Reports

Sales Practices at Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited

by Ravi Magazine · Published 16th May 2017 · Updated 22nd May 2017

Sales Practices at Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Coca cola beverages has eleven plants in the country and five of these are directly controlled by F &N from Singapore. Karachi plant is divided into five direct and three indirect zones.

The salesman has to perform the functions of finding new customers, retaining existing ones and bringing back the discontinued ones while visiting his route. A salesman normally covers 20-25 outlets in a day.

USP of coca Cola is its quality. It can keep its fuzziness longer than its competitors. Other advantages are its packaging and prompt delivery. To ensure better delivery system they work through wholesalers and agencies. Retailers are given utmost importance but the selection of these retailers is based on the cost-benefit analysis.

Coca Cola is having stiff competition from Pepsi, R.C.Cola and other locally manufactured cola brands. Among the remote competitors they have mineral water, fruit juices, Cans and other local beverages. To encounter this stiff competition company emphasis more on the exclusive dealers and to make these outlet owners happy they provide some extra benefits which include visi coolers,Sign boards,Discounts etc. these accounts are controlled by the key accounts manager.

Recruitment and selection is a ongoing process because of the very high rate of turnover. The selection starts with the screening and ends at the reference seeking by the way of some interviews and tests. These new employees get both on the job training and in-house training. The trainers are also trained by the top personnel who visit with the purpose of train the trainer. In the training sales management, forecasting, merchandising, Selling skills, and supervisor’s effectiveness is emphasized.

Sales person reports with the help of route call card which includes the regularity, punctuality, sales, time wasted while travelling, Effectiveness of the salesperson etc. This same card is also used to calculate the total salary of the salesman and he is also evaluated on these basis in the performance development plan.

Compensation is divided into two parts salary and commissions. Normally 50% of the total salary come from commissions earned by the salesman. If the salesman achieves the targets which he is given every month he gets a bonus of Rs.1500 and driver and loader also get Rs.1000 each.

TERRITORY DEMARCATIONS AND BASE TOWNS:

There are eleven plants and all these are divided into different zones. Five of these are controlled directly by F &N Coca cola from Singapore. These plants are :
Karachi
Hyderabad
Sialkot
Gujranwala
Faisalabad

Karachi has been divided into five different direct zones and three indirect zones. The five zones are A,B,C,DH and E.The three indirect zones are F ,G and W.

A,B,C,DH and E are zones having normal functions. Zone Fertilizer is dealing with Parties,weddings and large scale dinners etc. while Zone g deals with the Wholesalers.The functions of the zone W is to handle Key accounts like PIA,KFC and different five star hotels and restaurants like PC, Marriot and Beach luxury etc.

The remaining six plants are controlled by different organizations. These plants are:

Rahimyar Khan
Lahore
Peshawar
Rawalpindi
Multan
NORMAL MARKET COVERAGE SCHEDULE:

Each salesman has to oversee around 100-125 outlets . the frequency of visits to each outlet depends upon the sales of that particular outlet. Normally, a salesman visits a single outlet thrice a week i.e. every alternate day. This means that a salesman visits at least 20-30 outlets per day.

The salesman has three basic functions to perform.
1. To find new customers,
2. To retain existing ones,
3. To bring back the discontinued accounts.

Each salesman has to bring in at least three new accounts every month.these may either be new customers or the reactivation of the discontinued accounts.
PRIME PRODUCT LINE FEATURES:

The Prime product of CCBPL is Coca Cola. The most prominent feature of this product is its quality. 82% of the consumers think that Coke’s quality is the best.
Another feature is the unique packaging. Coke was the first to come up with colored crown caps for their bottles. The Coke bottle is also different from other beverages. The contour shape is unique only to the Coke bottle. The shell is full depth and made up of plastic which makes it unbreakable.
CCBPL does not grant credit indiscriminately. Credit is only extended to a few selected key accounts depending upon the level of competition and the sales of that particular customer.

