J.K CEMENT LTD.

REPORT ON
SUTDY ON BRAND PREFERENCE OF CUSTOMER WITH REFERENCE TO PRICE POSITIONING
SUBMITTED TO: J.K.CEMENT LTD SUBMITTED BY: M.TALHA ZAHOOR SURVE

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DECLARATION

I, Prashant S. Chaudhari, hereby declare that the project report entitled. A Project on Brand Preference of customers with reference to Price Positioning under the guidance of Mr. SHALABH JAIN & Mr. PRASHANT UPADHYAY submitted in partially fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree of Master of Management Studies to NCRDs Sterling Institute of Management Studies, Navi Mumbai, is my original work research study - carried out during the period 7th May, 2012 to 29th June, 2012 and not submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, fellowship or other similar titles or prizes to any other institution/organization or university by any other person. The contents of report are a true expression of my efforts on the said topic.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Today in India. J.K Organization occupies a place of pride in industrial and commercial. Fields .The Singhania family struggled over last two centuries and contributed to the economic and social growth of India. In the process of industrialization. They attend the present place of destination among the top industrial pioneers of the country. M/S J.K.Cement works is a division of J.K. Synthetics Limited. Kanpur a member of J.K.Organization. Which is a multi product and multi unit company with diversified operation in synthetic fibers, Cement plants (gray & white) , Power generation etc. The project entitled Brand Preference of customers with reference to price positioning of J.K CEMENT in Pune.The focus of the report is to get the crystal clear understanding of the Brand positioning of J.K Cement in Pune. With the growing Indian economy and the government policies for infrastructure the demand for cement is increasing and seeing this as an opportunity we are under taking many new projects for expansion of the production which are under implementation for increasing the capacity of the plants. Brand position with reference to pricing has been taken into the consideration by two ways overall study of the whole J.K Market & by Doing Survey of whole cement market in Pune. The project contains the basic things which are necessary for knowing Brand-Positioning of Company with reference to the Pricing policies of the Company. Firstly is the Market is done by us in Pune by taking SIX major Brands J.K Cement, Vasavadatta Cement , Ambuja Cement, UltratechCement, ACC Cement & Coromandel Cement . Data collected by us is only from Dealers & sub-dealers .After data collection Research Methodology is done & find out the Brand-Preference with reference to price of cement in PUNE. In a nut-shell after the completion of my Brief & Vast report on the crucial subject matter of knowing the Brand-Price positioning of J.K Cement. We in our long lasting view has brought an eternal light towards Findings, Suggestions & Constraints regarding the Brand Position of the J.K Cement which can play a vital role in taking it to the heights of the Success & goodwill to capture a good market share in this Neck-To-Neck Competition Creating hyper tension.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

When a person is help, guide and co-operated his or her heart is bound to pay gratitude
Words are indeed inadequate to convey my deep sense of gratitude to all those who have helped me in completing my summer project to the best of my ability. Being a part of this project has certainly been a unique and a very productive experience on my part.

I am very thankful to J.K CEMENT for giving me such a golden chance to undergo training in their organization. I am really thankful to Mr. Kaustubh Dadhich for assigning me a project of such a great learning experience and acquainting me with real life project, financing and appraisal. I would also like to thank my mentor and project coordinator, Mr. Shalabh Jain & Mr. Prashant Upadyay for making all kinds of arrangements to carry the project successfully and for guiding and helping us to solve all kinds of quarries regarding the project work. Their systematic way of working and in comparable guidance has inspired the pace of the project to a great extent. I express my deep sense of gratitude to Prof Purshottam Patil(NCRDs Sterling Institute of Management Studies) for his valuable guidance during my report work

Once again I would like to thank J.K CEMENT for their great co-operation and hospitality.

Thanking you, Chaudhari Prashant Suresh

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project report is prepared as the partial fulfilment of two year degree programme of MMS curriculum of Mumbai University, NCRDs Sterling Institute of Management Studies, Navi Mumbai. This Research project is a compulsory part of the academics. This research is done in the Third semester of the MMS program.

In this research, I have attempted the research about Brand Preference with reference to Price Positioning. Positioning is one of the key elements of modern marketing management (Kotler, 2000). The overall purpose of this research is to identify the Brand Preference & Positioning of J.K Cement in PUNE market. We have taken six major cement brands for this research. The whole research is based on Dealer & Sub Dealer survey.

The project consists of following data. Introduction of Cement Industry, Current Scenario in India, growth in Production & consumption, J.K Cement history, subsidiaries companies, types of cement, manufacturing process of cement, standard requirement of raw material, Definition & concept of brand preference, Concept of brand preference, brand positioning strategy, competitive study among various cements brands. Research methodology, objective of research, Analysis & interpretation of collected data, Findings & conclusions, Suggestions, Appendix, Bibliography.

TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION

Cement Industry Overview of the performance of the Cement Sector Current Scenario List of Top players in the cement industry in India: COMPANY OVERVIEW COMPANY PROFILE PRODUCT PROFILE QUALITY CONTROL AND ASSURANCE

2
2 4 5 8 11 13 16 20

LITERATURE REVIEW RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ADOPTED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

24 29
29 29

DATA INTERPRETATION CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS SUGGESTIONS LIMITATIONS APPENDIX BIBLIOGRAPHY

31 44 45 46 47 51

TABLE OF FIGURE

FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4 FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6 FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8 FIGURE 9 FIGURE 10 FIGURE 11

