Happy Hours

Annual Issue 2010 - 11
Happy Hours
Internal Newsmagazine of
Spiritedly Allied for Success
Inside
3
Realizing Our Vision
– Together!
4
Action-Packed
Year For
Marketing
6
Keep it Flowing!
8
The Name’s Bond…
Teams Bond!
Captains Table
Message from
Executive Vice Chairman
& CEO
D
ear Team ABD,
It gives me immense pleasure to communicate with you all through the maiden and annual
issue for the year 2010-11 of our employees’ newsletter Happy Hours.
The objective of launching this initiative is to connect with each one of you through this
forum of Employees’ Communication & Engagement that will now on be a quarterly feature. The purpose of this newsletter is to enable
internal communication through your contributions & active participation in the form of enrichment of contents and to mutually share
key milestones and highlights, significant individual & team achievements, employees’ news & views, etc which exemplify living our values
of “Teamwork; Excellence in Execution; Constantly Innovating and Being Different; Professional and Personal Integrity; Being Proud of
What We Do” on a day-to-day basis to take ABD to its greatest heights and achieve its people’s vision “To Be the Most Admired Employer.”
The other objective of having an internal newsletter is to reinforce the internal communication process within our organization. Twoway communication is one of the most important ways by which an organization remains alive and agile through creating an environment
hinged on “Sense of oneness and belongingness”. As we are growing and expanding as a team and a company, there is bound to be
additional pressure on each one of us to perform and deliver which will test our mettle and tenacity, both personally and professionally, and
take us to the level where we will seen as the “Most Admired Spirits Company” by all our stakeholders.
We as a team should create an environment and working culture based on mutual trust and respect by open and
transparent two-way communication devoid of any fear or sense of insecurity.
In order to achieve the above, for all the happiness, cheer and sense of belonging & sharing it is meant to
ignite in each one of you, the initiative has very appropriately been named Happy Hours!
I would like you to actively contribute your write-up/articles through this forum as it is meant to be driven
by all of you.
You all have made winning a habit. The performance results for the financial year 2010-11 suggest the same.
As a company, we have recorded 108% achievement against budget on profits which is a growth of 117% over
2010-2011. We have recorded sales of 16.5 million cases for the full year which is 109% against budget and a whopping
growth of 33%.
This is indeed a superb performance and a reflection of tremendous team work between sales, marketing, manufacturing and finance.
On a compounded CAGR basis over the last four years, our growth is 32.2%.
I wish to place on record my appreciation and A BIG THANK YOU for this tremendous performance and everyone’s support.
We have entered this financial year on a very positive note and I am confident that once again all of you will set new records.
This is a year where we have to overcome many challenges. The Key Challenge has been inflation. Obviously, if we have to keep this
current pace of growth, we will have to step up our market effort and consumer activation to achieve our ambitious targets on a sustainable
basis.
Other challenges include stepping up production in both existing and new units and take a quantum leap in improvement of quality. A
very ambitious capex plan has been planned towards this effort in our three units.
Improving our own skills and competence to manage this growth momentum is going to be yet another challenge. I am aware that the
HR team has planned many competency building programmes for all of you through ABD Academy.
After having successfully implemented the ERP system, the quality of our MIS and our business processes have improved dramatically.
We now have to move to the next level and I have agreed with the Finance team to implement SAP in ABD. This will enable us to use
advanced business tools to have a better insight on our business.
I take this opportunity to once again thank all of you for the support you have given and I know that I can count on your achieving
bigger things in the years to come.
Wish all of you a high performing 2011-12 year.
Happy reading of Happy Hours!
Deepak Roy
2
HR Review
Realizing Our Vision – Together!
In the last year, the company witnessed an overall growth and moved a step further in realizing
its Vision: “To be the most admired spirits company.” This was possible due to the hard work and
dedication of every employee and the emphasis that was laid on processes and systems being
aligned to the values of the company.
For the HR function, 2010-11 was the year of initiation. For the first time,
strengths and opportunity areas of the people aspect of the business
were identified and the HR Vision “To be the most admired employer”
was conceptualized to address the same. The focus was mainly on laying
foundations and putting in practice the fundamentals of HR processes
and systems. We aim at enabling every employee of ABD to feel a sense
of achievement and belonging and thereby realize the HR Vision.
