internship report on PACKAGES Ltd. Lahore

Praises to Almighty ALLAH, who bestowed upon me the potential and ability to complete my Internship.

I want to express my deep sense of gratitude to, Mr. Farhan Azmat Mir, who provided me guidance to achieve this practical experience and under his valuable supervision and suggestions I was able to complete this internship report.

I am also thankful to all those people under whom supervision I worked and gained my experience during the internship program. Specially to mention, Mrs. Zobda (Brand Manager Rose Petal) and Mr. Farhan (Area Sales Manager), who guided me in my research work and gave deep orientation and understanding of different procedures that were involved in the department.

Company Profile:

Packages was established in 1956 as a joint venture between the Ali Group of Pakistan and Akerlund and Rausing of Sweden, Packages Limited provides premium packaging solutions for exceptional value to individuals and businesses. They are the only packaging facility in Pakistan offering a complete range of packaging solutions including offset printed cartons, shipping containers and flexible packaging materials to individuals and businesses world wide. Their clientele includes illustrious names such as Unilever and Pakistan Tobacco Company, who have been their customers for over 50 years.

Listed on all three stock exchanges in Pakistan, Packages Limited has maintained a long-time credit rating of AA. Their joint ventures and business alliances with some of the world's biggest names reflect their forward-looking strategy of continuously improving customer value through improvements in productivity.

Consumer Product Division:

Consumer product division (CPD) is a flexible business unit of packages, with wide range of consumer products such as tissues products, personal hygiene and paper products which reflect great ideas for making everyday living easier and more comfortable, both indoors and out.

Consumer product division is further sub-divided into two major categories which are:

·    Consumer Product Division (Marketing)

·    Consumer Product Division (Production/Conversion)

I was appointed in Consumer Product Division (Marketing) during my Internship.

 Consumer Product Division (Production):

CPD (Production) is responsible for material handling, product generation and packaging of the finished good items which are then subject for distribution in different segments of market.

Consumer Product Division (Marketing):

CPD (Marketing) typically performs all kinds of activities related to order generation, account generation, order management, account management, product positioning, product marketing and all mediums of advertising and promotion for generating more sales. CPD (Marketing) is further sub-divided into two departments which are;

·    Branding

·    Sales

CPD-Marketing (Hierarchy):

 

       A) Branding                              B) Sales

Branding:

Branding is a sub-department of CPD (Marketing) which is chaired by group brand manager. It is one of the most integral departments of CPD which can be explained on basis of three major principles:

1.  Activities/ Functions of Brand Manager

2.  Responsibilities of Brand Manager

3.  Performance control/ Performance Mechanism

1.        Activities:

Defining brand objectives, focusing the target market, brand development, brand service, brand packaging, brand advertising, exploring brand barriers, brand positioning and brand strategies.

2.    Responsibilities:

There are three brand managers and each of them is completely responsible for the performance of a particular brand. The three brand managers are;

·    Brand Manager for Rose Petal & Paper Products.

·    Brand Manager for Tulip

·    Brand Manager for Feminex.

ü Brand Manager for Rose Petal (a household brand in tissues) & paper products performs all activities which are mentioned above, as Rose Petal has twenty variants in its fleet of paper tissues, toilet and paper towels, tissue rolls, table napkins and pocket packs.

ü Brand Manager for Tulip (a Product that personifies cleanliness in the daily lives of millions of Pakistanis lacking affordable and convenient hygiene solutions) is subject to partake all necessary measures for establishing Tulip brand and its effective performance in the relevant segment.

ü Brand Manager for Feminex (a product that safeguards the physical and mental well being of women, and it’s a brand with international quality hygiene product) establishes a strong base for customer focus and satisfaction of this particular segment.

3. Performance Control/Performance Mechanism:

All brand managers observe practices such as the number of tissues in a particular packing, the size of the packing, designing and printing of the packing with respect to different events and occasions, balancing and application of proper communication mix, complete quality controls, customer feedback and evaluation, promotional campaigns, brand positioning and brand management, advertising and promotional activities.

