Industry overview
What is shaping pulp & paper
Paper and packaging demand is shifting from writing and printing grades towards packaging, hygiene and recycled products. Buyers are printers, converters, brand owners and schools, each with different priorities.
- E-commerce is driving packaging demand
- Recycled and sustainable grades are gaining preference
- Price and delivery reliability dominate B2B buying
Client background
A kraft paper mill, working in Gujarat. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A kraft paper mill
- Sector
- Pulp & paper
- Team engaged
- Finance & Accounts
- Services
- MIS & financial reporting, Data analytics & dashboards, Accounting & finance consulting
Client challenge
Raw material and energy costs fluctuated sharply, and management only saw grade-level profitability at year end. Monthly accounts showed only total costs, so the team could not tell which grades were profitable when pulp and coal prices changed.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: monthly cost visibility for a paper mill.
- Establish accurate, reconciled numbers management can rely on.
- Put a reporting and compliance rhythm in place that runs on time.
Target audience
Scope: One mill, four product grades.
Audiences we typically reach in pulp & paper
Printers and convertersPackaging buyers at brandsPaper tradersSchools and stationery retailersRecycling businesses
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Gujarat. Market: India.
- India
Research methodology
A structured finance engagement: review the current process, set up controls, run the routine and report.
- 1Brief
- 2Costing model
- 3Monthly dashboard
- 4Insight
We built a costing model allocating raw materials, chemicals, energy and overheads to grades, linked it to production and accounting data and introduced a monthly dashboard. Production managers and accounts staff agreed allocation rules together, so the numbers were trusted by both teams. The dashboard was refreshed after each monthly close and reviewed in a short meeting with production, sales and finance heads.
MIS & financial reportingData analytics & dashboardsAccounting & finance consulting
Sampling strategy
- Every ledger, entity and transaction stream in scope was covered, with sample-based checks during review.
Data collection
- Source documents, bank statements and ledgers were collected through a secure shared workspace.
Data quality & validation
- Maker-checker review on all entries
- Bank and ledger reconciliations
- Client approval before every filing or report
- Supporting documents kept for every figure
Data analysis
- Variance analysis against budget and prior periods
- Ratio and trend analysis
- Cash-flow view for management
Key findings
- Management saw which grades were profitable each month and adjusted the production mix and pricing as costs changed.
Monthly grade-level costing turned volatility into decisions.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: monthly grade-level costing turned volatility into decisions.
- Keep the monthly routine and review exceptions with management every period.
Business impact
- Sales teams also used the data to negotiate prices for low-margin grades with large customers.
Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Interactive dashboard
- Monthly MIS pack and reconciled books
- Compliance calendar and filings
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: how price-sensitive are converters?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.