Steel was not a freely saleable commodity at that time as there was a quota system. In spite of all odds he managed to make “Sandeep Steels” a respected trading firm by 1980 though on a small scale only because of government policy and restriction.
After 1981 he started expanding his business and this was a great struggle. The company’s primary function was to source material for small industries and small manufacturing companies as per their requirement & deliver at their doorstep. The company was supplying steel to more than 60 small manufacturing companies at the end of 1988. In these 16 years such growth was possible because of customized door-to-door delivery service and excellent cliental relationship of Mr. Dhirajlal Doshi the founder of “Sandeep Steels” with the owner of small industries or purchase manager of clients.
Then came the liberalization phase and “license raj” was abolished from India and a lot of industrial activity had picked up and so did the requirement of steel. During this period the company shifted focus from supplying steel to small industries and small manufacturing unit to medium and large industries. The company could thereafter manage big requirements with the strong backing of financial institutions.
1998-1999 got tougher as there was a total slowdown in the steel industry. This was the time when information technology took charge of India and shifted the entire paradigm of industries. In trading business price and source secrecy was the strength of business but now all the information was available on the desk of purchase managers. Price was no longer a secret for them.
A strong relationship with clients helped them expose to lot of information of sources and prices. Competition in market spurted as market was experiencing slowdown and information was easily available. Margins were shrinking
The volume of business was not growing and this is when we really analyzed the whole market trend and change in industries working system where relationship and door delivery was no longer priority for the buyer. Best price for their requirement of steel was deciding factors to get orders.