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Course: BUS400
Summer 2018
BRAC University
Dear Sir,
This is my great honor to submit the internship report that I have prepared for last 3 months long
in GlaxoSmithKline Limited Bangladesh, under sales department. The title of the report is
“Distribution Operation and Development of GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Ltd: A Report on
Distribution Process of a Renowned Consumer Healthcare Company in Bangladesh of
Dhanmondi territory”. This report has been prepared to fulfill the requirement of my internship
program at my assigned organization, GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Limited. The report is the
final outcome of successful completion of my internship program at GSK. In my report I have
described the work process followed by my assigned department and tried to identify some
drawback of the process and gave some recommendation by using my learnings from undergrad
life.
I would like to articulate my gratitude for your excellent guidance in preparing the report. It
would be a great achievement for me if you find this report informative enough to fulfill the
requirements. I am really grateful to you.
Thank you.
Sincerely Yours
(Any opinions, suggestions made in this report are entirely that of the author of the report. The
University does not condone nor reject any of these opinions or suggestions).
---------------------------------
Mr. Riyashad Ahmed
Internship Supervisor Faculty
Assistant Professor
BRAC Business School
BRAC University
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provided me with the opportunity
to complete this report. The accomplishment and completion of this report would not have been
viable without the contribution of some accommodative people, who gave their valuable time
from their busy schedule to guide me in doing my project work. I would like to extend my heartiest
gratitude to all those who directly or indirectly contributed to the competition of the report.
At the beginning, I would like to convey my gratitude and appreciation to my honorable academic
supervisor Mr. Riyashad Ahmed for providing valuable guidelines in preparing the report. I am
deeply grateful to him for his supervision during the internship period. Without his guidance it
would not be possible for me to prepare this report.
Topic Page
Chapter 1: Company Overview 7-18
1.1: Introduction 8
1.2: History of GSK 9
1.3: Interesting Facts about GSK 10
1.4: Mission, Vision, Core Values and Strategic Goals 10
1.5: Corporate Governance Structure 10
1.6: Functional Departments of GSK 12
1.7: Organizational Structure of the Company 12
1.8: Offered Products 13
1.9: GSK Products in Bangladesh 14
1.10: GlaxoSmithKline Operation in Bangladesh 16
1.11: Corporate Social Responsibility of GSK Bangladesh Ltd. 17
Chapter 2: Job Description 19-27
4.1: Recommendation
4.1.1: Recommendation for GSK Bangladesh Limited 41
4.2.2: Recommendation for Dhanmondi Territory 43
4.2: Conclusion 45
Reference 46
Executive Summery
GlaxoSmithKline Limited first started their operation in Bangladesh on 1949. In this 67 years
journey, they were and still they are very much committed about providing excellent service in
Consumer Healthcare and Pharmaceutical sectors. GSK Bangladesh Consumer Healthcare
business is performing very well and it has good reputation in market. The behind story of
Consumer Healthcare business success is their well-structured distribution process and operation,
where discipline, dedication and process orientation is driving this business towards success.
GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Limited has strong sales department. The overall sales unit is
divided into East and West region. The mother distributor of GSK consumer healthcare business
is Mutual Foods which provides distributorship to other third party distributors and Mutual Foods
also distributes products to the third party distributors by their own vehicle. The main operation
starts from the third party distribution house where Territory Officer works and he shows the way
of distributing GSK product in market efficiently by maintaining hygiene and policy of the
company.
Like other Territories of GSK Bangladesh Ltd, Dhanmondi is a territory where regular distribution
is happening. And Dhanmondi is a market where new business opportunities are creating regularly.
For example, Dhanmondi is very potential market for Sensodyne toothpaste and Glaxose-D
distribution because there are a lot of chemist and expert marketing chemist outlets available in
this market.
However, there are some drawbacks of Dhanmondi territory. For example delivery men turnover,
less cooperation of distributors, inventory shortage etc. That is why service gap is creating in
market. Moreover, as a company GSK Bangladesh is doing well but it has opportunities of doing
better by taking some action against counterfeit products manufacturer, giving helpline support to
retailers, increasing product line etc.
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CHAPTER 1
COMPANY OVERVIEW
1.1 Introduction
GSK is known as world’s leading research based pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare brand.
