Morbi, Emerging CERAMIC OUTSOURCE DESTINATION…..

Morbi is the ceramic capital of India. This undoubtedly and openly accepted by one and all. With so many factories of Sanitary ware, Wall tiles, Floor tiles and other ceramic goods already growing and many more taking shape, the future only seems better.

It is also a matter of pride that most of these establishments recognize the importance of creating brands. This is a sign of real entrepreneurship coming into play where industrialists do not run only after profit, but rather building a string recognizable entity that reaps benefits for generations to come. It also improves the goodwill of the firms.

However, amongst these, lie a few who would focus just on their core competencies, mainly producing high quality ceramic products. The late management thinker, Shri C K Prahlad rightly said that it is best to focus on core competencies. This yields long term risk free results and subsequent profits.

While market development and brand building do not come naturally to traditional businessmen, administration of manufacturing is not as challenging. They handle people and inbound processes with delicate ease and have a knack of string control over all the business processes linked to manufacturing. Moreover, Marketing as an activity sometimes goes into the TRIAL AND ERROR zone which is not in liking to many manufacturers.

Such manufacturers have carved a niche for themselves as manufacturers of bigger brands. Today, big brands like Johnson, Parry etc are getting their products mass manufactured at some production plants in Morbi. The Bigger Brands are, as we call in Modern Business terminology, outsourcing their work to these production units.

The concept is not new in the Indian economy. Brands like Levis, Nike and reebok all do it, and very successfully so.

There is a two way benefit in this kind of a deal. It is beneficial to both the parties. Benefits for the Bigger brand that outsource production include,

·      No Need to set-up a new plant.

·      No need to put in place and administrative team.

·      Focus on only market development.

·      Brand Building becomes their major are aof activity and performance.

·      They already own string Distribution channels and an equally popular brand to generate the pull.

·      Their team sets up system and quality parameters, which are also checked by their QC team apart from manufacturers.

·      Every unit of sales added in the existing sales channels fetches the Big Brand their value and hence also increases shareholder value.

The manufacturer also gains benefits from this deal:

·      They focus only on manufacturing.

·      Process and product control all are provided by the Brand Owner.

·      The brand owner knows the market well and hence gives perfect specifications to work with, so R & D cost of the manufacturer is virtually nil.

·      Quality parameters and methods as well as manufacturing guidelines are ready made and can be easily adopted. Moreover, the Brand owner trains key personnel and also provides fool proof working systems, which also takes away a lot of management burden.

·      The manufacturer is also assured of his total capacity utilization, keeping him free of tensions of sales and marketing.

·      He also feels less risk prone as such deals are for long term and all his installed capacity is well paid for and his profits are protected.

While there are many more benefits which can be highlighted, you may be wondering why is Morbi chosen over some other ceramic clusters. Some of the points that come on the fore are…

·      Entrepreneurs in Morbi are good at administration and quite reliable. Big Brands would feel safe working with them.

·      They have financial muscle and hold on to challenging deals.

·      They have experience in Manufacturing and also can gather technical expertise form in and around the region.

·      Morbi has relatively lower production costs.

·      Being on the national highway, it is well connected to the country as well as Kandla Port. This gives an immediate logistical advantage.

·      Entrepreneurs in Morbi are technology savvy and upgrade and learn very fast. This enables the buyers to implement their levels of working as well as quality systems very fast.

·      There are many upcoming factories and all are technologically advanced. Many of them also plan to start production as a manufacturing partner only, with quantity commitments for a period of time.

·      Availability of manpower as well as raw material is relatively easy. It is also easy to find qualified people from ceramic background.

You will surely find where your brand scores and where it lacks.

A Brand is not just a name or a catchy phrase attached to a product or a series or a collection. It is an emotional thread that ties your customers mind and heart to your product. Brand touches the emotions of the reader and directly gives him the vision of your product.
Lets take some examples. Here are three words, what products immediately come to your mind?
COKE
DAVIDSON
IBM
DO we need a reality check. No!
90% of the people must have come across a Soft drink, A Bike and Computer. This is the power of these brands. They have attached you to a product so much so that even in your sleep if you are muttered these words in your ear you will dream of these products. We have formed an emotional attachment with these products.
Some may argue, “These are world famous…”, Well they were not world famous when they started. They gradually reached their peak of brand recognition.
The other thought is many brands started in the same period why aren’t they so famous. Well That’s what we will be looking into here.
Always remember……Product Makes the Brand……. And not the other way round. Having gala publicity of a bad product will never gain a brand popularity. BUT, having a great product backed with strategic promotion and advertising can make the brand popular.
There are certain points to remember while building a brand.

1.  Always know what your UNIQUE SELLING POINT is. What keeps you different and better than your competitors? What Quality of your product makes your customers select your product before your competitors ? What is it that relates to your product that appeals to the buyer more than any other brand ? YOU NEED TO BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC ABOUT IT. Don’t just say “OUR QUALITY IS GREAT…” Justify it to the customer. E.g. nano technology by Simpolo is a USP of their new product line.

2.  Learn to highlight the brand with the right message. Message should be understood by the buyer. At times the Advertisement is great but it does not convey message. It leaves the buyer confused and it harms the brand. PLEASE SPEND ON GOOD CONCEPT DESIGNERS. It is worth the money. They will get Concept in place, get a good copy writer and a good graphic designer to unify all aspects of your brand. e.g. What comes to your mind when I say, “Chutkiyon mein chipkaye….” One of the best products and brands India has produced, Feviquick. It has elements of STICKING with chipkaye, and quickly so with CHutkiyon mein…GET MY MESSAGE ??????? GET THE MESSAGE RIGHT……..