CONSUMER PROFILE:

The consumer of coca cola are of all ages and belong to all income groups. Coke’s target market has always been young people and their advertising represents this target market. However, recently they have changed their focus to small children and the current campaign of ‘hum sath sath Hain’ shown on the satellite channels, is targeted towards this segment of the market. The idea behind this change is addiction from the early stages. If children become brand conscious from the beginning it will lead to an increase in future sales.

RETAILER PROFILE:

There are 14000 retailers in the city, out of this coca cola has the dealing with around 10000 retailers. There is no particular retailer profile for CCBPL. They sale to retailers every where, without any discrimination. They sell to different hotels, General stores, Super markets, Clubs, Schools, recreational places, stadiums etc. Coke is even sold to panwalas and in ice boxes. The sole criterion for retailer selection is the sales produced by the retailer. The objective is to recover the cost of delivery to the retailer.

Sometimes Coke is also sold out at a very low profit as well on the basis of future prospects of the customer and the area. If the retailer has a store in a locality that is not densely populated, he is contracted for three to four years if the population of the area is expected to increase in the future.

WHOLESALER PROFILE:
There are about 160 wholesalers in the city, out of this 77 has the dealing with Coca Cola. Wholesalers are used for distribution in the slum areas like Gharo, Manora, etc. Where the difficulties in distribution are greater than the profits earned.the wholesalers help in increasing the sales in areas with low sales volumes and reduce costs in areas with higher transportation costs. Wholesalers are very effective in areas having poor infrastructure facilities. However, While these wholesalers do their work, CCBPL still provides all the help they can to ensure higher sales. In this way, there are some areas having an overlap of areas in which both are operating. The functions are same but the objective is to fill the gap of the market.

OTHER INTERMEDIARIES:
There are 15 agencies that have dealings with the coca cola. Another mode of distribution is these agencies used by the CCBPL. The functions of the agencies are the same as that of a wholesaler except that the company itself doesnot do any distribution in the areas where these agencies are distributing.

USP AND MARKET SHARE OF COCA COLA:

Coca cola finds its USP in quality. They claim that coke can keep its fuzziness for longer time than their competitors. Apart from the quality Packaging, Regular delievery and visi cooler are the major benefits given by the company.
The share of CCBPL is 35% of the total beverage industry. Out of this, Coca cola’s share is 22% of the total beverage industry. Coke contributes around 65% of the total sales of CCBPL.
AUTHENTIC SOURCES OF ACCURACY OF MARKET SHARE:

Personal Interviews:
Personal interviews were conducted with Mr. Frederick Gill, who is regional sales manager at Coca Cola. He provided us with the relevant information about the company’s current operating status and it’s future plans.
Printed Material:
We collected company’s brochures and a network booklet giving us a very close estimate of the company’s market share and a detailed account of company’s promotional and public relations activities.

Personal interviews with Pepsi people:
Another source of the company’s standing in the market terms of market share was the information given by Mr. M.B. Khan, who is General manager sales at coke’s strongest competitor Pepsi. He provided us with Coca Cola’s exact share and other important information about its operations in pakistan. This Gave us a sort of cross check of coca Cola’s own mentioned market share and other claims.

TOP THREE COMPETITORS:
Coca Cola’s top three direct competitors are:
1. Pakistan beverages ( PEPSI)
2. MEHRAN BOTTLERS ( Pakola, Bubble Up )
3. Continental Bottles limited ( R.C. Cola )

Indirect competitors include;
1. Juices ( Frost, Polly, frooto, Shezan etc )
2. Mineral water ( Ava, Nestle, culligan, fontalia, Vital etc )
3. Private retailers drinks ( Spice lemon, Lemon Barley by Tesmart etc )
4. Unbranded, low priced cola drinks sold at railway stations and other recreational places.
5. Smuggled cans of Pepsi, Coke, Sprite etc )

NUMBER OF KEY ACCOUNTS:

The company at present has about 25 key accounts. Some of these are given below:

1. PIA
2. Sheraton
3. Pearl Continental
4. Avari Towers
5. Regent Plaza
6. Cantt. Railway station
7. City Railway station
8. Karachi Gymkhana
9. Creek Club
10. Kentucky Fried chicken.

