Be An Information Powerhouse....

Madhur Bajaj, President, SIAM & Vice Chairman, Bajaj Auto Ltd

I took over as President, SIAM in September 2005. This year, we commemorated 45 years of SIAM. The growth of SIAM also mirrors the changes in the Indian automotive industry. From a humble beginning of 8 members in the 1960s, SIAM today has 38 members representing leading vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers.

Over the years the relations between FADA and SIAM have strengthened and, I am sure, we will increasingly partner on issues and initiatives that would aim to serve customers and promote mobility in general.

The performance of the industry in the first six months for the financial year 2005-06 has been satisfactory with a growth of 13.31% over fiscal 04-05. Total vehicle sales were 4,149,202 compared to 3,661,921 in the first half of last fiscal.

We have had a fairly smooth transition to the next stages of emission norms in 11 cities and the rest of the country. Industry has also implemented several safety standards and a few more are on the anvil for next year.

With over 70 million vehicles on road and the population growing at an annual rate of 8 million currently, these are challenging and interesting times for the automobile industry and the automotive retailing industry. The demographic profile of India with over 70% of the population being below 35 years also augurs well for the Industry.

The Automotive industry is aspiring for USD 115 billion market and USD 30-35 billion exports. The vision is to make India as a hub for small cars, commercial vehicles and two wheelers. The automotive component industry has envisioned USD 40 billion in production and USD 25 billion export.

Madhur Bajaj Madhur Bajaj, Vice Chairman, Bajaj auto Ltd is an alumini of Doon School, Dehra Dun. After obtaining his B. Com degree from Sydenham college, Mumbai, in 1973, he did his MBA at International Institute of Management Development (IM D), Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1979. He is the Past Chairman of the Conferderation of Indian Industry (western region) and its present National Council Member. He is Chairman of ClI's National Committee on Latin America. He is currently the President of SIAM, an apex association of Indian automobile manufacturers. He is also Vice President of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), the apex industries of Association of Pune. Madhur Bajaj is a member of the Avisory Council of Department of Management Studies of the University of Pune. He is a director of Bajaj Auto Ltd, Bajaj Electricals Ltd and Maharashtra Scooters Ltd, amongst others.

 
Coming to the theme of my message, when I started jotting down the issues I could focus on in the article, one subject, which had a common thread, was information (resources/ management/dissemination).

I thought it would be timely to write on information because today the buzzword (phrase) is information. There is sudden interest with the recent passing of the Right to Information Bill by the Parliament.

Information on issues impacting our lives, businesses and economy is vital and its importance cannot be over-emphasised. Take the automobile industry for instance; there is a range of issues on which we require information - market size, government policies, customer preferences, technological trends, etc.

Every month SIAM releases the production, sales and export reports, which are used by several stakeholders including government, media, analysts and even the industry. This can be considerably strengthened with data on retail sales/registration. This data can be put to a wide range of use for having an efficient vehicle fleet in the country. Currently, this is not possible; however, I understand the government is planning a National Registry.

Here both automobile manufacturers and automotive dealers can playa role in the data network. I would urge members of FADA to ensure computerisation of the dealership network including those in remote parts of the country.

We all agree that customer satisfaction and growth in our businesses are linked. You have a satisfied customer when you are able to provide him timely information to help him during the purchase process and also in maintaining his vehicle. This would require the setting up of the requisite physical infrastructure complemented by a trained manpower.

Today, a customer requires information on technology, vehicle finance, insurance, warranty, driving tips and regulatory requirements. We should be able to anticipate and respond to customer needs and this comes about by being in touch with facts and figures. Staying in touch with our customers is no longer difficult with the rapid strides made by telecommunication.

In the years to come, I foresee automotive retailing undergoing significant transformation. The emphasis would be on ambience, location, innovative customer loyalty programmes, facilitating ease of trying and selecting vehicles among others.

Together we also need to counter the menace of counterfeits. We need to launch a rigorous campaign whereby the customer is educated on the hazards of using non-standard and counterfeit spares.

Our information resource will play an important role in our relationship with a customer who no longer represents "passive demand for firm's offering". Vehicle manufacturers will increasingly look to you for information on customer choices, feedback on performance and a number of other factors impacting the growth of automotive business.