Strategic Management of Tata Steel

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1 INTRODUCTION Tata Steel Limited (formerly Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO)) is an Indian multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and a subsidiary of the Tata Group. It was the 11th largest steel producing company in the world in 2013, with an annual crude steel capacity of 25.3 million tonnes, and the second largest private- sector steel company in India (measured by domestic production) with an annual capacity of 9.7 million tonnes after SAIL (Steel Authority of India) The Tata Group is almost 100 years old. It currently comprises 96 operating companies, which together employed some 357,000 people worldwide and had revenues of US$ 72.5 billion (Feb 2009) billion in 2008-09. Tata is active in seven major business lines: information systems and communications, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. Its 28 publicly listed companies have a combined market capitalization of US$47.6 billion that is the second highest among Indian business houses in the private sector, and a shareholder base of over 2 million. Tata Steel has manufacturing operations in 26 countries, including Australia, China, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom, and employs around 80,500 people. Its largest plant is located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. In 2007 Tata Steel acquired the UK-based steel maker Corus which was the largest international acquisition by an Indian company till that date. It was ranked 486th in the 2014 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world's biggest corporations. It was the seventh most valuable Indian brand of 2013 as per Brand Finance. On 12 February 2012 Tata Steel completed 100 years of steel making in India. The Tata Steel Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency.

Transcript of Strategic Management of Tata Steel

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INTRODUCTION

Tata Steel Limited (formerly Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO)) is an Indian

multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and a

subsidiary of the Tata Group. It was the 11th largest steel producing company in the world in

2013, with an annual crude steel capacity of 25.3 million tonnes, and the second largest private-

sector steel company in India (measured by domestic production) with an annual capacity of 9.7

million tonnes after SAIL (Steel Authority of India)

The Tata Group is almost 100 years old. It currently comprises 96 operating companies, which

together employed some 357,000 people worldwide and had revenues of US$ 72.5 billion (Feb

2009) billion in 2008-09. Tata is active in seven major business lines: information systems and

communications, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. Its

28 publicly listed companies have a combined market capitalization of US$47.6 billion that is

the second highest among Indian business houses in the private sector, and a shareholder base of

over 2 million.

Tata Steel has manufacturing operations in 26 countries, including Australia, China, India, the

Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom, and employs around 80,500 people.

Its largest plant is located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. In 2007 Tata Steel acquired the UK-based

steel maker Corus which was the largest international acquisition by an Indian company till that

date.

It was ranked 486th in the 2014 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world's biggest corporations.

It was the seventh most valuable Indian brand of 2013 as per Brand Finance.

On 12 February 2012 Tata Steel completed 100 years of steel making in India.

The Tata Steel Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation”

and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and

overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration

targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency.

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In 2008, Tata Steel India became the first integrated steel plant in the world, outside Japan, to be

awarded the Deming Application Prize 2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management. In

2012, Tata Steel became the first integrated steel company in the world, outside Japan, to win the

Deming Grand Prize 2012 instituted by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers.

Tata Steel Thailand is the largest producer of long steel products in Thailand, with a

manufacturing capacity of 1.7 MTPA. Tata Steel has proposed a 0.5 MTPA mini blast furnace

project in Thailand. NatSteel Holdings produces about 2 MTPA of steel products across its

regional operations in seven countries.

Tata Steel, through its joint venture with Tata BlueScope Steel Limited, has also entered the steel

building and construction applications market.

The iron ore mines and collieries in India give the Company a distinct advantage in raw material

sourcing. Tata Steel is also striving towards raw materials security through joint ventures in

Thailand, Australia, Mozambique, Ivory Coast (West Africa) and Oman. Tata Steel has signed

an agreement with Steel Authority of India Limited to establish a 50:50 joint venture company

for coal mining in India. Also, Tata Steel has bought 19.9% stake in New Millennium Capital

Corporation, Canada for iron ore mining.

Exploration of opportunities in titanium dioxide business in Tamil Nadu, ferro-chrome plant in

South Africa and setting up of a deep-sea port in coastal Orissa are integral to the Growth and

Globalisation objective of Tata Steel.

Tata Steel India is the first integrated steel company in the world, outside Japan, to be awarded

the Deming Application Prize 2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management.

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HISTORY

Tata Iron and Steel Company was established by Dorabji Tata on 25 August 1907, as part of his

father Jamsetji's Tata Group. By 1939 it operated the largest steel plant in the British Empire.

The company launched a major modernization and expansion program in 1951. Later in 1958,

the program was upgraded to 2 Million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) project. By 1970, the

company employed around 40,000 people at Jamshedpur, with a further 20,000 in the

neighbouring coal mines. In 1971 and 1979, there were unsuccessful attempts to nationalise the

company. In 1990, it started expansion plan and established its subsidiary Tata Inc. in New York.

The company changed its name from TISCO to Tata Steel in 2005.

It was the vision of the founder; Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, that on February 27, 1908, the first

stake was driven into the soil of Sakchi. His vision helped Tata Steel overcome several periods

of adversity and strive to improve against all odds.

The company was originally constructed for a capacity of 160,000 tonnes of pig iron, 100,000

tones of ingot steel, 70,000 tones of rails, beams and shapes, and 20,000 tonnes of bars, hoops

and rods. The plant essentially consisted of a battery of 180 non-recovery coke ovens and 30 by-

product ovens with a sulphuric acid plant, two blast furnaces (each of 350 tonnes per day

capacity), one 300 tonnes hot metal mixer, four open hearth furnaces of 50 tonnes capacity each,

one steam engine driven 40-inch reversing blooming mill, one 28-inch reversing combination

rail and structural mill with re-heating furnaces, and one 16- inch and two 10-inch rolling mills.

