A

REPORT ON

Distribution Network Of
Bisleri
ICFAI Business School, Gurgaon
(Batch: 2015-2017)

Submitted to – Submitted by-

Prof. Vinod Kumar Mutreja Abhishek Aggarwal

Abhineet Kapoor
Pranav Goyal
Sarthak Govil
Sakshi Arora
Sakshi Sonik
Vinay Raj
 Executive Summary
Bisleri is a famous brand of bottled water in India and it was found in
1965. Bisleri has 60% market share in packaged drinking water
industry in India. Bisleri has a very strong distribution network and it
has reach to almost all region of the country. Its operations run
throughout the subcontinent of India and are one of the leading
bottled water supplying companies. As of now, Bisleri has 80 bottling
plants Pan India, amongst which 12 are their own and 68 are
licensed. It deals not only in bottled water but also in energy drinks,
soda, facial wipes, stand and faucet, ice box. Bisleri has a wide and
well managed salesman appointed for taking up the responsibility of
distribution of its products to diverse parts of the country. Bisleri
uses three level of distribution channel as it includes dealers,
wholesalers and retailers. The participants play a vital role in success
and failure of any business. They actually bridge the gap between
suppliers and end consumers thus framing the outline for a company
in end users mindset.The existing situation in which Bisleri is
operating is oligopoly. This means that companies have more pricing
power than if they were operating in perfect market circumstance.
The marketing strategy provides the design for achieving them the
linkage between marketing strategies and overall corporate success
is indeed direct and vital. Bisleri has been developing the drinks for
over a year and after final testing and development, they are now all
set to launch the array of economical and refreshing soft drinks.
Indian consumers are tired of the existing range of products and
need something new and innovative. Bisleri Pop’s unique flavours
will stand out among the available flavours in the market and will
give the consumer a wide variety of choices. Bisleri has gained the
tremendous success in the field of bottled industry.

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 Table of Contents

Content Page No.

1.) Introduction of the company and 4
Product mix
2.) Channel Decisions 7
3.) Channel Participants 8
4.) Channel Structure 9
5.) Channel format 11
6.) Sales force management 12
7.) Pricing Strategy of Bisleri 14
8.) Supply Chain Network 15
9.) Channel Conflict 18
10.) Mode of transportation 19
11.) 4 D’s Distribution 19
12.) Participants Evaluation 21
13.) Challenges Ahead 22
14.) Conclusion 23
15.) Recommendations 24

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 Introduction of Company
Bisleri’s history is a glimpse of the constant innovation, commitment
to quality, and focus on customer need, that have made Bisleri the
benchmark for bottled water in India.
Bisleri is a famous brand of bottled water in India. Ramesh Chauhan
joined the Parle group, found by Jayantilal Chauhan, in 1963. Parle
group started manufacturing soft drinks in 1949, namely, Gold Spot,
Limca, Maaza, Thums Up and Citra. Bisleri, an Italian mineral water
company, was launched in India in the year 1965, and bought by
Parle from the Italian entrepreneur Signor Felice Bisleri in 1969 as
the company was unable to market bottled water, and planned to
exit the market. They merely used the name and launched Bisleri
soda with two variants -- carbonated and non-carbonated mineral
water. Bisleri soda, though doing well, had to be discontinued, as
Parle sold their soft drink brands to Coca-Cola in 1993. After the sale
to Coca-Cola, Ramesh Chauhan dedicated himself to develop Bisleri
as a brand and bring safe drinking water into the public domain. His
undying determination and vision has made Bisleri a premium
mineral water brand and a household name.
Major events at Bisleri are :-
 1969- Parle bought over Bisleri, from an Italian entrepreneur
 1971-Parle group launches LIMCA, that derives its name from
'NIMBU KA' (of lemon)
 1974-Parle group launches MAAZA, a mango based
drink.
 1978-Parle group launches THUMS UP, a cola flavoured
aerated drink.
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 1990-Opponents started for Bisleri in a large scale,
however it was still able to survive.
 1991-Bisleri economic 20-litre jar was introduced to
cater to homes and offices.
 2006-Bisleri changed its brand colour from blue to green
Bisleri mountain water from the Himalayas was
launched.
 2009-Bisleri ushered in the festive seasons with 250ml
and 500ml packs.
 2011-Bisleri SODA was launched. A home-sized pack of
15 litres was introduced.
 2012-Bisleri stepped into the premium water category
with Vedica - natural mountain water from the
Himalayas.
 2014-Bisleri launched an energy drink – Urzza.
 2015-Bisleri changed its packaging.
 2016-Bisleri launches 'Bisleri POP' -four new fizzy drinks.