 

Sales:

       Sales is another sub-department of CPD (Marketing) which is controlled by Consumer Products Manager. The activities of sales department are further carried by a Regional Sales Manager with support of various Area Sales Managers. Functionality of sales department can be examined with the help of two major principles which are;

1.  Functions/Activities of Sales Department

2.  Responsibilities

1. Functions:

              Sales Department carries out activities such as determining sales quota, account generation, account management, customer follow up, sales services, managing communication mix, sales planning, sales tracking, sales reporting, sales support, sales accountability, managing promotional campaigns, ensuring the availability of product in the market and competition analysis among various products which help top managers to make healthy decisions.

2. Responsibilities:

              There are eight Areas Sales Managers, out of which four area sales managers are allocated for distributional function in Lahore region, and each area sales manager is assigned one distribution in Lahore. All of these area sales managers report directly to regional sales manager. Their task is to ensure the sales generation, availability of the product at the distribution centers and to make sure that distribution manages demand and supply in the market. Further two area sales managers are assigned for different institutions all over the country and they are responsible for generating sales through sales presentations and demonstrations at various commercial and non-commercial institutes to persuade sales and satisfy customer needs through customized services and products. One area sales managers is assigned to manage their key account metro and makro by coordinating with the merchandiser who maintains a particular level of stock at both stores. Continuous meetings are held between area sales manager and merchandiser to capitalize competitive advantage and sales strength at both stores. One area sales manager deals in activities regarding exports of various products and directly reports to the manager for international relations.

“My Activities”

I was appointed in Consumer Product Department (Marketing) and as I already have mentioned that CPD (Marketing) has been further sub-categorized into Branding unit and Sales unit. Hence, I simultaneously was working with both of these departments. Here is a brief description of the various activities; I performed during my internship at Packages Pakistan Limited.

1.  Market survey and analysis of sanitary pads and baby diapers.

2.  Prepared sample of sanitary pads and baby diapers for Dubai.

3.  Market survey and analysis of rose petal.

4.  Market Visits

5.  Competition Analysis.

6.  Development of different questionnaires.

7.  Data Collection and Compiling.

8.  Indoor Surveys.

9.  Order booking and supplying.

              10.Worked with Art and Design Department.

At the very beginning of my internship, I was assigned the work of preparing a report about sanitary pads and baby diapers. I was helped by Area Sales Manager. I was directed to prepare a comprehensive questionnaire to analyze following parameters;

·    Availability of Sanitary pads and Baby diapers in the market

·    Awareness about the product

·    Different competitors and their offerings

·    Price differences among other brands

·    Market leader in-terms of sales

·    Different variants and package size (Pcs.) of other brands

·    Market leader in-terms of market share

·    How much sales of a these products does a general store or a pharmacy has in a week?

·    Flaws in other brands

·    Competitor’s offerings (compensation) to different pharmacies

·    Customer view about other brands and their suggestions

·    Sales people performance

·    What product should be launched and of what size?

Secondly I was assigned the project of rose petal tissue awareness, usage and different packaging available in the market. In this project I worked with the Brand manger Rose petal and tulip. Which sort of questionnaires must be developed? I also got helped from the Area Sales Manager and Sales Person. I was directed to prepare a comprehensive questionnaire to analyze following parameters;

·    For what purpose you use tissue?

·    Who is the decision maker in your home?

·    What is your primary objective to use tissue paper?

·    Which brand you prefer to buy?

·    What come to your mind when you think about Rose petal and Tulip?

·    How much it is used?

·    Which variants do you buy?

·    How important is tissue packaging for you?

·    Availability of tissue paper in the market.

·    What is your preferred color?

Among many other jobs which were allocated to me, one was to be effectively involved in product’s new packing design and for this particular task I was working with both art department and pre-press department.

During my internship, I had, number of times, visited market to evaluate products performance and to ensure the availability of a particular product. These visits resulted in market visit reports and competition analysis reports, which were submitted to regional sales manager.

An in-house survey was conducted in Packages, to evaluate customer preferences and choices among tissue papers and handkerchief. The objective of survey was to identify either customers prefer tissues over handkerchief or any cloth.

