AlWasl-Company Project(Final Ver)

CERTIFICATE

Supply Chain At

‘Al Wasl Water Purification LLC.’

Company Project Report

Submitted by:

PrateekKarnadhar (SMBA09051)

Ankur Sharma (SMBA09012)

Sam Tarkeshi (SMBA09059 )

Institute of Management Technology, Dubai

Supply Chain @ Al Wasl ::

CERTIFICATE

We hereby certify that the project work done under ‘Al Wasl Water Purification LLC’ which is being presented in this respect entitled:“Supply Chain at Al Wasl” is an authentic record of our work carried out for a period of eight weeks under the guidance of Mr. Laquiddin, General Manager,Al Wasl Water Purification LLC, Dubai.

Ankur Sharma

Prateek Karnadhar

Sam Tarkeshi

MBA (Class of 2009-11)

Institute of Management Technology,

Dubai

We hereby declare that the above information given by us is true & correct to the best of our knowledge and belief.

(Mr. Laquiddin)

General Manager

Express Flexi-Pack, Dubai

United Arab Emirates

Institute of Management Technology,Dubai

Submitted by:

PrateekKarnadhar (SMBA09051)

Ankur Sharma (SMBA09012)

Sam Tarkeshi (SMBA09059 )

Institute of Management Technology, Dubai


Acknowledgement

I owe gratitude to many employees of ‘Al Wasl Water Purification LLC, Dubai’ who supported us throughout the company project. My sincere thanks to Mr. Laquiddin, General Manager to have provided this opportunity of company project with ‘Al Wasl Water Purification LLC, Dubai’.

This report would not have been possible without the rich inputs of my mentor Mr. Ali, Marketing Manager and Mr. Aslam, machine operator, who lived the role of a mentor in letter and spirit. Their guidance helped me to take the right direction while working on the project. Without their guidance it would have been very difficult to complete this work.

Lastly I would like to thank Dr. Waheed, Marketing Professor at IMT Dubai for his support and guidance. From time to time he guided us through our company project with his valuable points and knowledge.



Executive Summary

"To run effectively, a water packaging firm must cope up with an extremely competitive and complex market environment."

The growing market competition between water packaging firms in Dubai, UAE has resulted into adoption of new strategies in order to survive in the long run. The microstructure is in which water packaging firm work is highly competitive and complex. For consumers it's always a difficult to choose the right one among different water products available in the market. Majority of water packaging firms offer similar products with almost same prices and hence leaving people perplexed/confused. Now, it's "Supply Chain Management" which plays an important role when it comes to provide market responsiveness and placing the product at the right price. How ‘Supply Chain Management’ is used as a tool to develop strategic view among the employee and the company in terms of competitive advantage. Now when the company has brought a new change in its "Product Line “by introducing 200ml water cup in year 2009 then what would be its new strategy to compete against top water packaging firms?



Table of Contents

1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………6

2. Company Profile ……………………………………………………………6-7

3. Products

3.1 200ml Water Bottle …………………………………………………83.2 5 Gallon Water Bottle ………………………………………………8-9

4. Supply Chain Management ………………………………………….…….9-19

5. Methodology ………………………………………………………………..19

6. Current Supply Chain Network

6.1 200 water cups ………………..………………………………….20-216.2 5 Gallon water bottle….……..…………………………………...21-22

7. Benchmarking ……………..………………………………………………22-24

8. Issues and Recommendations .………………………………………………25-26

9. References …………………..………………………………………….......27



1. IntroductionA supply chain consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer

request. The supply chain not only includes the manufacturer and suppliers, but also

transporters, warehouses, retailers, and customers themselves. Within each organization, such

as manufacturer, the supply chain includes all functions involved in receiving and filling a

customer request. These functions include new product development, marketing, operations,

distribution, finance, and customer service.

