An Analytical Study of Logistics Process at Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. Nagpur

 

Dr. Vijay Joshi

Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Management Studies and Research (DAIMSR), Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur

 

ABSTRACT:

According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (previously the Council of Logistics Management) logistics is the process of planning, implementing and controlling procedures for the efficient and effective transportation and storage of goods including services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements and includes inbound, outbound, internal and external movements.Logistics has been described as ‘planning, implementing and controlling the process of physical flows of materials and final products from the point of origin to the point of use in order to meet customer’s needs at a profit. Logistics is the planning activity as well as the implementation of efficient and effective storage of raw materials, work in process inventory, finished goods and services. It also refers to the flow and transportation of product from the warehouse to the consumer.  The main idea behind the project is to study the logistics management part of the SCM, with special reference to Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. Nagpur (Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt. Ltd.).The research work will give an insight on how the movement of goods takes place. This research work will cover the overall logistics process (Physical + Documentation), which is followed in the organization.The research work will follow the descriptive research design. Data collection will involve both primary and secondary data. Primary data will be collected through interview, Telephonic Survey and questionnaire.  The questionnaire so designed for this purpose was structured. The secondary data will be collected through the company’s annual publications, journals, websites and remarks given in visit book.

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Logistics is the art and science of managing and controlling the flow of goods, energy, information and other resources like products, services, and people, from the source of production to the marketplace.¹  It is difficult to accomplish any marketing or manufacturing without logistical support. It involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging.²

 

The operating responsibility of logistics is the geographical repositioning of raw materials, work in process, and finished inventories where required at the lowest cost possible.³

From the point of view of management, marketing logistics or physical distribution has been described as ‘planning, implementing and controlling the process of physical flows of materials and final products from the point of origin to the point of use in order to meet customer’s needs at a profit.⁴ As a concept it means the art of managing the flow of raw materials and finished goods from the source of supply to their users. In other words, primarily it involves efficient management of goods from the end of product line to the consumers and in some cases, includes the movement of raw materials from the source of supply to the beginning of the production line⁵. These activities include transportation warehousing, inventory control, order processing and information monitoring.⁶

 

Some of the key players in the logistics industry are DHL, TNT, AFL, Blue dart, Gati, DTDC and First Flight.

 

“LOGISTICS PARK”:

Is a pioneering state of the art logistics and warehousing company spread over 30 acres of land with over 8 lac square feet of operational warehousing space. The organization which has ultramodern facilities has won over 60 awards in recognition of its superlative services. It counts the most respected multinational and national companies as its clients and is single-handedly responsible for bringing Nagpur on the Country’s map as the national hub for distribution and logistics.⁷

 

Logistics Park is committed to providing responsive, cost effective, efficient and reliable logistics solution to its customers. It strives to be the first choice for its customers. Logistics Park is a customer focused, performance driven, result oriented organization, focused on providing value for money to its customers.⁸

 

Some major clients of Logistics Park: --Perfetti Van Melle, Exide, Cadbury, Ferrero, Mother Dairy, Britannia, Gillette, L’Oreal, Asian Paints and many more.

The project is done with reference to Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt. Ltd.Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. is a CandF (Carry and Forward) agent for Perfetti Van Melle since 1997.  Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd won the “CFA trophy for Best Partnership” in the year 2002-03.

 

Perfetti Van Melle:

India, a fully owned subsidiary of the global conglomerate Perfetti Van Melle, headquartered in Lainate, Italy, started its Indian operations in 1994. The company today enjoys close to 30% market share, thus making them one of the leading players in the confectionery industry in India today i.e. India's largest confectionery company and the third Largest in the world. Perfetti Van Melle entered the Indian market in 1994 by offering its first brand Center Fresh, followed by Big Babol and Alpenliebe in 1995. The other brands like Chlormint, Mentos, Fruittella, Cofitos, Happydent and Marbles followed subsequently. PVMI enjoys a huge brand recall among its consumers which form a total estimated market size of Rs.3000 crore.

 

Perfetti Van Melle India has more than 15 brands under its umbrella, all of which have been launched after considerable market research and insight so as to adapt to the likes and preferences of the consumers. The climatic conditions of the Indian geographical region have been kept under consideration for product composition and long shelf life.⁹

 

The PVMI manufacturing units in India are located in Gurgaon and Chennai with another plant commissioned at Rudrapur, Uttaranchal in 2007. The Indian subsidiary also takes care of the development of South Asian markets and exports to other Asian countries. Perfetti Van Melle has adopted an aggressive sales strategy to retain the numero uno position in the confectionery industry in India backed by a wide network of Carry and Forwarding agent (C and FA), distributors and sales force. Perfetti Van Melle India has a network of around 4,500 distributors spread across 2000 urban towns. ¹⁰

