they have
competitive advantages to deliver their products to the customers. But BSRM
has no such facilities.

- 55 -
 c) Some of the major competitors are located at Dhaka which is the larger
market for steel rod. As BSRM is located at Chittagong their delivery charges
are on the high side. So customers at Dhaka market can buy products from
local suppliers at the lower prices.
d) As BSRM depends on imported raw materials which are sometimes expensive
so they can not give their products to the customers at the lower prices.
e) BSRM has very large establishment maintenance cost of which is very high.
So it increases their products prices.

8.2 Suggestion/Recommendation for Solving the Problems

The following action plans may be recommended for the successful development,
promotion and profitable sales of the BSRM Xtreme 500W:

To fill up the skill shortage of BSRM, they can appoint fresher and develop them at
their mills by giving them in house training by the foreign experts. They can impose
some bindings of leaving the company at the time of appointment. Then the
migration habit will decrease among the employees.

- 56 -
 To attract the appropriate persons from the steel rod industry BSRM can offer them
handsome salary and other fringe benefits, so that people will be very much
interested to join BSRM.

BSRM should build up backward linkage industries for their raw materials-billets. If
they can build another two billet manufacturing industry then their import
dependency will be decreased at large. It is hopeful that BSRM already established
their new billets manufacturing plants in the name of BSRM Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. at
Nasirabad I/A, Chittagong with the investment of Tk.350.00 crore to manufacture
25000 M/Tons of billets per month. The plant will go for production within 15 th
March, 2010.

Establishment cost of BSRM Steels Ltd. Is very high. As a result their products
prices become on the high side. To re-fix the products prices at market level BSRM
should reduce establishment cost by cutting down additional cost at their mills and
others. If they could re fix their prices at market level BSRMs total sales will
increase which will add profit for the company in the long term.

BSRM should extend and accommodate their raw materials and finished products
store so that they can store huge quantity of raw materials and finished goods for
buffer stock. It will help them to minimize storing and carrying cost at different
places.

BSRM should extend their finished product bending and delivery points at mills
and/or other places in the country which will decrease their delivery lead time and
customer will rely on them. Their sales will ultimately be increased accordingly.

Extension of dealership network all over the country is another way to develop
relation with the customers. If the customers can buy the products from his nearest
shop it will ease his hassle for ordering and getting delivery in time. On the other
hand, if the products will be available with local sources then the customer will be
interested to use quality products at a higher price and as a result the total sales
volume will be increased to add profit to the company account in long term. By
doing so the brand loyalty of BSRM Xtreme 500W will be increased.

- 57 -
 As a result of affluent life style of the peoples in the urban areas total demand for
multi storied building is increasing day by day. To fulfil the demand architects is
designing high rising multi-storied building by quality building materials. Steel rod is
one of the vital elements of building materials. So, BSRMs product demand is
increasing gradually. To face such demand BSRM may take initiative for necessary
expansion of plants and machinery to increase production. They may establish new
mills to cater the increasing demand.

Everybody wants high quality building materials at a lower price. Most of the
customers in Bangladesh are of medium income level & lower income level. To
make their products within the reach of such large numbers of customers BSRM
should think to keep their product prices at the market level, then the demand of
their products will increase dramatically.

8.3 Conclusion

The issues discussed above regarding the total marketing procedures of BSRM Xtreme
500W is a systematic process which can help other company in the industry in gaining
competitive edge over its rivals. The strategies and action plans that have been
recommended marketing mix elements are properly followed, they may help in the
sustainable development of the concerned companies of Bangladesh.

Bibliography

1. Mr. Philip Kotler, Author: Marketing Management, Upper Siddle River, New
Jersey, Prentice Hall, 2003, PP-393-400.

2. Mr. Naresh K. Malhotra, Author: Marketing Research: Second Indian Reprint,

2006, PP 72-100 & 312-340.

3. Mr. Md. Reaz Uddin, Ex-Student, MBA(Evening Program), 10 th Batch, Roll

No.274, FBA, USTC, Chittagong.

4. BSRM Group of Companies Sales Manual.

5. BSRM Group of Companies Annual Report.

6. Web site of BSRM Group of Companies : www.bsrm.com

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 Exhibits
Some of the informative ad used by BSRM Xtreme 500W

- 59 -
- 60 -
- 61 -
 Persuasive Advertising
Building brand preference (e.g., BSRM focuses on apartment builders)
Encouraging switching to the new brand from other companies brand
Changing customers perception of product or service attributes
Reminder Advertising
- 62 -
 Reminding consumers that the BSRM Xtreme 500W may be needed in the near future.
Reminding them where to buy it (e.g., highlighting the name, logo and addresses of the
dealers sales centers, )
Maintaining its top-of-mind awareness

Television Ads by BSRM Xtreme 500W

- 63 -
Reminder ad

Informative Ad

Besides that they are they are now circulating the new informative ads to various media.

Appendix

Questionnaire for Information Collection on BSRM Products

Name:..
- 64 -
Company Name: .Occupation/Designation: ....

Address:.

Please read the questions carefully and put your answer in the space as given below:

1) What type of BSRMs products you are using/selling?....

.

2) How long you are using/selling BSRMs products?:....

3) How much quantity of BSRMs products you are selling/using? ..

4) Why do you choosing BSRMs products?: .

5) Is there any substitute products to BSRM? If so, what is that?..