A supply chain is dynamic and involves the constant flow of information, product, and funds

between different stages. Example, Wal-Mart provides the product, as well as pricing and

availability information, to the customer. The customer transfers funds to Wal-Mart.Wal-

Mart convey point-of-sales data as well as replenishment order via trucks back to the store.

Wal-Mart transfers funds to the distributor after the replenishment. The distributor also

provides pricing information and sends delivery schedules to Wal-Mart. Similar information,

material, and fund flows take place across the entire supply chain.

2. Company ProfileThe Express Group is based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Express Group

is an integral part of this vibrant society.

Express Group has been celebrating with the growth of UAE for over 25 years. In 1978,

along with printing, we pioneered the packaging industry in UAE. We feel both humbled and

awed that today, we are one of the leading Printing & Packaging houses in the UAE. Like

UAE, our vision and full potential is yet to be realized. This is only the beginning!

Over the years we have added several new services to complement your needs so that we

may provide you robust, end-to-end set of solutions. Along with Printing & Packaging, you

can rely on us to service your needs in flexography, carton production including corrugation,



paper retailing, publishing, marketing, communications, branding, design solutions and

manufacturing of pens.

We are also the exclusive national franchise for Kompass International SA, France, making

us a part of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

From labels to magazines, and from profiles to packaging, the Express portfolio of services

extends the entire gamut of printing and publishing - on paper, parchment, polyester and

more. While support services include English and Arabic typesetting, graphic design and

innovative commercial printing, complementing services include the branding of products, its

packaging and presentation; creating corporate identities; retail merchandising and

publishing, and electronic publishing on diverse media including CD-ROM, DVD and the

web. These policies and procedures have resulted in three of our companies getting ISO 9001

and the others are in the process of being certified.

The Group

ABDUL QADIR MOHAMED GENERAL TRADING CO. (L.L.C)

EXPRESS PRINTING SERVICES (L.L.C)

EXPRESS PRINT (L.L.C.)

EXPRESS PACK PRINT

EXPRESS FLEXI PACK

EXPRESS ENGINEERING

AL WASL WATER PURIFICATION

PARK LANE PUBLISHERS LTD.

EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL FZCO

EXPRESS PAPER FZCO



3. Products

3.1 200ml Water cup

Al Wasl takes raw water from Dubal water and then stores this water into its storage tank.

Than process of filtration take place they use sand filter, carbon filter than process of pre

filter of 5 micron is used after that process of reverse osmosis is conducted after this minerals

like sodium bicarbonate, Calcium Carbide, Magnesium Sulphate are injected to maintain the

TDS level in water, Ph level maintained is 7.5, TDS level maintained is 100 which is

standard it should not be below than that and should not be greater than 500. This mineral

water obtained is again passed through filter of 1 micron after all this ozone is injected into

water to make it bacteria free. After water is prepared than it is filled into cups.

These cups are produced in Al Wasl itself for producing cups they take Pet sheet from IRD

and Interplast Company limited, also they take aluminum led from Express flexi pack and

finally when cups are ready they are placed manually in cartons which are obtained from

Express pack print. The shelf life of cups is 1 year. Al Wasl produces around 2000 cups

daily. Cups are distributed to SME’s, Residences, Resellers (Grocessory, Supermarket,

Exporters). Distribution takes place through own trucks they have 8 trucks. Water cups are

the major source of business in Al Wasl as they have fewer competitors around 12.

3.2 5 Gallon Water bottle

Al Wasl takes raw water from Dubal water and then stores this water into its storage tank.

Than process of filtration take place they use sand filter, carbon filter than process of pre

filter of 5 micron is used after that process of reverse osmosis is conducted after this minerals

like sodium bicarbonate, Calcium Carbide, Magnesium sulphate are injected to maintain the

TDS level in water, Ph level maintained is 7.5, TDS level maintained is 100 which is

standard it should not be below than that and should not be greater than 500. This mineral

water obtained is again passed through filter of 1 micron after all this ozone is injected into

water to make it bacteria free. Than this water is placed into poly carbonate bottles which are



obtained from National FMPC and Emirates plastics, Caps are acquired from ATM

Enterprise, Slew/Shrink used to cover the top of bottle is obtained from Al Mahati Traders.