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 39 40 42 43

INTRODUCTION
Cement Industry
Cement Industry originated in India when the first plant commenced production in 1914 at Porbandar, Gujarat. The industry has since been growing at a steady pace, but in the initial stage, particularly during the period before Independence, the growth had been very slow. Since indigenous production was not sufficient to meet the entire domestic demand, the Government had to control its price and distribution statutorily. Large quantities of cement had to be imported for meeting the deficit. The industry was partially decontrolled in 1982 and this gave impetus to its pace of growth. Installed capacity increased to more than double from 27 million tons in 1980-81 to 62 million tons in 1989-90. The cement industry responded positively to liberalization policy and the Government decontrolled the industry fully on 1st March 1989. From 1991 onwards cement industry got the status of a priority industry in schedule III of the industry policy statement, which made it eligible for automatic approval for foreign investment up to 51% and also for technical collaboration on normal terms of payment of royalty. After the globalization and liberalization of Indian economy, the cement industry has been growing rapidly at an average rate of 9 percent. The country is now the second largest producer of cement in the world next only to China with a total capacity of 217.80 million tones. Additionally, in the last two decades, the industry has undergone rapid technological up gradation and growth, and now, some of the cement plants in India are comparable to the worlds best operating plants in all respects. Till a few years ago India was importing cement from other countries, as the production could not meet the demand for the whole country. Now the tables have turned as India has started exporting large quantities of cement and clinker to Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Africa, Seychelles, Burma, UAE, and Singapore etc. India is today the second largest producer of cement in world with an installed capacity of close to 217.80 million tons per year. 95 % is consumed domestically and only 5% is exported. Demand is growing at more than 10 % per annum. More than 90 % of production comes from large cement plants. There are a total of 146 large and more than 350 small cement manufacturing units in the country. More than 80% of the cement manufacturing units use modern environment friendly dryprocess.
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In the cement industry there are two sectors one consisting of large plants and the other consisting of mini cement plants. A factory with an installed capacity exceeding 2,97,000 tonnes per annum (900 tons per day) is a large plant and with capacity up to and including 2,97,000 tons is a mini cement plant. At present, there are 146 large plants and about 365 mini cement plants. Since mini cement plants are scattered all over the country with a number of associations representing different types of processes, sizes etc. and some of them are even tiny units, it has not been possible to obtain correct data of this sector. The present installed capacity of large plants is 217.80 million tons and the estimated capacity of mini cement plants is 11.8 million tons.

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Overview of the performance of the Cement Sector

The Indian cement Industry not only ranks second in the production of cement in the world but also produces quality cement, which meets global standards. However, the industry faces a number of constraints in terms of high cost of power, high railway tariff; high incidence of state and central levies and duties; lack of private and public investment in infrastructure projects; poor quality coal and inadequate growth of related infrastructure like sea and rail transport, ports and bulk terminals. In order to utilize excess capacity available with the cement industry, the government has identified the following thrust areas for increasing demand for cement: Housing development programmers & Promotion of concrete highways and roads; Use of ready-mix concrete in large infrastructure projects; Construction of concrete roads in rural areas under Prime Ministers Gram Sadak Yojana. In India, the different types of cement are manufactured using dry, semi-dry, and wet processes. In the production of Clinker Cement, a lot of energy is required. It is produced by using materials such as limestone, iron oxides, aluminum, and silicon oxides. Among the different kinds of cement produced in India, Portland Pozzolana Cement, Ordinary Portland Cement, and Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement are the most important because they account for around 99% of the total cement production in India. The types of cement in India have increased over the years with the advancement in research, development, and technology. The Indian cement industry is witnessing a boom as a result of which the production of different kinds of cement in India has also increased. By a fair estimate, there are around 11 different types of cement that are being produced in India. The production of all these cement varieties is according to the specifications of the cement.

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Current Scenario
The Indian cement industry is the second largest producer of quality cement. Indian Cement Industry is engaged in the production of several varieties of cement such as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFS), Oil Well Cement, Rapid Hardening Portland Cement, Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement, White Cement, etc. They are produced strictly as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications and their quality is comparable with the best in the world. The industry occupies an important place in the national economy because of its strong linkages to other sectors such as construction, transportation, coal and power. The cement industry is also one of the major contributors to the exchequer by way of indirect taxes. Cement industry in India is currently going through a consolidation phase. Some examples of consolidation in the Indian cement industry are: Gujarat Ambuja taking a stake of 14 per cent in ACC, and taking over DLF Cements and Modi Cement; ACC taking over IDCOL; India Cement taking over Raasi Cement and Sri Vishnu Cement; and Grasim's acquisition of the cement business of L&T, Indian Rayon's cement division, and Sri Digvijay Cements. Foreign cement companies are also picking up stakes in large Indian cement companies. Swiss cement major Holcim has picked up 14.8 per cent of the promoters' stake in Gujarat Ambuja Cements (GACL). Holcim's acquisition has led to the emergence of two major groups in the Indian cement industry, the Holcim-ACC-Gujarat Ambuja Cements combine and the Aditya Birla group through Grasim Industries and Ultratech Cement. Lafarge, the French cement major has acquired the cement plants of Raymond and Tisco. Italy based cement has acquired a stake in the K.K. Birla promoted Zuari Industries' cement plant in Andhra Pradesh, and German cement company Heidelberg Cement has entered into an equal joint-venture agreement with S P Lohia Group controlled Indo-Rama Cement.

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GROWTH IN CEMENT PRODUCTION 2009/2011 (Apr-Mar)

This Graphical representation shows that overall growth in cement production in India is 8% in 2009-11. But if we are distributing in different region then it shows 14%, 8%, 8%, 5%, 4% to North, East, South, West, Centre respectively. In North, highest growth is 14% and least growth in centre region which is only 4%.