Besides, the steel works had a power house, auxiliary facilities and a well-equipped laboratory.

The cost of the plant as erected came to around Rs.23 million.

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MISSION

Consistent with the vision and values of the founder Jamsetji Tata, Tata Steel strives to

strengthen India’s industrial base through the effective utilization of staff and materials. The

means envisaged to achieve this are high technology and productivity, consistent with modern

management practices.

Tata Steel recognizes that while honesty and integrity are the essential ingredients of a strong

and stable enterprise, profitability provides the main spark for economic activity.

Overall, the Company seeks to scale the heights of excellence in all that it does in an atmosphere

free from fear, and thereby reaffirms its faith in democratic values.

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VISION

Diversity enriches any large organisation and enhances its collective capabilities. A clear, shared

vision is a key requisite for successful diversity management

“Our vision is to be the global steel industry benchmark for value creation and corporate

citizenship.”

We will achieve our vision through:

Our People

By fostering teamwork, nurturing talent, enhancing leadership capability and acting with

pace, pride and passion.

Our Offer

By becoming the supplier of choice, delivering premium products and services and

creating value for our customers.

Our Innovative Approach

By developing leading edge solutions in technology, processes and products.

Our Conduct

By providing a safe workplace, respecting the environment, caring for our communities

and demonstrating high ethical standards.

Business Ethics

"We do not claim to be more unselfish, more generous or more philanthropic than

others, but we think, we started on sound and straightforward business principles

considering the interest of the shareholders, our own health and welfare of our

employees... the sure foundation of our prosperity" – J.N. Tata

QUALITY VISION 2016

We aspire to be the most trusted and preferred domestic supplier of value added steel with world

class quality of products and services.

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THE TATA CODE OF CONDUCT

The values and principles, which have Governed Tata Steel’s business for a century, have been

deployed through the implementation of the Tata Code of Conduct ( TCOC), often referred to as

the 'Code' ), which was first formally articulated in 1998. This was intended to serve as a guide

to each employee on the values, ethics and business principles expected of him or her in personal

and professional conduct.

The TCOC is a testament to Tata Steel’s determination to help its employees in every way to

understand their duties and commitments towards shared values and principles. The

comprehensive document serves as the ethical roadmap for Tata employees and Group

companies.

In the context of Tata Steel’s increasing global presence the Tata Code of Conduct has been

reviewed to accommodate required and appropriate modifications. This has ensured that diverse

cultural and business related issues are addressed universally across the Group. The Tata Code of

Conduct was launched in Tata Steel (Thailand), Tata Steel Singapore in July 2007 and in Tata

Steel Europe in January 2009.

The month of July is celebrated as ‘Ethics Month’ in Tata Steel every year, with numerous

programmes and activities across locations.

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TATA STEEL VALUES

The values of Tata Steel have been embedded integrally into the Group's century old tradition

and continue to be a pointer to the way the Company conducts all its business activities.

The Tata Group has always been driven by five core values:

Integrity: We must conduct our business fairly, with honesty and transparency.

Everything we do must stand the test of public scrutiny.

Understanding: We must be caring, show respect, compassion and humanity for our

colleagues and customers around the world, and always work for the benefit of the

communities we serve.

Excellence: We must constantly strive to achieve the highest possible standards in our

day-to-day work and in the quality of the goods and services we provide.

Unity: We must work cohesively with our colleagues across the group and with our

customers and partners around the world, building strong relationships based on

tolerance, understanding and mutual cooperation.

Responsibility: We must be responsible and responsive to the countries, communities

and environments in which we work, always ensuring that what comes from the people

goes back to the people many times over.

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TATA STEEL TODAY

As a result of innovations and technological upgradation, Tata Steel, has become a well-run ultra

modern plant - one of the best in the world. Fundamental changes in some metallurgical

parameters have brought about this remarkable transformation. Necessity became the mother of

invention and numerous innovations invoked improvement. The metallurgical changes

introduced were essentially centered around:

Reducing alumina level in sinter from 4.4 to 2.5 %.

Improving in coke quality

Making changes in the fluxes used in sinter making essentially to decrease the alkali

input.

Adopting the optimum LD vessel configuration and blowing conditions to accommodate

the high slag volume required to deal with high silicon and phosphorus in Indian hot

metal.

Increasing the yield during LD steelmaking

Introducing continuous casting (CC) instead of ingot casting to increase the net yield.

All these factors have made Tata Steel internationally cost competitive. In terms of hot metal

costs, Tata Steel is amongst the lowest in the world and has a clear advantage over other major

integrated producers. The cost of conversion from hot metal to a finished product such as hot

rolled coils where Tata Steel has not been very competitive so far would be taken care of in the

near future as investments already made to achieve the results foreseen. High ash in coke, poor

room temperature and high temperature strengths of coke, high alumina in the iron oxide feed,

high silicon in hot metal, low yields during steelmaking, low yield of finished products, high

energy consumption, high manpower, etc. have been the weaknesses not only of Tata Steel but of

the Indian Steel industry as a whole.

Appropriate steps taken by the Company have already resulted in better yield lower energy

consumption, lower silicon in hot metal, lower silicon in hot metal, lower lime consumption in

steelmaking, higher vessel life, etc., all of which augur well for the Steel Company in future.

