SALES AND DISTRIBUTION

MANAGEMENT
KOMAL FOOD PRODUCTS
COMPANY LTD.
PRESENTED BY: Group C-12
Subhash M (12171)
Varun Kumar (12175)
Vinay Prakash (12178)
Yugandhara Ramesh M. (12180)
Sarthak Rohatgi (12182)
 CASE FACTS
• Komal Food Products Company was founded in 1935.
• Manufactures grocery and other food products
• Vast enterprise having offices and branches in almost all the important
cities of India
• Annual sales – Rs. 50 to 60 lakhs a year
• Head office and Factory located in Calcutta
• 5 Zonal sales offices
• 25 District sales offices
EXISTING ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
Head office

North Zone East Zone West Zone Central Zone South Zone

5 District Sales 5 District Sales 5 District Sales 5 District Sales 5 District Sales
Offices Offices Offices Offices Offices

Each District Sales Office has one District Sales Manager

 ORGANISATIONAL HIERARCHY
ZONAL MANAGER

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS DISTRICT SALES

SALES MANAGER OFFICE MANAGER
MANAGER MANAGER MANAGER

3 PRODUCT 5 SALES
MANAGERS Salesmen
SUPERVISORS

On matters related to sales the zonal manager receives advice from the Sales Manager
 PRODUCT MANAGER – DUTIES AND
FUNCTIONS
• Experts in their respective fields
• Travel with the Sales Supervisors of various Districts
• Advice the District Sales Manager and the Sales Supervisors regarding steps to
be taken for promoting sales in the districts
• Tasks of Product Managers
• Study the market for company‟s product
• Study the competitive position of company‟s product
• Study the dealer and consumer reaction
• Sales trends
• Monthly reporting on the sales activities of the company to the Sales Manager
DISTRICT SALES MANAGER - DUTIES AND
FUNCTIONS
• Select, train and supervise his sales supervisors
• Make a study of the nature of consumer demand, changing market
condition, existing stock and formulate sales campaign, promotional
methods
• Fix the sales target
• Formulate the credit policies to be followed
• Develop better team work among the sales supervisors and salesmen
• Customer satisfaction
• Undertake other functions and duties which are assigned to him by the
zonal manager
 ISSUES IN THE CASE
• Conflict between District Sales Manager and Product Manager
• Perceived loss of control over the sales supervisors because of too much
interference from the Product Managers
• Structural issues
• District Manager (Mr. Shankar) communicating with the Zonal Sales Manager
(Mr. Rajan)
• Very wide span of control to Zonal Manager
• Lack of proper root cause analysis by the Zonal Sales Manager
• Decline in the sales in that particular district
 QUESTION 1

• Identify the reasons for the conflict which has arisen

between the product managers and the field sales staff?
Give suggestions how they can be overcome.
 REASONS FOR CONFLICT
Conflict:
A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected
something that the first party cares about.
• Task Conflict
Conflicts over content and goals of the work. There was friction because of the task of
advising the DSM and the Sales Supervisors carried out by Product Managers
• Relationship Conflict
Conflict based on interpersonal relationships leading to disagreements and incompatibility.
This could have existed between the PMs and the DSM.
• Process Conflict
Conflict over how work gets done. Maybe the PMs were interfering with the work of Sales
supervisors.
• Role Conflict
Conflict over the roles and responsibility taken over by Product manager and Sales Manager
POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSE OF THE CONFLICT

PRODUCT MANAGERS SALES SUPERVISORS

• Resistance to new plans and ideas

• Dilution of authority • Lack of support from top
• Lack Interpersonal Skills Management
• Easy access to top management • Problem of reporting to too many
bosses
• Supply of inadequate information
THE CONFLICT PROCESS
 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
• The various techniques of conflict management that should have been used by the Sales Manager are:

Conflict Resolution Technique Methodology

Problem Solving via open Fact to Face meeting of the Product Managers and the District Sales
discussion Manager
Subordinate Goals The Sales Manager could have formulated goals that could not have
achieved without cooperation from PMs and the DSM
Smoothing Playing down differences while emphasizing common interests between the
conflicting parties
Authoritative Command The Sales Manager could have used his formal authority to resolve the
conflict and then communicate its desires to both the PMs and the DSM
Altering the Human Variable Using behavioural change techniques such as human relations training to
alter attitudes and behaviours that caused the conflict
Altering the Structural Variables Changing the formal organisational structure and interaction pattern. The
report on the market trends could have been sent by PMs to the Zonal Sales
Manager who then passes it to all the DSMs in his zone.
 THIRD PARTY ARBITRATION
• The Sales Manager could have used Third Party Arbitration in order to resolve the conflict between the
PMs and the DSM. The arbitrator needs to carefully selected (someone who is respected by both the
parties and whose judgements are considered just by both the parties)
• The object of arbitration is to obtain a fair resolution of disputes by an impartial third party without
unnecessary expense or delay.
The following are the advantages of Third party arbitration:
• Choice of Decision Maker – Conflicting parties choose a person as arbitrator mutually agreeing on the
abilities of the person.
• Privacy – Arbitration hearings are confidential, private meetings. Final decisions are not published, nor
are they directly accessible. This is particularly useful to the employer who does not want his „dirty
laundry‟ being aired.
• Convenience – Hearings are arranged at times and places to suit the parties, arbitrators and witnesses.
• Flexibility – The procedures can be segmented, streamlined or simplified, according to the
circumstances.
• Cost Effective
 OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
• Mr. Rajan should first know the root cause before giving instructions
• Product manager should think from the company‟s prospective
• Weekly Reporting by Sales Supervisor to District Sales Manager
• Fortnightly reporting by District Manager to Zonal Manager
• Monthly meeting of DSM, SM and Zonal Manager.
• Monthly evaluation rather than quarterly evaluation
 OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS -
BETTER DEFINING OF ORGANISATIONAL AUTHORITY
• Line authority :
• Zonal manager to Sales Manager and district sales manager
• District Sales Manager to Supervisor and sales people

