The Indian Institute of Planning & Management

Project Trimester
(Spring Summer 2008-10)

Sales and Distribution Management

Sales and Distribution Effectiveness:
A Comparative Study of
Tata Sky & Airtel DTH.

Submitted by:
(GROUP NO.HR263)Gaurav Soni (16)
Kumar Deepak (24)
Sanya Gulati (49)
Saurabh Mishra (51)

Group No. - HR-263

DTH industry

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Over the years back as we all know cable TV was everywhere, but the
two three years back a new technological revolution happened and
direct to home satellite television came into existence and as days
passes by DTH sector in India has developed with the availability of
more brands, better quality products and better service.
Our research facilitates designing an overall sales and distribution
management strategy for a DTH

sector after an in-depth study and

analysis of two established brands in the DTH business sector: Tata Sky
and Airtel DTH (India).
The objective of our research was:
To compare the sales and distribution effectiveness (Quantitative
Research).
To carry out a detailed study of Logistics Network
To design a comprehensive sales system.
The data collected for the research involves the use of both primary and
secondary sources. Primary data is based on the findings from the
company personnel with the use of tools like questionnaires and
discussions. This data is further substantiated by the use of appropriate
secondary sources like internet and books.

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

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Group No. - HR-263

In this project we went through interviewing the retailers, distributors

and management officials of Tata Sky and Airtel DTH covering most of
the regions of Delhi and NCR.

After all the research and analysis work done during the course time of
this project we came to the conclusion that Tata Sky sales is more
effective than that of Airtel DTH, but even then there is a great room for
improvement available for them.

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

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Group No. - HR-263

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to express our gratitude to all the dealers, distributors and the
corporate officials of Airtel DTH and Tata Sky for their kind support and assistance while
furnishing the required informations.

We also express our gratitude and thanks to Prof. Maninder Singh for their
invaluable co-operation, continued support and guidance as well as healthy criticism
throughout resulting works. Their able guidance, encouragement and valuable suggestion
led our way pass easily through most difficult period during this Sales Project.
We would also like to thank the faculty and staff of IIPM because without their help
this project would not have been completed.

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

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Group No. - HR-263

TABLE OF CONTENTS
S No.

Topics

Page No.

1.

Methodology .....5

2.

Company Background ..8

3.

Findings Data Analysis and Conclusions ... 14

4.

Recommendations ....32

5.

Sales Reporting System.33

5.

Bibliography .35

6.

Annexure....36

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METHODOLOGY
Business Sector:
In order to study the sales and distribution effectiveness of two
organisations we decided to take the DTH Industry.

Organisations identified for the study:

Under the Footwear Industry the two organisations which we are going
to study are:
Tata sky
Airtel DTH

Objective:
TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

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Group No. - HR-263

The main objective of the study can be divided into following heads:
To compare the Sales and Distribution Effectiveness (Quantitative research).
To carry out a detailed study of Logistics Network: Mode/s, Costs and
Monitoring Systems.
To design a comprehensive sales reporting system for the chosen business sector.

Data Collection:
Data collection will be done from both Primary as well as Secondary sources.

Primary data collection: It will be collected by In-Person Interviews as well as

Telephonic Interviews of various personals/managers working in the organisation and
dealers/retailers etc.

Secondary data collection: From newspaper, magazines, libraries and websites.

Research Design:
The research is descriptive type and accordingly the design is formulated so that
precise and relevant information may be gathered.

Data Collection tools:

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Structured Questionnaires

Sample design:
The research will be conducted by interviewing various Organisational officials and the
Dealers, Retailers and Franchisees.

Sampling: Simple random and Convenient.

Method Adopted: Personnel Interviews

Field: Delhi and NCR regions.

Sample Size:
The target will be to interview at least 4 distributor of each company and as many
officials as possible.

Data analysis tools and technique:

.

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Graphical method (Bar Graph).

