1.

Introduction
a. Report Background: The report Development of an Efficient
Treasury Management Model for Unilever Bangladesh Limited
has been conceived as requirement of Internship program. This report
aims to look into treasury operations of Unilever Bangladesh, look into
industry practices, benchmark its performance, identify areas of
improvement and design recommendations.
b. Objective:
Broad Objective: The broad objective of this report is to understand
treasury operations of UBL, benchmark with other companies, and propose
recommendations.
Specific Objectives:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)
vii)
viii)
ix)
x)
xi)
xii)
xiii)
xiv)
xv)
xvi)

What is the treasury organization structure?

What are the treasury activities/operations done by UBL?
What is the bank a/c structure of UBL?
How is cash deficit/surplus managed?
How is the collection process monitored?
What kinds of collection bank products are used?
How is the payment process monitored in UBL?
What kind of payment products are used by UBL?
What kind of collection products are used by peer companies?
What kind of payment products are used by peer companies
How is liquidity risk managed by UBL?
How is commodity price risk managed in UBL?
How is exchange rate risk managed in UBL?
What are the practices of peer companies?
In each of the front what are the improvement points for UBL?
What are the new products banks are offering which would add
value in Treasury Operations in UBL?

c. Scope:

The scope of the report is to have an overview of treasury

operations of Unilever Bangladesh Limited. Compare operation with

other peer companies. The scope of the comparison is on the bank
products used for their respective payment and collection process.
d. Methodology: In order to conduct this report, secondary information
has been used as well primary information source has been used.
1

Under primary information collection, following interviews were conducted:

i)

Finance Controller: Mr. Ahsan Habib, Finance Controller have been

interviewed

ii)

on

several

occasions,

to

understand

Treasury

Operations and overall finance overview

Finance Shared Services: Mr. Shahadat Ullah, FSS Manager, have
been interviewed to understand the payment process and to

iii)

understand the requirements of suppliers

CD Finance: Mr. AKM Amdadullah Bhuiyan, Financce Executive, CD
Finance, has been interviewed to understand the collection process

iv)

and how it is related stock dispatch

Marico Bangladesh Limited: Mr. Faisal Siddiquee, Sr. Executive,
Treasury, has been interviewed to understand the end to end

v)

treasury operations and thus benchmark with UBL.

Berger Paints Bd Ltd: Mr. Masud Nomani, Assistant Manager of
Berger Paints Bd Ltd has been interviewed to understand the end to
end treasury operations of the Berger BD

Unilever Bd Ltds treasury operation is governed by its global mandates.

These documents have been studied for a better understanding of operation
policies. In addition to that different facility and service document with
different banks have been studied.

e. Limitation
This report has not investigated the cash forecast, bank reconciliation
and other internal accounting entry process. It has overviewed the
banking products, banking infrastructure and other IT integration
related to bank process have been looked and compared with Marico
Bangladesh Ltd and Berger Paints Bd Ltd. This report has not made any
cost comparison rather has looked into process and control issues.

Due to time and accessibility constraints other comparable companies

have not been overviewed.

2. Company Background

Unilever's corporate vision is to help people to look good, feel good and get
more out of life shows how clearly the business understands 21st centuryconsumers and their lives. But the spirit of this mission forms a thread that
runs throughout Unilevers history.

In the 1890s, William Hesketh Lever, founder of Lever Bros, wrote down his
ideas for Sunlight Soap his revolutionary new product that helped
popularise cleanliness and hygiene in Victorian England. It was 'to make
cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health and
contribute to personal attractiveness, that life may be more enjoyable and
rewarding for the people who use this products'.

Over the last 3 centuries, Unilever's success has been influenced by the
major events of the day economic boom, depression, world wars, changing
consumer lifestyles and advances in technology. And throughout Unilever
aimed to create products that would help people get more out of life cutting
the time spent on household chores, improving nutrition, enabling people to
enjoy food and take care of their homes, their clothes and themselves.

In the late 19th century the businesses that would later become Unilever
were among the most philanthropic of their time. They set up projects to
improve the lot of their workers and created products with a positive social
impact, making hygiene and personal care commonplace and improving
nutrition through adding vitamins to foods that were already daily staples.

Today, Unilever still believes that success means acting with 'the highest
standards of corporate behaviour towards employees, consumers and the
societies and world in which we live'. Over the years Unilever has launched or
participated in an ever-growing range of initiatives to source sustainable
supplies of raw materials, protect environments, support local communities
and much more.

Source: Website of Unilever Bangladesh Limit - http://www.unilever.com.bd/

Building on this heritage, Unilevers priorities now are inspiring people to take
small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world
from laundry brands that help minimise wasted water and packaging to
nutritious, easily prepared and affordable meals and snacks.
4

Unilever Bangladesh is a leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with

a heritage of over 48 years. Unilever started its onshore operations in
Bangladesh in 1964 when its soap factory was set up at Chittagong. Unilever
Bangladesh Limited was incorporated on July 5, 1973 as Lever Brothers
Bangladesh Limited. Prior to independence of Bangladesh, the company
operated under the name - Lever Brothers Pakistan Limited. After liberation of
Bangladesh in 1971, all the property, assets, liabilities and businesses of
Lever Brothers Pakistan Limited were taken over by Lever Brothers
Bangladesh Limited.

At present, Unilever Bangladesh Limited has its corporate office at ZN Tower,

Plot No. 2, Road No. 8, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. Its factory and
registered office are located at 51 Kalurghat Heavy Industrial Area,
Chittagong, Bangladesh. Currently, UBL is one of the largest fast moving
consumer goods company (FMCG) in Bangladesh. It is a leading company in
home, personal care and food products, continuously introducing new and
world-class products for the Bangladeshi consumers. The company is
engaged in manufacturing (including local third party manufacturing) &
marketing of soaps, glycerin, detergent powders, and personal products; and
blending and packing of tea for local sales. The company also exports bulk
tea, glycerin and other products as and when any opportunity arisesUnilever
Bangladesh is market leader in 7 of the 8 categories it operates in, with 16
brands spanning across Home and Personal Care and Foods.

Brands of Unilever Bangladesh Limited:

Unilever is offering Knorr Soup and Taaza Tea to quench thirst of its
consumers. Knorr Soup is a tasty and healthy snack option for 7 pm meal
moment. Knorr is Unilevers biggest brand globally, and is now available in
Bangladesh through Knorr Soups. There are 4 variants under it Chicken
Corn, Chicken Ginger, Tomato and Thai soup.

Taaza stands for premium quality, bringing in the world famous tea blending
expertise and heritage of the Brooke Bond House. Taaza stands for freshness
and comes in a special moisture-proof pack that preserves the aroma and
freshness of the tea leaves inside. Its unique blend has maintained its place
in the hearts of consumers with the freshest and most revitalizing cup of tea
around.

Under Home Care category, Wheel, Vim, Surf Excel and Rin are offered to
the market. Wheel is an offering to millions of women across Bangladesh,
helping to transform a tedious chore like laundry into a delightful experience
that lifts her spirits for the rest of the day. It is one of the highest selling
brands in Bangladesh.

The brand is available in two formats

1. Laundry Soap
2. Detergent Powder

Vim has brought a revolution in kitchen management in Bangladeshi

households. Since its launch in 1987, Vim has been synonymous with
sparkling clean dishes.
Vim Scourer - Introducing the brand in Bangladesh
6

Offering a more hygienic and effective cleaning solution compared to

ash, Vim dishwash powder was first introduced to Bangaldeshi households in
1987.

tough,

abrasive,

multi-purpose

powder,

Vim

Scourer

leaves kitchenware beautifully clean and also works on a number of other

surfaces.
Vim Bar The core of Bangladesh dishwash market today
Vim Bar was a revolutionary innovation for household products bringing
together tradition and technology to come up with a dishwash solution in
soap form. Vim Bar is a powerful grease cutter that removes tough burnt
marks easily. It is also suitable for all types of dishes and offers easy cleaning
with a pleasing lemon fragrance. The highly popular Vim Bar Challenge
campaign generated plenty of hype in households all over the country.
Vim Liquid Stepping-up consumers to the next level
Vim liquid is another format of Vim that takes utensil cleaning convenience to
the

next

level.

It

is

specially formulated

for

taking care

of high

quality dinnerware. With Vim Liquid, only one wipe is enough to provide
scratch-free, sparkling clean dishes, as showcased in the recent One Wipe
campaign depicting dishes themselves relishing in the sparkling cleanliness
that Vim Liquid provides them with.
Surf Excel
Surf Excel believes that dirt is good; it is an essential part of a childs
development. Its how children learn, express their creativity, and even
bolster their immune system.

