Am I successful in India or not? About the difficulties of being able to evaluate one's own performance in India based on reliable data. An assessment by the management consultancy Dr. Dr. who specializes in India. Wamser + Batra GmbH.

“It actually surprises us how subjectively and sometimes even naively German and European companies often evaluate their own activities in India,” says Mike Batra, Managing Director and Head of Sales at Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH. Statements like “we are successful in India” or “we are not successful” are often made purely based on gut feeling - without really knowing how you are actually represented in the market and realistically compare to the competition.

Because the German or European parent company usually does not notice from a distance what its own sales organization (or sales agency, distributor or importer) is doing on site. Accordingly, self-perception and external perception differ drastically from one another. Because even your own subsidiary never tells you the whole truth - as in this real case study.

“Flying blind” in India (case study)

The German company Blindflug GmbH has been present in India for more than fifteen years, initially with a local representative office and since 2007 with a 100% subsidiary that now employs around 25 people. One could conclude from this that all the teething problems of entering the Indian market have already been overcome and that all signs point to growth.

Although sales have increased significantly in recent years, its subsidiary Blindflug India Pvt. Ltd. To date, however, we have not yet reached the point of break-even. The gross profit ratio is very low despite the special discounts granted by the parent company (reduced transfer price). Without these special discounts, which expire on December 31.12.2014, XNUMX, the company in question will probably not be able to achieve a positive operating result. Therefore, after years of hard development work, the question of the future viability of the Indian subsidiary suddenly arises. The scenarios now range from tough restructuring measures to the closure of the company.

However, Blindflug GmbH did not have the necessary information from India to make the right strategic decisions. There was a complete lack of transparency regarding the questions:

– How does our subsidiary actually sell? Which sales channels are used – and with which partners?

– Which leads and projects did you work on and why did you win or lose them?

– What are the actual prices for end customers? And who earns from our margin?

For example, it could not be ruled out that the increased sales were achieved through particularly high discounts. You may even have been a “low-cost provider” in India! Perhaps the entire margin was eaten up by intermediary agents and dealers, so that in the end there was nothing left for Blindflug India Pvt. Ltd. remained.

In order to ultimately be able to make decisions based on facts, the German Blindflug GmbH founded Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH was commissioned to obtain objective information on the Indian market, competition, sales structures and its own positioning, including through the informal gathering of information, which is so important in India.

Consolidation through professional benchmarking

“Through interviews and informal discussions with proven industry experts, competitors and previous and potential customers, we were able to give Blindflug GmbH objective insights into the market and our own organization on site for the first time,” Batra. “In addition, we used methods such as employee surveys and “mock purchases” to test the sales organization. During the lost order analyses, we ultimately examined all offers that did not result in an order with regard to the reasons for rejection and identified potential for improvement in the sales process.”

This professional benchmarking gave Blindflug GmbH an objective assessment of its own market position and sales activities in India, and thus the necessary decision-making basis to lead the Indian subsidiary (back) into the profit zone.

WB Market Solutions enables you to enter the market successfully in the long term, just as existing sales strategies and structures are put to the test and optimized if necessary. [Continue]