Case Study Woodz

For Private Circulation only, Please do not copy Page 1 of 15
Woodz: Business at the crossroads

On a warm, sunny day in June 2016 in Bengaluru, Indrani Mukherjee was on her way for an important client
meeting. The traffic in Bengaluru seemed to be getting worse by the day, and the traffic stops were giving time to
Indrani to think through her business. Indrani was the Managing Director of Woodz, a private limited company head
quartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka State, India. Founded by Indrani and her husband, Samrat Saha, Woodz was the
realization of the couple’s dream to have their own venture. Woodz offered bamboo based construction solutions to
its clients, which included companies in the real estate, hospitality and transport sector. The company had also started
selling bamboo based products to individuals through its online store.
In the last five years, Woodz had grown steadily and had revenues of INR 50 lakh in 2015. However, the growth was
largely the result of organic and persistent efforts of the founders. The founders knew that the next phase of growth
required careful thinking. If Woodz had to continue to grow steadily, a strategic plan for growth seemed inevitable.
Indrani was a believer in the concept of ‘effectuation’ which stressed importance of doing the do-able and getting
sellable products and services established in the market place. 1 This meant that Woodz should leverage its strengths
to meet market requirements, while an alternative approach would mean that Woodz should strategise to develop
capabilities to leverage the market growth. As Indrani made her way through the traffic, Indrani wondered the right
approach to take. 2
ABOUT WOODZ
Located at Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka, India, Woodz Private Limited (Woodz) was a privately held
company. Founded by Samrat Saha and Indrani Mukherjee in 2010, the company ran its operations from its
workshop cum design studio located on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
The company comprised 18 employees largely made up of skilled bamboo work artisans from the North eastern
states of India. An engineer supervised the project based activities at Woodz. The founders performed the
management functions at Woodz. While Indrani was in charge of finance and marketing, Samrat took care of
operations. Both Indrani and Samrat were responsible for innovative design of bamboo structures and bamboo
products created at Woodz. While Samrat was proficient at generating out-of-box ideas and designs, Indrani was
adept at training the artisans at Woodz.
Early days
Woodz started with humble revenues, but had grown steadily over the years. See Exhibit I for revenues and
milestones in the Woodz journey. The founders had formed Woodz with a vision to provide environmental solutions
for construction through bamboo. Both Samrat and Indrani were civil engineers and had 13 years of work experience
in design and site work with real estate companies. Being the daughter of an officer in a large central government
company, Indrani had spent her early childhood years in the North-eastern states of India, and was aware that
bamboo was an integral part of the communities of the region. After extensive research in the North eastern States,
Samrat and Indrani were convinced that there was a market for bamboo products and decided to start their own
venture providing bamboo solutions. The founders faced stiff resistance from their respective families who were
worried about their future, but Samrat and Indrani convinced their families and went ahead with their decision to
start the venture.
In 2010, Samrat and Indrani set up bamboo design studio and workshop in Bengaluru and started scouting the
markets for customers. They started with the construction industry. The initial days were tough. As Indrani
explained,
1
Saras D. Sarasvathy, ‘Causation And Effectuation: Toward A Theoretical Shift From Economic Inevitability To Entrepreneurial
Contingency’, Academy of Management Review, 2001. Vol. 26. No. 2, 243-263.
This case has been prepared by Nageshwara Rao and Mandar Nayak as a basis for classroom discussion rather than correct or incorrect
handling of a managerial situation. The case has been prepared on the basis of face-to- face interviews conducted by the authors with the
founders of the company, and the data and information shared by the founders during those interviews. On the founders’ insistence, the
company name has been disguised. The support of the company founders for providing information and time for the case study is
gratefully acknowledged.
© IIM Shillong 2016. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means
— electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise — without the permission of the authors or copyright holders.
“The difficult part was to convince customers that bamboo structures were reliable and design sturdy.
Prospective customers needed to be educated about the value provided by bamboo. We spent a large
part of our efforts disseminating information through the media. Within the government too, there were
technical obstacles. Engineers and officers stated that unless bamboo is part of the standard
specifications, they cannot include bamboo. We directed our funds and efforts towards research &
development and conducted various tests on Bamboo & Bamboo materials at government approved
labs.3”
The founder’s efforts bore fruit when Woodz received ‘Bamboo contractor license’ from the Karnataka Public
Works Department (PWD). Subsequent to the rate analysis4, Bamboo items were introduced in the BoQ (Bill of
Quantities) in tender documents of agencies of the state government. These included the Bengaluru Metropolitan
Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Association of State Road
Transport Undertakings (ASRTU), etc. As a result of persistent efforts by Samrat and Indrani, as bamboo gained
popularity among architects and engineers, Woodz received construction orders. With successful completion of
projects by Woodz, customers developed trust in Woodz, and repeat orders followed. The founder’ efforts were