 

DIVISION OF COMPANY’s PRODUCTS:

P1 range of products – Minimum 10 cases have to be ordered Center Fresh Spearmint, Alpenliebe Original, Chlormint C and y and Gum, Alpenliebe Lollipop(original), Mentos Lime n Lemon, Protex Happydent(mint), Mentos Orange, Happydent White Fruit, Marbels Lacreme, Center Fruit(peach), Center Fruit(watermelon), Alpenliebe Coffee, Mentos P2 range of products – Minimum 7 cases have to be ordered Center Fresh(peppermint), Center Fruit(strawberry), Happydent White,  Alpenliebe Creamfills, Alpenliebe creamfills(strawberry), Alpenliebe Lollipop (creamfills/ strawberry), Mentos mint, Fruit Tella, Marbels, Center Fruit(grape), Happydent White Xylitol, Mentos Gum

 

P3 range of products – Minimum 10 cases have to be ordered Big Babol, Sour Marbels, Mentos strawberry, Center Fruit (tutti frutti), Alpenliebe Chocolate, Chocoliebe, Protex Happydent (fruit), Mentos Fruit, Creamfills Xtra, Alpenliebe Creamfills Coffee, Alpenliebe Creamfills Mango, Alpenliebe Lychee, Happydent Wave.

 

OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH WORK:

·         To study Logistics Process in the organization.

·         To understand the role of documentation at various stages.

·         To study the various operations at the Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd Nagpur.

·         To identify the problems and suggest solutions.

·         To study “customer satisfaction” of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd client.

 

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The study follows descriptive research method. Descriptive studies aims at portraying accurately the characteristics of a particular group or situation. Descriptive research is concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or a group. Here the researcher attempts to present the existing facts by collecting data. Data collection done by both primary and secondary method.

 

Population- Perfetti Vanmelle employees (sales force)

Sample Size: 100(Simple random sampling)

 

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS:

1.       BAR DIAGRAMS.

2.       TABULAR FORM.

 

Univariate Percentage Analysis:

Percentage refers to a special kind of ratio. It is used to make comparison between two or more series of data. They can be used to compare the relative items, the distribution of two or more series of data, since the percentages reduces everything to a common base and there by allow meaningful comparisons to be made. Here only one factor is considered.

 

                             no of respondents

Percentage =------------------------------x 100

                           Total respondents

 

 

LIMITATIONS:

The survey is restricted to the client Perfetti Van Melle and other clients of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. are not taken into consideration.

LOGISTICS PROCESS AND DOCUMENTATION:

When stock is received from the Mother Depot or Packing Station or from other central warehouse the following process and documentation is done.

 

Stock transfer Note:

Stock transfer note is a document which is used for transfer of stock.STN gives the information such as name of consigner, name of the consignee, truck number, vehicle size, date, transporter name, product description with quantity and price, total number of cases and total value of goods

 

Lorry unloaded:

After checking the documents, stock is unloaded from the vehicle under the inspection of responsible person and security staff. Security guard counts the cartons and sees that cartons are packed properly or not. If any problem is noticed in the received stock, comments or remarks are put on the lorry receipt.

 

Entry into SAP:

After counting and checking the stock, the stock is entered in the SAP by scanning each and every product for the better visibility of stock across the supply chain.

 

SRN (Stock Receipt Note):

Stock Receipt Note is the last step of inward process. This document gives the exact information about the actual quantity of goods received at the warehouse. One copy of SRN is kept for depot records.

 

When stock leaves the warehouse following process has been followed:

·         Order is placed by the party

·         Invoice and payment check

·         Stock Loading

·         Gate Pass generation

·         Stock Dispatch

 

 

Data Analysis and Interpretation:

1. Rating of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. employees –

Table No: 1- Rating of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. Employees

Sr. No	Criteria	Excellent	Very Good	Good	Fair	Poor
1.	Professionalism	20[20%]	25[25%]	30[30%]	15[15%]	10[10%]
2.	Responsiveness	60[60%]	20[20%]	10[10%]	5[5%]	5[5%]
3.	Co-operation	50[50%]	20[20%]	15[15%]	15[15%]	-
4.	Friendly	45[45%]	20[20%]	15[15%]	10[10%]	10[10%]
5.	Courteous	40[40%]	20[20%]	20[20%]	15[15%]	5[5%]
6.	Technical Support	15[15%]	30[30%]	20[20%]	20[20%]	15[15%]
7.	Regular update / Feedback	65[65%]	20[20%]	10[10%]	5[5%]	-
8.	During problems taking your issues on priority	55[55%]	25[25%]	10[10%]	10[10%]	-
Total		350	180	130	95	45
AGGREGATE PERCENTAGE		43.75%	22.50%	16.25%	11.88%	5.63%

 

 

Graph No: 1 - Rating of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. Employees

 

INTERPRETATION:

It has been highlighted that the sample size customers are satisfied with responsiveness, co-operation and regular feedback from Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd employees. But still there are some areas for improvement such as professional attitude and technical support, which need to be focused upon. On an aggregate, 44% of the customers rated the services of the Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. employees as excellent. On the other hand only 6% of the customers rated them as poor.

