Aditya Birla Grasim industry is the crown jewel of the Aditya Birla Group (ABG), which is a huge industrial conglomerate with a total turnover of US $ 48.3 billion as of 2019. The group does a varied set of businesses which includes chemicals, cement, pulp, aluminium, branded apparel, yarn, fabric, power, agribusiness, and telecom.
Grasim Industries chemical division has achieved the coveted title of being the largest caustic soda manufacturer in India, with a capacity of 938 KTPA in 2018.
The problem
Grasim’s Nagda plant in Madhya Pradesh, India is the largest caustic soda producing plant in India with an annual capacity of 270K TPA.
Grasim commissioned another plant of 182,500 TPA in the domestic Chlor-alkali industry. As the capacity Rose, Grasim found out that it’s distributors were controlling the pricing. Another major issue that Grasim faced was that it lost connect with its end users.
The Solution: Omnichannel Direct-to-Consumer Approach
The solution that Your Retail Coach (YRC) gave to ABG Grasim Chemicals was to adopt an omnichannel approach towards improving its control over pricing and facilitate access to end-users.
The first step towards omnichannel was to develop a mobile app through which the end customers could reach ABG Grasim chemicals directly. The mobile app complemented the traditional distributor model and gave control directly in the hands of customers.
Taking the Omni-Channel Route
On the basis of recommendation given by YRC, Grasim’s chemical division which never went B2C up till now was able to reach the end consumer.
Building a mobile app for the end users instilled confidence among customers and improved the transparency which helped Grasim to understand the consumer in a better manner and lead to transparent pricing of the product, eventually improving the accessibility of the brand.
How YRC worked with Grasim: Retail Outsourcing
YRC took a scientific approach. First of all, we needed to understand what really did the end consumer want. Hence we designed SOPs which mapped the processes of the retail store and user flow map for the mobile app & SAP ERP.
YRC also helped Grasim in the management of D2C retail stores and in creating awareness among the end-users.
YRC designed and implemented sops in various areas of the business like inventory and warehouse management, order management, Logistics which helped in streamlining the entire business operations.
YRC also helped in strategic aspects of mobile app development like ideation, conceptualization, implementation, testing, and launching.
Currently, YRC is responsible for managing Grasim’s retail outlets for its chemical division. the management includes looking over the daily operations, recruitment, manpower management, handling inventory, managing sales, last-mile delivery and customer support.
Grasim has completely outsourced the management of its retail outlets to YRC.
Such a business model was unheard of in the chemical industry and it was successfully implemented for the first time ever by any chemical company across the globe. Adopting a B2C business model helped Grasim in establishing connect with the end-users and also helped them in controlling the price.
Mobile app for end users led to transparency, competitive pricing, deeper understanding of the end-user and better access for the brand.
Manufacturing to Retail: Future of Retail
Having helped Grasim and countless other businesses in achieving their goal of going from manufacturing to retail, we at YRC know the nitty-gritty of doing this. Brands today need to connect directly with their customers in order to understand the market pulse real-time.
In order to succeed in the retail genre, companies need to carve out a comprehensive digital and strategic plan. Incorporating digital systems into your business will prevent the profit seeping bottlenecks which, right now are stopping your company from realizing it’s full potential. You can either choose a trial and error method and experiment or take the help of experts like YRC who will manage the transition smoothly.
YRC Retail outsourcing services look after various business operations like warehouse and inventory management, sales, customer service, marketing, supply chain, and logistics.
At YRC retail is our middle name, literally!