further boosted when several national and international organisations recognised the innovative bamboo designs by
Woodz and conferred awards and recognitions. See Exhibit I for awards and recognitions. With confidence in their
initiative, the Woodz forayed into bamboo products in January 2016.
Products and services
Woodz offered bamboo based construction services and bamboo products. The bamboo based construction structures
developed by Woodz included gazebos, resorts, roof top structures, cottages, eateries, parking sheds etc. See Exhibit
II for bamboo structures and products by Woodz. Most of the bamboo structures were designed and constructed by
Woodz used the Bambusaa Balcoa bamboo, known for its toughness as a construction material. Woodz also offered
various structural elements which included bamboo plywood, sheets, roofing materials, fibre boards and bamboo mat
boards used as flooring materials in houses and transport vehicles.
The products by Woodz for household use included bamboo carpets, floor mats, and bamboo doors. In January 2016,
Indrani and Samrat formed ‘Woodz furniture Private Limited’ to market bamboo based furniture and interior items.
Items for interior decoration and household use included bamboo vases, coffee mugs, ashtrays, pen stands and
various items of bamboo furniture and bamboo handicraft items. A bamboo product popular among most shops
selling food items included bamboo skewer sticks, bamboo chopsticks and waffle sticks used for barbecues.
Markets and customers
Clients for the construction services of Woodz included companies from the real estate, education and hospitality
industry. See Exhibit III for list of clients served by Woodz. The bamboo products by Woodz were popular among
real estate companies, commercial companies as well as individual households. Additionally, owners of furniture and
food shops also purchased the products made by Woodz.
Popular among architects and hotel owners for their aesthetic appeal, bamboo structures were known for strong, anti-
scratch, anti-borer, light weight and earth-quake resistance qualities. Architects and customers particularly
appreciated use of bamboo structures to create environment-friendly, green buildings. Regular customers of bamboo
products included the government owned transport companies which made use of the bamboo mat boards to create
floors for transport buses, reducing the weight of the bus by nearly 125 kgs.
The products made by Woodz were sold directly to customers who visited the workshop as well as distributed
through its online store (www.furnwoodz.com). The online store, ‘www.furnwoodz.com’, provided a virtual store for
customers looking for bamboo furniture and décor on the web. Additionally, Woodz had tie-ups with several e-
commerce companies such as Amazon.com, flipkart.com and snapdeal.com, which sold products by Woodz on their
portals.
3
IPRITI: Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka formed under the Ministry of Forests, with a
mandate for research, training, testing, certification and extension of technology related to wood related products.
4
Rate Analysis is the process of obtaining the cost of unit amount of an item including the cost of material, labour, equipment, plant tools,
overhead costs and profit. Source: www.nptel.ac.in
Operations
The delivery of products and services by Woodz fell into three categories viz. construction based activities, physical
sales by Woodz (including its website) and fulfillment of online purchases. See Exhibit IV for order fulfillment
process at Woodz. While the construction based activities were delivered at the client specified location, the
sourcing, design, and pre-fabrication of bamboo required for the activities were done at the Woodz workshop. The
pre-fabricated parts were then shifted to the client location where they were erected and assembled as per the client
requirements, construction drawings and specifications.
For purchases made by customers through its own website, as well as purchases made by customers who physically
visited the Woodz workshop, Woodz maintained an inventory of products based on an estimate of demand by the
founders through their experience. On the other hand, for products sold through the third party vendors such as
Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc., Woodz regularly tracked the online purchase of its products, and manufactured the
products as and when the products needed to be replenished at the warehouses of the vendors. Following a planned
time-based process for replenishment of the products, Woodz ensured that the products were regularly made
available for Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal, who delivered the products to the customers.
Finance and Marketing
The founders followed a rigorous process to ensure that sufficient working capital was available to maintain raw
material inventory and timely manufacture of products for the finished goods inventory. As Indrani explained,
“Every night I reconcile the expenses statement. I ensure that the finances of our company are strictly
maintained to meet our daily expenses. In case any of the customers or the third party vendors not
making payments on time, we stop delivery of our products or services.”
For instance, Woodz did not start the process of sourcing of raw material for its construction based services, unless
the customer had made at least half the payment before start of work. As the work progressed at the client location,
Woodz ensured timely payment for its services based on the progress of work. Woodz raised regular monthly
invoices to its customers and ensured that payments were made on time. As Indrani said,
“A small company such as ours cannot sustain unless we get paid regularly. I am very strict with
finances. Many of our clients are large organisations and ask us to absorb the delay in payments, but I
do not relent. Time and again, we have made it absolutely clear to our clients that if we do not get
paid on time, we cannot continue the business. There is no scope in our business for extended credit
time.”
The only exception was made for Government organisations, who did not make any advance payments but paid after