Children are so involved in what they do that without noticing they can get
dirty in a matter of minutes. However, Surf excel realizes that this should not
stop them from trying to explore the world around them.

The all new Surf Excel has the power of lemon, liquid blue and soap bar that
helps in removing multiple stains with just 1 product. Surf excel is the highest
selling premium washing powder in Bangladesh. Over the last twenty years it
has anticipated the changing washing needs of the Bangladeshi homemaker
and constantly upgraded itself.

Rin Power White: Rin Power White plays an integral part in helping us to
look good by providing superior whiteness, giving us the confidence to realize
our ambitions.

Striking white clean clothes help us make great impressions on the people we
meet and also provide us the confidence to realize our ambitions. Rin Power
White understands this need and strives to deliver best whiteness.

Over the years, Rin Power White has undergone several innovations to meet
the changing consumer needs. The new and improved Rin Power White has
the worlds best yellowness removal technology, that removes the faded
yellowed look. Rin Power White provides a premium laundry experience at an
affordable price.

Under Personal Care, Unilever is catering the market with brands like Axe,
Clear, Close Up, Dove, Fair & Lovely, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pepsodent,
Ponds, Rexona, Sunsilk and Vaseline.

Sunsilk understands and has designed its wash and care collections to
address the most common hair dramas in 80 countries around the globe.
8

Sunsilk was launched in 1964 and is now a global brand with presence across
80 countries. Sunsilks hair care range provides a complete hair care solution
and functions as a 3-step combination of cleansing, nourishing and
manageability that gives a 20-something girl the confidence to express
herself.

Variant of Sunsilk Shampoos

Sunsilk Stunning Black Shine Shampoo: Enriched with Amla Pearl

Complex which gives long lasting shine.

Sunsilk Hairfall Solution Shampoo: Contains Soya Vitamin Complex which

strengthens every inch of hair for strong hair with less hairfall.

Sunsilk Thick & Long Shampoo: Contains Keratin Yoghurt Nutria Complex
that thoroughly nourishes hair from root to tip to give thick and long hair

Variant of Sunsilk Conditioners

Sunsilk Hairfall Solution Conditioner: Contains Soya Vitamin Complex for

visibly less hairfall.

In 1869, Robert Chesebrough, a dispensing chemist, discovered something

amazing. He discovered a 100% natural product, rich in minerals from deep
within the earth yet totally pure, which had remarkable healing properties
when applied to cuts, burns and abrasions of the skin. That product was
Vaseline.

Just as Robert Chesebrough in the 1800s, Unilever continues to be motivated

by a passion and curiosity about skin. It is an incredibly complex and
miraculous creation of nature a set of interdependent systems and
elements that even today its not fully understand. It protects us from adverse
climate and from infection. It recreates and regenerates itself through our
lives. It stretches, yet retains its form. It is waterproof, yet it can emit water.

Rexona was originally created in Australia in 1900 by a pharmacist and his

wife. Since then it has led the field by providing consumers with cutting-edge
technology that is proven to deliver outstanding results.

Rexona offers a wide range of highly effective antiperspirant deodorants to

meet the everyday needs of men and women - everywhere. Rexona with its
unique active ingredients provides 24-hours protection against body odor and
underarm wetness to help keep one physically fresh and mentally confident,
even in the toughest moments. Rexona roll-on is available in two sizes- 40ml
and 25ml

Pond's delivers products that make a real difference to women's skin and the
way they live their lives. Pond's understands that beautiful skin is always
important to a woman. That is why Pond's is always committed to deliver the

10

complete beauty solution platform and portfolio that can make women's skin
more beautiful than she ever hopes for.

Since 1846, Ponds has been known for simple, effective skin care products
that work. That's why generations of women have trusted Ponds to leave
skin looking and feeling simply beautiful.

Pond's understands that a beautiful skin is always important to a woman.

That is why Pond's is always committed to deliver the complete beauty
solution platform and portfolio that can make women's skin more beautiful
than she ever hope for.

Pond's Daily Face Wash: Even the best soaps are alkaline, which while
cleansing, dries and stretches skin, resulting in premature wrinkles and lines.
Pond's Daily Face Wash is 100% soap-free, thus non-alkaline. Its Active
Cleansing System deep cleans without drying. Face retains its natural
moisture and looks noticeably radiant.

Ponds Perfect Matte: Pond's Perfect Matte helps normalize skin without
the stickiness and oiliness of other oil management systems. Specifically
developed through advanced oil absorption technology, Ponds Perfect Matte
delivers a shine-free and silky complexion that looks matte and feels
wonderfully refreshed longer.

With Ponds Perfect Matte, sebum is visibly reduced. Unique micro traps are
formed by special ingredients such as elastomer, polymer, light ester, and
powder, which continuously capture sebum as it emerges from the skin. Oil is
isolated from view, giving the visual transformation from oily to normal skin.
11

Pond's Nourishing Facial Scrub: Pond's Nourishing Facial Scrub brings the
promise of clean skin that feels softer and nourished. Its Skin Exfoliating and
Revitalizing System contains two kinds of microbeads. The white Scrubbing
Beads help to deep cleanse gently, removing dead skin cells, thus preventing
blackheads and pimples. The orange Nourishing Beads with vitamin C help to
nourish the skin. Its pH-balanced cleanser formula deep cleanses without
destroying the moisture balance of the skin.
Pond's Pure White: Ponds reveals its little Black Beauty Secret with the
new powerful Ponds Pure White Facial Foam. It has the technology of
activated carbon that attracts deep-seated "black" dirt caused by impurities,
oil and make up to reveal a pure white skin.

It is the first of its kind to be formulated with activated carbon, which works
with "black attracts black". Carbon when heated or "activated" becomes 8
times porous; hence, increasing its ability to detoxify and gently exfoliate
dead skin cells while retaining the needed moisture.

Pond's Vanishing Cream: An innovation from Pond's Institute, Pond's

Vanishing Cream reduces excess oil from skin through a two-way action:
It's unique Oil Control System helps regulate oil secretion
It's unique Micro Sponges absorb excess oil
Pond's Moisturising Cold Cream: With Ponds Moisturising Cold Cream,
feel the difference from the very first time one uses it. It provides:
Vital Beauty Oils which penetrate deep to provide complete nourishment
Natural Moisturising Factors which help retain essential moisture to prevent
dry lines
12

Pond's Moisturising Body Lotion: Pond's Moisturising Body Lotion is a

light non-greasy lotion that gives silky smooth skin. Its formulation is enriched
with moisturisers and vitamin E that with regular use:
Softens skin from within
Gives skin a silky smooth feel

Ponds Premium Range: Ponds Premium Range was launched to address

the evolving needs of women. With this launch, Ponds is addressing the most
evolved skin concerns like anti-aging and skin lightening and supplement
with benefit areas which are currently not addressed (notably oil control, acne
and pore care).The product range offers comprehensive face care solutions
across all skin care concerns with the immediate and definite benefits.

Ponds White Beauty: The Pond's Institute has created an advanced Skin
Lightening complex by combining its proven Pro-Vitamin B3 formula with
nature's own Lycopene. It is designed to improve circulation in the skin and
replenish lost Lycopene -bringing a glowing pinkish-white radiance to skin.
The available products in this range are White Beauty Pinkish White Glow
Lightening Cream and White Beauty Pinkish White Glow Lightening Facial
Foam.

Ponds Age Miracle: With Ponds Age Miracle, age spots and wrinkles are
reduced in just 7 days. Ponds Age Miracle contains advanced CLA 4 complex,
A leading-edge cocktail that combines the latest anti-ageing actives: CLA +
AHA + Vitamin A + Retinol boosters. The collection of products available
under this range are Ponds Age Miracle Daily Resurfacing Cream, Ponds Age
Miracle Overnight Repair Cream, Ponds Age Miracle Dual Eye Therapy, Ponds
13

Age Miracle Concentrated Resurfacing Serum and Ponds Age Miracle Daily
Regenerating Facial Foam.

Ponds Gold Radiance: Ponds Gold Radiance combines the power of the best
anti-aging ingredients with real gold micro particles to revitalize and energize
skin. It is clinically proven to fight deterioration in the four dimensions:
texture, color, evenness of tone and hydrations.

Gold has been used for skin care for ages. Now Ponds found a way to
combine this with the best anti aging ingredients to instantly bring youthful
Radiance back into the skin. Ponds Gold Radiance is available in 4 formats Radiance Revealed Facial Foam, Precious Youth Serum, Youthful DayCream,
and Youth Reviving Eye Cream.