• Staff authority:
• Product manager to line managers relationship should be like that of Sales Manager
and District Sales Manager
• Functional authority:
• Advisory relation directed towards the goals of the organisation

• Better Span of Control

• No person should have more than one boss
• “If a person receives instructions from multiple sources, it may lead to chaos”
 QUESTION 2
• Draw out the organisational Structure of the company and examine
whether any changes are needed in reporting relationships of the sales
personnel with a view to ensure better cooperation between line and
staff.
 CURRENT STRUCTURE (LINE & STAFF)

Line Zonal Staff

Function Manager Function

District Sales Personal Accounts Sales Office

Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager

Sales
Supervisor

Salesmen Product
Managers
 FUNDAMENTALS OF ORGANIZATION
PRINCIPLES
Span of control The number of people directly reporting to the sales manager

Unity of command Each person should report to one boss only

Hierarchy of A clear and unbroken chain of command should link every person in the organization
authority with someone at higher level
Stability and Jobs should not be assigned without due regard for the talents and preference of
continuity current employees
Coordination and The jobs of sales people should be integrate with customer needs, and coordinated with
integration the jobs of other employee and department in the organization
Homogeneity Formal authority and responsibility must be co- terminus and co-equal
Objectivity Each division and sub division of the organization should be in harmony with the
objective of the organization
Specialization The work of every individual in the organization should be confined as far as possible
to the performance of a single leading function
PROPOSED ORGANISATION STRUCTURE - 1

Zonal
Manager

District Sales Sales Personal Accounts Office

Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager

Salesmen

Product
Sales Managers
Supervisor
PROPOSED ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE 2
Zonal
Manager

District Sales Sales Personal Accounts Office

Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager

Sales
Supervisor

Product
Salesmen Manager
PROPOSED ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE 3 -
DECENTRALIZATION OF POWER
Zonal
Manager

Sales Personal Accounts Office

manager Manager Manager Manager

Product District Sales

manager Manager

Salesmen

Sales
Supervisor
SELLING SITUATION AND ORGANISATIONAL
STRUCTURE
Organisational Environmental Task Performance Performance
Structure Characteristics Objective

Specialization High Environmental Non Routine Adaptiveness

Uncertainty

Centralization Low Environmental Repetitive Effectiveness

Uncertainty

Komal Foods should go for Centralized Organisational Structure

CUSTOMER AND PRODUCT DETERMINANTS
OF SALES FORCE SPECIALIZATION
Customer Needs Different
Market- Product/Market-

Complex Range
Simple Product

Driven Specialization Driven Specialization

of Products
Offering

Geography- Product-
Driven Specialization Driven Specialization

Customer Needs Similar

COMPARISON OF SALES ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES
Organizational Advantages Disadvantages
Structure

Geographic • Low Cost • Limited specialization

• No geographic duplication • Lack of management
• No customer duplication control over product or
• Fewer management levels customer emphasis
Product • Salespeople become experts •High cost
in product attr. & applications • Geographic duplication
• Management control over • Customer duplication
selling effort
Market • Salespeople develop • High cost
better understanding of • Geographic duplication
unique customer needs
• Management control over
selling allocated to different
markets
Functional • Efficiency in performing • Geographic duplication
selling activities • Customer duplication
• Need for coordination
GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION OF LINE AUTHORITY

HO

ZM ZM ZM ZM ZM

DSM DSM DSM DSM DSM

 PROPOSED CHANGE IN RESPONSIBILITIES OF
PRODUCT MANAGERS
• Identify profitable opportunities in the market
• Managing the entire product life cycle and Customer Relationship Management
• Look into strategic and tactical planning related to their specific product line
• Specifying market requirements for current and future products by conducting market research
supported by on-going visits to customers and non-customers.
• Develop market based product strategies and communicate the same to the entire zone.
• Developing and implementing a Zone-wide go-to-market plan and work with all departments to
ensure smooth execution.
• Create the following documents on a monthly basis and pass it on to the Zonal sales manager
• Business Requirement Document (BRD) – identifies business problems and solutions
• Market Requirement Document (MRD) – functional and non-functional requirements
• Product Requirement Document (PRD) – feature details, specifications
Thank You