MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Assignment # 01

Name: Awais Saleem

Roll #: 01
Executive – MBA
2019 – 2021
IBM – UET
Date: 16-07-2020

Submitted to: Maam Mariam Qadeer

Question: Draw and explain the new value chain of maple leaf cement. What is
the DMU of cement purchase in Pakistan?

Answer:

Value Chain Model of Maple Leaf Cement

The first focus of Maple was to build a brand and for this they have to build the value chain
process again. They decided to stop the dependency on distributors. They also focus to
establish a clear and close relationship with all their dealers, wholesalers and retailers. They
have formed the cross-functional teams. Afterwards they have hired a new Marketing Manager,
and hired a new IT manager. After all these steps Maple decided to develop a deeper
understanding of transportation and logistics side of the business. The marketing manager went
out in field to talk directly to the dealers and truckers. Their new vision was to position Maple
as the “distributer”. Then a “logistics department” was setup whose primary job was to meet
daily demand generated by marketing department. Maple hired “customer relationship
managers “who duty was to manage only truck drivers and transporters. A series of processes
were setup designed to engage the different stakeholders in Maple’s supply chain. “Hotspots”
were setup to engage drivers these were “meet and greet” areas with basic amenities for
drivers to rest during long hauls. This allowed Maple to fulfill same day delivery to customers in
localized areas since drivers were readily available. Similarly, various events were organized to
engage transporters, dealers and retailers. Dealers were sent automated messages on their
birthdays and a sales representative sent a customized cake. Master mistri program was
launched to provide training to and recognition for masons. The overarching objective of
providing these programs was to enhance customer experience at different levels to build
greater loyalty of the Maple Leaf brand throughout the extended supply chain. As the
structures and processes were reformed, internal and external trainings were initiated for the
employees as well. These trainings covered topics such as total quality management (TQM), 5-
why analysis, emotional intelligence (EQ), supply chain management and logistics and
leadership skills. The middle management tier went through external management
development programs.

In IT Infrastructure, Maple Leaf had made a significant investment in IT. It adopted Oracle’s
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. However, the system was being utilized at the
transactional level. A new IT strategy was devised as well in consultation with marketing
manager. They decided to cater these capabilities such as operational excellence or cost
reduction to be more competitive, ease in launch of new products/services, improvement in
decision-making, and an ability to achieve differentiation in the sale of cement. Maple also
developed the in- house call center for feedback of new customers.
After taking all these steps they have become more cost competitive. But still need more focus
on marketing. Due to new value chain of maple leaf their future plan is to develop plants
outside of Pakistan.

DMU of cement purchase in Pakistan:

Contractors are the basic DMU of cement purchase in Pakistan. They are key source of DMU
because other end consumers like home owners or layman and the architects don’t have much
information about the purchase of cement. So, when they asked the contractor refer them to
that brand of cement which gave them more incentives and rewards.

Whereas some of the educated person has technical information that cement have how much
Clinker etc. So base on that information, this person will purchase the cement.

Question: How did Maple leaf initiate the change Management program in the
company? What initiatives did it undertake and why?

Answer: When Sayeed came in the organization, he went through the change in management
program. They first increased their capacity and they focused was to develop the thinking of
growth orientation in the organization. He also supported the concept of top to bottom
hierarchy so he took the step to make cross functional teams.

Once they both had a chance to encounter on a flight Sayeed and Arif shared their similar views
on how a systematic transformation process centered on its people could eventually drive the
growth of a business. There are very few businessmen in Pakistan who can appreciate the
importance of organizational structure. As Sayeed and Arif devised the strategic vision for
Maple, price war began in the cement industry. This is the time when the Competition
Commission of Pakistan had levied heavy fines on the major players in the cement industry.
Most of the players dropped their prices to increase sale volume. The ones that had the
distribution capacity to increase sale volume fared better during this period than others this
shifted Sayeed’s attention from transforming the organization for the long run, to getting it to
survive in the immediate future.

Formation of Cross-functional Teams:

As a first step in restructuring and as a means to signal the change in direction throughout the
organization, a cross-functional group was formed. There was no energy expert in the company
but people within various departments of the business were essentially dealing with energy
related issues. Head of Purchase department was nominated as the team leader and the
meetings began on a weekly basis. Other team members were selected from production,
quality and finance departments. Both Sayeed and Arif participated in these meetings. In order
to further highlight the uniqueness and importance of the initiative, a mascot was designed for
the team and this was prominently displayed on all presentations and team related material.
Typically, each meeting of the team concluded with a list of “to-do” items for the concerned
members and departments. One of the first issues the team addressed was measurement of
energy efficiency of the company’s production operations. Furthermore, this shift in emphasis
allowed the team to review some of the company operations in a manner unheard of in the
past.

Team Reliability Center Maintenance (RCM):

This cross-functional team was setup. Plant manager was nominated as the team leader and
other members were brought in from electrical, mechanical and HR departments. The objective
was to reinforce the new culture of conformance to standards within the company anything
that does not stack up should be brought forward with a non-conformance request. Anyone in
the organization could file a non-conformance request. In view of the broad purview of the
team to address conformance issues, it did look at some of the same problems from a different
angle that other teams were looking at as well.

Team Improvement:
This team was formed in 2011. Its broad objective was to highlight “improvement”
opportunities anywhere within the organization, it looked at improvement opportunities within
the plant that were not limited to the mechanical and engineering issues. Depending on the
nature of the opportunity, either a non-conformance request could be filed or the issue could
be brought to the attention of the committee for further deliberation and action. As in the case
of the other teams, Sayeed and Arif participated in these meetings and ideas for improvement
were carefully evaluated and addressed.

Team Culture:
The stated purpose of this team was to organize various events for the employees on a regular
basis. The events included carnivals, New Year eve’s celebration, musha’ira’s, mehfile-naat and
several engagement activities for plant employees such as music classes for their children. A
club was built near the plant to serve as a venue. The objective of this team was to help create
an environment where employees would mingle, relax and develop a sense of being one
community. A more strategic objective was to allow the employees to adopt and disseminate a
shared understanding of the new direction and culture of excellence within the organization.
The plant manager was nominated as the team leader and the team management was
encouraged to apply the same level of commitment and professionalism in planning and
executing events that was expected at work. For example, the team management would make
contingency plans for various possibilities (such as bad weather and timing of events), evaluate
the quality of events at the end and use 5-why techniques to identify and address any problems
in the course of managing the event.