INTRODUCTION

Introduction to Sanitary ware industry

India is a large, highly populated Country of around one billion people, with an economy, which is

steadily growing. As per the study, there were an estimated 125 million dwellings in India (1995), but

200 million households. This reveals an acute housing shortage. The U.N. predicts an increase in the

population of 1.6% per annum. There is a gradual migrant shift from rural to urban areas and 27% of

the population now lives in urban areas as compared to 20% in 1971. There is a large difference in

amenities between the urban population and the rural. In 1994, 70% of the urban population had

access to adequate sanitation, whereas in the rural community only 14% had access.

In 1991, approximately 64% of urban households had some kind of toilet facility compared

with 9% of the rural areas. There is a widening difference in income between different

regions, the rich and the poor.

Sanitation is a must for every individual of our society. According to the Government

estimates, more than 50% of the urban population does not access to sanitation facilities.

Condition of the rural areas is that only 6% of the population is covered by sanitation.

Sanitary ware Demand

Sanitary ware Industries in India for the last 6-7 years has shown very dramatic growth with

major players doubling their production capacity. The Companies have also upgraded their

manufacturing system by introducing Battery Casting, Beam Casting and have gone in for

latest imported Fast Firing Cycle Kiln Technology. These Companies have also upgraded

their quality and have introduced high value range in the market, which has been accepted

and appreciated. The demand for high value sanitary ware in India is growing very fast. The

Companies are trying to meet the demand as the realization per Metric Ton for high value

product is very good which ultimately results in good profitability. In order to educate the

customers in India to go for quality products and also for higher value sanitary ware,

companies have adopted a very aggressive advertisement campaign. Companies have also

strengthened their dealer network by offering showroom incentives and some of the

companies have also gone for their own retail outlets in major towns. The demand for

sanitary ware in India is growing @ 15% -17% every year

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The sanitary ware industry in India is divided in two sectors. The organized sector consisting

of 5 companies (M/s. Hindustan Sanitary Industries Limited, M/s. E.I.D. Parry, M/s. Swastik

Sanitary ware Limited, M/s. Madhusudan Ceramics, M/s. Neycer India Limited),

manufacturing sanitary ware for the last 15-20 years and have established their Brand image.

The organized sectors produce fully vitrified sanitary wares, using latest technology and best

of Ceramic Raw Materials available in India. The unorganized sectors have adopted local

Indian technology to manufacture the basic sanitary ware products. Since the availability of

raw material is in abundance and also very cheap in the state of Gujarat & Rajasthan, various

companies have established their factory in these areas. They are producing the basic sanitary

ware in various brands. Unorganized sector's percentage of production capacity and also their

sales in the local domestic market are higher than that of the organized sectors' sales.

Unorganized sanitary ware manufacturer comes under small sectors and hence enjoy the

benefit of Nil Excise Duty and Sales Tax and hence they sell their products in the domestic

market approximately 70% cheaper than the organized sector products.

Opportunities

Government of India Policy on Housing Sector is very encouraging. The Government has

announced Income Tax rebate on housing loan to boost the housing sector. All financial

institutions are lending money for construction of house at a very low rate of interest.

Government figure shows that Housing Sector is growing by approximately 25% every year.

The need of Housing in India with 100 crores population looks to be very potential. As per

DGTD Survey Report there is a shortage of about 20 million houses in the country by the end

of 8th Five Year Plan. The housing has become a basic necessity, as people in India are

looking forward for improved sanitary condition. The concept of making toilet is fast

growing even in village areas, where toilet till last two years did not exist.

The cost of producing sanitary ware in India is substantially low as compared to the advance

countries, because the labour cost and the basic raw materials for manufacturing quality

sanitary ware is available at very cheap rate and in abundance. Because of our low cost of

production, Indian sanitary ware is very competitive in the neighboring countries and hence

export from India is also growing every day.

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31%

34%

21%

14%

Market Size

Parryware HindwareCeraOther

Figure 1.1

Outlook for Sanitary ware Industry in India

In the next decade, India is expected to be one of the world's fastest growing countries for sanitary

ware consumption. The sanitation penetration has more than trebled from 8% in 1982 to 18% in 1994

and to 29% in 1999. The comparative penetration levels in neighboring countries are as follows:

Pakistan: 50%, Sri Lanka: 65%, Malaysia: 94% and Thailand: 96%. The government impetus to

improve hygiene and sanitation is likely to increase the demand for sanitary ware in India. Moreover

the increasing urbanization of India and the consequent requirement for residential and commercial

buildings will be a major driver for growth of sanitary ware. Along with this the focus of the central

and state governments to provide housing facilities to the poor, is also expected to generate demand.

