TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION OF PAKOLA.................................................................................................................................. 2

VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS (ACTUAL) ............................................................................................... 2

Quality Policy ............................................................................................................................................................ 2

Environmental Policy ................................................................................................................................................ 3

Food Safety & Hygiene Policy .................................................................................................................................. 3

Vision Statement (Proposed) .................................................................................................................................... 3

Mission Statement (Proposed) ................................................................................................................................... 3

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................................................... 4

Porter’s Five Forces ................................................................................................................................................... 4

PEST Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................... 7

INTERNAL AUDIT ...................................................................................................................................................... 8

Value Chain ............................................................................................................................................................... 8

Distinctive Competence............................................................................................................................................. 9

COMPANY & COMPETITOR ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................. 10

Competitive Profile Matrix...................................................................................................................................... 10

SWOT Analysis ....................................................................................................................................................... 10

Internal Factor Evaluation ....................................................................................................................................... 11

TOWS Matrix .......................................................................................................................................................... 12

l-E Matrix ................................................................................................................................................................ 15

QSPM ...................................................................................................................................................................... 16

GENERIC STRATEGY .............................................................................................................................................. 17

Current Generic Strategy Vs. Proposed Generic Strategy ....................................................................................... 17

STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION .......................................................................................................................... 19

The Implementation Phase ...................................................................................................................................... 19

STRATEGIC BRIEF OF EXECUTION OF THE FUNCTINAL FIT ................................................................... 20

The Administrative Fits ........................................................................................................................................... 21

Organizational Structure .......................................................................................................................................... 22

Information, Incentive, Control & Strategic Planning Systems .............................................................................. 22

Corporate Culture & Leadership Style .................................................................................................................... 23

Implementation Situation & Mode .......................................................................................................................... 23

Implementation Mode Of Top Level Management ................................................................................................. 24

POSSIBLE EXTENSION STRATEGIES .................................................................................................................. 28

INTRODUCTION OF PAKOLA

Pakola is a line of fruit flavored soft drinks, originally introduced in Pakistan in 1950 by Haji Ali Muhammad. It is

produced by Mehran Bottlers (Pvt) Ltd. It is the first nationally branded soft drink of Pakistan. Hence its name

Pakola meaning 'Cola of Pakistan. Mehran bottlers is the 1st bottling plant is South Asia. Which has been certified

to integrated management system based on (ISO 9001: 2000), (ISO 14001: 1996) and (RVA HACCP) standard.

Pakola quality and food safety system follows the FDA GMP requirements and codex. Pakola products are

manufactured under strict CGMP and Hygiene controls.

Mehran Bottlers Technical Team

Mehran bottlers has well experienced people in technical side. There experiences and on going trainings make them

more confident and prepare to face all challenges.

Painting the Globe Green

Pakola is Pakistan's national drink but its might is spread all over globe. It’s the only Pakistani soft drink which is

available in North America, Africa, Europe, Far East, India, Afghanistan and Middle East.

Production

Mehran bottlers operate one of the most modern can filling plant in Pakistan with a filling capacity of 300 cans per

minute. The plant is fully computerized and conforms to the highest international quality standards. Apart from the

above, Mehran Bottlers also operate a bottle filling plant with a capacity of 240 bottles per minute. The plant can

fill both glass and pet bottles of various sizes.

Distribution

Pakola is distributed nation wide through our network of vehicles and distributors. The company maintains a fleet

of 56 trucks for operations in the Karachi base market.

Human Resource

The company employees 300 personnel at its Karachi plant. Constant efforts are initiated by the management to

train and upgrade the employees and to provide better training and working environment.

VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS (ACTUAL)

QUALITY POLICY

Vision : To be SECOND TO NONE in exceeding customer expectations for Taste and Flavor, Product Safety,

Quality and Price Competitiveness.

Mission: To develop, implement and continuously improve the Integrated Management Systems in a

culture of continuous improvement which:

Directs the continual up-gradation for efficient and environment friendly manufacturing technology.

Monitor and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all business processes.

Promotes professional and flexible work environment, teamwork and innovation through employee

participation and process ownership.

Drives customer orientation at all levels within the organization.

Monitor and economize the Cost of Quality.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Vision: To be SECOND TO NONE in protecting OUR SHARED environment, as EARTH MATTERS

for our future generation.

Mission: To support this vision, we will continually:

Comply with applicable local and other environmental regulations and strive to secure fundamental reforms

that will improve their environmental effectiveness and reduce the cost of compliance.

Improve the environmental performance of our products and processes by minimizing the negative impact

on the environment and adopting where practical cleaner production and recycling method.

Protect the health and safety of our employees and the surrounding human communities and ecosystems.

Use natural resources, including raw materials, energy, and water, as efficiently as possible.

Take into account the principles of sustainable development in conducting its administrative, manufacturing,

marketing and social activities. Participate in initiatives to improve the Quality of the environment.

FOOD SAFETY & HYGIENE POLICY

Vision: No comprise on consumer health by maintenance and improvement of Soft Drink and Drinking

Water safety and workplace hygiene conditions.

Mission: To develop, implement and improve the Integrated Food Safety and Quality Management

Systems in a culture of continual improvement which:

Provides framework based on HACCP, CODEX Alimentarius and CGMP for safeguarding the consumer

health.

Supports the use of scientific knowledge, risk analysis and controls in the enhancement of hygiene

conditions and practices.

Educates people on Good Manufacturing and sanitization practices.

VISION STATEMENT (PROPOSED) It is our vision to be the best and leading provider of food and beverage products in Pakistan, and among the top

ten food and beverage companies in the world, by continually challenging present conventions and always staying a

step ahead of the competition.

