Marketing and Sales Organization

Rail traffic in India started on 16 April 1853 between Boribandar and Thane. Railways had monopoly in transportation field since it was started in India. But after the independence, the Five Year Plan started. Under these plans, construction of roads and bridges was done rapidly and road transportation had developed. In initial decades, Railways had not felt any need of marketing. But slowly due to increase in employee’s salary, operation/ maintenance, expenditure and decrease share in country’s total transportation and it started suffering financial loss. Due to inherent good features of road transport; Railway’s high profit yielding commodities were attracted towards road transport. In August 1967, Marketing and sales organization was established to identify the reasons for decrease of railway’s share in country’s total transportation and diversion of high profit yielding commodities towards road transport, increase rail traffic and to attract lost traffic.

Objectives:

1. Survey of expected traffic.

2. Market survey.

3. To attract lost traffic towards railway.

4. To increase traffic.

5. To retain existing traffic.

6. Co-ordination with other modes of transport.

7. To attract new traffic.

Function:

1. Intensive and comparative study of market

2. Market Survey

3. To contact, co-ordinate and organize meetings with businessman

4. To solve the problems of businessman.

5. To frame new schemes of marketing

6. To give wide publicity to marketing schemes

7. To review and improve the schemes

8. Give suggestion for liberalization of rates and rules

9. Comparative study of rates of road and rail

10. Traffic survey 11. To keep information about various development programs of Central and State Government

12. Propose opening of new station and siding

13. To collect traffic figures and to analyze and study them.

14. In regards to passenger amenities provided at station, study to be done whether the available amenities are liked by general public or not?

15. Response of general public in respect to railway facilities should be finds out and suggest ways to improve it.

16. To co-ordinate with other modes of transport.

Reasons of diversion of Rail Transport to other modes of Transport –

Indian railways carry all type of commodities Railway’s aim is to earn profit as well as provide social service. Due to following inherent features of road transport, railways traffic gets attracted to road transport.

1. Door to Door service

2. Right of choosing customer.

3. Flexibility in rates.

4. Personal supervision

5. Quick settlement of claims

6. No packing condition

7. No restriction on working and business hour.

8. No extra charges like Demurrage Charge, Wharfage charge, Busy Season surcharge etc.

9. No need of indent.

10. Quick availability of transport service.

11. Quick transshipment enroute.

12. Low cost of transportation.

13. Less chances of damages and theft.