The National Housing Policy formulation that envisages "Housing for all" by the end of Ninth Plan

period is a big step towards this. Indira Awaas Yojana, Samgra Awaas Yojana is programs for

providing housing to the rural poor is a key step taken by the government in this area. The housing

development organizations like HUDCO, State Housing Development Boards and Rajiv Gandhi Rural

Housing Corporation Ltd. are also playing a large role in this initiative. It is estimated that there is

currently a demand for 20 million housing units in India. Further, a significant number of the 115

million housing units across the country will need reconstruction for improvement. Therefore a

replacement market will emerge, though currently original equipment sanitary ware market accounts

for nearly 90% of the market.

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HISTORY OF CERA SANITARY WARE LIMITED:

Vikram Somany, Chairman & Managing Director of Cera Sanitary ware Limited. Mr.

Somany possessed entrepreneurial spirit even while he was managing Madhusudan Industries

Limited in Gujarat. This company was into production of vegetable oils and vanaspati. The

turning point came into the company when Mr. Somany met a government delegation in

1978.When he signed the MoU to commence the sanitary ware manufacturing unit in Kadi in

North Gujarat using natural gas, the first of its kind in India. It was a kind of milestone. And

it was just the beginning.Of course, one might argue that Mr. Somany had entrepreneurship

in his blood and had also inherited the understanding of this industry. His father had rich

experience in sanitary ware. He along with his brothers had pioneered sanitary ware in India

in the early sixties by setting up a manufacturing unit, Hindustan Sanitary ware, in

collaboration with Twyfords of UK. Yes, this did give Vikram Somany some kind of

background. Also, there was a market opportunity. But Cera's success does not rest on these

two factors. It rests on his ability in transforming the opportunity into a business success. The

opportunity was open for others as well but Cera made the most of it. Though those were the

days of sellers’ market for sanitary ware, most companies, which went into production

around the same time as Cera, did not succeed later. So what was it that Cera did different?

The quality of Cera matched international norms. Cera focused on creative designs and paid

equal attention to after-sales service with the differentiating factor. Moreover, Mr. Somany

did not neglect the other relevant business aspects as well. Cera went on to create history with

its advertising campaign in the early 1980s: Your Bathroom is a Room Too…" An

entrepreneur is successful because he understands and respects the three Cs: customer,

change and competition. Apart from Cera, the other two major players are Parry ware and

Hind ware. Both have larger production capacities than Cera currently Cera, however, is now

expanding its capacities maintain that edge in the market, Cera keeps upgrading and increasing its product

portfolio regularly. Cera also recognizes its responsibility towards environment. Like the other two major

players in the organized sector, In fact, it’s gone a step ahead.

VISION OF THE COMPANY

To be a total home solutions provider in the long run, providing products for every room in

the home.

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ORGANISTIONAL STRUCTURE Board of Directors

Managing Director

Vice President HRD &

Personnel

Vice President

R&D

Vice President Projects

Vice President

Marketing

Regional Sales

Manager

Sales Officer

Market Intelligent Assistants

HRD Manager

Assistants Manager Accnts

Manager Tax

Factory Accnts.

HRD Manager

Quality Assts.

Project Manager

Asst. Mrkg. Mgr

Field Officers

Market Intelligent System

Marketing Manager

Vice President Finance

Vice President

Sales

Regional Mrkg. Mgr

Asst. Manager

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DEPARTMENT

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

In macroeconomics production is the act of making things; in particular the act of making

product that will be traded or sold commercially. Production decision concentrates on what goods to

produce, how to produce them, the cost of producing them and optimizing the mix of resource inputs

used in their production. This production information then can be combined with market information

(like demand and marginal revenue) to determine the quantity of product to produce and optimum

price.

Quality assurance Department:

A separate quality assurance department is functioning in this unit to ensure that all the

products meet the required quality. The quality assurance dept. is entrusted with the responsibility of

preparing quality control plans and measures and evaluating product quality.

Important Function

1. The department makes sure that the raw materials comply with the quality specifications by

collecting samples. Raw materials are accepted if it conforms to specified quality and are rejected if

the raw materials do not comply with the specified quality.

2. The department checks the quality of output after the completion of each stage of production.

3. The department attends the customer complaints on quality aspects and takes corrective action.

4. The department ensures that necessary actions have been taken for the assurance of quality of the

final product.

Purchase Department

The purchase department is responsible for the continuous availability of raw material to the

production department. The production department should see that all the required materials are

purchased at the right time in the right quantity at the right price. Continuous availability of all the

raw material is necessary to keep the production flow uninterrupted. The company makes purchases

from suppliers outside as well as inside the state.

