NIRMA Group 9 | Section D

PGP/25/195 Awale Shailesh Indrajeet

PGP/25/206 Kushal J Manjesh
PGP/25/217 Ojas Sewak
PGP/25/228 Saswata Routh
PGP/25/239 Sumona Nag
PhD/15/20/O N G Yamini
 Existing Businesses of Nirma
Attempts at
Diversification
Nirma ousted the market leader Surf (a product from
Unilever), with its innovative pricing, distributing and
marketing strategy in the 1970-80s.
Presently, the businesses in which Nirma has its
presence are –
1. Consumer Goods(soap, detergents, cosmetics,
edible salts, scouring products)
2. Industrial Goods(Sulphuric acid, glycerin, soda
ash, pure salt, vacuum evaporated iodized salt,
sodium silicate).
3. Cement Manufacturing
4. Education (Nirma Vidyavihar, Nirma Memorial
Trust, Nirma Foundation, Nirma University –
Institute of Technology, Institute of Management,
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Institute
of Diploma Engineering).
5 Forces Analysis of
Detergent Industry
1. Threat of new entrants – It is low since in
the lower segments, it is a commoditized
product and no strict entry requirements/
barriers exist.
2. Power of suppliers – This is moderate as
this industry is dependent on raw materials
from a number of suppliers.
3. Power of buyers – This is high as a
number of options exist for the buyers.
4. Threat of substitutes – Detergent is a
necessary product although the form may
differ, but it cannot be totally done away
with or cannot be totally wiped out of the
market by any known substitute.
5. Competitive Rivalry – This is high as the
market is highly competitive
5 Forces Analysis of
Cement Industry
1. Threat of new entrants – It is low
since there are high levels of entry
barriers.
2. Power of suppliers – This is
moderate as they have enough
power to stall production.
3. Power of buyers – This is low as
they have very little power.
4. Threat of substitutes – Virtually nil
as no effective substitutes for cement
exist.
5. .Competitive Rivalry – This is high
as the market is highly competitive
 Core Competencies
of Nirma
Nirma became the market leader in detergents in 1980s, ousting international giants like Unilever due to many
reasons. Some of these competencies also helped it to become the 5th largest cement manufacturer in the
country and also establish a name for itself in the education space.

Product and Pricing Promotion and Distribution Training and Innovation

Karsanbhai Patel was a chemist and thus Nirma was able to achieve this price point as it At Nirma University, there is a Centre for
created a detergent which cost just Rs. gauged very well the needs of the lower Entrepreneurship and a Student
3.5/ kg instead of Rs. 13/kg- which was segments of the market and effectively used Startups and Innovation Incubation
the price of Surf then. Thus, consumers local sourcing and backward integration for Centre to foster innovation and the
now had more value for money. Thus, producing both the raw material and the spirit of entrepreneurship. Nirma also
Nirma produced a comparable quality packaging material. It also launched effective TV continually retrains its employees to
product at a much cheaper cost. Nirma campaigns with jingles that are iconic to this upskill them and make them effective
imitated this strategy in its cement day. Additionally, it also deliberately maintained change agents. The growth mindset
business also - started a price war using a supply shortage so that distributors would pay also helped it to pivot from FMCG to
the excess capacity at plants. upfront in cash as the demand was huge. more capital intensive industries.
 Product Diversification for Nirma

Washing Machine Liquid Detergent and Dishwashing

Powder Spot Stain Remover Detergent
The Washing machine powder

The liquid detergent and the

Dishwashing detergent is almost

market is expected to boom in spot stain remover is a great similar to laundry detergent
India as more and more people approach as people are trying except for the composition of
are working from home and both to do things in an easier way. As products and their
the couples are in a home are this is a combined 2 in 1 product, concentration. So bringing this
having jobs now. the probability to expand in the product does not require a huge
market is huge. additional cost.
The Nirma Detergent Powder
usually is meant for lower and This when combined with the Also, if Nirma could combine all
middle-class families and is use of Washing Machine powder these laundry and dishwashing
priced approximately 40% lower (just like vanish detergent detergents using some
than the competitors and the powder) further does makes technology and patents, the
biggest market lies in rural areas things an All-in-one product – industry can open a new door.
where people are most price- meaning cost and time saved.
sensitive and easily switch
products if they find cheaper
products.
 Existing Technology at Nirma
The key focus areas of Nirma are Cost
Competitiveness, Quality, and Timely delivery
of Raw Materials for its various products.
To achieve this goal, the company is using
Backward Integration.
Currently, the company is using its tech for
backward integration which can benefit in
controlling raw material process, timely
delivery due to proximity to the port, and low
logistic costs.
Meanwhile, the technology is being used for
the products like Soda Ash which is an
organic builder in soaps and detergents,
Caustic Soda, and LAB in which 50% is held
for captive consumption
New Technology at Nirma
With respect to the new technology
company can adopt for the generation
of 750 TPD Caustic Soda and Balancing
of its equipment process.
The tech could be invested in the
production of purified phosphoric acid.
The company has large boilers which
generate waste heat which could be
utilized in producing 20 MW of power by
installing the turbo.
The new investment could also be done
for multi-stage preheater/ pre-calculator
kilns which can reduce the fuel
requirements.