completion of work. While payments from Government organisations were guaranteed, they took time.
The marketing efforts of Woodz were spearheaded by Indrani and Samrat who regularly met prospective clients for
their products and services. The founders also regularly attended seminars and conferences to develop network
relationships in the marketplace. A large part of the founder’s efforts were directed towards obtaining orders for their
construction based services, which comprised 65% of the revenues for Woodz. See Exhibit V for revenue and cost
break ups in different markets for Woodz for the financial year ended 2015. The founders also kept track of their
products on the online marketplace, which comprised 70% of the company’s revenues. Marketing efforts in this
regard included updating the online store with new innovative designs and populating the Woodz website and
Facebook page with promotional material and messages.
THE WORLD OF BAMBOO
The word bamboo derived its origin from Kannada word, ‘bambu’, which was later introduced into English literature
through Indonesian and Malay languages.i Also known popularly as ‘wonder grass’, bamboo was one of the fastest
growing plants in the world, with some species growing up to 3 feet in a day. There were more than 1200 bamboo
species in the world and some species grew a couple of inches while some grew up to 100 feet and 8 inches in
diameter. ii Bamboo grew faster than most tree species. Bamboo plantations were characterised by high yields (see
Exhibit VI for yields of Bamboo and other wood) and low maturity5 time from plantation to harvest as compared to
wood plantations.iii
Bamboo growth lands covered nearly 4% of the forest areas of the world across three main tropical and temperate
regions, i.e. the Asian-Pacific Region, the Americas Region, and the African Region. The Asian-Pacific region
accounted for close to 80% of the bamboo growth lands and species in the world. Countries with bamboo resources
included China, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam as well as certain parts of America, Australia and
Africa. iv
Major importers of bamboo and bamboo products were countries in Europe, other than America and Latin America.
China, India and Myanmar comprised major bamboo resources in the world. With close to 600 bamboo species,
China had the world’s richest bamboo resources. Its most important species was Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys
edulis) because of its usage not only as timber but also for food. The largest exporter of bamboo and bamboo
products in the world, China benefited from an extensive and dedicated approach to bamboo forest management
coupled with innovations in bamboo processing. It was also instrumental in sharing expertise and commercialisng
bamboo in Africa where there were large areas of natural bamboo forests. v
Applications
From building materials to food, bamboo had more than 1000 documented uses, deeply rooted in tradition and
knowledge. vi Bamboo could be used for almost all parts of houses, including posts, roofs, walls, floors, beams,
trusses and fences. People also used bamboo to produce mats, baskets, tools, handles, hats, traditional toys, musical
instruments and furniture. vii Other popular bamboo products included handicrafts as well as interior decoration for
houses and high end cars. viii
Different parts of bamboo were useful for different applications. For instance, in China, the lower two third part of
the bamboo stem was used to manufacture industrial bamboo materials while the upper one third was used for
smaller bamboo products such as blinds and chopsticks. ix In Latin America, bamboo poles were transformed into
housing kits for use by community organizations, disaster relief or government agencies.x Bamboo products were
popular in urban households as interior decoration, including furniture and handicrafts, and were an important
element of marriages and religious festivals in South Asian countries. Rural households in Myanmar and Laos used
bamboo as a source of food using succulent and nutritious bamboo shoots. xi
Bamboo houses were common in China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Costa Rica and Ecuador. An
estimated one billion people around the world lived in bamboo houses. xii Bamboo was an alternative timber to make
homes, requiring little processing to become posts, roofs, walls, floors, beams, trusses and fences. Cheaper than
wood houses, bamboo houses were light, strong and earthquake resistant, unlike brick or cement constructions.xiii In
modern building construction, architects in Europe made use of bamboo as structural, interior and exterior elements
in public and office buildings; notable among them roofing for Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain and bamboo
cladding and walling for a corporate office in Belgium. xiv
The major consumers of bamboo resources included paper and pulp industry, fuel, food, feed, house construction and
scaffolding sectors, as well as producers of several articles of domestic applications. Industrial applications of
bamboo products included plybamboo, (pressed and bleached bamboo), used for panels, beams and flooring boards;
and moulded bamboo used as high density beams and panels. xv Bamboo and bamboo products were characterised by
low economic life cycle costs. See Exhibit VII presenting economic costs over life cycle for bamboo and other
building materials. As a substitute for wood, steel or plastic, bamboo was gaining popularity as an excellent
substitute for wood in paper industries, domestic commodities, cottage industries, board and charcoal. xvi With
progress made in technology and knowledge of bamboo processing, there was increased use of engineered bamboo
products, including bamboo panels, knockdown bamboo furniture, processed bamboo flooring, bamboo pulp and
paper, and bamboo fabrics. xvii
5
Plantations of certain species of bamboo took about 10 years to maturity as compared to 15 years (eucalyptus), 30 years (plantation
teak), 70 years (regular teak) and up to 80 years (European oak).
Markets and growth