Pepsodent is committed to bringing the best oral care to families. With this
mission, Pepsodent offers a wide range of products for Bangladeshi
consumers, which are best suited to their needs

Unique Formulation
Pepsodents unique Germicheck formula is fortified with ingredients that
remove up to 95% germs in 2 minutes. As a result it prevents common oral
problems such as tooth decay, toothache, gum diseases, plaque and provides
strong and white teeth with a fresh breath.

Toothpaste

14

Pepsodents unique Germicheck formula is fortified with ingredients

that remove up to 95% germs in 2 minutes. The magnets in the
toothpaste sticks to germs as one brushes and destroys them.

Pepsodent Whitening whitens teeth in 2 weeks. It contains Perlite, an

effective polishing agent while helps removes stains. Its formula is
clinically proven to bring back and maintain the natural whiteness of
teeth.

Pepsodent Herbal contains the power of 5 natural elements - Basil Leaf,

Mint Leaf, Cardamom, Natural Calcium and Salt. Its flouride and
calcium makes stronger teeth and prevents tooth decay. Thus, it allows
people to eat their favorite food.

Toothpowder

Pepsodent toothpowders Germicheck Plus formula fights against

germs. Its calcium helps to prevent tooth decay.

Toothbrush

The three angled design of Pepsodent Fighter allows the brush to reach
comfortably all the way to the last tooth. Brush head shape is inspired
by index finger for better reach. Its inter-dental bristles profile cleans
in-between teeth effectively and is soft so that they don't hurt gums.

Everything from look and feel to fragrances of Lux is a delight to the

female senses. Lux has been associated with beauty since 1924. Over the
years, Lux has covered various aspects of beauty and stardom. But now
Lux feels that women have forgotten that beauty should be fun. And
15

looking great is an integral part of being a woman. Lux is here to remind,

encourage, inspire women and have fun with them - because deep down,
every woman wants to feel like a fortune. On this note, Lux is celebrating
the feminity and playfulness to remind women to enjoy absolutely
everything about becoming and being beautiful.

Lux, with its abundance of exotic beautyfying ingredients has lead to

beautiful skin - thereby making women who use it more gorgeous
naturally. In recent times, Lux has embraced beauty and feminity of the
21st century women. It aims to be the paradigm of the new feminity.
That's why Lux celebrates the pleasure of being a woman today by
encouraging women to feel and look beautiful, be individualistic about
their self-expression and indulge in the rituals of beautification in an
unapologetically feminine way. Lux beautifies in a playful way, letting
women express their feminine spirit without constrains.

Lux Strawberry and Cream: Every woman wants to be indulged. Use

Lux Strawberry and Cream to fill skin smooth and silky. Lovingly created
with a sumptuous mix of luscious strawberries and moisturizing cream
extracts that leaves skin soft.

Lux Peach and Cream: No women can resist the pleasure of being
pampered. Lux Peach and Cream, lovingly created with the blend of juicy
peach and moisturizing cream extracts, for a velvety, soft skin. Just
gorgeous!

16

Aqua Sparkle: Lux Aqua Sparkle, with refreshing mineral salts and
seaweed extracts, is the best kept secret to help renew skin from bored to
full of life.
Lifebuoy's goal is to provide affordable and accessible hygiene and
health solutions that enable people to lead a life without fear of hygiene
anxieties and health consequences.

Lifebuoy is the largest health soap brand in Bangladesh. Its vision is to

meet the health and hygiene needs of 150 million Bangladeshis. Lifebuoy
is a household name and this health soap is remembered in every sector
of the nation. Lifebuoy is known traditionally for its red bulky bar and
distinct smell but has over the years slowly changed to meet the changes
in consumer needs and now Lifebuoy comes in four germ-fighting forms.

The latest re-launch of the soap in 2009 has proven how Lifebuoy is in
accord with the changing lifestyles and requirements. The new mix
includes a new formulation, making it more relevant to both new and
existing consumers.

The new Lifebuoy variants are shaped even more efficiently to keep the
soap more dry while giving more lather faster and with using less water,
making them longer-lasting and budget efficient. The modern packaging
also gives Lifebuoy a better feel, fragrance and effectiveness.

The bar soaps are available in two variants:

17

Lifebuoy Total: This variant offers all the goodness of the original red
Lifebuoy with an improved new fragrance and unique shape. Its unique
germ protection gives all day protection from germ for the entire family.

Lifebuoy Care: This variant is a special formula which is gentle and

caring and takes care of delicate skin. It protects from germs all day long.
And yet it is mild and gentle and on skin.

Lifebuoy Handwash
Lifebuoy also offers specific health benefits through its specialized product
formats like Lifebuoy Handwash. This is a highly specialized hand wash
product from Lifebuoy available in liquid form. Lifebuoy Handwash has
been quickly accepted as the fastest and effective protection from germs
within 10 seconds. Proven to effectively clean and provide care for hands
and washing away germs by 99.9%, Lifebuoy Handwash promises a
healthy lifestyle. It is proven to protect hands from harmful germs that can
cause diarrhea, stomach infections etc. The handwash is currently
available in two variants Total and Care.

Lifebuoy is continuously improving its ability to fight germs so that it

keeps its promise to ensure a healthy family.

Fair & Lovely understands that different people have different fairness
needs based on age or skin type and therefore offers expert fairness
solutions relevant to different consumer needs

18

The Worlds No. 1 fairness cream, Fair & lovely, was developed in 1975
and is the first fairness cream in the world. Even though, its skin
lightening technology is known to be the best in the world, this hasnt
stopped the brand from innovating further to pioneer the development of
cutting-edge fairness solutions.

Fair & Lovely understands that different people have different fairness
needs based on age or skin type and therefore offers expert fairness
solutions relevant to different consumer needs.

Fair & Lovely Multivitamin Cream

Fair & Lovely Multivitamin with a breakthrough Tri-Fair Vitamin Complex
works on key barriers to clear fairness. Fair & Lovely Multivitamin offers
superior fairness benefit of clear fairness that rivals the best professional
beauty treatment, but without bleach or harmful chemicals that can
damage the skin.

Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic Care Cream

Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic Care Cream offers natural fairness solutions for
people with sensitive skin. It is enriched with the magical Ayurvedic blend
of Kumkumadi Oil- a mixture of 16 Ayurvedic ingredients, which provides
clear fairness even for sensitive skin.

19

Fair & Lovely Winter Fairness Cream

In winters, consumers express a fairness disappointment because of the
addition of moisturizers (cold creams) to their portfolio. While cold cream
helps them combat winter dryness, it also leaves them looking dark. Fair &
Lovely Winter fairness, with Multivitamins and Active Moisturizers, offers
fairness with benefits of cold cream.

Fair & Lovely Anti-marks Cream

Fair & Lovely Anti-marks offers fairness solutions for skin with pimple spots
and is targeted towards young, teenage girls with a dominant fairness
problem of pimple marks.

Fair & Lovely MAX Fairness Cream

Fair & Lovely MAX Fairness for Men is 2X better than any other ordinary
fairness cream for men. Its revolutionary Vitamax Complex and UV filters
work intensely on tough male skin and helps give: Visible fairness, Visible
spot reduction and Triple sunscreen UV protection.

Fair & Lovely Body Fairness Milk

Fair & Lovely Body Fairness milk, with its double sunscreen and Tri-Fair
Vitamin Complex gives protection from the sun and matches the fairness
on body with the fairness of face. Its gentle formulation gives fairness all
year round.

20

Fair & Lovely Multivitamin Facewash

In March 2012, Fair & Lovely introduced Fair & Lovely Multivitamin
Facewash which has Tri-Fair Vitamin Complex and Antioxidants that works
gently on the skin to provide clear fair skin. Multivitamin facewash, when
used with Multivitamin cream gives double action fairness.

Fair & Lovely MAX Fairness Facewash

Fair & Lovely is also launching MAX Fairness Facewash for Men which
contains VitaMAX Complex that deep cleanses impurities from tough male
skin to help provide long lasting fairness.

Dove today is in 80 countries making women beautiful everyday and

enabling them to enjoy their own brand of beauty by providing a wide
range of personal care, hair care, and skin care products. Dove is known
to be a keeper of promises and has given real products to women all over
the world.

Dove Skincare
In the skincare segment, Dove offers facial foams with moisturizing and
exfoliating benefits as well as moisturizing lotions.

Dove Facial Foams

Developed with a moisture system that both deposits and locks moisture
into wet skin, Dove Facial Foams cleanses and exfoliates the skin, leaving
it visibly more radiant. The two variants; Beauty Moisture and Gentle
21

Exfoliating Facial Foams; are designed to give great cleansing while

delivering on softness.