MISSION STATEMENT (PROPOSED) It is Mehran Bottlers mission to be the number one food and beverage company in Pakistan by providing our

customers with the highest product quality in terms of taste, experience, and satisfaction. We will ensure this

through an unwavering dedication to the continuous development of our products and processes ensuring that we

remain best in class. We will strive to hire the most competent and dedicated employees whose work ethic will set

the standard in the industry. We will be paymasters, as we strongly believe that human resource is the only asset

that truly appreciates over time. We will also be a responsible social corporate citizen, and strive to enhance the

quality of life in the markets we serve.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

PORTER’S FIVE FORCES Applying Porter’s five forces to the Pakistani beverage industry allows us to garner a retrospective view of the

potential attractiveness in terms of profitability of the industry. We first must analyze the industry through the five-

force template, which will allow us to more accurately gauge the industry in terms of its potential. When

discussing the beverage industry, we are referring to not only the concentrate manufacturing concern, but because

Pakola is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mehran Bottlers, Ltd. we are also including the bottling industry.

Therefore, all our analytical studies will follow that both the concentrate and bottling industries, from the

perspective of Pakola, are in fact just one industry: the beverage industry.

A THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS YES

(+)

- No (-)

1. Do large firms have a cost or performance advantage in your segment of the industry? *

2. Are there any proprietary product differences in your industry *

3. Are there arty established brand identities in your industry? *

4, Do your customers incur any significant costs in switching suppliers? *

5. Is a lot of capital needed to enter your industry? *

6. Is serviceable used equipment expensive? *

7. Does the newcomer to your industry face difficulty in accessing distribution channels? *

8. Does experience help your to continuously lower costs? *

BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS YES - No

(0 Are there a Jorge number of buyers relative to the number affirms

in the business? /

Do you have a large number of customers, each with relativeiy small purchases?

•

Does the customer face any significant costs in switching suppliers? V

Does the buyer need a lot of important information? •

Is the buyer aware of the need for additional information? •

Is there anything that prevents your customer from taking your function in-house?

y

Your customers are not highly sensitive to price. •

Your product is unique to some degree or has accepted branding, V

Your customers' businesses are profitable. V

You provide incentives to the decision makers. •

9. Does the newcomer have any problems in obtaining the necessary skiiled people, materials or supplies?

*

10. Does your product or service have any proprietary features that give you lower costs?

*

YES - No

(0 1. /

2. •

3. V

4. •

5. •

6- y

7. •

8, V

9. V

10. •

11. Are there any licenses, insurance or qualifications that are difficuit to obtain? *

BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS YES - No

(0 1. Are there a Jorge number of buyers relative to the number affirms

in the business? /

2. Do you have a large number of customers, each with relativeiy small purchases?

•

3. Does the customer face any significant costs in switching suppliers? V

4. Does the buyer need a lot of important information? •

5. Is the buyer aware of the need for additional information? •

6- Is there anything that prevents your customer from taking your function in-house?

y

7. Your customers are not highly sensitive to price. •

8, Your product is unique to some degree or has accepted branding, V

9. Your customers' businesses are profitable. V

10. You provide incentives to the decision makers. •

12. Can the newcomer expect strong retaliation an entering the

market? *

B BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS YES(

+)

- No

(-) 1. Are there a Jorge number of buyers relative to the number affirms

in the business? *

2. Do you have a large number of customers, each with relativeiy small purchases? *

3. Does the customer face any significant costs in switching suppliers? *

4. Does the buyer need a lot of important information? *

5. Is the buyer aware of the need for additional information? *

6- Is there anything that prevents your customer from taking your function in-house? *

7. Your customers are not highly sensitive to price. *

8, Your product is unique to some degree or has accepted branding, *

9. Your customers' businesses are profitable. *

10. You provide incentives to the decision makers. *

C THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES YE

S

- No

(-) 1. Substitutes have performance limitations that do not completely

offset their lowest price. Or, their performance is not justified by their higher price.

*

2. The customer will incur costs in switching to a substitute. *

3. Your customer has no real substitute. *

4. Your customer is not likely to substitute. *

D BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS YES

(+)

- NO(-)

1. My inputs (materials, labor, supplies, services, etc.) are standard rather than unique or differentiated *

2, 1 can switch between suppliers quickly and cheaply, *

3. My suppliers would find it difficult to enter my business or my customers would find it difficult to perform my function in-house.

*

4. 1 can substitute inputs readiiy. *

5, 1 have many potential suppliers, *

6. My business is important to my suppliers. *

7. My cost of purchases has no significant influence an my overall costs.

*

E DETERMINANTS OF RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITION YES

(+)

- No(-

) 1. The industry is growing rapidly. *

2. The industry is not cyclical with intermittent overcapacity. *

J, The fixed costs of the business are a relatively law portion af total costs.

*

4. There are significant product differences and brand identities between the competitors.

*

5. The competitors are diversified rather than specialized. *

6. It would not be hard to get out of this business because there are no specialized skills and facilities or Ions-term contract commitments, etc.

*

7, My customers would incur significant costs in switching to a competitor. *

s. My product is complex and requires a detailed understanding on the part of my customer.

*

9. My competitors are alt of approximately the same size as 1 am. *

F OVERALL INDUSTRY

RATING

Favorable Moderate Unfavorable Implications

1. Threat of new entrants. 8 2 2 Threat of new entrants is very low

2. Bargaining power of buyers.

5 2 2 Bargaining power of buyers is considerably

low 3. Threat of substitutes. 1 2 1 Threat of substitutes

is mediocre

4. Bargaining power of

suppliers.

5 1 1 Bargainins power of suppliers Is considerably

low 5. Intensity of rivalry

among competitors. 0 4 5 Intensity or rivalry

is extremely high

A thorough investigation of the five-force template shows us that the industry is highly favorable when it comes to

threat of new entrants. Vet because of a cutthroat rivalry between existing players, It gets an unfavorable rating

when It comes to this regard. In the remaining three forces, the beverage industry has scored favorably.

Therefore when aggregating these results, we can see that this industry is reasonably attractive. The fallowing

analysis of each external force will allow us to further corroborate our findings.

Threat of new entrants: In this industry, It is considerably difficult and costly to set up the factories and bottling

plants required. Also, for a new entrant, it would be extremely difficult if not impractical to infiltrate the established

distribution network of the current players like Pepsi and Coke. Furthermore, It would be quite a daunting task to

change the hard and fast perception of millions of consumers, making it a favorable point for this industry.