3.  The message should have feeling in them. They should touch the heart and the mind both. If you miss one of them, better not publish. So we still recommend, get a Concept designer. Make him feel the product and the USP and the message you want to convey before he jumpstarts onto the exercise.

The kind of feeling a brand evokes dictates the kind of relationship it will have with it consumers. Many a times, strong feelings remain long after the message fades.
4. Assume nothing. Question everything, including yourself, and your experience. Knowledge is relative. In a fast changing society, yesterday's information becomes tomorrow's liability.
You are only as good as the stuff you are aware you don't know. Start from a position of ignorance and learn as you go. It will open your minds to things you'd never ever have considered.

5.  Do not feel in love with the message right away. Test it in small group of people to know whether they understand the message. At times it is worth spending a small amount on a Market survey exercise to see whether common people (NOT YOUR FRIENDS, THEY WILL GIVE ONLY GOOD FEEDBACK) understand and take a liking to it. NOTE BOTH POINTS… UNDERSTAND… …and take LIKING to it. This gives us evidence of the comprehensive nature of the brand.

6. CHOOSE THE RIGHT MEDIA. It is not always what your competitor does or which media he uses. It is more what your readers are seeing more. TV is great, yes, but mostly out of reach. TV can be worthwhile if you have a yearly budget. And a BIG Budget. People also read magazines and papers. Best way to find the right media is to see WHAT YOUR BUYERS ARE SEEING. Look through your buyers’ eyes not what you feel.
7. A branded experience is greater than any message, no matter how compelling. Experiences create memories. And our lives are nothing but a tapestry of memories strung along the nerves in our brains.
The more happy memories one person owns in another person's life, the stronger their relationship. The same holds true for brands. What comes to your mind when you think of your first love? How you first touched her finger, them slyly slipped your hand into hers? Your first fight? Your first awkward attempt to make up with her? You know what I'm talking about here.

Kindly note that these are guidelines to make your mind more informed on Brand building through advertisement. This is not the final word on it. There are many other ideas that we will be rolling out in every issue that we come across.

Doubly beautiful…..With double life as well. DOUBLE LOADING TILES.

• Doubly beautiful…..With double life as well.

                DOUBLE CHARGED TILES.

Vitrified Tiles, the first generation….

Vitrified Tiles are normally made by the dust pressed method of a composition with about 60-62% silica & rest clay along with other raw materials such as binders and design elements. The resulting tile is a dense, impervious, hard, tough, strong, frost resistant and in other words long lasting.
They are fired at more than 1200 °C and are known to be fully vitrified. They have water absorption less than or equal to 0.05%.
They are mostly preferred by high profile households as well as modern commercial constructions. Because of their obvious Beauty That lasts long property, they are the most in demand.
Once the green tile or tile body is made, these tiles are sent for printing by soluble salt screen printing technology and then for firing.

The Double Charged Vitrified TIles

These is one of the most modern technologies of manufacturing vitrified tiles.

The Vitrified tiles mostly have designing in the top surface of the tile at about .05 mm, rest is the body.

In DC, design is brought in a tile by using dry color powders during the tile body while it is in green form. The tile is being pressed in a tile press with these powders.

Tile body or green tile made/ pressed, has already been given dry powder/ oxide colors in its body. Tiles are sent directly for firing after the press.

Due to this, designs are found throughout the tile body. If you look at the cross section of these tiles, you will find design throughout the depth of the tile.

Many tile manufacturing units manufacture Vitrified tiles in a varied ranges, size, color, texture and designs under its latest technologies, such as full Mass Products (MDR), Double charged, Double Charged with Soluble Salts Printing, Double Charged with dry glaze application. Some other technologies are also coming up.

Vitrified tiles V/S Double Charged Tiles
Liquid oxide or colors are used to screen print the tile from top, after the tile body or green tile is made/ pressed from a tile making press.	Dry powder or colors are used to bring design within these tiles during the tile body or when the green tile is being made in a tile press.
More artificial and only surface seems painted	Has Natural look is seen in these tiles. All tile design comes natural stones
More porous..	Less Porous
Only fit for Low traffic Areas	Can be used in Medium as well as high traffic areas depending on the polish.
Relatively Limited Choices of design and looks available	Virtually limitless design choices and patterns can be manufactured.
Tiles become dull on the long run	Will remain shinier for long time.
The surface is more prone to Wear and tear.	Less prone to wear & tear on abrasion
Very visible Shade variation in bathces	Shade variation is nil due to natural design patterns. Each tile design must be varying from other tiles.
Buffing, mechanical shining is not recommended Due to low penetration of print which may get cut further.	Buffing, mechanical shining stands possible due to full body print impact.
Low cost of production as technology needs less investment and production time.	Each tile is produced to bring the natural impact through powder technology having extra value addition in these products & extra time consumption.
Moulding, bull nosing is not advised as design impact in not seen on the moulded side.	Moulding is advisable due to homogenous design impact through out the tile body.
Tiles have do not last long and have lesser life span	Much longer life span
Print Penetration is up to 1 to 2 mm only after the Tiles are fired & polished	Design is homogenous throughout the tile body.

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