Regional sales and service management; ITC Ltd, Bombay

Abstract

The project, carried out with the Bombay branch of IC's Packaging and Printing Division, was entitled Regional Sales and Service Management. It involved dealing with issues pertaining to existing customers and future prospects which had already been identified. It also involved identification of companies which could provide business in future for the division, All this involved dealing with customers in different sales platforms. A company's sales platforms are classified into three types; the Buying, the Working and the Market platforms. The Buying Platform comprises the company's existing customers. ‘The Working Platform comprises those prospects which the company has already identified, and on whom work has been started, but who are not as yet buying from the company. The Market Platform comprises those prospects on whom work has to start right from the beginning. The issues related to customers in the Buying Platform are mainly oriented towards maintenance of the relationship. These are issues concerning orders, receivables such as payments and documents such as C-Form, H-Forms and Confirmations of Balance, and issues related to supplies, despatches and complaint servicing. For customers in the Working Platform, the related issues are developmental _ in nature, ie. they are aimed at developing a business, ‘These are issues related to quotations, samples, artworks and so on. With customers in the Market Platform, an initial approach has to be made, where information is gathered about the customer and his requirements. Based on this initial approach, a decision is taken on whether to proceed further with the customer, Once it is decided to proceed further, the issues concerned are then the same as those concerning the Working Platform customers.