INBAR (The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan)6, estimated the domestic market in 2012 at USD 35
billion in major bamboo producing countries of the world. xviii The world export market for bamboo and rattan7
products was estimated in 2012 at USD 1.9 billion. Industrial bamboo products (29%), bamboo woven products
(25%), edible bamboo shoots (15%) dominated the international export market. The European Union (EU), USA and
Japan were the top three markets of the world accounting for 72% of the world’s imports, while Canada, Singapore,
Australia, Russia and Korea were other significant importers. Asia accounted for 84% of the world export market in
2012, with China dominating 66% of the international market.
Estimates placed the global market for bamboo products at USD 17 billion in 2017, with much of the growth coming
from nontraditional products such as laminated furniture, flooring and panels. xix The global bamboo industry had
grown rapidly in recent years and steady growth was expected in industrial bamboo products in EU and China. For
instance, the domestic bamboo sector in China was USD 19 billion in 2012 and the total value of the bamboo forests’
output was expected to reach USD 50 billion by 2020. xx
Environmental and Social Benefits of Bamboo
Bamboo growth lands and products were significant contributors to positive ecological and environmental change.
Apart from industrial applications and livelihood opportunities, bamboo provided significant opportunities for
climate change mitigation and adaptation, fighting rural poverty and restoring the natural resource base for economic
sustainability. xxi Research involving LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) of bamboo showed that bamboo was CO2 negative,
and carbon sequestration positive. xxii See Exhibit VIII for carbon print for bamboo and other building materials. In
other words, the carbon sequestration effects achieved by bamboo forestation outweighed the carbon emissions
during production and shipping bamboo.
Across the world, more than 2 billion people, mostly from rural communities, depended on the bamboo industry for
survival and livelihood. xxiii. See Exhibit IX presenting major areas of application of bamboo products related to
income generation, agriculture and households. Research studies had shown that Bamboo plantations were very
profitable due to high BCR (Benefit Cost Ratio) because of low input costs and high farm prices. xxiv Bamboo
plantations provided a useful alternative and complementary activity to traditional crop practices. Bamboo could be
grown on non-agricultural land and required simple tools for growing, harvesting, transportation and processing,
making it conducive for women employment.xxv Bamboo was an important resource base for the Small and Medium
Enterprises (SME) sector because of its potential for employment and income generating activities in the sector. As a
result, governments around the world encouraged bamboo based industries in its poverty alleviation programs and
estimated high growth in this regard. For instance, in China and in India, employment in bamboo growing and
industries was likely to reach ten million by 2020. xxvi
INBAR had identified that bamboo was relevant8 in contributing to 6 out of the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development
Goals9) of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development as agreed by the world leaders at United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) Summit held in New York on 25 September 2015.xxvii Further, in line with the
Climate Change Agreement10 at the (Conference of Parties) COP 21 negotiations held on November – December
2015 in Paris, INBAR member countries had agreed to improve the land area under bamboo forestation to 5 million
hectares by 2020, marking a significant step towards improving investments in bamboo through national plans. xxviii
6
Established in 1997 by Treaty deposited with the United Nations and hosted in Beijing, China, INBAR (The International Network for
Bamboo and Rattan) was the multilateral development organisation of 41 Member States for the promotion of bamboo and rattan.
7
Rattan is a naturally renewable palm that grows in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia, and is used for furniture,
handicrafts, and building material among others. (Source: WWF)
8
SDGs where bamboo played an important role included poverty reduction, energy, housing and urban development, sustainable
production and consumption, climate change, and land degradation. (Source: INBAR)
9
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are Global Goals, which will guide policy and funding for the next 15 years. The 17 SDGs
comprises new development agenda applicable to all countries for promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, better jobs and tackling
climate change. (Source: UNDP)
10
Also referred to as the Paris Agreement, participating countries agreed to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well
below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels;
(Source: UNFCCC, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, December, 2015)
Bamboo in the Indian context

