Project Report on Summer Internship at

Fenesta Building Systems

A Division

of

DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd.

Submitted By

Shruti Fotedar

Student, International Management Institute

Submitted On: On July 10, 2008

Company Address: Sector 32, Plot no 52, Gurgaon.

Project Title

Role Descriptions and Competency mapping (Behavioural and Functional) for all key positions

at Fenesta Building Systems, based on the Anderson format for Job Descriptions. Facilitating

the process of setting Key Result Areas for key positions across all the units in the company.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Mr. Sandeep Mathur, Business Head, Fenesta Building Systems, for granting me an opportunity to work on an extremely interesting project at Fenesta Building Systems, which has been a great learning experience for me.

I also express my heartfelt gratitude to every single member of Team Fenesta, who patiently and kindly, spared time out of their busy work schedule, to acquaint me with the business processes at Fenesta, and helped me gather all relevant data for my Project.

A special word of thanks to Ms. Sukriti Suman, Executive HR for her invaluable moral support and guidance throughout the project.

A note of thanks to the entire Fenesta Family, for everything that I will be taking home from the warmly enriching experience of the past two months.

(Shruti Fotedar)

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CONTENTS

S.NO Particulars Pg No.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Executive Summary

Organization Description

Core Team and Business Team of DSCL

Core Values and Beliefs

SWOT Analysis

Introduction

Project Objectives

Methodology

Some key functions/ processes at Fenesta

Job Descriptions

5.1 What is a Job Description?

5.2 Sample Job Descriptions of the key positions at Fenesta as per

The modified Arthur Anderson Format

Key Result Areas (KRA’s)

6.1 Definition and Methodology of setting KRA’s

Competency Mapping for Key Positions at Fenesta building Systems (as per prescribed Arthur Anderson Competency Model) – Behavioral and Functional Competencies

Conclusion

- Observations/ Recommendations

- Key Learnings

Annexure

9.1 Job Descriptions of the key positions at Fenesta

9.2 Some KRA templates: Commercials, Sales

9.3 Competency Mapping of key positions at Fenesta

9.4 Organization Chart

9.5 Transcripts of Interviews.

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6

10

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13

15

16

17

19

37

56

59

63

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Executive Summary

At Fenesta Building systems (a division of DCM Sriram Consolidated Limited), there existed no

documented Job Descriptions. I was therefore assigned the task of documenting the job descriptions,

which would facilitate the training, recruitment processes as well as the performance management

systems in the organization.

Alongside, since there was a KRA drive on in the organization, I was asked by the Business Head to

assist in the process, especially since I was working on the Job Descriptions already, and the

understanding of the tasks, duties and the responsibilities of a job form the foundation for designing

KRA’s.

I was also required to identify Behavioral and Functional competencies required for the performance of

the different roles in the organization, and map/ fit them on the Anderson Model, prescribed by Arthur

Anderson in a study of the businesses of DSCL, a few years ago.

Since these tasks were interrelated, I worked on all three alongside each other. The methodology

followed by me consisted of data collection by conducting interviews, observing processes and

position holders at work, perusal of important official documents such as Standard Operating

Procedures and Checklists.

The project gave me a deep insight into the processes and functions of a sales –oriented business. I

also gained an understanding of the various HR processes of documenting job Descriptions., and also

of the interlinking between the Job Roles and Responsibilities and the Performance Management

Systems in the organization.

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Organization Description

DCM Sriram Consolidated Ltd. is a major player in Agri Businesses (Fertilisers, Sugar, Seeds, Agri Retailing), Chemicals, Plastics (PVC Resin & Compounding), Cement and Energy Services. It is headed by Mr. Ajay S. Shriram, Chairman & Senior Managing Director and Mr. Vikram S. Shriram, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, along with a team of highly qualified professionals.

Fenesta Building Systems, a business unit of DSCL, is India's first ever window solutions provider, specializing in the design, manufacture, installation and service of precision-engineered made-to-order UPVC window systems.

Headquartered in Gurgaon (Haryana), Fenesta has established a strong marketing and service presence in the National Capital Region, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. The total employee strength of Fenesta is 540 employees.

The extrusion plant in Kota and fabrication units in Bhiwadi, Mumbai and Bangalore are equipped with state-of-the-art machines and tools. The fourth fabrication unit will open shortly in Hyderabad.

Fenesta's production capacity exceeds 120,000 windows a year.

British standards (BS7412 and BS 7413) govern Fenesta's quality standards. The extrusion plant in Kota and the fabrication unit in Bangalore are ISO 9001 certified by BVQI.

In the present competitive office environment, both the employer and the employees are concerned about the rising level of noise and air pollution in the busy commercial hubs of metropolitan cities that ultimately lead to their ears and souls. They are also in search of aesthetically planned work places that not only add to their comfort in one or more ways but also in turn lead to enhanced productivity.

To address these concerns, Fenesta Building Systems (FBS), a Division of Rs.3,000 crores DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd (DSCL), introduced a wide range of Fenesta uPVC (unplasticised Poly Vinyl Chloride) windows and doors especially designed for the lifestyle and health conscious office population in the country.

The new state of the art Fenesta range is designed and developed by FBS purely in India. The new range is adding both comfort and ambience to the modern office atmosphere, which is primarily being dominated by the rising MNC culture in the country. The new Fenesta range of uPVC windows is priced in the range of Rs. 450 to Rs. 600 per sq.ft.

A recently launched new range of Fenesta Windows have been precision engineered to counter wind loads of upto 3000 Pa (249 Km/hr). This new system is made unique by a special “Hurricane Bar” to resist heavy winds and a “Rain Track” that drains rainwater

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outside thereby effectively preventing it from seeping indoors. The new range offers latest styles like Slider-Casement combinations and Tilt & Turn windows.

The steel reinforced Fenesta UPVC windows and door systems were first launched in India in 2003 in marketing and technical collaboration with HW Plastics (Spectus Window Systems), UK, a pioneer and market leader having significant presence in US and Eastern Europe.

HW Plastics is the pioneer and market leader in UK for UPVC doors and window systems. It is part of the £650 million Heywood Williams Group and has its presence in UK, Europe & parts of Asia.The collaboration covers product development, extrusion, fabrication and supply chain management. This partnership fosters DSCL's extensive knowledge in PVC resin and application, specific compounds and HW Plastics strength as a leading window manufacturer.

Strategic intent

The strategic intent of the company is to provide high quality product and turnkey solutions for the consumer. The first fabrication unit was set up at Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. The company has also set up fabrication units in other parts of the country. An extrusion plant at Kota, Rajasthan in early 2004 has conferred the strengths of a backward integrated process, and strictly adheres to international quality standards. A service driven organisation, DSCL building products endeavour to provide customised solutions, continuous innovations and commitment to the consumer.

When vinyl (main component of UPVC) was developed, the scientists were oblivious of the fact that their invention would come to play a vital role in our daily lives-helping make products like UPVC doors/ windows that are simply superior. They were initially launched in Germany and UK between 1960 and 1980, marking the beginning of a new era in the housing and construction segment. Later, the trend spread to France, Italy and the USA and soon caught up with other parts of the world like Middle East, Brazil and China. The world market of steel reinforced UPVC windows and door systems is two-thirds of the total market.

Fenesta is committed to continuously evolving its product range to meet the changing needs of the Indian consumers. Fenesta has set up sales offices in 10 locations across India(Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kochi, Kolkata) and fabrication facilities at Bhiwadi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai with a collective investment of over Rs. 60 crore. Over the next few years, Fenesta plans to widen its national footprint and also cover newer territories across Middle East.

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The product is priced in the range of Rs 350-600 per sq.ft.

The division has a good Market presence in Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Pune, Cochin, Mumbai, Bangalore etc.

Salient features Of the Product

The new system has an international look and feel and provides an exciting array of features for all segments of work places that not only make them economical but also viable. Some of these features are:

Unlike Aluminum, UPVC is a non-conductor; it does not transmit heat. This, in turn, saves energy. In addition, Fenesta’s triple sealing system does not allow cold air to escape or warm air to enter. Result: Reduced air-conditioning bills.

*Office owners on busy streets can take advantage of the triple sealing system to completely obliterate noise and dust, thus keeping the outside outside. Fenesta UPVC windows reduce noise by as much as 30 decibels.

Fenesta UPVC require very low maintenance as they are Termite proof, Fire resistant and self-extinguishing and do not fade or discolor even in the wake of harsh weather conditions.

Comprehensive customisation options: The window systems are designed to fit every window size and design. Each window is measured for its actual size and a window manufactured to fit that size. A range of window designs are offered - from contemporary to modern, simple straight lines to arches.

Elegant looks: Fenesta Window Systems are finely detailed, have soft curves for ergonomic comfort and are attractively finished. They have a wide range to suit every taste and style. From electric blue to flaming orange, from simple sleek black to pristine white, colour selection is never a problem. To those seeking a traditional wood finish, it offers mahogany and light oak to give interiors a warm hardwood appearance.

Tropical blend: With the correct tropical blend of UV resisting chemicals, Fenesta Window Systems don't fade or discolour, even in harsh weather conditions.Weather endurance: Come rain, hail or storm, Fenesta Window Systems can weather extreme climatic conditions. Since the hardware is made of steel, they neither crack or warp during summers nor jam or rust during the rainy season.

Excellent thermal and sound insulation: The primary sealing is done with the help of double gaskets between the fixed and openable parts of the window. Care is also

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taken to efficiently seal the gap around the window frame. This not only prevents dust and water from entering the house but also provides thermal and sound insulation. Besides reducing the cost of power for air-conditioning, it enhances comfort for the user.Hermetical sealing: All openable sashes come with unique double weather seals made of bubble gaskets, which provide hermetical sealing and total protection against ingress of dust and harsh weather.

Environment-friendly: UPVC is 100 per cent recyclable. During its manufacture, it conserves a lot of energy and uses less scarce natural resources than other products. It can be recycled repeatedly and the process does not pose any health hazard.Termite resistant: UPVC window systems are totally impervious to any insect or termite attack.

A household fitting C-rated windows in place of standard windows can typically cut carbon dioxide emissions by over half a tonne per year. And most of the top ‘A’ to ‘C’ rated windows are made with PVC-U.

Minimal maintenance: Fenesta Window Systems require minimal care. They don't require any painting or polishing and can be cleaned easily with soap and water. Since these products have an extremely long life and are easy to maintain, they have proved to be more cost-effective than conventional windows and last a lifetime.

Strong and durable: Fenesta Window Systems are fitted with steel reinforcing, which apart from enhancing the strength, also helps in fixing the hardware easily. The frame structure has multiple chambers and is fully welded to provide additional strength and rigidity. The friction stays for casements have the strength to hold the window at any open position.

Hardware

Locks: The windows come with Espagnolette multi locking system with special feature of night ventilation locking. Handles and lock are designed such that they cannot be released from the outside by any mechanism and are available in both gold and white finish.Unique drainage: The window unit has specially designed drainage slots that enable water to run through them, thereby protecting the house from unwanted water and making cleaning much simpler.Sealant: A PU sealant is a must when installing every window. This ensures that all gaps are sealed off, thus enhancing the comforts enjoyed with Fenesta.

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Warranty

Fenesta Window Systems come with a 10-year warranty.

Target Market for FBS

Being a High-end product, the target market is the High Income Group or HIG.

As on 18 Feb, 2007, the UPVC business contributed less than 10 per cent to the total revenue earnings of DSCL.

Immediate future plans of FBS:

To venture into exports- Middle East, in particular, plans to enter the Dubai market.

They also intend to venture into the economy segment, in the immediate future. The process is on, to identify the segment in clearly defined terms, and to estimate its profitability.

Core Team of DSCL

Board of Directors

S. No. Name Designation

1. Shri Ajay S. Shriram Chairman & Senior Managing Director

2. Shri Vikram S. Shriram Vice Chairman & Managing Director

3. Shri Rajiv Sinha Dy. Managing Director

4. Shri Ajit S. Shriram Director (Sugar)

5. Dr. S. S. Baijal Director

6. Shri Arun Bharat Ram Director

7. Shri Pradeep Dinodia Director

8. Shri Vimal Bhandari Director

9. Shri Sunil Kant Munjal Director

10. Shri D. Sengupta Director

11. Shri S. C. Bhargava (LIC Nominee) Director

12. Dr.N.J.Singh Whole Time Director (EHS).

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Business Team

Ajay S Shriram, Chairman & Senior Managing Director; Mr Vikram S Shriram, Vice Chairman

& Managing Director; Mr Rajiv Sinha, Dy. Managing Director; Mr Ajit S Shriram, Director

(Sugar Business), Mr S D Omchary, Chief Executive Director, (Textile/ Real Estate

Development); Mr S K Agrawal, Senior Executive Director, (Chemical Business); Mr K K Kaul,

Executive Director & Resident Head -Kota manufacturing complex ; Mr Sunil Radhakrishna.

Executive Director; Sugar Business; Dr G C Datta Roy; Chief Executive, Energy Business; Mr

Sovan Chakrabarty, President & Business Head- Agri Inputs; Mr Rajat Mukerjei, Senior Vice

President and SBU Head- Plastics; Mr Rajesh Gupta, President and Business Head-

“Hariyali”; Dr G Mukhopadhyay, Vice President & Business Head, Shriram PolyTech ; Mr

Sandeep Mathur, Senior Vice President & Business Head Fenesta™ Building Systems; Mr J

K Jain, Chief Financial Officer (CFO); Mr. Sushil Baveja, Head - Corporate HR; Mr B L

Sachdeva, Company Secretary; Dr Sharad Sharma, President; Shriram Bioseeds Genetics

India Ltd.

Core Values and Beliefs

DSCL's core values and beliefs are a reflection of its commitment to build a world class, learning organisation, striving for excellence in all its endeavors.

Customer Focus

* Be sensitive to the needs of the customer; develop superior customer insight

* Commitment to surpass expectations and deliver superior value

Innovation and Excellence

* Strive to think differently and promote creativity

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* Make continuous improvement a way of life; drive excellence

People Development

* Continuously improve and upgrade the skills and competencies of our people

* Support people to realize their potential

Team work

* Work closely as a cohesive, well-knit team

* Inculcate a spirit of openness and collaboration

Relationships and Human Dignity

* Value people and partnerships

* Nurture understanding, compassion, trust and respect in all relationships

Social Responsibility and Ethics

* Be a socially responsible corporate, addressing the needs of the community and environment

* Conduct business ethically

* Maintain highest standards of personal integrity

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SWOT ANALYSIS OF FENESTA

Strengths

Integrated Service Provider- They are a One Stop Shop for Builders, providing windows, their installation services, as well as after sales service.

They face Little direct Competition, since they are pioneers in the uPVC segment for doors and windows. They hence dominate the market, and enjoy the First Mover Advantage.

Only player in India with Own Extrusion facility.

Product scores over conventional options ( wood, aluminum etc)

They are Backward integrated, and use the resins obtained from another of DSCL Business’ by-product, as an input material.