2. Following problems in Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.?

Table No: 2- Rating of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

 

 

Graph No: 2 - Problems in Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

 

INTERPRETATION:

The problems faced by customers include unavailability of labours, unavailability of transport and incorrect dispatch. Customers are highly satisfied with communication, documentation and warehouse maintenance done by Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd employees. On an aggregate, 47.14% of the customers never faced any problems while only 7.86% customers always complained about problems in services of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

 

3. Does Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. provides time bound and qualitative services?

Table No: 3- Rating of Services of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

 

 

Graph No: 3- Rating of Time Bound Services of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.Employees

 

 

Graph No: 4- Rating of Quality Services of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. Quality

 

 

 

INTERPRETATION:

As per the study it has been observed that Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd. provides time bound and qualitative services. 65%of customers on an average agree that timely and quality services are provided. 25% customers are in stable state. While 10% on an average are not satisfied with the services provided.

 

Thus, the hypothesis that “Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd provides time bound and qualitative services” is proved correct. Most of clients are satisfied with the time bound (70%) and qualitative (60%) services provided by Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

 

4. Overall level of satisfaction as a customer of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.?

Table No: 4- Rating of satisfaction of customer of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

Highly Satisfied	Satisfied	Moderately Satisfied	Dissatisfied	Highly Dissatisfied
60[60%]	25[25%]	10[10%]	5[5%]	-

 

 

Graph No: 5- Rating of satisfaction of customer of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

 

FINDINGS: Based on the above data analysis, it is concluded that:

 

1. “Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd provides time bound and qualitative services”

2. “Customer Service is the main motto of Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd”

 

Clients are satisfied with the Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd for the following reasons:

·         Proper documentation – 70% of the clients agree that documentation is handled properly.

·         Regular communication and feedback – 70% clients agree that they are communicated properly by the employees and regular feedback is provided.

·         Warehouse maintenance – 80% of the employees are happy with the warehouse maintenance work done at Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

·         Timely service – 70% of the customers are satisfied with timely services provided by Logistics Park India Pvt. Ltd.

·         Quality service – 60% of the customers voted in the favor of qualitative services provided.

 

Some reasons of Dissatisfaction:

·         Professionalism – Only 20% of the employees are highly satisfied with professionalism. Hence, improvements are required in professional attitude of the employees.

·         Technical Support – Only 15% clients have never faced problems in technical support provided. Focus must be given on technical training.

·         Unavailability of transport and labours – About 20% clients always complain about transportation and labour problems

·         Incorrect dispatch – Only 10% clients say that they have always faced problems in dispatch of goods.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:

·         The working culture of the organization should be improved and maintained to retain professionalism in long run.

·         More certified training programmes should be provided to the employee to boost their effectiveness and efficiency. It should be used as a tool of motivation.

·         Technical know-how of employees should be increased through advanced technical training sessions.

·         Upgrade the software and SAP system used. Also, adequate backup facilities should be provided.

·         Care should be taken so that proper dispatch is done.

·         Recruit more labours.

·         Increase transportation facilities for more timely and accurate services.

·         Company should maintain an active website of the company.

·         Appointment of marketing executives for increased sales and growth of the company. The executives should target more companies.

 

REFERENCES:

1.        González, R. G. (2009). Semantic Web for business: cases and applications. Hershey: Information Science Reference.

2.        Bowersox Donald J. and Closs David JMcGraw- Hill International Editions, 1996. Logistical Management – The Integrated Supply Chain Management.

3.        Blanchard, B.S. (1992) logistics and Engineering Management, 4^thEdition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

4.        Faris,M (2002) The logistics revolution, Building, 28 June, Issue 25, pp. 22-23.

5.        Marshall L.Fisher May – June 1994. “What is the right supply chain for your product?” Harvard Business Review , pp83-93

6.        Satyabir Bhattacharya “Integrated Supply Chain Management- A key to Effective Manufacturing in the next Millennium”,

7.        Company Manual

8.        Company website

9.        http://www.perfettivanmelle.in/about-us/pvm-in-india

10.     www.indiatoday.com/btoday/200010/plus/.html,1/1/00,pp:1-7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Received on 23.12.2017          Modified on 29.01.2018

Accepted on 22.02.2018           ©A&V Publications All right reserved