Bargaining power of buyers: There are an extremely large number of buyers as compared to companies in the

industry, and these buyers often purchase this Industry's relatively low priced products on a habitual, impulse, or

convenience basis, thus making It favorable for the Industry.

Threat of substitutes: The threat of substitutes, although mediocre, still poses a considerable threat to the overall

profitability of the industry, and that is because in recent times a health craze has taken over all respects of life,

worldwide, Therefore; it would signify a heavy reduction in the consumption of sugary And carbonated cola based

beverages, and instead prompt consumers to opt far healthier drinks such as fruit juices, and energy drinks.

Rivalry omong existing players: The players in the beverage industry have one of the moat competitive rivalries in

any industry. In Pakistan the market is dominated by the two international giants. Pepsi and Coke, with market

shares respectively of 77%, and 16%, leaving little room for others to grow. Yet even with approximately 5% of the

total market share, Pakola can still manage to be profitable in a cut-throat Industry, and hive plan to position it

strategically in order to do so.

The beverage Industry is a reasonably attractive industry to be in, and with Its 55 years of established presence, Pakola

is well positioned to leverage that history so as to attain a competitive edge.

Mehran Bottlers' current focus is one of a lackluster "if it ain't brake, then don't fix it" attitude, that stems from its

history of centralized power base and tall and unprofessional organizational structure.

PEST ANALYSIS Political: There is significant political pressure on the beverage industry in Pakistan. This pressure mostly arises

from a high levy of taxes, 15% central excise duty, as well as 18% sales tax, which totals up to about 36K. of retail

prices. This extremely high double taxation rate greatly deters the players in the industry from charging premium

prices for perceived value addition.

Another political factor that impacts the beverage industry, however this time positively, is the government's policy

of banning the serving of food at wedding receptions. This has prompted an increase in the consumption rates of

soft drinks and carbonated beverages,

Economic: There are several implications of the economic situation of Pakistan upon the beverage industry. For

one, there have been complaints from several quarters regarding the excess wastage of water in the production of

aerated beverages, which for a population compounded with astounding poverty levels raises points for concern.

Recently, there has been a crisis in the production of sugar in Pakistan, with prices skyrocketing. Such economic

factors have a resounding Impact on related Industries; and although most companies In this Industry have switched

from sugar to high-fructose corn syrup, some were affected by the agri-based crisis.

Social: A major social trend in the rural areas of Pakistan has been a shift from presenting guests with drinks such

as lassi red sherbet, and fruit juices, towards cold drinks. This trend has spumed more from impressive distribution

networks and less from increased advertising, yet the result is positively in favor of beverage companies.

Technological: Technology plays a secondary role In this Industry, as It is not heavily dependant on technological

advancements like the consumer electronics industry, or the software industry. Because beverage products are non-

tech based in nature, technology in this industry is therefore limited to function as a catalyst to improve production

capacities, speed of product manufacturing cycles, Inventory management, and e-commerce applications.

INTERNAL AUDIT

VALUE CHAIN

According to our analysis, we have found that the major flaw in Mehran Bottlers' value chain is its distribution

network. The product's quality, advertising and marketing efforts all become insignificant when the product is not

available in a wide number of retail outlets. Therefore this is a major point of concern for the company because it

will dictate its success in the short run. Pakola's stagnant market share figures are in part a result of its poor

distribution setup. From a logistics standpoint, the company has at Its disposal 56 vans from Where It serves both

the rural and urban markets in Karachi and its surrounding feeder markets. Yet although a major focus is placed on serving

the rural markets, the company has foregone on the huge urban markets.

Another pothole in Pakola's distribution is that they have not been able to infiltrate the restaurant Industry with their

beverages like Pepsi and Coke have done. This 'fountain' business segment makes up a large and highly profitable

part of cola companies businesses. By failing to act on serving this potential goldmine, Pakola is forced to suffer

with a low market share. It has missed such big markets like Pizza Hut, Mc Donalds, KFC and other fast food

restaurants.

One saving grace is that even with such poor distribution, their product's quality is commendable in that it has

maintained a steady base of loyal customers.

Pakola should concentrate on driving its core competencies to create differentiation in product research and

development, distribution, and marketing. For companies optlhg for a low cost strategy it is necessary to focus

instead on purchasing, production R&D, and manufacturing activities. Thus because Pakola is a differentiator, it

should communicate this differentiation. One of the main drawbacks of Pakola's current strategy is that it hardly

conveys its message to its consumers. This will be further discussed In later sections.

DISTINCTIVE COMPETENCE The distinctive competence of Pakola is its ability to create unique tasting flavors which none of its competitors are

able to do. This core competence leads to its competitive advantage of being, a beverage manufacturer of unique

flavored drinks. Presently Pakola has three unique tastes which is currently absent In the other beverage companies.

Such unique flavored soft drinks such as Ice-cream Soda, Apple Sidra, Lychee, and Raspberry are all examples of

Pakola's internal ability to create different and previously unheard-of drinks successfully. It is through this that

they have managed to build brand loyalty with consumers, because it is a unique taste that consumers demand for

when they choose a drink, and oftentimes when Pakola's ice-cream soda is not available, brand loyal consumers

will settle for anything,

In the beverage industry, distribution is of vital importance. Pepsi has managed to create such an impressive and

unmatchable distribution network setup that it has become their distinctive competence and competitive advantage.

Strategic Cost Management: As per our analysis Pakola, being a Seth-owned company, Is not effectively

managing Its costs. As stated in their current mission statements, one of their focus is to reduce costs so as to be a

low cost operator. This is a misinterpretation of what is required for a differentiator. Rather than reducing costs

seeking to be a loss leader, a company following a differentiation strategy should Instead aim to manage cost

strategically In order to optimize resources and Internal efficiencies.