Customer Acquisition
Bringing in Data to understand
consumer buying patterns
Training the machine models to
identify the efficient target
markets
Optimizing the process using a
continuous feedback
mechanism
Renewing the data inputs
Branding and AI
Marketing
Identifying target audience
using AI by smart data
segmentation
Deploying machine learning
processes for data analysis.
Enables us to spot emerging
and future consumer trends
Realign expenditure with real-
time data learning to enhance
the communicated message.
Advertising
Partnering with washing
machine companies for social,
digital, and print media
advertisement
Partnering with social media
fashion influencers and mini-
celebrities
Deploying SEOs and SEMs for
increasing the brand's online
presence
Developing on the existing "Sab
ki Pasand Nirma" campaign as
per changing scenarios
 FUTURE EXPANSION
As a part of future projects, Nirma could look into expanding its business from cement to fabrication of materials through 3D
printing and later on into architecture/interior designing and offering a one-stop solution in construction.
Employing the resource-based model of above-average returns, Nirma can look into the following steps for future expansion,
Identify customers: Create its own internal database and identify the most sought projects and target those customer bases.
the customers can include anyone looking to build structures for housing, small scale and large scale industries.
Pre-fabrication of materials: Invest in 3D printing technology. They can also start creating pre-fabricated materials which can be
directly used for construction instead of using raw materials such as cement. This will reduce the time needed for construction.
Training: Offer training to local workers to upskill and employ them. This will increase their intangible assets enable them to
own a set of highly skilled workers. continuous training provided to the employees will allow more sets of workers to work
efficiently.
Legal aspects: They can offer solutions in cement consulting and project management. Further, Nirma can branch out into
covering the legal aspects for constructing buildings and therefore, take care of all the paperwork such as permits for land,
buildings etc.
Thus, Nirma can offer a one-stop solution by taking care of all the requirements involved in building a structure. By offering new
and innovative products and services, Nirma can establish a competitive advantage in the market.

Entry to new market

AI-based expansion in the future will definitely attract new entrants to the market. However, it will be difficult for a new entrant
to take care of all the construction details and may only offer one of the services amongst the many services that Nirma offers.
Here Nirma can offer package plans at a reduced cost to retain the market advantage.
In the future, Nirma can train its employees on new software used for AI-based interior designing/ architecture to offer
customized solutions to its customers. The customers could include owners from retail stores, bookstores, gaming cafes, office
spaces and housing. Further, plans could also include designing online spaces.
Group 10 | Section D
PGP/25/196 Saija B
PGP/25/207 Manish Latchupatula
PGP/25/218 Parthavi Pundir
PGP/25/229 Ninad Sayare
PGP/25/240 Shiva Sagar Surapu
PhD/15/21/Q Asmita Mukherjee
External
Demographic: Active subscriber base of 69.86
Mn. Nirma has More than 40 Mn loyal customer
base

Environment Economic: projected CPI inflation at 5.3 per cent

for 2021-22
Political/legal: bans soaps, detergents not

for Detergent conforming to latest BIS parameters

Sociocultural: Shift towards culture where both

industry men and women use washing machines rather

than maids, Rising Demand for Laundry
Detergent
Technological: Advent of Liquid detergents,
surfactants derived from natural oils
Global: the growing importance of healthier
lifestyles, Global focus on online channels
Sustainable/Environment: Sustainable
manufacturing, eco-friendly detergents
Demographic: 49 Mn people employed in the
construction industry.
Economic: Projected annual inflation rate in
External
Environment for
2021 is at 4.85% as per Global Economy (IMF),
100% FDI in construction
Political/legal: Leverage 'Housing for All by
2022' scheme, tax benefits for the construction
of residential complex construction
Sociocultural: Emergence on 'Green building
projects', the credibility of builders
Technological: Architectural apps, cloud
industry
services, AR/VR, Mixed realities
Global: the growing importance of healthier
lifestyles, Global focus on online channels
Sustainable/Environment: Growing focus on
sustainability and climate resilience, Rising
investment in bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure
 Resources:

Tangible:
1. Potential to raise funds from the government of India, as the

Internal
company is Indian originated.
2. Having a trustable brand value across years and across the terrain
Intangible:
1. Reputation of contributing towards the development of rural India

Environment
2. Having a different portfolio of brands across different fields.
3. Always practiced "value for money" strategy targetting the huge
Indian middle class market.