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Facts of Indian Cement Industry (1982 2012) The Industry recorded an exponential growth with the introduction of partial decontrol in 1982 culminating in total decontrol in 1989. The capacity, which was 29 Mn.t in 1981-82, rose to 219 Mn.t at the end of FY09. While it took 8 decades to reach the 1st 100 Mn.t capacity, the 2 nd 100 Mn.t was added in just 10 years. India ranks second in world cement producing countries. It contributes to environmental cleanliness by consuming hazardous wastes like Fly Ash (around 30 Mn.t) from thermal power plants and the entire 8 Mn.t of slag produced by steel manufacturing units. As a part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the cement Industry employs around 0.1 million people and takes care of the social needs not only of the employees but also adopts several villages around the factories providing free drinking water, electricity, medical and educational facilities. The cement Industry produces a variety of cement to suit a host of applications matching the world's best in quality. Exports Cement/Clinker to around 30 countries across the globe and earns precious foreign exchange. Statistics Figures in Million Tonnes January 2012 December 2011 January 2012

Description

2011-2012 2010-2011

(Apr-Jan) Cement Production 16.47 Cement Despatches 15.72 14.82 145.00 137.16

16.27

15.76

14.73

143.96

136.18

Source: Cement Manufacturers' Association

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List of Top players in the cement industry in India:

ACC Limited Gujarat Ambuja Cements Limited Ultratech Grasim India Cements JK Cement Limited Jaypee Group Century Cement

Some of the details regarding these top players in the cement industry in India is given below: ACC Limited: ACC Limited is the one of the prominent manufacturers of cement and concrete in India and they have several zonal officer, 19 sales officer, 19 ready mix concrete plants and 14 modern cement factories in different parts of India. They have more than 65 years of experience in cement and concrete production. Gujarat Ambuja Cements Limited: This company came into existence in the year 1986 it has seen very good growth during the past decade. They are presently producing nearly 160 lakhs tons of cement and they are owning some of the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities with advanced technological instruments.

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Ultratech: Ultratech is a popular name in the cement industry in India and they have production facilities spread over eleven integrated plants and most of their plants have received ISP 14001 and 9001 certifications and OHSAS 18001 certifications as well. Some of their products include: Portland Pozzolana cement Portland Blast furnace slag cement Ordinary Portland cement Grasim: Grasim Industries in the cement sector in India is a flagship of Aditya Birla Group, who are leaders in different sectors in India. As most of us know Grasim is a popular name in the textile industry in India as well. This company is operating 10 ready mix concrete units, 4 bulk terminals and 11 composite plants. India Cements: India cement is not only a leader in the cement industry in India, but they have also made their mark in the real estate and infrastructure sector in India. They are one among the preferred cement companies mainly because of their quality product offered at affordable cost. JK Cement Limited: JK Cement Limited began their operations in the year 1975 and they are leaders in the cement production in the Northern part of the country. Initially, the company began its operations with a production capacity of 0.3 million tons of cement and now they have a production capacity of 2.8 million tons of cement. As far as the manufacture of white cement is concerned, they are the second largest company in India. Jaypee Group: Jaypee Group has their largest cement production unit in the state of Uttar Pradesh and some of their popular products include Portland Pozzolana Cement and ordinary Portland cement. In the near future, the company is planning to expand its cement capabilities through green field additions and acquisition.
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Century Cement: This company is a flagship of the popular BK Birla Group, who has made their presence felt in different industries like chemicals, rayons, textiles, etcin India. One of their popular brands Birla Gold has acquire a very good name in the construction industry in India.

Therefore, the cement industry in India is growing considerably with the help of the heavy contributions made by these top players and this industry is expected to grow further, which in turn can improve employment opportunities in the country as well.

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

HISTORY OF THE COMPANY J.K. Cement is an affiliate of the J.K. Organization, which was founded by Lala Kamlapat Singhania. The J.K. Organization is an association of industrial and commercial companies and has operations in a broad number of industries. Our cement operations commenced commercial production in May 1975 at our first plant at Nimbahera in the state of Rajasthan. At Nimbahera, we started with a single kiln with a production capacity of 0.3 million tons. We added a second kiln in 1979 with production capacity of 0.42 million tons, and a third kiln in 1982 with a production capacity of 0.42 million tons. We added a precalciner with a capacity of 0.4 million tons in 1988, which increased our capacity at Nimbahera to 1.54 million tons. During the years 1998 through 2003, we continued to implement modifications to each of our kilns, which increased our aggregate capacity at Nimbahera to 2.8 million tons as of September 30, 2005.

We commissioned a second grey cement plant at our Mangrol plant in 2001, with a production capacity of 0.75 million tons. As of September 30, 2005, we had an aggregate production capacity of 3.55 million tons per annum of grey cement. Our white cement plant was completed in 1984 with a capacity of 50,000 tons. Our continuing modifications to the plant have increased its production capacity to 300,000 tons as of September 30, 2005. M/S J.K.Cement works is a division of J.K. Synthetics Limited. Kanpur a member of J.K. Organization. Which is a multi product and multi unit company with diversified operation in synthetic fibers, Cement plants (gray & white) , Power generation etc. M/S J.K. synthetics Limited established their first gray Portland cement plant based on dry process technology at Nimbahera in the year 1974 The main aim to set up the plant was to fulfill the demand of cement in the country. The main reason of establishing this plant in Nimbahera was easy availability of raw materials (Limestone) in sufficient quantity. The whole Maarwad Malwa belt is carrying plenty of Limestone i.e. primary raw materials for cement manufacturing.

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Then first kiln of this plant was started at 900 tons per day ( TPI) and subsequently the capacity was increased by addition of two more kilns f 1200 TPD 1350 TPD & 3400 TPD in 1979 ,1982 & 1988 respectively. In 2002 new Grey Cement plant was installed at Mangrol with initial production capacity of 2500 TPD. Today Nimbahera plant production is around 7000 TPD and Mangrol plant production is about 3000 TPD contributing to total production of 10000 TPD.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Today, J. K. Cement Ltd. is one of the largest cement manufacturers in Northern India. We are also the second largest white cement manufacturer in India by production capacity. While the grey cement is primarily sold in the northern India market, the white cement enjoys demand in the export market including countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Singapore, Bahrain, Bangladesh, SriLanka, Kenya, Tanzania, UAE and Nepal.

Our access to high quality limestone reserves that are suitable for production of white cement provides us with a competitive advantage. Based on geological surveys conducted by independent agencies on our mines between 1996 and 2001, our limestone reserves for both grey and white cement are expected to meet our existing and planned limestone requirements of 4.0 MnTPA of grey cement and 0.4 MnTPA of white cement, for approximately 40 years.