Dove Lotion
Dove

lotions

are

available

for

pampering

skin

with

unique

rich

moisturizers. It is available in the following variants:

Dove Essential Nourishment which gives Softness for longer

Dove Go Fresh Nourishment for a Cooling sensation

Dove Beauty Bar

Irrespective

of

seasons,

our

skin

needs

moisturizing.

With

1/4th

moisturizing cream, Dove Bars, Dove Facial Foams and Dove Body Washes
provides a complete moisture care. With 1/4th moisturizing cream blended
with cleansers, Dove Bar cleanses skin without drying it, which no soap
can promise.

Dove beauty bars are available in three variants:

Dove White Beauty Bar: It Contains 1/4th moisturizing cream and mild
cleansers that leave skin clean, soft and smooth.

22

Dove Pink Beauty Bar: Contains1/4thmoisturizing cream richly blended

with its mildest cleansers, no other beauty bar has more skin-natural
moisturizers than Dove. Everyday moisture is the key to beautiful skin.

Dove Fresh Moisture Beauty Bar: Contains an ultra-light hydrating

formula and the crisp, soothing scent of cucumber and green tea. It
Provides a refreshing, uplifting sensation for skin.

Dove Haircare
Dove knows that superior care that deeply nourishes and replenishes is
the only way to get truly beautiful hair. Hair is depleted of essential
nutrients on a daily basis. This is exacerbated by the environment, or
when hair is genetically dry, or is undergoing aging or being damaged by
styling. That is why Dove has developed specifically tailored solutions to
deeply nourish dry hair and repair damaged hair, leaving it properly cared
for so that it feels as good as it looks.

Dove Hairfall Rescue Shampoo and Conditioner: Contains Micro

Moisture Serum which strengthens hair to prevent it from falling.

Dove Intense Repair Shampoo and Conditioner: With Micro Moisture

Serum and Fiber Actives which reconstructs hair deep inside and prevents
split ends and breakage

Dove

Nourishing

Oil

Care

Shampoo

and

Conditioner:

With

revolutionary Nutri Oils, cleanses hair without drying.

23

Close up- The closer the better our mouths are our gateway to life. Close
up helps people to live life confidently and brings the taste of success.

Close up was launched as a gel toothpaste containing micro-whiteners

and mouthwash in 1984, and fired the imagination of the population with
it's exciting advertising.
Seeing the success that Unilever Bangladesh had with low unit price packs
in other categories, a sachet - more popularly called mini pack - met with
astounding success and enabled millions of youth, who aspired for a
modern trendy brand, to use Close Up.

Improving Oral Hygiene

Close up mini virtually dominates the low unit price segment in oral care,
and has been instrumental in improving the oral hygiene in Bangladesh,
particularly driving penetration of toothpaste.

Exciting Flavors
Being as change oriented as its target market, Close up continually
renews the oral care experience by introducing new flavors every now and
then. The new Close up offers three exciting flavors including Menthol
Chill, Red Hot and Peppermint Splash.

CLEAR believes that having a problem-free scalp (without dandruff, itch,

dryness or greasiness) allows people to leave behind inhibitions so that
24

they can make the maximum impact. That is why Clear is the scalp expert
that: offers customized solutions for holistic scalp health and helps
harness the power of the healthy scalp as the foundation for healthy,
impactful hair

Clear is Unilevers leading anti dandruff shampoo brand. Since its first
launch in 1972, in Asia, the Clear formulation has continuously evolved
with intensive research and clinical trials conducted by scientists at the
Clear Paris Institute. With a constant focus on leading edge technology,
Clear is pegged as the worlds leading scalp care shampoo.

Clinical research shows that dandruff and other scalp problems like
dryness originate deep under the scalp. Washing away visible flakes on
the surface does little to treat the root cause, which is a weak and
damaged scalp barrier. Thus, dandruff keeps coming back.

Experts at Clear understand that scalp is skin. Therefore CLEAR has

partnered with the worlds leading dermatologists from the International
Academy of Dermatology (IACD) to bring the scalp nutrient technology
new CLEAR with Nutrium 10 to its consumers.
To address the different needs of male and female scalp, Clear has come
up with Nutrium 10 technology for women and Pro Nutrium 10 for men.
Combining the benefits of pro-vitamins, minerals and sunflower oils,
Nutrium 10 treats dandruff at the root: nourishes the scalp to eliminate
flakes, soothes dryness and repairs the scalp barrier to strengthen its
natural resistance.

25

New CLEAR Anti-Dandruff Shampoos Nutrium 10 has been identified by

IACD as the scalp care technology that will lead the paradigm shift in scalp
care management. It took years in the making and is a part of CLEARs
mission to deliver the most effective anti dandruff shampoo for healthy
scalp and hair. This technology will contribute not only to better scalp
health, but also improve dandruff sufferers quality of life.

CLEAR variants are

Women
Soft and Shiny - Transforms hair from dry to lusciously soft and shiny
Anti-Hair Fall - Strengthens from the root to tip and increases hairs
defense against hairfall and breakage

Men
Cool Sport Menthol - With active menthol, for all scalp and hair types
Anti Hairfall- With Pro-Strength Ginseng Technology for weakened hair
fiber, strengthens hair & defends against hair fall

Unisex
Complete Active Care - Quenches thirsty scalp and hair with essential
nourishment
Ice cool Menthol - Refreshes and revives scalp and hair with an
invigorating burst of menthol freshness

26

AXEs commitment to helping guys has led it to become the No. 1 male
deodorant across the globe. Axes commercials and advertisements have
been recognized as some of the industrys best with a track record of 10
Cannes Lions.
Axe started its journey in 1983 in France and has had left its footprints in
all the countries it has been launched in. Now the Bangladeshi guys can
get the exciting fragrances right when they need it. The new body spray
applicator from Axe mean more spray per click and hence more girls than
ever before.
It is available in four variants in Bangladesh

Dark Temptation

Twist

Music Star

Excite

Under water category, Pureit is offered to the market. Pureit is a

revolutionary water purifier and the first of its kind. It directly purifies tap
water and provides "as safe as boiled water without the hassles of boiling"

Water is synonymous to life, but only when it is safe for consumption.

Approximately 25% of the disease burden in Bangladesh is water borne.
Drinking unsafe water can cause such fatal waterborne diseases as
diarrhoea, cholera, jaundice and typhoid.

With a mission to bring safe drinking water to millions of Bangladeshi

consumers, Unilever has introduced its unique water purifier Pureit.

27

Pureit is a revolutionary water purifier and the first of its kind. It directly
purifies tap water and provides "as safe as boiled water without the
hassles of boiling". It runs without gas or electricity and hence helps save
valuable natural resources. Made with high quality plastic, Pureits Classic
model has a maximum capacity of 18 litres.

Pureit's Germkill Process removes all kinds of dirt, germs and parasites
through a unique 4 step purification system. Pureit follows the strict
guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency, USA, on water safety.

3. Treasury

Structure

of

Unilever

Bangladesh

Limited
The organogram of Treasury Organization of Unilever Bangladesh
Limited is exhibited below:

Finance Director

Finance Controller

Treasury Manager

Assistant Treasury Manager

Finance Executive (Treasury)

28

Chart 1: Organogram of Treasury Sub Function

Finance operation is led by Finance Director. Within finance function
there are numerous sub functions Financial Accounting, Indirects
Control, Supply Chain Finance, Business Unit Finance (Management
Accounting,

Treasury,

Legal,

Information

Technology,

Information

Management, Customer Development Finance (CD Finance) etc.

Treasury is under Controllers Department and Treasury Manager
Reports

to

Finance

Controller.