The current year is extremely important for the company, including
from the HR point of view. The HR processes and systems laid down
last year will be implemented for the smooth running of all functions.
But change can never be ignored. HR will continue to make innovation
a practice by implementing principles, processes and systems which
haven’t been used in the company before.
HR is a Strategic
Partner & Enabler
of Business
Sustainable Growth
All HR initiatives are being
derived with strong emphasis
on “B2B (Back to Basics)” for
achieving sustained People
Processes maturity.
As you are all aware we have an
established Job & Leadership
Competency Framework which is
used by employees to gauge their
performance in a scientific and
objective manner. This framework
serves as a core to many
HR initiatives such
as Talent
acquisition,
Talent development, the performance management process
(PMP), etc.
11.4%
The performance management process that is derived from
the Job & Leadership Competency framework is systematically
implemented through SMART and
objective KRA setting across functions and levels. Making PMP a
half yearly process and conducting an online survey to assess
its execution
have been part of the initiatives of
the year.
Great rigor has gone into
making processes systematic
and emphasis has been laid on
excellence in their execution. Last
year, 146 new hires were made,
1730 man hours of training was
imparted and our attrition rested
at 11.8% compared to 18% as per
industry norms.
HR initiatives of 2010-11
ABD Future Leader Program
Among the new hires last year were six MTs chosen from
reputed institutes for the ABD Future Leader Program which
consisted of nine months of cross-functional exposure in the form of living
various business specific roles that were reviewed by the senior leaders
periodically. This was a successfully implemented initiative towards building the leadership pipeline of the company. Today, they have successfully completed their stints and have been placed in their final roles and
respective functions.
ABD Academy
This ABD Future Leader Program was conducted under the
flagship of our very own ABD Academy, a learning academy
that aims to sustain the functional and leadership development of all
employees across levels through the 70:20:10 principle. This year, the
Academy promises to provide 100% coverage of employees with capability building programs in line with their development needs, integrated with
the company’s growth momentum.
ABD Future Leaders undergoing a two day workshop with Dale Carnege for
Capability Building and Personal Effectiveness
ABD Value Star
A reward and recognition system to encourage and motivate
employees by creating a SMART rewarding culture.
LOVE ABD
Among the few on-going initiatives, ‘Living Our ABD Values
Everyday’ better known by the anagram, “LOVE ABD” aims
at bringing awareness and sensitizing everyone to act as role
models and make values oriented behaviour a principle.
Other initiatives include a survey that was carried out to address the
company’s compensation structure to make it on par with the industry, as
well as creating a culture of transparency.
We need to further establish ourselves as not only the “Most Admired
Employer” but also the “Most Admired Spirits Company” . The emphasis
in 2011-12 would be to consolidate the key result areas of ABD and leverage them in line with the company’s Vision.
3
Brand Value
Launches, record growth, events, market buzz… all these were part
Officer’s Choice
This year too, Officer’s Choice has continued its
growth momentum and has grown from strength
to strength to emerge as the second largest whisky
brand in India. The brand has clocked a whopping sale of 15.77 million cases with an all India
market share of 21.5%. Today Officer’s Choice
is the market leader in Andhra Pradesh, West
Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh,
Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. Not only
that, it has emerged as the largest IMFL brand
to be exported out of India with a sale of over
one million cases.
The year also saw the roll out of the new
OC pack in various states across the country.
A new execution of the OC brand campaign
that talks about Righteousness was also rolled
out across all markets. Salaam Bengal and
Salaam Rajasthan were successfully rolled out,
further strengthening the emotional bond with our consumers. Also a big-ticket
musical event featuring the first ever Indian Idol, Abhijeet Sawant, saw tremendous
adulation and response in key cities of Maharashtra. And finally, OC made its first
ever appearance on TV, with L shaped banners in the India South Africa series.
OC Racing to New Highs!
Economic Times has reported that Officer’s Choice whisky clocked
fastest volume growth in 2010. OC was the fastest volume generator with 2.98 million nine- litre cases. The brand was ranked fourth in
2009.
ET based its report on the findings of London-based research
firm IWSR which specifically dealt with actual volume increases
rather than percentage growth and excluded brands considered lowpriced in each market for the year. The Indian liquor market is forecast to grow into the world’s second largest by 2013 behind China.