Application of Classroom Learning In Organization:

I have been learning many courses during my studies however; some of those had been of utmost help and guidance for me during my internship. The subjects, who proved as a cornerstone in my practical learning, are as under:

·    Management

·    Marketing

·    Organizational Behavior

·    Business Communication

The subject of management taught me to create a balance between my different jobs tasks that were assigned at the same time such as conducting research and whereas market follow-ups and creation of customer database etc. it helped to understand their hierarchy and the role of manager in business operations.

As I was categorically working in marketing department, hence it was obvious for me to learn the concepts of books in practical manner. I found the principles and basics that I was taught in classroom been applied and followed with professional expertness and efficiency by brand managers. I introduced myself to clarity of concepts and basics of marketing and promotional management as I had a sound theoretical orientation of these subjects in classroom.

It was important for me to understand culture, working environment, norms, values and mechanisms of information exchange between different departments. As I was already familiar with these concepts during my studies, so I understood and observed all concepts which were performed in packages during my internship.

My Learning in the Organization:

No doubt, my internship proved very educating for me. It has brought me to the orientation of different aspects of business, professionalism and social life. There are number of things that I have learnt there and these are as follows;

·    How an organization presents and prepares it for big events and how to professionally manage oneself in such a big event.

·    Learning the art of shelf management.

·    Becoming customer oriented by close customer and market contacts.

·    Inter-departmental communication.

·    Process learning.

·    Self-management.

·    Development of professional attitude.

·    How business dealings occur.

·    How to market and how to manage brands.

·    How to effectively use communication channels and tools to maintain competitive advantage in the market.

·    Punctuality.

·    Practical approach towards problem solving and creative thinking.

·    Job/ business learning.

·    How to deal with order booker.

Financial Analysis:

Debt equity ratio:

        2008: 44.56

       2007: 30.7

This shows that the company has finance almost half of its assets with debt. The higher the ratio the company has, greater the degree of indebtness.

Current Ratio:

        2008: 1.23

       2007: 2.46

The current ratio is not showing a good trend. The current ratio of this year is 1.23 which is a decrease from the previous year. This shows that there are 1.23 assets for single liability.

Inventory Turn over Ratio:

        2008: 3.85

       2007: 4.06

ITO has increased this year. In this year the company has covered its inventory into cash more efficiently then previous year. The inventory turn over ratio shows a good sign that it is slightly near to the industry level.

Gross Profit Ratio:

2008: 6.6

       2007: 11.38

This trend does not shows a good sign that each year the gross profit is decreasing. This is due to the reasons that sales tax and excise duty has increased.

Asset Turn Over Ratio:

2008: 0.41

       2007: 0.32

This indicates firm’s efficiency with which company uses its assets to generate sales. The increasing trend shows that the company management is working efficiently to utilize its assets into sales and cash. This means that the company 0.41 times turns over its assets over a year.

PEST Analysis of Packages Pakistan

Political Factors:

·    Environmental Laws: paper Industry is one of the most pollution causing Industry in Pakistan. The effluent that flows out of the production processes contains toxic chemicals that can cause damage to the crops. The paper industry has been intensive to these factors until recently and same has been the case for packages.

·    Government Stability: Too often turmoil in the Government causes uncertainty in the Government policies and is often viewed as not favorable for the market. As far as the paper industry is concerned there are serious implications for Government policies. For Example through out the history of Pakistan, the government have not allowed any manufacturing for newsprint paper fearing that it would cause growth in the Newspaper industry, a threat to the undemocratic Govt. Packages produce most of the paper they require themselves, but these implications have adverse effects as a whole.

Economic Environment Factors:

·    Market requires purchasing power as well as people. The available purchasing power in an economy depends upon current income, prices, savings, debt and credit availability. Marketers must pay close attention to major trends in income and patterns in consumer spending.

·    Higher Interest Rates

·    Devaluation of Money

·    High Inflation

Social & Cultural Factors:

One of the biggest consumer groups comprises of students, teachers and people related to publishing industry. Since in Pakistan the literacy rate has been low so the market has not grown much. Due to this factor the industry could not get the desired growth in this regard but the section of FMCGs and consumer products have increased the demand.