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the largest and rapidly growing pharmaceutical and consumer
healthcare brand. Currently they have expanded their consumer healthcare business by buying
some stake out of another pharmaceutical giant Novartis in 13 billion USD. GSK is operating since
1715 with the objective of serving humanity. Although it’s a profit oriented company and their
vision or slogan is- “Do more, Feel better, Live Longer”. GSK is widely known as a research based
pharmaceutical company with a solid combination of skill and resources that helps to give this
company a rapid growth in today’s healthcare business. GSK is basically a UK based company
and its headquarter is located in Brentford, London. As per 2017 data, their revenue is 30.19 GBP
and almost 100,000 employees are currently working for this company. It is the only British
organization which constantly retain their position in world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Subsidiary companies are established over 50 countries of the world many with their own
manufacturing facilities and the group have agency representation in more than 100 offices around
the globe. GSK has leadership in four major therapeutic areas anti invectives, central nervous
system (CNS) and respiratory & gastro intestinal metabolic. In addition, it is a leader in the
important areas of vaccines and has a growing portfolio of oncology products. GSK supplies
products to 140 global markets. GSK has 180 manufacturing site in 41 countries. There are about
450 generics registered in Bangladesh. Out of these 450 generics, 117 are in the controlled category
i.e. in the essential drug list. The remaining 333 generics are in the decontrolled category, the total
number of brands/items that are registered in Bangladesh is currently estimated to be 5,300, while
the total number of dosage forms and strengths are 8,300. With an enviable image and reputation
for the past 6 decades GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Bangladesh Limited is operating their business
being a part of GSK plc. Back in 1949 the company started their operation in Bangladesh. Right
that moment, they started their operation as Glaxo in Chittagong as an importer. Then in 1967,
they came up with their own business unit at Chittagong. Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry is
dominated by local manufacturers. Some renowned local and multi-national pharmaceutical which
are currently operating in Bangladesh are- Square, Incepta Pharma, Beximco, Opsonin Pharma,
Eskayef, Renata, A.C.I., Aristopharma, Drug International, Sanofi Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline.
And among all these top 12 companies, GSK is in 3rd position. GSK is known for its no
compromising attitude with quality, strong work ethics, relentless commitments and its advanced
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technology. Which gave an edge in creating strong relationship with its consumers and
stakeholders.
This project is based on how this giant company distributes its consumer healthcare product in
Bangladeshi market most specifically, in Dhanmondi market. And how GlaxoSmithKline
Bangladesh Limited is developing their distribution channel for making products available in every
corner of market for achieving better growth and maximizing profit for shareholders. As a
marketing and finance major I’m doing my internship in Dhanmondi Territory under Sales
Department of GSK Bangladesh Limited and carried out internship report under the direct
supervision of Mr. Saifuzzaman Saif, Area Sales Manager of GSK.
History
Year
Plough Court pharmacy is established, the forerunner of Allen and Hanburys, in London
by Silvanus Bevan. The A&H name continues today.
1715
1830 John K Smith opens his first drugstore in Philadelphia. John's younger brother,
George, joins him in 1841 to form John K Smith & Co.
1830
Thomas Beecham launches the Beecham's Pills business in England. One of Beecham’s
first products, a laxative made from aloe, ginger and soap, became very successful.
1842
Together Smith and Kline acquired numerous companies, like a vaccines business and,
most notably, French Richards and Company, another well-respected drug wholesaler.
1865
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Smith, Kline and Company acquires French, Richards and Company. The original
1891 company that John K Smith founded. Probably the most important was the company's
absorption in of French, Richards and Company, another respected drug wholesaler
Betnovate was launched. Betnovate was the first of Glaxo's range of steroid skin disease
1963 treatments. In the mid-1960s, Smith Kline & French also acquired RIT (Recherché et
Industrie Therapeutiques), a vaccines business.
Glaxo acquired 100% share, of Wellcome PLC on May 01, 1995 and formed Glaxo
1995
Welcome PLC.
Glaxo Wellcome attained a number of regulatory milestones for several of its key
1995 projects, such as ZEFFIX for the treatment of influenza.
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Core Values
GSK is very strict about their core values. From headquarter to every region, GSK maintains these
following four values relentlessly.
Consumer first
Respect
Transparency
Integrity
Strategic Goals
Balanced Business: GSK is creating more balanced, refined business and product portfolio
to achieve a better sales and earnings goal and improving shareholders interest. This is
applied to GSK’s 3 business areas- Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare
Delivering More Products: GSK is investing a huge amount money on R&D so that they
can introduce new products to customers and expand their product line.
Simplifying Operating Model: For avoiding complexity and achieving more efficient
operating, GSK is trying to simplify their operating model.