Backed by state-of-the-art technology and highly skilled manpower against the backdrop of Indias infrastructural growth in an overdrive, we are upbeat about the future. We are confident of contributing heavily in Indias journey of development. We see a world of concrete ideas on the horizon. SALIENT FEATURES: First dry process plant in India. Latest Process Precaleinator technology for clinker Unit II was first PLC controlled cement plant in India. Most advanced and sophisticated central control room for entire process control from one point. On line quality control by X-ray analyzer. Computerized maintenance management system extended to stores, purchase sales. account personnel function etc. Continuous on going process of training & development at Regional Training Centre (North) Nimbahera.

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QUALITY PARAMETERS: J.K.Cement is using the latest dry process precalicination technique is its plant. This

technique incorporates a five stage precheater, Precalcinator. air swept vertical roller mills and electronically controlled packaging machine. The major produced grade is Sarvashaktiman 43 grade cement. It is also an ISO 9002 certified manufacturing company. a certificate given by Lloyed. Register of quality assurance U.K. Cement has different quality parameters which can be classified broadly in two categories Chemical and physical generally cement is of three different grades i.e. 33, 43, 53 based upon cements 3.7 or 28 days compressive strength. J.K. Cement is pioneering in 43 grade cement because of its quality consciousness.

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ACHIEVEMENTS: National award for highest production in 1978. 104% production in 1990-91. Record production 1.86 million tons against capacity of 1.50 million tons per annum. Power consumption reduced to 115 Units per ton of cement in spite of multiple and old units. Now it has touched as low as 100 units per tone. Specific heat consumption achieved up to 760 Kilo Calorie per Kg. of clinker. Selected as one of the lead plant by world bank & DANIDA for setting up the Regional Training Centre. Received ISO 9002 certificate for manufacturing and marketing of White as well as Grey cements both in 1995

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PRODUCT PROFILE
Definition of Cement: In General is a generic name for powered material which initially have plastic flow when mixed with water but from solid structure on several hours with varying degree of strength & bonding properties which continue to improve with age. Cement is a binding material. Earlier the cement was used as a binding material. Cement is one of the strongest binding materials with long life. The weathering effect on cement is very low. For manufacturing of cement the basic raw materials is limestone (calcium carbonate). The limestone used in manufacturing of cement should have at least 80% purity. Cement can be defined as a substance, which can join or unite two or more pieces of some other substances together to form a unit mass. In this way cement is a building material. Today different types of organic compounds mixtures are also available as a building material e.g. Pidilite, Feviquick, Fevicole etc. But in general Hydraulic Cement is used for construction and other (bricks, other solids etc.) purposes. History of Cement Joseph aspedene discovered cement in 1824. Materials used were- lime, Brick, Bed, Volcanic, lava, water & ash. 1897 wet process KILAN came in existence DRY-PROCESS. Different types of cement that are produced in India are Ordinary Portland cement (OPC): OPC, popularly known as grey cement, has 95 per cent clinker and 5 percent gypsum and other materials. It accounts for 70 per cent of the total consumption. Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC): PPC has 80 per cent clinker, 15 per cent pozzolana and 5 per cent gypsum and accounts for 18 per cent of the total cement consumption. It is manufactured because it uses fly ash/burnt clay/coal waste as the main ingredient.

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White Cement: White cement is basically OPC - clinker using fuel oil (instead of coal) with iron oxide content below 0.4 per cent to ensure whiteness. A special cooling technique is used in its production. It is used to enhance aesthetic value in tiles and flooring. White cement is much more expensive than grey cement. Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFSC): PBFSC consists of 45 per cent clinker, 50 per cent blast furnace slag and 5 per cent gypsum and accounts for 10 per cent of the total cement consumed. It has a heat of hydration even lower than PPC and is generally used in the construction of dams and similar massive constructions. Specialized Cement: Oil Well Cement is made from clinker with special additives to prevent any porosity. Rapid Hardening Portland cement: Rapid Hardening Portland Cement is similar to OPC, except that it is ground much finer, so that on casting, the compressible strength increases rapidly. Water Proof Cement: Water Proof Cement is similar to OPC, with a small portion of calcium stearate or nonsaponifibale oil to impart waterproofing properties.1897 wet process KILAN came in existence DRY-PROCESS. Raw material required for Cement Various raw materials required for manufacturing cement are :Limestone - extracted from own mines Laterite - readily available from nearby mines Gypsum - purchased from Bikaner & Nagore Pet Coke - imported from foreign countries Fly Ash - brought from Thermal Power Plant
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MANUFACTURING PROCESS

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Mining Limestone is extracted from own mines, which are situated approx. 4 km. away from plant. The mining of limestone is done in such a way so as to get 78% to 82% pure limestone. Crushing The extracted limestone is then transported to Jai crusher by dumpers. The limestone is crushed into small pieces of approx. 16 to 25 mm. sizes. Grinding The crushed limestone along with latrine is feed into the Raw Mill for grinding. The ground material is called Raw Meal. It is than sent to the CF Silo. Blending In the Silo the Raw Material is blended to make the mixture uniform. From here the material is sent to the pre heaters. Burning In pre heaters, the mixture is heated at various temperatures at various stages. This preheated material is now fed into the kiln where it is heated at the temperature of 1400- 1500 degree where calcinations take place. Coal is used in the kiln to maintain the temperature and finally clinker emerges out of it. This clinker is transported through a conveyor into a storage Silo from where it taken out through vibratory feeders & fed into the open circuit cement grinding mill hoppers. Grinding The grinding of clinker with gypsum is done in cement mill. It is basically have where the grade of cement is controlled gypsum is added to increase the setting time of the cement. Then cement is than stored for some time. Storage & packing The cement is than conveyed to different cement storage silos according to their grades & from silos it is packed in pp bags by using electronic packaging machines.