With the largest area under bamboo in the world, India was the second richest country for bamboo genetic resources,
after China (FAO report, 2011). xxix Bamboo growth lands in India covered about 136 bamboo species, most of them
found in North-east India. With 28% of the bamboo growing area in the country, the North-eastern states included
two thirds of the bamboo species found in India. As per FSI (Forest Survey of India) report 2011, dense bamboo
species were found in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam. Other states with
bamboo resources included Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. A large part of
bamboo was grown on non-private land (85%) and was available for utilisation for industrial purposes without any
significant changes in regulation. xxx
India had a share of 4% of the global bamboo market with about 190 suppliers and exporters of bamboo and bamboo
products as listed on various online portals 11 in 2016. Within the country, bamboo usage was found for scaffolding
(24%), followed by Paper (20%) and Handicrafts (19%). See Exhibit X for bamboo usage in India. The market for
bamboo and bamboo products in India had grown in recent years and the annual market for value added bamboo
products were expected to reach USD 4 – USD 6 billion in 2015. See Exhibit XI for growth in expected market size
for various bamboo products.
An estimated 8.5 million people were employed in the bamboo industry in India. Recognising the importance of
bamboo towards livelihood and environment, the Government of India, through the NMBTTD (National Mission on
Bamboo Technology Trade and Development)12, had taken active steps to leverage bamboo resources in India.
NMBTTD targeted to capture 25% of the world market by 2015 by developing market linkages of bamboo farmers
and bamboo artisans (NABARD, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, 2013). xxxi The sustained
efforts from the government, in coordination with INBAR, had started to result in increasing popularity of bamboo
and growth of the bamboo based businesses. For instance,
“In India, INBAR's project partner Tripura ARS Company (TRIBAC) started with revenue of USD
15,000 in 2005 and reached USD 271,000 in 2009. NATIVE KONBAC, INBAR's partner in Konkan,
a bamboo company with initial capitalization of USD 250,000 had confirmed sale orders of over USD
500,000. Over 150, 000 jobs had been created for women in these sites, where women's enterprises
were evolved from a bamboo harvesting industry to one with full value addition production, branding
and marketing for local and national markets.”13
WHAT NEXT?
In a span of six years, Woodz had successfully created a unique place for itself in the business of bamboo structures
and products. By 2016, the revenue growth was healthy and the founders were pursuing further areas for growth.
Nageshwara Rao, a successful entrepreneur, and an eminent academician who was previously their boss in the early
2000 in Bengaluru, offered his offered his time, expertise and mentorship to Woodz. Nageshwara Rao, a civil
engineer by qualification, felt that Woodz had tremendous potential for structured growth. With opportunities for the
bamboo market growing exponentially, Woodz was in the right position in the marketplace, way ahead of other
potential competitors. As Nageshwara Rao expressed,
“Every next step seemed like the best option. However, Woodz had to be cautious as it prepared the
blue print for its growth in the next phase. While it had successfully overcome the initial market
inertia, and created a niche market for its products through design and innovation, scaling up for the
next phase required careful thinking. This thinking had to reconcile what Woodz has been and what it
can be, or more importantly, what it should be.”
At the same time, Woodz faced challenges to create the right perception in the marketplace with regard to the value
provided by bamboo. While customers appreciated the décor and appeal by bamboo, they perceived bamboo to be a
far cheaper substitute to traditional building materials like steel, aluminum, etc. As Samrat explained,
11
http://www.exportersindia.com/indian-suppliers/bamboo.htm accessed July 9, 2016
12
Launched under the Ministry of Agriculture with an outlay of INR 568 crore in 2006-07, the National Bamboo Mission was a centrally
sponsored scheme to provide financial and technical support for integrated development of bamboo through research & development,
plantation development, handicrafts marketing and exports.
13
http://www.inbar.int/2015/04/small-and-medium-sized-bamboo-enterprises accessed July 6, 2016
“Customers like the design, and the benefits with regard to the green qualities of bamboo. But then,
they think that bamboo is cheaper and often get upset when we tell them that they may not always get
a price benefit. We still need to overcome the customer perception that bamboo is a cheap material to
procure, and it is simple to work bamboo into attractive structures and products. There is
considerable effort and skill required. The effort and skill comes at a price which has to be higher
than our costs.”
At the crossroads
While preparing the blue print for the next phase, the founders were aware that they have to necessarily address the
growth path that Woodz should pursue. Woodz was essentially concerned about its product and services mix,
distribution channel and the markets it should focus on the most. Construction services by Woodz accounted for 65%
of the company’s revenue, but the efforts required for construction activities were much higher than those required
for non-construction activities. For instance, construction activities were ‘on-site’ work and required shifting the
materials and artisans to the construction site. This often placed demands on artisans’ time for the production work at
the factory. Many times, Woodz sacrificed the regular production work at the factory, while the artisans moved to the
site. Supervision was another factor and multiple construction orders placed demands on the Indrani and Samrat’s
time.
Woodz also had to decide the right mix of growth strategies to be pursued for its online and offline sales channels.
The online channel, including Woodz relationships with Amazon, Flipkart, etc., provided Woodz with 70% of its
product revenues, but also accounted for 80% of the costs (Exhibit V). While the online channel had helped Woodz
to popularise its products, Indrani often wondered if Woodz should continue to invest in the relationship or in its own
online distribution channel. In her words,
“We have invested close to INR 13 lakh in creating our own IT channel, online store, website,
inventory, etc. I have often spent sleepless nights for the amount, and have wondered if at all, it
would bear us good returns. For a company our size, the amount was very high, and I wondered if I
needed to increase the investment made, or stop any further investment in the direction”
Indrani was quite sure that creating a position in the digital market place was critical, and her decision of ownership
of the website, online store, was a step in this direction. But then, developing enough traction with the hits received
on those platforms was equally challenging, and Indrani wondered if she had the right narrative to be communicated
in this regard. For instance, on the Woodz Facebook page, the posts made by Woodz (Indrani) had received many
likes, but the strategic direction to convert the community into customers was still elusive.
About 80% of Woodz’s revenues came from the B2B (business) marketplace. This included revenue from
construction projects and the product sales to corporate customers. Business markets were large order markets, and
required extensive marketing. While the founders were confident of designing solutions in the B2B marketplace,
they often wondered the right approach to take in those markets. For instance, the founders contemplated options to
provide packaged (complete) solutions such as bamboo houses along with furniture, interior items, etc., to companies
which offered cottages and homes for holiday stay, corporate meetings, etc., but this required careful targeting. B2B
markets were characterised by long sales cycle times and the founders had to identify the right customers and target
them in a planned manner to avoid wasting marketing efforts.
Indrani knew that Woodz had achieved a comfortable position in the marketplace, but it would not be long before
competitors and other ‘me-too’ players invaded the marketplace. The markets were poised to grow exponentially and
Woodz had to decide, what its future growth path should be. As Indrani made her way to the meeting, she wondered
if she would be able to find the answers to the puzzle.
Exhibit I: REVENUES AND MILESTONES IN THE WOODZ JOURNEY
Year Revenues
2010-11  Nil
2011-12  INR 8 lakh
2012-13  INR11.5 lakh
2013-14  INR19.5 lakh
2014-15  INR 49.5 lakh
Year Milestones
2011  Introduction of Bamboo Boards in KSRTC,BMTC Buses & getting an Approval from
ASRTU, Govt. of India
2014  Constructing a Bamboo made Car Park in IIM Bengaluru Campus
 Winner Of FKCCI MSME Innovation Excellence Award 2014-Category- Society &
Environment
 Women Entrepreneur Award 2014-NFED Coimbatore, TN, India
2015  Constructing a 4500 sq.ft of Bamboo Made Micro brewery Roof Top Restaurant in
Bengaluru where the Structure has been made with Bamboo & no use of Steel or Iron
 Listed in the POWER LIST 2015 Story Exchange-NYC,USA
 Winner of World of Difference Award 2015-TIAW-Washighton DC USA.
2016  Designing & launching India’s /World’s first Online Store for Bamboo Furniture, Décor &
DIY etc
Source: Woodz
Exhibit II: BAMBOO STRUCTURES AND PRODUCTS BY WOODZ
Source: Design Detail, April 2015
Exhibit III: LIST OF CLIENTS SERVED BY WOODZ
 Indian Institute Of Management  JP Cordial Hotel-Bengaluru  Arama Suites-Bengaluru