Weaknesses

Highly Expensive. Loses out on a huge market segment – of growing middle class, who

would be drawn towards the product, but be demoralized due to the extremely high prices.

uPVC – Still a relatively new concept in India. Not an obvious choice for most people when it

comes to windows, unlike in the west.

Responsibility until Post-Installation – Numerous unanticipated, and unavoidable problems

come up during the ‘handover’; this makes the collection very difficult, and customers tend to

hold back high amounts in payment. The company has suffered a major loss of margins, due

to this problem of out standings.

Also, the Product, as well as the entire Procedure are quite complex, difficult, and

cumbersome (right from the order stage, working out the costing, to the numerous reorders,

installation issues etc). This could be a possible disincentive for customers

Opportunities

Great untapped opportunities lie in the Retail segment, where they have ventured very

recently. Retail segment is also a source of higher profit margins

Greater investment in R&D: They are contemplating venturing into the Economy range of

products.

One option before them (to cut down on out standings and therefore, reach profit margins)

could be to concentrate on Extrusion and Fabrication, and outsource the installation part of the

process to a third service provider. This means, quit being an ISP. (it is a trade-off )

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International Markets- Middle East (Dubai). Where due to the general affluence And high

standards of living, this product would have great demand. They will be setting up shop in the

middle east, shortly.

Growing acceptance of the concept of Green Buildings is helpful for this product; Since

environment friendliness is one of their key USP’s.

Threats

High Attrition – 40%

In the Retail segment, the recruitment, training associated with the Dealer channel- is quite a

challenge; this being no ordinary product but a technically sophisticated one.

Other- less complex, cheaper, players exist in the market. Again, Aluminum and wooden

doors and windows are less of a hassle, although they donot offer the same product benefits.

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Introduction

At Fenesta Building systems (a division of DCM Sriram Consolidated Limited), there existed no

documented Job Descriptions. I was therefore assigned the task of documenting the job descriptions,

which would facilitate the training, recruitment processes as well as the performance management

systems in the organization.

Alongside, since there was a KRA drive on in the organization, I was asked by the Business Head to

assist in the process, especially since I was working on the Job Descriptions already, and the

understanding of the tasks, duties and the responsibilities of a job form the foundation for designing

KRA’s.

I was also required to identify Behavioral and Functional competencies required for the performance of

the different roles in the organization, and map/ fit them on the Anderson Model, prescribed by Arthur

Anderson in a study of the businesses of DSCL, a few years ago.

Since these tasks were interrelated, I worked on all three alongside each other. The methodology

followed by me consisted of data collection by conducting interviews, observing processes and

position holders at work, perusal of important official documents such as Standard Operating

Procedures and Checklists.

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Project Objectives

Documenting job descriptions for key positions in the organization

Mapping of Behavioural and Functional competencies required for the above positions on the competency model.

Assisting in the KRA’s process- validating the KRA’s against the JD’s, helping design the template for commercials KRA’s, ensuring the fairness in the administration of the KRA’s, and streamlining the KRA’s across different regional units of the company

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Methodology

I. For drafting Job Descriptions and mapping Competencies as per the Anderson Format

A five step method was followed:

I first spoke with one key person from each function, to get an understanding of how the business process as a whole, works, and also to understand as to how the department in consideration fits into the process workflow. This was followed by the following steps:

Conducting Interviews with the Job/ position holders, and identifying their tasks, duties and responsibilities- as recognized and defined by them.

Conducting interviews with the immediate supervisors, to identify the expected task, duties and responsibilities that the position holder must perform.

In case of any discrepancy between the actual and the expected areas of responsibility, both were consulted again, and the grey area was attempted to be resolved. Often, since any such discrepancy was only apparent or a result of miscommunication, consensus was easily obtained on the same. An idea about the roles and responsibilities of some positions was also collected from some official documents such as the monthly checklist circulated for the commercials department and other office orders.

However, wherever there was a real divergence between what the boss expected from the employee and what the employee promised to deliver in all fairness- an open dialogue between the two leading to a mutual consensus, was organized.

Based on the interviews, which also included certain questions intended to identify the competencies required for the successful performance of the role (for instance) competencies were mapped for each of the positions studied for the purpose of job description.

It is to be noted that in the Anderson Model, the functional competencies were laid down only for the Sales, Marketing and Finance Function.

The first draft of JDs was then submitted to the job holders, for feedback before finally freezing the JDs. Suggestions if any, were noted , and the JD was modified and then finally freezed.

II. For the purpose of facilitating the KRAs drive.

My objective was to ensure that the KRA’s that had already been set in some units for some of the functions, were validated against the Job Descriptions, that the job holders had been duly consulted and notified while drafting the KRAs, and that the targets and measures set for each position were fairly uniform for all individuals occupying that position, across all regional units.

For the KRAs of the Commercials department, after having freezed the Job Descriptions for the concerned positions, I sat down with the GM, Commercials and DM, Commercials to design the templates. I also had to speak with job holders in different regional units to reconcile certain areas, which were being put down in the KRA’s.

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For Operations KRA’s – which had already been set in 3 regional units, I did a perusal of all the templates, and looked for any discrepancies. While there were no glaring discrepancies or divergences, barring the differences owing to regional factors (goals, objectives, processes and infrastructure), each of the Operations Head was asked as to what procedure was followed for setting the KRA’s. The job holders were also asked whether the KRA’s set for them had been communicated to them, and were set in consultation with them.

In some places, based on the feedback received from different parties, the KRA’s template was redesigned to include all relevant factors. (as in the case of the templates of Retail Sales Executive and Retail Sales Head)

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Some Key Processes studied: Interview Transcripts

Installation

Sales – Retail

Sales Project

Fabrication (Bhiwadi Plant)

Design and Technical Services

Supply Chain Management

Accounts and Commercials

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Installation

Interview with: Mr. Arvind Singh Tomar, Executive – Installation

The Process begins with a Query from the customer, to the Customer Response Cell.

The case is then forwarded to the Sales department, with the following information: Client’s name, contact number and order required (say, number of windows).

The Sales Representative takes over the case from here. They meet the customer, and get a detailed picture of the exact requirements in the order. They then forward a file to the Installation Department, which consists of the following documents:

Design Spec sheet (containing the specifications of the window design- dimensions, segment- sliding or casement/ doors or windows, numbers, glass, handles, profile etc ) This constitutes a Legal agreement on the exact order placed, and promised between the sales Representative and the Customer

ABC form (A form- contains the details of the customer, say the contact no. etc, b form contains details of the site-power supply1, location etc; and C- Form: Commercial- contains the break-up of the total cost, and the final aggregate costs that would be incurred on the order so placed )

T&C Sheet (Terms and Conditions sheet) Form 31 (a legal document, on the lines of IT Form 16. Form 31 if the region is Noida, and Form 38 if the Region is Gurgaon)

Site readiness Report Survey readiness Report Floor Plan Purchase Order (an agreement from the customer’s end.)

This file, containing documents duly signed by the sales representatives is then forwarded to the Costing Executive/ Costing Officer (Contract Cell) who would then make a SAP entry of the order; a SAP No. will be generated and henceforth, the particular customer would be identified with that SAP No. for all purposes. They then attach a Checklist of all the relevant documents to the File.

The file is then forwarded to the Installation Department.

Installation Engineers then visit the site (Site Survey) within the next forty-eight hours, and a Survey sheet with all the details/information collected from the site relevant to the manufacture and installation of the windows. The file is then forwarded to the Commercials Department.

Here, if any discrepancy is noted between the specifications (dimensions of the window specified by the customer, and the actual dimensions of the aperture, as noted by the survey team, if the discrepancy is beyond +/-50 mm then file is sent back to the sales co-ordinator, for

1 This is relevant since, say if the site does not have a good power supply, then the installation team would have to carry a generator, to run the drilling machine. This cost is charged to the customer. In ordinary cases, the electricity from the site is made use of

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re-consideration. The Sales Co-ordinator then get in touch with the customer and amend the order. 2)

Once all the documents are completed, the file is then forwarded to the Commercials- Coordinator (currently, Mr. Sandeep Verma), and the consent or approbation from him is obtained. He checks/updates information in SAP, and gives the ‘go-ahead’ for the fabrication of the ordered windows.

The file is then forwarded to The Fabrication Department. The Commercial Head then checks 3 the file, and forwards it to the Planning Head. Their job is to look into whether the required materials are available in stock4. In case, some material(s) is out of stock, they notify that the delivery of the order may be delayed by n number of days i.e, beyond the anticipated time frame.

The file is then forwarded to the production head, who makes use of the Business Micro Software. The dimensions of the desired window profile are fed into this

2 The margin of difference becomes important, since the cost charged by the company is --- per sq mm. Hence, any difference in the actual size and the specified one, would lead to changes in the total cost of the window. The amendment of the order might require some discussion/ negotiation between the Sales Rep and the Customer, once again. Since the new order, with the new cost structure would have to be signed upon, in an agreement.

3 The check is required, since many times, when the order is to be amended, since it becomes a long drawn process and meetings with the customer might delay the process, the Sales Rep may sign on the amended order himself thinking that the agreement of the customer on the new order will be taken care of.

4The concerned person in Planning must maintain a stock inventory (they make entries in an Excel sheet, for all the materials, and the desired quantity for each is subtracted from the available stock. A minimum inventory for each material needs to be maintained at all times. )5 The glasses are procured from the glass Vendors. The lead time of delivery by them may be different for different kinds of glass. Say 7 days and 20 days approximately for Tough-end glass and Laminated glass respectively.

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software, and the output received is : the profile’s dimensions, size of the glass5, wool pile, cascade, bead etc

At the Fabrication shop, nearly 70-80 different types of profiles are available. The profiles may be white, painted or foiled. The painting of the profiles, if required, is done before fixing the hardware.

Once the window is ready, the commercials department (which consists of two people – handling affairs Inwards and Outwards), The commercial Head – Outwards dispatches the finished product to the site of delivery (it is his job to look into things like the vehicle of delivery such that no damage to the windows is caused, the driver of the vehicle, the timings at the which the delivery has been requested by the customer)

5

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The commercials head will then notify the sales coordinator, the installation department, the dealers6 as well as the business associates about the dispatch of the finished product, by way of an email/ sms or telephone.

For the purpose of installation, the norm is that one technician with his toolkit, and one casual (labourer) are sufficient for the installation of four windows of 25 sq. feet each. In other words, in a day, one technician can fix 100 square feet of windows.

The installation process differs according to the different segments (the four main

ones being sliding doors, sliding windows, casement doors and casement

windows.) Say for instance, the installation of a fixed window will take less time

as compared to a sliding window. The technician carries with himself the survey

sheet and the design spec sheet. He also carries a hand-over sheet7, which is basically a document on which the customer’s signature is obtained, declaring that the windows with the desired specifications have been delivered and duly installed.

The glass8 is first removed from the window. The profiles are first affixed in the

window apertures, with the help of shim-packers, and the exact plum is ensured

(the windows must be at a right angle). The outermost layer of the window is a 5mm thick layer of titanium dioxide, which provides a shining quality to it (this is a major edge over the products of the competitors)

The glass is then reattached to the window. Finally silicon is applied on the window. On the inside, silicon is used as an acrylic (to fill the standard 6mm gap between the window and aperture), whereas, on the outside, it is used as a sealant – preventing the entry of water etc inside the window.

The warranty period for Fenesta windows/doors is Ten years. This implies the free of cost replacement of the window profile within a period of ten years, should the whiteness of the profile pale off. The guarantee that Fenesta claims is that the window profiles would not pale from the pristine white shade, for a period of at least ten years. This fact has been

6 The dealers are made use of only in the retail segment. They act on the company’s behalf , but are not actually employed with the company. 7 Previously, a feedback form was used. But owing to some problems that were faced,in terms of wrongful claims by the customers, a handover sheet is now used instead.8 The decision of fixing it, in the first place during fabrication was taken only recently, to prevent the damage of glass sheets in handling, in transit.

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established through a procedure of laboratory testing. However, as per a decision taken last year, the customer is charged for any replacement of any of the hardware after a period of one year from the purchase of the window.

Sales –Retail

Interview with Mr. Vinay Kumar and Mr. Chetan Ajmera

“We are not window-sellers, but windows solution providers “

– Sales Executive, Fenesta Building Systems

The first step in the sales process (Retail) is that of Enquiry generation, beginning with the Identification of the Suspect. This may involve identification of the houses under construction in a particular zone/area, by means of own efforts or through the channel of the dealers etc. A list of such suspects may be generated, and a contact may then be established with the owners or architects (after obtaining their telephone numbers and/or email ids), and a presentation is then made before the suspect, post which they are treated as a Prospect (Since there is some prospect of their conversion into a customer/client)

Alternatively, the method of Architect calling maybe employed, wherein a list of Architects is generated and a contact is established with them over the phone, followed by a presentation about the Fenesta Windows systems (this method generates maximum business)

Another means would be sending mailers- for architects the content of the mail is such that highlights the technical aspects of the product, whereas for the High Net Worth Individuals who are contacted, the product benefits are emphasized upon.

Another method of spreading awareness about the product would be organizing Road Shows, in selected areas (Maharani Bagh, or Galleria in Gurgaon, for instance) where the target market for retail can easily be tapped into. Once, they held a road show wherein they had first printed Newspaper inserts in the morning newspapers, so that people would be able to recall and relate with the Brand/product more easily.

The idea is to always generate the maximum queries and develop prospective customers through dealers, since they have a much wider reach- and it is not very cost effective to engage the Sales Execs into converting suspects into prospects in the case of retail (since the order size is relatively smaller). Instead, the arrangement is such that each Sales Exec looks after 2-3 dealers.

There are two dealers each in Gurgaon, South Delhi and Noida and Faridabad, and one dealer in West Delhi. The Dealers get to keep 20% of the margin from the deal.

The last alternative method of query generation would be direct enquires which reach the Customer Response Cell, and are then directed to the Sales Team. Once an enquiry is received, the Sales Executives follow up with the party and fix an appointment. This is followed by a product demonstration before the prospective customer; in case of retail, the product benefits (sound insulation, thermal insulation, aesthetics vis-à-vis Aluminium and Wood based windows) are

24

emphasized over the technical aspects of the product). The presentation and product demonstration may be made by the Dealers and Sales Execs together, or individually.

This is followed by the collection of drawings from the client, which are then checked for feasibility and viability of the window design, in consultation with DTS and the Costing function (Contract Commercials)

Costing (Ms. Prijya) then provides a basic price structure; the retail team then works out the overall costing based on the retail format, and a price proposal is created.