As discussed earlier, Mehran Bottlers has 56 vans with which it supplies its products, whereas FMCQ companies

like Unilever have a significantly lesser number of vans even though they have much better market reach. Pakola

needs to reduce this unnecessary expense; along with costs that arise In a bureaucratic organization with little

formal structure.

Financial Trends

Pakola is privately owned concern with a highly centralized authority base that results in a tall organization

structure. They do not publish any kind of financial information and instead guard as a closely held secret, This

mindset Is highly limiting in Its nature, and will only serve Co lessen Che competitiveness of the company itself,

Yet according to our own estimates, Pakola has 4% market share of the cola-market, where Pepsi and Coke

combined have nearly 95K manVet share. From the gross revenue of Rs.5E hi Hi on per annum of the cola Industry,

with an estlmaCed 4% share, we deduce thaC Pakola makes about Rs.2.3 billion per annum in revenues, selling 8

million cases of cola per year. In an increasingly growing industry, this figure is not impressive in the least bit.

Considering that another Pakistani company, PSO makes 4.2Bn in after-tax profits, Pakola's revenues seem

lackluster at best,

This trend can be immensely improved by focusing on weak areas like distribution and marketing.

COMPANY & COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

COMPETITIVE PROFILE MATRIX Pakoia Pepsi Coke

Critical Success

Factors Weight Rating Weighted

Score Rating Weighted

Scone Rating Weighted

Score

Market Share 0.30 1 0.30 4 1.20 3 0.90 Distribution 0.25 1 0.25 4 1.00 2 0.50 Customer Loyalty 0.20 4 0.80 2 0-40 2 0.40 Financial Position 0.15 2 0.30 4 0.60 3 0.45 Product Quality 0.10 3 0.30 3 0.30 4 0.40 Total 1.00 1.95 3.50 2.65

Pakola received a score of 1.95 in the competitive profile matrix. This low figure is representative of Pakoia's inability

to leverage it’s competitive advantage of unique tasting flavors successfully. This, inability stems from the company's

lack of effective communication of their offering and its uniqueness. This is one of the major mistakes companies

make when following a differentiation strategy, they assume that consumers will recognize the difference that they

offer. This Is exactly the mistake that Pakola has made.

The areas where Pakola has taken a heating are in market share and distribution. From a strategic viewpoint

however, distribution is the area which Pakola should target in the short run if they hope to achieve any type of

success. Advertising programs that are basically demand-building exercises are useless if the product has little

market reach and is not meeting the created demand. Therefore, before concentrating on marketing activities in the

hopes of increasing market share, Pakola needs to strategically outsource their distribution setup to a distribution

company such as Muller and Phipps, with the expertise in now to effectively increase a company's reach into the

market. In due time the company should build up its own sales teams so as to make distribution a core competency

of theirs. Yet they should trust an established distribution company in the short-run to improve it’s product

availability.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

55 years establi shed presence

Extremely brand loyal customers

Automated bottling plant

Online order booking system

5 - Pu blic percepli on of being an innovator

Weaknesses

Weak distribution setup

Ineffective marketing

No formal organization structure

Centralized decision making process

Lack of professional employees

Opportunities

Health conscious trend In lifestyles

High growth rate of food mdustry

Increased demand in rural markets

Threats

Engro's entry into the food and beverage (milk) industry

Increase in foreign imports of beverages

Rising prices of sugar and sugar substitutes

Main competitors are International giants of the Industry

INTERNAL FACTOR EVALUATION

Key internal Factors Weig

ht

Ratin

g

Weight

ed

Score Strengths 55 years established presence 0.12 1 0.12

Extremely brand loyal customers 0.14 4 0.56

Automated bottling plant 0.10 2 0.20

Online order booking system 0.04 1 0.04

Public perception of being an innovator 0.08 3 0.24

Weaknesses Weak distribution setup 0.14 1 0.14

Ineffective marketing 0.10 2 0.20

No formal organization structure 0.12 1 0.12

Centralized decision making, process 0.08 2 0.16

Lack of prof essi anal employees 0.05 1 0.03

TOTAL 1.00 1.86

Pakola received a total score of 1.86 in the internal evaluation. This signifies that the company has a weak internal

system and is not able to effectively manage any of their strengths in a meaningful manner. Also of their weaknesses,

it is worthy to note that their weak distribution setup had the most weightage.

Therefore, from our internal factor analysis we can form two possible strategies. One is the formation of a structured

and competent distribution network through the enabling of sales force teams. An alternate path would be to

outsource the function to an existing distribution company like Muller and Phipps in the short-run, and over time

develop the organization required for an internal distribution setup.

Engro's entry into the food and beverage market with Olper's milk has presented Pakola with a competitive challenge.

Launched a little after Pakola launched its line of milk products. Olper's had the backing of a massive marketing and

advertising campaign that clearly communicated their position and proposition to consumers. Pakola's weak branding choices

regarding it’s milk products reflect this ineffectiveness in communicating to end-users. The company stretched it’s

Pakola brand name to it’s UHT milk as well as to it’s flavored milks, when the name stood mainly for their ice-cream

soda cola drink in the minds of consumers. Therefore, by stretching the brand name to milk, they create a mental conflict

in users, between fizzy carbonated colas, and pure clean milk. This mistake coupled with ineffective marketing has put

Pakola in this situation.