Assistant

Manager

and

Finance

Executive, Treasury.
Although this is the local finance structure, there is continuous
collaboration and operation with regional treasury teams.
3. 1 Global Treasury Structure of Unilever
The structural hierarchy of Treasury Operations includes Global
Regional Treasury team, Regional Treasury team and then local
treasury team. The following chart provides an overview of function of
the global treasury operations:

29

 OpCos Capital
Structure
Local Funding
Decisions
OpCos
Business Partner

Global Treasury
Corpor
ate
Financ
e

Internati
onal
Funding
Group

Capital
structure
Unilever
Risk
Management
Unilever
Global
Banking
Relations
Rating
Agencies

Global Treasury
Operations
Transactional
Banking
Liquidity
Management
Risk Management
Chart 2: Global Treasury Structure
Global

Treasury

includes

sub

functions

like

Corporate

Finance,

International Funding Group and Global Treasury Operation. Corporate

Finance activities include capital structure and funding decisions.
International Funding Groups activity includes deciding what would be
minimum risk exposure of each OpCo at any moment with a particular
bank, what kind of banking relationships do be maintained, analyse
reports from rating agencies of the banks and assess how much risk
Unilever would choose to have with each of them. Global treasury
operations do transaction on behalf of local companies. This includes,
Foreign exchange dealing, interest rate risk management, liquidity
management etc. For Unilever Bangladesh Limited, GTO team is more
involved with FX risk management and counterparty monitoring so that
there is not breach of limit set by IFG team for exposure at any point in
time with each of the bank.
Unilever Bangladesh Limited has to adhere to the policies, any
deviation needs to be communicated to Global team and take

30

clearance on it. Thus there is continuous collaboration with the regional

and global team.
The major highlight of global mandate includes:
1. Primary Banking Structure: According to Unilever Treasury
Standard there are recommended banks which will be used by
Local operations. These banks are termed as Golden Circle
banks. Amongst the Golden Circle Banks, 2 tiers are referred: G1
and G2.
Primarily it is recommended that G1 banks should be used since
there is global strategic relationship between Unilever and these
banks. Otherwise G2 banks should be used. It is recommended
that other bank should not be used. Thus payment, collection
and investment all should be done though the recommended
banks
2. Counterparty Limit: The IFG sub function of Global Treasury
decides for every legal entity of Unilever what would be the
maximum exposure at any point in time with a particular bank.
This includes, a/c balance, any investment amount with accrued
interest as well as possible gain from all.
3. No Recourse/ Guarantee to any banks/FIs
3.2 Treasury Operations:
In Unilever, Treasury is treated more as a service centre of the
company rather than the profit centre of the company. Although idle
cash is invested in interest bearing accounts or in form of fixed
deposits, but the idea is not make gain from such instruments. UBL for
its foreign exchange risk does hedging, but this is only to the extent of
locking the price and knowing the cost. It does not do any kind of
currency trading or does not hedge with a view of making gain.
UBLs treasury activities facilitates sales team, by negotiating with
Bank for easier and faster collection process and providing additional
products to distributors which will in turn facilitate the sales process. It
31

help supply chain - buying team through on time purchasing of foreign

currency for imported goods, negotiating with banks for minimum cost
and low turn around time; helps payment team by arranging fund for
all payment process & introducing products that would lessen the
entire payment process. Other than that it is helping the entire
organization through risk controlling and liquidity management. Further
details of UBLs treasury activities are discussed below:
1. Risk Management:
Under risk management, interest rate risk management, foreign
exchange risk management and commodity price risk management.
Interest rate risk management is not relevant for Unilever Bd,
commodity risk management is executed by global purchasing teams,
and only foreign exchange risk management is executed in UBL.
Unilever Bd Ltd huge portfolio items that are imported: Raw Material,
Semi Finished Goods, Machineries and Spare parts, Packing Material
etc. Thus at any point in time UBL have commitment outstanding
which would include foreign payment. The impact on PnL would be
large for any radical movement in foreign exchange. In order to
mitigate financial loss and know exact payable, diligently Hedging is
done in terms of Forward Cover purchase. The idea is to minimize risk
and not think of gain from hedging.
Every week, local treasury team calculated their exposure and how
much hedging needs to be done against which import. From purchase
team, date of maturity is received and
2. Liquidity Management:

Unilever Bd Ltd operates on a negative

working capital model, thus generally cash is at a surplus level.

Liquidity management initial process includes yearly cash forecast with
monthly phasing. On top of it every day possible payable from each of
the bank a/c is tracked. Liquidity management includes proactively
monitoring cash level, whether it is sufficient to meet immediate
payables, design ways in case there is a possible deficit at any
moment as well as invest for excess amount. UL BD invests in Fixed
Deposits as per global mandates.
32

3. Transactional

Banking:

Transactional

banking

includes

everyday

transaction with bank, transferring funds from each bank to another

depending on funding requirement, defunding to maximize investment
or increasing balance in remunerating a/c etc. This also includes
foreign transaction settlement. All tangible good procurement is done
through Letter of Credit. When documents are coming to banks for
payment and once it is cleared off by the supply chain team treasury
team upload documents request in a web portal called E Kit. This is
basically a portal through which communication is made to World
Treasury Operations team for settling with banks. Since they do trading
on behalf of all local operations, they actually get benefits of
economies of scale, greater leverage of know how etc.
3.3 Banking Infrastructure:
The global mandates require two execute operation using one or two
banks which are under either G1/G2 categories. These banks are to be
used

for

local

payment,

collection,

foreign

payment,

outward

remittance, purchase short terms investment products.

Currently Unilever Bangladesh Limited has banking exposure in HSBC,
SCB, Citi, CBC, BRAC Bank, & Sonali Bank holding 19 a/c. The
operations are not restricted to G1/G2, due to business requirement
and limitation of recommended banks on type of products and network
base. Such deviations have also been approved. The risk profile is
maintained by judging the capital base of each of the banks and daily
exposure or counterparty limit is approved accordingly.
Collection Structure:
UBL sells through multiple sales channels general trade, modern
trade, rural, alternate route to market (pollydut and aprajita).

UBL

caters to apprx 4.5 lac outlets through 126 distributors. These

distributors are the direct customers of UBL. Of the 126 distributors, 2

33

distributors are dedicated distributors for Water Business (for Pureit)

and 1 distributor is dedicated for catering to Modern Trade
Unilever Bangladesh Limited has unique sales collection structure,
whereby there is high level of integration with collection bank (BRAC
bank), minimizing manual intervention, and makes the reconciliation
process efficient.
Currently there are 3 a/c s with BRAC bank. The distributors are
categorized in 2 categories for collection process Continuous
Replenishment

System

Distributor

(CRS

distributors)

and

Non

Continuous Replenishment Distributors (Non CRS Distributors). CRS

Distributors avail credit facility from BRAC bank at about 2 to 3% lower
than market interest rate. This credit facility is in the form of OD
facility, and the size of the OD facility is between 1 to 2 days sales
volume. Non CRS Distributors are not obtaining credit facility from
BRAC.
Both CRS and Non CRS customers use software DMS plus, which is
used largely for inventory management, order adjustment and placing
order to Unilever Bangladesh Limited. This software is integrated with
UBLs ERP and against any order placement data directly flows in UBLs
ERP and is recorded against each unique customer code. UBLs ERP is
also integrated with collecting Banks software. The sum total of order
placement of each customer flows to Bank.
For CRS Customer, Banks system checks credit limit and cash
availability. In the event the amount suffices, the corresponding
account is debited and UBLs account is credited. Subsequently a
positive feed is transmitted to Unilever. The corresponding customer
balance accordingly is raised and against that stock is dispatched. In
case the amounts do not suffice, a negative feed is transmitted and no
stock is dispatched.
The entire collection process is cash basis and financing solution plays
a major role. Distributors Financing Arrangement with BRAC is on an
understanding basis and has no recourse to UBL. The financing facility
34

extended to distributors under this program is used for Unilever

purchase only. This program can be availed by any distributor
For Non CRS Customer, in a similar way stock order cumulative amount
is transmitted to BRAC. Non CRS customers deposit Demand Draft or
Pay Order in nearest collection Bank Branch/SME unit. This DD/PO
amount is uploaded against the respective customer code by BRAC and
data flows back to UBLs ERP. As per the deposited amount, customer
balance is adjusted and stock dispatched. The data flow is real time
and Collection bank refreshes in every 30 minutes.

Sales Order
Generated in
Distributors
software
Sales Order Cross
Checking with
Distributor
Collec
Balance (OD
tion
Limit+ Cash
Bank
Balance)
Do the
amoun
ts
match
No
deliver
y

Yes (Bank
debits
Distributor,
credits
UBL)
Dispatch

Sales Order Cross

Checking with
Distributor
Deposit
Do the
amou
nts
match
Proportionat
e Amnt
delivered

Chart 3: Data Flow in Collection Banking Structure

Every days collection from both the customer base are collected in 2
a/cs and are at day end these 2 a/cs are defunded and the collected
amounts are transferred to the third a/c in BRAC, which is an interest
bearing a/c . This remains there for 2 days and then through a standing
instruction this is transferred to payment a/c in other banks.