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QUALITY CONTROL AND ASSURANCE

In order to ensure quality, effective control has to be exercised throughout the process of production. The control procedures cover all aspects of cement manufacture from quarry operation, handling, mixing and grinding to packing. In order to achieve quality assurance, most of the cement plants have established facilities for sophisticated controls. Some of the important controls introduced in the cement industry as follows: Computerized mine planning and deposit evaluation to enable optimum use of raw material Online X-ray fluorescence spectrometer for raw material control and raw mix design. Better aided instrumentation and process measurements using X-ray analysis, gas analyzers, temperature and pressure measuring devices, etc. Centralized kiln control system in conjunction with expert control systems for process and operation control. Continuous monitoring of quality in production by plants as well as by the certifying agency, namely, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under compulsory Certification Scheme. BIS certification is compulsory for all varieties and grades of cement under the Cement (Quality Control) Order, 1962 issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Since the Indian cement industry recognizes that ISO-9000 quality system is extremely important for quality assurance, reliability and competitiveness, about 45 cement plants have already secured ISO-9000 Certification. The Total Quality Management (TQM) concept has also been adopted by more than 70 cement plants. Besides, some leading companies have acquired TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) accreditation. Some manufacturers are going ahead for world class rating, e.g. WCM (World Class Manufacturing) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) to be at par with Best Practices anywhere in the world. India produces different varieties and grades of cement, namely, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) (33,43,53 grades), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFSC) and many other varieties.

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

An organization that cares Driven by the solid vision of philanthropic enterprise of its founding fathers, J.K. White Cement stands firmly committed to its obligation towards the society, stakeholders and the environment. The companys inhouse policy for the upliftment of the masses finds reflection in a comprehensive and ongoing outreach programme, entailing participation in various social, charitable, healthcare, educational and religious initiatives. These include arranging of regular medical camps, setting up RO plants to provide safe drinking water to neighbouring settlements and developing infrastructure like roads and bio-gas plants and regular tree planting projects. The company is also a member of Indian Green Building Council (membership no. IGBC-NP-1024). Different areas where J.K.Cement have tried to touch lives: Environmental Preservation: Committed to successful enterprise in partnership with nature, J.K. White Cement has a stringent eco-friendly policy in place. Besides regular technology updations for emission reduction, effluent management and energy efficiency, the company also undertakes afforestation and plantation drives around its plants. J.K. Cement Ltd. is also a member of the prestigious Indian Green Building Council.

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Education: We believe that recognizing education is the very foundation of any society. The company owns educational institutions bringing education within the reach of the masses. The LK Singhania Education Centre at Gotan is the largest CBSE affiliated 10+2 residential school in Rajasthan with student strength of 1530. It is the first residential school in the country to have received ISO 9001 certification for International Quality Management System and ISO14001 certification for International Environment Management System.

Healthcare: Concerned about acute lack of modern medical facilities in remote areas, dynamic measures have been taken to bring healthcare within the reach of general public. Initiatives like free eye check up, annual blood donation camp etc. are taken up from time to time.

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Infrastructure Development: Special care has been taken to enrich lives by initiating significant infrastructural projects for the development of areas around the plants. These include RO water supply, sewage plant, road development and biogas plant.

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LITERATURE REVIEW Developing Marketing Strategy by Knowing Brand-Preference of customers with reference to price of J.K Cement
Brand positioning and brand pricing is the important strategic decision for marketing managers. Such decision is interrelated and depends upon competitive brand position and prices. However, any unilateral decision may encourage repositioning and price adjustment by competitors thus leading to either new market price/ positioning this report examines such price and positioning decision in a competitive environment with reference to brand preference of the customers.

Abstract Consumers brand preferences represent a fundamental step in understanding consumer choices. A deeper understanding of such preference dynamics can help marketing mangers better design marketing program and build a long term relationship with consumers. Despite the existence of some studies investigating how brand preference is built and changed, most of them focus on examining factors from consumer behavior perspective or advertising perspective. This paper aims to build a conceptual framework of brand preferences from a new perspective, the consumers experiential view. Introduction to Brand Preference There has been a long standing interest from marketers to understand how consumers form their preferences toward a specific brand. Brand preference is closely related to brand choice that can facilitate consumer decision making and activate brand purchase. Knowing the pattern of consumer preferences across the population is a critical input for designing and developing innovative marketing strategies. It also uncovers the heterogeneity of consumer choices leading to efficient market segmentation strategies. However, forecasting consumers preferences between brands is not an easy task. Thus the evolving marketing strategies focus on analyzing and communicating information about product attributes. Although these cognitive responses derived from beliefs about brand attributes are important in building preferences, there are other emotional responses, social influences that can influence brand preferences. It is demonstrated that consumers can have
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an already established preference and refer to the brand attributes that confirm their preferences. This study adopts the experiential view in studying the relationship between brand experience and brand preference. It will identify how brand experiences can build consumers preferences toward certain brands directly or indirectly by affecting the brand associations and brand personality. This paper is organized in three sections as follows; firstly, discuss the concept of brand preference, model of formation, and the previous studies. Secondly, the conceptual framework, and finally, the research design. The Concept of Brand Preference The notion of preference has been considered in different disciplines such as economists, psychologists, sociology. However there is no commonly agreed definition of preference among these disciplines. For example, economists believe that preferences are exogenous, stable, and known with adequate precision and are revealed through choice behaviour. The economic view of preference had been criticized for assuming that preferences are stable and endogenous. An individuals preferences are not stable and can be endogenous or exogenous. In marketing literature, the word preference means the desirability or choice of an alternative. Preferences are above all behavioral tendencies. Brand preference is defined variously as the consumers predispositions toward a brand that varies depending on the salient beliefs that are activated at a given time; the consumer biasness toward a certain brand; the extent to which a consumer favours one brand over another. For this study a working definition for brand preference is offered: the biased behavioural tendencies reflecting the consumers predisposition toward a brand. Moreover, there is difference between brand preference and brand loyalty. Brand preference represents the attitudinal brand loyalty excluding the action of repeat purchasing; the brand-oriented attitudinal loyalty. The main theme is that the first three decision-making phases of brand loyalty constitute the focal of brand preference. Thus, brand preference is related to brand loyalty; however, brand loyalty is more consistent depicted by the long term repeated purchasing behaviour.