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BUSINESS DIVISIONS OF THE COMPANY

Bearings Division :

Manufactures ball bearings, double row self-aligning bearings, magneto bearings, clutch

release bearings and tapered roller bearings for two wheelers, fans, water pumps, etc.

Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division :

Operates chrome mines and has units for making ferro chrome and ferro manganese. It is

one of the largest players in the global ferro chrome market.

Agrico Division :

Tata Agrico is the first organized manufacturer in India of hand tools and implements for

application in agriculture.

Tata Growth Shop (TGS) :

Has designed, developed, manufactured, erected and commissioned thousands of tonnes

of equipment ranging from overhead cranes to high precision components, including a

rocket launch pad for the Indian Space and Research Organization.

Tubes Division :

The biggest steel tube manufacturer with the largest market share in India, it aspires to

strengthen its market presence by expanding and modernizing its commercial and

precision tube manufacturing capacity.

Wire Division :

A pioneer in the manufacture of steel wires in India, it produces coated and uncoated

wires, branded as Tata Wiron. The division also operates a wholly owned subsidiary in

Sri Lanka.

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OPERATIONS

Indian Operations

Tata Steel founded India’s first industrial city, now Jamshedpur, where it established India’s first

integrated steel plant in 1907. The Jamshedpur Works currently comprises of a 9.7 mtpa crude

steel production facility and a variety of finishing mills.

Two new Greenfield steel projects are planned in the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Kalinganagar project is underway; it is set to augment production capacity by 3 MnTPA in the

first phase.

Mines and collieries in India give the Company a distinct advantage in raw material sourcing.

Iron Ore mines are located at Noamundi (Jharkhand) and Joda (Odisha) both located within a

distance of 150 km from Jamshedpur. The Company’s captive coal mines are located at Jharia

and West Bokaro (Jharkhand).

European Operations

Tata Steel Europe (erstwhile Corus) has a crude steel production capacity of 18 mtpa. Tata Steel

Europe has manufacturing operations in Western Europe, plants in UK, Netherlands, Germany,

France and Belgium, backed by a sophisticated global network of sales offices and service

centres.

South East Asian Operations

Tata Steel started its operations in SEA in 2004 with investments in NatSteel Singapore (Tata

Steel Singapore) and Millennium Steel (Tata Steel Thailand).

With over 40 years of Steel making experience, Tata Steel Singapore is one of the most

prominent steel producers in the Asia Pacific region. It caters to the growing construction

industry through its manufacturing presence in Singapore, Thailand, China, Malaysia, The

Philippines and Australia.

Tata Steel Thailand is the largest producer of long steel products in Thailand.

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STATEGIES ADOPTED BY TATA STEEL

CORPORATE LEVEL STRATEGIES

ACQUISITIONS

NatSteel in 2004:

In August 2004, Tata Steel agreed to acquire the steel making operations of the Singapore

based NatSteel for $486.4 million in cash. NatSteel had ended 2003 with turnover of $1.4

billion and a profit before tax of $47 million. The steel businesses of NatSteel would be

run by the company through a wholly owned subsidiary called NatSteel Asia Pte Ltd. The

acquisition was completed in February 2005. At the time of acquisition, NatSteel had a

capacity of about 2 million tonnes per annum of finished steel.

Millennium Steel in 2005:

Tata Steel acquired a majority stake in the Thailand-based steelmaker Millennium Steel

for a total cost of $130 million. It paid US$73 million to Siam Cement for a 40% stake

and offered to pay 1.13 baht per share for another 25% of the shares of other

shareholders. For the year 2004, Millennium Steel had revenues of US$406 million and a

profit after tax of US$29 million. At the time of acquisition, Millennium Steel was the

largest steel company in Thailand with a capacity of 1.7 million metric tonnes per annum,

producing long products for construction and engineering steel for auto industries.

Millennium Steel has now been renamed to Tata Steel Thailand and is headquartered in

Bangkok. On March 31, 2013, it held approx. 68% shares in the acquired company.

Corus in 2007:

On 20 October 2006, Tata Steel signed a deal with Anglo-Dutch company, Corus to buy

100% stake at £4.3bn ($8.1 billion) at 455 pence per share. On 19 November 2006, the

Brazilian steel company Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) launched a counter

offer for Corus at 475 pence per share, valuing it at £4.5 billion. On 11 December 2006,

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Tata preemptively upped its offer to 500 pence per share, which was within hours

trumped by CSN's offer of 515 pence per share, valuing the deal at £4.9 billion.

The Corus board promptly recommended both the revised offers to its shareholders.

On 31 January 2007, Tata Steel won their bid for Corus after offering 608 pence

per share, valuing Corus at £6.7 billion ($12 billion). In 2005, Corus employed around

47,300 people worldwide, including 24,000 in the UK. At the time of acquisition, Corus

was four times larger than Tata Steel, in terms of annual steel production. Corus was the

world's 9th largest producer of Steel, whereas Tata Steel was at 56th position. The

acquisition made Tata Steel world's 5th largest producer of Steel.

2 Rolling mill companies in Vietnam in 2007:

Tata Steel through its wholly owned Singapore subsidiary, NatSteel Asia Pte Ltd,

acquired controlling stake in two rolling mill companies located in Vietnam: Structure

Steel Engineering Pte Ltd (100% stake) and Vinausteel Ltd (70% stake). The enterprise

value for the acquisition was $41 million. With this acquisition, Tata Steel got hold of

two rolling mills, a 250k tonnes per year bar/wire rod mill operated by SSE Steel Ltd and

a 180k tonnes per year reinforcing bar mill operated by Vinausteel Ltd.