Around 1200 bottles are produced daily than these bottles are loaded and unloaded is done

manually with racks, a small truck carries 25 racks and a big truck carries 32 racks. The shelf

life of bottle is three months and this bottle can be used 18 times after that it has to be

disposed.

Bottle is washed 14 times before being reused. Al Wasl follows FIFIO i.e. First in first out

policy for its products. Bottles are collected from customers by helper which goes along with

Truck drivers. Orders for the products are taken on phone and are passed to drivers which are

on field. A big truck can carry around 192 bottles while small truck can carry around 144

bottles. Water bottles produce more profits but they have many competitors around 5o so

they have to face a tough competition in this.

4. Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain

A supply chain consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer

request. The supply chain not only includes the manufacturer and suppliers, but also

transporters, warehouses, retailers, and customers themselves. Within each organization,

such as manufacturer, the supply chain includes all functions involved in receiving and filling

a customer request. These functions include new product development, marketing,

operations, distribution, finance, and customer service.

A supply chain is dynamic and involves the constant flow of information, product, and funds

between different stages.

Customer is an integral part of the supply chain. The primary purpose from the existence of

any supply chain is to satisfy customer needs, in the process generating profits for itself.

Supply chain activities begin with a customer order and end when a satisfied customer has



paid for his or her purchase. The term supply chain conjures up images of product or supply

moving from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to retailers to customers along a

chain. It is important to visualize information, funds, and product flows along both

directions of this chain. The term supply chain may also imply that only one player is

involved at each stage. In reality, a manufacturer may receive material from several suppliers

and then supply several distributors. Thus, most supply chains are actually networks. It may

be more accurate to use the term supply network or supply web to describe the structure of

most supply chains.

A typical supply chain may involve a variety of stages. These supply chain stages include:

• Customers

• Retailers

• Wholesalers/Distributors

• Manufacturers

• Component/Raw material suppliers

Supply Chain Strategy

Supply Chain Strategy is a long term plans to set-up the supply chain to deliver an

appropriate level of service to its customers at minimum cost.Supply chain management

operates at three levels; strategic, tactical and operational. At the strategic level, company

management makes high level strategic supply chain decisions that are relevant to whole

organization. The decisions that are made with regards to the supply chain should reflect the

overall corporate strategy that the organization is following. The strategic supply chain

processes that management has to decide will cover the breadth of the supply chain. These

include product development, customers, manufacturing, vendors and logistics.



Product Development

Senior Management has to define a strategic direction when considering the products that the

company should manufacture and offer the product to their customers. As product cycles

mature or products sales decline, management has to make strategic decisions to develop and

introduce new versions of existing products into the marketplace, rationalize the current

product offering or whether develop a new range of products and services. These strategic

decisions may include the need to acquire another company or sell existing businesses.

However, when making these strategic product development decisions, the overall objectives

of the firm should be the determining factor.

Customers

At the strategic level, a company has to identify the customers for its products and services.

When company management makes strategic decisions on the products to manufacture, they

need to then identify the key customer segments where company marketing and advertising

will be targeted.

Manufacturing

At the strategic level, manufacturing decisions define the manufacturing infrastructure and

technology that is required. Based on high level forecasting and sales estimates, the company

management has to make strategic decisions on how products will be manufactured. The

decisions can require new manufacturing facilities to be built or to increase production at

existing facilities. However, if the overall company objectives include moving manufacturing

overseas, then the decisions may lean towards using subcontracting and third party logistics.

As environmental issues influence corporate policy to a greater extent, this may influence

strategic supply chain decisions with regards to manufacturing.