Bisleri’s Vision: - Its vision is to be the dominant player in the

branded water business where the second player is less than
20% of its business.

Bisleri’s Mission: - To provide the highest quality product,

keeping in mind all aspect including freshness, purity, safety
and making it easy available to the consumer at very affordable
price.

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 Product Mix

 Bisleri water: - Developed 7 unique pack sizes to suit the need

of every individual.
-Non- returnable Packs: - 250ml, 500ml, 1l, 2l, 5l
-Returnable Packs: - 20L, 10L
 Bisleri soda: - It comes in two different pack sizes. One is 600
ml and other one is 300 ml pack.
 Urzaa: - A great tasting energy drink from Bisleri which is free
of Caffeine and fortified with essential vitamins. And it was
launched in 2014.
 Vedica:- Vedica is the finest of what life has to offer, taken to
another altitude.
Non-returnable packs – 1L, 500Ml, 250ml
 Bisleri PoP: - Bisleri Pop comes in four new flavours -
PinaColada, Spyci, Limonata, and Fonzo.
 Additional product: - Compact, convenient to use, travel
friendly and undoubted promising quality, that are bring to
specially to make life easier and better.
-Stand & faucet, Ice box, facial wipes, chotu cool

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 Channel Decisions
A channel is an institution through which goods and services
are marketed. Channels give place and time utilities to
consumers. In order to provide these and other services,
channels charge a margin. The longer the channel the more
margins are added.

Channels are an integrative part of the marketer's activities

and as such are very important. They also give a very vital
information flow to the exporter. As seen in chapter seven,
the degree of control one has over a channel depends on the
channel type which is employed. Whilst for developing
countries, as stated earlier, channels are almost given, this is
not always the case, and as exporting becomes more and
more necessary, it will not always be the case.

In deciding on channel design the following have to be

considered carefully:

· Market needs and preferences.

· The cost of channel service provision.
· Incentives for channel members and methods of payment.
· The size of the end market to be served.
· Product characteristics required complexity of product,
price, and packaging.
· Middlemen characteristics - whether they will push
products or be passive.
· Market and channel concentration and organisation.
· Appropriate contractual agreements.
· Degree of control.
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 Channel Participants
Bisleri produces the goods but it is the intermediary who supplies
these goods to the people who are in need of it. To reach end
consumers effectively, businesses need a well knitted network. The
network includes manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, agents and
brokers commonly known as channel participants.

These participants play a vital role in success and failure of any

business. They actually bridge the gap between suppliers and end
consumers thus framing the outline for a company in end users
mindset. In the world of retail, several types of participants make up
a distribution channel.

1. Retailers:
Retailers are the gate keepers to the market for all other members of
the sales distribution process. The distinguishing feature that sets a
retailer apart from other members of its distribution channel is that
the retailer is the person who ultimately sells the goods to its end
consumers. Bisleri sometime distribute directly to the retailers.

2. Wholesalers:
Wholesalers are intermediaries or middlemen who buy Bisleri
products from manufacturers and resell them to the retailers. They
take the same types of financial risks as retailers, since they purchase
the products, keep them in inventory until they are resold to
retailers, and may arrange for shipment to those retailers.
Wholesalers can gather product from around a country or region, or
can buy foreign product lines by becoming importers.

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3. Agents and Brokers and Jobbers:
Agents (occasionally called brokers) are also intermediaries who
work between suppliers and retailers, but their agreements are
different, in that they do not take ownership of the products they
sell. They are independent sales representatives who typically work
on commission based on sales volume, and they can sell to
wholesalers as well as retailers. In B2B arrangements, this means
they sell to distributors and end consumers and Jobbers help to
cover in semi –urban area to target, so that bisleri have a wider
reach.

CHANNEL STRUCTURE
It takes a lot of hard work and a number of different teams all
working together to deliver brand of great-tasting water to millions
of customers each year. We’ve broken down our business process
into the categories or channels below that help to identify where
process will succeed.

