Ever since undergrad days, being a student of marketing, I was very much keen on working in the FMCG industry. When the time to look for a company to do my summer internship from, I took a huge leap of faith and started applying to all FMCG giants in India. I tried my luck everywhere. When my application for internship passed through ITC ltd, I couldn’t contain my happiness anymore. I had a face to face interview with the HR team of the organisation and then they selected me. Late when on asking them, why they had selected me, they abruptly answered that the cover letter I had sent with my resume during the application process stood out and hence, they were willing to give me a chance and thus, I was called for the interview. During the interview they only asked me situational marketing-based questions to which I answered confidently, apply whatever marketing knowledge I had gained from my undergrad day and a year in MBA.
The project I was assigned to fell under the Modern trade – E-commerce department and hence I got a clear view of their vast different sales and distribution channels that they were infamous for! This project report majorly consists of 3 major analysis –
a. Keyword search analysis which majorly tells us that if a customer searches for a product category like juices in the search box then at what line of the listed products would they come across the company’s brand i.e., B-Natural. Since when a customer searches for a product category, the products listed are based on demand and popularity ie, the high demanded products appear first and then the rest. So this keyword search analysis also gives us view of the market scenario as when an ITC product comes in the first line of the search we can say that the product is highly demanded is a market leader like in case Aashirvaad attas and Nimyle floor cleaners.
b. The different customer benefits each of the e-commerce channels - Grofers, Big Basket and Amazon offers to gain a better edge over the others – this analysis mostly points out from the customer perspective what one e-commerce channel does better than the other, for example Grofers is known for their incredible discounts and offers and Bigbasket is known for providing loads of varieties to choose from just like a hypermarket, and then finally we have Amazon which is a perfect site to try on a new product and the customer reviews available helps a ton in making purchase decisions. This analysis is followed by suggesting ways to gain better visibility for the products over the various channels and also point out areas where the company can intervene and promote their products. A few suggestions are made for each of the three channels that the company can do better promote their products and gain more visibility.
c. Availability analysis for the products which highlights the various products that were out of stock over a period of time and also records if they were listed in the PO and if they were accordingly supplied. Also, this part of the analysis tries to explain the reasons behind the unavailability of the products like inadequate order quantity and late deliveries for the POs received. This analysis also lists out the various products which are not much in demand and hence are available over a period of time without much frequent supply.
Also over the period of 8 weeks, I learned a great deal of stuff like –
1. Professionalism – this internship was my first exposure to a professional work setting which gave me ample opportunities to learn how to interact, behave and conduct myself in a corporate setting. Working in a “fast-paced innovative” working environment was everything I was looking forward to in my internship.
2. Exposure to the FMCG market – even though as an individual I have always had a keen interest in the FMCG sector, but till now I had no exposure to it. This internship didn’t disappoint me at all. Through this internship, I was able to learn the nitty-gritties of the FMCG sector. It made me realise how dynamic the FMCG industry is. 40% of the brand names in the top 100 brands list 10 years ago, wouldn’t be the same as today. Everyday a company, is coming up with a new brand to compete in the market. I gained knowledge about the varied product portfolios of ITC as well as its competitors like HUL, P&G etc. I also gained knowledge about the market scenarios in every product category that the company was present in and the various market growth trends and the factors influencing it at every stage.
3. Importance of E-Commerce in the FMCG sector – the internship helped me know more about the role that e-commerce site plays in the growth of the FMCG sector. There are specific product categories like beauty products, deodorants, food and beverages, and most packaged grocery products that see a huge amount of increase in terms of online sales. These days, consumers are more at ease with online grocery purchases due to various replacement options, hassle-free delivery, payment options and finally quality assurance. It has also been predicted by a Neilson report, that E-Commerce would contribute to 11% of the FMCG sales in India by 2020.
4. Professional communication – one of the most important skillsets that I believe I gained was professional communication. This internship taught me how have meaningful discussions with my co-workers and supervisor. It gave me the confidence to communicate in a corporate setting.
Finally, I would like to write a few words regarding my mentor. Mr. Himanshu Garg, Assistant Manager – Modern Trade, ITC Limited, was my mentor and he guided me in my project in every way possible. He shared his insights regarding the industry and also gave some quick tip to overcome any hurdles that would come if I work in this industry in the near future.
Overall, I learnt a lot during my internship and made good use of it.