Use of Material Management in FMCG Sector in India with Particular Reference to Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)

This report will categorically study the role, importance and functions of material management in FMCG sector in India, particularly HUL. This study will explore why material management has become so important today in the field of FMCG sector. Materials are the key resource in an industrial enterprise since no production can be possible without the use of materials. Hence, materials play a very important role in the functioning on any business enterprise, they also form a major constituent of the cost of the product and therefore proper control over their procurement ,storage, movement and consumption is necessary. Materials Management as defined by Bethel is \"controlling the kind, amount, location, movement and timing of the various commodities used in and produced by the industrial enterprise.\" It thus, involves all activities concerning material right from the time the need for the material is established until they are issued to the production department of any industrial unit. Hence Materials management can also be defined as \" The grouping of management functions supporting the complete cycle of material flow, from purchasing and transportation of materials to production planning to the warehousing, shipping, and distribution of the finished product \". We will study all these aspects with reference to the FMCG Sector taking the Hindustan Uniliver Limited as the example.