Previously about two to three years back the company had about 125 key accounts in the city. But later on most of these key accounts were made exclusive dealers and merged in five direct zones previously mentioned.

TEN COMMON SERVICES OFFERED TO KEY ACCOUNTS:

The company offers some attractive and convenience ridden services or benefits to its key accounts, some of these are as follows;

1. Sign Boards
2. Visi Coolers
3. Extra Discounts
4. Credit facility
5. Prompt and regular Delivery
6. Free empty Bottles
7. Free gifts ( T-shirts, Caps, Key Chains etc. )
8. Free maintenance of Coolers and other company Assets. )
9. Free replacement of leaked or broken bottles )
10. Prompt complaint handling

RESPONSIBILITIES OF KEY ACCOUNTS MANAGER:

The key accounts Manager is responsible for handling these key accounts. They have two separate vans for this purpose. They directly report to the business and operation manager (BOM). They have special authority to give some extra facilities like discounts, credit, Visi cooler, free empty bottles, Special gifts etc.they also have access to the fountain fresh and are allowed to give free samples to these accounts on some special occasions like Eid, Ramadhan and other festivals.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION:

Recruitment is normally done on the required positions and not on the standby basis. Recruitment starts whenever a supervisor or sales manager needs a salesperson and it is first approved by the general manager before sending it to the human resources department.
All the vacancies are first internally advertised so that all the employees who fulfill the requirements can avail this opportunity. If there aren’t any suitable persons for a particular job then human resource department search its data bank and if there is no suitable person then at last it is advertised in the newspaper but it is rarely the case at coca Cola for the sales man.
Selection is based on different criterion for different positions.Education requirements are the first and the most important and are the first part of the screening of the personnel. Education requirements are given as under.

LOADER PRIMARY
SALES MAN INTERMEDIATE
MARKET DEVELOPER GRADUATION
SALES MANAGER MASTERS

But in some cases there is some relaxation in these requirements depending upon the other capabilities and experience of the applicant.

After the screening stage, applicant is called for the aptitude test. For a salesman job simple arithmetic and General knowledge is tested. Know how of english is also necessary in some cases.
After passing the aptitude test applicant is asked to appear for an interview. This interview is normally carried out by the sales and human resource department. Purpose of this interview is to confirm the data and claims which the applicant has produced and made.
If the applicant is selected , he is asked for four sureties or any other references which he can make and sometimes human resource department also like to confirm from their Ex-Employers about the conduct and the reason for leaving of the applicant.

TRAINING:
At Coca cola on the job training is given the utmost importance. At first a sales man is given information about the product, sales environment and company policies and procedures. Ethical behavior is emphasized most so as not to create any sort of bad habits which can cause great problems for the company. Normally a new sales man is supposed to work under another salesman to learn the basics of selling techniques and the overall environment in which he will be working.
A salesman is then allowed to work under the salesman but he is asked to perform all the operations by his own. These include filling out the route card, dealing with the customers, communicating with te loader, cash management, setting the visi cooler and the next days order to be loaded. After doing all this if has any problems in learning then he is guided by salesman, market developer, and sales manager if required.

Apart from this on the job training, the company also has some in-house training facilities. The company has a sales hall in which all the sales personnel are given some tips regarding the changes in the selling environment and how to improve efficiency and efficacy. These tips are normally given by the general manager.

Coca Coal also arranges some type of seminars, work shops and modules related to the sales management, Forecasting of the daily sales, merchandising, selling skills, supervisory techniques and other areas related to the sales.

Coca Coal does not have any library and special trainers but they do have the separate space for the training and they also use some sort of videos to elaborate and show the examples of effective selling skills and techniques.

METHODS OF TRAINING:

Company uses two type of training .
1. On the job training
2. In-house training

In on the job training sales man is exposed to the actual selling environment and is guided by the salesman, market developer and sales manager whenever needed. This is more suitable for the new employees or for those who are unable to produce the desired results because of lack of training or their selling abilities. Some salesman are also sent with the best salesman so as to learn through his experiences but it is rarely the case because it demotivate other employees.