Purchase Procedure:

The company prepares a detailed purchase budget at the beginning of every year, which

contains the item and quantity to be purchased of each item. The bill of materials can also be used to

know the requirement of raw materials for a certain period of time. The purchase in-charge, after

receiving the purchase requisition form initiated by the storekeeper makes necessary arrangements for

inviting tender for supplier selection. The supplier selection then company conducts vendor evaluation

by collecting complete information about the suppliers. While evaluating supplier’s information like

creditworthiness, past experience, delivery time, capacity to supply, mode of payment are collected

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and evaluated. An approval list of suppliers is prepared after the completion of vendor evaluation.

After having selected the supplier, the purchase department proceeds to place the order for materials,

specifying the details of goods.

The purchase order contains details such as order number and date, suppliers name & address, rate

and number of items ordered, mode and date of delivery etc. The department sends reminder to

supplier for the timely delivery of goods.

Goods are verified at the time of receiving with the help of delivery note sent by the supplier and the

purchase order. Quality assurance is done by quality department by taking samples from the arrived

materials. Goods are received only after the completion of quality and quantity inspection. This

follows the preparation of material received note.

R & D Department

A well- equipped and well-organized R & D department is functioning under Cera Sanitary

ware Ltd to develop new products and to improve the existing products. The department conducts

detailed research before the introduction of every new product. The company is giving more

attention and importance on R & D. Well qualified and dedicated staffs are the main strength of the R

& D department the company’s latest product Pozzi Ginnori is formulated after conducting various

research. A big R & D lab is being constructed with in the premises of this unit. The R & D

department is headed by R & D in-charge and he is assisted by R & D assistants. The R & D

department is playing a vital role in the success of every products of the company. The human

resource of R & D division includes qualified chemists and trained laboratory technicians whom

implements internationally acknowledged analytical procedures. It can be stated the reason for the

increasing use of the company’s products is the effort of its R & D department, which formulates

quality products.

Stores Department

Stores Department is responsible for storing materials and finished products. Stores

department is headed by storekeeper and he is assisted by assistants. This unit has a centralized store

and it is from here materials are dent to various departments. The departments keep the finished good

and all the raw materials required for the production. Raw materials are issued according to the

requirements from respective departments.

Functions

1. The department checks the weights of the raw materials when they are received.

2. The department issues raw materials to the production department.

3. The stores department maintains different types of books and registers for the proper control of

materials.

Various records are maintained in stores department are

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1. Goods Received note

2. Stock Register

3. Material Purchase register

4. Quality Register (for recording items of low quality)

Maintenance Department

The maintenance department is responsible for the smooth and proper working of all the machines.

This department ensures that all the machines are maintained properly which is necessary for the

uninterrupted flow of production. The maintenance department is headed by maintenance in charge

and he is assisted by maintenance staff. The maintenance department performs mainly 3 types of

maintenance works namely

Preventive maintenance

Periodic Maintenance

Break down Maintenance

Preventive maintenance

The maintenance works done for the prevention of machine break down is known as preventive

maintenances. Lubrication, oiling, greasing etc. are the examples of preventive maintenance.

Periodic Maintenance

Periodic maintenance is done monthly or weekly and it is a part of preventive maintenance. Examples

of periodic maintenance are cleaning and over hauling.

Break down Maintenance

Break down maintenance is done at the time of breakdown of machines. Break down of machines are

informed to the department when it occurs and the department attends the problem.

The operations/Manufacturing process

Machinery Suppliers

Spray booth, Glaze Containers, drums and kilns are the machinery used for ceramics sanitary ware

factory. Kilns are designed by ceramics engineers and manufactured by the kiln makers. There are

about 12 kiln makers which are experts and fulfilling the need of industry. Glaze containers, spray

both and drums are prepared by the engineering sector of the Cera.

Raw Material Suppliers

Supply chain is crucial to this field and without proper raw material supply these units cannot keep up

with the production. There are about 4 to 5 companies supplying raw material to ceramics industry in

Cera. These suppliers procure clay from mine owners1 and import barium carbonate and china clay

from china and zirconium from England, USA, Italy, and Malaysia for fulfilling the raw material

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requirement of Ceramics Sanitary ware industry. However raw material supply is irregular and

manufacturers have to face late delivery of raw material or shortage of raw material.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

Finance is said to be the life blood of any business for proper allocation and management of the funds

organization requires a finance department. Cera is having a separate finance department to take care

of all these activities the following is the departmental chart of the same.