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JOINT VENTURES AND ASSOCIATES:

Tinplate Company of India Limited (TCIL)

Tayo Rolls Limited

Tata Ryerson Limited (TRYL)

Tata Refractories Limited (TRL)

Tata Sponge Iron Limited (TSIL)

Tata Metaliks

Tata Pigments Limited

Jamshedpur Injection Powder Limited (Jamipol)

TM International Logistics Limited (TMILL)

TRF Limited

Jamshedpur Utility and Service Company Limited (JUSCO)

The Indian Steel and Wire Products Limited (ISWP)

Tata BlueScope Steel Limited

Dhamra Port Company, Orissa

Hooghly Met Coke & Power Company

Lanka Special Steel Limited

Sila Eastern Company Limited

NatSteel Holdings (NSH)

Tata Steel Thailand

Tata Steel KZN- South Africa

Tata NYK : A joint venture with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha

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TURNAROUND STRATEGY

The Turnaround Plan at Tata Steel Thailand

During the Financial Year 2011-12, Tata Steel Thailand (TSTH) launched the

'Turnaround plan' in Thailand, which included most of the Company's improvement

projects. These improvement projects covered the areas of product portfolio optimisation,

new product development, operations cost reduction and procurement cost savings. Here

are some of the projects in detail:

• Product portfolio optimisation: A production planning model was implemented to

improve the total contribution by adjusting the product mix to suit the productivity and

contribution per tonne across the three plant sites.

• New product development: This specifically focused on introducing special bar

quality products in the Thailand market and attained consistent sales of 2500 tpm in the

very first year. It also covered the development of high-end wire rods hitherto not made

at TSTH and imported in Thailand.

• Operations cost: This covered the conversion cost elements directed at addressing the

overall KPI of lowest billet cost.

• Procurement area: A project was launched to improve the reliability in domestic scrap

collection and optimisation of blending in various grades to help in reducing the total

billet cost. In addition, the 'Group buy' concept in high spend product categories like

bearings, electrodes has been initiated.

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FUNCTIONAL STRATEGIES

MARKETING STRATEGY

4 P’S OF MARKETING

1. PRODUCT:

The Company’s products consist of TSL products, produced by the Company’s Indian

operations and its NatSteel and Tata Steel Thailand operations, and Corus products, and

produced in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands. TSL’s products can be divided

into three main categories:

1. Finished and semi-finished steel products;

2. Ferro alloys products; and

3. Other products and services, including tube products, bearing products, refractory

products, pigments, municipal services and investment activities.

Corus has four main product segments:

(1) Strip products;

(2) Long products;

(3) Distribution and building systems; and

(4) Aluminum.

TSL PRODUCTS:

Finished and Semi-finished Steel Segment Products

TSL’s finished steel products are produced at its Indian facilities, as well as in various

Asia Pacific countries by NatSteel and in Thailand by Tata Steel Thailand. TSL’s

finished steel products can be principally divided into flat products and long products,

including wires. In addition, TSL also produces relatively smaller quantities of semi-

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finished steel, rings, agricultural tools, and steel equipment. The following table lists the

various finished and semi-finished products TSL produces, as well as the principal uses

for these products and their principal markets:

Products Types Principal end usage Principal market

Flat Hot Rolled Various equipment, machinery, boilers, pressure vessels, and civil projects

Flat products produced by Tata Steel Indian operations are sold principally to the

Indian automotive, appliances, construction,

general engineering, packaging, and, furniture industries.

Cold Rolled Exposed steel applications

that require high surface quality.

Galvanized Sheets Automotive underbodies,

appliances, metal buildings and storage tanks.

Long Products Wire Rods Conversion into wire Long products produced by Tata Steel operations are sold

principally to the Indian construction and automotive

industries while Tata Steel Thailand’s long products are used in the Thai construction

industry NatSteel’s long products are also principally

sold to the construction industries in the various Asia Pacific countries where

NatSteel has operations.

Rebars Structural support in construction

Wires Coated and Uncoated Wires

Motor type bead, low relaxation pre-stressed

concrete, pre-stressed concrete, cable armor, conductors and galvanized

iron wires.

Indian construction and automotive industries.

Others Semi-finished Steel

Billets, slabs and blooms that can be made into flat or long

products

Indian steel industry

Rings Forged and rolled rings for bearings and automotive

components

Indian automotive industry

Agricultural tools Hand tools and other agricultural implements

Indian agricultural industry

Steel Equipments Overhead cranes and high

precision components

Indian construction industry

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Ferro Alloys Segment Products

TSL’s ferro alloys segment produces chrome ore, pyroxenite and manganese ore as well

as ferrochrome and ferro manganese. Ferro chrome and ferro manganese are used by the

steel industry to create stainless steel products. TSL is the leading manufacturer of ferro

chrome in India and the leading manufacturer of chrome ore internationally.

CORUS PRODUCTS

Corus has four main product segments:

(1) Strip products;

(2) Long products;

(3) Distribution and building system products; and

(4) Aluminum

Strip Products

Uncoated strip products comprise hot rolled, cold reduced and electrical steels, which are

sold both in coil form and, cut to length, in sheet form. Corus is one of the market leaders

in the manufacture of coated strip products.