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Previous Studies on Brand Preference Prior studies on brand preference can be divided into two groups: the first group is for studies examined the impact of consumer-related factors. They focused on the impact of cultural, social, psychological and personal factors of consumers. The main findings of this group studies revealed that changes in consumers life style can cause changes in their brand preferences. The consumers personality traits and values are also considered to be important predicators of brand preference. The second group addressed the impact of brand-related factors such as the brand price and other marketing communications tools with particular concern on advertising and promotion. One of the major findings of these studies is that the brand attributes, plus other brand factors such as perceived value have a significant impact on brand preference. In addition, the interaction between the self-image and brand-image; the self-image congruence has shown to be important in brand preference building. A Conceptual framework and research propositions Based on the preceding discussion, a conceptual model is developed that links brand experience and brand preference. It considers the basic antecedents of brand preference and the direct or indirect impact of brand experience on brand preference. The proposed model has five constructs: brand experience, brand associations, brand personality, human personality, and brand preference. ABOUT THE PROJECT:The project contains various questions. These questions are designed to analyses the various dealer behaviour towards the Best Cement Brand in PUNE market includes whole study of cement market & questionnaire. By help of this survey we know that which cement company best according to a various attributes of cement which company provides best sales promotion strategy, which company media is more effective in present market which company best in quality, price, supply. etc. are know by this survey. Major Issue:The study basically draws attention towards the perceptional attributes of the various dealer and which factor influence to dealer. Major issue is to knowing cement market where we stand & what the reason behind lacking is & trying to come out with best result which helpful to company growth.
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About questionnaire: The questionnaire consists of 13 questions. All these questions are related to know the position of different brands prevailing in the market and dealers satisfaction level. This questionnaire is also helpful in knowing the market potential of J.K Cement in PUNE market. It is also helpful in knowing where our company stands in market. Analysis of questionnaire below: Brands available in PUNE market. Market share of companies. Brand leader in district. Suggestions to increase the goodwill. Effective parameters of each company. Brand image of J.K Cement. Effectiveness of pricing factor. Timely delivery of J.K Cement. Satisfaction of customers. Preference of customers in sale.

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Distribution of Cement Cement Plants are located close to Limestone deposits. Limestone is the major raw material for manufacture of cement and hence the proximity of Plants to the deposits. To manufacture one tonne of cement about 1.5 tonnes of Limestone is required and therefore it is logical to set up cement Plants near the Limestone deposits than near the Markets. Cement grade Limestone is located in certain areas of the country leading to concentration of Plants in what is normally referred as clusters.

Distributing Cement from the Plants to various areas is a challenge. The normal modes of transport are Railways, Sea and Road. Depending on the distance and quantity of cement to be transported suitable mode of transport is adopted. Say for instance road transport is preferred for shorter distance and transport by railways for longer distance becomes economical. The distribution strategy followed determines the time taken for the cement to reach from the Plant to the consumers with various intermediaries in between. Fig 1 shows the flow chart of distribution of cement to the consumers. Cement is transported in bags of 50 kg or in bulk. As shown in the figure 1 cement is dispatched from the Plant to the dealers outlets from where it is sold to retail customers. Project customers receive cement either in bulk or bags. Companies either directly dispatches cement to the customer or through dealers. The activities that are normally outsourced are the transportation and clearing and forwarding activity. However these outsourced activities needs to be monitored to ensure that cement reaches on time. Clearing and Forwarding of cement is normally followed for cement which is transported through Railways. Road transport is considered to be more reliable than Railways in terms of ensuring timely delivery. However cost considerations is a major criterion depending upon distance.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The purpose of research is to discover answer to question through the application of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden & which has not been discovered yet. However, each research study has its own specific purpose. There are several common objective of research as follow:1. To find out the brand positioning with preference to price of J.K. Cement in the Pune market. 2. To find out the problems of dealers and retailers in business with this brand/Company 3. To find out the scope of expansion of business by providing more new dealership. 4. To compare the major cement brands in terms of Price, Preference, Quality, satisfaction, brand loyalty.

ADOPTED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Sample size Dealers - 63 Retailers - 27 Total - 90 Sampling unit Sampling Procedure Research design Data collection method Date source Research instrument Type of questionnaire Type of questions Area covered PUNE Judgment sampling Exploratory Survey Primary data Questionnaire Structured Close and open ended Dealers & Retailers

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DATA INTERPRETATION
1. Sample size

Figure 1

The above chart shows that form total no. of sample 70% are dealer and 30% are retailer.

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2. Market contribution of brands collected from various dealers

Figure 2

The chart shows the distributed contribution of various brands sold by the dealers & retailers in PUNE market. Vasvadatta has the largest contribution in PUNE. J.K Cement has the second largest share in sales; ACC at third position followed by Ambuja, Ultratech & Coromandal.

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3. Market prices of all the brands at the time of survey.

Acc price Vasavadatta price 327 323 Ambuja price 321 Coromandal Jk price 320 price 320 Ultratech price 327

4. Respondent were asked to rate the parameter on 5 point likert scale where 1=highest to 5=lowest at the time of purchasing cement. The result is shown in figure.

Figure 3

Above chart shows that Price is the most important parameter while purchasing cement. 44 respondents gave Price as their first priority while purchasing cement. Brand Image is the second most important parameter with 33 responses followed by Quality at 3rd place with 23 responses, Availability at 4th place with 34 responses & Reliability at 5th place with 32 responses

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5. Respondents were asked Which brand do they preferred most?

Figure 4

The above chart indicates the brand perfered by respondents. Vasavadatta seems to be the most preferred brand in PUNE market. 90 out of 28 respondents prefer to sell Vasavadatta. J.K. Cement is second most prefered cement in PUNE market. 90 out of 22 respondents prefer to sell J.K.Cement. ACC is the third most prefered cement in PUNE market. 90 out of 18 respondents prefer to sell ACC Cement. Ambuja, Ultratech & Coromandal are the least prefered cements in PUNE market. Only 10, 7 & 4 respondents respectively prefer to sell these brands. One of our respondents did not prefered to respond to this question.