TOWS MATRIX

Strengths Weaknesses

1. 55 years established

presence

2. Extremely txand loyal

customers

3. Automated bottling plant

4. Online order booking

system

5. Public perception of being

an Innovator

1. Weak distribution setup

2. Ineffective marketing

3. HO formal organization

structure

4, Centralized decision making

process I. Lack of professional

employees

Oppurunity S-O Strategies W-O Strategies

1. Health

conscious trend in

lifestyles

2. High growth

rate of food

industry

3. Increased

demand in rural

markets

1. Introduce diet versions of

current products

2. Diversify into food (candy)

Manufacturing

3. Line extend into fruit Jui

1. Hire Muller and Phipps to

handle distribution concerns in

the short- run

Threats S,-T Strategies W-T Strategies

1. Engro's entry

into the food

and beverage

(milk) industry

2. Increase in

foreign imports

of beverages

3. Rising prices

of sugar and

sugar substitutes

4. Main

competitors are

international giants

of the industry

1. Introduce line of

customizable drinks and orders

2. Initiate push-cart program to

take advantage of direct

marketing opportunities

1, Conduct an aggressive

marketing and advertising

campaingn targeting youth

2. Instate a proper human

resource division

Of the several strategies detailed above, we will now focus our discussions towards two of the

main strategies that should be undertaken in the near future;

Hire Muller and Phipps to handle distribution concerns

I ntroduce diet versions of current products

By allowing an experienced distribution expert like Muller and Phipps to handle its distribution,

Pakola can instead focus its short-term resources towards the structuring of its organizational

setup. The issues with Pakola's management setup are the root cause of its lackluster strategic

business performance; and must be addressed before the company can expect extended success and

profits.

The second strategy that they can enforce is the introduction of diet versions of their current product

portfolio. By tapping into this market they would be able to hit two birds with one stone. They

would be targeting those consumers whose lifestyles revolve around healthiness, and also they would

be targeting adults who wish not to drink extremely sweet sugary drinks.

Pakola is positioned towards a competitive approach due to its unique competitive advantage and

the strength of the industry it is operating in.

L-E MATRIX

The IFE, Total Weighted Store

The EFE

Total

Weighted

Store

High

3.0 to

3.99

Medium

2.0 to

2.99

Low

1.0 to

1.99

Weak 1.0 to 1.99

I II III

IV V VI

VII VIII IX

PAKOLA

Strong 3.0 to

3.99

3.0 to 4.0

Average 2.0 to

2. 99

QSPM Strategic Alternatives

Key Internal Factors Weight Introduce Diet Line

Outsource Distribution

Strengths AS

S

TAS AS TAS

55 years established presence 0.12 2 0.24 3 0.36

Extremely brand loyal customers 0.14

Automated bottling plant 0.10 3 0.30 1 0.10

Online order booking system 0.04

Public perception of being an innovator 0.08 4 0.31 2 0.16

Weaknesses Weak distribution setup 0.14 1 0.14 3 0.41

Ineffective marketing 0.10 1 0.10 1 0.30

No formal onganilzation structure 0.12

Centralized decision making process 0.08

Lack of Professional Employees 0.08 1 0.08 4 0.31 SUBTOTAL 1.00 1.18 1.66 Opportunities Health conscious trend in Lifestyles .22 4 0.88 1 0.22

High growth rate of food industry .12

Increased demand in rural markets .14 1 0.14 1 0.42

Threats Engro's entry into the milk industry with

Olper's

. 18

Increase in foreign imports in beverages .12

Rising prices of sugar and sugar substitutes .12

Main competi tors are internationa giants .10 SUBTOTAL 1.00 1.02 0.64 SUM TOTAL ATTRACTIVENESS SCORE 2.20 1.30

From our Strategic Alternatives evaluation, we see that it is more attractive lo outsource our distributfon networks

rather than launch a diet line of products. This is in line with their current strategic direction, and will allow Pakola to

fortify their market reach before introducing new products that will be harder to push through the distribution

channels.

GENERIC STRATEGY

The generic strategy that Pakola needs to pursue is that of differentiation. In their current vision and mission

statements, the company says it aims to be a low cost leader, yet through our thorough analysis of the strategic

direction the company needs to adopt a generic strategy of differentiation. This will allow Pakola to do three things;

1. Charge a premium

2. Increase unit sales

3. Gain buyer loyalty

However, at the expense of sounding simplistic, it is necessary that the company communicate its differentiation to

its customers, otherwise these three advantages will not avail themselves.

Initially Pakola will need to adopt a focused differentiation approach, which means that they should selectively

choose which markets will profit them the most and then target only those markets until such provisions are in place

from where the company is able to expand its target base. After which they should opt for a broad differentiation

generic strategy.

CURRENT GENERIC STRATEGY VS. PROPOSED GENERIC STRATEGY The current generic strategy being deployed (involuntarily so) by Mehran Bottlers Pakola is a distorted version

of what our textbooks would define as a ‘focused differentiation’ with their unique selling preposition of sporting the

truly unique taste being targeted at a market that is ciphered on the basis of ‘convenience’.

Pakola caters to whichever markets it finds ‘convenient’ to cater to. Operating without a Marketing Department since

its very inception, this business has ‘no eyes’ no ears’. It continues to trudge blind. No marketing intelligence, no

market researches and virtually zero market feedback and almost absolute consumer ignorance are at the very core of

this business which has amazingly continued to survive for such a surprising span of time, most likely because of the

intense brand loyalty that it’s consumers have even without any strategic marketing efforts being executed by the

company itself, is poof of the potential that this brand has and the magnitude of success it is capable of.

With the market just turning the bend to ‘saturation’, it is entering a phase of intense competition with all major

players diversifying their product lines, ranges and even businesses into a versatile range of products to put in place

more infantry on the battle ground to use to their advantage in this war of brands.

Therefore, we believe that the current strategic objective of Pakola should be to consolidate its existing brand, Pakola

through extensive strategic market research and consumer insights to be able to home in on the correct target market

like a precision targeting missile rather than as an Anti-aircraft gun.

For this task, the entire business, which at present has a typical ‘Seth’ mentality, where the 28 year old C.E.O has a

very disorganized business with no strategically developed formal hierarchy in place, instead Pakola has an

organizational structure which has ‘evolved’ as a result of a ‘need to be and do’ basis. If the business were to be

described in one word, that word would be ‘chaos’.

Therefore, to achieve our strategic objectives it is essential that the business will need to be completely overhauled, it

will need to be revamped to it’s very core. A turn-around is required here, or a ‘revolution’ if you may.

