Regional Technical Customer Solution

Job Purpose
Plan, monitor and provide technical services and training to Key Customers across the region to ensure customized concrete solutions, value added services, and brand leadership.

Job Context & Major Challenges
UltraTech Cement is the largest cement manufacturer in India with an installed capacity of about 68 million tonnes. The company has production facilities in 17 locations spread across the country and has plans to grow further than acquisition and green field expansion. The UltraTech brand occupies a premium position with a market capitalization of Rs crores. The Indian cement industry has a capacity of 409 million tonnes and a supply demand gap putting pressure of prices due to excess capacity. The market has strong regional players in each Zone and has strong brand competition.

Key Accounts Business was a pioneer initiative that aimed to provide focused attention to the top 100 institutional customers (mainly construction companies in India). The aim was to provide them with a dedicated sales force responsible for identifying customer needs and understanding emerging trends so as to ensure effective brand positioning and building market share. In this segment, it is vital to nurture strong relationships with clients and consultants to understand their specific needs and act as a trusted advisor to the business.

Although it is an established business with 3000 crore revenue and 18% of total cement sales, the major challenges being to serve Key Customers across India, complex supply chain and strong customer interface. The increasing complexity of construction practices, demanding application for infrastructure projects like metros, highways, ports & airports and meeting specifications of international standards pose a constant challenge to provide the required quantity and quality of cement.

Key Result Areas
KRA (Accountabilities) (Max 1325 Characters)
Supporting Actions (Max 1325 Characters)
KRA1 Product Promotion and Brand Equity

• (R) Brand approval / conversion for enhancing share of business
• (R) Conduct technical meets in the Zone for influencers (e.g. Architects, Engineers, Consultants etc.) and explore opportunities for promoting technologies for mass housing, white topping, road concreting etc.
• (R) Contribute in improving company's reputation amongst technical clients by writing articles and preparing technical presentations on cement / concrete technology
• (R) Educate customer through direct mailing & field demonstrations
• (R) Increase brand equity of UltraTech brand through increased share of business, being the preferred cement supplier to Key Customers, setting up dedicated RMC plants at key customer sites
• (R) Promote the company's cement products including RMC in different sectors, in the Zone by organizing product awareness meets for the key influencers like Project Manager, Consultants, Architects, Clients and Project Promoters (Private and Government)
• (R) Visit Key Customers, their consultants, engineers and architects and organize product demonstration / concrete mix design trials at client site
• (R) Write about Company's products and newer developments, attend relevant seminars / conferences etc. and share the learning's with Key Customers

KRA2 Partnering with Customers / Value Added Services

• (R) Conduct concrete mix design trials at client site and provide help in optimizing concrete mix designs
• (R) Provide assistance to existing customers with respect to technical assistance like mix design optimization, latest civil practices, tenders etc.
• (R) Render effective solutions to customer sites / provide construction related solutions and improve the quality aspects of the sites through visit of Industry Experts
• (R) Support customers in details of construction related materials (shuttering etc.) and equipment (silos etc.) suppliers and manufacturers for timely completion of project

KRA3 Market Strategy

• (R) Devise the market strategy based on customer feedback, consultants and new projects to recommend new markets, capacity enhancements and quantity requirements for the Zone

KRA4 Market Intelligence

• (R) Collect the samples of other brands and getting it tested in labs and provide information on competitor's products and services to help develop counter action plans
• (R) Monitor competitive activities including sales, pricing, product innovations and new construction practices, close interaction with key stake holders like consultants, industry experts and professional bodies
• (R) Visit Key Customers' project sites, collect information on quality parameters and mix design and get their feedback on competitors activities

KRA5 Customer Complaints & Quality

• (R) Organize testing of the cement / concrete at plant and independent test laboratory
• (R) Resolve customer complaints / quality issues and enquiries by meeting the complainants and potential customers
• (R) Visit customers sites, physically examine the material/site and test the quality of bags

KRA6 Assistance to Internal Stakeholders

• (R) Assess the extent of damaged cement on defined norms / Test the material for extent of damage as per norms and calculate / recommend the amount of discount that can be given on sale
• (R) Assist the Marketing team to achieve their performance targets by making customer calls to Key Accounts and promote products / Visit along with the Marketing team members to meet Key Customer / new customer