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Tata Sky
History:
Tata Sky, an 80:20 joint venture between Tata Sons and the Star group, provides satellite
television services to Indian viewers. The company was incorporated in 2004 and offers a
range of media and entertainment options to customers.
The TATA Group is one of Indias largest and most respected business conglomerates. It
comprises diversified businesses in sectors such as materials, engineering, services, energy,
information systems & communications, consumer products and chemicals.
The Group and its enterprises have been steadfast and distinctive in their adherence to
business ethics and their commitment to corporate social responsibility. This is a legacy
that has earned the Group the trust of many millions of stakeholders in measure few
business houses anywhere in the world can match

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Group No. - HR-263

Areas of business
Tata Sky's direct-to-home satellite platform delivers more than 100 television channels,
movies and interactive services for games, learning, recipes, news, chat rooms, etc. It has
state-of-the-art digital infrastructure and a retail network that covers more than 4,500 towns
in India.
Location
Based in Mumbai, the company has three call centres (Pune, Chandigarh and Hyderabad).

Airtel DTH
History:
The businesses at Bharti Airtel have always been structured into three individual strategic
business units (SBU's) - Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services.
The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services and has recently launched a
Direct-to-Home (DTH) service, Airtel digital TV. The company provides end-to-end data
and enterprise services to the corporate customers.

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Findings, Data Analysis

And Conclusions

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DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
AIRTEL DTH
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
A proper distribution system is very important for every company because now a days the
customer wants full service without any pain. Airtel has a deep penetration in the market
due to its cellular services and it has provided them a advantage in the market. I have also
seen in the market the happy faces of customers and retailers of Airtel because of the easy
availability of Airtel DTH retailers.

BENEFITS OF GOOD DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

1. Easy availability
2. Satisfied customers
3. Competitive advantage

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DTH industry

4. Better market reputation

5. Saves time

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OF AIRTEL

1. Organisation (C&FA's)
2. Distributor
3. Retailer
4. Customer

Organisation
C & FA

Distributior
Several FOS
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DTH industry

FOS

Different retailers

FOS

Different retailers

FOS

Different retailers

DISTRIBUTOR

Channel Structure:
AIRTEL DTH
Manufacturing unit

Warehouses

Distributors

Exclusive Showrooms

Demo at shopping malls

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Exclusive Retailers

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Group No. - HR-263

Product Area Distributor

Dealer

Retailer

Customer

Tata Sky DTH

Manufacturing Unit
Warehouses

Distributors

Dealer

Exclusive Showrooms (Experience Zone)

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Corporate sales
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Group No. - HR-263

Retailer

Customer

Criterion and Condition for selecting Channel Members:

The criterion followed for the selection of channel members is almost same in case of both
Airtel DTH and TATA Sky DTH. The various conditions based on which the members
are selected are:
1.

Financial Capacity: The financial condition of the member must be sound and

he should posses a neat and clean past market record.

2.

Market Reputation: He should have a good reputation in the market and also

with the customers.

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3.

Group No. - HR-263

Space and Location: In case it is a distributor the factor taken into consideration

is
-Space and in case of retailers it is location.
4.

Experience: He should have been in the field for a minimum period of 5 years.

Average Inventory Size:

Airtel DTH: The average inventory size kept by airtel is of almost 15 set-top box for
each set of set-top box sold.

Tata Sky: The average inventory size in case of tata sky is of 20 set-top box for each
set of set-top box sold.
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Group No. - HR-263

LOGISTICS:
Airtel DTH: Order processing time in case of Airtel is 1 day. Although airtel follows a
special logistics for any urgent demand.

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Group No. - HR-263

TATA Sky DTH: In case of TATA sky the order processing time is 2 days. The
modes of transportation adopted are basically Road and Rail, but in certain urgent cases it
may be sent through Air.
The order processing of Tata Sky is same as that of Airtel.

Performance Appraisal
Airtel DTH: The performance appraisal of channel members in case of airtel is done on
half-yearly basis. The major criterion for appraisals is the net increase in terms of
sales compared to that of last time .the incentives provided varies from gifts to free foreign
trips.

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Group No. - HR-263

Tata Sky: In case of Tata sky the evaluation is done on a quarterly basis and the
appraisal is provided annually.
The reason for high satisfaction of the channel members of tata sky can be understood from
this, as they are duly appraised on a regular basis and their problems are duly solved.

Assigning of targets:
Airtel DTH: In Airtel DTH the targets are assigned to the sales personnels based on
the following criterions:
i. Population of that area.
ii. No. of distributors in that area.
iii. Potential available in that territory.
iv. Back history of individual sales personnel.

