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Table of Contents
ICI Pakistan Limited: ................................................................................................. 1
History: ....................................................................................................................... 1
Key operations: .......................................................................................................... 1
Key Products: ............................................................................................................. 2
Soda Ash: ................................................................................................................ 2
Polyester: ................................................................................................................. 2
Life sciences: .......................................................................................................... 2
Chemicals ................................................................................................................ 2
Organizational Structure: ........................................................................................... 3
Role of sales department: ........................................................................................... 4
Procedure towards obtaining the order ................................................................... 4
Sales Management Strategies .................................................................................... 5
Human Resource Department: ................................................................................ 5
Recruitment & Selection:........................................................................................ 6
Training & Development: ....................................................................................... 6




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ICI Pakistan Limited:
ICI Pakistan limited (Imperial Chemical Industries) is a renowned company which was
established in 1926 in the subcontinent. It deals with four businesses in Pakistan which includes
Soda ash, Life Sciences, Polyester and Chemicals. One of the major businesses it deals with is
Soda ash as it is the largest producer of soda ash in the country with a market share of up to 70%.
History:
ICI was established in the subcontinent in 1926. Gradually, the company initiated its four
businesses. It established its first manufacturing plant of Soda ash in 1944 in Khewra. In 1953,
this Soda Ash Company was incorporated as a Public Limited Company. The name of Khewra
Soda Ash Company changed to ICI Pakistan Manufacturers Limited in 1966. Then the company
initiated its Specialty Chemical plant in Karachi in 1968. ICI established a Pharmaceutical
Factory in Naryanganj, East Pakistan in 1970. In 1982, the company established its polyester
plant in Sheikhupura. In 1987, the company changed its name to ICI Pakistan Limited. In 2008,
AkzoNobel which is one of the world largest chemicals and coating company, became the
holding company of ICI and it separated ICI Paints sector, ICI Dulux, to make a separate
company under AkzoNobel.
Key operations:
ICI deals with four businesses in Pakistan which are all related to manufacturing. These
businesses include soda ash, life sciences, polyester and chemicals in their relevant plants. A
soda ash plant is set up in Khewra near salt mines with 65,000 tons of capacity.

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Key Products:
Soda Ash:

It is used in the manufacturing of many basic commodities which includes glass, paper, soap,
detergents, production of various chemicals and domestic uses.
There are three different categories of soda ash produced by ICI which are light ash, dense ash
and sodium bicarbonate. Each of them has different uses.
Polyester:

Polyester staple fiber is woven into fabric to make bed sheets, shirts, sportswear and other
textiles.
Life sciences:

This business of ICI deal with products which help in improving the health of living being
including human beings, animals and plants also. It has three different business segments which
are the following:
Pharmaceuticals
Seeds
Animal Health
Chemicals

The two segments of chemical business are the following:
Specialty Chemical
General Chemicals.
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This is the brief history about ICI Pakistan Limited, its key products and key processes, but our
main focus will be on ICI Pakistan, Soda Ash.
Organizational Structure:
If we observe this hierarchy from bottom-up perspective, there are total twelve sales persons who
are engaged with the core functions of sales. These sales persons are supposed to coordinate with
their concerned Area Managers. For example, they need to report their area managers that what
exactly the market trend is and do they need to go with bull-whip effect or with the pull effect for
coming month? Now these Area Managers are the middle level managers and they are
responsible for their specific territories. ICI has divided Pakistan into seven territories as per
revenue generation, so each area manager deals with his territory. E.g. its his decision to
prioritize clients and to have strong relationship with his accounts. He also has to propose to the
Vice
President
Sales
Manager
Sales coordinator
(Nationwide)
Area
Manager
Sales
officer
Sales
officer
Area
Manager
Sales
officer
Sales
officer
Area
Manager
Sales
Officer
Sales
officer
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senior management about the number of sales persons. All these area managers report to the
sales coordinator. This executive body, whose function is to cater entire Pakistan demand for
soda Ash. The sales coordinator prepares sales budget for the year and do market analysis. His
analysis includes that which industry needs ICI products more. He needs to keep an eye on the
market as a whole including their competitors also. Then this nationwide sales coordinator has to
come up with effective strategies and solutions and make them authorized with the consent of
top executive body of sales of ICI. There can be seen a clear chain of command in the ICI which
indirectly tells that centralized approach prevails in ICI.
Role of sales department:
Sales department of ICI is responsible for the sales and distribution of the products to different
customers and is the profit center for ICI. They set sales targets according to their buyers demand
and develop strategies to achieve those targets. As soda ash is a commodity product so no retail
is required for ICI and it deals in B2B sales to different industries like glass manufacturers,
sodium silicate industry, packaging industry which then use soda ash as a raw material to
produce their finished goods. Due to its B2B nature, sales and marketing is almost the same
function for ICI. So the sales officer is performing functions of marketing as well as sales. The
sales officer markets soda ash according to the buyers needs and demand. For example, sodium
silicate is more suitable for detergent and soaps and its quality. Than it is the duty of sales officer
to place soda ash that what kind of soda ash would be more appropriate to which kind of
industry. For example, ICI sodium bicarbonate is used in baking and kitchens and promotes.