This will require a very circumspectly devised implementation plan, taking into consideration all Functional and

Administrative Fits, which must be engineered so as to enable a complete turnaround of the organization in order for

it to facilitate the consolidation of it’s unique brand Pakola, which would then lead to a shift in strategy directing the

business to align itself for ‘Broad Differentiation’, to become more able to face the diverse range of rival products

that are entrenched in the market.

STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION

THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE Contrary to what we, students of business administration generally think, that the answer to any business problem is

the development of ‘strategic alternatives’ and then the discernment of one ‘best’ strategy, in reality, we see that the

‘development’ of strategy is only just one half of the story. The other half is the ‘enactment’ of this strategy. The

translation of the proposed strategy into solid tangible actions is essential.

It stands to reason that the actual enactment of the devised strategies or strategy is one of the most pivotal tasks and

challenge faced by a general manager, or in this case the C.E.O, who must not only just be able to conceive bold

strategies, but in fact be able to carry out these proposed courses of actions and it is in this execution lies the

discernment of whether or not the strategy will be a success.

History has borne witness to the fact that defective enactments have made sound strategies ineffective and skilled

implementation can make a debatable choice successful, therefore, the business concern at hand, requires a diligently

planned and vigilantly execution of it’s implantation plan. The implementation plan focuses on ‘creating fits’. There

are two specific kinds of fits:

1. Fits between the proposed strategy and the functional operations of the business :- Functional Fits

2. Fits between the proposed strategy and the organizational structure, processes and systems :- –Administrative Fits

The Functional Fits

These fits have their roots rooted in ‘common sense’. Such logical fits require the adoption of functional operational

level strategies which are ‘complimentary to’ and ‘geared towards creating synergistic effects’ by working in

harmony with the business’s strategic level objectives.

All basic functions of the business, namely the marketing, production, Human Resources, R&D, Finance,

Engineering must adopt and enact operational modes that reinforce the ultimate goal; of the organization and

reinforce the corporate level strategy.

More oft than not, this is easier said than done. Creating such functional fits are not always a simple task and require

a ‘guiding light’, a ‘router’, a ‘director’ in the literal sense of the words and for this it is required that a higher level

individual, one that has ‘developed’ or ‘shared’ or at least understood the ultimate goal must descend to the tactical

and operational levels to himself guide and supervise the entire revamping process. He must, under any circumstance,

bring the functional policies in line with the strategy being pursued.

Pakola, however, is in a more drastic than your average revamping situation. One reason for this is that it must first,

‘create’ some of it’s more essential functions like for instance a Marketing Department and a Human Resource

Function.

However, there’s a silver lining here, because when it comes to revamping, it is much easier and much swifter to

‘create a function from scratch’ than ‘re-structure’ an already existing, confused function, with all their myopia and

hard-set ways of operation. Therefore, we believe that since the Marketing function, Human Resource Function and

the Distribution Function stand to be of primary significance in the over-hauling process of Pakola, considering that

the business needs a radical restructuring of it’s organizational structure (involving major lay-offs and inducements of

competent personnel) especially, the inducement of the entire ‘Marketing Department’, hired by the Human Resource

Function (which would also devise an appropriate compensation plan for these new additions to the force).

This hiring of capable personnel for the ranks on a massive level, if done right may result in the much needed newer

perceptive of things by the newly induced fresh blood in the organization, assisting the overall-redo of the

organization and it’s outlook.

STRATEGIC BRIEF OF EXECUTIONVOF THE FUNCTIONAL FIT Maintain strategic focus on The Human Resource, Marketing and Distribution.

1. Induct a creditable and capable Human Resource Function, capable of

2. Inducting a highly innovative and talented Marketing Department (which currently does not exist in the

organization)

This Marketing Department will:

• Carry out extensive, accurate and decisive market research laying strategic importance to market intelligence,

consumer insight and modern techniques of marketing based on scientific research, and putting these to strategic use

through effective communication of these decisive elements with the strategic level management.

• Exert itself to marketing the product to the already brand loyal consumers in order to consolidate (and in the process

also reacquire any of it’s lost market share) them while also targeting newer potentially loyal markets in it’s attempt

to gain market share, but this targeting of the newer markets will only happen once the ‘Critical Distribution Issue has

been resolved’ (which is one of the key reasons why Pakola continues to remain stagnant or reclining when it comes

to market share)

• Outsource its Distribution function to Muller and Phipps, the best in distribution in Pakistan, temporarily, to make

it’s over-hauling easier to bring about and at the same time, removing its very Achilles heel. The Company will hire

Muller and Phipps temporarily, for two reasons; 1. To enable itself to overcome it’s most critical issue of distribution

in a relatively effort-less and quick fashion to get back in the game and, 2. To observe and learn from Muller and

Phipps, the mode of distribution with the ultimate goal, of learning and setting up it’s own distribution department

which will be much more flexible and loyal to it’s own product (enabling Pakola to become a highly flexible and

responsive organization capable of instant change to cater to changing market trends), rather than M&P, which

distributes thousands of different products and requires time and effort to readjust it’s mode of distribution for our

product.

To assist the Over-all objective of the organization, first, a creditable and capable Human Resource Department will

be induced, which will then assist in the inducement of the Marketing department, which will align itself to carry out

extensive, accurate market research and identify the appropriate target markets and will then exert itself to marketing

the product to these already brand loyal consumers in order to consolidate (and in the process also reacquire any of

it’s lost market share) them while also targeting newer potentially loyal markets in it’s attempt to gain market share,

but this targeting of the newer markets will only happen once the ‘Critical Distribution Issue has been resolved’.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE FITS Besides the implementation of effective and synergistic Functional Fits, there is also a very essential need for

enacting Administrative Fits involving management systems and processes which are complimentary, consistent with

and reinforce the strategic objective(s) of the organization. These stand to be of primary significance as the ‘sources

of influence’ available to C.E.O.s and/or General Managers in directing their organizations towards the desired

achievements. These include:

1. Organizational Structure

2. Information Systems

3. Incentive Systems

4. Control Systems

5. Strategic Planning Systems

6. Organizational Processes

7. Management Selection and Development

8. Corporate Culture and

9. Leadership Style.

All these essential to implementation elements require the top level management to be involved in the process at the

most basic levels, in this case the C.E.O himself and his hired board of directors must be an intrinsic part of the

supervision and the guidance in the implementation of all the above mentioned essentials.

