A study on the performance of the product
'Equal' (Sugar Substitute) in Kolkata

By

Swati Pal
Mrinal Kanti Das
Lecturers
JIS College of Engineering
Centre for Management Studies
Kalyani, Nadia
 

Introduction

Demand and distribution are the major part of the marketing. Distribution is the process of delivering the product through the marketing channels to the end user as per their demand. In this context we can say that intermediaries play a vital role in smooth distribution of products. Intermediaries are the backbone of distribution system. If they function properly, the demand for the products will rise many folds.

Our study is based on demand and distribution effectiveness of the product 'Equal' which is a sugar substitute of J.L. Morison (India) ltd.

Objective

The main objectives of the study are:

1. To know the supply pattern of the product.
2. To survey the delivery promptness of the product to every dealer provided by the distributor.
3. To know the strengths and weaknesses of the company for 'Equal'.
4. To assess the opportunities and threats of the company for'Equal'

Research Methodology

Research design : An exploratory research has been conducted to find out the objectives.
Population : Distributors, Dealers, Retailers in Kolkata.
Sampling units :  Medical shops, Grocery, General merchant, Departmental stores in Kolkata
Sample size : 308.
Types of data : Both primary and secondary data.
Statistical tools : Bar diagrams, ANOVA.

Findings

Based on our survey in the entire Kolkata zone, the following bar diagrams represent the status of demand for 'Equal' in various shops.We have segmented Kolkata zone in three sub-zones viz. North, South, and central. The findings are discussed below :

Table 1: Status of demand in various shops in North Kolkata

Statistical findings

We have done analysis of variance (ANOVA) based on data gathered from Central Kolkata. The nature of demand for 'Equal' in Central  Kolkata has been shown in the following table.

Table 4: Frequency distribution of demand according to the type of shops.

Table 5: Two way ANOVA in between shops and demand of  the product 'Equal' in Central Kolkata

On the other hand, it is found that there is significant difference between the demands for 'Equal' among different type of shops as calculated value of F (8.58) is greater than the critical value of F i.e F_crit (3.4903) at 0.05 level of significance with (3,12) degrees of freedom. So our second null hypothesis is rejected i.e., the demand is heterogeneous among different type of shops.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis analyses the internal and external environment of the company, where internal environment comprises of strengths and weaknesses of the company and external environment comprises of opportunities and threats outside the company. On one hand by improving the strengths and exploiting the opportunities, on the other hand by controlling the weaknesses and fighting the threats, the company can enhance its competitive position.

Here we have tried to do the SWOT analysis of the company for 'Equal' to find the gaps.

Table 6: SWOT analysis

Swati Pal
Mrinal Kanti Das
Lecturers
JIS College of Engineering
Centre for Management Studies
Kalyani, Nadia
 

Source: E-mail June 26, 2008

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