Being a Responsible Business: This is another most important strategic goal GSK is trying
to achieve. For GSK, how it delivers success is equally important to what they are actually
achieving every time. GSK respects the value and culture of country they are operating
globally.
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1.5 Corporate Governance Structure:
Board
(Chairman, 4 Executive
Director, 1 Independent
Non Executive Director
and 1 Non Executive
Director)
Company
Audit Customer
Executive
Committee Board
Committee
Sales Department
Marketing Department
Finance and Accounts Department
IT Department
Human Resource Department
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1.7 Organizational Structure of the Company
Managing
Director
Finance Commercial
Director and Director Communication Medical Affairs Site
Director
Company HR Manager Manager Director
Secretary
Marketing
Service
Reporting Manager
Manager
Senior Purchase
IT Manager
Manager of
Vaccine
Internal Audit
Manager
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Consumer Healthcare Product: Health Food Drinks (HFD), Instant Power Drinks (IPD), Oral
Healthcare (OHC)
For Bangladesh, GSK offers pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products. But here, the
consumer healthcare business is achieving higher growth and response from customers than the
pharmaceutical business. Since, in Bangladesh, the domination of local companies is higher than
multinational pharmaceutical companies because they can offer products in comparatively lower
price for lower operational cost. On the other hand, GSK has some well renowned consumer
healthcare brands like Horlicks, Boost, Sensodyne etc. Which have huge demand in sub-continent.
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Under these 3 categories, there are some brands with different SKU. The following chart contains
category wise brands with SKU.
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60 products including
Berin
Local Production Cytamen
Kefdrin
Pentamox
17 products including
Alkeran
Imported Product Seretide
Zinnat
17 products including
Engerix-B
Vaccines
Fluarix
Synflorix
of outlets for achieving business growth, GSK maintains a distribution process. For gaining
maximum service coverage GSK Bangladesh Ltd is working relentlessly. So that they have
established 12 District Marketing Offices (DMO) throughout the whole country and those are
Zone DMO
Dhaka Dhaka, Mymensing
Chittagong Chittagong, Maijdee
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Comilla Comilla, Sylhet
Bogra Bogra, Rajshahi, Rangpur
Khulna Khulna, Jessore
Barishl Barisal
Distribution Channel
Mutual Food: The responsivity of mutual food is making GSK consumer healthcare product
available all over the country. They are the mother distributor of GSK consumer healthcare
business.
Zuellig Pharma: Zuellig pharma is the distributor for pharmaceutical products of GSK.
GSK Bangladesh Ltd. took an initiative of sponsoring a school which provides education to slum
children. The school is in Rupnagar. Running by an NGO name, Sathee Samaj Kalyan Samiti
(SSKS). GSK is providing all monetary support to run the school properly.
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Response to Rohinga Crisis
GSK responded to Rohinga crisis in 2017 and provided medicine and necessary supports to the
victims.
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CHAPTER 2
JOB DESCRIPTION
2.1 Job Description of Sales Department
Sales department is one of the core and biggest departments of GSK. The main objective of this
department is to creating and improving the process of distribution by enabling and reinforcing
frontline personnel who are involved with distribution process to enhance availability of GSK
products in market. The distribution of GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Ltd. is well structured. Every
steps of distribution is well organized and fine-tuned. Being a sales intern of consumer healthcare
business, I got to know about the overall process of distribution, starting from manufacturer to end
customers. For achieving efficiency in distribution GSK sales department is working relentlessly.
As a result, the service coverage is good enough which means GSK consumer healthcare product
is available in every corner of this country. GSK Bangladesh Ltd. has a big sales team and the
chain of command is also there. The chain of command of this department is given below-
General Manager
Sales Director
This large sales team is working relentlessly to make product available in every corner of the
country by creating process for efficient and expanded distribution. Moreover, every single team
is supporting and collaborating sales team as an integrated manner for distribution expansion. For
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example, marketing team is working for creating awareness and product acceptance among
customers so that sales team can easily distribute products in market and retailers and customers
show good response to us. Finance department supports sales department by managing several
payment or incentive related claims. IT department supports from back end by maintaining internal
software Dorpon, which is an unavoidable part in daily sales reporting, sales monitoring and
keeping record of sales and other sales related data for decision making. By taking supports from
all departments, sales team is knowing their strong existence in market and generating revenue and
ensuring growth for the company.