Long Products

Long products comprise sections and plates, and rods. Engineering steels also form part

of the long products division and are produced by the electric arc method as opposed to

the basic oxygen steelmaking method in the United Kingdom at Rotterdam.

2. PRICING STRATEGY:

A pricing strategy must be conceived in relation to overall business objectives and

marketing strategy. The success of any business depends upon a blend of long run profit,

growth and survival objectives. Price, because of its influence on unit sales volume and

profit margins, affects long run profit objectives. And maintaining profitability through

sound pricing practices is necessary to ensure the firm’s survival over time. The pricing

strategy adopted by Tata Steel is the Market Penetration Strategy. This strategy is based on

the assumption that demands for the product is highly elastic. By setting relatively low

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price Tata Steel has managed to obtain large market share. The advantage of this kind of

pricing is that it discourages competition since there is less opportunity to reap unusual

benefits on investment. Since Tata Steel is in control of large iron ore deposits it has

increased its capacity manifold and so enjoys economies of scale. It has thus maintained

prices of its products lower than of its competitors and has increased the scale and

efficiency of operations, since it has lower production costs.

3. PLACE:

Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. But in industrial

marketing place is often referred to as the distribution channel.

Distribution channels at Tata Steel:

Tata Steel Limited delivers steel products to Indian customers through:

1) Direct supply channels,

2) 21 stockyards,

3) 25 consignment agents,

4) 15 external processing agents

TATA Steel main distribution channel is selling branded steel through Mjunction. It

provides cutting edge of Information Technology, is a 50:50 venture of SAIL and Tata

Steel. It is India's largest e-Commerce company and the world's largest e-Marketplace for

steel. Mjunction offers a wide range of selling, sourcing and knowledge services that

empower businesses with greater process efficiencies. Tata Steel initiated the first online

e-Sale through Mjunction in the month of February 2002 and since then has sold 221,259

MT. The products that Tata Steel has sold through MJunction are: HSM Defectives,

HSM POR, GP Coils, LP Defectives, Prime Billets and Secondary Products. The results

have been extremely encouraging for Tata Steel, with products being sold to customers

all over the country. The prices obtained by Mjunction have been reflective of the market

situation. The entire cycle time of selling materials has been reduced by the speed and

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efficiency with which on-line competitive bidding events has been created and managed

by Mjunction. Through intensive market-making efforts and the use of technology, it is

bringing in both, greater efficiencies to processes and greater focus to the sale of non-

core products of Tata Steel.

Full Service on a business process outsourcing(BPO) mode Mjunction.com takes end-to-

end responsibility of selling client's low 'value' and/or standard products. It undertakes

market research and market-making activities to generate buyer leads. It also creates

suitable market lots to ensure maximum participation from buyers. Some of the other

services provided by Mjunction are conducting auction event fulfillment services,

undertaking collection of payments, like earnest money deposit and principal, ensuring

fast and secure handling of money. It has tied up with Citibank and HDFC Bank for

collecting sales tax documents and managing customer complaints.

4. PROMOTION:

In B2B marketing advertising, promotions and publicity plays an important role in the

communication strategies. Hence, to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the

promotional strategies utmost care must be taken by the companies.B2B promotion is

used to create awareness of the company, to increase the sales of the product and to

increase the overall effectiveness of the selling efforts. The promotional

programme begins with carefully developed advertising objectives that must be

formulated from corporate and marketing objectives in such a manner as to set the

direction for creating, co-coordinating, and evaluating entire promotional programme.

Promotional activities undertaken by TATA Steel:

Branding Steel Based on Customer Focus

As one of India’s most successful companies, Tata Steel represents a great example of a

strongly branded B2B company. In 2001and 2005, Tata Steel was ranked the world’s best

steel company in studies carried out by World Steel Dynamics Inc., USA (WSD), a

leading steel information service provider.

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Branding Steel

The profitability of the steel industry in India is generally linked to business cycles,

reaping profits when economy is going well and eroding them when it is in depression. In

the late 1990s, the Indian steel industry was experiencing a glut in the market which

strongly affected the profit margin of all related companies. To reduce its dependence on

the external environment and business cycles, Tata Steel adopted a strategy which

stressed the following two points:

1) Branding its products

2) Moving to high value added products.

The company soon realized that a strong customer focus is essential if any branding

approach was to be successful. It soon began to introduce Internal Campaigns in order to

bring the customer-centric message to its employees. In the late 1990s, the company

launched several Internal Marketing Programs to emphasize customer focus and service. The

programs had taglines such as: ‘Customer first ± har haal mein´ (Customer comes first in

any case), ‘Customer first ± har haal mein, her saal (customer comes first in every case,

every year), ‘Customer ki kasam ± hain taiyaar hum´ (We pledge to the customer that we

are ready for him).

To achieve this Tata Steel set up a branding task force in January 2000 to explore

the possibilities of branding Tata Steel products.

Only three months later, the task force evolved into a brand management department.

Within this department they created the distinct sub functions market development order

generation and order fulfillment which were computerized, enabling Tata Steel to reduce

its customer response time significantly. The company also initiated the concept

of customer account managers who were authorized and empowered to solve specific

customer grievances immediately. The company furthermore sought to increase customer

interaction in order to better understand customer needs and to explore new and improved

ways to meet these needs and expectations. Tata’s second area of key focus was to shift

into the domain of high value added products. In April 2000, Tata Steel launched its first

branded product, along with the commissioning of its CRM plant.