Suppliers

Company management has to decide on the strategic supply chain policies with regards to

suppliers. Reducing the purchasing spends for a company can directly relate to an increase in

profit and strategically there are a number of decisions that can be made to obtain that result.

Leveraging the total company’s purchases over many businesses can allow company

management to select strategic global suppliers who offer the greatest discounts. But these

decisions have to correspond with the overall company objectives. If a company has adopted

policies on quality, then strategic decisions on suppliers will have to fall within the overall

company objective.

Logistics

The logistics function is a key to the success of the supply chain. Order fulfillment is an

important part of the supply chain and company management need to make strategic

decisions on the logistics network. The design and operation of the network has a significant

influence on the performance of the supply chain. Strategic decisions are required on

warehouses, distribution centers which transportation modes should be used. If the overall

company objectives identify the use of more third parties subcontracting, the company may

strategically decide to use third party logistics companies in the supply chain.

Developing a Supply Chain Strategy

Understand the Business Strategy

The first step is for supply chain executives to clearly understand how the enterprise chooses

to compete. It forces the supply chain operation to see itself as a customer facing entity

serving the competitive goals of the enterprise—not merely an operational department.

Supply chain strategy is not simply a linear derivative of the business strategy. At best,

supply chain strategy can be the enabler of the business strategy. If the business strategy is to

be the low cost provider, the supply chain strategy should support this. And just like when

developing a business strategy, look to core competencies, focus, and means of



differentiation when developing a supply chain strategy. Being able to strategically source

parts at an attractive price may support both your supply chain strategy and business strategy,

but only if you have the capabilities to do so effectively. Look to your supply chain

competencies and leverage what you do well. You may want to focus on a particular market

or segment in which to gain supply chain efficiencies. Or you may want to differentiate your

organization operationally by providing lower costs to customers or providing services that

other industry players are unable to do.

Assess the Extended Supply Chain

The next step is to conduct a detailed, realistic assessment of the capabilities that exist within

the organization and even the extended supply chain. Begin by closely scrutinizing your

organization’s assets and evaluate how well they support the strategy. Old machinery and

disparate systems may mean high operational overhead and costly process inefficiencies and

redundancies clearly not supportive of a low cost provider strategy. A formal supply chain

assessment by a non biased outside party may assist you in better understanding your

operational strengths and opportunities for improvement. Look for a firm that can provide

you with operational benchmarks both inside and outside of your industry in order to

measure core competencies. Once the assessment is complete, assemble a team to review and

prioritize recommendations, validate the opportunities, define the risks, and the requirements

for implementation. Ultimately, if there is a disparity between the supply chain strategy and

the operational assets, you may have to make capital investments. The other alternative is to

change your assumptions and alter your strategy all together.

Develop an Implementation Plan

The development of an implementation plan should include activities and tasks, roles,

responsibilities, a corresponding timeline, and performance metrics. Establish a sub-team to

guide the execution and provide project management responsibility to resolve issues and

track status.



Development Considerations

Cooperate and Collaborate with your Partners throughout the development process remember

to include your supply chain partners. While you don’t necessary need to disclose the full

details of your strategy, you can certainly communicate how you would like to do business.

Ideally, seek out mutual goals that both organizations can execute on. Not only will you be

one step closer to realizing your supply chain strategy, you will learn more about the

companies that you do business with. For example, collaboration in product design may meet

your need to stem R&D costs and also alert you to new product concepts that you wouldn’t

discover without working with your customer. Part of developing a supply chain strategy

includes evaluating opportunities to outsource areas that are not your core competency. If

someone else can do it cheaper, it may be worth outsourcing not only to drive down costs,

but also to focus more resources on the core competencies you organization does well.