Manufacturer process the products through their inputs and

effectively done its operation to convert into finished product, then
they directly send it to the distributors and some time to the agents
then the product is passed to the wholesalers to retailers and
reached to the final consumer, but yes they make sure that the
process takes minimum cost and distributing all over the targeted
regions.

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Before one drop of water is sourced or bottled, company take a
strategic look at the marketplace to understand where current and
future opportunities exist for us to market and sell our products.
Teams in this part of the business focus heavily on analysis and
reporting for informed decision making.

Each drop of Bisleri undergoes a stringent 6-step purification process

and this process helps the company to understand what level of
quality they give to their valuable customer.

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 Channel Format
Bisleri has a wide and well managed salesman appointed for taking
up the responsibility of distribution of its products to diverse parts of
the country. The Bisleri uses three level of distribution channel as it
consists of wholesalers, dealers and retail shops.

Manufacturing
plant

Company
Warehouse INSTITUTIO
NAL
BUYERS/OR
Trucks DERS OVER
INTERNET
Distributors
INSTITUTIO
NAL
BUYERS/SE
ASONAL
PARTY
ORDERS
Retailers

Customers

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 Sales Force Management
• The distributor employs their own salesmen. The salesmen are
divided among the territories defined by the distributor.

• The distributor has 5 routes. Out of the 5 routes, one is the

main route and the other four are sub routes. The salesmen are
divided amongst these routes. This helps in avoiding horizontal
conflict and leads to better focus and evaluation of sales
performance of the salesmen.

• The company sales person makes a visit once every month.

Rest of the month every communication regarding stock
replenishment, etc. takes place over phone. The person of the
company whom the distributors communicate with is the Sales
Executive.

• At times the company deploys its own men to do the

distribution job for the Distributor also

1. Recruitment :-
Hiring is announced by Bisleri International Pvt Ltd’s to appoint
various officers and Managers under Bisleri Jobs. Where company
has announced to apply as soon as possible, employees will be hired
through direct Interview process with minimum process Time. Any
one eligible can apply by using online mode under
Bisleri Recruitment.

Name of Organization: Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd.

Number of Positions: Various
Job Title:
 Sales Executive

 Executive-quality

 Executive Business Development / Key Corporate

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 Marketing Manager
 Microbiologist

 Sales Executive / Officer & Other

Criteria of Education:-
10th, Diploma, Engineer, Graduate etc. as per the Title,

Compensation:-
Company offering best salary in their segment, just ensuing best pays
for deserving candidates.

Hiring mode:-
 Application Submission

 Personal Interview

Way to Submit Application:-

 Open official Eweb www.bisleri.com.
 Move to Career Section and select ‘Current Open Positions’ link.
 Just use Title and read notification well detail

 Ensure to click on ‘apply’ tab.

 Once it is done keep hard copy for future use.

2. Selection criteria for Salesmen :-

The distributor has set certain criteria for the selection of salesmen

i. The candidate must be at least a high school pass.

ii. The candidate must have knowledge of local language.

iii. Candidates with prior relevant work experience are

preferred.

iv. The candidate if from the territory itself is preferred.

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 Pricing strategies of Bisleri
(AN ECONOMIC FACTOR AFFECTING THE BUYER’S BEHAVIOR)

Price is the sum of values that consumer exchange for the benefits of
having or using the product or service. Price is the only element in
the marketing mix that produces revenue.
In India, where the majority of the population comprise of the
middle-income group and lower income groups it is not hard to
understand that pricing is one of the most important factor in the
buying decisions. Bisleri has met the expectations of the consumers
in terms of pricing the product and also making the product available
in variations of liters, making Bisleri both convenient and affordable.

Since Bisleri has many competitors and is facing tough competition

from market. So Bisleri uses competitor price strategy to get the
market. The existing situation in which Bisleri is operating is
oligopoly. This means that companies have more pricing power than
if they were operating in perfect market circumstance. It is clear that
their pricing is highly influenced by competition, because there are
many perfect substitutes and therefore, if Bisleri increases its price,
many of its product customers will start to consume its substitute
product.
STRATEGY USED BY BISLERI

The marketing strategy provides the design for achieving them the
linkage between marketing strategies and overall corporate success
is indeed direct and vital. Realizing the marketing objectives is the
purpose of two generic categories.
1. Price based
2. Differentiation base

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 Supply Chain Network

In 1980, Bisleri adopted PET bottle concept;

Due to its features:

• Environment Friendly

• Cost Effective

• Increased competition
Manufacturing Process:

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• Bisleri International had launched its 4 flavored beverage range,
Bisleri Pop, only on Grofers, which is an on-demand service mobile
platform.