The price is then quoted before the client, and negotiations on the price follow. This may involve certain discounts offered or other changes in the price, and once the order is finalized, the spec sheet is designed (by either the sales team or the Dealers – whoever is handling the particular retail project)

The ABC form is duly filled and collected; the basic price is entered by the CRC in SAP, and the file is passed on to the Installation Department (Mr. Arvind Tomar). The final measurement on the plastered surface is taken by the site survey team from Installation, and the file now goes to the Project Commercials (Mr. Sandeep Verma) – who ensures that all the documents are in place and in order, and verifies all the changes in prices (or drawings), whether all entries have been made correctly in SAP – and cross checks all information for errors if any, which may then be reverted to the CRC or Sales Execs for corrections, as the case may be.

The windows are then sent to the fabrication shops, where once those are manufactured, Installation at the client’s site follows (the dispatch and delivery also have to be taken care of, by the sales team.)

Payment collection is the last step in the process. In retail, 100% payment is made by the customer in advance; if the order is very high, then 50% of the payment is taken in advance, 40% after the delivery of the material and 10% may be collected after the installation.

There is a special team for Post-Installation services.

The process works on Just-In-Time. 100% advance payment is taken from the dealers.

Dealer Development is an important aspect of the entire process. Since this is a technical product, it is very difficult to understand, it is preferable to select dealers who have some kind of background/experience in Real Estate (say, Furniture, flooring, cement, faucets and the like)

The Dealer must first make a security deposit in favour of Fenesta Building Systems, which is a 100% refundable amount.

The First step in Dealer Development is ‘Product Training’ (training in Installation and fabrication). Although, previously the dealers were authorized to provide Installation services, it is now taken up by the company Installation team. However, adequate training in installation is provided, to ensure that the site feasibility study is conducted properly, and no errors are allowed to creep in, due to the lack of knowledge or skill.

Combined sales calls are then made to the suspects / prospects (data on queries are exchanged; Sometimes, the Sales Team may share the queries with the Dealers, or they may make combined calls to the Architects and Builders- with whom these dealers may share good relationships.)

25

It may be noted that an order for less than hundred, 100- 500 and >500 windows may come under Retail, Commercial, and Project Sales respectively.

Retail Segment- Sales

Interview with Mr. Saibul Guha(Sales Executive Trainee) Mr. Sumahan Sinha (AM, Sales) and

Mr. Ankur Taneja (Sales Executive)

The process is more or less similar to the process of Retail Sales.

26

Assistant General Manager

(Mr. Ashok Aggarwal)

Sales Executive

(Mr. Chetan Ajmera)

Sales Executive

(Mr. Vinay Kumar)

Dealers

(7)

DSEs

(2)

The Northern region includes NCR, Gurgaon, J&K, Rajasthan, Udaipur, Jaipur, Noida, Ghaziabad, Karnal Sonepath, Chandigarh.

The first step consists of sending mailers, cold-calling, etc sometimes the query comes directly from the customer.

Scanning- Involves identifying the construction areas to be covered, persistently visiting the site, the particular requirements, the number of doors and windows, how long it will be in the ordering stage. Information is collected from the Principal Architects, contractors etc, who are contacted and brochures are sent across to them (there are separate brochures for project and retail). Database is also created from the newspaper ads, and cold calling follows.

The Next step is to set up an appointment, with the particular person (the Principal Architect, VP of the Project, Chairman of the company, Sr. Project Manager- the idea is to identify the key decision maker, who may be any of these persons- and it may not be clear in every project. A presentation is then made before them, wherein the Features, Attributes and Benefits of the product are enumerated.

It could also be a client driven project.

This is followed by the product fitment procedure wherein the sales exec asks for the window-door schedule, and conducts a technical feasibility check. They then take the modified drawings to the clients. Along with making site visits, the executive may be required to take along the client/architect for factory visits, to convince the client about the product.

A look is also taken at the financials of the customer. The quotation is then finalized (discounts may have to be worked out)

27

Bhiwadi Fabrication Plant

Mr. Sachin Kashu, Deputy Manager Planning

Mr. Sachin Kashu informed us that the Fabrication and Installation functions, which were earlier separate units have now been combined under a single head (Operations).

Ninety percent of the hardware is imported- from China and Europe. The lead time for procuring the hardware is six months.

The following steps are followed in the plant, to manufacture a window:

Profile Cutting

Processing – Inserting the wool pile.

Provision of Drainage holes

Hardware Router Insertion

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Reinforcement Assembly Station- Fixing of Reinforcement 9

Welding of the Edges10

Weld Testing Machine tests the Welding quality of every machine once in the morning.

Sprewing – Smoothening out the welded region, clean finish is provided.

Insertion of the Gasket

Weather Seal is applied

Silicon layer is applied

Glass is attached

Beads are fixed.

Packaging of the windows

Key Observations:

This is not a rolling mass production process, since every worker has to refer to the drawing sheet once in a while for every action that they must take, despite the proficiency that they have attained from the years of practice.

The profile cutting and insertion of reinforcement processes take place in parallel.

9 The reinforcements are of different types, for different types of profiles. These are procured from Metalcraft.10 Fabrication is the most time consuming process. It takes nearly 3 minutes to weld two corners.

29

Generally, depending on the orders at hand, 60-70 windows are manufactured in the plant.

The actual capacity of the plant however, is nearly 175-200 windows per day.

Proposed Operatio ns Structure

30

Operations Head

(Mr. Manoj Sharma)

Supply Chain Incharge

(Mr. Sachin Kashu)

Production Incharge

(Mr. Manish Mudgil)

Installation Incharge

Commercial

Purchase

Executive

Drawing

OfficerProject

CoordinatorRetail Coordinator

SurveyorSupervisors

TechniciansFranchise

Installation

Installation

TeamDealersStore Officers

The Factory Commercials Head Mr. S. Kalaiyavan informed us that there are two categories of raw materials, In House (profiles, reinforcements) and Imported (hardware used in the windows).

The Central Purchase Cell, headed by Mr. Sanjay Jauhri proposes the order as per the requirement.

Say for instance, the glass vendor sends across the material, which arrives at the gate.

The person in charge at the gate maintains a Gate Inwards register, which records the details of the material received, the name of the party, etc. Similarly, an Outwards register is also maintained for all the material -finished product- windows) going out of the plant.

Design and Technical Services

Interview with Mr. Munish Rattanpal, AM Design and Mr. Harish Madan, Manager Product Development and Testing

The DTS function is subdivided into three sub-functions: Design, Product Development and Testing and Fabrication Solutions.

31

According to Mr. Rattanpal, one of the major tasks of the DTS function is to understand market requirement through market visits, survey, and customer feedback. A feasibility study is conducted (it may be a joint study with the Marketing department). Generally, it is the sales people who submit the requirements (indicated by the customers) to DTS, and this feedback from the market becomes a starting point for the innovation on the part of the department. A brief about the design is then prepared. This brief is then sent for approval to the management (where the financial viability of this proposal is studied). After obtaining clearance from the management, a prototype of the product (or part) is manufactured. And ultimately, the final manufacturing of the new product (product part of modified product) takes place. This may require new tools and machines.

Design Validation refers to the validation of the fact that a particular design of a product, serves the intended purpose. Manufacturing process validation refers to the validation of the fact that the process manual has been followed in the manufacturing of the product

Technical auditing refers to whether the guidelines for a particular design have been followed or not.

Many of the innovations in product design are guided by say for instance, some problems that may occur in the usage or application of the product, and the proposed solutions result in a valuable innovation. Say for instance, when they faced the problem of a window being too big in size, to pass through the door up to its location of installation in the site, one solution was to transfer it in pieces- since it cannot be unscrewed as the sides are welded at the edges, they came up with the concept of a mechanical joint which would instead be used to fix two sides of a window together- making the easy dismantling and reassembling of the window structure possible.

The first step in developing a new product or product part is the Conceptualization. This is followed by the Design and Detailing (this would involve things like taking into account the manufacturability i.e the manufacturing process being used, and whether the conceptualized design is feasible with the same. In case there is a problem, the design must be modified accordingly. ) The Detailing process includes documentation, preparing drawings and sharing the drawings with the vendor, and also selecting the appropriate manufacturing process. This is because the physical properties of a product/ material are largely determined by the process of manufacturing. The Third step is Prototype Development and Testing. This is usually done in close consultation with the vendors; their expertise from experience is also of great help. Sometimes, it maybe wiser to consult them even before the design and documentation, in the Conceptualization stage itself. In this stage, very few- say two to eight units of the product may be manufactured. Its utility, feasibility and the like are then tested. This is then followed by Product Development. The Drawings are sent to the vendors, and quotations are invited. It is important to note that here, each vendor would suggest changes in the product according to their areas of comfort and expertise. The job of DTS is to make the right selection of the vendor (much of it depends upon the past experience of service, and relationship with the vendors)

However, the final selection of the vendor is done by the Purchase Department, taking into account the price and lead time offered by each. When the dates are finalized, the vendor will then submit a sample of the product. If the DTS finds problems that they had not anticipated earlier, they can ask them to make the changes now even at this stage. The vendor then resubmits a sample. Once DTS gives the final nod of approval on the product so developed, it is now the domain of the Purchase Department, to order the product (the quantity, dates etc) as and when the factory demands it.

The Fifth step consists in making all the stakeholders – factory workers, engineers, technicians and others aware of the change in the existing product, or of the new product if that be the case. Communication of the production process involved, its usage etc is imperative. To this end, training is

32

conducted for the Fabrication Heads, Installation heads and Engineers, who further train those below them (technicians etc)- training manuals and application notes are printed to this end.

(Except for UPVC profiles, everything else used in the windows is sourced from vendors.

The last step in the process consists in the monitoring of the product performance. This entails ensuring the satisfaction of the internal as well as external customers. Issues such as whether the modification or new product has led to a loss of productivity of the workers, or some other unanticipated problem, or do the installation people face specific difficulties in the installation process. Feedback from these quarters must be obtained, and the issues raised must be looked into. Satisfaction of external customers is taken care of, by visiting the site after a few months of installation, and assessing the product performance.

According to Mr. Rattanpal, open and effective communication with the technicians is extremely crucial. He quotes the example of a technician Mr. Surender Pandey who works only for DTS (helps out with all the designing, prototyping), and on one instance he had come up with an improvement on an existing product.

The Core focus areas of DTS are Product Enhancements, New Products, and Technical Support.

Product Enhancement entails adding value to the existing product, product modification and customized solutions. An example of product modification is that a tape was used to provide adherence between the glass and the UPVC- in order to combat the problem of bowing of the UPVC profile due to frequent pulling impact in the sliding window. However, the tape was quite expensive, and therefore, they came up with a modified design of the gasket which would solve the problem of bowing of the UPVC. As for Customized solutions, for example, some customers donot prefer the threshold in doors – and find it uncomfortable (Due to lack of familiarity/habit of usage ). For such cases, the option of Flat threshold is provided, even though they donot encourage this product, due to the fact it may compromise slightly on the property of the door to remain impenetrable to heat, sound etc.

As for New Products, Fenesta has launched its new 3000 series (in Feb 2007 in Delhi), which is an improvement over the 1500 series; it can withstand wind loads of 3000 pascals due to its bigger window size. It took the company more than one year to develop this product. It has obtained certifications from its technology partners in Austria. Also, in terms of product range, for instance, Fenesta previously did not provide Louvers in their windows. From observation and a careful study of the other products in the market, they first sold glass louvers, and now provide movable UPVC louvers.

The last discrete Function of DTS is to provide Technical support. The technical content in the technical manual (or Brochure) of Fenesta is provided by DTS. All the detailed inputs on the window sizes, standard procedures, technical data, and engineering calculations, as well as in the specifications sheet are provided by DTS. Personnel from this function may have to hold discussions with the clients’ architects and engineers to brief them on the technical aspects of the product, and answer all their technical queries, in order to provide efficient customer service. In addition, the DTS also plays an important role in Vendor selection, and material approvals.

33

Design and Technical Services

34

Head – Design and Technical Services

and Extrusion

(Mr. Y. P Singh) - Kota

Senior Manager

(Mr. Kalyanjyoti Barua)

Manager, Product Development and Testing

(Mr. Harish Madan)- Gurgaon

Assistant Manager,

Design

(Mr. Munish Rattanpal)-

Gurgaon

Technician

(Mr. Surender Pandey)-

Bhiwadi

Supply Chain Management

(Interview with Mr. Sanjay Johari, SCM Head)

The department has come to be termed as SCM only recently. Until some time ago, it was simply the Purchase Department. It is now on its way to becoming the Planning and Purchase Department; so far Planning was not merged with Production/ capacity planning and material planning.

The SCM function according to him consists of three broad sub-processes: Manufacturing, planning (Procurement), and Warehousing.

Currently, the SCM structure at the HO is such that Ms. Suhasini and Mr. Hemant Kumar Vashistha work under him, handling projects and Non-inventory purchases and contracts respectively.

However, this is a very nebulous structure and they intend to make it well defined, with two positions under the SCM Head- HO, for handling the local purchases and the other for Imports. Both are intended to be more strategic than operational in nature.

The SCM structure at the regional units is proposed as given below:

35

Supply Chain Incharge

Purchase

Executive

Purchase

Executive

Project

Coordinator

Retail Coordinator

Surveyor

Accounts and Commercials

Regional Commercials

36

Regional Commercial Head

Stores Incharge

(Inwarding of material)

Dispatch Factory Commercial Head

Contract Commercial

Sales/Project Commercial

Job Descriptions

37

What is a Job Description?

A job description is a list of the general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position. Typically, it also includes to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications needed by the person in the job, salary range for the position, etc. A job description is usually developed by conducting a job analysis, which includes examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform the job. The analysis looks at the areas of knowledge and skills needed by the job. Note that a role is the set of responsibilities or expected results associated with a job. A job usually includes several roles.

Task – a discrete activity performed by an individual to produce a specific product or service

Duty – a larger work segment composed of several tasks or group of activities that are performed by an individual

Responsibility – the major purpose or reasons for the job to exist

Purpose of Job Descriptions

Staffing and selection

Performance management

Legal Compliance

Labor Relations

Compensation

Training and development

38

Job Descriptions

1. Accounts and Commercials

2. Zonal Manager

3. Sales and Marketing

4. Operations

5. Supply Chain Management

6. (Head) Design and Technical Services

39

Executive Costing

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

Job Holder Name: Ms. Prijya Chandna

Department: Accounts and Commercials SBU/ Business division: Fenesta Building Systems

Reporting to: Project Sales Head, GM, Commercials

Salary Level :

Location : Gurgaon Work Experience Required: 3-4 years in Autocad and Cost estimation

SCOPE

Supervision: (Numbers of subordinates reporting to the incumbent)

Direct: NIL

Indirect:1 costing officer

JOB CONTENT

1. ROLE OBJECTIVE

Responsible for commercial quality of contract.

DETAILED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, wherever applicable

STRATEGIC/ POLICY

NIL

40

OPERATIONAL

Timely Quotation submission and Order Processing Quotation submission within 24 hours for retail, and 48 hours for project Making Sale orders for all the orders before the papers going to factory. Amendment of sale note based on actual survey/call sheet in respect of change in sizes and

window prices. To ensure that the same is approved by customer as well.