Objective of supply chain management

Reducing operating cost

Efficient supply chain management will decrease the firms operating costs; manufacturing

costs, transportation costs and distribution cost. The classic supply chain approach has been

to try to forecast future inventory demand as accurately as possible, by applying statistical

trending and "best fit" techniques based on historic demand and predicted future events. The

advantage of this approach is that it can be applied to data aggregated at a fairly high level,

requiring modest database sizes and small amounts of manipulation. Unpredictability in

demand is then managed by setting safety stock levels. Firms applying demand forecast

methods accurately are able to predict the future demand more precisely which automatically

leads to decrease in excessive production and decreases the manufacturing cost of the firm.

Supply chain management refers to the management of a distribution channel across

organizations. All the members of the channel, from suppliers to end users, coordinate their

business activities and processes to minimize their total costs and maximize their

effectiveness in the market. The goal is to achieve the coordination and continuity of a



vertically integrated channel without centralized ownership of the entities comprising the

channel. The firms in the channel form a long-term partnership or strategic alliance in order

to improve service to the end consumer, reduce channel costs, and create a competitive

advantage. Supply chain management can be contrasted with a traditional distribution

channel in which firms deal with one another on a short-term, arm's-length basis, with each

one trying to maximize their own gain from each transaction. Without supply chain

management, the relationship between firms in the channel lasts only from transaction to

transaction. Most organizations in the traditional channel do not really see themselves as part

of a vertically integrated channel. They only see themselves as independent businesses that

buy from suppliers at the lowest possible price and sell to customers at the highest possible

price. Diseconomies caused by redundancies, particularly of inventory, are common in such a

channel. By looking across the entire channel, supply chain management tries to eliminate

these redundancies.

In contrast to manufacturing and distribution cost which should be reduced to achieve the

optimal supply chain cost, the transportation cost increase moves in the opposite direction. A

organization who wants to reduce supply chain costs need to spend more on transportation.

The key to lower supply chain costs is holding less inventory. Buying more transportation

lets you reduce inventory safely. The greatest mistake that manufacturers make today is

equating transportation cost reductions with total available supply chain savings. In fact,

transportation savings do not even correlate with overall supply chain savings. The largest

economies come from inventory reductions that often result from buying more transportation.

Compressing order cycle time

Whether you are a 3PL, manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer, importer, exporter,

supplier, customer, logistics service provider or other type of firm that participates in supply

chain management, a major key to success is time compression. Increasing velocity, rapid

response to changing market conditions, minimizing time and sustaining that velocity--are



the reasons for collaboration, integration, supply chain visibility and other endeavors to

accelerate the movement of product and information.

There are numerous financial and non-financial cycle time metrics, for example on-time

customer order delivery, manufacture to order complete, cash conversion cycle and days

sales outstanding. A good one should be a measure of the length of time for a process,

especially one that crosses the organization. The cycle time metric should be important to the

company. It should recognize pain points or should add value and competitive advantage for

the company. A key process that crosses the organization is a day in inventory that measures

the number of days that inventory is held. For manufacturers this would include raw

materials and work-in-process. Days-in- inventory is an important part of the cash conversion

cycle. Reducing inventory levels and days of inventory improves profits and frees up needed

capital.

To become more conversant with the information technology

IT is the enabler, facilitator and the linkage that connects and integrates the various

components and partners of the supply. The agility and competiveness of any supply chain

depends on the systems and supply chain information technology used to plan, collaborate,

monitor and execute processes. Supply chain systems projects cannot achieve their full

potential unless operational best practices and systems integration play a leading role.

One significant impact of IT relates to the quality of information available within the supply

chain. Company can develop Web-based programs or intranets to distribute information,

such as about new products, delays or changes. IT allows everyone in the supply chain to be

integrated and thus, stay informed, which when used appropriately can translate into

management efficiency and reduced risks.