In-house training includes seminars, workshops and modules which are specially designed for the salesman keeping in view their weaknesses and the changes in the selling environment. General manager also give regular tips to all the sales personnel. Every six months a sales training session is arranged and tips are given to the sales personnel. Video and audio cassettes are also used to illustrate the selling techniques.

Normally training is based on the concept of train the trainer. Sales Managers and the regional sales managers are trained by the top management which normally is sent by the head office at Singapore. These personnel come for a couple of days and train the trainers about the recent developments in the selling environment, technological advances, product positioning and the advertising affects on the sales and to use the advertising so as to maximize sales.

These local employees then in the stage train the lower level sales managers, market developers and the sales persons. It is the duty of the sales manager to provide informal training to his subordinates and help them achieve not only their personal but also the company goals.
To increase the text book knowledge of the employees, some sales people are sent to some special courses on sales management and personal selling in the most prestigious institutes of the country like, IBA, LUMS, PIMS, Hamdard etc. After these courses salespeople are better able to sharpen their abilities and skills.

ABC PRIORITIES OF AREAS OF TRAINING:

Normally it is the duty of the sales manager to identify the training needs of his subordinates but there are some common aspects which are normally given more importance in the overall training program. These include:

1. Sales management:
This mainly includes the routing and scheduling of the route so as to use the selling time more effectively and efficiently.
2.Forecasting:
Normally sales targets are given on the monthly basis to the salesman, so sales man has to forecast his daily sales according to the season and timing of the week.
3. Merchandising:
It includes the optimum use of the company’s advertising material and point of purchase material. In this part emphasis is given on the selection of the suitable place in the outlet to display the visi cooler and dep freezers. Training is also given for optimum utilization of the visi cooler’s space and its proper setting to achieve the purpose of product display.
4. Selling skills:
In this part emphasis is given on the personal selling skills of the sales person which includes grreting the customer,asking for order and re-filling the bottles in the minimum possible time.
5. Supervisor’s effectiveness:
In this emphasis is on the mutual coordination between the sales man and the market developer so as
Price:

175 ml case 250 ml case 300ml case 1litre case 1.5 litre case 250 ml (NR)
COKE Rs.144 Rs.167 Rs.189 Rs.276 Rs.258 Rs.132
FANTA Rs.144 Rs.167 Rs.189 Rs.276 Rs.258 Rs.132
SPRITE Rs.144 Rs.167 Rs.189 Rs.276 Rs.258 Rs.132
Territory Demarcations and Base towns:

There are eleven plants and all these are divided into different zones. Five of these are controlled directly by F &N Coca cola from Singapore. These plants are
• Karachi
• Hyderabad
• Sialkot
• Gujranwala
• Faisalabad

Karachi has been divided into five different direct zones and three indirect zones. The five zones are A,B,C,D and E. The three indirect zones are F ,G and W.

A,B,C,D and E are zones having normal functions. Zone F is dealing with Parties, weddings and large scale dinners etc, while Zone G deals with the wholesalers. The functions of the zone W is to handle Key accounts like PIA,KFC and different five star hotels and restaurants like PC, Marriot and Beach luxury etc.

The remaining six plants are controlled by different seth organizations. These plants are:

• Rahimyar Khan
• Lahore
• Peshawar
• Rawalpindi
• Multan
Normal market coverage schedule:

Each salesman has to oversee around 100-125 outlets. The frequency of visits to each outlet depends upon the sales of that particular outlet. Normally, a salesman visits a single outlet thrice a week i.e. every alternate day. This means that a salesman visits at least 20-30 outlets per day.

The salesman has three basic functions to perform.
• To find new customers,
• To retain existing ones,
• To bring back the discontinued accounts.