• Consumers’ packaged good marketers are embracing a mix of m-

commerce and new distribution methods are adopted to get
closer to their consumers.

• Mobile apps are increasingly seen as a way to offer convenience

and build consumer loyalty and hence this partnership is seen as a
natural fit for both the brands.

• As a part of the tie up, consumers who click on a Pop ad will get
redirected to the Grofers app, from which they will be able to buy
all four Pop flavours. The tie up extends across major tier one
cities in India including Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore,
Ahmedabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Noida and
Surat.

• They are very happy to announce their first exclusive tie-up with
Grofers for Bisleri Pop. They are motivated by ways through which
they can get closer to their customer. People have become tech
savvy and rely on mobile devices for almost everything. Offering a
delivery service for their new launch is about meeting their
customers with both convenience and connection and the added
bonus of great taste.

• They are excited to exclusively partner with a trusted brand like

Bisleri for the launch of the new Bisleri Pop. They are seeing a
remarkable transformation in the way India shops with brands
now having unprecedented direct & instant access to consumers
through their mobile app. Supported by a robust supply chain till

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 the consumer’s doorstep; they will work closely with Bisleri to
make Bisleri Pop the preferred drink for consumers this summer.

• Bisleri has been developing the drinks for over a year and after
final testing and development, they are now all set to launch the
array of economical and refreshing soft drinks. Indian consumers
are tired of the existing range of products and need something
new and innovative. Bisleri Pop’s unique flavours will stand out
among the available flavours in the market and will give the
consumer a wide variety of choices.

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 Channel Conflicts
Horizontal and vertical marketing conflicts involve disagreements
among businesses in a marketing channel. A marketing channel is
how a product moves from its manufacturer to the consumer.
Channels have different stages, or levels. Typically, the first level of a
channel is a factory. The second level is the wholesaler who buys a
large number of products to sell to retail stores, which occupy the
third and final level. When members of a channel disagree about
methods or goals, conflicts arises.
Horizontal Conflicts :-

A horizontal conflict refers to a disagreement among two or more

channel members at the same level. If one wholesaler decides to
branch its operations into the other wholesaler’s region, a conflict
will result. If the toy manufacturer doesn't help solve the problem, its
business dealings with both the wholesalers and the downstream
retailers.

Vertical Conflicts:-

Vertical conflicts involve a disagreement between two channel

members on consecutive levels. A conflict might develop between
the manufacturer and the wholesaler responsible for shipping to
retailers. At the same time, the retail stores might be in conflict with
the wholesaler due to its inability to ship products on time.

Avoiding Channel Conflicts:

Conflicts can only be minimized, not avoided. The most effective

approach for business owners is to approach channel management
with transparency and a willingness to find compromises that work
for all the members of the various channels to which it belongs.

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 Mode of Transportation
 Bisleri has a very strong distribution network, which makes it
reach out to almost all the region in the country, company has
about 3,50,000 outlets across the country.
 The Bisleri uses three level of distribution channel as it consists
of wholesalers, dealers and retail shops.
 Bisleri has 52 bottling plants across India and works on its dual-
distribution strategy to gain competitive advantage.
 On a national level, there are 2,000 trucks on call for Bisleri,
while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the
Mumbai and Delhi market alone.
 Every day, nearly 5,000 delivery vans drive out of these 52
strategically located Bisleri bottling plants carrying over 1
million units of pure, sweet drinking water to replenish the
stocks of 2,500 distributors and nearly 600,000 retail outlets.
Through distributors it also goes to the institutional buyers or
orders over internet.
 The company has used its own fleet of about 2000 trucks to
manage the distribution network.

4 D’s of Distribution
Distribution width=No. of distributor of a company/ Total no. of
distributors

More the Strong distribution network you have more the sales you
will get.

Distribution Depth= company sales volume through distributors/

total sales volume of all distributors

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Display- (showcasing the product) it is one of the important factor
for boost of sale, Each & Every SKU of a products must be present to
all the distributor for sale.

