ABSTRACT
Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) had over 100 manufacturing facilities across the country, as well as several third-party manufacturing arrangements However, HLL wanted to penetrate these local communities even further and work deep within the villages. By the 1990s, HLL was the sole representative of Unilever's business in India. HLL had a tried and tested distribution network for consumer products in India. It was not only one of the widest and most efficient distribution networks, but also a recognized key strength. With the Shakti initiative within Project Millennium, HLL was profiling itself as a sustainability leader. Shakti had also attracted the media's attention, therefore the risk to the company's credibility if the project should fail was high indeed. Operation Streamline, one of HLL's growth engine initiatives to penetrate rural markets that could not be reached by vehicle, had already been launched in 1997.