One of the core responsibility of a territory officer is to manage distribution house. GSK selected
Mutual Food as their sole distributor. Mutual Food distributes GSK products by their own vehicle
to the third party distributors around the country and these third party distributors distribute
products into market. The job location of TOs are in these third party distribution house. The name
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of the distribution house where I was assigned is “Topnitch Association BD” located in Indira
Road, Farmgate which is known as Dhanmondi territory of GSK. Being a sales intern, I learned
about distribution management from the assigned territory officer of Dhanmondi. And I also got
opportunity playing his role in absence of him. There is a distribution house and some people who
are supposed to support the Territory Officer for running territory business. And the job of territory
officer is to lead and guide them for achieving maximum distribution.
Territory Officer
Distribution House
DSR (Sales CM DM
IT House
Represent (Merchan (Delivery Supervisor
Operator Manager
ative) dizer) Man)
A Territory Officer always needs to communicate with distribution house manager, if he needs
any support for distribution. Because here, the third party distributors are supposed to provide all
supports related to distribution as per the agreement between GSK and the distributor for a
percentage of sales commission. And the role of a TO in a distribution house is to facilitate and
aligning the distribution business with company policy and values. As a shadow Territory Officer,
I was also responsible for this distribution management activities.
There is a target of business for each month and a Territory Officer needs to distribute this target
among all the DSR. And as per their individual target they collect order from market everyday
according to beat plan and the deliveryman delivers the product according to the order collected
by DSR. This is how business rolls. Now the things is, there has to be some day to day planning.
Otherwise the delivery of service will not be effective and the target will not be achieved. So
Territory Officers need to create an action plan and provide it to DSR. So that they can understand
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what they have achieved till now and how much drive they need to give for achieving his individual
target. Not only that, if there is any service gap in any market, how the gap can be minimized that
also needs to be in the action plan. This day to day work planning is one of the core formulas of a
successful territory business.
3. Beat Planning:
Beat planning is the master plan of providing service in market. In which day, which DSR will
provide service to which market is called beat planning. Per day each DSR can visit 50 to 60
outlets. It actually depends on market size, outlet distance. Under Dhanmondi territory, there are
2605 outlets and to provide service there are 8 DSR and 8 Delivery Men. As per current beat plan
there are 45 beats in Dhanmondi territory. And each beat carries on an average 50 to 60 outlets so
that one DSR can complete one beat every day. The calculation of service frequency of each
market is given below as per beat plan.
N: B: Service frequency might be more than 1 time each week according to market demand.
4. Market Visit:
Another core and basic responsibility was to visit market according to beat plan. The main
objective of market visit is to monitor the service coverage which means the presence, visibility
and availability of GSK product in market. Each market visit gave me some new experiences. It
gave me the core insight of market. The behavior of retailer on company people, market nature,
market pulse, consumer behavior on different FMCG products and all these things are my learning
from market visit, which helped building my knowledge on understanding business opportunity
by analyzing different market scenario. Moreover, it helped to improve my communication skill
with different class and category of people. The things we observe during market visit are-
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All outlets are available in PDA (The order collecting software) or not. If there is any new
outlet we note it down and include it to the system software.
During market visit we communicate with retailers and wholesalers and ask them if they
are facing any issue with our service.
There are a lot of counterfeit products available using duplicate packaging and logo of
GSK. We try to collect the manufacturer’s information of those products so that we can
take some legal action against them.
Evaluating performance of DSR is another objective of market visit. As a Territory Officer
it’s required to observe while the DSR is communicating company’s new skim, offer
properly or not. They are maintaining a good relationship with retailers or not that is a
matter of observation during field visit.
Another super important thing which needs to
observe during field visit is, the product availability
and display visibility is organized according to
planogram or not in preferred dealer (PD) outlet.
The preferred dealers (PD) are satisfy with our service or not and they are getting PD
bills time to time we need to ensure that. (PD bill is display rent. Received by preferred
dealers, who dedicate their shelfs for GSK products in their outlet)
5. Performance Evaluation
Performance evaluation of the sales team is another most important and crucial task for a Territory
Officer. Being a sales intern, every day I spent maximum time in market visit with sales team. And
I evaluated the standard of communication, convincing capability, enthusiasm etc. of DSR and
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after the market visit I and the Territory Officer used to calculate the call productivity, strike rate,
TLS and ECO of each DSR. So that we can understand the performance of DSR and as per the
result we conducted one to one meeting with them and made them understand their area of
improvement, how they can take order more efficiently and successfully.
Training and development of sales force is mandatory for any company since, they are the frontline
employees and representative of a company. That’s why it’s a required job for a TO grooming his
sales force frequently. GSK Bangladesh Ltd. has its own way and guideline for frontline
employees to work in market. The major job of a sales representative (DSR) is generate order. As
per the company guideline, they need to go through a process while they generate an order from
an outlet. Which is known as PASSION calling method. This is very basic lesson for GSK sales
team.