The C.E.O., being a young 28 year old Pakistani, having earned his MBA from abroad is infact in a very likely

position to realize the err of the company’s ways and is in the phase of his life where he possesses the vigor to be able

to bring out a radical change in vision and actually be able to revolutionize the way this Seth owned myopic

organization has been working since it’s inception for over 2 decades, because at the very heart of any organization’s

myopia are the negative ramifications of culture, in the organization.

In a Seth owned organization like Mehran Bottlers, strategy is very much a thing of fiction. These are organizations

that do not believe in Vision or Mission. They believe only in the present. The future is not their concern. Concepts

such as Vision and Mission Statements are only ‘fancy image’ elements to Mehran Bottler’s top management. Belief

in a vision and a way of operation focused at converting this belief into a reality is not what these people believe in,

yet, it is our belief that this is what the organization, above all, needs at the moment. A strategic re-visioning and

revamping of their myopic and shortsighted mode of operations, is the most dire need at this point in time.

This phenomenon will only materialize, should the C.E.O himself realizes the lack of strategy in the visioning of the

firm, and then be able to develop and nurture a way of life in the organization that is geared towards a harmonic

blend of long-term-short-term thinking, with just the right balance of long-term strategic thinking and operational

level thinking, and cascading this culture down the entire organizational hierarchy, enabling the organization to not

only conceive bold strategic directions but actually make these a reality, to become one of the most flexible,

synergistically successful Pakistani firms.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The firm needs to tear-down and restructure an organizational hierarchy which has not ‘evolved’ on a ‘need to’ basis,

but instead, erect one that is ‘strategically structured to enable the organization to best carry out it’s Tactical and

Operational Level operations in accordance with the Strategic objectives of the firm.

To be able to succeed, the firm needs to realize that the core of all activities lies with the consumer, in the market, and

therefore, the entire organizational must strategically have a market-oriented structure, with all functions, operations,

management systems and processes geared towards enabling the firm to very effectively, decisively and swiftly cater

to any and all changing or otherwise trends in the market, better and faster than the competition.

Therefore, to allow such flexibility, Pakola must restructure it’s inflexible and highly disorganized organizational

structure, into a meticulously planned, well coordinated, supportive more flatter hierarchy with lesser hierarchical

levels and comparatively greater span of control, encouraging more delegation of authority, leading to greater job

satisfaction, enrichment and career development, paving the way to a Learning Organization.

INFORMATION, INCENTIVE, CONTROL & STRATEGIC PLANNING SYSTEMS The firm must mobilize it’s operations through the use of Information Systems, for instance, all operations be

connected through a Computer Network, facilitating a ‘real-time’ check on all levels of operations, making it possible

to gauge any and all information at any point in time, gearing the firm to measure and anticipate changes in the

environment instantly and being able to adjust operations according to these real-time changes in the environment,

leading to a more pro-active, responsive way of operation. These information systems must be deployed from top-to-

bottom, so that an overall picture can be had when needed.

The Human Resource Team, as mentioned earlier will be responsible for using the most modern techniques to devise

the most appropriate Incentive plan, to mobilize motivation throughout the ranks of the Manpower force because

incentive and management systems are among the most important sources of influence available to the management

to mobilize motivation and push the force towards the achievement of strategy. No less important is the very

selection of managers who share and possess skills that are needed to achieve the intended strategy, yet, this process

of selection seems deceptively easy in theory when in practical it is equally difficult because there are nearly always

pressures not to fire or demote people and to promote those that are ‘next-in-line’ rather than those that are more

capable of carrying out the needed task at hand. Similarly, incentive compensation typically focuses on the short-run

rather than strategic performance. For these reasons, we believe that the firm at this point in time requires an

Entrepreneurial Manager.

Equally essential is putting in place, ‘checks’ throughout the hierarchal levels, which are capable of quickly

identifying any and all compromised operations and pin-pointing the exact location in the hierarchy responsible for

the compromise, so as to rectify the problem while also laying responsibility for the compromise where it belongs,

holding responsible that are rightly responsible. This must cascade through each and every hierarchical level with no

exceptions, making any negative elements like blame shifting very difficult to do. The system must not believe in

‘forgiveness, it must believe in Justice.”

CORPORATE CULTURE & LEADERSHIP STYLE The elements of Culture and Leadership Style stand to be of prime importance in the success of any organizations

intended Strategy and consequently is one of the primary deciding factors in whether or not the actual

implementation of the Intended Strategy is a success or failure. For these are the Direction Givers, the Guiding lights

that escort an organization to its ultimate intended goal.

Any organization, whether it wishes or not, develops a culture and this culture in actuality shapes the future of the

firm. Since this culture constitutes of people’s beliefs, behaviors and attitudes, like isolated individuals these too may

be conflicting and destructive setting in motion a culture that pulls the organizations distinct functions in opposite

directions. A destructive culture will, in simple words, put the organizations own forces at war with each other. Such

cultures are rampant in Pakistani organizations where the Human Resource is naively not viewed as an asset or a

‘deciding factor’ in any strategy development and/or implementation, and for this reason among others, local

businesses and brands like Pakola, that have so much potential have failed to become successful on a global level.

Therefore, we are of the belief that a cultural revolution is a ‘must’ for Mehran Bottler’s Pakola to revamp itself in

the slightest of ways. All restructuring fits, whether involving Functional or Administrative elements are dependent

upon the ‘people’ that will carry them out and if these people are not geared towards a fair, constructive, healthy,

motivating and enriching culture, the best of developed strategies will fail in the worst of ways.