Let’s say “cheers” to case-tomer service!
Jolly Roger Premium XXX Rum
One of the biggest highlights of the year for ABD was the much awaited launch of its premium offering, Jolly Roger XXX Rum, a smooth
dark rum blended with original matured Jamaican Pot still rum and natural spices. With its unique blend and international flavour, the
rum offers its patrons truly differentiated, yet affordable premium dark rum, thus opening up a new segment for dark rum drinkers.
Jolly Roger is the only dark rum in India which comes in family shaped bottles & tamper-proof caps across all pack sizes, instilling a
youthful image and giving an assurance of quality.
Positioned as “the Spirit of Jamaica”, a high decibel multimedia campaign was launched with the theme “Get High on
Life”. Shot in Jamaica, the campaign celebrates the true spirit of the Jamaicans and their ‘Zest for Life’.
It brings alive the Jamaicans’ fun, smooth, cool and flirty yet sensual attitude and their passion for
music.
Jolly Roger has been launched in the states of West Bengal, Assam and Orissa
and the response has been very encouraging from both
retailers and consumers alike.
4
of an exciting, action-packed year for Marketing
Wodka Gorbatschow
The year 2010-11 was an eventful one for Wodka Gorbatschow. The
TV, a 10 episode series which
brand clocked a sale of 61,235 cases, registering a growth of 29%.
showcased little/unknown facets
The highlight of the year was the repositioning of Wodka Gorbatschow.
of India’s leading celebrities. The
The basis of the new positioning is embedded in a very strong insight –
second – Gorbatschow Pure
that we all play many roles in life. Some roles we play out of compulsion,
Shots – was a short film contest
some because we like them and some to please society. As a brand
on the theme “Whoever you are,
Wodka Gorbatschow tells its audience that whatever role you play in life,
be pure”. Further, two leading
play it with honesty, integrity and with purity. This message is beautifully
DJ’s of UK, namely Darren Bailey
captured in the tagline “Whoever you are, be pure”, thereby owning the
(of Gurujosh projects) and DJ Sanj
high ground in purity.
(of American Desi fame) were brought
A 360 degree high decibel multi-media campaign was used to communicate the new positioning which included OOH, Print, Radio and
down for an all India tour.
The year 2010-11 also saw the launch
of three exciting flavours, i.e. Vanilla,
Digital.
Besides, some highly innovative and buzz-creating initiatives were
Orange and Green Apple.
rolled out. The first was “Gorbatschow Face Off” in association with Zoom
Class 21
It was a landmark year for Class
vodka. The brand was rechristened
as Class 21. The new name and
identity embodies and connects
with the spirit of today’s youth. With a
unique, cutting-edge
bottle to capture the imagination of hip and trendy consumers, Class 21
stands a class apart from other spirit brands in the category.
Launched with the tagline “Thank God for 21”, the new campaign reflects the attitude of today’s youth. The campaign highlights the fun, zestful side of being 21. It showcases the youth, their lifestyle and celebrates
the experience and joys of being at this cool age.
The brand has been launched in nine states across the country and
the feedback has been extremely positive and encouraging all across.
Class ended the year
with sales of 2,00,000 cases, registering a growth of 36% over the previous year.
5
Manufacturing & R&D Review
Keep it Flowing!
distillate – ENA output.
Jolly Roger -- The conceptualization to
collaboration to commercial production was
executed successfully.
WG Flavours -- Orange, Green Apple and
Vanilla flavour variants of Wodka Gorbatschow
was introduced in the market.
Officer’s Choice Blue Pure Grain Whisky
The conceptualization, collaboration and
market research are through. The commercial
production is ready to start.
Lord & Master Brandy and Premium
Brandy The developmental work is under
process. Premium brandy as a new project is
being undertaken for development.
Manufacturing Highlights
Production and Dispatch for 2010-2011 was
16.5 million cases as compared to 12.5 million
cases in the previous year, showing a growth
of 33%.
The Manufacturing network was expanded
in all four zones to augment capacity:
North:
• Associated Distilleries Ltd., Hisar, Haryana
was added with a manufacturing capacity of
50,000 cases p.m.
East:
• Saaran Industries, Guwahati was added with
a manufacturing capacity of 1,00,000 cases
p.m.
