Watson Agro India Case Study

Tirthankar Sutradhar TIRTHANKAR SUTRADHAR | 1421427 | M2 | GROUP2

Tirthankar Sutradhar

1421427 | Marketing | CUIM

Watson Agro India Case Study Write

Up & Solution

Watson Agro India faced a typical sales problem in 1999 with the launch of Zannate, an

insecticide used for pest control in Cotton and Vegetable crops invented by its US lab. Though

being the inventor of the molecule, WAI faced a challenge in selling the product in Indian

market and to be the ultimate choice of Indian farmers as the best option to sprinkle in their

fields for pest control. The issue was not due to the quality of the product, the issue was the price

war which was started by Teri Agri and Southern Minerals Limited, its main competitor in India.

Problem Statement:

1. WAI was supplying technical grade Zannate to Teri and SML, who sold the same in their

own brand name as well as a cheaper price giving stiff competition to WAI.

2. Locally influential dealers prescribed Teri’s and SML’s substitute of WAI’s Zannate to

Indian farmers.

3. No preferred dealers appointed for the sales of Zinnate, though the competitors Teri and

SML were extensively using the same channel.

4. Couldn’t cash from being a huge international player with a brand name, as well as being

the first player to introduce Zannate to the market.

Problem Solution:

1. WAI should tie up with distributors who won't come up in the way if they want to

appoint preferred dealers for their sales. The same will act to increase distribution

network for WAI.

2. At the same time the existing relation with dealers and distributors shouldn't be hindered.

3. High operational freedom provided to sales people might result in scattered and non-

uniform strategies adoption which might counter with the final goal of the organization.

Tirthankar Sutradhar

1421427 | Marketing | CUIM

The freedom of the salespeople should be revised and must be bought under a uniform

guideline.

4. Not reducing the price for short term goal achievement as it will counter their brand

image in the long run.

5. Having the advantage of sitting up on a higher sales promotion budget, the same should

be leveraged for adopting a campaign to educate the farmers about the benefits of the use

of product from WAI over its competitor’s offerings.

To have a long term winning strategy, WAI must:

a) Overcome the fear of hurting distributor/dealer’s sentiment on linking the business to

preferred dealers also.

b) Hire managers with a better experience on the field who knows the Indian pesticide

market better than the fresh college recruits.

c) Overcome the notion that only fresh blood in the company can be molded to the

company's global work culture.

d) Slightly loosen up their credit policy for distributors.

e) Devise a proper promotion strategy eg. door to door campaigns for farmers, offering

know-how of the usage of Zannate, educating them about the extra benefits that can be

reaped from the product.