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Tatagroup|Tatacompanies|TataMotors|Articles|Whererelationshipsmatter

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October2007|DhruvTanwar

Whererelationshipsmatter
Bymakingasuccessofconnectingtodealersandcustomers,Tata
Motorshasgotintocruisecontrolinacriticalsphereofitsbusiness
Giventhatthecustomerisking(orqueen),itwouldbelogicaltopresumethatestablishingand
nurturingarelationshipwithsuchroyaltyisapriorityforenterpriseslookingtosellaproductor
service.Factis,itmaybeaprioritybutorganisationsrarelypaymorethanlipservicetowhatgoesby
thegrandiosenomenclatureofcustomerrelationshipmanagement.ForTataMotors,though,thishas
alwaysbeenanimperative.
ItmadeeminentsenseforIndiaspremierautomobilecompanywithover1millioncustomers,
22,000employeesandageographicallyfragmentedbusinessthatoperatesoutof1,600locationsina
notoriouslycyclicbusinessenvironmenttoputmanyeggsintherelationshipmanagementbasket.
Butthiswasanideacookedinthecauldronofadversity.
TataMotorsgotstartedonwhatithastaggedthecustomerrelationshipmanagementdealer
managementsystem(CRMDMS)attheturnofthemillennium,whenitwasbattlingtoregain
relevanceatadifficulttimeinitshistory.Thatswhenitrealisedthatsurvivalintheautobusiness
dependedonmanagingitsrelationshipswithitscustomers,dealersandanyoneelsewhohadadeep
connectionwiththemothercompany.
Thiswasnomeantask,consideringthescaleandcomplexityoftheissuesinvolved.Twoparameters
customers,andtheirinterfacewiththecompany,thedealerswerethecriticallinksinacomplex
chainthatTataMotorshadtodealwith.ThesolutionledtotheemergenceofTataMotorsintegrated
CRMDMS,whichistodaythelargestsuchapplicationintheautomobileindustryworldwide,linkingto
morethan1,200dealersacrossIndiaandtrackingtheneedsofsome25,000customers.

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TataMotorshadnostandardorbenchmarktomodelitssolutiononwhentherelationshipconceptwas
firstconsidered,backin2002.Thecompanyrealisedthatithadtolookatthebusinessina
fundamentallydifferentway.Insteadofsellingtothecustomer,TataMotorsembarkedonanambitious
programmetomakeitsextendedorganisationgetintothecustomersshoesandenvisioneachlittle
detailasifitwasmeanttoservehim.
Thechallengewastakenonbyover40crossfunctionalteams,comprising
onemembereachfromdesign,manufacturing,salesandmarketing,and
service.Basedontheoutputofthisqualityfunctionaldeploymentexercise
andcustomersatisfactionsurveys,TataMotorscameupwiththetop25
issuesthatitneededtoaddressfromthecustomerspointofview.
Tostandardisethesalesprocess,thecompanybrokeitupintoafourpart
cycle:enquiry,warmprospect,hotprospect(industryterminologyforpotentialbuyers),andcompletion
ofsaleandvehicledelivery.Usingstatisticalanalysisonthesegmenteddata,thecompanywasnow
abletopredictitssalespatterns.
Oncestandardisationwascarriedoutacrossthedealernetwork,resultswerevisiblealmost
immediately.Accuratesalesforecasts,reducedinventoryforthecompanyandthedealer,andbetter
productionschedulingwereonlysomeofthebenefits.Ashorterdeliverycycleforthecustomerwasan
importantfringeadvantage.
TataMotorsthenembarkedonimplementingasolutionthatalsofacilitatedthefreeflowofinformation
acrosstheenterprise.Itputinplacearobustinformationtechnologyplatformintheformofan
innovativedealermanagementsystem,whichautomatedsalesprocessesforits1,600dealer
locations,allowingthemmoretimetofocusonthecustomer.
TataMotorschoseSiebelforitsCRMprogramme,whichwithitsuserfriendlyinterfacesimplifiedthe
processoftrainingthecompanys15,000plusdealersalesforce.Tosupporteachdealerwhois
actuallyabusinesspartnerrepresentingthecompanywiththeendcustomerTataMotorsinvolved
dealersthroughouttheconfigurationanddeploymentprocess.
IntegratingtheSiebelAutomotiveCRMwithoursystemensuredthatourdealers
wouldimmediatelyseethevalueinthesolution,saysKRSreenivasan,headofCRM
andDMS.Thishelpedusovercometheusualresistancetochangeandgainrapid
acceptancefromourdealers.
ItsCRMDMSinitiative,whichhascostTataMotorsaboutRs35croretodate,hasenabledthe
companytoconnectwith1,200dealersonline(thenumberisexpectedtoriseto1,600inthenextfew
months)andhasallowedittomonitorfinancesandinventoryatthedealerlevel,andservices,spares
andcomplaintsatthecustomerend.