Bengaluru-IIM B  Techno Architects Office-  Zonasha Farms-Bengaluru
 Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam- Bengaluru  Bala Vikasa-Hyderabad
TTD  Sri Sai Sankalp Architects-  Invictus Sports Arena-
 Total Environment Building Bengaluru Bengaluru
Solutions Pvt. Ltd.-Bengaluru  Bengaluru Metropolitan  Hotel Chancery Pavilion –
 Pink Organic-Bengaluru Transport Corporation. Bengaluru
 Karnataka State Road Transport  KMS Coach Builders Pvt. Ltd.-  V3 Hospitality- Bengaluru
Corporation Bengaluru  Rajesh Architects
 Karnataka Nirmiti Kendra  IMAC-Bengaluru  JNCASR-Jakkur-Bengaluru
 Kanva Resort  Guru & Jana Chartered
 DM Bungalow Mandya Accountants-Bengaluru
 JP Celestial-Fortune Hotels-  Orchid Schools-Bengaluru
Bengaluru  Club Balance-XLR8-
Bengaluru
Source: Woodz
Exhibit IV: ORDER FULFILLMENT PROCESS AT WOODZ

(Source: Woodz)
A. Construction contracts
Work order from Work order from

client (customer) client (customer)
Government Private company

contracts contracts
Check inventory Advance payment

of raw materials from customer
Procure raw material 2 weeks
(North East Region, Maharashtra,