CRS
collection
a/c

35

At day end
collection
transferred
to
interest
bearing a/c

Interest
bearing
a/c

Non CRS
collection
a/c
Chart 4: Collection Bank A/C Infrastructure

Collection
amnt
transferred
to
paying
bank on 3rd
day

Assigned
payment a/c
in other bank

BRAC has a huge network base as well Unilever has been able to
capitalize on IT integration and distributor financing product.
The timing of funds realization by UBL differs across different depots.
At present, 9% of UBLs funds get cleared on day 1, 22% in day 2/3 and
the remaining 69% take more than 3 days. Sometimes this 69% of
funds take 3 to 10 days to be cleared by the banks because of location
distance.
Though the fund realization is taking time, but the bank transaction
process is very immediate. The funds are credited instantly or at day 0
by the banks and the goods are dispatched from the depots within 1 to
3 hours after receiving the orders. Here, the time varies because of
different collection modality.
Beside this basic transaction facility, the banks provide additional
services to UBL. For example, BBL accepts small notes from UBL
distributors.
In case of erroneous information provided by distributors, banks
urgently notify the both parties and request the distributor to correct
the information as soon as possible.
If any DD/PO is lost, then a General Diary (GD) has to be filed by the
liable party (either bank or distributor). After this, a stop payment
order and a new DD/PO are issued by distributor.
Scrap sale collection is maintained in SCB. There arent much value
addition done on this, and the reconciliation process is manually. Since
36

such collection occurs at in frequent basis, this part is not kept under
general collection modality.
Payment Structure:
Payments are routed from 5 banks and there are different types of
payment generated from different units thus separation is maintained.
If payment nature is considered, there are import payments through
LC/LCA, foreign outward remittance through swift (for intangible item),
local payments to vendors, duty payment in government a/c.
Import payment is processed through normal banking process. Items
are imported through opening LC or LCA, and on arrival documents,
document currency is purchased from bank and the documents are
settled accordingly. Banks debit a/c account accordingly. UBL enjoys
minimum charge; dedicated courier service etc. 3 banks are kept as a
part of back up as well segregation of item.
Foreign outward remittance are items payment to a foreign entity
occurring made through foreign currency for an intangible item like
agency fee, consultancy fee etc. For some of these payments pre
approval of Bangladesh Bank is required and knowledge basis is given
importance in selecting from which bank to route these payments.
Local payments are made to different kind of vendors, which are
generated from both Dhaka as well as Ctg location depending from
where the procurement was made. Majority of payment flows from
HSBC a/cs. Payment requests are generated in UBLs existing ERP.
Once these are internally approved, payment files are transferred the
banks system. Depending on the a/c either instrument are printed in
HSBC premises in Dhaka or Chittagong. The instrument bears
approvers signature. These are then delivered to Unilever office (either
Dhk or Ctg). Payment to vendors is accordingly done. This has lessened
the manual job as well as there is no cost on printing and delivery of
this. Other than this modality there are very few local payments made
through manual process.

37

Investments are basically in the form of fixed deposit. Usually these

are kept for tenure ranging from 1 month to 3 months. These are only
done in approved banks.

4. Peer Companies Practice

To understand and benchmark Unilever Bangladeshs treasury operations,
Marico Bangladesh Ltds & Berger Paints Bd Ltds treasury operations have
been overviewed.
4.1 Overview of Marico Bangladesh Limited
Marico Bangladesh Limited (MBL) holds a leadership position in the FMCG
space.
MBLs Products in Pure Coconut oil, Edible Oil, Hair care and Skin Care reach
out to more than 500,000 outlets in Bangladesh. MBL touches the lives of 1
out of every 3 Bangladeshi through its portfolio of brands such as Parachute,
Saffola, Hair Code, Aromatic, Camelia and Beliphool to name a few, most of
which enjoy leadership positions (No. 1 in coconut oil segment), with
significant market shares in respective categories.
Brands of Marico Bangladesh Limited
Parachute is one of the largest brands in Bangladesh and is the undisputed
leader in the branded coconut oil segment, commanding a market share of
almost 73%. It is one of the most trusted brands in the country. Recently
38

awarded the 6th Best Brand in Bangladesh by Brand Forum, Parachute was
also ranked the 3rd Best Brand amongst FMCG brands. Parachute has come a
long way since its launch in Bangladesh in the late '90s and is today known to
be a symbol of 100% purity.
Parachute is targeted at all modern women who are embracing the new age
with ease, as well as understanding newer and better means to personal
care. The brand enjoys huge loyalty among both the urban and rural
population of Bangladesh.
Parachute Coconut Oil
For basic nourishment, Parachute is available in convenient packs of 5ml,
20ml,

45ml

and

100ml.

The larger packs of 200ml, 400ml and 500ml are for family usage. To avoid
warming

in

winter,

Parachute also has the Easy Jar with a wide mouth for convenience. The Easy
Jar comes in 200ml, 400ml and 500 ml packs.
Parachute Advansed Enriched Coconut Hair Oil
For women who look for more than basic nourishment, Parachute Advansed
was launched in late 2008. Parachute Advansed is a 100% pure coconut oil
enriched with the do-good properties of lemon, henna, amla, and hibiscus.
Regular usage of Parachute Advansed results in healthy and gorgeous hair.
Parachute Beliphool Light
Parachute Beliphool Light is a jasmine-scented light coconut hair oil for those
who want non-sticky hair and use oil to manage their hair. Parachute
Beliphool Light is enriched with Vitamin E that gives complete nourishment to
hair and helps to increase blood circulation in the scalp, resulting in hair that
is full of life.
Parachute Therapie
39

Parachute Therapie was launched in August 2008. It has already established

itself

as

the

only

expert hair fall solution. Parachute Therapie addresses RDF (root destroying
factors), a combination of stress, pollution, quality of water, imperfect hair
care, imbalanced diet and ageing - the main cause of hair fall. Parachute
Therapie has natural Root Activising Alpha Proteins, a unique blend of
proteins, vitamins, herbs and minerals that reduces the effect of RDF,
bringing a reduction in hair fall in just 45 days.
Saffola
Marico Bangladesh Limited launched Saffola Gold, the 1st ever blended
edible vegetable oil in Bangladesh on 23rd April10. Saffola Gold has the
unique composition of 80% Rice bran Oil and 20% Safflower/Kardi Oil.
Rice Bran Oil (RBO): Heart healthy nutrients in RBO such as tocopherols,
tocotrienols and oryzanol are known for their cholesterol lowering ability.
Besides, RBO also has a high percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids,
which have been proven to not only reduce the bad LDL cholesterol levels
but also increase the levels of good HDL cholesterol in blood.
Safflower Seed (Kardi) Oil: Linoleic acid, an omega-6-polyunsaturated fatty
acid, is present in a high percentage in safflower oil and is very potent in
reducing cholesterol levels.
Hair Code Herbal Hair Dye
Hair Code Herbal Hair Dye was launched in Bangladesh in 2008. It is available
in 6g sachet packs. People use different hair dyes to cover premature greying
as nobody likes to have an elderly look and hence, a low self esteem. These
dyes have chemicals only which may lead to hair damage. Hair Code Herbal
Hair Dye has the goodness of Henna, Amla & Hibiscus. With regular usage,
Hair Code gives you shiny black hair evenly for longer period, making your
40

hair soft, smooth and well nourished, giving you the confident, smart look
that others admire.
Aromatic
Marico acquired Brand Aromatic from Aromatic Cosmetics Ltd. in Oct 2005
and re-launched the brand as Aromatic Gold in Oct 2006. Aromatic brings you
gently fragrant beauty solutions, from the treasure trove of Mother Nature. A
beauty soap with the goodness of age-old natural ingredients that protect the
skin and nourish it at the same time. The brand stands for modern beauty
and traditional values.
New International Camelia
Camelia is enriched with a unique, long-lasting fresh floral fragrance to keep
one feeling active and refreshed throughout the day. It has Vitamin E added
to it to nourish the skin. It is suitable for all skin types. Camelia Beliphool is
available in all leading outlets in packs of 75g. The sweet and soothing
fragrance of Beliphool helps to calm the mind and makes one feel cheerful,
refreshed and confident, all day long. Its Vitamin E property conditions,
nourishes and protects the skin, leaving it glowing and beautiful.

4.1.1 Treasury Operations of Marico Bangladesh Limited

Collection Process
Marico Bangladesh Limited (MBL) has 5 sales depots in Bangladesh. They are
in Dhaka, Comilla, Chittagong, Jessore & Bogra. Maricos 60% of sales and
collections are done in Dhaka region. To ensure this, the company has a sales
force, consisting of 700 distributors sales representative.
Performing Banks & Exercising Instruments

41

4 different banks are involved in managing the collection process of MBL.

