Mahindra War Room 2015

Agri-business Caselet

MAHINDRA AUTOMOTIVE & FARM SECTORS

AGRI-BUSINESS CASELET - FRUITS BUSINESS: SABORO B2C STRATEGY
Mahindras Automotive & Farm Sectors have independent caselets for the Automotive
business, Tractor business, Truck business and Agri-business - this caselet pertains to
the Agri-business.
BUSINESS BACKGROUND
The Farm Sector is one of Mahindras oldest businesses, commenced in 1960s with the
manufacture of tractors. Mahindra has attained global scale in the Tractor business,
being the worlds #1 seller of tractors by volume, with over 2.1 million tractors sold
across 40 countries. Mahindra tractors hold the lions share of the market for the last 30
years. In the 1990s, Mahindra added a range of farm mechanization equipment, such
as harvesters, transplanters and tillers under the Applitrac range. In the late 2000s,
Mahindra has reinvented its Farm Sector Vision to beyond just selling of tractors and
farm equipment, to delivering farm-tech prosperity. The business was accordingly reimagined in 2010, and organized into 2 distinct groups - the Tractor & Farm
Mechanization business and a distinct Agri-business comprising Fresh Produce (the
erstwhile Shubhlabh business), Crop Care, Seeds, Micro-irrigation, Agronomy Services
(the erstwhile Samriddhi business) and other food related businesses. This caselet
pertains only to this Agri-business with another independent caselet for Tractor &
Farm Mechanization business. From an Agri-input driven approach, Mahindra has reoriented to focus on key input businesses on the farm side - such as seeds, microirrigation solutions and crop-care, as well as the new Dairy, Edible Oil and Pulses
businesses. Mahindras Agri-business strategy is borne out of a deep realization of the
importance of Farm-tech Prosperity - of assisting farmers by providing them market
linkages for their produce, which in turn would help increase their returns. Based on a
detailed evaluation of the Agri Value Chain on specific business selection criteria, the
Agri-business division has decided to enter key food related businesses like Fresh
Fruits, Dairy, Pulses, Edible Oils, Processed Foods and Basmati Rice.
Mahindra Agri-business is one of the fastest growing businesses in the Mahindra
Group, with an 8X growth in the last 4 years, with deep connections to the War Room
as well - the Dairy business foray was the national winner in 2012, and one of the
members of the winning team is actually working with Mahindra GMC in implementing
the strategy. The Edible Oil business strategy caselet in 2014 too was one of the most
popular caselets across campuses, and the choice of the national winning team too!
This years challenge pertains to the Fresh Produce business - and the Agri-business
team is looking to an encore performance on popularity and win rates for this caselet!

Broadvision Perspectives Client Confidential

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Mahindra War Room 2015

Agri-business Caselet

LIVE CHALLENGE: FRUITS BUSINESS - SABORO B2C STRATEGY

One of the key segments that the Agri-business is aiming for growth is the fruits
segment which is ~ INR. 300,000 Crore industry in India. In November 2013, Mahindra
agribusiness launched its brand of fresh fruits in India under the name Saboro - that
stands for premium quality, healthy, hygienic and delicious fruits. Around the same time,
Mahindra entered into a joint-venture with Univeg Private Limited - a 1.8 billion euro
Belgian company that is the worlds largest in the fruits business. Mahindra Univeg Pvt
Ltd, the JV, will focus on developing world-class fresh fruit supply chain to provide high
quality fruits that meet the needs of both domestic and international markets.
Additionally, the JV will focus on the modernization of the domestic fruit supply chain, in
order to improve yield and reduce wastage - enhancing grower productivity and returns
to farmers.
The fruits business today is highly commoditized and unorganized, with low retail
penetration. There is a strong demand for fruits and fruit-based products with high
quality standards, offering a ripe market for creating a differentiated value proposition going beyond the normal selling of fruits, to a strong personal engagement platform.
With this intent, Mahindra launched the Saboro fruit brand, exuding values of premium
quality, good health and hygiene, with a delicious taste. Mahindras strategy is to
develop Saboro as a premium Consumer brand that is able to stand out in the market.
With this background, create an aggressive business plan for Saboro to be a INR.
1000 Crore Fruits Business Consumer Brand by 2020, with a minimum of 30%
return on capital employed. Your strategy should lead to a scalable business
model in the B2C space, with focus on fruits and fruits-based product categories
such as Fresh Fruits, Processed Fruits, Fruit based Meals etc.
The business plan must be comprehensive, including:
a Supply Chain Strategy to evaluate the entire value chain to identify white
spaces for disruption in delivery and service.
a Channel Strategy to Explore different channels that could be used to market
Mahindra fruit products, such as Retail, Wholesale, E-commerce etc.
an Advertising & Sales Promotion Strategy to identify means to enhance visibility
of the Saboro brand with premium positioning and high top-of-mind recall.
an overall Operations Strategy to Draw out clear plans for setting up operations
which including marketing plans and financials
The Saboro team is looking forward to innovative business models that are unique and
are open to all ideas - however wild they may look at the first glance.

Broadvision Perspectives Client Confidential

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