To develop more intimate knowledge of the customer

As one of the world’s largest industries, the supply chain sector relies on knowledge as its

lifeblood. This information is necessary to co-ordinate and manages a vast network of



organizations. It requires sophisticated technology and excellent communication and, in

short, it helps us to get the right product to the right place at the right time . The key to

achieving this is to understand your customers and to anticipate their wants and needs. Easier

said than done, sometimes, but in a 3PL scenario as the last link before the customer there is

a wealth of knowledge to be gathered and used to help predict their next request so that you

can be ahead of the game. CRM is designed to help you understand your customers, both

current and potential. The intention is to leverage competitive advantage by means of

targeted customer information that is used to attract new customers and retain existing ones

through relationship management, thus saving cost and increasing effectiveness.

Supply chain component

Supply chain management is the combination of art and science that goes into improving the

way your company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service,

manufactures that product or service and delivers it to customers. The following are five

basic processes for supply chain management.

Logistics drivers

To understand how a company can improve its SCM performance in terms of responsiveness

and efficiency, the logistical drivers and cross functional drivers performance must be

examined. The three logistical drivers are the following: Facilities, Inventory, Transportation

and The three cross-functional drivers consist of: Information, Sourcing, and Pricing.

FACILITIES

Actual physical locations in the Supply Chain network where product is stored, assembled,

or fabricated. For Example: Having Warehouses near to customer for responsiveness. High

efficiency distributor has fewer warehouses to increase efficiency but this will reduce

responsiveness.

INVENTORYConsists of all raw materials, work in process and finished goods within a supply chain

changes in inventory policies can alter efficiency and responsiveness of the supply chain.



Transportation

Entails moving inventory from point to point in the supply chain. Transport choices have a

large impact on the supply chain responsiveness and efficiency. For Example: Using FedEx

to ship a mail order to make more responsive or use cheaper ground transportation to

improve the efficiency.

CROSS FUNCTIONAL DRIVERS

Supply Chain Management is increasingly focused on the cross functional drivers, such as

sourcing, information and pricing. The cross functional drivers interact to enhance the overall

supply chain performance.

Information

It consists of data and analysis concerning facilities, inventory, transportation, cost, prices

and customers throughout the supply chain. Information presents management with the

opportunity to make supply chain more responsive and efficient.

Sourcing

It is the choice of who will perform a particular supply chain activity such as production,

storage, transportation or management of information. At the strategic level, these decisions

determine what functions a firm performs and what functions the firm outsources.

Pricing

Determines how much a firm will charge for goods and services that it makes available in the

supply chain. Pricing affects the behavior of the buyer of the goods or service, thus affecting

the supply chain performance.

Inventory Driver:

Low inventory level

Pioneered Cross-docking

Owns own Trucking Fleet



Centrally located Distribution Centers

Builds Retail Stores where demand exists

Information Driver:

Has invested in IT more than competitors hence improved responsiveness and

decrease inventory investment.

Suppliers produce only on demand.

Sourcing driver:

Identifies efficient sources for each product.

Provides large orders to exploiting economies of scale.

Pricing Driver:

Practices “everyday low pricing”, for obtaining steady customer demand and to

avoid fluctuation in prices.

5. METHADOLOGYAim is to study and analyze the supply chain process of Al Wasel. Identify the flaws in the process and give suitable recommendations.

6. Current Supply Chain NetworkThe company has 2 supply chain models running under the aegis of “Al Wasl Water Purification LLC” since the company has got two product lines. Let’s closely look into the supply chain model for these 2 product lines.



6.1 200ml Water Cup

Al Wasl has three suppliers for their 200ml water cup product. Procurement department gets

materials like raw water, plastic sheets and aluminium foils from these suppliers. Plastic

sheets are used to get cups from plastic injection moulding machine. At the same time water

gets purified and gets filled in these cups with seal fitted on top. All these activities take

place in WIP (work in progress), which is called production unit. Final products are kept in

the inventory by the employees manually. Inventory is always needed to match the future

demands. The company has in-house distribution centre to cater the market needs or

demands. Mostly customers are traders, SME (small and medium enterprise) and resellers.

The information and money flow is backward starting from customers to suppliers making

this supply chain complex but the company is all set to cater their customers demand

efficiently.