Each salesman has to bring in at least three new accounts every month. These may either be new customers or the reactivation of the discontinued accounts.
Prime product line features:

The Prime product of CCBPL is Coca Cola. The most prominent feature of this product is its quality. 82% of the consumers think that Coke’s quality is the best.
Another feature is the unique packaging. Coke was the first one to come up with colored crown caps for their bottles. The Coke bottle is also different from other beverages. The contour shape is unique only to the Coke bottle. The shell is full depth and made up of plastic which makes it unbreakable.
CCBPL does not grant credit indiscriminately. Credit is only extended to a few selected key accounts depending upon the level of competition and the sales of that particular customer.
Consumer Profile:

Retailer Profile:
There are 14000 retailers in the city, out of this coca cola has the dealing with around 10000 retailers. There is no particular retailer profile for CCBPL. They sale to retailers every where, without any discrimination. They sell to different hotels, General stores, Super markets, Clubs, Schools, recreational places, stadiums etc. Coke is even sold to pan walas and in ice boxes. The sole criterion for retailer selection is the sales produced by the retailer. The objective is to recover the cost of delivery to the retailer.

Sometimes Coke is also sold out at a very low profit as well on the basis of future prospects of the customer and the area. If the retailer has a store in locality that is not densely populated, he is contracted for three to four years if the population of the area is expected to increase in the future.

WHOLESALER PROFILE:
There are about 160 wholesalers in the city, out of this 77 has the dealing with Coca Cola. Wholesalers are used for distribution in the slum areas like Gharo, Manora, etc. Where the difficulties in distribution are greater than the profits earned. The wholesalers help in increasing the sales in areas with low sales volumes and reduce costs in areas with higher transportation costs. Wholesalers are very effective in areas having poor infrastructure facilities. However, While these wholesalers have to do their work, CCBPL still provides all the help they can to ensure higher sales. In this way, there are some areas having an overlap of areas in which both are operating. The functions are same but the objective is to fill the gap of the market.

Other Intermediaries:
There are 15 agencies that have dealings with the coca cola. Another mode of distribution is these agencies used by the CCBPL. The functions of the agencies are the same as that of a wholesaler except that the company itself does not do any distribution in the areas where these agencies are distributing.

USP and Market Share of Coca cola:
Coca cola finds its USP in quality. They claim that coke can keep its fuzziness for longer time than their competitors. Apart from the quality Packaging, Regular delivery and visi cooler are the major benefits given by the company.
The share of CCBPL is 35% of the total beverage industry. Out of this, Coca cola’s share is 22% of the total beverage industry. Coke contributes around 65% of the total sales of CCBPL.
Authentic Sources of accuracy of the Market share:
• Personal Interviews:
Personal interviews were conducted with Mr. Frederick Gill, who is regional sales manager at Coca Cola. he provided us with the relevant information about the company’s current operating status and it’s future plans.
• Printed Material:
We collected company’s brochures and a network booklet giving us a very close estimate of the company’s market share and a detailed account of company’s promotional and public relations activities.

• Personal interviews with Pepsi people:
Another source of the company’s standing in terms of market share was the information given by Mr. M.B. Khan, who is General manager sales at coke’s strongest competitor Pepsi. He provided us with Coca Cola’s exact share and other important information about its operations in Pakistan. This gave us a sort of cross check of coca Cola’s own mentioned market share and other claims.

Top three competitors:
Coca Cola’s top three direct competitors are:
1. Pakistan beverages ( PEPSI)
2. MEHRAN BOTTLERS ( Pakola, Bubble Up )
3. Continental Bottles limited ( R.C. Cola )

Number of key accounts:

The company at present has about 25 key accounts. Some of these are given below:

• PIA
• Sheraton
• Pearl Continental
• Avari Towers
• Regent Plaza
• Cantt. Railway station
• City Railway station
• Karachi Gymkhana
• Creek Club
• Kentucky Fried chicken.

Ten common services offered to Key accounts:

The company offers some attractive and convenience ridden services or benefits to its key accounts, some of these are as follows;

Responsibilities of Key Accounts Manager:

The key accounts Manager is responsible for handling these key accounts. They have two separate vans for this purpose. They directly report to the business and operation manager(BOM). They have special authority to give some extra facilities like discounts, credit, Visi cooler, free empty bottles, Special gifts etc. they also have access to the fountain fresh and are allowed to give free samples to these accounts on some special occasions like Eid, Ramadhan and other festivals.