• Essencia capacity was augmented from
75,000 cases to 1,25,000 cases with
additional bottling infrastructure.
West:
• ABD, Aurangabad achieved the highest
production output of 1.45 MN cases.
South:
• In Andhra Pradesh, Sentini Beverages
Private Limited was added with a monthly
6
manufacturing capacity of 1,00,000 cases.
• Khoday Industries( Hyderabad) Private
Limited was also added to the network with
a capacity of 45,000 cases p.m.
Projects
• ABD, Aurangabad and ABD, Gurgaon are
being modernized with a Capex infusion
of about Rs. 6.0 crores. The work has
commenced.
Finance Review
It’s all about
money, honey!
Providing strong support to the
Products
operations of the company, the
• Jolly Roger was introduced and production
started in three states, viz. Assam, West
Bengal and Orissa.
• Class 21 was relaunched pan India with a
completely new packaging.
stalwarts of Finance Division
Innovation and R&D
Work is under process for a modern Innovation
and R&D Centre with state-of-the-art facilities.
Distillery
The redistillation plant was commissioned
successfully and the designed capacity has
been utilized exceeding 125% with high grade
chalked up several achievements
during the last financial year.
To support the business and ABD’s growth in
the market place, the Finance team organized
additional working capital of Rs. 56 crores during the Financial Year 2010-11.
There were several ‘firsts’ noted during the
year. For the first time in ABD, half-yearly audit
was conducted by the statutory auditors for the
period ended September 30, 2010.
Further, reconciliation of accounts with major
contract bottlers, debtors and suppliers had
been initiated. The response was very encouraging and a significant part of the reconciliation and balance confirmation was obtained
from non-corporation markets. In the case of
vendors and major contract bottling units also,
we have achieved significant process in the
reconciliation of accounts and confirmation of
balances. The team will complete this entire
exercise in the Financial Year 2011-12.
Finance has also initiated several processes
to strengthen operations. One of these is
implementing Business Intelligence tools to
utilize our ERP software for better interaction
with other functions.
Interface
Getting to Know You Better
Tete-a-tete with two colleagues – one a long server and the other a
member of the future leadership team.
Vijay Katiyar – Unit Head,
Globus Spirits Ltd, Rajasthan
‘A’,’B’,’D’ - What do these
3 letters mean to
you?
‘A’ – Aspiration,
have an ambitious
plan; ‘B’ – Bold,
daring enough to
challenge everybody;
‘D’ – Determination of
achieving your aspirations
What made you decide to join
our family?
I always wanted to join a growing firm like ABD, where one has
more opportunity of learning than
a well-established firm, also my
educational background, & professional experience made me to join
ABD.
How would you recollect your
first day at ABD?
My first day in ABD was in a way
full of surprises, as we (six MT’s)
were welcomed with a welcome
kit and most importantly, we were
introduced to ABD Management
& Executive Team on the very first
day.
How has your journey been so
far? What have been the key
milestones that you achieved?
The last year it has been a very
learning & enjoyable experience
with ABD.
Well, I have yet to achieve a
milestone.
How have you transformed
personally or professionally over
the last one year?
Well, I would say professionally I
have gained so much knowledge
about the IMFL industry, be it
sales, marketing, finance or manufacturing, ABD gave me the opportunity to learn in various functions,
which helped me understand the
IMFL business.
How has ABD helped you in
realizing your dreams & aspirations?
In ABD I have not only learned
but also applied the management
skills at my job and sorted
out practical solutions
to problems, which I
think every manager
does in his/her role.
I got this chance
early in my career,
thanks to ABD; this
will definitely help me
in my long term career.
What has been your most
cherished moment at ABD?
The most cherished moment in
ABD was when our top management showed faith & support in all
of us, and action was taken on the
recommendations/suggestions we
made.
Tell us about your family?
I have four members in my family, my father is retired Air force
personnel, and my mother is a
house wife; my younger sister is
pursuing MA- English from Kanpur
University.
And now for the Quick Fire
round…
My favorite…
Animal – Dog, best pet animal.
Role Model – Nobody
Place to live – Kanpur, my home
town
Place of vacation – Switzerland,
due to its natural beauty.
Season of the year – Spring, that
is when you see lots of flowers
everywhere
Place to eat – McDonalds, I’m
Lovin’ It!