They are SCB, Citi Bank N. A., HSBC and BRAC Bank Limited. The company
does not make any sales on credit. They only receive DDs, POs and
sometimes cash. Most of the transactions are through Citi Bank. HSBC deals
with Dhaka region and receives only DDs, whereas, BRAC bank accepts cash
only from Chittagong region.
The distributors can deposit DDs, POs to the mentioned banks with necessary
information regarding sales order. The instruments are also can be deposited
to the nearest depots. In that case, bank representatives collect them from
those depots and deposit them to the respective banks.
Timing
The average collection time of Marico Bangladesh Limited differs widely for 5
depots because of geographical distances.

Table 1: Location wise Clearance Time for MBL

Location
Dhaka
Chittagong
Bogra
Jessore
Comilla

Average Collection Time

1 day
4-5 days
3-4 days
3 days
3 days

So, the timing of crediting the funds differs across regions. The goods are
dispatched only when the instrument is physically realized. And because of
this there is a time lag between funds received and goods delivered by the
company.
42

MIS Swiftness
Marico receives MIS only from BRAC Bank Limited once in a day. But for
Chittagong transaction, it sends MIS in every 2 hours. Although, Citi Bank still
does not provide direct MIS, but they are in the negotiation process where Citi
will send MIS to Marico twice a day. However company regularly gets to know
whenever the Citi Bank representatives collect DDs from company depots.
Other Services
Marico faces difficulties in BRAC bank in terms of small notes, as the bank
only accepts notes above 100tk, in some region due to their limited vault
capacity.
In case of erroneous information provided by the distributors, banks block
that respective party account and issue/raise Debit Note/PO which refers that
the distributor owes money to the company. And until that party pays the due
amount, he cannot give any further order in the future.
Whenever any DD/PO gets lost, the bank files a General Diary against that
instrument. But it may take a month to recover the money. Here, Marico
suggests that it will be efficient if the GD is filed by the courier service. The
bank can keep the main copy and send another copy to the company. Then
the company will forward it to the distributor and tell them to issue a stop
payment order. After this, the distributor has to issue new DD. In this way,
collection will be recovered within a week. But here, the company has to bear
the cost of DD.
In case of IT failure or down serer, the banks provide the physical list or
scanned copy of transactions to the company. Here, the problem is that the
company has to make physical entry of those transactions which is time
consuming.

43

The banks also provide immediate service in case of long/slow moving queue.
If it is possible to inform the Relationship Manager (RM) of the bank earlier
then special arrangements can be ready for that specific day to operate the
transaction quickly.
Distributors Product
Maricos distributors are enjoying check warehousing facility from SCB. If a
distributor knows its total monthly requirements then he can place early
orders to the bank. Then the bank will place the orders on the specific issuing
dates to the company.
Security
The banks are always alert about security issues. Whenever they detect any
fake currency, fake DD/PO or face any rejection of DD/PO, they notify the
company as well as the distributor about the occurrences. Beside this, banks
block the distributor account so that transactions cannot be made against
that instrument. But no parties repeat this incident again. And basically no
affirmative actions are taken by the company.
Other Problems
Marico sometimes faces reconciliation problems from the performing banks.
For example, in case of any collection entry for Dhaka region, they credit
companys current account instead of Dhaka account. Other than these,
Marico Bangladesh Limited does not face any major difficulties.
Payment Process
The payment process of Marico Bangladesh Limited is quite simple.
Performing banks & exercising instruments

44

Maricos payment process is done through 2 different banks; Citi Bank N. A.

and HSBC. The majority of transactions are processed through Citi Bank. And
the payments are made by cheques.
Marico Bangladesh Limited has 2 payment days in a week; Monday and
Wednesday. So, Marico makes 8-9 payment cases monthly.
Timing
Marico can provide payment instruction anytime during the banking hour
this is for both LC settlement payment as well as local payment. There are
cheque write software installed of CIti, HSBC and SCB. Thus cheques are
printed, which is minimizing the manual error. But again these cheques need
to be signed manually once the printing is done. The cheques are delivered
through physical collection from vendor as well as through courier. Vendors
later submit these cheques for encashment. It is often found that the Bank
system is updated at a later hour. Hence when a/c balance is checked, often
the volume of cheque encashed is missed and may result into negative
balance.
MIS Swiftness
The tracking system for Maricos payment process is not satisfactory. They
actually do not get any MIS or notification information regarding any payment
instruction. They only get MIS in case any kind of rejection.
Other Services
The banks provide immediate service in case of long/slow moving queue. But
for this, they are needed to be informed earlier.
Security

45

In case of any rejections, banks provide instant notification to the company.

Then they recheck, verify the documents as well as accounts and resend the
payment instructions.

4.2 Overview of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited

Berger Paints is one of the oldest names in the paint industry, yet, it is one of
the most technologically advanced companies in the country. It is constantly
striving for innovating superior quality products and services. With more than
250 years of rich heritage, Berger manufactures world class paints for all
kinds of substrates and also provides unparallel services.
46

Bergers inception was laid out in 1760 by a German national named Louis
Berger, who started dye and pigment making business in England. Louis
involved his family into the business and eventually changed the status of the
company to Louis Berger & Sons Limited. The company grew and expanded
rapidly

with

strong

reputation

for

excellence

in

innovation

and

entrepreneurship. In the initial years, Louis successfully refined the process of

manufacturing Prussian blue, a deep blue dye. This dye was widely used for
the uniforms of many European armies of that time. Production of dyes and
pigments evolved into production of paints and coatings, which till today,
remains the core business of Berger. The company grew rapidly, by
establishing

branches all

over the

world and

through

mergers and

acquisitions with other leading paint and coating manufacturing companies.

Berger Paints started painting Bangladesh since independence. Over the
past few decades, Berger has evolved and transformed itself in becoming the
leading paint solution provider in the country with a diversified product range
that caters to all your painting needs.
Berger has heavily invested in technology and Research & Development
(R&D) compared to any other manufacturer in this market. Investment in
technology and plant capacity is even more evident from the establishment
of Powder Coating and Emulsion plants at the Dhaka factory. The state-of-theart Dhaka factory is an addition to Berger's capacity, making it the paint giant
in Bangladesh. It sources raw materials from some of the best known names
in the world. The superior quality of Berger's products has been possible
because of its advanced plants and strict quality controls that match
international standards.
With its strong distribution network, Berger has reached almost every corner
of Bangladesh. Nationwide Dealer Network, supported by 8 Sales Depots
strategically located at Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Bogra, Sylhet
,Comilla and Mymensingh has an unmatched capability to answer to paint
needs at almost anywhere in Bangladesh.
47

Berger's one of the prime objectives is to provide best customer supportconnecting consumers to technology through specialized services like free
technical advice on surface preparation, color consultancy, special color
schemes etc. To bolster customer satisfaction, Berger offers Home Decor
Service from where one can get an array of services pertaining to painting.
The product range includes specialized outdoor paints to protect against
adverse weather conditions, ColorBank, Superior Marine Paints, Textured
Coatings, Heat Resistant Paints, Roofing Compounds, Epoxies and Powder
Coatings. In each of these product categories, Berger has been the pioneer.
Besides, Berger offers illusions-the first designer paint solution in Bangladesh.
The company also launched Power Bond adhesive, lnnova Wood Coating in
collaboration with Sherwin-Williams, Vehicle Refinish in collaboration with
world renowned PPG-USA, Texbond binder to cater to the growing needs of
the customers.
Apart from business, Berger Paints has added another dimension to its social
responsibilities by contributing to the well being of the autistic children in
Bangladesh

from 2009.

Berger

Paints Bangladesh

Limited

has been

promoting the young and creative talents of the country through Berger
Young Painters Art Competition (BYPAC), Berger Award for Excellence in
Architecture

(BAEA),

Berger

Award

Programme

for

the

Students

of

Architecture of BUET (BASAB), Scholarship Programme for the students of

Architecture Discipline, Khulna University.