6) Is BSRM maintains their delivery schedule? ...

.

7) Are there any delivery problems which you are facing with BSRM? If so, what are
those?.......
....
....
....
....
....

8) What is your most preferred channel of order of channel & distribution?.................

...
. .

9) What is your opinion about the weight giving by BSRM? Are they giving delivery of
accurate quantity of goods as per your order?. .. ....
....

10)How can the service of BSRM be upgraded as per your opinion? ..

....
........
.

11) What are the problems you are facing by using BSRMs products?:....
....
....
....
....
- 65 -
 ....
....
........

12)Did you lodge any complaint with BSRM regarding the problems? .
....

13)Are they (BSRM) caring about your complaint? ...

....

14)What was their (BSRMs) feedback? .....

.
.....

15)Does anybody get preference for discount, order placement or taking from BSRM?
.......

16)Are you satisfied with the total services provided by BSRM? ....
.....

17)What is your suggestion for up gradation of BSRMs overall services?....................

..
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....

------------------------------------
Signature of the interviewee

Thank you for your time and effort as given.

1.2.4) COMPANY ADDRESSES:

i) Corporate Head Office:

BSRM Group of Companies,

- 66 -
 Ali Mansion, Sadarghat Road,
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 031 2854901-10
Fax : +88 031 610101, 2852242
E-mail: mail@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

ii) Mills- 1:
Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills(BSRM) Ltd.,
Nasirabad Industrial Area, Baizid Bostami Road,
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 031 683536,681487,682587
Fax : +88 02 682901
E-mail: mills@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

iii) Mills - 2:
BSRM Steels (BSRMS) Ltd.,
4, Fouzderhat I/A,
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 031 2770192-3
Fax : +88 031 612587
E-mail: bsrms@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

Other Local Offices:

iv) Dhaka Office:

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM) Ltd.,
Mahbub Castle ( 2nd & 4th Floor),
35/A, Purana Paltan Line,
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 02 8311994,8313135,9358135
Fax : +88 02 8312905
E-mail: dhaka@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

v) Comilla Office:

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills(BSRM) Ltd.,

Chandrima Super Market,
Airport Road ( Near to EPZ Main Gate),
Comilla, Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 081 71988
Fax : +88 081 68450
E-mail: comilla@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

vi) Sylhet Office:

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills(BSRM) Ltd.,
Samad Mansion, Mendibag,
Upa-shahar, Sylhet,

- 67 -
 Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 0821 721239
Fax : +88 0821 2832751
E-mail: sylhet@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

vii) Bogra Office:

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills(BSRM) Ltd.,
Tin Matha Rail Gate(Near to North Bengal Petrol Pump),
Puran Bogra, Bogra,
Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 051 60792
Fax : +88 051 64169
E-mail: bogra@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

viii) Khulna Office:

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills(BSRM) Ltd.,
Plot No. C-7, Road No. 4,
Shiromoni Industrial Area,
Khulna, Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 041 785303
Fax : +88 041 785303
E-mail: khulna@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

ix) Moulvi Bazar Office:

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills(BSRM) Ltd.,
Monoara Complex,
100 Shamshernagar Road,
Moulvi Bazar, Bangladesh.
Tel.: +88 0861 62986
Fax : +88 0861 62986
E-mail: moulvibazar@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

x) Kolkata Office:
Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills(BSRM) Ltd.,
Flat 14, 3rd Floor,
28, Southern Avenue,
Kolkata-700026, India.
Tel.: +91 033 24633378,6590455
Fax : +88 033 6590455
E-mail: kolkata@bsrm.com
Web: www.bsrm.com

1.2.5) Management of BSRM:

Name Designation

- 68 -
 1. Mr. Alihussain Akberali, FCA Chairman & Managing Director
2. Mr. Aameir Alihussain Director
3. Mr. Zohair Taherali Director
4. Mrs.Tehseen Zohair Taherali Director
5. Mrs.Sabeen Aameir Director
6. Mr. Tapan Sen Gupta Executive Director
7. Mr. Kazi Anwar Ahmed General Manager
8. Mr. M. Foroze Head of Business & Products Development
9. Mr. Shekhar Ranjan Kar, FCA Head of Finance & Accounts and Company
Secretary
10.Mr. M. Harunur Rashid Senior Manager, Commercial & Purchase
11.Mr.Mohammad Reazul Kabir Chief Financial Officer

CD
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1.2.9) Organization Structure of BSRM

BSRM Management
- 69 -
 SA s s i
se t a n
nn tt
G i e n
o e r a l
M r a n
M a g e
a r
n
a
g Human Resource & Admin Department

ee - 70 -
 GH
e
nana
ed
o r
a f l
M B
au
s n i
an
ge Marketing & Sales Department

ee ss - 71 -
S C
hh ee ii
n e
i f
o A
rc
M c
a o
n u
a n
g t
e a Accounts & Finance Department

nr - 72 -
S S u
pe p l
nn yy
C i h
ao i n
M r a
M n a
a g e
Commercial & Purchase Department
n r
a
g - 73 -
ee
CM
ah Internal Audit Department

n i
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Aens
a t
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M
i t
ar
n o
aar Information Technology Department

g
e - 74 -
Assistant
Manager-
Finance

SC Project Department
eh
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A r
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fv f
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- 75 -