PASSION
Planning Newness
Order
Approaching
Store Delivery
In store
Check Sales & Merchandizing
Secure
When any new DSR join to the team we educate him about the PASSION call. And sometimes
old DSR doesn’t maintain this process as well while generating order in market. So we talk about
this PASSION calling method over and over again. Because this is proven that by following this
standard maximum number of order generation is possible.
It’s required preparing daily sales report which has to be reported to Area Sales Manager (ASM)
who used to be our line manager. Daily Sales Report, Target VS Achievement, Updated IMS
(Master File), KPI etc. report has to be prepared in daily basis. By going through these reports we
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can get the overall picture of the business. As a sales intern, I assisted the Territory Officer of
Dhanmondi preparing this report. These reports are prepared by Microsoft Excel. So my skill on
Microsoft Excel has also improved by preparing daily sales reports.
On the starting of every month, a person comes from third party Audit
Company for taking the report of damage products. DSR collects damaged
(expired, rotten) products from markets and bring those products to
distribution house. Audit team take notes of the batch number and reason
for damage of those products and destroy those products such a way that
anyone can’t be able to use those products. GSK maintain this audit work
by a third party audit team for ensuring transparency. As a sales intern, I
facilitated SDR session by providing support to audit team on behalf of Figure: Stock Destruction
Process
Territory officer.
My task was to expand the distribution of Sensodyne toothpaste in Karwan Bazar wholesale
market, which has a great opportunity in Bangladesh. As a brand, Sensodyne in Bangladesh is not
very established. Whereas, globally the demand for Sensodyne product is very high. So GSK
Bangladesh Ltd. is trying to give their utmost drive introducing and establishing Sensodyne in
every corner of Bangladesh. To do this assignment, I took help from the Territory Officer of
Dhanmondi. I collected several information about Karwanbazar wholesale market. Then I have
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created a process which is consisted with 5 phases. Which helped me a lot doing this assignment
in an organized and efficient manner. The phases are given below.
Following Up PHASE
5
By maintaining this process, I was conducting my assignment and achieved a satisfactory success
rate. Every day I was able to place Sensodyne in 5 to 6 new outlets and in total 30 new Sensodyne
outlets expanded in my assignment period.
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Chapter 3
Distribution Process and Development Analysis Based on
Relevant Theory
3.1 Distribution Process of GSK Bangladesh Ltd. Consumer
Healthcare Business
The distribution process of GSK Bangladesh Ltd. is quite simple and well structured. GSK
Bangladesh Limited’s distribution is very much process oriented. It’s required to maintain the
process strictly who are related with this distribution work. The distribution process of GSK has
shown in the following diagram.
Retailers Wholesalers
Shoppers
Consumer
1. In very first phase of the distribution process, products are manufactured in factory which is
located in Chittagong. Some of the products like Sensodyne are imported from UK.
2. After manufacturing products, the mother distributer of GSK, Mutual Foods takes manufactured
products to their warehouse and distribute products as per the requirement of third party
distribution house all over the country by their own transport. There is an agreement between GSK
and Mutual Foods for this service.
3. After receiving products from Mutual Foods, the third party distributors distribute products in
retail and wholesale market by van or pickup van. These third party distributors carry all
operational and fixed costs related to the distribution. For that, they have an agreement with Mutual
Foods, the mother distributor of GSK. Mutual Foods provide the distributorship of GSK
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Bangladesh to the third party distributors. The main operation occurs in these third party
distribution house, where Territory Officers and Area Sales Managers work. There is a primary
target given by GSK to third party distributors and as per the primary target they place order to
Mutual Foods.
4. The main objective of GSK distribution is to increase service coverage. And the formula of
increasing service coverage is making products available in maximum number of retail outlets.
Because doing long term business with many small retail outlets give an edge in increasing
business growth than doing business with few wholesale outlets. Because wholesale outlet’s takes
a bulk amount of products and they serve it to near small outlets. So here, company is missing
some small business opportunities. At the price retailers buy products from distributor is called
trade price (TP). There is a fixed trade margin for the retailers fixed by company.
5. The third party distributors distribute products to wholesale market. There is a percentage of
target set by line manager for wholesale and retail channels. For wholesale channel the target is
comparatively lower than retail channels. There is a percentage of commission given by distributor
to wholesale outlets.