Tata Sky: In TATA Sky the targets are assigned to the sales personnels based on the
following criterions:
i. Total area to be covered.
ii. Past performances of the individual.
iii. No. of distributors in that region.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

While working on this project I have to face some difficulties while conducting the survey.
People were not interested in giving their actual information about their family income and
airtime, as they were extremely scared about the income tax some people have difficult to
take them in confidence so that they can give correct information.
Some of the limitations are:

Not at home
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Refusal to co-operate

Respondent bias

Group No. - HR-263

Market Research:
Airtel DTH: They do market research through questionnaires which they ask to fill
from their customer after they install their set-top box.

Tata Sky: They do not conduct any individual market research but they get the desired
information from the same method as they ask customer to fill a questionnaire during the
installation of the product.

SALES SYSTEM
On the basis of data collected from the retailers, distributors, etc. an approximated
comparison of the two is shown below:

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Overall Effectiveness

Airtel DTH

TATA Sky

Quality Maintainence

Quality maintenance:

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Airtel DTH

Tata Sky

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Customer Orientation

Customer Orientation:

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Airtel DTH

Tata Sky

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Group No. - HR-263

Delivery Time
48
47
46

Delivery Time:
45
44
43
0

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Tata Sky

Airtel DTH

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Group No. - HR-263

Promotional Activities

Promotional activities:

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Tata Sky

Airtel DTH

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Group No. - HR-263

Salesmen services

Services of the sales persons:

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Airtel DTH

Tata Sky

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Group No. - HR-263

Order flexibility

Ease & flexibility of ordering:

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Airtel DTH

Tata Sky

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Group No. - HR-263

Transporters Behaviour

Transporters Behavior:

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Airtel DTH

Tata Sky

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Group No. - HR-263

After going through the above values it can be concluded that Tata Sky sales and
distribution system is more effective than that of Airtel.

Recommendations
1.

Airtel should focus more on their promotional activities in more innovative

manner so that they can provide more competition to their competitors.

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2.

Group No. - HR-263

As Tata Sky Plus is targeting a niche market, it should make its products

like provogue more widely available in the market.

3.

The availability of DTH is still lacking in the rural.

Bibliography
For our project we have referred to the following places for information:

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Group No. - HR-263

www.tatagroup.com/tatasky
www.airteltv.in
www. Indiantelevision.com
Sales and Distribution Management by F.L.Lobo

Marketing Management by Philip Kotler

Times of India, Hindustan Times

"Bharti Airtel set to foray into India's DTH market, to launch Airtel Digital TV from Oct.
9". International Business Times (08 October 2008). 8 October 2008.

http://in.ibtimes.com/articles/20081008/bharti-airtel-digital-dth-service-satellitetelevision.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-13.

"ADAG & Bharti gearing for massive on air war".

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Annexure

Questionnaire
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Group No. - HR-263

DTH industry

(Sales and Marketing department)

1)

Which brand of Direct to home do you own?

Airtel-DTH
TATA Sky

2)

Which kind of subscription do you use?

Yearly
Six Monthly
Quarterly
Monthly

3)

4)

Two Year

How did you get to know about this brand?

Newspapers
Magazines
Retailers
Others (Specify)

Friends & Relatives

From where did you purchase the connection?

Authorized dealer
Exclusive Shoppe
Dealer nearby you
A Known Dealer

Reason___________________________________________________________________
_____
5)

What percentage of discount you get from the dealer?

5%
10%
No discount
Vouchers offered

6)

Have you ever faced any problem in your DTH regarding the following?
Maintenance
Servicing
Manufacturing Defect
Others
Others

:
7)

8)

Rank the following:

1-Most Important 2-Important 3- Necessary 4-Least Important 5-Not Necessary
Price Brand
After Sales Service
Reach of Showroom
Availability of Product
Discount/Scheme offered
What kind of After Sales Service do you use?
Company Service
Other than Company

9)

Rate the services of the after sales person on the basis of following;
CRITERIA
YES NO
Responsiveness
10) How much time taken by the
Availability
company to solve your problem
Helpfulness
completely?
Capability
24 hours
2-3 days
Week
More

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11) a) How many times you have lodged a complaint regarding a particular product?
1 time
2-4 times
More
b) If yes, on how many calls have you been attended by an executive?
Readily available
2 3 times
4-7 times

More

12) 11) Tick the efficiency of the Sales Person to make your buying more
comfortable?
Very efficient
Efficient
Sharp/rude
Less knowledgeable
Less efficient Less knowledgeable

Knowledgeable but Less effective

Convince you to buy other brand

14)

How the product has reached to your home?