Procedure towards obtaining the order

Another role of ICI sales department is to meet customers demand with appropriate supply. Two
criterias are involved to decide whether the customer is new entrant or it is old one. If the
customer is a new entrant, then sale department fulfills the necessary formalities otherwise the
procedure go on. The Area Manager takes lead information from manufacturing and its sales
coordinator to determine the percentage of soda ash that is required by each industry and then
accordingly they identify their potential customers.
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According to this lead information, Area Manger allocates appropriate resources to that specific
project or sale for example, that how many sale persons would be handling the paper industry
etc. Then all the relevant information that makes up the entire sale cycle is organized which
includes quantity demanded, buyer terms and conditions which may include quality types and
price, etc.
Sales persons with the coordination of sales coordinator go for the search of contacts and their all
business customers. Then prioritize them and try to be proactive for their needs according to their
historical trends and records. They are then evaluated that which customer would be more
beneficial to them.
ICIs salespersons when they actually contact their buyers and give them the proposal and make
it customized according to their needs, then go for the final negotiations that on price of a
truck of soda ash.
As they conduct B2B business so there is no involvement of retailers in their channel of
distribution. Customers directly collect their order from the warehouses.
Production Plant Warehouse Customers
Sales Management Strategies
Sales Management is one of the most important activities done by any organization as it involves
setting overall strategies that define what results are to be achieved and how. Similarly, ICI
Pakistan also focuses a lot on this part when it comes to managing sales of the company.
Human Resource Department:

ICI Pakistans Human Resource Department strives to ensure that the company operates as a
High Performance Organization (HPO). Their HR team works very closely with the businesses
to design efficient people solutions. ICI Pakistan places great emphasis on respect for
individuals, equal opportunities, advancement based on merit, effective communication and the
development of a high performance culture. ICI Pakistan remains committed to providing growth
opportunity, challenging and diverse career experiences to its sales force.
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Recruitment & Selection:

Job analysis is performed whenever its needed. Job analysis is one of the methods used to define
job description and some surveys are also conducted to keep in track the changes that are taking
place around the sales force i.e. in their working environment. The very first step is to determine
the KSAOs (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Others) that are needed to perform tasks of the job
then all the tasks are put together to define a specific criteria for that particular job. Mostly hiring
is done from external sources because there is no possibility that all job vacancies can be filled
through succession planning and very competent and highly qualified people are available in the
market.
Recruiting is done through both conventional sources and also through companys website where
people apply online as it is the most effective way of hiring. Sometimes, newspaper ads are also
catered for this purpose. HR managers keep in track of changes in the companys workforce so,
whenever a position is vacant it is identified.
Eligible candidates are then contacted via e-mails who are called to give a written tests or
interviews depending on the nature of the job. Interviewers panel is formed according to the job
description. Orientation is given to the new sales staff so that they can become fully aware of the
job structure, organizational culture and the environment. Evaluations are then made after some
time period to check the efficiency and effectiveness of each job as this gives idea about their
motivation so relevant motivation techniques can then be applied.

Training & Development:

Training is quite important for the sales staff. Their training is essential and very important as
highly efficient staff is needed. So, company has a well designed training process. But, at the
same time this is also kept in mind that everything is not learned through training. It is
experience and, most importantly, On the Job Training that makes the sales force proficient at
work. Sales force is sent outside country to learn more and get more experience of the global
environment. Then, they are evaluated before training and also after training to determine the
effects of training. ICI Pakistan provides programs to the sales staff to earn more educational
degrees and to experience further opportunities. Performance evaluation determines first of all
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the motivation of sales force. Secondly, it gives idea that who needs training and also the effects
of training. At the same time, it provides a system to compensate employees. ICI Pakistan is also
providing complete medical facility to their sales force and its dependents is in the three
hospitals at Gujranwala i.e. Gondal, Ashrif and CMH. Besides medical facility, company is
providing transport and telephone call facilities to their staff. Few of their remarkable activities
to introduce effective and focused training program are as under:

ICI Pakistan delivered 8,516 man-hours of training spread over 1,064 training man-days in
2006.
The E- learning portal, ICI Learning Zone, was also launched as a self-learning solution.
Special overseas training also continued during the year and apart from individual training in
specific disciplines, a specialized training program Business Analysis for Value
Improvement (BAVI) was organized for a large group of 28 mid level managers in Dubai.
The company also under took the implementation of SAP HR Module in 2006. The SAP
project will encompass training & development, entitlement administration, performance
management and salary administration.
The company also started on-line electronic surveys to measure job satisfaction and process
improvements.

ICI Pakistan continued to encourage healthy relationship with their sales force. They aim to build
a meaningful and productive relationship with its staff in order to seek ways to bring about
improvements in the terms and conditions of employment.








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References

ICI. (n.d.). Retrieved April Saturday, 2014, from
www.ici.com.pk
Qureshi, N. (2014, April Thursday). Sales Administrative
Manager. (F. Students, Interviewer)