Discipline-process takes concentrated and focused efforts. This

phase is probably the most important where the Sales Manager and
his team maps the customer well enough to FIND PAIN AREAS,
details of which have to be pulled out by careful dealing with the
Customer .

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 Participants evaluation

The bottled water industry has two other industries as its biggest
competitor in from of Water purifiers industry and the soft drinks
industry. Though the water purifier industry should be credited to
have done the spadework, for setting up the foundation of bottled
water industry but still it acts as competitors specially in the
household and institutional consumption market. So the water
purifier is a strong competitor in household and institutional market
the soft drinks market is a strong rather very strong competitor in
the retail consumption market. Bottled water became a product in
the West during the 1920’s and developed rapidly. Huge market size,
numerous local brands and controlled price mechanism are some of
the features of the market.
In Asia, Indonesia is the largest and the oldest market for bottled
water. In India, bottled water is still not perceived as a product for
masses though; the scene is changing slowly thanks to low pricing
and aggressive marketing strategy adopted by new entrants. Some
surveys show that truck drivers on highways form a major chunk of
bottled water drinkers. Penetration in rural areas is another
significant factor that is likely to play a key role in the development
of the bottled water trade. In comparison to global standards India’s
bottled water segment is largely unregulated. Safe water is rated
with a different yardstick in different countries. In India, the aspect
has been overlooked for long. Indian consumers tend to believe that
any bottled water is safe water. This may not be the case. Marketing
of mineral water-Bisleri

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 Challenges Ahead
1. METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION:-

THE ‘ROUTESELLING’ policy adopted by BISLERI for distribution is

more expensive than more commonly followed method of
appointing distributors in different towns. This reduces the profit of
company. The dealer margin is reduced due to this .therefore not
many dealer keeps BISLERI in many areas. Indirectly this is reducing
the coverage of BISLERI.

2. REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND

ILLEGALMANUFACTURERS:-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed that the other

overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of seal and
the reuse of bottles. Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled
at railway stations. This deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI. For
example: - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with impure water
and the bottles are purchased by illiterate customers as BISLERI
water but they buy water of low quality. In this way brand of BISLERI
gets affected.

3. FAULTS IN PRODUCTION:-

Tests conducted by various authorities’ shows that it contains

pesticides. In 2002, the 2cm long insect was found in the bottle of
BISLERI. This has affected its sales and reputation. The license of its
two factories one at Noida and other at Bangalore has been
cancelled because of fault in production.

4. PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY:-

After insect was found in the bottles, FDA (Food& Drug Adulteration)
has cancelled the production of BISLERI. Afterwards it was allowed to
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resume it but in this period its customer were moved towards other
products. It is constantly under check by various authorities.

5. NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER:-

In certain parts of south in our country big bottles of BISLERI are in

huge demand but the company is unable to meet the demand of the
consumers. This is affecting the demand for the product. So People
are forced to use other brands of mineral water.

Conclusion
Bisleri have developed 8 unique pack sizes to suit the need of every
individual. It is also present in 250ml cups, 250ml bottles, 500ml, 1L,
1.5L, 2L which are the non-returnable packs & 5L, 20L which are the
returnable packs.

Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market. The

company should also target the market for soft drinks. All the soft
drinks address three issues: fun, thirst and refreshment followed by
status to some degree. The thirst and the status value of the mineral
water are well accepted. There is very little the mineral water brands
can do to add the fun element around the product. Again here, it
becomes important for the company to have a good distribution
network. It should be understood that if the mineral water is easily
available everywhere then it can be said with confidence that it
would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher. If we try
and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst
quenchers: we would find the answer as that either water is not
available or if it is available then safety is not assured. Therefore,
backed by a good distribution network mineral water industry can
grow at a rapid rate.

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 Recommendations
 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the
required ground to establish the authenticity to the product.
 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like
hotels, clubs and airports where upper class group visits, as
they are the potential customers. Place like departmental
stores, petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered.
 The Company should organize camps at various part of the city
also road show to bring about the difference between mineral
water and filter/purified water and to tell the people how
mineral water is more hygienic than filtered water/purified
water.
 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of
how the mineral water would cost less and benefit more,
because people using purifier system cost too much.

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