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Tata Shaktee is their brand for galvanized corrugated sheets. Eight months later the

company introduced its second brand, Tata Tiscon (re-bars) for rods used in the

construction industry. In February 2003, Tata Steel launched another product brand Tata

Steelium. By September 2003, Tata Steel had three products as well as three generic

brands in its brand portfolio.

The leader of the company had decided that branding the commodity steel would provide

them a unique selling proposition in a great way. Branding Steel would help Tata Steel in

two big ways:

1) It would help stabilize the flow of revenues even during business downturns.

2) It would make premium pricing possible.

The communication tools used for the brand launches were primarily Print ads Outdoor

advertising. Yet, they also created TV commercials that portrayed signs of happy

customers and employees reveling in the concern the company had for them. ³We also

make Steel was the punch line that signaled the triumphant finale of that TV ad. Because

of these initiatives undertaken by Tata steel had put them well ahead of their competitors

in promotional activities.

Because the corporate brand Tata was already associated with various products and

attributes the company decided not to put the main focus on it but to create sub brands

with separate identities, supported by the corporate brand as co-driver. They had learned

from the European competition that specialty product offerings and strong brand

associations had guarded the market against the low cost importers from the Far East.

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HR STRATEGY

Human resource policies of Tata Steel:

Manpower Planning

Manpower planning enables HR department to project its short to long term needs on the

basis of its departmental plans so that it can adjust its manpower requirements to meet

changing priorities. The more changing the environment the department is in, the more

the department needs manpower planning to show:

The number of recruits required in a specified timeframe and the availability of talent

Early indications of potential recruitment or retention difficulties

Surpluses or deficiencies in certain ranks or grades

Availability of suitable qualified and experienced successors

Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisal assesses an individual's performance against previously agreed

work objectives. Performance appraisal is normally carried out once a year. They assess

key result areas of their employees, workers and supervisors. Since it is a joint

responsibility of the individual and the supervisor; every individual in TISCO are co

prime to each other. It also enables management to compare performance and potential

between employees and subordinates of the same rank. Rating of employees is done by

their performances. It is given as per ranks very good, average, and average to medium

and below average. On the basis of these rankings highest reward of the year is given to

best suitable worker. The better performing employee gets the majority of available merit

pay increases, bonuses, and promotions.

Training and Development

The Technical Education Advisory Committee guides employee development and

training in line with strategic goals of the company and long-term objectives. The

in-house training centres impart majority of the training programmes. (Technical

Institute & Management Development Centre).

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Employees are also deputed to other organizations and training centres in the country

such as ITI and abroad for specialized training.

Officers are trained into business managers through special general management

programmes such as at CEDEP (Centre for the Development of People), France.

They are trained to know the changes in environment, market, and in steel prices.

They also get training of problem solving techniques, conflict management, etc.

Compensation Planning

It depends on financial capabilities.

Yearly increments are given.

Compensation for inflation is common for all employees. (flat rates)

It is decided by union and management where various demands are negotiated.

It is paid as per other industries.

Individual performance bonus is also given.

Development of Employees

At Tata Steel, there is a continuous effort of staying in touch with employees to ensure

that there is the right culture to engage them in consistent performance improvement.

There are well-established and effective arrangements at each business location for

transparent communication and consultation with Works Councils and Trade Union

representatives. Further, the Company has always registered steady quality improvement

and productivity enhancement through dedicated efforts of the Company Performance

Improvement teams, focused on technical best practice transfer and the value of

knowledge networks.

Towards the well-being of employees Tata Steel has put into practice many initiatives,

events and programmes that have helped to create not only an enduring loyalty amongst

employees but also enabled them to have a more fulfilled life.

Special Benefits Provided To Employees

Medical facilities: Free medical facilities for employees and their family, which

continues even after retirement.

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Housing facilities: Subsidised electricity, water and housing facilities to all employees.

Higher studies: Monetary incentives to employees acquiring higher qualifications in a

related field along with study leave, scholarships etc. when necessary.

Holiday Homes: Tata Steel has five holiday homes for benefit of employees during

vacation.

Tata Steel Officer's Beach Club: All officers of Tata Steel are eligible to be members

of the Beach Club that offers holidays in elite hospitality chains.

Family Benefit Scheme: In the tragic case of a fatality in the Works, a monthly

pension equal to the amount of the last drawn salary of the deceased is given to the

legal heir until the time the deceased would have attained the age of 60.

Developing People

Valuing its people as a great asset, Tata Steel is committed to their development, both in

order to benefit the individual and to benefit the Company through increased knowledge

and skills. In order to leverage maximum potential of human resource to achieve business

objectives the Company recognises that enrichment of people will help retain a motivated

workforce in a competitive environment.

Skills Development - Non-officers

Skills training is a process that begins at the time of an employee joining the company

and continues throughout his or her career. Employees work in clusters of multi-skilled

workers and move across and within clusters on improving their skills levels. The

Technical Training Institute imparts vocational and basic skills training; the departments

impart on-the- job training. In order to promote self-directed learning, the Company has

introduced e-learning whereby employees can access electronic courses from their

departmental e-Learning centres.

Skills Development - Officers

Tata Steel Management Development Centre conducts a number of managerial and

functional competency based programmes for officers and supervisors. The objectives of

these programmes are:

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To build individual capability by enhancing managerial and functional competencies

which are critical to operations, service and support functions.

To build a leadership pipeline in the organisation to prepare the people to meet the

challenges of growth, globalisation and change.