Design Related Issues

Using own knowledge/expertise, and that of DTS, to Ensure design & product feasibility, and to provide feasible solutions.

Suggesting optional & economical designs to SalesProcess Orientation and Control

Validation of technical specification. Validation of pricing and to ensure that the prices are approved as per delegation Ensuring that the signatures of clients are obtained on all the necessary documents (PO/WO,

Spec Sheet, CAD Drawings and Floor plan, Last/Final quotation, window call sheet, Entry Forms- Form C if required), and that the order is not processed further unless all the documentary requirements are met.

Processing Bank Guarantee and Corporate Guarantee requests. Processing of contracts before passing on to Operations. Processing of contracts and maintain separate customer wise files containing final

quotations, customer purchase orders, copies of sales orders, copies of amended sales orders, phase wise record of release of call sheets to production and all communication with customers and all documents of communication with customers related to amendments, duly authorized by ZM.

Preparation and Issue of Sale Note to Sales Executive for getting it approved by the customer, after verification of the same by project commercials.

Maintaining proper order book with all relevant details including those of price basis. Analysis related to orders- in terms of discounts, prices, segments etc Review of other contract terms finalization leading to closure of contracts. Keeping track of pending order status.

MIS MIS related to orders, pending orders, price basis, segments, quotation tracking etc. Monthly MI containing details about the orders in hand.

To ensure 100% compliance of minutes of meeting circulated for contract commercial compliance.

41

Customer Orientation

Interacting with Sales and installation & knowing about customer interests Resolution of technical issues by site visit/ architect visit. Meeting the clients’ architects/builders

for any clarifications required by the latter, regarding technical details.

Teamwork and Coordination

Coordinates well with members of the Commercials team, to ensure smooth and

Successful functioning of the team as a whole.

KEY INTERACTIONS

Internal External

Sales- All personnel Interaction with Clients/ customers/ Architects clarifications on technical aspects of the product

General Manager, Commercials

Deputy Manager, Commercials

Project Commercials

Factory Commercials

Head- DTS

3. Educational/ Professional Qualification

Diploma in Civil/ Mechanical Engineering

IT Knowledge: SAP, Auto CAD, MS Excel, MS Word and the internet.

Growth Prospects: May move into the position of Project Commercials within a span of 2 years, and in 5 years, to the position of Factory Commercials Head, if demonstrates the requisite competence and commercials acumen.

Executive – Project Commercials

42

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

Job Holder Name: Mr. Sandeep Uniyal

Department: Accounts and Commercials SBU/ Business division: Fenesta Building Systems

Reporting to: GM, Commercials, Mr. Bhupinder Malik - Administrative Reporting: Mr. Jha

Salary Level:

Location : Gurgaon Working hours: 9:00 A.M to 7:00 P.M

Work Experience Required: 5 yrs –in a similar function

SCOPE

Supervision: (Numbers of subordinates reporting to the incumbent)

Direct:

Indirect:

JOB CONTENT

ROLE OBJECTIVE

Responsible for Project Performance in terms of costs and Cash Flow

DETAILED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, wherever applicable

STRATEGIC/ POLICY

NIL

43

OPERATIONAL

o Order Processing

Verification of WCS with SAP sale order Verifying the Sales Order in SAP based on the PO Making SAP entries about the details of each project; Matching the information in SAP with that

available in the physical documents.

o Invoicing and Reconciliation

Invoicing for collection of payments, clearing of bills. Reconciliation of Books of Accounts – of manual v/s SAP.

o Process Orientation and Controls Coordination for collection of payments, including visits to the customers for clarifications. Follow up for C- form collection (includes sending of invoice details to customers on a

quarterly basis for C-form collection), Work Contract Tax, TDS certificates etc. Project Closure (Technical closure, Commercial closure and Accounting Closure)

o Credit Controls

Validation of the BG and CG requests processed by the Contract Commercials. Triggers dispatch/ execution controls depending on Outstanding.

o Monitoring Project Progress Monitoring project progress (for all non-retail orders) - triggers review of project, and

identification of projects slipping into Red. Material Control of sites - maintaining a site-wise register about the dispatches, stocks; random

visits to the site for ground-check against details on paper.

o MIS

Monthly MI related to Outstandings, collections, Debtor’s Ageing Analysis, Stock at sites, the number of days it takes for invoice submission- after dispatch, technical and financial closure

A weekly flash on the order booking, order dispatch, collections for the week to the Sales Head, GM Commercials.

MI as required by H.O

44

o Communication, Teamwork and Relationship Building Coordinates well with members of the Commercials team, to ensure smooth and successful

functioning of the team as a whole. Communicates/Negotiates well with the customer, to extract the payments due and all necessary

documents, in a tactful persistent, firm yet polite manner.

KEY INTERACTIONS

Internal External

Regional Commercials Clients/ Customers for recovery of payments

Sales

Installation managers

Factory Commercials

EDUCATIONAL/ PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION

(Special technical skills & knowledge needed for the satisfactory performance of the job)

Commerce Graduate with a strong background in Accounting

IT Knowledge: Usage and application of SAP (local ERP), MS Excel, MS Office, Tally, MS Word along with the internet.

Growth Prospects: May move into the position of Regional Commercials Head within a span of 2 years Factory Commercials Head, if demonstrates the requisite competence.

Zonal Manager

45

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

Job Holder Name: Mr. Sanjay Gupta

Department: SBU/ Business division: Fenesta Building Systems

Reporting to: Business Head Salary Level:

Location : Gurgaon Working hours: 9:00 A.M to 7:30 P.M

Work Experience Required: 7-8 years in Building materials industry, cement/ electrical segment

SCOPE

Supervision: (Numbers of subordinates reporting to the incumbent)

Direct: 3 (Operations Head, Sales Head Projects, Sales Head Retail)Indirect: 14

JOB CONTENT

ROLE OBJECTIVE

Responsible for manpower requirement in the zone for all the departments, and for achieving the budgeted numbers and value.

46

DETAILED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, wherever applicable

STRATEGIC/ POLICY

His responsibility area stretches across the Northern Zone (Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Delhi, MP). The zone is an independent entity, in terms of all its operations.

Profit Centre Head : Achieving the target sales and profit volumes for his region. (retail as well as project sales)

Business Development and Channel Creation (Dealers, Project and Sales Team)

Tracking competition, database upgradation, Market knowledge.

Acquiring/ updating Business knowledge in terms of the new prospective customers (such as hotel, hospitality industry, the upcoming concept of Green Buildings) - and their geographical concentration/ spread.

47

OPERATIONAL

His main function is that of co-ordination between all departments, and streamlining their operations.

He acts as the connecting link between the Branch and the Head Office.

Ties sales and operations together into a meaningful, functional unit.

Ensuring that all the documentation is proper and in order.

His function is in parallel connection with the commercials- the positions of GM, and AM commercials.

Business Associates Management/ Relationship Building His job also involves liaisoning with the individuals/ organizations - who serve as good sources of recommendations to our clients, e.g Façade consultants, Facility Managers etc

Keeping track of progress of the various projects. (with regard to the raising of bills, collections etc).

Team Building and Development

Hold regular team coordination meetings.

Development of Sales Team- Mentoring, Handholding, delegating responsibility.

Ensuring that adequate and effective training is imparted to the entire team (Sales, Installation and Fabrication)

Enlarging Customer base and ensuring Customer Satisfaction in his zone.

Ensure Cost Controls/ Reduction.

Constantly strive for Process and efficiency/ productivity improvement

Multi- project implementation- Planning for execution of projects( planning the required production, manpower to achieve the target) as well as forecasting for hardware (this is important, since the lead time is 4-6 months)

o MI reports: Submitting figures of installation, production and sales, budget and

profit figures on a weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis.

o Productivity Improvement Fabrication Productivity Improvement Installation

o Implementation of Kaizens & Suggestions

o Housekeeping, 5S Implementation

KEY INTERACTIONS

Internal External

48

GM, AM Commercials Architects

Project Commercials Clients

Head Retail Sales & Head, Project Sales Consultants ( Façade consultants)

EDUCATIONAL/ PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION

Civil/ Mechanical Engineering and MBA (Marketing).

Must possess sound commercials knowledge, along with proficiency in use of MS Office.

Head- Retail Sales

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

Job Holder Name: Mr. Ashok Aggarwal

Department: Retail Sales SBU/ Business division: Fenesta Building Systems

Reporting to: Zonal Head/ All India Sales Head Salary Level:

Location : Gurgaon Working hours: 9:00 A.M to 6:00 P.M/7:00 P.M

Work Experience Required: 5 years in retail - consumer durables / 7-8 years in related industry (flooring, air conditioning etc) (experience in dealer management preferable)

SCOPE

49

Supervision: (Numbers of subordinates reporting to the incumbent)

Direct: 2

Indirect: 2

JOB CONTENT

ROLE OBJECTIVE

Enabling dealers to procure the orders.

DETAILED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, wherever applicable

STRATEGIC/ POLICY

Achieve the sales target for the region. Daily, Weekly and Monthly review of Retail Sales Activities (Northern region)- including NCR, Gurgaon, Chandigarh.

Dealer Development- Recruitment, selection- in terms of potential dealer analysis, as well as operationalizing the dealers, enabling the dealer organization (sales training, samples, kits, brochures etc) Handholding for the dealers, yearly (long term and short term) plans, decisions regarding dealer support (with regard to sales promotional activities.)

50

OPERATIONAL

Direct Sales, Meeting with and making presentations before Architects and institutional customers (hotels, companies, factories)

Customer Orientation

Customer Relationship Management- Making relationship calls, customer complaint handling.

Taking Architects to visit showrooms, factory visits.

Visiting the site of installation, if the client so demands.

Directly handling few important customers for their requirement/ service issues.

Team building and Development

Development of Sales Execs- with regard to soft skills.

Team retention and motivation.

Handholding, mentoring, delegating.

Recoverables

Recovery of outstanding wherever problematic.

Authorizing quotation, special prices (price at discount, etc)

Visiting every dealer/ showroom at least once in a month.

KEY INTERACTIONS

Internal External

Installation Executive Retail, Installation Head Dealers

Project Commercials Clients

Contract Commercials Architects

EDUCATIONAL/ PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION

51

Engineer(Civil/ Mechanical) and MBA (Finance & Marketing) PG in Business Management,

Graduation Background in Commerce would also do

Growth Prospects: In 2-3 years, may grow to acquire the responsibility of a small region, with installation, and perhaps in some more time, a region with the factory as well.

Sales Exec Retail

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

Job Holder Name: Mr. Chetan Ajmera

Department: Sales SBU/ Business division: Fenesta Building Systems

Reporting to: Mr. Ashok Aggarwal Salary Level:

Location : Gurgaon Working hours: 9:00 A.M to 6:00 PM (Saturdays- Working)

Work Experience Required: 1-2 years in retail – consumer durables

SCOPE

Supervision: (Numbers of subordinates reporting to the incumbent)

Direct: 2

Indirect:

JOB CONTENT

ROLE OBJECTIVE

To achieve the targeted sales and profit volumes in his territory, through defined dealer channel.

52

DETAILED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, wherever applicable

STRATEGIC/ POLICY

NIL

53

OPERATIONAL

Looking after all sales (retail) activities in NCR.

Business Associates Management

Architect calling, Architect relationship, Client relationship, builder calling.

Developing and dispatching mailers for Architects/ builders and prospective customers.

Dealer Development- Dealer Selection and Appointment, Dealers' staff recruitment, operational, Mentoring and handholding, Knowledge & Skill Upgradation (of self, DSA's & dealers' team)

Dealer Motivation- devising strategies to keep the dealers engaged and motivated for business, such as, popcorn events for dealers and their architects, or procure orders for them.

Showrooms Management

Product Development and Promotion

Event Management (putting up stalls in various industrial exposes- Xac, Inside Outside, organizing events such as road shows etc to promote and advertise for the product)

Developing other strategies to promote the product-reach in the retail

segment.

Tracking product availability (co-ordinating with the Planning and Purchase department Mr. Manish Sharma and Mr. Sanjay Johari)

Coordination

Co-work with the Fabrication shop – for variations in the spec sheet, or delivery related issues.

Co-work with Contract Cell, Design and Technical Services department for cost and design related issues.

Customer Orientation

Taking the customer/ architects for factory visits, if they so demand.

Customer Relationship Management

Recoverables. Submission and collection of bills, C-Forms and TDS certificates, within the stipulated time.

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KEY INTERACTIONS

Internal External

Customer Response Cell, Contract Cell, Project Commercials

Customers

Fab Shop- Mr. Sachin Kashu, Mr. Rahul Mehra Architects

Purchase and planning Head, Mr. Manish Sharma Dealers, Dealers’ salesmen

With DTS for product design related issues

EDUCATIONAL/ PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION

B. E Mechanical/ Civil and MBA (Marketing)

Growth Prospects: Assistant Manager, Sales responsible for greater number of dealers (5-6) in two years’ time, and handling a territory within five years’ time. (as the Deputy Manager/ Manager Sales)

B. E Mechanical/ Civil and MBA (Marketing)

Good understanding of Commercials (to strike an financially feasible deal for the client)

Growth Prospects: Assistant Manager, Sales responsible for greater number of dealers (5-6) in two years’ time, and handling a territory within five years’ time. (as the Deputy Manager/ Manager Sales)

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Key Result Areas

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What is a Key Result Area?

“Key Result Areas” refers to general areas of outcomes or outputs for which a role is responsible.

Key result areas (KRAs) capture about 80% of a work role. The remainder of the role is usually devoted to areas of shared responsibility. Key result areas are worded using as fewterms as possible with no verbs (i.e.,these are about results, not action) and no direction/measurement (e.g., words such as "good," "increased" or "decreased"). They simply describe the areas for which one is responsible for results.

Key Result Area Key Performance Indicator Measures e.g Topline Sales Against yearly plans

Identifying KRAs helps employees:

Clarify their roles Align their roles to organization’s business/ strategic plan · Focus on results rather than activities Communicate their role’s purposes to others Set goals and objectives. Prioritize their activities, and therefore improve their time/work management ·

Make value-added decisions.

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How I contributed to the KRA’s process:

Operations

# Validated KRA’s against JD’s

# Discussed the methodology followed with Operations Heads

# Spoke with many job holders- and validated their KRAs’ Sales

# Additionally, redesigned KRAs for Retail North Commercials

# Helped design KRA’s templates

# Facilitated Role Consensus

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Competency Mapping for Key Positions

at Fenesta building Systems (as per prescribed Arthur

Anderson Competency Model)

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Competency

An underlying characteristic of a person which enables him to deliver superior performance on a given job, role or a situation.