Also, one of the most crucial deciding factors when it comes to shaping culture is the aspect of ‘leadership’, because

it is this Leadership that is responsible for setting in motion the aspirations, the benchmarks of excellence. It is this

Leadership that is responsible for igniting emotions and creating the drive in the People Force of an organization. It is

this elemental phenomenon that fires up an organization’s engine and sets it on the path to constructive

competitiveness, synergistic activities and ultimately gives it a competitive advantage like no other. It’s very own

core being. It’s people.

IMPLEMENTATION SITUATION & MODE As any organization progresses through it’s circle of life, it develops through a number of distinct stages, namely,

Single product, Single business, and multi-businesses, each of which require a unique mode of operation, sporting

distinct organizational structures, incentives and controls. And since the way of operation for these models differs,

the transitions from either of the stages are particularity difficult to manage. However, these transitions are faced with

recurring implementation problems.

Pakola, however, is faced with a different situation here. It is in a ‘strategic situation’ requiring a turnaround and

consolidation. The Top level management, for this purpose will need to be heedful of the dynamics of this turnaround

and will need to pay meticulous attention to all situations and transitions and develop fits between the strategy being

pursued and the firm’s functional policies, management systems and processes.

To become a more highly flexible, responsive and strategic 3rd Generation Organization, Pakola, must have flatter

hierarchies for all it’s departments, which must be synergistically coordinated to make it’s functional structure

flexible and responsive to any market changes and thus become a market-oriented organization.

It must put in place management systems and processes that assist it’s functions to operate with the least possible

friction encouraging effective and conflict-free exchange of communication through the use of Modern Information

Systems, also leading to efficient and effective information exchange facilitating timely adjustments in strategies and

operations and consequently decisive action. This however, shall be no easy task for the young C.E.O and his

appointed board of directors. Mr. Zeeshan, will have to decide between: (1) The Degree of involvement in the

implementation process (2) The attention that must be given to the administrative constraints

The degree of involvement in the implementation process implies how deeply is he involved in implementation of the

strategy and whether he will personally direct and oversee the implementation whilst, (2) implies the strength of

existing norms and patterns of behavior and the willingness of key managers to support strategies.

IMPLEMENTATION MODE OF TOP LEVEL MANAGEMENT

Pakola’s current need in the attempt to turnaround, is a Director who will be deeply involved in the implementation

of strategy and will pay little attention to administrative constraints to the extent that the trade-offs need to be made

between achieving strategic objectives and deal with any administrative fallout on a ‘need-to’ basis.

Under the given circumstances, when a major turnaround must be attempted, a political manager would take too

much time to mitigate the negative consequences of any action, rather than proceeding with rapid action, thereby

‘preserving’ the very conflict-ridden negative culture and processes that are needed to be revamped in the first place.

Whereas, An Administrative manager has limited involvement in the processes, systems and people who must

achieve strategy, which would be a very naïve course of action under the circumstances given the need for total

revamping of the current defective, disorganized and excessively myopic systems, processes and procedures.

Similarly, an Organization Shaker, is geared at assigning the ‘right people for the right task’ and are required when

the basic structure in place is sound and effectively operating, which is far from being the case when we talk about

Mehran Bottler’s Pakola.

Therefore, given the current circumstances Pakola requires a manager who is ready to compromise the short-run over

the long-run and will take any necessary (and seemingly radical) steps to replace the existing malpractices and

strategies and replace them with a completely revamped mode of thinking and operations geared to achieving

strategically devised alternatives and goals and in the process create a highly strategic organization, which is

strategically aligned to carry out effective and efficient operations in the most profitable manner while continuing to

keep itself open to innovation and improvement so that it becomes an ever ‘Learning’ Organization.

This exceptional measurement tool enables the business managers to view any business from four critical

perspectives and hence provides answers to four critical questions by forcing business managers to focus only on a

handful of key measures, thereby keeping the managers from losing themselves in numerous and complicated

measures. The questions answered are;

1. How do customers see us? (Customer perspective)

2. What must we excel at? (Internal Perspective)

3. Can we continue to improve & create value? (Innovation & Learning perspective)

4. How do we look at shareholders? (Financial Perspective)

These serve to firstly, bring together, in a single report, many of the seemingly disparate elements of a company’s

competitive agenda: becoming customer oriented, shortening response time, improving quality, emphasizing

teamwork, reducing new product, launch times and managing for the long-term.

Secondly, the scorecard guards against sub-optimization. By forcing senior managers to consider all the essential

operational measures together as a gestalt, the balances business scorecard lets them see whether improvement in one

area may have been achieved at the expense of another. Even the best objective can be achieved badly by making the

wrong trade-off.

Customer’s concerns tend to fall into 4 categories, Time, quality, performance and service. To put the scorecard to

work, the company must articulate goals for time, quality, performance and service and then translate these goals into

specific measures.

Customer based measure are critical, yet they must be translated into measures of what the company must do

internally to meet customers’ expectations. After all, excellent customer performance derives from processes,

decisions, and actions occurring throughout the organization. When it comes to the Internal perspective, managers are

required to focus on those critical internal operations that enable them to satisfy customer needs. The customer-based

and internal business process measures on the balanced score card identify the parameters that the company considers

most important for competitive success. But the targets keep changing. A company’s ability to innovate, improve and

learn ties directly to the company’s value. That is, only through the ability to launch new products, create more value

for customers, and improve operating efficiencies continually, can a company penetrate new markets and increase

revenues and margins and grow and thereby increase shareholder value – the last portion of the BBSC.

While the Financial perspective, measures whether the company’s strategy, implementation, and execution, are

contributing to bottom-line improvement. Typical financial goals have to do with profitability, growth, and

shareholder value.

POSSIBLE EXTENSION STRATEGIES

Brand Portfolio

Bra

nd N

ame

Existing New

Exis

ting

1. Diet Cola Line

Line Extension

2. Diversify into candy

category with Pakola

ice-cream Soda

Flavouring

3. Acquire a Snack Food

Manufacturer

Brand Extension

New

5. Fill gaps in currently

served categories like

fruit juices under a new

brand name

Multi-brands

4. Introduce a new caffein

based drink under a

new brand name

New Brands