Website – facebook.com, for
socializing on the web
Book – Love reading current
affairs & business magazines like
Outlook, Business Today.
Movie – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara… I loved the music, story &
star cast of the film.
Celebrity – Amitabh Bachhan,
bas nam hi kafi hai
Hobby – Singing
Mahesh Jadhav –
Manager Accounts
Saluting
Our Long
Servers
Organisation Builders
‘A’,’B’,’D’ - What do these 3 letters mean to you?
‘A’ – Achieve New Heights; ‘B’ –
Blending of various departments;
‘D’ – Development & expansion.
with more than 15
What did you do before ABD?
What made you decide to join
our family?
I started my career with ABD
(previously BDA) in 1995.
valuable contributions
How would you recollect your
first day at ABD?
Excited with little nervousness.
How has the
evolution of
ABD been
different
between
the first half
& the second
half of your
tenure?
Currently ABD is in expansion,
resulting in ABD being the third
largest liquor company in India
with 16 million sale in FY 2010-11.
How has ABD helped you in
realizing your dreams & aspirations?
I bought my own flat at in the year
2000.
What has been your most cherished moment at ABD?
When I received my first promotion!
Tell us about your family?
Parents, wife Seema and son
Atharva.
And now for the Quick Fire
round…
My favorite…
Animal? – Dog
Place to live? – Mumbai
Place of vacation? – Ganpatipule
in Konkan region
Season of the year? – May &
November
Place to eat? – Anywhere, especially non veg
Website? – Google
Movie? – 3 Idiots
Celebrity? – Sachin Tendulkar
Hobby? – Play cricket
years at ABD. We thank
you all for your
over the years.
ªHaridasan M
ªJoshi Rajesh
ªAhmed Iqbal
ªBhatt Girish
ªChakravorty Sajal
ªChandran R Ravi
ªDeshmukh Ramesh B
ªDoctor Maharoukh
ªNair K V Manikandan
ªNawathe Vijay D
ªNoronha Titus Ambrose
ªAuti Vilas R
ªChoudhury Anirudha
ªDashrathe Ulhas V
ªGanorikar Ravindra R
ªJain Ratan Lal
ªKanse Dinkar J
ªSharma Atanu Das
ªShetty Radhakrishna S
ªBalkrishnan V R
ªBansal Arun K
ªJain Satish Kumar
ªKripalani Sunil M
ªNarayangaonkar Suhas R
ªReddy Cheruku M
ªDas Sankar
ªJadhav Mahesh Vasant
ªParikh Rajendra
ªChhabra Dinesh
ªDevidas Babu I
ªGawand Vishwas
ªGupta Goutam Kumar
ªSharma Sudhir
ªTyagi Priya Devendra
ªVachani Jitesh Dharmdas
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Reward & Recognition
National Winner
– Best Zone of
the Year Award
“Best Brigade” –
East Zone
Achievers
take a bow
ABD Gallantry Awards recognized achievements
of top performers for the year 2010-11.
ABD Gallantry Awards recognizes the achievements and contributions of individuals and
teams in the sales and marketing function who through their top class performance has
taken the company to greater heights. Various categories of awards have been created
(National and Zonal level); truly inspired by the positioning statement of the flagship
brand “Officer’s Choice”.
The award point system takes into consideration the various roles/responsibilities of individuals and respective teams. The fun-fare evenings conducted in Mumbai,
Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Kolkata saw winners and team mates rejoicing every moment
of their success.
Best Sales
Executive of the
Zone (East) Award
“Parikrami”–
Bishal Kar,
Jharkhand
East
Best Sales
Executive
of the Zone
(North) Award
“Parikrami” –
Sarjit Saharan,
Haryana
North
West
Best Sales
Executive
of the Zone
(West) Award
“Parikrami” –
Sharad Temgire,
ROM
South
8
Adding Star Value
to Innovation
Sreemoy Khan receiving the
ABD Value Star – Innovator of the
Quarter Award for the East Zone
Prachin Ghamray receiving the ABD
Value Star – Innovator of the Quarter
Award for the West Zone
Design Consultants: Corporate Communication Services (I) Pvt. Ltd.
Best Sales
Executive
of the Zone
(South) Award
“Parikrami” –
G. Srinivas,
Andhra Pradesh