The characteristic may be called an attribute bundle, consisting of knowledge, skills, traits, motive, attitude and aptitude

Characteristics

A competency is:

Relevant (Both conceptual and applied)

Discrete

Simple

Observable

Measurable

Flexible

Structure of a Competency

Definition

Behavioural Descriptor/ Indicator

Behavioural indicators articulate how the competencies are demonstrated on job. Since, competencies are behaviour specific, behavioural indicators, help in identifying the presence or non-presence of competencies, these are also known as descriptors. For instance, a

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sales manager and a production manager both require change orientation as one of the competencies. However, the descriptors for the two may be different. These are observable, measurable and hence useful for performance appraisals.

Proficiency Levels

Measurement Scale (Yes or No scale, Likert type scale or Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales)

Arthur Andersen Competency Model

The Anderson Competency Model consists of 13 Behavioural, 14 Technical and 5 Functional Competencies.

Each Competency is divided into sometimes Three, Four or Five Modules (namely, Module A, B, C, D and E) levels of proficiency.

The measurement scales consists of Level 1 to Level four ranking, in progressive order.

e.g Results Orientation

Competency definition

Results Orientation is a desire for doing one’s own work well or for competing against a standard of excellence. The focus of individuals demonstrating this competency is on the outcome and on over-achieving the outcome wherever relevant. An individual demonstrating this competency may set standards based on his/ her past performance or performance of others. The individual has a strong personal belief to succeed.

The Degree of innovation factor is used as a rating scale to evaluate this competency within a particular level. (For e.g. if for a particular position the Level required is 3 then performance of individuals within 3 is differentiated along the Degree of Innovation Scale- whether the person is at Level 1 or 2 with respect to demonstrated performance in this level).

Why this competency is important

This competency is important in leading and delivering improved results, in setting challenging targets, identifying and completing new projects and finding better ways of doing things. It encourages taking responsibility for results and striving to improve performance. It is particularly important for medium and long-term projects at DSCL.

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Module A Module B Module C Module DWorks to meet set Standards of Excellence

▪ Works towards

meeting set/ given

standards. For

e.g. achieve

targets / KRAs,

meets sales

quota, quality

requirements etc

▪ Assimilates new

initiatives that

have been

introduced within

the organisation

and undertakes

activities to

achieve the

required results

Creates Own Standards of Excellence and Strives to Improve Them (setting a benchmark)

▪ Uses personal methods of

measuring outcomes against

a standard of excellence (not

imposed by the organisation).

For e.g. Rs spent, beating the

competition, setting

performance measures for

measuring the team’s

performance on a special

task / project / organisation

initiative.

• Makes specific changes in

the system or in own work to

improve performance, without

any specific performance

improvement standards set.

For e.g. continuous

improvement in standards.

• Volunteers for projects that

require learning new

information within tight time

frames uses the knowledge

to achieve the required

results.

Uses Business Sense with respect to Productivity and Efficiency to optimise on deliverables

▪ Makes decisions, sets

priorities or choose goals on

the basis of inputs and

outputs, ROI, or cost benefit

analyses in terms of scoping

a project / organisation

initiative in terms of effort,

output.

▪ Evaluates short term and

long term goals, objectives

and benefits.

▪ Identifies new projects /

initiatives that may contribute

to the overall achievement of

the end results / goals.

Takes Risks Significant to the Organisation

▪ Commits significant

resources and/ or time (in the

face of uncertainty) to

improve performance, try

something new, reach a

challenging goal Understands

the risks involved and takes

steps to mitigate the same.

For e.g. starts new products

or services, while also taking

steps to minimise risks, line

customers in advance etc.

Ref. Annexure: Competency Mapping for Key Positions.

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CONCLUSION

Observations/ Recommendations

The company suffers from an alarmingly high rate of Attrition (40%). Most of the ‘good’ people tend to leave the organization, after having started off on a very promising, zealous note.

Redesign Induction Program

The new recruits tend to be unaware of the various business processes in the organization (compounded by the fact that these are extremely complex in nature), the key roles, functions, hierarchy, their own role and position in organization.

Since certainty and clarity with regard to one’s own job role and how it fits into the larger context of the organization leads to comfort and satisfaction, an effective Induction program for ALL positions in the organization must be designed. In other words, the induction must not just focus on the seemingly “key” positions in the organization.

e.g Even the person in charge of the Customer Response Cell must be thoroughly acquainted with the organization and the processes etc, to equip them to handle all kinds of customer queries well.

Also, the Employee Handbook must incorporate a detailed Organization Chart, and brief description of business process, and all key departments/ functions.

An Induction Presentation must be made before the new recruits, giving an overview of the business and key functions. And the presentation must be made not just by the HR persons, but also by the key position holders in the various functions, who can communicate the processes well.

It would be useful to note that an employee is most vulnerable to quit a newly joined organization within the first few weeks, if they donot feel they “fit” well into the new set-up.

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Depending on how smooth or difficult the initial phase of transition into the new role, in a new context is, the employee would either feel “A Part” of the new organization, or alternatively APART from it.

One of the most remarkable qualities about Fenesta Gurgaon Office as a workplace is, the ‘easygoing/ lighthearted environment’ – with work always sprinkled with occasional cheer and laughter (the office cubicular layout helps- open communication and access);

A relatively young, energetic workforce helps the cause. This kind of organizational culture is an advantage for a company in the Manufacturing sector. In this age of Employer Branding, with the potential recruits selecting or rejecting a company as much as the company selects or rejects candidates, it would be a good idea for the HR function to leverage on the fun workplace factor; Selling the concept of ‘FUN-esta’ – to both- the internal as well as external employees. More initiatives could be taken to keep this concept live and relevant.

Foster a community spirit - small initiatives e.g monthly birthday celebrations, greeting mails by HR, and the like.

The Installation team (which spends more time outside the office- as compared to the rest of the functions) must be engaged more closely and frequently with the other functions in organization, especially the Sales Team. Foster a Bond, which also facilitate the smooth workflow- between sales and installation.

Attach a sense of esteem and worth to Installation Jobs, since a general perception one gets is a deep rooted sense of “lack of esteem” attached with this job (hardly commensurate with the kind of qualifications that the job holders often possess – a diploma in Civil/ Mechanical Engineering) The customer tends to place the installation person in the light of a mere “carpenter” (to quote from one interaction with an Installation person) – and seeks to communicate just with the Sales Team for all problems, issues (since they are the ones who originally commit the deal)- and may entertain no communication from the Installation person.

With such a job profile, attempts must be made in-house, to compensate for the apparent lack of “worth/ esteem” within the organization. Especially, since it is a job role crucial to the entire process. Installation (“Handover”) bottlenecks tend to play a major role in the holding up of payments, leading to huge outstandings.

Training: Upgrade SAP team, to enable optimum utilization of SAP.

Training in Soft Skills – There is an acute need for imparting Training in Soft skills such as Leadership, Motivation etc

The soft skill of coordination and teamwork, so crucial for this business can be imparted using the techniques of Role Plays etc, which would be most apt in this context since it would develop better appreciation of the goals, constraints and concerns for the counter roles in the process, and facilitate better role performance for better coordination in relation to the others.

For example, role plays switching the roles of Sales and Commercials persons.

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Key Learnings

Identification and mapping of Competencies required for a job/ role.

The various aspects of performance management process- the soft issues, as well as the metrics need to be taken care of. Also, the management must ensure that it allows room and opportunity (in the form of training, learning environment etc) for all the parameters which constitute the performance appraisal scale.

In today’s dynamic market and technological context, jobs and job descriptions are highly dynamic and subject to constant changes.

First Industry Experience- Understood how the nature of products and services offered truly affects the organization structure, culture.

Developed an appreciation for and understanding of the hitherto alien concepts of Accounts and Commerce.

Developed an appreciation for and understanding of the various key functions in any business set up, namely, the Sales process, Research and Development, Supply chain Management, Commercials, amongst others.

Discovered that concepts such as ‘Attrition’, ‘job-fitment’, ‘job satisfaction’, merits of ‘employee feedback’ are not hollow jargon, but deeply impactful realities of an organization.

Anything that is sold without adequate returns/ profits, is not sale but Charity. The company is majorly suffering from losses (they are yet to attain their profit margins) mainly due to the non payment on the part of many customers (of the

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order of thousands of rupees), because of minor issues in installation services, incomplete or inadequate documentation and authorization. A major learning in this regard has also been that a stitch in time, saves nine.

An HR Professional must develop high sensitivity while dealing with people, in relation to their work, which is the centre of their universe and self- worth. It is therefore, criminal to sum up someone’s JD in a single line. Not after they an hour long session on “how their role contributes to the organization as a whole”!

ANNEXURE

Interview Transcripts

Mr. Sandeep Verma, Project Commercials

He has been extremely busy so far, dealing with the issue of Debtors – large amounts of old Outstandings, and is probing as to why such a problem exists, and how the loopholes can be dealt with. Now, he has introduced the system wherein not a single window will be sent in for fabrication, until he has given his assent- and his signatures are obtained. In his absence, the Executive-Project Commercials position has been granted the same authority. The major reasons that he has identified so far, range from the customer refusing to pay up the revised prices which may be different from the agreement signed in the first place; in one instance, the customer refused to pay up according to the number of windows installed- but insisted upon the rate per flat pricing system (even though the order was amended mid-project), there can be a divergence between the actual number of windows installed and the ones specified (since due to coupling etc, a single window may actually be broken up into 2-3 windows – so an order of say, 16 windows may come to 52 windows- and the customer may not be able to comprehend this logic)

He has been trying to introduce many changes in the process, documentation etc to plug these loopholes; for instance, the Sales Order must have a column which clearly specifies the actual number of windows, and the calculations arrived upon, so that there is no ambiguity in the pricing at either end.

One major problem has been the lack of proper documentation – the terms agreed upon, the amendments in order and the like, are not documented properly- many times the signatures of the client on all the important documents may be missing, and hence when it comes to extracting payments from them, the company stands at a weaker bargaining position, since there is no concrete evidence of the terms of payment agreed upon (due to several factors such as reorders [the number of reorders is extremely high- due to perhaps fault in the whole

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installation process], installation problems, amended orders etc the actual cost incurred, and the prices of the windows installed may differ from the price initially agreed upon, at the beginning of the project)

He has suggested various other improvements in the pricing procedure: for instance, for replacement parts the company currently pays Sales Tax- instead, either the previous sales order must be reversed or it can be sold as a replacement against the defected part to avoid paying the sales tax.

Also, since the company does not have Depots in many states, we end up paying Central Sales Tax (12.5%); the technical reasons for the inability to put up depots in these places can be reconsidered.

Since he has been working on extracting payments from the Debtors, his job involves extensive negotiations with clients, to convey the terms of payment, clarify any ambiguity in the terms, if that has created the bottleneck; however, since they have no proper documentation of the previous deals, they are often at a weaker position.

He also suggests that the credit policy should (and can) be modified from the current 75 days credit in project to 30 credit days in project to 3 credit days in retail.

He has now also asked the Factory Commercials Head to send him a weekly report on the dispatches from Bhiwadi every week.

He has also redesigned the structure of the Sale Day book which must be sent in by the Factory Comm Head, to allow for better comprehension and analysis of the sales in the month. He has also redesigned the Invoice, to mention the proper window code.

One flaw that he has observed in the system has been the heavy reliance on verbal communication (between functions in the organization, or with the customers and clients), rather than formal written mode, which also encourages lack of proper documentation.

Also, the SAP system implemented in the organization has not been utilized to the optimum level. The SAP literacy must increase (the SAP team must be trained accordingly), so that the work processes can be more smooth and precious time of the commercials persons is not lost in the reconciliation process. They must be able to exploit SAP to the fullest possible extent.

He has also initiated the system of a weekly Monday meeting – “Collection meeting” which is attended by the Sales Head, Installation Manager, Retail Head and Zonal Manager, wherein they discuss the reasons for outstandings in particular projects, the status of each, and then chalk out a plan of action.

For the purpose of working on the collection of payments, he works closely with Mr. H. M Gupta, who first contacts all the debtors, and notes down the status/ reasons for non-payment, and then forwards this information to Mr. Verma who then works on the recovery plan.

He suggests a more well-defined Price Standardization, so that the terms etc are crystal-clear, and the different sales execs donot end up striking deals which are not acceptable to the company, and the company image in the market takes a hit due to this inconsistency.

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Position: Executive-Project Commercials

Name: Mr. Sandeep Uniyal

Function: Project Commercials

Directly Reporting To: Mr. Bhupinder Malik

Administrative Reporting: Mr. Jha

Educational/ Professional Qualifications: Commerce Graduate with a strong background in Accounting

Technical Skills Required: IT – SAP, knowledge of local ERP, MS Office, MS Excel, knowledge of Tally would be preferable, and internet (mainly for correspondence through emails)

Working Hours: 9:00 A.M to 6:00/7:00 P.M (may spill over to 10:00 P.M during the closing period [March 10- April 10- Hard Close Period])

Mr. Verma states that his is basically a Sales Support function. The file containing the quotations that have been finalized by the Contract Commercials, reaches him (it contains the price summary, drawings, floor plan and specs etc) and he needs to look at whether all the requisite documents are available in the file (such as the C-form, F-form, and that all the rates used for price calculations are correct, since this would determine how smooth and accurate working on his own tasks would be.)

The Contract Commercials person creates a Customer Master in SAP, while the SAP Document number is generated by this position.

There may be instances when the client/customer may refuse to pay up the amount initially agreed upon (say, due to some minor problems in installation, or damage to the glass in transportation etc) Or he may claim that there is a divergence between the promised and finalized rates. It is then a matter of his responsibility and his negotiation skills to elicit the payment form the customer.

It is also extremely crucial for him to obtain the signature of the client on all crucial documents which commit their agreement to the terms of the contract say, e.g, the client’s signature on the spec sheet, without which, this position holder should not process the contract- or give his approval for the fabrication of windows.

Settling accounts is another major task: E.g the client may ask for extra windows to be manufactured and installed mid-project. This may not be properly recorded in the documents. The position holder checks his books, as well as asks the installation people to create a report on the same (though they are usually reluctant to do it), so that the extra windows get properly recorded in books, and are accounted for.

The pricing structure consists of 85% fabrication and 15% installation costs (having been revised recently from the earlier system of 90% and 10% respectively); the 15% costs is basically defined as the labour costs and the percentage share in total costs was increased to save on the taxes to be paid

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(since we now end up paying only service tax on that percentage of costs- the excise duty, CST, Vat etc are avoided)

The payment may be roughly received as installments in the following manner (Material cost+ payment on delivery+ payment on installation+ payment on ‘handover’ +retention payment (held for one year)). This however is very loosely defined, and subject to modification for every new project.

Mr. Uniyal also explained that the modes of operating are very different in case of General and Specific clients (constituted by Builders/ Developers and Retail projects – IT offices, hotel industry etc, respectively). Whereas the former issues a Work Order (deduct Work Contract Tax- average 4%), Tax Deducted at Source (2.266%) against the material and Labour costs, whereas a Purchase Order is issued in the case of the latter. In the latter case, again, once the material is delivered, its handling etc becomes the responsibility of the customer and the onus does not lie entirely on Fenesta, which is not the case with General Clients.