You yourself have taken
Dealer has provided you with a service

15)

Tick one of the following:

DEGREE

PRODUCT

COMPANY

Fully Satisfied
Partially
Satisfied
Not Satisfied
If Not Satisfied, which brand in future you would like to buy and why?
_________________________________________________________________________
_______
NAME:__________________________________________________________________
_______
OCCUPATION:
SERVICE
BUSINESS OTHERS (Specify)
_____________________
HOUSEHOLD INCOME:
6Lakhs

1.5 3Lakhs

3 4.5Lakhs

4.5

Above 6Lakhs

THANK YOU

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Questionnaire
(For Dealers/Retailers/Franchisee)
CHANNEL MEMBER
1) a) What are the Terms and Conditions set by the Company for the Channel
Members?
______________________________________________________________________
_______
______________________________________________________________________
_______
b) What are the average sales per month?
___________________________________________________________________
_______
c) How much is the average sale for refrigerator per month?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
______________
2) Are you Happy with the sales targets set by the Company?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
______________________
3) Do you get any credit period from the company?
Yes_______ No_______
If Yes, What is the credit period you get?
i) Upto 15 days
4)

ii) 15-30 days

iii) >30 days

What is minimum reorder level?

_________________________________________________________________________
_
5) What are the margins that you get from the company?
___________________________________________________________________
_______
6) What is the average order cycle time taken by the company?
i) < 5 days

ii) 5-10 days

iii) > 10 days

7) Where would you rank the services/assistance provided to you by the company/s
Services

Very Good

Good Satisfactory

TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

Poor

Very
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poor
Delivery Time
Quality Maintenance
Incentives
Promotional activities
Condition of Product
Commercial Terms
Services of Sales Persons
8) How will you rate the efficiency of your sales persons?
a) Very Good

b) Good

c) Satisfactory

d) Poor

e) Very poor

9) How the Company does help you to assist the Product to the End Consumers?
Yes______ No______
If Yes, Do you face any problems in the Distribution Network of the Company?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
10) Do you face complains?
Yes______
No______
If Yes, what are the kinds of Complains?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
11) How do you manage them in the given span of time?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Person Contacted:
____________________________________________________________________
Name of dealer:
_____________________________________________________________________

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Group No. - HR-263

Address:
_____________________________________________________________________
Tel. No.:
______________________________________________________________________

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COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE
1) What is the Sales Turnover of the Company?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2) a) In how many Zones is India Divided?
______________________________________________
b) On what basis Delhi NCR is divided?
_____________________________________________
c) Number of showrooms
India____________
Delhi NCR___________
3) a) What is the Company Sales Organization Structure for HONDA?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------b) What are the profiles of the Members involved in the Structure?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------c) Who Monitors the entire Sales Process? In what ways does it serves as an
effective tool for the company.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4) a) What are the formats opted by HONDA for the Distribution of its product?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------TATA SKY & AIRTEL DTH

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------b) On what basis does the Company chooses its Channel Members?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------c) What are the Criteria to Appraise the Channel Members?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------d) How does the Company responds the different distribution Flaws faced during
the
process?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5) What is the product range?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6) a) How many warehouses do you have?
India____________
Delhi NCR___________
b) How are Orders Processed among the Channel Members and the Company
Level?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7) How the Logistics Network Works including:
a) Importing of the product
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________

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b) Distribution of the Product

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________
8) What is the Basis on which Incentives are given to various Channel Members?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9) a) How many Service Centers does the Company have?
India____________
Delhi NCR___________
b) How the Complain Cell does bring about the Effectiveness of its Service Centers
regarding the Channel Members and its Consumers?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10) Is there any kind of Marketing Research done by the Company with respect to
Channel Members and Consumers?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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