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6. Respondents were asked If the prices were same which cement brand would they prefer, they had to select the brand name they like to sell even if the market prices of all the cement brands were to be same.

Figure 5

J.K Cement was the highest prefered cement brand. 90 out of 26 respondents prefer to sell J.K Cement if prices of all cement brands were to be same. Vasavadatta & ACC are the second most prefered cement brands. 22 & 20 respondents respectively, prefer to sell these brands even if the prices of all cement brands were to be same. Ambuja, Ultratech & Coromandal are the least prefered cement brands. Only 10, 6 & 4 respondents respectively, prefer to sell these brands even if the prices of all cement brands were to be same. Two of our respondents did not prefer to respond to this question. REASONS for the preference of different brands by respondents were as follows; 1. Brand image & demand for the brand in the market, 2. Reputation of the company, 3. Good profit margin, 4. Good relationship with the company,
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5. Continuous availability of the product in the market, 6. No complaint about the product.

7. Respondents were asked to give weightage to the parameters with respect to the Brand Positioning of each BRAND. The parameters taken to rate each brand were as follows; Brand Loyalty, Status, Value, Customer Preference & Availability. The parameters

were weighted on the following scale; (SCALE: 1-very bad, 2-bad, 3-average, 4-good, 5-very good)

INTERPRETATION:The above chart was made by using WEIGHTED AVERAGE METHOD. Meaning & Definition A weighted average is an average that adjusts for the frequency of individual values.

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Figure 6

The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The notion of weighted mean plays a role in descriptive statistics and also occurs in a more general form in several other areas of mathematics. Formula For Calculate Weighted Average

X = No. of Respondents which are given. W = Weight Rank Application of the Weighted Average Method In the below chart the weightage given by the respondents to each of the parameters is combined with the help of Weighted Average Method, all the attributes are combined together to gain the WEIGHTED SCORES of the POSITION of each Brand in the market.

Figure 7

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The above chart indicates the parameters with the Weighted Average Scores, BRAND LOYALTY: - Vasavadatta has the best brand image in PUNE market, with the Weighted Average Score of 335. ACC has the second best score in PUNE market, with the score of 320. J.K Cement stands third in PUNE market with the score of 316. Ambuja, Ultratech & Coromandal stand last with score of 279, 274 & 268 respectively. STATUS: - Vasavadatta has the highest status in the market, followed by ACC & J.K Cement. Ambuja has an average status in the market, while Ultratech & Coromandal has the lowest status in PUNE market. VALUE: - Vasavadatta has the best value in the market, followed by ACC & J.K Cement. Ultratech has an average value in the market, where as Ambuja & Coromandal have the lowest value in PUNE market. CUSTOMER PREFERENCE: - Vasavadatta have the highest customer preference, followed by ACC second. J.K Cement stands third in preference. Ambuja & Ultratech have an average customer preference, while Coromandal has the least customer preference in PUNE market. AVAILIABILITY: - Vasavadatta has the highest availability in the market, followed by J.K Cement & ACC. Ultratech & Ambuja has an average availability in the market, where as Coromandal have the lowest availability in PUNE market.

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7. Respondents were asked to give weightage to the parameters with respect to the PRICE of each BRAND. The parameters taken to rate each brand were as follows; Brand Image, Status, Value, Customer Preference & Availability. The parameters were weighted on the following scale; (SCALE: 1-very bad, 2-bad, 3-average, 4-good, 5-very good)

Figure 8

INTERPRETATION:The above chart was made by using WEIGHTED AVERAGE METHOD. Meaning & Definition A weighted average is an average that adjusts for the frequency of individual values. The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The notion of weighted mean plays a role in descriptive statistics and also occurs in a more general form in several other areas of mathematics.
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Formula For Calculate Weighted Average

X = No. of Respondents which are given. W = Weight Rank Application of the Weighted Average Method In the below chart the weightage given by the respondents to each of the parameters is combined with the help of Weighted Average Method, all the attributes are combined together to gain the WEIGHTED SCORES of each Brand with reference to their PRICE.

Figure 9

The above chart indicates the parameters with the Weighted Average Scores, BRAND IMAGE: - Vasavadatta has the best brand image in PUNE market, with the Weighted Average Score of 348. J.K Cement has the second best score in PUNE market, with the score of 330. ACC stands third in PUNE market with the score of 312. Ambuja, Ultratech & Coromandal stand last with score of 295, 278 & 273 respectively.

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STATUS: - Vasavadatta has the highest status in the market, followed by J.K Cement & ACC. COROMANDAL has an average status in the market, while Ultratech & Ambuja has the lowest status in PUNE market. VALUE: - J.K Cement has the best value in the market, followed by Vasavadatta & ACC. Ultratech has an average value in the market, where as Ambuja & Coromandal have the lowest value in PUNE market. CUSTOMER PREFERENCE: - Vasavadatta & ACC have the highest customer preference, J.K Cement stands third in preference. Ambuja & Ultratech have an average customer preference, while Coromandal has the least customer preference in PUNE market. AVAILIABILITY: - J.K Cement has the highest availability in the market, followed by Vasavadatta & ACC. Ultratech has an average availability in the market, where as Ambuja & Coromandal have the lowest availability in PUNE market.

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8.

Respondents were asked If the company has become more customers oriented in past few years. This question was asked to learn the customers preference for our brand.

Figure 10

The above chart shows that 56% of the total respondents agree that company has become more customers oriented in past few years. Whereas 28% of respondents believe that our company was always customer oriented. Only 11% of the respondents have opposed to this statement, they belive that the company has not changed at all. They are still the same as before. While 5% of respondents choose not to answer this question.

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9. Respondents were asked Are you satisfied with our Brand & its products, This question was asked to know the customer satisfaction of our products.

Figure 11

The above chart shows that most of our customers are satisfied with our Brand & our products. 20 respondents are highly satisfied, whereas 41 of our respondent are satisfied. While 26 respondents are averagely satisfied, only 3 respondents were dissatisfied.