6. The shoppers shop GSK products from retail outlets and they take products to the end consumer
who are basically children, women or men.
Distributor Types
Base D Super D
Sub D Sub D
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Base D: Base D is the basic type distributors. Base Distributor is a distributor, which has one
dedicated distribution house and warehouse. And from the distribution house product delivered to
market. For example, Dhanmondi distributor house is a Base D.
Super D: There are more than one sub distribution house under a Super D. In rural area there are
some super distributors. Because there is a huge distance between distribution house and market
area. That’s why providing regular service is difficult without setting sub distributor house near
those rural markets.
Sub D: These are small sets of distribution house near any rural market. The capacity of warehouse
is also lower. It just delivers products in near markets.
1. General Trade Outlet (GT Outlets): GT outlet means normal outlets available in
different retail and wholesale channel like- general store, chemist outlets, tong etc.
2. Modern Trade Outlet (MT Outlets): Modern trade outlets are super shops like Agora,
Shopno, Mina Bazar etc.
1. Chemist
2. Cosmetic Store/Shopping Complex
3. Expert Marketing Chemist
4. Food Store
5. General Store
6. HoReCa
7. Institution/Alternative Channel
8. Tong
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9. Wet Market Grocery
10. Wholesale
Dhanmondi Territory
Total
Outlet
2605
Sensodyne Topnitch
Outlet PD outlet
Association
187
133 Bangladesh
45 Beat
There are in total 2605 outlets in Dhanmondi territory which are divided into 45 beats. Where
Sensodyne outlet is 133, Horlicks display outlet (PD) is 87. And as per the geographical map of
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Dhanmondi territory shown above, it covers a big area. The manpower and channel wise outlet
quantity of Dhanmondi Territory is shown below-
Chemist 419
Cosmetic Store/Shopping Complex 40
Expert Marketing Chemist 145
Food Store 93
General Store 1600
HoReCa 3
Institution/Alternate Channel 1
Tong 181
Wet Market Grocery 91
Wholesale 32
Strength
1. Market Size:
The market size of Dhanmondi Territory is big. As a result, the amount of potential and existing
outlets are also huge. Every day new outlets are opening and automatically there is creating
demand for GSK product in Dhanmondi Territory. Demand creation is another name of expansion
of business opportunity. And Dhanmondi Territory is possessing this strength for its big market
size.
2. Residential Area
Under Dhanmondi Territory there is good amount residential areas. Most of the beats are
residential area based which is good in a sense, people shops for their household from near outlets
of their residence rather than going far. And in residential area, most of the retail outlets are
available. As a result, the demand for GSK product is high on those residential area based outlets.
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3. Market Share
The market share of GSK product is another strength of GSK distribution. Market share of Horlicks
in Health Food Drinks category is near about 94%. In Dhanmondi the demand for Horlicks is very
high due to its market share. And the major portion of contribution comes from this category.
4. Experienced Manpower
Some of the sales representative of this territory is very experienced. Out of 8 DSR, 4 DSR’s
experience in this same field is more than 4 years. One DSR has experience with GSK is more
than 10 years. And the experienced DSR are very much willing to help new comers understanding
their duties. So the experienced manpower is another strength of Dhanmondi territory.
Weakness
1. Distributor Involvement
For a Territory Business, distributor’s active cooperation is a must. Since, they provide all
necessary supports to roll the business. But in Dhanmondi Territory, distributor’s involvement is
not meeting GSK expectation. Sometimes, distributor fails keeping their commitment as promised.
This is the major weakness of Dhanmondi Territory.
2. Investment Issue
Every third party distributors of GSK are supposed to invest their capital as per the Primary Target
given by Territory Officer on behalf of company. The distributor of Dhanmondi sometimes fail to
invest as per the primary target because they have some other business to invest. As a result, after
few days warehouse becomes empty and products can’t be delivered on time.
3. Manpower
Manpower issue is a regular thing in Dhanmondi territory. Especially, most of the time there is
shortage of delivery man. Distributors are failing to provide delivery man in regular basis. As a
result, after generating order the products can’t be delivered. This is one of the main reasons of
creating service gap and ruining good relationship with retailers. So manpower issue is another
main weakness of Dhanmondi territory.
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4. PD Bill
Another responsibility of distributor is providing preferred dealer outlet bills on time in regular
basis. Company provide this bill to distributor and they are supposed to send this bill by their
delivery man. But sometimes, during market visit this complain comes from preferred dealers that
they didn’t get PD bill yet whereas, it has been provided by the company to distributor.