Equal opportunity practices

Tata Steel is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of

race, caste, religion, colour, ancestry, marital status, sex, age or nationality. The

Company’s Affirmative Action Policy promotes equal access to its employment and

opportunities and all decisions are merit based. Respect for equal opportunities as set out

in the Tata Code of Conduct is followed. The HR Policy and Affirmative Action Policy

are monitored by the Ethics Counsellor and supported by an effective grievance redressal

mechanism.

Tata Steel encourages female employees to advance their career with initiatives dedicated

towards personal development and professional advancement. The Women

Empowerment Cell examines and addresses the issues and concerns of female employees

and ensures that they do not miss out on any growth opportunity

Freedom of association and collective bargaining

Tata Steel respects the employees right to exercise freedom of association and collective

bargaining and provides appropriate support for this. There is an established system of

joint working and collective bargaining, which ensures that every employee is able to

exercise this right without any fear. Pioneering the concept in India, a system of Joint

Consultation has been in place in Tata Steel for more than 50 years.

Safety

Tata Steel is committed to ensuring zero harm to its employees, contractors and the

communities in which it operates. This is integral to our business process and is laid

down in our health and safety policies, standards and working procedures.

Ensuring safety in all its operations has always been a strategic priority for Tata Steel.

The Group has adopted the outstanding safety programme of M/s. DuPont Safety

resources for establishing safety culture by inculcating safe behaviour among its

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employees. Every activity in Tata Steel is carried out not only with a cost efficient,

quality conscious purpose but also with the highlight always on safe practice. The

Group's Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate for Financial Year 2013-2014 was 0.56, an

improvement of 7% over the previous year. Workplace fatality is addressed separately

through the Fatality Risk Control Protocol, which aims at eliminating potential fatality

hazards.

Given the nature of steel-manufacturing operations, Tata Steel has launched the Safety

Excellence Journey, to which new aspects of safety are added every year, and the

Wellness@ Workplace programme. These are designed to provide an injury-free working

environment for a healthy and happy workforce. The Safety Excellence Journey has also

been extended at Group companies in India. In its endeavor to address the issue of

community safety, Tata Steel India is working with external consultants to drive

systematic domestic safety management and safety education initiatives for school and

college students in Jamshedpur and at the different mines and collieries.

In Tata Steel Europe health and safety improvements are embedded in the business

strategic plan (OGSM) and these were delivered well in the Financial Year 2012-13

enabling 18% reduction in Lost Time Injuries. Two enabling strategies were launched to

move to a mature safety culture - Health & Safety Excellence for senior leaders and

positive safety conversation training and implementation for all employees.

Operations in South East Asia at Tata Steel (Thailand) and NatSteel are strengthening

their safety practices particularly in the areas of positive isolation, stock yard

management and employees involvement through train the trainers programme. These are

carried out through theme based onsite visits, reviews, recommendations and trainings.

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SWOT ANALYSIS OF TATA STEEL

A SWOT analysis is important for Tata Steel to evaluate its current position and formulate

strategies to tackle its competitors.

Strengths of Tata Steel

Tata Steel is the pioneer of steel business in India and thus enjoys brand equity. Tata Steel has a

multiple companies under the same banner, which gives it an advantage of value-chain

efficiency, whereby the company can utilize products made in its sister companies to process raw

materials and increase efficiency.

Weaknesses of Tata Steel

The biggest weakness of Tata Steel is its increasing debt-to-equity ratio. Most of its assets are

financed by debt, which can be dangerous in the long-run. Tata Steel largely depends on

domestic and a few international markets for generating business. This over-dependence can

prove to be fatal in times of economic crisis.

Opportunities for Tata Steel

Tata Steel is branching out to overseas market. The company has recently signed a deal with

Corus group, which provides access to European markets. Tata Steel will now be in a position to

utilize the R&D facility and the patents owned by the Corus group. Exposure to new

technologies and markets is a big advantage for the company.

Threats to Tata Steel

In the current scenario, the biggest threat for Tata Steel is to maintain the Co2 emission standards

when it starts its operations in Europe. The sudden overseas exposure along with a possible

economic slowdown is the biggest challenge faced by Tata Steel in the present circumstances.

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COMPETITORS

The steel industry is truly global in terms of competition with large producing countries like

China significantly influencing global prices through aggressive exports.

Steel, being a commodity it is, branding is not common and there is little differentiation between

competing products.

The 4 major domestic rivals are SAIL, JSW, ISPAT & ESSAR STEEL. Rest are all small mills

which together accounts for 30 % of the total market share.

All the major domestic competitors like SAIL, ESSAR, JSW, JSPL have announced massive

expansion plans recently:

SAIL has announced that it will achieve production capacity of 40 Million Tons by 2020.

JSW plans to expand its production to 32 Million Tons by 2020

Other players such as JSPL, ESSAR have similar production expansion plans which will

contribute in overall achievement of 200 Million Tons steel production by the year 2020.

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FUTURE STRATEGIES

Tata, Nippon to jointly set up steel plant at Jamshedpur

Tata Steel Limited, India's leading steel manufacturer, in alliance with the Japanese steel firm

Nippon Steel Corp are planning to set up a Rs 15,000 crore facility at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand

with an initial production capacity of three million tonnes a year. It is understood that Tata Steel

will have 51 percent stake in the joint venture and the Japanese firm would share its technology

for producing high grade cold rolled steel sheet for automotive application such as skin panels

and high tensile steels. According to a Tata Steel senior official that the two firms have not yet

decided on the modalities of how they are going to take things forward and added: "Any further

co operation between the two firms may be part of an ongoing conversation in the future but no

decision has been taken in that regard." The two firms are already in pact to jointly produce auto

grade steel at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, agency report quoting Nikkei Business Daily says that Nippon Steel Corp and

India's Tata Steel Ltd are in talks to set up a blast furnace facility in India through a joint venture.