6.2 5 Gallon Water Bottle

The second product is 5 gallon water bottle and has three suppliers. Procurement department

gets materials like raw water, empty bottles, caps and slew/shrink from these suppliers.

Empty bottles are cleaned at the same time water gets purified and gets filled in these 5

gallon empty water bottles with seal caps fitted on top. All these activities take place in WIP

(work in progress), which is called production unit. Final products are kept in the inventory

by the employees manually. Inventory is always needed to match the future demands. The

company has in-house distribution centre to cater the market needs or demands. Mostly

customers are traders, SME (small and medium enterprise) and resellers. The information

and money flow is backward starting from customers to suppliers making this supply chain

complex but the company is all set to cater their customers demand efficiently.



7. BenchmarkingAl Ain

Al Ain Mineral Water Company’s manufacturing facility was opened on 5th August 1990 by

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon and is situated on Khattam Al Shiklah Road in Al Ain. The

company produces one of the leading bottled water brands in the UAE. They have a strong

heritage and tradition in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi where we are the number one brand

choice amongst consumers. Al Ain Water Company is wholly owned by AGTHIA Group

which is a listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market. There are four key values

that are of top priority for Al Ain company; commitment, teamwork, achievement and

entrepreneurship.

Operation:

Al Ain Mineral Water Company is a leader in bottled water manufacturing in the Middle

East. Al Ain products are processed and packaged in a fully automated, modern

manufacturing facility utilizing innovative processing technologies. Water passes through a

multi stage filtration system before it is blended with FDA-approved minerals to enhance the

taste. Al Ain Mineral Water Company has won local and international recognition through

quality certifications, such as the H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Award for Industry and Quality.

Products:

Bottled water:

Al Ain Mineral Water Company pioneered a new purification and re-mineralization process

to produce water that conforms to the strictest US Food & Drug Administration, European

and Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority guidelines. Al Ain factory uses fully automated

manufacturing processes. The water is packed in PET bottles and cups manufactured at the

plant itself. The modern laboratory, the latest water-testing equipment and excellent

packaging material allow us to deliver products of the highest quality that guarantee

consumers healthy, natural and fresh water.



The product range comprises:

Al Ain 5 gallon:

Al Ain Mineral Water has launched the new 5-gallon pack to cater to the daily needs of

families. This volume is especially suited for home consumption. Pure and hygienically

sealed, the 5-gallon pack is created keeping convenience and economical pricing in mind.

The bulk water (HOD) category is a growing segment and one which currently accounts for

Approximately 60% of the UAE water market.

Product range which spans a wide variety of packs, from 100ml cups to the 5 litre bottle,

under the long-trusted Al Ain Water brand.” The launch of Al Ain Mineral Water 5-gallon

perfectly complements the Company’s already strong position in bulk water segment.

Capri sun:

The newest entrant to the Al Ain Mineral Water portfolio, Capri-Sun is sold and enjoyed in

around 100 countries all over the world. The manufacturers of Capri-Sun entered what was a

new market segment at that time as genuine pioneers. Loved by children everywhere, Capri-

Sun is produced in 18 countries throughout the world – including the USA, the United Arab

Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. Al Ain Mineral Water Company is the exclusive

manufacturer and distributor for Capri-Sun in UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.

Sales and logistics:

Domestic:

Al Ain Mineral Water products are distributed throughout UAE via owned freestanding sales

and distribution team. There is four distribution centers, one each located in Al Ain, Abu

Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The products are available in all key retail channels across the

UAE.



Exports:

Al Ain Company distributes its products through different distributers located in the

countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Airlines

Going Green Movement:

Al Ain Mineral Water Company brings forward an idea to avoid the waste of plastic and save

the environment.