5. Data Mismanagement
Delivery men are supposed to correct memo after delivering products and submit those corrected
memo to IT operator. But the major problem of Dhanmondi territory is they are not correcting
memo since, they are not well educated. As a result, data mismanagement and wrong posting
occurs.
Opportunities
There is a huge number of Wet Market (Kacha Bazar) grocery outlets under Dhanmondi Territory.
If all these wet market grocery can be brought under the service coverage, the business opportunity
in this channel is bright.
3. Horecca
Under Dhanmondi territory there are lot of listed/non listed restaurant, café and hotel in database.
By capitalizing this channel a good business opportunity can be created from this channel.
There is also a good number of small outlets available under Dhanmondi territory. Small outlets
including Tong is potential channel for Horlicks 18gm sachet. There is always a good demand for
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mini pack in these type of outlets. But a special drive can be given to those outlets which sells
readymade tea and coffee by promoting “Horlicks Cha”.
Challenges
1. Wholesale Market
One of the major challenges of this territory is not matching the offered discount rate with the
wholesale market. Dhanmondi is in the center point of the city and from many corner of the city
or may be from outside of the city underrated products are entering. As a result, wholesalers are
getting products in lower price. So sometimes, they are not willing to take products from us.
2. Online Business
Many online market place like Daraz is offering products to both retail and wholesale point in
significantly lower price. Retailers want profit and online marketplaces are able to give product in
lower price for their lower operating cost. This is another place where all territories are struggling
including Dhanmondi territory.
3. Indian Products
Indian products are also available in this market. Some businessmen are
bringing Indian products unethically without paying tax to the government. As
a result, they are able give these products in lower price. And Bangladeshi
consumers have soft corner towards products which came from abroad. As a
result, the Bangladeshi distributors are losing business.
Figure: Indian
4. Counterfeit Products Junior Horlicks Jar
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3.8 Reasons behind Service Gap in Dhanmondi Territory
Service Gap
Desired Service
Service Gap
Perceived Service
In more or less every distribution business there are some service gap. As a part of this process,
our main objective is to minimize this gap and maximizing service coverage. After having 3
months experience in Dhanmondi territory as an intern, I have found out some reasons which are
creating service gap is market. The reasons are given below-
1. Deliveryman Turnover
After collecting order, product must be delivered to market. Otherwise there is no point of
collecting orders and all. So here, deliveryman is playing a big role. But in Dhanmondi territory,
the deliveryman turnover is very high. As a result, products delivery is not happening regularly
which creates service gap.
2. Inventory Shortage
Distributors are maintaining inventories as per primary target. As a result, there is shortage of
product before expected date. And when there is no product in warehouse, there will be no delivery
in market and business will stop rolling. This is another reason of service gap in market.
3. Outlet Correction
In Dhanmondi, new outlets are opening frequently. So it is required to add those outlet names in
Dorpon and bring those outlets in between service coverage by outlet correction in regular basis.
Otherwise, new outlets will be out of service coverage and service gap will be created.
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4. Employee Development and Motivation
For effective service, frontline employees should be well trained and motivated. In Dhanmondi
Territory, several training session conducted by Territory Officer but it should be more frequent
and empowering DSR and Delivery Man is important for getting effective service from them. And
it will minimize service gap.
In this business, it is required working DSR and Delivery Man in an integrated manner. Due to
employee turnover, there remains a gap or weak bonding between the delivery man and DSR. It
creates some problems. For example, sometimes new deliveryman cannot find out outlets. Rather
communicating with the assigned DSR of that beat, they end up with not delivering to those outlets.
Which creates service gap. Another example is, most of the delivery men are very less educated.
They need supports of DSR during the time of memo correction.
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CHAPTER 4
The communication of brush free Sensodyne toothpaste is a bit confusing for most of the retailer.
From field experience, after seeing the packet most of the
retailers ask is the product price is 80 taka? Then we correct him
with the actual price of the product. Basically this confusion
arises because the “80 taka” is highlighted the most than any
other communication on the packaging. However, there is actually communicated 80 taka brush is
free with 70gm Sensodyne toothpaste. From my point of view, communication should be clear
enough so that anyone can understand the message after seeing the product packaging instantly.
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3. Taking Legal Action against Counterfeit Product Manufacturer
There are lots of Glaxose-D and Sensodyne counterfeit products available in market. Which are
manufactured in Jinjira, Keranigonj and many other unhygienic place. Sometimes good customers
are being cheated by some dishonest retailers who keep these counterfeit products in their outlet.