He is also responsible for ‘Knocking off’ payments of all customers in the northern region, and for the clearing of bills. The job requires coordination and effective communication with the Regional Commercials, Sales as well as the installation function. He describes his work as input-based work.

Sometimes, he may also need to dispatch checks received from ASG to all the regional commercials. (It is a centralized accounting system).

Monitoring a project’s profitability on two bases: Time Basis (the project may run into losses if it goes on till well beyond the schedule) as well as Value Basis (re-orders due to errors in Survey etc can also increase costs leading to the project running into losses for the company.)

He receives the Sale-day book from Mr. Kalaivalyan (Factory Commercials) which contains the re-orders, sample, etc. This helps him collect data for the purpose of monitoring reorders.

If and when projects that are slipping into losses are identified, he must then inform the Commercial Head, Zonal Head, Installation Head and.

It is a Sales Accounting Job.

The job holder must coordinate well with the installation function to get accurate data to process the accounts.

He illustrated the intricacies involved by the example that the UP builders donot provide Form C, to avail of the local UPST VAT. Hence the route of Dealers is employed in UP, who demand a margin of 50%.

He must see to it that all the information that passes through his seat to the Installation Function is complete in all respects. He also checks that all values, measurement and SAP entries forwarded by the Contract Cell is correct.

Mr. Hyat Singh, Indirect Taxation

Monitoring all taxation related issues centrally, for all the regional commercials.

Monitoring the statutory compliance of all the regions with regard to Excise Duty, Service Tax and VAT, ensuring that the monthly returns are filed in time, and in the correct manner.

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Reconciliation of old statutory dues.

Case Assessments.

Dealing with the Departmental auditors: Excise, Service Tax, and VAT auditors during the monthly and yearly audits.

To ensure proper documentation- that the statutory forms against all sales are issued and received; that the forms are correct and adhere to the norms of statutory compliances.

Reconciliation of SAP with manual data, by compiling data gathered from the regions over mails, telephone, or monthly visits to the regions.

Develop taxation related IT reports for the regions coordinating with the IT team in Kota (over phone or in person), by assessing their needs. E.g Earlier, the regional commercials needed to prepare all Excise returns as manual data. In order to prevent this wastage of time, and to ensure that they get everything from the SAP system, he discussed these requirements with the IT team in Kota, to develop the required system.

Constantly update self on the changes in the dynamic taxation norms (laws and statutory compliances) by means of interaction with consultants, and update the regions about the same.

The company has hired an agency which updates his on all the latest developments in this regard.

Mr. Sharad Sharma, DM Commercials

Role Objective:

Directly reports to: Mr. Bhupinder Malik

Educational/ Professional Qualifications: A Chartered Accountant.

IT Skills: Proficiency in SAP, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint.

Working hours: 9:30 A.M to 6:00 P.M

Limitations: IT resources lacking, better ERP sources required.

Key Duties and responsibilities

To work towards obtaining the CAS-IV certification, working closely with the Accountant Devise the costing structure (working closely with the DTS) and review it on a quarterly basis. Accounts Closing – A centralized activity. Handle all Quarterly audit, statutory audit, VAT, excise issues – Commercials functions. Process Improvement and automation: Learning new systems and procedures To conduct quarterly meetings of Contract Commercials. Business Related analysis/ business planning activity. MI reports on timely basis. Ensuring statutory compliance at all locations. Pricing controls. Customer Account Reconciliation. Meeting customers for payment collection, and explaining the payment structure. Visiting the Fab shops 3-4 times in a month- to oversee things, to ensure that all systems and

processes are in order.

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Educating the Regional Commercial people on the new systems and processes. Profitability Analysis. SBU meetings

Internal Interactions

Zonal Manager Regional Commercial Head Business Head Fabrication Head Planning and Purchase Head (for input prices)

External Interactions Statutory Auditors, Cost Accountants, Consultants, clients

Name: Mr. Manish K. Sharma

Directly Reporting to: Earlier Mr. D. P Vijay (Head- Purchase and Planning) and Mr. Bhupendra Malik (GM, Commercials)

Role Responsibility:

Work Hours: 9:30 A.M to 7:00 P.M

Mr. Sharma was previously mainly engaged with the Purchase and Planning Department, but has recently taken over the role of Executive- Commercials as well (in addition to the earlier roles and responsibilities). Process of Purchase (Import consignments), as explained by him begins with a demand generated by the plant or the DTS department. To purchase material from a foreign vendor, Mr. Sanjay Jauhri (Head- Purhcase) invites quotations (sourcing of material availability).

After the selection of the vendor, formal Purchase order is issued (by Mr. Hemant Vashistha)containing the specifications of the material required, mode of dispatch, and the terms of payment for which the agreement of the vendor is obtained. The lead time of delivery in case of import consignments is usually two months, and hence material purchase must be planned at least two months in advance. The terms of payment are such that the company makes payment of 100% of the amount in advance; however, the payment is made only when the material is ready for dispatch at the vendor’s end. The vendor sends a Proforma Invoice, and the purchase department provides the necessary documents to the bank (two copies of the Invoice, and two copies of the Purchase Order) remits the money in the vendor’s account (TT and LC) Once the vendor checks that the money has been remitted, they schedule a date for the delivery of the material. They also send across all the documents necessary for the transaction by courier namely, the Invoicing copy, the packing lists, certificate of origin, the Insurance Declaration/Certificate, Bill of Lading (This is a document which needs to be endorsed by the Company, so that the Cleaning Housing Agent can show it to collect the material from the shipment)

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The import consignment by air route (in case of relatively urgent deliveries) is shipped at Delhi and by sea route (more commonly employed)- at Navasheva port in Mumbai. The import consignment once cleared, is the dispatched to the designated plant.

Once the material is delivered, two copies of Bill of Entry are received namely the duplicate and triplicate copy submitted with the Factory (used for the purpose of availing the CENVAT benefit) and with the Bank respectively.

The responsibility areas of Mr. Sharma in the entire process can be identified as follows:

When all the shipping documents are received by courier, the appropriate documentation and filing of the same

following up with the CHAs in Delhi and/or Bombay find out the custom duty payment amount the dispatching of the two copies of the Bill of Entry to the Bank and the Plant Update/ Amend the Purchase Order in SAP on the basis of the Bill of Entry so that the

CENVAT benefit can be availed of (to account for the variation in the currency rate that may have taken place in the meantime)

Process/pass all the bills raised by the CHA- forward those to the ASG for reimbursement (The CHA raises bills for commission for service; shipping line, labour charges, transportation and other miscellaneous expenses on the behalf of Fenesta)

In case DTS wants to develop a new Aluminium product, then he invites quotations from vendors (this system works on advance payments). He has come to perform this function, in the case of dealing with vendors for Aluminium products.

Roles and Responsibilities under the Commercials Function

Advances to vendors – making reconciliations. Follow up with the commercial people for the C-form to be issued to the vendors, who may

follow up with this position for the processing of the same- generally by email. (Role of a mediator)

Co-ordinating with plants for generating bills against GRN. Ensuring that bills are booked, wherever an advance is reflected and payments are

recoverable. Towards the month end, order booking, sales, collection and MIS.

Basically, it consists of all Accounts related work.

Frequent interaction with:

Internal

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All Factory Commercials personnel in all the plants ASG With the concerned Department/ Official in the organization, for which bills need to be settled.

E.g the HR department may organize a picnic for the employees, for which the payment would be made in advance, but the bills would not have been submitted even days after the exercise.

Contract Commercial- Every Quarter, prices may be revised due to changes in prices of the hardware, raw material etc. All necessary information regarding such updates in prices needs to be provided to the Contract Commercials person.

External

Aluminium Vendors (not under commercials function) Transportation people CHAs

Qualifications Required: A strong background in Accounting, clarity in commercial aspects.

Technical Requirements: A good Knowledge and understanding of SAP, usage of internet (mainly since all correspondence –internal and external, is mainly carried out over emails), MS Word and MS Excel.

One challenge that one often faces in this job position is that of arranging for bills from the concerned persons, in different contexts; since these people appear to be extremely busy in their work, at all times. He may send email reminders for the same, and when at times, that alone does not serve as a potent motivational force, so he CC-es such mails to his superiors.

Interview with Mr. Sanjay Gupta

His responsibility area is the Northern Zone (Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Delhi, MP). The zone is an independent entity, in terms of all its operations.

One of his responsibilities is that of ensuring that adequate and effective training is imparted to the entire team.

His main function is that of co-ordination between all departments, streamlining their operations.

Ensuring that all the documentation is proper and in order.

His function is in parallel connection with the commercials- the positions of GM, and AM commercials.

His job also involves laisoning with the façade consultants- who serve as good sources of recommendations to our clients.

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Keeping track of progress of the various projects. (with regard to the raising of bills, collections etc)

This position also requires one to possess sound business knowledge in terms of the new prospective customers (such as hotel, hospitality industry, the upcoming concept of Green Buildings) - and their geographical concentration/ spread.

Facility Managers of various organizations– also serve as important touch points, for procuring customers/ contracts.

According to him, the negotiation with clients is conducted in two stages: in the first stage, the content of the dialogue consists of roughly 60% Technical and 40% Commercial matters, whereas in the second stage it consists of 80% commercial, and 20% technical issues.

Interview with Mr. Ram Kumar Kullai

(ZM, Bangalore)

Custodian of customer satisfaction for the zone.

To generate profits

Ties sales and operations together.

Takes care of the commercial aspects – both statutory and collections.

Zonal Head

(Mr. Sanjay Gupta)

Operations Head

(Mr. Manoj Sharma)

Head- Project Sales

(Mr. N. N. Jha)

Head- Retail Sales

(Mr. Ashok Aggarwal)

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Multi- project implementation- Planning for execution of projects, as well as forecasting for hardware (this is important, since the lead time is 4-6 months)

Interview with Mr. Ravi Kumar

(ZM, Mumbai)

The ZM is a profit centre Head.

Responsible for Customer satisfaction.

85-90% of his work consists of planning the required production, manpower to achieve the target.

He is also the connecting link between the Head Office and the Branch

He also coordinates with the other verticals- the Heads of Purchase, Commercials, /project and retail Sales,

Responsible for manpower requirement in the zone for all the departments, and for achieving the budgeted numbers and value.

Interview with Mr. Sanjay Johari

His job basically includes all Supply Chain Management Activities. The ultimate authority in this function lies with this position. The following are his key responsibility areas.

Planning

Supply Management (includes procurement, sourcing, vendor development, source quality assurance )

Plant and inventory management

Warehousing

Distribution and Logistics (consisting of Inbound and Outbound Logistics, although currently he takes care of just the Inbound logistics.)

Negotiating contracts and establishing relationships with Franchisee Installers.

Team Building/ Development

Cost Control

Project Management- Capital Expenses

SCM Manager- Regional – key functions:

Project Tracking.

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Analyzes the Bill of Material.

Provides Input to purchase persons to release orders.

Provides inputs for Production and Planning.

Handling several orders at the same time (multi tasking).

Qualifications Required : B.E (Mechanical/ Civil)

Surveyor

Proposed Role:

The function of this role is to keep tabs on the progress of the site, and report it in a particular format to the SCM Manager, and accordingly, to provide inputs on planning.

Qualifications Required: Diploma -Civil Engineering

Mr. Sanjay Pawar

AM Installation, Project sales (Mumbai)

Handles Project installation sites in Mumbai, Goa and Ahmedabad.

Client meetings

Ensure that projects run in a smooth manner, as far as the installation service is concerned.

Submit a monthly installation plan and technicians plan to the operations head (Execute the technicians to a particular site)

Site measurement. Obtain and check all the order forms, from the Sales Department- distribute it to the supervisors and the officers.

Coordinate with the Sales Manager from Ahmedabad, and Deputy Manager- Sales, in Goa, to obtain the load (Projection for installation) for a particular month. Accordingly, distributes manpower in the region. (Manpower Planning)

Meeting the project incharge, and handing over the planning schedule to him, as well as to the factory.

Weekly meeting with the Architect/ Builder/ project manager at the site, to discuss and resolve problems/ issues if any, and submit the project site report/ status.

Submit the progress/ status report in Mr. Sood Format for Installation to the client, on a weekly basis.

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Give weekly planning report to the factory.

Material Planning: Submit material requirements to the factory.

Attend weekly Sales- Installation meeting to discuss the project status/progress.

The Project must be completed within the stipulated deadline.

Collection of the “completion certificate” is of utmost importance. This is obtained generally by the installation officer, and is important for Project Closure.

Casuals Planning- Appointing the Labour Contractor. To ensure maximum output with minimum costs incurred on casuals, rework etc

Monthly meetings with technicians, to resolve all their problems and work on methods to increase their productivity.

Increase Franchisee Installation in Goa and Ahmedabad.

Set up service stations with the help of technicians.

Take care of all related HR issues such as the technicians’ uniforms, attendance, leave records etc.

His day is divided approximately as 60% at the site, and 40% at the office.

Retention and motivation of the installation staff.

Ensuring discipline amongst the Installation staff- reporting in time, in proper uniforms, and with appropriate behaviour with clients, quality of service delivered (As reflected in the client feedback)

Cost Control: Assign locations to technicians such that maximum productivity may be achieved with minimum expenditure, and through minimum number of reworks.

He must be firm about the standard terms and conditions for working with the customer, and relent before their undue pressure.

Ensuring that a stock register is maintained by the officers, and reports are prepared by them.

Verifying monthly bills by casuals.

Maintaining Database of casuals.

Every evening he gathers details about the day’s installation work from all supervisors.

Making daily plans for the casuals next day, and communicating the same to the contractor.

Sometimes, may need to visit the new site alongwith the Sales Executives- to finalize new orders (answering clients’ queries etc)

Ensuring safety of the Installation staff at the site(high rise buildings) : Procure adequate safety material from Planning, namely the safety belts, helmets etc

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Occassionally may conduct surveys and measurement himself, in special cases.

May even install a one-odd window, to motivate his staff by working alongside them.

Submits a weekly dispatch plan to the factory.

Mr. Manish Mudgil

AM Fabrication

“Our slogan at this plant is: Safety First, Quality Second, Production Must.”

Production planning.

Manpower Allocation.

Increasing productivity on the shop floor (intends to increase it from 7 square feet per person, to 12 square feet per person)

Monitoring the maintenance and functioning of the Four M’s:

1. Machine: Ensuring smooth functioning of machines, preventive maintenance, spare part maintenance, maintenance of tools and implements. Maintains a daily machine checklist wherein he ensures that all machines are operative, Breakdown analysis (targets reaching a zero breakdown situation in the factory), optimum utilization of machines, utilities upkeep.

2. Man:

a) Manpower allocation as per requirement, in order to successfully achieve the set production target.

b) Imparting Training to the workforce, with regard to multi-skilling, operator level maintenance.

3. Material Handling:

a) Elimination of the 7 MUDAS.

b) To decrease work-in-progress.