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CRMDMShashelpedTataMotorsenormouslyingettingafirmerhandleonitsbusiness.Thesystem
wasimplementedinthreephases,theobjectivebeingtoachievesuccessinonebeforemovingonto
thenext:
Phase1focusedoncapturingcustomerandvehicledataandautomatingroutinetasks.
Inphase2,thisdatawasusedtoimprovecustomerinteractionsandstreamlineproduct
developmentandplanning.
Phase3,nowunderway,concentratesontuningthesystemanddeliveringadditionalvalue
addedservicestocustomers.
TheCRMDMSplatformhasbeenintegratedwithawidearrayofbackofficeapplications,including
inventorymanagement,fulfilmentandpartslocation.Pricingandtaxcalculationscannowbeadjusted
foreachdealersrequirements.Thecomprehensivesalesandreportingfunctionalitybuiltintothe
SiebelsolutionallowsTataMotorstodistributesalestargetsdirectlytoitsdealersandrollupsales
numbersacrossthecountryinrealtime.
TataMotors'dealersareahappylot,too.Thedealermanagementsystemhasmeantagross
reductionintheamountofworkingcapitalneededtoruntheirbusinesses.Transactionsbetweenthe
companyanddealers,whichearliertookupto60days,arenowcompletedonlineandsealedinunder
sevendays.
Eventheservicebaysattheworkshopshavehappystoriestotell.Thesystembasedjobcardenables
themechanictofollowachecklistanddiagnosefaultsthroughaprocessofeliminationofprobable
causes,slashingdiagnosistime.Simultaneously,thestoresmanagerusesthesystembasedjobcard
toassortabasketofthesparepartsneededtofixthefault,andtheyarereadyforpickupevenbefore
themechanicwalksintothestores.
Withzerowaitingtimesbuiltintotheserviceprocess,thesystemgeneratesadashboardforthe
workshopsupervisor,indicatingidlecapacityandprocesstimes,andhighlightingbottlenecksto
optimisetheuseofservicebays.TherecentimplementationofanSMScapabilitymeansthatthe
systemdirectlypingsthecustomerwhenthejobcardisclosedonthesystemandhisvehicleisready.
Thecompanycanalsonowtrackeachvehiclerightthroughitsoperatinglifetime,givingitvaluable
insightsonproductperformanceovertime(earlierthiswaslimitedtothewarrantyperiod,afterwhich
scantinformationwasforthcoming).
Overall,wehavetransformedourorganisationandmadeittrulycustomercentric,saysSreenivasan.
Oneofourfirstdealerstoinstallthesystemdoubledhissalesvolumeinthreemonthswithoutthe
needforadditionalmanpower.Anothersaidthathecan,forthefirsttime,viewhisentirestockof
vehiclesandseehowhisinventorywasageing.

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But,astheoldclichgoes,theproofofthepuddingisintheeating.Therealrewardcomesfromthe
customer.Withaproductlinespanningcommercial,utility,andpassengervehicles,TataMotorsison
theroadtoforgingeverstrongerrelationshipswiththepeoplewhohavebettheirmoneyonthe
companysproducts.
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ABOUTTHECOMPANY>(/COMPANY/PROFILEINSIDE/TATAMOTORS)
Profile,operations,contactinformation,relatedlinks.

MEDIARELEASES>(/COMPANY/RELEASESINDEX/TATAMOTORS)
TataNanocrownedmosttrustedhatchbackinthecountryforthethirdyearinarow
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TataMotorsGroupglobalwholesalesat80,499inJanuary2015(/company/releasesinside/TataMotorsGroup
globalwholesalesat80499inJanuary2015)

MEDIAREPORTS>(/COMPANY/REPORTSINDEX/TATAMOTORS)
Tatatostrengthenpresenceinbussegment(http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/tatatostrengthen
presenceinbussegment/article6883260.ece)
50%ofpassengervehiclesmayhaveAMTby2020:TataMotors
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/news/passengervehicle/cars/50ofpassengervehiclesmay
haveamtby2020tatamotors/articleshow/46098603.cms)

FEATURESTORIES>(/COMPANY/ARTICLESINDEX/TATAMOTORS)

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Drivenbycommitment(/company/articlesinside/Drivenbycommitment)
TheskillsdevelopmentinitiativesatTataMotorshavetranslatedintobusinessgainsforthecompany,while
alsoimprovingtheemployabilityandincomeearningcapacitiesofbeneficiaries

CONTACT

TataMotors
BombayHouse
24,HomiModyStreet
Mumbai400001
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Phone:+91(22)66658282
Website:www.tatamotors.com(http://www.tatamotors.com)
Othercontactdetails>>(http://www.tatamotors.com/contactus/index.php)
(https://twitter.com/tatamotors)

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