What is more, the proposed furnace, to be set up with an estimated investment of 200-300 billion

yen and with a production capacity of three million tones per annum, is likely to start production

in 2013, the paper said without citing any sources. Nippon steel is eyeing the venture to increase

its production in the country and other emerging markets and to offset the negative impact of a

strong yen as the company seeks to tap overseas demand. The joint venture could follow up with

a second furnace if demand increases. Similarly, Tata steel also expects to boost its production of

high-end steel material used in automotive industry through the joint venture. The Indo-Japanese

steel giants have already agreed to produce automotive cold-rolled steel sheet, with Tata Steel

taking a 51 percent stake and Nippon Steel obtaining 49 percent. The venture is aiming at setting

up a facility by the end of fiscal 2012 that will be capable of producing 600,000 tonnes a year at

a Tata Steel factory in Jamshedpur.

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Expansion plans

Tata Steel has set a target of achieving an annual production capacity of 100 million tons by

2015; it is planning for capacity expansion to be balanced roughly 50:50 between Greenfield

developments and acquisitions. Overseas acquisitions have already added an additional 21.4

million tonnes of capacity, including Corus (18.2 million tonnes), NatSteel (2 million tonnes)

and Millennium Steel (1.2 million tonnes). Tata plans to add another 29 million tonnes of

capacity through acquisitions.

Major Greenfield steel plant expansion projects planned by Tata Steel include:

a 6 million tonne per annum capacity plant in Kalinganagar, Odisha, India;

an expansion of the capacity of its plant in Jharkhand, India from 6.8 to 10 million tonnes

per annum;

a 5 million tonne per annum capacity plant in Chhattisgarh, India (Tata Steel signed a

memorandum of understanding with the Chhattisgarh government in 2005; the plant is

facing strong protest from tribal people);

a 3 million tonne per annum capacity plant in Iran;

a 2.4 million tonne per annum capacity plant in Bangladesh;

a 10.5 million tonne per annum capacity plant in Vietnam (feasibility studies are

underway); and

A 6 million tonne per annum capacity plant in Haveri, Karnataka.

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ACHIEVEMENTS/ RECOGNITION:

Tata Steel awarded the prestigious BML Munjal Award- Jamshedpur, Friday, April 11,

2014

Tata Steel bags National Safety Awards for two mines- Jamshedpur, Wednesday,

November 21, 2012

Tata Steel bags Prime Minister’s Trophy for best performing Integrated Steel Plant- New

Delhi, Monday, August 27, 2012

Tata Steel tops list of India's 50 most admired companies- Jamshedpur, Sunday, April 22,

2012

B Muthuraman conferred Padma Bhushan by President Pratibha Patil- Jamshedpur,

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Tata Steel among World's Most Ethical Companies- Jamshedpur, Saturday, March 17,

2012

Tata Steel acknowledged as the most admired Indian company- Jamshedpur, Tuesday,

March 13, 2012

Mr B Muthuraman conferred with Padma Bhushan Award- Mumbai, Wednesday,

January 25, 2012

Tata Steel Bags Prime Minister’s Trophy- Jamshedpur, Friday, January 20, 2012

Tata Steel stall bags first prize in 'Heavy Industry' category at Udyog Mela-2011, Ranchi

Ranchi, March 17, 2011

Tata Steel has won `The Business world Most Respected Company Award 2011’ in the

Metals category.

World Steel Dynamics has ranked Tata Steel as the world's best steel maker (for two

consecutive years) in its annual listing in February 2006.

Tata Steel has been conferred the Prime Minister of India's Trophy for the Best Integrated

Steel Plant five times. It has been awarded Asia's Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise

award five times in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Corporate Sustainability Report of Tata Steel hailed by United Nation's Environment

Programme (UNEP) and Standard and poor as strongest, submitted by any corporate

house from emerging economies.

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CONCLUSION

After going through the development of this project and application of various strategic concepts

on TATA Steel, we found that TATA Steel being the fifth largest producer of steel in World and

may grow and spread its geographical footprint, embracing different cultures; it will not lose

sight of its great heritage of social and community responsibility. Driven as much by its

commitment to society as by its performance and profits, the Tata Steel Vision aspires to make

the Group the global industry benchmark for both Value Creation and Corporate Citizenship.

The key drivers of the Group Vision will manifest themselves in the goals and objectives the

Group sets for itself in the coming years.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Strategic Management- Michael Vaz- Manan Prakashan- August 2014

2. http://www.tatasteel.com/about-us/tata-group-profile.asp

3. http://profit.ndtv.com/stock/tata-steel- ltd_tatasteel/reports

4. http://www.ehow.com/facts_7621882_swot-analysis-tata-steel.htm

5. http://www.wikiswot.com/SWOT/4_/TATA_STEEL.html

6. http://hrpolicyofmnc.blogspot.in/2011/08/hr-policy-of-tata-steel.html

7. http://automotivehorizon.sulekha.com/tata-nippon-to-jointly-set-up-steel-plant-at-

jamshedpur_10_2010_postedby_jayashankar-menon

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9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Steel

10. http://www.tatasteel.com/global-network/steel-manufacturing/indian-operations.asp