Watson Agro India faced challenges selling its new insecticide Zannate in the Indian market due to stiff price competition from other companies supplying the same chemical. WAI was not appointing preferred dealers to distribute Zannate or educating farmers about the benefits of the product over alternatives. To succeed, WAI needed to overcome fears about prioritizing some dealers over others, hire more experienced sales managers familiar with the Indian market, loosen credit terms for distributors, and implement a promotion strategy to educate farmers.

1. Watson Agro India
Case Study
Tirthankar Sutradhar
TIRTHANKAR SUTRADHAR | 1421427 | M2 | GROUP2

2. Tirthankar Sutradhar
1421427 | Marketing | CUIM
Watson Agro India Case Study Write
Up & Solution
Watson Agro India faced a typical sales problem in 1999 with the launch of Zannate, an
insecticide used for pest control in Cotton and Vegetable crops invented by its US lab. Though
being the inventor of the molecule, WAI faced a challenge in selling the product in Indian
market and to be the ultimate choice of Indian farmers as the best option to sprinkle in their
fields for pest control. The issue was not due to the quality of the product, the issue was the price
war which was started by Teri Agri and Southern Minerals Limited, its main competitor in India.
Problem Statement:
1. WAI was supplying technical grade Zannate to Teri and SML, who sold the same in their
own brand name as well as a cheaper price giving stiff competition to WAI.
2. Locally influential dealers prescribed Teri’s and SML’s substitute of WAI’s Zannate to
Indian farmers.
3. No preferred dealers appointed for the sales of Zinnate, though the competitors Teri and
SML were extensively using the same channel.
4. Couldn’t cash from being a huge international player with a brand name, as well as being
the first player to introduce Zannate to the market.
Problem Solution:
1. WAI should tie up with distributors who won't come up in the way if they want to
appoint preferred dealers for their sales. The same will act to increase distribution
network for WAI.
2. At the same time the existing relation with dealers and distributors shouldn't be hindered.
3. High operational freedom provided to sales people might result in scattered and non-
uniform strategies adoption which might counter with the final goal of the organization.

3. Tirthankar Sutradhar
1421427 | Marketing | CUIM
The freedom of the salespeople should be revised and must be bought under a uniform
guideline.
4. Not reducing the price for short term goal achievement as it will counter their brand
image in the long run.
5. Having the advantage of sitting up on a higher sales promotion budget, the same should
be leveraged for adopting a campaign to educate the farmers about the benefits of the use
of product from WAI over its competitor’s offerings.
To have a long term winning strategy, WAI must:
a) Overcome the fear of hurting distributor/dealer’s sentiment on linking the business to
preferred dealers also.
b) Hire managers with a better experience on the field who knows the Indian pesticide
market better than the fresh college recruits.
c) Overcome the notion that only fresh blood in the company can be molded to the
company's global work culture.
d) Slightly loosen up their credit policy for distributors.
e) Devise a proper promotion strategy eg. door to door campaigns for farmers, offering
know-how of the usage of Zannate, educating them about the extra benefits that can be
reaped from the product.