Team Work and Dedication Vs Stars studded Team?

 Almost three decades ago, Haryana beat Bombay by just two runs to win the Ranji trophy, the closest match in history of cricket. It was an incredible match. Bombay had 8 test cricketers & a batting line up that had Rajput, Vengsarkar, Tendulkar, Kambli and Pandit with Manjrekar as skipper. Can you imagine such a star studded line up to lose a match but they did lose. The reason was that Haryana had few players who were determined to make their mark and they did. In the end it’s not the stars that will win you a match but the team and the dedication of the unit to make a mark.

when I draw a parallel to this victory, there are many organizations in wood panel Industry (incidentally I worked there for a decade , so many such stories are etched in my memory) who have risen to top without having big names in their teams ( like some of the traditional big brands have in panel trade). These organizations have made a mark and created a space for themselves by sheer hard work ,being true to the customers and market needs.

one such Organization that has been making news in Wood Panel Industry is “Black Cobra”, the name is very catchy and different and this reflects in it’s work too!!.

Background

It all started in 1995, when 4 real brothers (all first generation entrepreneurs) from Sangrur (Punjab) came to Yamunanagar in search of business opportunities. They belonged to a lower middle class family.

What lead to the growth of Black Cobra

1. The early struggle period was of about 4 years when as a relatively new entrant, no dealer or distributor would entertain them for supply and also make fun of their brand name “Black Cobra” and question why would someone keep such a stupid name. The name had been kept to position the brand in the premium segment as in those days (1998) there used to be a premium perfume brand by the name of Black Cobra.
2. Black Cobra was the first plywood manufacturer in Yamunanagar to have a brochure and product catalog.
3. The only manufacturer in Yamunanagar to hire 5 people from FRI, Dehradun who were wood science and technology graduates. One of them is still with them (shows employee retention) and now their  group CEO , and among the leading production experts for plywood in the country.
4. Great quality at a very affordable price point led to joining hands with lots of distributors who are among the top distributors in the country
5. The first manufacturer from Yamunanagar to have a Television commercial campaign
6. The only manufacturer in Yamunanagar to have a comprehensive range of products – All types of Plywood, Doors, Aluminium Composite Panels (Alex panels), Wood Plastic Composite Sheet and Doors, PVC laminates, HPL, WPC Door Frames.
7. Among the few businesses in Yamunanagar to start a reputed University that imparts world class education (ranked among top 60 Bschools in India by Times Education). This immensely helps in giving the group a positive brand image.
8. Starting with a small factory, the group now has 6 manufacturing plants (covering a total of 1mn+ sqft manufacturing space + 25 acres of campus area for the University) and various business verticals which have a total annual topline of 300+ crores.

Some learnings

1. Move fast and learn fast from failures – They had set up a laminated particle board unit but due to bad machinery choices, the project failed. They were quick to wrap that up and convert that into a WPC unit.
2. Hire great people and treat them like family – They have among the lowest attrition rates in our manpower till date and most of our production managers, staff, accountants, quality managers, etc have been with them since inception or early part of their journey.
3. Invest in R&D and new innovations to deliver more value to existing customers and oil the distribution channel with a constant supply of new and innovative offerings. Be at the forefront of innovations in the building materials industry.

Some things to be unlearned

1. Don’t underestimate the power of competition – when a brand grows, the management usually tends to be satisfied with the growth and becomes complacent and egoistic with their success. Usually that is when other upstarts and new entrants can completely disrupt your business.
2. Branding and marketing is not only about TV ads. In this crowded world, one has to try all different routes to reach the customer at least possible cost.
3. Shift in thinking from a manufacturer to a reputed brand – most brands still operate with processes that are similar to other manufacturers. This leads to temporary growth which saturates once you hit your production limits. Working as a brand is very different from working as a factory owner.