Karnataka (Bengaluru)
Prefabrication of
structural parts at
Factory
Shift prefabricated 15th Day

structural parts to site
(designated by client)
Construction of
designed structure by
artisans
3 – 15 weeks
Commissioning and
handover structure to
client
6-8 weeks
Final Payment by
Client
Exhibit IV: ORDER FULFILLMENT PROCESS AT WOODZ (CONTD.)
B. Product Orders (Amazon.com)
Daily Production Procure raw material Estimate Demand

at Factory
Finished goods
inventory
Dispatch by Confirmation by
Woodz Amazon
Delivery date and time by Woodz

for supply of products from Woodz
Products delivered to factory to Amazon
Amazon warehouse
Approval from Amazon

(Inbound team)
Product purchase by
customer (Amazon.com),
customer payment,
Email by Woodz to Amazon for
delivery to customer
replenishment of products at
managed by Amazon
Amazon warehouse
Payment to Woodz by Materials sold out on

Amazon Amazon Portal
Every Week (Thursday)

Exhibit IV: ORDER FULFILLMENT PROCESS AT WOODZ (CONTD.)
C. Product Orders (Physical sales, Woodz.com and Indiamart.com)
Daily Production Procure raw material Estimate Demand

at Factory
Finished goods
inventory
Purchase by
customer
Payment by
customer
Products delivery Materials sold out from

to customer Factory Inventory
Exhibit V: REVENUE AND COST BREAKUPS (FINANCIAL YEAR MARCH 2015)
Description Revenue (100%) Costs (100%)

Customer wise
Business to Business (B2B) 80% 45%
Business to consumer (B2C) 20% 65%
Activity wise
Construction Activities 65% 65%
Non Construction Activities 35% 35%
Channel wise
Online (Amazon, Flipkart etc): 70% 80%
Offline 30% 20%
Source: Woodz
Exhibit VI: ANNUAL YIELDS OF BAMBOO AND VARIOUS WOOD TREE SPECIES
Source: INBAR Technical Report No. 35, Annual yield of various wood and bamboo species in cubic metres produced per hectare per
year (FAO 2006, MAF 2008, van der Lugt 2008, USDA 2013).
Exhibit VII: ECONOMIC LIFE CYCLE COSTS OF BUILDING MATERIALS
Source: INBAR Technical Report No. 35, Eco-costs over life cycle (€/ m3 building material) for various common building materials (data
sourced by Idemat’s 2014 and 2015 databases and Vogtländer et al. 2014).
Exhibit VIII: CARBON FOOTPRINT FOR BAMBOO AND OTHER BUILDING MATERIALS
Source: INBAR Technical Report No. 35, Carbon footprint over life cycle (kg Co2e/m3 building material) for various common building
materials (data sourced by Idemat’s 2014 and 2015 databases and Vogtländer et al. 2014).
Exhibit IX: MAJOR AREAS OF APPLICATION OF BAMBOO PRODUCTS
Income generation Agriculture Household

 Medicines  Pots for seedlings  Medicines
 Source of food  Fencing posts  Source of food
 Cosmetics  Pegs for plantation  Cosmetics
 Pegs for plantation development development  Fencing posts
 Ornamentals  Stakes for food  Window blinds, tables, chairs,
 Window blinds, tables, chairs, desks  Containers, planks, baskets desks
 Fuel, e.g. charcoal, gas  Winnowers and ploughs  Fuel, e.g. charcoal, gas
 Flooring, arts, craft and household  Stocking of grains  Flooring, arts, craft and
decoration  Sowing of grains household decoration
 Building material  Frames and scaffolding in
 Winnowers and plows building industry
 Baskets, containers, planks  Building material
 Winnowers and plows
Source: Sythud Phimmachanh, Zhang Ying, and Mukete Beckline, “Bamboo Resources Utilization: A Potential Source of Income to
Support Rural Livelihoods.” Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, vol. 3, no. x (2015): 176-183. doi: 10.12691/aees-3-6-3.
Exhibit X: BAMBOO USAGE IN INDIA
(IC: Internal Consumption)

Source: Website: National Bamboo Mission (http://nbm.nic.in/ accessed July 8, 2016)
Exhibit XI: EXPECTED MARKET SIZE FOR VARIOUS BAMBOO PRODUCTS