Recruitment and Selection:

Recruitment is normally done on the required positions and not on the standby basis. Recruitment starts whenever a supervisor or sales manager needs a salesperson and it is first approved by the general manager before sending it to the human resources department.
All the vacancies are first internally advertised so that all the employees who fulfill the requirements can avail this opportunity. If there aren’t any suitable persons for a particular job then human resource department search its data bank and if there is no suitable person then at last it is advertised in the newspaper but it is rarely the case at coca Cola for the sales man.
Selection is based on different criterion for different positions. Education requirements are the first and the most important and are the first part of the screening of the personnel. Education requirements are given as under.

LOADER PRIMARY
SALESMAN INTERMEDIATE
MARKET DEVELOPER GRADUATE
SALES MANAGER MASTERS

But in some cases there is some relaxation in these requirements depending upon the other capabilities and experience of the applicant.

After the screening stage, applicant is called for the aptitude test. For a salesman job simple arithmetic and General knowledge is tested. Know how of English is also necessary in some cases.
After passing the aptitude test applicant is asked to appear for an interview. This interview is normally carried out by the sales and human resource department. Purpose of this interview is to confirm the data and claims which the applicant has produced and made.
If the applicant is selected , he is asked for four sureties or any other references which he can make and sometimes human resource department also like to confirm from their Ex-Employers about the conduct and the reason for leaving of the applicant.

Training:
At Coca cola on the job training is given the utmost importance. At first a sales man is given information about the product, sales environment and company policies and procedures. Ethical behavior is emphasized most so as not to create any sort of bad habits which can cause great problems for the company. Normally a new sales man is supposed to work under another salesman to learn the basics of selling techniques and the overall environment in which he will be working.
A salesman is then allowed to work under the salesman but he is asked to perform all the operations by his own. These include filling out the route card, dealing with the customers, communicating with the loader, cash management, setting the visi cooler and the next days order to be loaded. After doing all this if has any problems in learning then he is guided by salesman, market developer, and sales manager if required.

Methods of Training:

Company uses two type of training .
1. On the job training
2. In-house training

ABC Priorities of Areas of Training:

• Sales management:
This mainly includes the routing and scheduling of the route so as to use the selling time more effectively and efficiently.
• Forecasting:
Normally sales targets are given on the monthly basis to the salesman, so sales man has to forecast his daily sales according to the season and timing of the week.
• Merchandising:
It includes the optimum use of the company’s advertising material and point of purchase material. In this part emphasis is given on the selection of the suitable place in the outlet to display the visi cooler and deep freezers. Training is also given for optimum utilization of the visi cooler’s space and its proper setting to achieve the purpose of product display.
• Selling skills:
In this part emphasis is given on the personal selling skills of the sales person which includes greeting the customer, asking for order and re-filling the bottles in the minimum possible time.
• Supervisor’s effectiveness:
In this emphasis is on the mutual coordination between the sales man and the market developer so as
To achieve the company’s objectives in a very harmonious manner.

Training budget:
Training budget is normally decided by the head office at Singapore. The factors which are normally considered are the expected business activity, changes in the company policies, changes in the selling environment and the level of competition and the expected rate of turn over.

Retraining:
As the company is having stiff competition and regular changes in the marketing practices and selling environment makes it compulsory for the company to retrain the employees. After every six months a two months retraining session is held in the sales hall. Apart from this to give an incentive to the managerial level around 4-5 sales managers are sent to different training camps around the world.