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CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS

Good brand image of J.K Cement in existing market. Low sales as compared to market potential. This is around 25% of the total PUNE market. Vasvadatta have maximum market shares. Price of J.K Cement is reasonable with respect to other companies. Transit time is higher from depot to stockiest to warehouse as compared to other major cement companies. Lack of sales aggressiveness. Pricing policy of company is not stable. It change very frequently and without any prior information. Due to this customer are switching over to other brands. Company neglects the semi dealers/retailers and has no certain policies for them. Company has attention only on dealers. Less advertisement of the product as compared to other company Quality deterioration complaints in J.K. Super cement. High black particles found which are insoluble in water. Setting time is higher than other cement of same category. Lack of self-enthusiasm is working patterns of executives. Improper communication between executives and dealers & other parties. No facility for removal of complaints from the side of dealers/ retailers on time. There is a complaint from the side of retailers is that dealers deal customer directly and sell cement on lower price. Due to this customer does not go to retailer and purchase from dealer. Thus retailers are not interested to keep stock of J.K Cement. They are switching over to other brands. It may have a big impact on the sale of J.K Cement.

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SUGGESTIONS
A company would be wise to measure customer satisfaction regularly the key to customer retention is customer satisfaction. Company can increase the role of retailer by considering their suggestions or complaints about service or product so that necessary action can be taken. Review meeting should be often held so that the working pattern of the executives can be checked and improved if needed. Executives need to be more self-enthusiastic and aggressive towards sales, for these appraisals should be given to those executives who worked hard. Company representatives should visit retailers and should make a long-term relationship with retailer so that they can push the product. Since customers are value maximizes and their expectation to this brand is high, as the brand image shows their complaints should be attended immediately to make them remain brand loyal. It should be checked that the non-trade consignment is not sold in the market so that it does not disturb the retail price of the market. Since transportation forms the major part of the cement cost. Market potential of the region should be properly accessed so that emphasis can be more on high retention Zone. Which employing more authorized retailers can do. Stockiest should be convinced to pass the incentives to the retailers so that they are motivated to promote this brand. Company should increase the promotional and advertisement activities from giving the popularity to the product. Company should set the policy on pricing. There should be a certain time period from increment and decrement in the pricing. Company should also give the prior information for this to dealers and retailers. There should be proper loading facility in the plant and out side the plant. Delivery of goods should be on time. Top management and executives should maintain proper communication with dealers and retailers. Increase the number of dealers and retailers as this will help in making high sales volume. Cash discount should be competitive and luring
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LIMITATIONS
The research conducted was limited to PUNE city only. Due to time constrains more time could not be devoted to individual respondent. Due to unwillingness of providing any information, the respondents filled the questionnaire casually which might have affected the consolation. Marketing manager being quite busy with his job. He was not able to spare enough time for our proper guidance. A busy schedule of dealers/ retailers also makes the collation of information a very difficult one. Full district was not covered, as this is very tedious job to be done in 30 days however almost all main areas of district were covered. The projection is purely based on verbal meetings and may be influenced by unprecedented factors. Non-co-operative behavior of respondent was a big problem in this survey. White studying the report the above fact should be taken into consideration.

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APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIR Name of Firm: ______________________________________________________________ Name of Owner: _____________________________________________________________ Contact No.: ________________________________________________________________ Address:____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

1. For how many years you are doing this business? ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Which cement companies you are dealing with? (1 If YES and 0 If NO) 1. ACC Cement 3. Ambuja Cement 5. JK Cement 2. Vasavadatta Cement 4. Coromandel Cement 6. Grasim Cement

3. What is the current rate of cement? 1. ACC Cement 2. Vasavadatta Cement 3. Ambuja Cement 4. Coromandel Cement 5. JK Cement 6. Grasim Cement

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4. Most important factor while purchasing cement. (Rank 1 to 6. 1 is high and 6 is low) Parameter Price Quality Availability Reliability Brand Image Rank

5. Which brand you prefer the most? Why? ACC Vasavadatta Ambuja Coromandel JK Cement Grasim

6. If price are same which cement brand would you prefer? 1. ACC Cement 3. Ambuja Cement 5. JK Cement 2. Vasavadatta Cement 4. Coromandel Cement 6. Grasim Cement

7. State at least one reason for making the above choice? _____________________________________________________________________ 8. Give weightage to following Cement Company With respect to BRAND. (Scale : 1-Very bad 2-bad 3- Average 4-good 5-very good ) Parameter Brand Image Status Value Customer preference ACC Cement Vasavadatta Cement Ambuja Cement Coromandel Cement Availability

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JK Cement Grasim Cement

9. Give weightage to following Cement Company With respect to PRICE. (Scale : 1-Very bad 2-bad 3- Average 4-good 5-very good ) Parameter Brand Image Status Value Customer preference ACC Cement Vasavadatta Cement Ambuja Cement Coromandel Cement JK Cement Grasim Cement Availability

10. Do you think J K Cement has become more customer oriented in past few years? They surely has They always were No. they are still same dont know

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11. Are you satisfied with J K Cement product ? 1. Highly satisfied 3. Average 5. Highly Dissatisfied 12. What is your suggestion to improve sales? Improve price structure Improve the product quality Improve Advertisement policy Improve the distribution chain All the above 2. Satisfied 4. Dissatisfied

13. Any suggestions ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kotler, Philip Marketing Management published by Vikas publishing house Pvt. ltd. New Delhi. Kothari, C. R. Research Methodology (third edition 2007) published by new age international (P) ltd. CMA Magazine (Cement Manufacturers Association). Kotler, P. (2000) Marketing Management, (Millennium Ed), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Park, C. W., Jaworski, B. J. and McLnnes, D. (1986) Strategic Brand Concept-Image Management, Journal of Marketing, 50 (October), 135-145. Michael Vaz, Marketing & Human Resource Management, Manan Prakashan, June 2010.

Web Based References http://www.jkcement.com http://www.jkcement.com/HTML/about-us.html http://www.jk-white.com http://www.cma.com http://www.scribd.com http://www.amzon.com http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.answer.com

http://www.google.co.in/
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