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DETERMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRODUCT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA BREWERIES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A product according to Kotler and Armstrong (2004:276) is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. Products include both tangible and intangible goods. According to stanchion (2005:85) product refers to tangible and intangible goods that lead to customer’s satisfaction. Product planning entails the activities that enable a company to determine what product it will market and how it will be marketed. Management involves getting things done through and with people. Put together product. This involves process from planning to production (Moore, 2003:5). A successful product starts with a good plan, and this entails building and executing program that whill help in pushing or pulling customer to the products given the rapid changes in consumer tastes, technology competition, companies must develop a steady stream of new product and services.

According to Kotler and Keller (2004:315), a new product development in a company can be obtained through acquisition by buying a whole company a patent or a license to produce someone else’s product. While the other is through the company’s own research and development departments. It is possible for a market leading companies like Nigerian Breweries (NBL) PLC to capture customers and market demand, manage a technology road map and continuously monitor its product performance in order to be market focus and assume target effort through effective product planning and management which enable it put more emphasis on the front and of the product development life cycle. (www. Siemen. Com). Product planning and management help company’s especially highly competitive industries to resolve issues relating to the marketing and market for a product. According to Schewe (2001:185), the basis goal of product management is to ensure that a product matches the want and needs of consumer in its market. Product planning and development personal need to be directly involved in understanding customer needs. According to Kenneth (2007:135), this may involve visiting or meeting with customers, observing customer using or maintaining products, participating in focus group or rotating development personnel through marketing, sales or customer support functions. This direct involvement provide a better understanding of customer needs, customer environment and product use, and provide a better perspective for development decisions. A good product planning and management should be responsible for a single product or group of products.  It involve coordinating the following activities product development, market research, sales advertisement.

With the on going competition the beer drink industry basically between the two major beer drink manufactures, Nigeria Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria PLC, the only way to still remain relevant in the market is through effective product planning and management which entails constant product innovation, marketing research product modification and monitoring of product market life cycle (PMLC) (Achison, 2002: 85).

Company Profile of Nigeria Breweries Plc

Niger Breweries PLC, the pioneer and largest brewing company in Nigeria was incorporated in 1946 in June 1949, the company recorded a landmark when the first bottle of star lager beer rolled of its Lagos Brewing bottling lines. This first brewing in Lagos has a undergone several optimization process and as at today boasts of the most modern brew house in the country. In 1957, the company commissioned its second brewery in Aba, Kaduna brewery was commissioned in 1963 while Ibadan Brewery came on stream in 1982. In 1993, the company acquired its fifth brewery In Enugu. In October 2003, a sixth brewery, sited at Ameke, in Enugu state was commissioned and christened AMA brewery. Ama brewery is today, the biggest and most modern brewery in Nigeria.

In October 2011, Nigeria Breweries acquired majority equity interests in sonar systems. Associated Business management limited and life Breweries limited from Heineken N.V. This followed Heineken’s acquisition of controlling interests in five breweries in Nigeria from soda group in January 2011. Sonar systems  two breweries in of a and Kaduna, and life Breweries in Onitsha have now become part of Nigerian Breweries plc, together with the three brands. Goldbery lager, maltaGold and life continental larger. The from the humbly beginning 1946, the Nigerian Breweries now has eight operational breweries to all parts of Nigeria, in addition to the ultra modern malting plant in Aba and Kaduna.

1.2   STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The task of planning and managing a product in any manufacturing organization is one strenuous task which requires strict adherence to professionalism. Many companies have recorded huge failure especially in marketing and monitoring of the product performance, while others have eventually dominated their various industries of operation due to their effective product planning and management activities.

Product planning and management involves coordinating all the various departments in order to get the right product to the ever changing market demand. The Nigeria Breweries (NBL) PLC in trying to plan and manage it various product lines faces difficulties from both its internal and external environment. These internal environment include, staff, resources, finance while the external environment involves, government suppliers of raw materials industrial rivals Guinness Nigerian company PLC. The research work intend to determining out how effective product planning and management has beer to Nigeria Breweries (NBL) Plc and how will these processes are been managed.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study is solely on the determining the effectiveness of product planning and management to Nigeria Breweries company (NBL) PLC. Other objectives include:

1.   To find out how effective this strategy has been to the company.

2.   To identity the various department involves in product planning and management processes.

3.   to find out the major obstacles, the company encounter in getting these processes right.

4.   To make useful recommendation in line with the various finding.

1.4    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study which is titled determining the effectiveness of product planning and management. A study of Nigerian Breweries (NBL) Plc will focus solely on the management, staff and other distributor in Nigerian Brewery.

1.5    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study will give answers to the following questions.

1.   Does NBL Plc have a formal product planning and Management process it products?

2.   Has good product planning and management helped in position the company?

3.   What is the contribution of its research and development department in this process?

4.   What are the factors hindering the efficiency of product planning and management in NBL PLC?

5.     Apart from effective product planning and management what other factor has contributed to the growth of NBL Plc.

1.6  FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS

For the purpose of the research question, the following hypothesis will be formulated and tested to prove their validity.

1.    Ho: NBL PLC does not have formal process for product planning and management.

Hi: NBL PLC does have formal process for product planning and management.

2.    Ho: effective product planning and management has not contribution little in position NBL PLC product.

Ho: effective product planning and management has not contribution little in position NBL PLC product.

3.    Ho: NBL PLC do not encountered problem in its product planning and management process.

Hi: NBL PLC do encounter problem in its product planning and management process

1.7  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

As rightly observed by Udeagha (2002:40) the success and failure of any business organization depends to a very great extend on the marketability of its products, this entails effective product planning and management. This is applicable to a company like NBL PLC which is one major manufacturer of different ranges of drink which include star, gulder, legend extra stout, Heineken, life beer, Goldbery larger, Malta Gold, Maltina, Amstel Malt etc. 

        Against this background the study would be of immense benefit to Nigeria Breweries (NBL) PLC and other companies producing or manufacturing drinks, to academics, students, and researcher and general publics.

        NBL PLC will benefit largely from the formation that would be provided from the study. Such information will throw some light on the meaning and process of product planning and management.

        This study would also identify some of the constraint militating against the achievement of effective product planning and management. Companies facing similar problems would find such suggestion very helpful and useful.

        Academicians would equally benefit from the information contained in this study. If not for any other thing they could use the information to beef up and update their existing knowledge on the subject of this study.

1.8   DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Product: Anything that can be affected to a market for attention, acquisition use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need.

2. Product Planning: Activities that enables a company to determining what product it will market and how it will be marketed.

3. Product Development: A strategy for company growth by offering modified or new product to current market segment.

4.  Product Life Cycle (PLC): The course of a product

sales and profits over its time.

5. Product Line: A group of products that are closely related because of their similarities.

6. Product Positing: The way a product is defined by consumer or important attributes.

7. Product Management: The activities that enables a company to determine what it will market in order to satisfy customer wants and need respectively.

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