Market Size, 2003 Expected Market Size, 2015
Bamboo Item (Rupees Crore) (Rupees Crore)
Shoots 5 300
Timber Substitution 10,000 (Import Substitution) 30,000 (in 20 years)
Plyboard 200 500
Plyboard for Trucks/Railways 1000 3400
Bamboo Matboards NA 3908
100 for Exports, 100 for
Bamboo Flooring Domestic Cons. 1950
Pulp 100 2088
Furniture 380 3265
Scaffolding NA 861
Housing NA 1163
Roads NA 274
Miscellaneous (Pencils, Matches, etc.) 394 600
Source: NMBTTD Report, Planning Commission, 2003
REFERENCES
i
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo accessed June 6, 2016
ii
http://tripurabamboo.com/aboutus/WhyBamboo.aspx accessed July 6, 2016
iii
P.van der Lugt and J.G. Vogtlander, ‘The environmental Impact of Industrial bamboo products’, International Network for Bamboo and
Rattan (INBAR), Technical Report No. 35, 2015
iv
Sythud Phimmachanh, Zhang Ying, and Mukete Beckline, “Bamboo Resources Utilization: A Potential Source of Income to Support
Rural Livelihoods.” Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, vol.3, no. x (2015): 176-183. doi: 10.12691/aees-3-6-3.
v
Fidel Antonio Troya Mera and Chenyang Xu, ‘Plantation management and bamboo resource economics in China’, Ciencia y Tecnología,
2014. 7(1): 1-12
vi
Rural Livelihoods.” Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, vol. 3, no. x (2015): 176-183. doi: 10.12691/aees-3-6-3.
vii
World bamboo resources: A thematic study prepared in the framework of the Global Forest Resources Assessment, Food and
Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations, Rome, 2007
viii
ix
x
INBAR
xi
xii
Policy Synthesis Report, INBAR, ‘Bamboo: A strategic resource for countries to reduce the effects of climate change’, 2014
xiii
Fidel Antonio Troya Mera and Chenyang Xu, ‘Plantation management and bamboo resource economics in China’, Ciencia y
Tecnología, 2014. 7(1): 1-12
xiv
xv
xvi
Tecnología, 2014. 7(1): 1-12
xvii
xviii
xix
http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag131e/ag131e25.htm accessed July 6, 2016
xx
xxi
xxii
xxiii
xxiv
Rajesh S. Kumar, et.al, ‘A review of bamboo based agroforestry models developed in different parts of India, productivity and
marketing aspects’, Conference Paper, January 2014, ResearchGate
xxv
Tecnología, 2014. 7(1): 1-12
xxvi
xxvii
Annual Report, INBAR, 2015
xxviii
INBAR Position paper, ‘Bamboo, Rattan and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’ , December 2015
xxix
Concept Note, ‘Bamboo as Change Agent’, TERI , 2015
xxx
Manish Kumar, Tanya, School of Forestry and Environment, Allahabad, ‘Bamboo “Poor Men Timber”: A review Study for its potential &
market scenario in India’, IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS), e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372.
Volume 8, Issue 2 Ver. I (Feb. 2015), PP 80-83
xxxi
Rajesh S. Kumar, et.al, ‘A review of bamboo based agroforestry models developed in different parts of India, productivity and
marketing aspects’, Conference Paper, January 2014, ResearchGate

Case Study Woodz

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Case Study Woodz

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

For Private Circulation only, Please do not copy Page 1 of 15

Woodz: Business at the crossroads

Markets and growth

Bamboo in the Indian context

Exhibit I: REVENUES AND MILESTONES IN THE WOODZ JOURNEY

Exhibit II: BAMBOO STRUCTURES AND PRODUCTS BY WOODZ

Source: Design Detail, April 2015

Exhibit III: LIST OF CLIENTS SERVED BY WOODZ

 Indian Institute Of Management  JP Cordial Hotel-Bengaluru  Arama Suites-Bengaluru

Exhibit IV: ORDER FULFILLMENT PROCESS AT WOODZ

Work order from Work order from

Government Private company

Check inventory Advance payment

Procure raw material 2 weeks

(North East Region, Maharashtra,

Shift prefabricated 15th Day

Exhibit IV: ORDER FULFILLMENT PROCESS AT WOODZ (CONTD.)

B. Product Orders (Amazon.com)

Daily Production Procure raw material Estimate Demand

Delivery date and time by Woodz

Approval from Amazon

Payment to Woodz by Materials sold out on

Every Week (Thursday)

Exhibit IV: ORDER FULFILLMENT PROCESS AT WOODZ (CONTD.)

C. Product Orders (Physical sales, Woodz.com and Indiamart.com)

Daily Production Procure raw material Estimate Demand

Products delivery Materials sold out from

Exhibit V: REVENUE AND COST BREAKUPS (FINANCIAL YEAR MARCH 2015)

Description Revenue (100%) Costs (100%)

Exhibit VII: ECONOMIC LIFE CYCLE COSTS OF BUILDING MATERIALS

Exhibit IX: MAJOR AREAS OF APPLICATION OF BAMBOO PRODUCTS

Income generation Agriculture Household

Exhibit X: BAMBOO USAGE IN INDIA

(IC: Internal Consumption)

Exhibit XI: EXPECTED MARKET SIZE FOR VARIOUS BAMBOO PRODUCTS

Вам также может понравиться