4. Motion:

a) Conduct Time and Motion studies, based on which measures are adopted for decreasing the fatigue of the technicians, ensuring that the work environment is such that the productivity is sustained and maintained- for optimum utilization of the manpower. He also sets targets for individuals based on these studies.

Has implemented a system whereby every morning, all those who work on the shop floor devote five minutes for warm-up exercises, strictly between 8:00 A.M to 8:05 A.M.

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A suggestion scheme is in implementation at the factory, whereby suggestions for improvement of productivity and quality of work, are invited from the shop floor members. Mr. Manish Mudgil analyses these suggestions, in terms of feasibility and implementation; If found useful, these are then implemented. He prepares the documentation of the new measure, communicating its benefits, method etc, puts up posters regarding the same- to create a better understanding of the idea.

He has set individual targets for his supervisors, who were technicians and have only recently been promoted to the position of supervisors. His responsibility is to set them into the rhythm- since they have work experience, but no managerial skills. His task is that of handholding and mentoring them, keep a check on their progress (review three times in a day), and help resolve any problems that they might face.

Planning of material to be moved for production from the store to the shop floor. The idea is to use the right quality and quantity, at the appropriate time.

Reduction of the 7 MUDAS

Maintaining process orientation, process controls.

Constantly striving for Process Improvement.

Monitor the effectiveness and transfer of the training, (say in respect of 5S, ISO and 7 MUDAS) that is imparted to all on the shop floor.

Monthly and weekly trends data analysis. Say for instance, if there is a customer complaint regarding a window scratch, or any other damage that may have taken place in transit, they employ the 5- WHY analysis approach, to identify the root cause of the problem and prevent its occurrence in future. This is followed by training of all concerned people, and maintaining training records.

Shop floor Layout – He must propose the best possible shop floor layout, which would result in enhanced productivity, and decreased technicians’ fatigue. He must ensure foolproof execution of the proposed change in layout, as changing the shop floor layout is quite an elaborate task, requires a lot of manpower, and changes in the electrical fittings among other things.

Team Motivation and motivation. Increasing the personal touch in everyday interaction at work, allowing a healthy exchange of views, giving recognition to valuable contribution (e.g cash awards, certificates for useful suggestions )

Material Planning. Ensuring Availability of material at the right time, in the right quantity, at the right workstation.

Communicate all changes in the systems and processes to the shop floor people.

Set daily production targets for each workstation, which are written on a board; the daily production is noted at the same board- to note the divergence between the targeted and actual production.

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Coordination with planning, stores, commercials.

Maintain a daily production report, which goes to the top management every month.

Other responsibilities include ensuring observation of all safety measures in the plant, as well as implementation of the newly introduced waste management process.

Daily review of the team of technicians, supervisors.

At this plant, due to adoption of efficient procedures and processes, they have already managed to reduce the working hours. Also, the focus has now shifted from Dispatch to Production.

Inventory Management- for tools and spare parts.

At this plant, they now produce 1500-1600 windows, on an average.

They follow the policy of ‘First Time Right’ very religiously, at this plant.

The 3G approach is used to tackle customer complaints, consisting of three steps namely, analyzing the identified problem, taking corrective action, and finally, putting in place a preventive measure to avoid the occurrence of a similar problem in future.

Mr. Sachin Kashu

Deputy Manager, Planning

These days, he is passing on his roles and responsibilities to Mr. Rahul Mehra; he is mostly engaged in smoothening out work for Mr. Mehra, providing him neceassry inputs, and to help him solve his problems and resolve issues that may crop up.

He also takes up data from the surveyors, installation people and preparing the report as per the A Sood Format.

Mr. Hemant Injal

Fabrication Executive

He has been working in the company for the past 14 months.

His first responsibility is that of Shopfloor Production Plan- The shopfloor planning must

be done as per the requirements of the client and the site, to achieve the daily

production target.

Formulating weekly production plan, in terms of prioritizing between clients.

Monthly production plan- in terms of the segment of windows which would be fabricated in the shop, along with the number of days for the same.

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Manpower adjustment for the Shopfloor.

Site/ Installation Material Planning- The installation material at the site viz. fasteners,

screws etc is procured from the factory. He prepares the list of the requirements, to be

sent to the factory.

Shopfloor Maintenance (of Machines and equipment). Monitoring Autonomous Maintenance, daily check ups, and weekly maintenance. As for, Autonomous maintenance, it is a part of Total Production Management or TPM wherein any machine which plays a crucial role in the shop floor, he must prepare its knowledge bank in respect of its length, parts, their function, etc and provide the knowledge to the operator, so that he is thoroughly acquainted with the machine, so as to be able to manage its general maintenance on his own- and deal with any breakdowns that may arise. Training is imparted to the technicians for this purpose.

Maintaining and implementing 5 S, and imparting training to technicians for the same.

Maintaining discipline on the shopfloor.

Ensuring Safety compliances in the shopfloor, including that the Technicians are making use of Personal Protection Equipments (helmets, hand gloves , shopfloor shoes etc)

Confirming the fabrication of the manufactured quantity of windows, in SAP. This would help the commercials person raising the invoice confirm the fabrication of the said quantity of windows.

Reports: Maintain a daily client-wise report of fabrication in the plant, which consolidates into a monthly report, a breakdown report (the reasons for breakdown are noted down, and analyzed to prevent such failures in future), and a downtime report.

Mr. Sahab Saral

Installation Executive, Projects

The four major requirements for him to proceed with his work are: Purchase Order (which indicates the number and types of the towers), the CAD drawing, the Floor plan (which indicates the location of different types of windows) and the ABC form.

Meeting with site engineer, project in charge is the next important step.

The site survey is generally conducted only when 90% of the civil work has been completed.

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He has now transferred the responsibility of conducting the site survey, largely to the supervisors and technicians under him, and has now assumed a greater supervisory role himself.

His time everyday gets divided approximately equally between the factory and the site.

The client provides a store for the windows etc at the site to keep all the material safe, when it arrives form the fabrication shop.

While they used to work elevation-wise (or tower to tower basis) earlier, they now work on a floor-wise basis; this way handover does not become a problem (it is done on a day to day basis) and we are not held accountable for damages that are not caused due to any negligence on our part.

The Installation team also provides information to the fabrication shop, as to when to go in for fabrication – as per the site readiness.

Every Saturday, a meeting takes place between Sales, Installation, Supervisors, Production Incharge as well as Planning Incharge, so as to regulate and facilitate efficient production planning and material planning.

Now, every survey is deposited with fabrication shop only on Saturday- rather than on the random manner followed earlier; hence, there are now greater checks and controls over installation.

All the technicians are assigned the sites, and detailed about the window location, window code and all such information.

Every evening, the supervisor submits the information to him about the progress of installation at the site.

He makes daily visits to the site- multi tasking between 2-3 projects simultaneously.

At every site, he tells the supervisor about which windows are to be installed for the day.

For Handover, the technician fills in the quality checklist, which is check by the supervisor, sometimes even the installation executive, followed by the site engineer. It is then passed on to the project commercials who then raise the invoice.

The verification of bills by client takes place, every month or in every 15 days.

In projects, one gets enough lead time. A schedule is obtained from the client, according to which the process must proceed.

They must also submit MI reports regularly :

- Weekly report to Operations Head, Mr. D.P Vijay (Production Planning)- regarding the stock at site, handover etc

- Daily productivity report

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- Monthly report regarding the material received for installation, opening balance, closing stock, installed stock etc

- Six monthly report (installation planning schedule for various projects)

Educational Qualification (for Technicians and Supervisors):

ITI/ Diploma (Mechanical)

Mr. Arvind Singh Tomar

The first job responsibility includes conducting the Site Survey- This entails assessing whether we can actually provide all the specifications desired by the customer (as permitted by the site situation). An appointment is then taken with the customer (rarely are retail customers physically present themselves)/ the key architect/ Civil contractor etc – so that measurement of the window aperture can be taken in their presence.

The survey sheet is then attached to the mail file of the contract and goes to commercials, who cross check the details and pass it on to the fabrication department. After dispatch, the installation people are updated with the dispatch details. They then seek an appointment with the customer for installation.

One technician and one labour can install 100 square feet of window in one day, in general terms. They are sent with a copy of the survey sheet, as well as the handover sheet. The site is handed over to the client/ client’s architect/ site engineer n a day-to-day basis as windows are installed.

The installation executive gets feedback form filled from the customer on the last day of installation.

Retail contracts are higher priced than projects (Rs. 400- 800 per window). This is because of the better quality services provided in retail, due to lesser area of installation – greater time and ease- quality gets importance over productivity.

All billing material for the clients is generated from Bhiwadi.

We cannot charge our clients for post-installation services that we provide to them, since we have not yet procured the certificate which is required for the same.

The installation execs possess the authority to communicate to the customer, if they discover upon surveying the site that it is not suitable for installation of the windows (a case of ‘wrong-selling’ due to ignorance of the Sales Execs) Unlike the Sales people, their job is to be absolutely direct and honest with the client about whether we would able to furnish the desired product, in the desired manner, given the limitations of the site situation. Since, it is ultimately their responsibility to deliver the product and obtain the “handover” , they need to look at all possible technical/ practical eventualities before ensuring the customer that they would be able to honour the contract/ commitment; the failure to do the same would result in problems in handover due to incomplete/ inadequate installation, resulting in non-payment by the customer.

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For renovation jobs, they communicate the required standards expected from the customer- in terms of site conditions etc, at the very beginning, and reserve the authority to cancel the order ,in case the customer refuses to meet the stated standards.

A typical day at work consists of meeting with the clients for survey, clarifications, discussion over problems/ issues etc, conducting site survey, installation process, to report at the office, to handover papers if any, to the commercials, Obtain a new file (for a new contract) if any, and schedule a survey date after consultation with the client.

One major problem that they face is that while they must deal with the client for extracting the payment (which is the job responsibility of Sales and Commercials, but they have to step in, whenever there are any hiccups on apparent account of unsatisfactory installation service), but all their other discussions about the entire process of installation of the windows, takes place with the site engineers, contractors etc (The Retail clients are often high profile people, with busy schedules). This creates gaps in communication and understanding, since the end-customer is often ignorant of the intricacies of the entire process.

The job requires constant coordination with the Fab Shop, to keep track of fabrication, dispatch etc and schedule installation dates accordingly, and prepare adequately.

Retail Contracts Project Contracts

More Expensive Lower Prices as compared to retail.

Greater number of customers Lesser number of customers

Time period = around 25 days Time period may run into months (6 on average)

Selling is done on the strength of the product features, attributes and benefits.

Selling is done on the strength of infrastructure, installation, production capacity

Also, while procedure demands that the installation team conduct the survey only after the Purchase Order is amended (in such cases), they tend to take measurement prior to that, for convenience sake, and then inform the sales persons to amend the sales order.

Working hours: Generally, 9:00 A.M to to 9:00 P.M, out of which 3-4 hours are spent in office, the rest of the time is consumed by meetings with clients, and site visits.

Every Saturday, a meeting takes place, which is attended by the Operations Head, the commercials if necessary, the Production Manager and Planning Manager, so as to discuss issues if any, and work out the expected date of delivery, which can be safely communicated to the customer.

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One issue that often arises is that the civil contractor of the client may not recognize fenesta, and maybe unaware of the processes/ requirements- so the right “plum” may be missing at the window aperture/ site. (which will create problems in installation)

In retail they have just a single shot at establishing a relationship with the customer; one bad job will result in a negative impression- and since this business thrives on recommendations by customers, dissatisfaction of even a single customer can spell bad news for the business.

The Product knowledge is required in terms of how the product will be fabricated, how it will be installed, and how the customer will use it. Mr. Tomar states that when he joined the company he spent a huge amount of time reading the technical manual everyday and understanding such details about the product and its usage.

Customer Orientation: They must communicate in clear terms, everything exactly as they are going to serve the client.

His technicians call him once everyday. In the morning, he allots each of them the sites they would be visiting for the day, while the casuals are told to accompany the respective technicians to the sites. He then also fixes appointments with the clients for site survey, etc. Every night, post 8:00 P.M, his technicians apprise him of the day’s progress and project status at every site.

Interview with Mr. Ashish Saxena

Installation Head, Retail

He states that his job starts with measurement, and lasts right uptil the handover, collecting the feedback as well as the collection certificates.

The Sales Team provides the installation with all the data about the site (namely, Floor plan, PO form, window drawing, spec sheet, and ABC form)

He first gets in touch with the client, to fix up an appointment for taking the measurements.

The survey sheet, should reach the factory within 1.5 days of having taken the measurements.

He must then coordinate with the factory as to when they would be sending the window on site, and inform the client regarding the same.

He must always plan for the next five days.

Maintains a Client Complaint register.

Every morning, the Service Officer arrives at the Sales Office and checks the complaint register; he reorders for the required material, and attends to all the customer problems and grievances at the earliest.

In Retail, the deadline is always short, and requires stricter adherence than project contracts.

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In addition, the expectations in terms of quality as well as speed are greater, due to the higher prices charged from the retail clients. He points out that unlike in Project, the Site Engineer may actually check every single window before giving the handover.

Every night he must give details to all the technicians, regarding the sites to be visited the next day.

During the day he must visit sites and supervise the work being done by his installation staff, and provide solutions for problems, if any.

At the office, he looks at any pending measurements that have to be taken, or new orders that the Sales team might bring in.

Documentation/ Reports:

Collection of Completion certificates from the client.

Forwarding the technicians’ daily report to the factory. Every evening, obtaining reports from the technicians about installation status/ progress for the day (Installed windows quantity, casuals used etc )

Monthly report- regarding the windows installed per month (in terms of quality and quantity- area square feet, team used etc)

On a daily basis, communicate to the Casuals contractor the requirement for casuals (numbers and locations) for the next day.

Maintaining records of casuals- attendance, reporting time etc.

Ensuring Training of technicians- most of it is on the site.

Attending weekly meetings with Operations Head, attended by the technicians as well as the officers.

A very interesting observation that came up in this interview was, that the customers generally prefer to discuss all their problems and issues with the Sales People rather than the installation team. They also tend to be treated as little more than “carpenters”, by the customers.

Mr. Manoj Sharma, Operations Head

Resource Planning: To identify the resources on a need basis, i.e based on future as well as current requirements.

Cost Reductions through process improvement(resulting in use of less manpower per workstation, reducing the number of in-process rejections ) Most cost reductions, he points out, are indirect in nature which may be measured in terms of, say, number of windows rejected per month.

Capacity Planning.

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Productivity improvement for fabrication and installation.

To motivate the team to achieve the target.

To reduce wastage, and improve productivity at installation and factory.

He has implemented a suggestion scheme in the factory, wherein the suggestions by the technicians are invited and support from other functions such as planning is mobilized, to facilitate their implementation. Cash Awards are offered for good suggestions.

Creating awareness in the factory, about the management policies, safety, the importance of teamwork etc.