As a result, customers who don’t understand these are counterfeit products they will not be
interested buying GSK product again. So as a company, GSK Bangladesh Ltd. should take legal
action against those counterfeit product manufacturers who are selling their products by
duplicating GSK packaging unethically.
GSK might not have a broad product line like Unilever. But GSK
has some brands which are very much potential and its products
have good offtake in market. And GSK products are available in
a good number of outlets. So they can open their helpline service
for retailers. Sometimes retailers have some query, complain or
urgency. By starting helpline service, GSK will be able to provide their utmost service to the
retailers. And head office people will be able to get the proper insight of market while field people
will contact directly with them.
One major complain we face during market visit is the small trade margin we offer from company.
Sometimes they are not willing to take our product for this. Moreover, Daraz, counterfeit and grey
market products are there which are offering much bigger profit margin than us. From business
point of view, retailers are refusing to products from us. So company either needs to take legal
action against the counterfeit and online dealers or the profit margin needs to be increased so that
we can compete with them.
Like other big FMCG giants Unilever or Nestle, GSK should expand their product line in
Bangladesh so that business can be rolled from different category. There are a lots of brands under
GSK consumer healthcare business globally but in Bangladesh they introduced a little amount of
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brands. Hence, more products needs to be introduced for keeping a strong grip of business in
Bangladesh.
Distributors play a vital role in this business. They are supposed to provide all the necessary
supports for distribution. Dhanmondi territory should check the distributor profile carefully,
whether they have enough capital, manpower and cooperative attitude or not. In this place, this
territory is struggling for a long period of time.
In every month there should be a training and development session, may be for an hour. So that
the front line employees develop themselves as per GSK standard and deliver their best
performance in market.
3. Beat Correction
Beat correction should be done in a regular basis. So that new outlets can be added into database
and start providing service to those outlets. Regular beat correction ensures good service coverage.
The deliverymen turnover is high in this territory. So both distribution house manager and
Territory Officer should spend time with delivery men in person and understand their problem and
take action plan.
Dhanmondi is highly potential market for Sensodyne. There are 419 chemist outlets under
Dhanmondi territory. So they should capitalize this huge amount of chemist outlets as the business
opportunity for Sensodyne toothpaste and toothbrush distribution.
In small outlets especially in Tong, there can be good branding of “Horlicks Cha”. There are lot
of small and small medium outlets under Dhanmondi territory. They can capitalize these small and
small medium outlets as a business opportunity for 18gm sachet distribution.
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7. Memo Correction
Memo correction has to be done by delivery man by taking help of DSR before submitting memo
to Dorpon operator.
In this business, DSR and delivery men are required to work in pair. 100% cooperating among
these two departments can ensure a better and efficient distribution service in market.
DSR needs to spend at least 7-8 minutes with each retailer at the time of collecting order for
generating a good amount of order.
Sometimes DSR doesn’t carry product detailer. It is required to collect order by showing product
detailer from company end. Call productivity increases when DSR collect orders by showing
product detailer. So every DSR needs to carry product detailer with them regularly.
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4.2 Conclusion
GSK is one of the major consumer healthcare companies in Bangladesh. They have a powerful
brand like Horlicks in their product line which is currently holding 95% market share in Health
Food Drinks category. Moreover, their other brands like Sensodyne and Glaxose are also growing
in a good manner. From field experience it is observed that Sensodyne is doing very good in retail
market and it will carry major portion of market share in toothpaste industry in near future.
About GSK distribution in Bangladesh, it is very well structured and process oriented. Each and
every step of the distribution is well organized and it is monitoring from the upper level strictly.
However, there are some area of improvements which has discussed above of GSK distribution in
Dhanmondi territory. Dhanmondi is a big market and the consumer base belongs in this area is
very favorable for business. There are many residential, commercial areas and some industrial
areas under this territory. The chemist, Horekka and Wet market grocery channels are growing
gradually since, new outlets are opening and it’s being a potential and promising market for
Sensodyne toothpaste and Glaxose-D distribution. All they need to capitalize these business
opportunities wisely and continuing their sales drive frequently with the spontaneous collaboration
of each and every members related to this distribution process of this territory.
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References
arab news, 2005. Introduction. [Online] Available at: http://www.arabnews.com/node/264387
[Accessed 10 March 2017].
GSK, 2015. Annual Report. Dhaka: GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Ltd. Study.com, 2003. Work
Specialization in Organization. [Online] Available at:
http://study.com/academy/lesson/work-specialization-in-organizations.html [Accessed 28 March
2017].
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