Capabilities:

1. Tap rural and increase penetration into the urban areas

2. Mergers and acquisitions to stengthen the brand.
3. Reflects Indian culture and supports rural development.

Core Competency:

Having a wide portfolio of products acorss different industries and also

having the local advantage, can make Nirma stand out in the
competiticve advantage over other similar companies in the Indian
market.
 One Stop solution in construction : IoT
Create a smart factory through automation and data collected with IoT
objects.
A constant flow of data from connected operations and production systems to
learn and adapt to best-performing parameters
For instance, studying the patterns and learning the optimal conditions from
existing process data, predicting and preventing equipment failure, reducing
downtime, lowering inspection costs, optimize processes such as cement
grinding mill.
Fabrication of materials through 3D printing
With the help of Computer-Aided Design and Building Information Management,
3D printing provides a rapid construction process and also cuts waste.
Robotic manufacturing can be used integrated with industrial IoT, increases
efficiency along with sustainability through lower carbon emission
wastage of raw materials and reducing the time.
Packaging : IoT
While packaging, we can add a smart measuring device to
the package, where it can show the level of the reading in
percentage with respect to maximum net weight in that
package. This enables the smart device to send a
notification when the level of that percentage, goes down
below a certain limit. Seeing that notification, one can buy
a new one or automate the ordering of a new one.
Through the data collected, and applying IoT, we can
estimate the number of raw materials that are required in
the construction of a certain project. Also determining the
amount helps to reduce the time, and also optimize the
completion of a project.
Also as Nirma also tried to enter 3D printing in the
construction business, the data that can be extracted
from here, can be used to calculate the number of raw
materials that would be needed for efficient delivery of
the construction of the building, further reducing the

 Problem Identification
Management Problem
The management problem for the
company is to capture the market share
being a new entrant. On the other hand
the industry growth rate is increasing day
by day. So, the management should
identify the reasons for potential market
share of Nirma and take a decision on
launching the new brand. It can follow a
similar approach for introducing newer
powder products.
Researcher Problem
Researcher problem is to find out the
market share of competitive brands, to
determine the level of satisfaction for
the price of the product, the
effectiveness of the competitors’ price,
to determine the effectiveness of
current marketing strategy and
formulate and develop suitable
marketing strategy for the new
product.
 Marketing Strategies
Innovative Products
Customized construction
solutions
Combination of laundry and
dishwashing detergents
With Electronic Vehicles (EVs)
expected to bring about a
revolution, a portion of Nirma's
future 3D printing plants can
be invested for supplying EV
parts (metals)
Niche Products Pricing
Traveling customers For their existing
detergent industry, it
should follow low cost
pricing with a special
focus on rural markets
Manual washers and
Dhobi Community For the 3D printing
industry, careful pricing
strategies with a focus
For 3D printing industry, on niche products
focus on time, materials
required, etc.

 Marketing Strategies
Campaigning
Zone wise promotions based on local
audience.
Digital media campaigns for urban areas.
Sponsoring social awareness programs to
increase visibility.
Scratch cards and cashback for select few
customers.
Platform to share user experiences.
Advertising
In detergent industry, mass advertising
and word of mouth publicity can benefit.
Active presence across social media and
fb groups, youtube videos, tweets
specially to gauge interest of the
millennials for product launches of 3D
printing business
Marketing strategies for Prefabricated Construction bussiness
Target Market Customer Positioning

Customers who want to get houses built quicker An easy to fix substitute for
Customers with temporary construction needs cemented construction pieces
Customers who want minor renovation in houses and wouldn't want
to spend time and money in the long process of cement work.
Customers in locations where transportation of cement and other Value proposition
construction stuff is problematic
Customers where the climate isn't suitable for carrying out the construction- Customer-focused- offers quality
like heavy rainfall, extreme cold etc products and services that
maximize value to the customer.
Marketing strategies for Prefabricated Construction bussiness

Product Mix
Interior decoration pieces
Pricing
Kitchen work stations and countertops Will follow skimming pricing
Wall partitions, room separators technique to penetrate the
Doors market and to let people
Modular kitchen fittings
choose this over conventional
Customizable temporary construction pieces like
construction methods.
ceilings, door floor, ramps, stairs etc

Promotion
Through the line Advertising Placement
Digital presence on social media
Sponsor TV shows to gain brand awareness Tier 1, 2 cities
(like Asian paints did in Masterchef India)
Extreme locations where
Fix some toilets in public places under CSR
regular construction is
activities to gain popularity and display the
expensive and problematic
efficient prefabricated product.