They maintain a safety calendar at the factory, wherein they have identifies three categories of accidents: Minor Accidents, Major Accidents, and Near Miss (not yet implemented). Personal Protective Equipment is to be used to prevent any injury, inhalation of harmful dust, etc

Working on the ISO Implementation, 5 S, Kaizen.

Creating awareness in the whole team, to improve quality as per the client’s requirement.

Improve the level of service provided, in terms of delivery.

Imparting training to the team of technicians.

Follow the Five WHYs method to solve any problem, take corrective action, as well as preventive measures, to avert this problem in future.

Inventory Management- In the past four months, the inventory has reduced from 1.7 crores to 1.47 crores, due to the implementation of 1S(Identification of the place of all items) and 2S (Identification of the obsolete items) The other three S’s are: Standardization, Cleanliness in the Shopfloor, Maintaining and sustaining Discipline.

Implementation of Fenesta Project Management at the Site (following the A Sood format).

One advantage of adopting this format has been that we now are aware as to what we are supposed to produce and install, with around 80% accuracy.

His job is also to ensure implementation of many systems which may not be clearly laid down.

He has also recently implemented a Waste Management System on the plant. He actively educates and motivates the technicians etc to help facilitate the implementation of these new systems.

Another job is to coordinate with Consultant (Mr. S.N Sharma) in Kota, to address the technicians’ grievances.

Sending reports, data as and when required by the HR Department.

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Mr. Chandra Sekhar, Hyderabad

Purchase Executive

He has only recently been shifted into the role of a purchase executive, from that of a Drawing Officer.

His first responsibility is that of making the Purchase Order in SAP. However, he has little knowledge of this Application and works under the guidance of his boss. His immediate requirement to fulfill responsibilities in this role, is therefore that of training in SAP.

Procuring materials- glass, cement, plastic material etc. e.g, Glass must be procured from the vendor within two days of issuing the purchase order. This requires adequate and advance planning of materials that would require to be purchased.

However, while ideally the P.O must be raised before the procurement of materials, in case of consumables (screws, beads etc), it is raised only after the material has been received since we are not very sure about the exact costs of the various consumable parts.

Vendor Development- He may be required to visit the vendors and discuss and sort out any problems or issues that there may be. For instance, the glass sheets may not be cut in proper dimensions, which would result in waste of materials.

Maintenance of stock.

The surveyor hands him the window call sheets, and he accordingly works out the drawings, which are handed over to the production function.

He states that while he does not maintain a ‘rejection report’ currently, he will do so from now on.

Also, while the P.O for plastic components/ hardware is raised once in a month, P.O for reinforcements is raised every week.

Plastic components & local hardware planning & procurement.

Weight reduction of installation tool kit by suggesting alternatives

2% Reduction in consumables costs .

Making of monthly & weekly cutting plan.

Ensure no mistakes in upcountry dispatches.

Implement 5s in office.

Give necessary support to implement KAIZENS in shop floor .

Eliminate the line stoppages due to glass shortage.

Improving the glass quality (dimensional wise).

BM drgs. of 3k and 15k in excel sheets.

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Zero stoppages of production due to glass shortage

Mr. Ashok Aggarwal

The function of the DSA’s is to camp at the Noida Showroom for display and demonstration to the prospective customers, to support the Sales Executives, including activities such as active participation in the road shows etc. It is basically a support function to the Sales Executives.

A retail project is defined as one in which the number of windows ordered is less than 50 (or the profit margin is greater than 30%); for windows greater than 50, we have the option of selling it at retail price or dealer price (which is 20-30% less than the retail price). In cases where the dealer gets a query, but it is further processed and worked upon by the company, the dealer gets an overriding commission.

Generally, in this segment, the orders are for renovation jobs, repair jobs, or for a new house.

He suggests that a system should be implemented wherein the ideal way of conducting a contract should be that the minute a contract is signed, a tentative schedule must be delivered to the customer, stating the dates of site survey, installation, etc.

While the norm is retail is to collect advance payment of 100% from the customer, generally if the amount is above Rs. 1 lakh, it is collected in installments.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

Dealer Development- Recruitment, selection- in terms of potential dealer analysis, as well as operationalizing the dealers, enabling the dealer organization (sales training, samples, kits, brochures etc) Handholding for the dealers, yearly (long term and short term) plans, decisions regarding dealer support (financial and others)

Direct Sales, Meeting with and making presentations before Architects and institutional customers (hotels, companies, factories)

Customer Relationship Management- Making relationship calls, customer complaint handling,

Taking Architects to visit showrooms, factory visits

Daily/ Weekly/ Monthly review of Sales Activities (Northern region)

Directly handling few important customers for their service issues.

Authorizing quotation, special prices (price at discount, etc)

Ownership Issues: Retail segment tends to invite more complaints than project – (since there are likely to be greater number of complaints with a smaller number of windows installed- for the same number of defected pieces.) Since it is not an ordinary one-time sale, but there could be recurring post delivery problems (windows may not lock properly, etc), somebody must take responsibility, and accountability for fixing the problems. According to Mr. Aggarwal, there were a lot many such problems accumulated for the past 2-3 years.

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Visiting every showroom at least once in a month.

Visiting the site of installation, if the client so demands.

Reviewing the performance of the Sales executives on a monthly basis.

He also takes care of two project clients: Mahagun and Assotech.

Recovering payment for every unit sold.

Sales Executive- Retail

Interview with Mr. Chetan Ajmera and Mr. Vinay Kumar

Mr. Ajmera joined the company in July 2007.

Channel Management- Dealer Management

Looking after all sales (retail) activities in NCR, and Chandigarh.

Architecture calling, Architecture relationship, Client relationship, builder calling.

Developing mailers for Architects/ builders and prospective customers.

Developing strategies to promote the product increase reach in the retail segment. Involves Event Management.

Dealer Motivation- devising strategies to keep the dealers engaged and motivated for business, such as, popcorn events for dealers and their architects, or procure orders for them.

Track product availability (Mr. Manish Sharma and Mr. Sanjay Jauhri)

Co-ordination with the Fab shop – for variations in the spec sheet and design related issues need to be sorted out with DTS.

For this job, an engineering degree in any stream would do, in addition to MBA (Marketing).

In one instance (the client being Dr. Fresh Acids), one of the sales exec (who later quit the job) had negotiated 7 (series 3000) windows out of 172, at an unprofitably low price. The company could not afford to lose the order, but was on the verge of it, when the Retail Sales Head intervened to resolve the issue with the sales team. They first tried to convince the Architect to communicate the situation to the client (they are easier to convince since they donot have to pay from their own pockets)- and since they wield considerable influence over the client’s judgment, it would solve half of the problem. Alternatively, the assistant of the client can be approached and convinced. The facts of the situation were also communicated to the Business Head, and the problem was ultimately solved. They assert that Back-support, or support of your superiors (Head Sales) is vital for coming out of such crises..

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Communication is a very important skill for anyone occupying this position, and calls specifically for good explanatory, convincing and negotiation skills (it being a highly technical product, and very expensive- the customer always tries to bargain for a lower price). One must also be able to handle all crisis-, problem situations (such as wrong-selling) that often tend to arise with the customer in the delivery, installation process etc, intelligently and tactfully. One must also be very good at co-ordination with the other sales team members as well as all other sales support functions, Fabrication, Installation, DTS etc- any gaps in communication could prove disastrous.

Confidence in self as well as in the product is extremely crucial, in order to cut a good deal with the customer, and to be able to pull it through successfully to completion.

One must also know how to tactfully handle the dealers- requires one to be calm, cool, headed, yet assertive and rigid. (For instance, the dealers may demand an unreasonably high - upto 50% of Mark-up!)

The major competitors of Fenesta are Skyframe, Ligel and Aluplast.

Customer Relationship Management is also extremely crucial- since most of our business works on references and recommendations by the Architects and customers.

Various measures are taken to maintain good relationships with customers, for instance, free of cost services, visits to the sites for feedback, problems if any, for all the customer’s for whom windows have been installed in the past one year.

Showroom Development- The showroom is another tool for marketing- a display tool. Currently, we have one in Noida, Hometown (owned by pantaloons group) We are a shop-in-shop client for them.

The DSE’s look after the clients who visit there, maintain a proper database, give product demos to the clients, and make price proposals, look into the product fitment (the design demanded by the client, and the technical feasibility of the design), site visits etc. The DSE’s are not on the rolls of Fenesta. They mustmaintain a register on who visites, footfalls count and the like.

Here, the SETs role is to supervise the DSE’s job responsibilities- define their activities, look after their training, and also play a role in their recruitment keep the showroom updated, maintain the brochures and manuals (information tools) that are to be used there.

We have collaborated with Petroleum Conservation Research Centre. They organize a year long exhibition in South Delhi, wherein we have put up our product (since we sell an Energy efficient product!) We do not appoint a DSE there, since a PCRC representative is responsible for the job. So, all data needs to be collected by the SET from that person.

The showroom at the Head Office is taken care of by Mr. Ashok Aggarwal.

The next step is developing showrooms with Dealers – in Gurgaon and West Delhi.

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The costs are split on a 50-50% basis, between the Dealer and the company.

The process for setting up a Dealer Showroom is as follows: First, space is allotted by the dealer; the SETs then analyze the appropriate design of the windows to be put up, which would best capture all the Features, Attributes and Benefits of the product.

In this case, we appoint a DSE there for 6 months. After six months, if the dealer wishes to retain the DSE, they may do so, but must pay them the salary. (This again, is a part of Dealer Motivation)

Mr. Ankur Taneja

According to Mr. Taneja, only 15-20% of the leads are generated through Architects, the remaining 80% are generated directly through clients.

The region covered by him includes Delhi, NCR, Uttarakhand, UP and Rajasthan.

Once an enquiry is generated through the network in the market, it is followed by presentations, and collection of drawings from the client, which are then submitted to the contract cell. The BOQ is generated by the client in 90% of the cases, and only in 5% of the cases do we generate the floor plan.

Quotation submission then takes place; the client usually knocks down specifications to cut down on the rate as well as the price. (here, the maximum size of the window as permitted by technical feasibility, becomes a limiting factor). The Sales Exec here has to find a way out, such that the sales can be closed. Mr. Taneja holds that we lose out on 20% of our orders due to high rates.

Negotiation is an important skill for the Sales Exec. He must be able to assess the need and anxiety of the customer, and sell his product in such a way that he must feel that their buildings would not even sell without fitting in these windows in their building (say the thermal insulation property). He states that he is able to assess in the very initial interactions (based on the kind of drawings etc), the range between which one can play with figures, while negotiating the prices.

It takes around a minimum of 4-5 calls per day, to negotiate and close a deal. He notes that it costs the company around Rs. 9.5k to 10k per call, per sales person; Hence, a smart sales exec should be able to judge in the first/ second meeting, as to whether a particular client is “convertible” into a sales deal or whether the investment of time and energy, is going to yield nothing. He cites the example of a particular “client” who was more interested in the information that he could extract about the product, for his research work.

He asserts that penetration of the “client” into the uPVC product is desirable only up to a certain extent, since it could also be competitors’ agents, attempting to extract inside information.

He must also visit the site where the windows are to be installed.

Price negotiation is an important aspect of his job; the purpose is to extract the maximum advance with the Purchase Order. Generally, the client is willing to pay 5- 20% of the entire

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price. In the most usual of cases, the payment terms consist of 50%(with P.O) + 40% (against proforma invoice before delivery)+ and 10% (post installation)

The payment terms vary from contract to contract however; for huge orders say, 10% advance is good.

Order execution

Processing order

It is their responsibility to get the quotation and drawings duly signed by the client. (This is particularly important and complex since we have a per unit system while they have generally have a per square feet system of pricing)

They must also handle well all the problem situations- such as late deliveries.

Dealer Development- Setting up dealers In the upcountry region- Dehradun, Meerut, Agra and Lucknow.

Product development and promotion- Organizing launches, promotional campaigns, participating in industrial exposes; organizing gatherings wherein the architects, builders can all come together.

Mr. Sumahan Sinha

He briefed me about the study conducted by Arthur Anderson. It was a de-risking study, and suggested Business Process Reengineering for DSCL; The commodities business of DSCL (PVC resin is the product), could be de-risked by adding value to the product.

Fenesta had the options of being a B2B business, B2C or serving Commercials clients. The distribution channels could be Dealers (since this was a customized product- great risks of wrong selling were involved), Direct Sales, as well as sales through Showrooms. The need gap of Builders was identified: they did not have access to “good” windows, since there no organized players providing the service, they concentrated on Builder Projects- and positioned itself as an Integrated Services Provider to the builders.

The influencers were identified as the architects; presentations were made to them, although initially we received a mixed response. For the customer base, Fenesta initially targeted the “Streetfighter” breed of builders namely, OMAX, Rahejas, and the like, which were small fish in the market, as compared to DLF et al.

Mr. N. N Jha

His responsibility area is the Northern region.

There are two kinds of accounts:

Key Accounts: Those through which you get regular business (e.g OMAX, Mahagun, Assotech)

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Large Accounts: Those which are not key accounts, but still give large volumes. (builders like

Rahejas, Central Park)

Institutional Segment consists of the high end customers such as Hospitals, Hotels, Educational Institutes, Offices, IT parks etc.

Malls however donot form our customer segment.

The Exec for key accounts is Mr. Sumahan Sinha, while the responsibility for large accounts has been handed over to Mr. Ankur Taneja.

To achieve the agreed budget/ sales target ( set mutually by the Senior Manager, and the Management)

The Budget process begins in February- March, and ends by the second week of April.

The Senior Manager, Sales first sits down with his sales team, and they set the sales targets for the year, based on a market study, a study of the external environment in Sales, operations, Infrastructural capability, and their internal practices in sales. An action plan consisting of an Action-list is designed. Based on the market size, a budget for sales and revenues is set.

The same process takes place with the top management- and a final target is then arrived upon.

The vision for this function (project sales) has now changed from gaining visibility, to profitability.

Customer relationship management. Enlarging and managing the prospects base.

This involves making “relationship calls” to clients, organizations, presentation calls, in order to maintain continuity in relationship (in some cases, the contact person may move- which may lead to discontinuity- if the client is not constantly kept in touch with)

You don’t have to interact with the client- it is a multi-point relationship- and one must maintain links with the Architects, Project head, purchase head, accounts head, Technical Department. (basically, the relationship has to be maintained at all points across the hierarchy- right from the project manager, to the execution point)

Work with marketing for product promotion.

To coordinate with installation and fabrication, for planning for smooth execution.

Billing/ Collection

Upgrade knowledge and skill of self and team for product process, customer skill and presentation skill.

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Imparting structured training to the team, with help from external agencies, internal trainees, On the job training (from joint sales calls, client meeting etc)

Offer the right solutions to the client- ensuring product fitment.

To maintain a database of the customers, competition, and market knowledge.

Timely submission of MI.

Ensuring good Customer Service.

Team spirit, mentoring.

Handholding between fabrication, installation, and client- site meetings.

Site visits/ factory visits

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