4.2.1 Treasury Operations of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited

Collection Process
Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited (BPBL) is the leading company in the paint
industry of Bangladesh. It holds approximately 52%-53% market share of the
whole paint industry. The rest of the market share is covered by Elite paints,
48

Jhilik paints, Asian paints, Roxy paints, Anchor paints, Pailac paints etc. The
secret behind this huge growth and leading position of BPBL is no quality
compromise commitment and importance to any customer claims.
BPBL has 9 depots at 9 different areas of Bangladesh. They are in Dhaka,
Chittagong, Comilla, Bogra, Rajshahi, Khulna, Mymensing, Barishal and
Sylhet. BPBL is a dealer based business. The company has approximately
2200 dealers who are working for BPBL.
Performing Banks & Exercising Instruments
The collection from the dealers is happened mainly through Citi Bank N. A.
The areas, where there is no branch of Citi, IFIC, Ismali Bank and South East
Bank work as collection banks under direct guidance of Citi. All the collections
take on an average of 15 days to be collected by the company. Per month
only 5% of the sales of the company remain as outstanding on an average.
BPBL has 30 day terms of condition for sales. And the dealers get different
facilities and/or penalties for paying early, in-between and delayed payments.
The banks receive cheques, DDs and POs from the dealers as collection
instruments. The dealers deposit them to the nearest depots. And then,
banks representatives collect them or depot representatives send them to the
banks for further processing.
Timing
The average collection time of BPBL fluctuates from 7 to 15 days for different
locations. Dhaka and the nearest locations have an average collection time of
7 days whereas the others have an average collection time of 15 days.
Table 2: Average Clearance Time for Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited

Location

Average Collection Time

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Dhaka, Comilla & Mymensign

Chittagong,

Bogra,

Rajshahi,

7 days
Khulna,

Barishal & Sylhet

15 days

So, the timing of crediting the funds varies from 7 to 15 days for different
locations. But the good are dispatched from the depots whenever the
requirements are sent by the dealers.
MIS Swiftness
The MIS update frequency is very high and satisfactory in the collection
process of BPBL. Citi Bank N. A. provides notification after occurrence of
every transaction in a day. So, BPBL gets instant and continuous information
of each and every collection procedure.
Other Services
The banks provide various useful services to BPBL for different issues. For
example, in case of erroneous information provided by dealers, banks notify
the parties as soon as possible and request the dealers to alter and adjust the
necessary information of that particular instrument or documents.
If it is a matter of lost DD/PO, the bank notifies both of the parties and tells
the dealers to issue stop payment order against it. After this, the dealers
have to issue new DD/PO for that transaction. Here, DD/PO can be lost both
by the bank and the dealers. But the ultimate processing against this activity
has to be taken by the dealers.
Sometimes, the banks face MICR machine difficulty because of endorsement
problem or signature mismatch. In this case, the banks first identify the
ground of the problem, verify the issues and ask dealers to adjust or replace
it soon. To reduce this problem, the bank has a penalty policy (500 Tk.) for
every dishonored transaction because of MICR problem.
50

In case of long/slow moving queue, BPBL gets favor from the banks. The
company has given a special card by the bank so that the representatives
need not to wait in the queue and they are served instant. As BPBL has
products above 1000 Tk price, so, the banks do not accept any small notes
against BPBL products.

Security
The banks are very alert about security issues regarding transactions with
BPBL Company. The chance of any kind of rejections, fake currency or DD/PO
detection is very rare, around 0.05%. Both the performing banks and dealers
are very careful about these issues. And the banks are highly instructed to
handle these situations carefully and strictly.
Payment Process
The payment process of BPBL is very straightforward. The BPBL portfolio of
collection and payment process is very stable and strong. For this reason,
other companies like to adopt or follow theirs transaction process.
Performing banks & exercising instruments
BPBLs payment process is done through 4 different banks: Standard
Chartered Bank, CB of Ceylon, Citi Bank N. A. and HSBC. Most of the
transactions are done through Standard Chartered Bank. And the local
payments are made by cheques. All the transactions are made during the
bank as well as company office hour time.
Timing
The timing of BPLs payment process is very fast. Whenever electronic fund
transfer instructions of sending funds requests are uploaded, the debiting of
51

account, any advice of (un)successful transaction is made instantly. There is

no time lag between these procedures. Cheque printing procedure is same as
that of Maricos.
MIS Swiftness
Though BPBL does not get any MIS or notifications from any of the banks, but
the company can get information whenever it asks from the banks.
Security
As mentioned before, the security system of the banks, in case of transaction
with BPBL, is very high. But to avoid the MICR machine problem, BPBL is
planning to avoid mannual signature process and to have scanning signature
facility very soon.

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4.3

Comparative

analysis

of

Treasury

Operations

of

Unilever

Bangladesh Limited
Comparative Analysis is done on 2 parameters collection process and
payments process. Ground on which comparison are brought: Instruments
used, swiftness, MIS received and IT platforms used, security, other value
added services.
Collection Process
Berger has a more complex collection process than the other two. Berger is
operating by providing credit, thus reconciliation process requires more
vigilance.
Although banking infrastructure is almost same amongst the 3 companies,
but UBL scores better in terms of IT infrastructure and MIS update. This is
allowing reconciliation with minimum intervention in system. Unilever is only
dispatching goods only when in internal system collection is recorded. The
time from physical collection to recording is usually less and there is less
likelihood of incorrect recording.
All the 3 companies have the same pitfall when funds are collected through
DD/PO. The encashment time is long thus cash utilization process and return
from unutilized cash goes down. Unilever needs to look into new techniques
and structuring to ensure that encashment occurs.

53

Berger and Marico has to endure difficulties in times of lost instrument from
either banks courier end or the teller end, as the organization itself has to
ensure that GD is done by the distributor and accordingly duplicate DD is
issued which itself can take a long time. The bank receiving the instrument
has to take the responsibility.
Recommendation for Collection Process
Sales is the ultimate objective for and organization thus a smooth collection
process is an important capstone. Unilever is realizing on T0 when funds are
transferred from distributors a/c to Unilever a/c in BRAC. Funds can also be
transferred interbank when the banks are online bank. Such transfer over
BEFTN (Bangladesh Electronic Transfers) payment confirmation comes at
least the next day or more.

This would impede the on time transfer of

products at distributors end. UBL can initiate the process of all distributors a/c
opening in the collection bank. This would enable actual cash collection to
occur in T0. Another possible solution could be to avail a product like bill
purchase line this would mean on collection of instrument bank will credit
equivalent amount in UBLs a/c. But usually such products are costly.
All the organization faces difficulty at times when the instrument gets lost in
courier service or at teller front. It can be agreed with bank, that if such loss
occurs at bank or other organization appointed by bank, without delay
equivalent amount to be credited to UBL a/c and duplicate DD issuance can
be done in favor of the collecting bank. This will help both the distributor and
UBL.
Payment Process
Among the 3 companies, UBL uses the most variety of instruments to make
its payments to different entities. The timing of the current payment process
of BPBL and UBL are excellent; whereas MBL takes more time to perform the
transaction.

54

The MIS swiftness of MBL is not satisfactory. On the other hand, BPBL and UBL
have very satisfactory MIS services from the banks.
Cheque printing activity has been largely outsourced, but cheque delivery to
vendor still remains with Unilever. Often timely delivery does not happen.
Recommendation for Payment Process
Recently BEFTN has been implemented in Bangladesh as discussed before.
UBL can use this product. This will mean there will be minimum number of
cheque printing and fund will be electronically transferred. This will reduce
lead, and bank reconciliation process will be much easier.
In case during the internship period, this network has been initiated and
interbank transfers within UBL a/c s have been started. For vendors piloting
has started, and it has been planned that 25 most frequent and reasonably
high value vendors payment will be transferred through this network.

55

5. Conclusion
Treasury Management in Unilever Bangladesh includes activities of risk
controlling and service delivery to different stakeholders. The function
includes activities ranging from cash forecast, liquidity & investment
management, foreign exchange exposure management, handling
payment and cash collection process.
A majority of the day to day activities includes working with banks and
ensuring that best value added deliveries are crafted in order to
provide best

service delivery to different stakeholders ranging from

other functions of the organizations to distributors and suppliers of the

company.
The comparative analysis is done with another 2 peer companies to
understand and benchmark the practices and find any gap areas that
Unilever can improve on. In collection front UBL is using instruments
like direct debit and Demand draft/Pay Order. The system integration is
strong and is minimizing manual input and thus minimizing possibility
of error and making processes real time. The collection bank is also
offering credit line to distributors, which is aiding them in being able to
purchase with low hindrance due to shortage of fund. The gap
observed is in the delay in cash realization when instrument other than
56

direct debit is used. Company can review whether distributors can

open account in collecting bank so that direct debit can be used. Also
there are new products like bill purchase line, which can also be used.
Being a manufacturing company UBL has both import and local
transactions. In case of import transactions, the products are
homogenous, although UBL is enjoying some customized services like
dedicated delivery and courier service etc, but the point of distinction
is not much. In case of local payment, once again UBL is way advanced
in terms of IT integration. UBL can take leverage of electronic fund
transfer, which would ensure that payments are cleared on time and
minor manual jobs can be avoided.

57