Functions of the department:

1) Maintaining proper books of accounts.

2) Reporting to the management issues relating to finance.

3) Obtaining of funds from various sources and using it efficiently.

4) Tax planning.

5) Controlling. (regular assessment of financial activities)

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MARKETING

Marketing is a subject having wide spectrum. Marketing deals with the whole process of entering

markets, establishing profitable positions and building loyal customer relationship. As market change,

so does marketing. Marketing is no longer a company department charged with a limited numbers of

tasks. Managing and advertising. Sending out direct mail, finding sales leads. Providing customer

service. It must drive the company’s vision, mission and strategic planning. Marketing is about

deciding who the company wants as its customers, Which needs to satisfy, what products and services

to offer, what prices to set, what communications to send and receive. What channel of distribution to

use and what partnership to develop.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

All marketing strategies are built on STP- segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Companies

discover different needs and groups in the market place, target those needs and groups that the

companies can satisfy in a superior way, and then positions its offering so that the target market

recognizes the companies distinctive offering and image. No company can win, if its product and

offering resembles every other product and offerings. Today most companies are guilty of strategy

convergence namely undifferentiated strategies. Companies must pursue meaningful and relevant

positioning and differentiation. Companies normally reformulate their marketing strategies and

offerings several times. Economic condition changes, competitors launch new and the produce passes

through new stages of buyer interests and requirements. Consequently strategies appropriate to each

stage in the products life cycle must be developed.

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DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Marketing channels are set of interdependent organization involved in the process of marketing a

product or service available for use or consumption. Channel decisions are among the most critical

decision facing the management. The channels chosen intimately affect all the other marketing

decisions. The distribution system is a key external source. It ranks in importance with key internal

resources such as manufacturing, research, and final sales personal facilities.

CHANNEL FUNCTIONS

They gather information about potential and current competitors and other actors and forces in the

marketing environment.

They develop and disseminate persuasive communications to stimulate purchasing.

They reach agreement on price and other terms so that transfer of ownership or possession can be

done easily.

They place order with manufacturers.

They acquire the funds to finance investments at different levels in the marketing channel.

They assume risk connected with carrying out channel work.

ADVERTISEMENT

In today’s competitive business environment advertisement has got a crucial role in the success of

every business organization. No company can win the competition if its advertisement strategies are

not properly planned and created. “Advertisement is any paid form of non-personal presentation and

promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor”. Advertisement makes the customers

aware about the products and services of the company. It can be seen that, behind the success of every

products in that market, advertisement has played an important role.

KINDS OF ADVERTISEMENT

Information advertising

Aims to create awareness and knowledge of new products or new features of existing products.

Persuasive advertising

Aims to create liking, preference, conviction and purchase of products or services

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LITERATURE REVIEWMarketing Communications: Overview:

To market a product successfully, it is not enough to ensure that it is the right product, available at the

right place at the right time; information about its availability, utility and price must also be

effectively communicated to prospective buyers. For the communication process to be effective, the

marketer must be able to create the right message and deliver it to the right prospect at the right time,

using the right media. Although this may sound simple, in a competitive environment with

increasingly similar products and services, proliferation of media options, and complexity in

segmenting audiences, it is very difficult to get all the elements of the communications process right.

In order to differentiate their brands in such an environment, marketers must constantly refine and

fine-tune their marketing communications strategies. Marketing communication has undergone drastic

changes over the last few years. In the past, marketers communicated using a limited number of

marketing communication tools like advertising, sales promotions or sales personnel; the number of

media options - like radio, television or print media - at their disposal was also limited. In the last

couple of decades though, fragmentation of traditional media such as television and print, and the

emergence of new or non-traditional media such as the Internet, have made marketing

communications much more complex. Today, marketers can no longer rely completely on a single

marketing communication tool like advertising, personal selling or publicity. Instead, recognizing that

each element of the communication mix is effective in achieving a specific communication objective,

they must choose the right mix of communications tools that will help them best achieve their overall

marketing objectives. Marketing Communications examines the subject from various perspectives,

and discusses the strategies that a marketer can use while interacting with different stakeholders

through marketing communications mix elements like advertising, sales promotion, personal selling,

public relations and direct marketing. The book also highlights the need for integrating the different

marketing communications mix elements to present a single consistent image for a company or a

brand.

MARKETING ASPECTS

Here we have analyzed various marketing aspects of Cera sanitary ware undertaken for the marketing

mix of the company. Various marketing mix of Cera sanitary ware is as follows:

Product:

Product of the company as is defined in company’s introductory chapter is an sanitary ware product

having mainly extraordinary features like twin flush water saving product, soft close seat cover,

shower temple product. This product talk about giving an spa foot massage and inbuilt Jacuzzi unit

which give experience artificial water waves and facility like radio and tele calling with six body jet

spray.