Turn over of the sales force:

This is the major problem of the company as around 505 of the new employees leave the field within first year of their job. This high rate of turn over not only results n high training costs but also lost sales. Major reasons for the high turnover are:
• Too much hard work
• Seven days a week
• Long duty hours (8:30-7:30 )
• Disrespect by some dealers
• Lower wage rate
• Less time for social activities
• Less time for the family.
Sales Person’s Reporting system:

Every sales person directly reports to market developer of his area. A sales person is supposed to give him a daily report of his activities and he is free to ask for any kind of assistance from the market developer.
Every salesperson is given an attendance punch card which records his arrival and departure time. He is also given a route call card which he is supposed to fill out. This card includes all the details about the visits of the outlets, time spent on these outlets, sales made on these outlets, time spent on these outlets, sales made on these outlets, time during travelling, names of the loaders and salesperson’s time in and time out of the vehicle.

Apart from this a sales person is also given a form to fill up for the next days order to be loaded in the truck. This basically tells about the total sales of the salesman according to the brand and the size of the product. This basically is used by the human resources department to evaluate the performance and calculating the total salary of the salesman.

Sales Person’s Evaluation System:

Every salesperson’s evaluation is done on quarterly basis. Evaluation helps the company to promote the people to the higher levels of the organization. This evaluation also motivates salespeople to work hard and get the promotion or at least the monetary rewards which are given not only to the best salesman but the best market developer and the best sales manager of the year.

Performance is evaluated on the basis of performance development plan. Performance is measured on the basis of achievement of the targets which are set and communicated at the very beginning of the year to each sales manager, each quarter to every market developer and every month to each salesperson. This performance development plan evaluates the sales people on the basis of call slips, Route call, Call completion, Effective and productive call, attendance, growth in sales, market development and the punctuality of the salesman.

Sales Manager’s Comments on the Selling Environment:

Beverage industry is the most challenging and tough industry. It is not only competitive in terms of price offerings but also the advertisements and the availability of the product. Though most of the people think that coke has only one major competitor (PEPSI) but they actually are experiencing very high competition from the mineral water and juice producing companies. As our economy is not growing so purchasing power of the consumers is also decreasing which is also a cause of great concern for the company.
Ethical Practices:

As for as ethics are concerns these are only shown at some extent in the selling environment. Company thinks that providing extra empty bottles to the dealers in the eid timings or at the ceremonies is the required behavior. Giving free gifts and samples to the institutes and sponsoring the events like sports, seminars and musical programs also benefit the society as a whole.
Company also does not make any differentiation on the basis of religion or caste and give equal discounts to the customers but it depends upon the type of customer (retailer, Wholesaler, Key account etc ). Company also gives equal opportunities to grow and excel to the employees without any prejudices.
Coca Cola also sponsors some of the charity concerts so as to give some moments of pleasure and joy to the destitute. All the collections of these functions are handed over to the poor and needy people.

Unethical practices:

Among unethical practices sales manager believes that these exist because of this stiff competition with Pepsi. Both cola producers are engaged in the activities like giving more discounts to the dealers, filling competitors visi coolers with their own products, taking the competitors empty bottles from the market and giving more and more free samples to the different segments of the market.
Apart from these there are certain things in the market for which both have the common view and they are striving to get rid of these. Most important is the legal requirements. As they have to deal with almost 20 regulatory agencies so they are united on this issue.
Other things which are perplexing sales managers is the Bhatta system. In some areas they have to pay some sort of tax to cover the area for example, lines area. Traffic police is causing problems for them as the trucks are not allowed to enter in some areas at certain timings of the day. In case of theft or robbery, police also does not act favorably to these people.
Some loaders are in the teenage so this means the practice of child labor. These children are not on their payroll and are paid on the daily basis. These children are the ones in most cases who are the only source of earnings for their family.

Recommendations for the improvements in the Selling Environment:

Sales environment can only be improved if and only if both the major competitors sit together and set the rules of the game. Though the empty bottles are exchanged at the higher level but these things should not be allowed to happen in the first place. As for as discounts are concerned these should be passed on to consumers instead of being given to the wholesaler or the retailer. This will not only increase sales but also reduce the cost of distribution through economies of scale.
Instead of dealing illegally with the traffic police they should get the legal requirements fulfilled and get the legal cover by forcing the government to protect their interests.
Compensation system:

Monetary compensation is divided into two parts:
1. Fixed salary
2. Commissions

A sales man is given a fixed salary of around Rs. 2500 per month.
The break up of the commissions given to the salesman is as follows:

• 60 paisas per case for 250/300 ml bottles.
• Rs.1.2 per case for 1 litre bottles.
• 60 paisas per case for 1.5 litre case.