The ‘Shrink-A-Bottle' campaign is an initiative that aims to inform people of the need to

recycle. The campaign encourages consumers to reduce Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)

waste by utilizing a bottle shrinking appliance, which reduces the size of an empty PET

bottle to 15 per cent of its original size within 10 seconds. The company has partnered with

Horizon Technologies, the first PET recycling factory in the Middle East, which converts

almost all bottles collected in the region into PET flakes. These flakes are then used to

produce high quality packaging and other related products. Recycled plastic can be used in

the production of non-food applications.

8. Issues and Recommendation1. Less Suppliers - The Company has one supplier for each of their materials

because of which the company had previously faced lot of challenges in terms of

quality. In case of sudden break down in the supplier's company would result in

less materials supplies and company might run out of materials resulting in low

production to meet the demand effectively.

2. The company can get into some contracts with other suppliers so that in case of

sudden break down or exigency Al Wasl can always move to other suppliers in

case of emergency.



3. Vertical Integration - Since the company is not into any kind of vertical

integration with the suppliers like that of 'Masafi' or 'Al Ain' doing with their

suppliers. It’s always a good idea to treat your suppliers as your partners so they

understand your needs better and send you good quality materials. Sometimes

it’s equally important for your suppliers know what the demand in the market is

so that they are ready with the next supplies to meet the demand. This would

need a kind of central system to monitor the demand activity and sharing it

within Al Wasl departments and all suppliers.

4. Demand Fluctuation - Market demand is unpredictable and needs proper

attention to forecast current and future demands. This would directly make an

impact on the production and inventory level. Higher the demand means higher

the production and higher the inventory to meet unexpected market demand. This

is a complex structure and needs data analysis by the sales & distribution

department to properly forecast and monitor demands. This would result in more

cost savings in terms of estimated production after calculating the market

demand. Extra inventory will accrue extra cost (employees, managing, loading,

unloading, wearout, damages etc) to the company in terms of managing the

inventory. When there is good sales then there has to be good inventory means

inventory turnover ratio should be large neither too small. There has to be a

balance between sales and inventory to support sales.

5. Information Technology - The Al Wasl company does 80-90 work without the

use of information technology and needs special attention to start using some

kind of 'Management Information System' where the system has all the data

starting from procurement of materials till the end where customers meet their

expectations. This will surely bring an impact and overall productivity of the

organization in the long run. The data can be easily studied through MIS reports

which will help top management to plan better and more process oriented by

making information flow better within the system.



6. Environmental Issues-The AL Wasl water Purification Company could initiate

the green movement by using the recycling process for their plastic bottles. Al

Wasl corp. could Have a contract with the third party contractor or have a

separate division in the company itself for collecting the used bottles from the end

users. The benefits results from implementing this strategy is the conservation of

oil, reduction of green house gas emission, saving landfill space and energy

saving. The recycled material is used in manufacturing of new products and

substitutes recycle materials for virgin materials. This action not just only will

reduce the land fill costs along with manufacturing cost but also create a good will

value for the company as well. Customers who are informed about the recycling

process implemented by the firm are more enthusiastic to purchase goods from

the firm which is more environmentally friendly.



9. References

Al Ain Water (Hitting the Google search engine searching for Al Ain Water in UAE)

[Online]

Available at: http://www.alainwater.com/en/default.aspx

[Accessed 10th April 2011]

Masafi, a water of good (Hitting the Google search engine searching for Masafi in UAE)

[Online]

Available at: www.masafi.com


Profile , a water of good (Hitting the Google search engine searching for express Group

in UAE) [Online]

Available at: www.expgroup.com


Profile , a water of good (Hitting the Google search engine searching for express Group

in UAE) [Online]

Available at: http://www.expgroup.com/low/profile.html


Al Wasl Water Purification LLC Dubai (Hitting the Google search engine searching for

express Group in UAE) [Online]

Available at: http://www.expgroup.com/low/alwaslwater.html



http://www.expgroup.com/low/alwaslwater.html

http://www.expgroup.com/low/profile.html

AlWasl-Company Project(Final Ver)

Documents

Transcript of AlWasl-Company Project(Final Ver)