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Price:

Prices of the product and services offered are competitive compared to our competitors products and

also provide value for money to the customers. Because as we talked in the earlier paragraph that

features provided in the products are very unique and are having low cost so finally company

becomes best cost provider in the market.

Place:

As Cera sanitaryware is having excellent distribution channel empowered by 500 dealer’s network

and 5000 retailers all across India. To supplement the distribution network, it has 10 major depots

across India. It has 7 zonal sales & service offices, supported by another 28 sales offices, 7 bath

studios strategically located in major cities across India. To capitalize on the growth market for

premium products, Cera has entered into an exclusive marketing agreement with Italy's luxury brand

Pozzi-Ginori to market its designer sanitaryware in India.

Promotion:

Cera sanitaryware ltd. has always been proactive in promotional activities for increasing the brand

awareness among the consumer so the company has promotional scheme directed towards consumer

as well as its partner (dealer).

•Consumer oriented: few months ago, the company had launch (special offer) the promotional scheme

applicable only in Delhi, Clair set in Rs. 3999/- for only one month.

•Partner oriented: gold scheme, silver scheme and foreign travel scheme.

People:

As company is in service industry it needs to have strong additional 3 Ps of the marketing mix starting

from people. In ceramic industry as goods are produced and prompt service is given to the people i.e.

employees need to be highly trained and qualified. So requires good qualified and expertise

employees to this competitive industry.

Cera sanitary ware has achieved a good sense of the same by employing highly qualified employees

like M.B.A. and other Marketing specialized.

Physical Evidence:

Cera sanitary ware is providing catalogs to their customers as a physical evidence of purchasing the

product. If customer wants to see the physical product then company has its own display center “Cera

bath studio” in metro cities of India.

Process:

This last step of marketing mix of Cera sanitary ware includes following points to be done for making

the product available to the customers.

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CONCLUSION

I came to know that; sanitary ware sector is also providing services to their consumers. The Indian

Sanitary ware industry is passing through a phase of consumer demand. The consumers have more

choices in choosing their brands.

A competition has been established, and to judge the behavior of consumer and builders towards

CERA Sanitary ware is the main aim of this project and also to find out the best promotional

strategies used by various companies as well as what is the current position of CERA Sanitary ware

Ltd in the industry.

This market research has helped to get a deep insight into the product and the marketing strategies of

the company CERA Sanitary ware Ltd.

The marketing communication strategies used by the sanitary ware companies are very much

innovative and diverse. I came to know the real marketing aspects in terms of communication of the

brand as well as the products.

The company must concentrate on its core products and on the basis of which the advertising facet

should be followed.

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BIBLIOGRAPHYBooks:

Kevin Keller (2007). Strategic Brand Management International Edition 3rd Edition

Philip Kotler (2010). Marketing Management - (Eleventh Edition)

Kenneth Clow, Donald Baack( Jan 2009). Integrated Advertising, Promotion and Marketing Communications. Global Edition 4th Edition

Richard J. Varey , Marketing Communication Principles & London & New Yor (2002) Edition

Business Research by C.R.Kothari, Delhi 1998, ED.29

Magazines:

4P’s Business and Marketing issue 2011

Society interiors issue 2009, 2010, 2011

Interiors issue 2009, 2010, 2011

Lifestyle issue 2011

WEBSITES

http://www.indiamarkets.com/imo/industry/construction/consacc/constacc.asp?

display_content_link=0&search_link=0

http://www.cera-india.com/content.aspx?id=6

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

http://www.economictimes.com/

http://www.icctas.com/ceramicindustry/sanitarywarehistory.htm#INDIA

http://www.hindwarehomes.com/index.aspx

http://www.eparryware.com/default.asp

http://www.kohler.co.in/home.ndi

http://asia.toto.com/index.php

www.amizone.net/Amizone/WebForms/DigitalLibrary/digitalLibrary.aspx

http://www.icmrindia.org/courseware/Marketing%20Communications/Modelling-Marketing

%20Communication.htm

http://www.icmrindia.org/courseware/Marketing%20Communications/Marke-Communicat PlPro.htm

http://www.icmrindia.org/courseware/Marketing%20Communications/Marketing

%20Communications.htm

http://www.keynote.co.uk/market-intelligence/view/product/2278/baths-%26sanitary

ware/1/executive-summary?utm_source=kn.reports.related

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