Apart from this , if a salesman achieves the monthly target he gets a bonus of Rs.1500. On achievement of the target loaders and the driver of the vehicle also gets the bonus of Rs.1000 each.

Apart from these monetary benefits four holidays are given that is Sundays are officially off and whenever a salesperson performs his duty on Sunday he is given overtime, a sales man can avail two casual leaves in a month.

Yearly targets of the sales persons are evaluated and they are rewarded accordingly. Coca Cola has policy of selecting Sales man of the year, Market developer of the year and sales manager of the year. This is done on the basis of extra ordinary effort put in by these sales staff and cash prizes are awarded to them along with the recognition letters and trophies in the six monthly meeting.

Parameters of official expenses:
All the expenses are borne by the company and the sales man is not allowed to make any sort of personal expenses. All the services are provided by the company management. Even a punctured tyre is repaired by the maintenance department of the company and the salesman is not allowed to get it repaired from the market.

Extra Ordinary Efforts:
Normally, the sales people are given targets at the beginning of the month and then they themselves make some milestones with the help of the market developer. Whenever a salesman achieves a monthly target he gets Rs.1500 as a bonus while loaders and the driver get Rs.1000 each as a bonus.
Holidays are given for the extra efforts put in by these salespeople. For example, they are given higher targets on Saturdays and if they achieve these, they get a free Sunday leave on the condition that they will achieve higher sales on the Monday as well so as to make up for the holiday.

Arrangements for Institutional sales:
Institutional sales are covered by the key accounts manager. These institutes are given some extra benefits and very good service but the company does not provide any customized product to these key institutes other than the fountain fresh. Company differentiate it on the basis of service from the ordinary accounts.

Names and Addresses of the agencies:
There are 15 agencies which have dealings with the Coca Cola. Some of these are.
Moghul Agency, Azam Basti
National Agency, Quaid abad pul
Five Star Agency, Kala Board
Ali Hasan Agency, Korangi South
Siyal agency, Baldiya town
Usman Agency, Metropole
Nasir Ayaz Agency, Quaid abad
Shiraz Agency, Landhi
Recommendations:

1. the company is relatively slow to respond to the complaints they receive because of multiple intermediaries involved. The information gets leaked out and does not reach the company quickly and properly. Therefore the company should improve its complaint handling system to take corrective action on time.

2. The commissions paid by the company to the salesman are through the agents. This is not consistently done and all the salesman does not get their due share on time or not at all. The company should devise a proper commission disbursement system and it should be made effective and timely so that the salesman are kept motivated and committed because they are the lifeblood of the company.
3. In many far flung areas of landhi, Orangi and many others, the company’s market developers rarely pay a visit. This not only affect company’s sales but also image. Therefore more market developers be selected and properly spread to target these neglected areas.

4. The company’s distributing vehicles are not properly painted and marked which leads to customers not recognizing them and affecting sales of the company because of lower impact of advertising.
5. Another important thing that the company should work on is their incentive system. At present the sales force is not receiving proper rewards or recognition to keep them motivated. Also the company should reframe the performance appraisal system to achieve higher levels of output and sales.

6. Due to high rate of turnover, company should hire some extra salesman for the rainy day. In the mean time these salesman can be used to get the new accounts. This will not only increase the market share but also save the lost sales because of the time lag between the termination of the salesman and the training of the new salesman.
7. Company should use covered vehicles, because open vehicles are the major cause for the slow speed of the vehicles and results in wastage of time in travelling.

8. The company should try to improve coordination between the different departments of the company specially marketing and other support departments.
9. The company should give more powers and liberty to the salesman to make some very necessary expenses. For example at present he is not allowed to get the tyre punctured so it results not only wastage of time but also lost sales.

10. Company should give more powers at the lower level of the hierarchy, this will also increase the efficiency of the overall department.