Technological Factors:

Improved production process will accommodate increased productions at lower costs. This will have a positive impact on industry. In Pakistan there is no attention given to improve the production systems and we have to rely on the technological innovations of the West. This trend can be changed by increased interaction of Govt, industry and technical people. For example Heavy mechanical complex can introduce new production systems for the Pakistan industry. Still the machinery of most of the organization is imported from abroad which specifically has increased the cost for Packages.

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths:

·    The only producers of packing material, almost a kind of monopoly, which enables them to take more of the market share which is good enough for them to be called as “Market Leaders”.

·    Their strong relationship based on trust and mutual understanding with their customers make it easy for them to penetrate in the market.

·    Modern kinds of technology and its maintenance have given a strong competitive advantage to Packages and play a paramount part in the success of the firm particularly in industrial sector.

·    Required expertness for strategic planning and technical knowledge essential for process efficiency remains cornerstone in the success of the organization.

·    Deal effectively multiple segments which ultimately enhance their skills and give them wisdom for doing better and better.

·    Conducive working environment encourages employees to work efficiently in an organization which is known for its professional excellence.

·    Professional approach for problem solving and decision making.

·    Strategic partners of various businesses.

·    Credit rating of A+.

·    Sophisticated system of production.

·    No wastage and re-cycling of the waste.

·    Highly professional department of research and development.

Weaknesses:

·        Lack of coordination in consumer product department

·        Quality control issues.

·        Lack of creativity as far as product design and packing is concerned.

·        Lack of technological innovation.

·        Consumer product department is working less than its potential.

·        Credit nature of business which makes it difficult for them to recover their money.

·        Poor decision making regarding Feminex which resulted in massive loss of their market share.

·        Lack of usage for promotional tools and techniques.

·        Lack of sales and marketing efforts.

·        Improper communication mix.

·        Less aggressive strategic marketing.

Opportunities:

·        Huge potential in tissue paper sector yet to be capitalized.

·        Capitalizing foreign customers.

·        Technological competitiveness.

·        Segments such as baby pampers are yet to be covered.

·        Technological up-gradation can result in capturing those customers who are till date are purchasing products from other customers, can become packages customers.

Threats:

·        Other multinationals such as P&G, as already their competitors for Feminex, can further capture market share.

·        Customer product department is not mature enough to compete if a single large operator starts business in same segment.

·        Lack of internal coordination among brand managers of different brands within CPD.

·        Less concern for aggressive marketing.

Suggestions for the Organization:

·        Consumer product department should be given more attention so that it can develop its internal core competency to capitalize the segment.

·        Sound budget should be allocated for promotional and sales campaign.

·        Effective advertising and promotional campaigns should be managed to provide strong base for sales and marketing teams.

·        More research and development efforts are required for product performance.

·        Improvement in quality control system.

·        Technological up-gradation and innovation.

·        Training of brand managers.

·        Proper performance control and evaluation.

·        Regular sales staff training programs.

·        Modern infrastructure.

·        Working environment should be improved and modernized.

·        Seminars and workshops should be managed.

If I would have been the manager:

·        One of the foremost initiatives that I would have introduced is de-centralization of decision making process.

·        Effective integration and coordination among members of sales and branding department.

·        Encouraging creative and innovative ideas for better tomorrow.

·        Providing a working environment that is conducive for professional excellence and competitive learning.

·        Continuous improvement in both technology and knowledge.

·        Availability of modern means for strategic marketing and aggressive advertising.

·        Continuous training programs for marketing and sales staff.

·        Highly sophisticated performance evaluation system.

·        Exploring new markets and segments.

·        Developing strong relationships with international customers.

References:

• Moeez Karim (Consumer products Manager)       Ext. 319  Ph. 042-5811130                           
• Consumer Product Division (Marketing)               Ext 355   Ph. 042-5811541

• Mrs. Zobda Mehmood (Brand Manager)               Ext 349   Ph. 042-5811541