Ashok Leyland Ltd.

Building Relationship Marketing In Ashok Leyland

Anjum Sudhanshu Daniels 09BSHYD0108

An Interim Report

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An INTERIM REPORT On Building Relationship Marketing At Ashok Leyland

By Anjum Sudhanshu Daniels 09BSHYD0108 AT

Plot No.76, Institutional Area, Sector 32, Gurgaon 122001 16/04/2010

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An Interim Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement of MBA program of IBS Hyderabad

Submitted By Anjum Sudhanshu Daniels 09BSHYD0108

Submitted To

Company Guide: Mr Rajiv Bhushan Senior manager Marketing Ashok Leyland

Faculty Guide: Dr Malini Reddy Faculty IBS Hyderabad

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
In pursuit of an MBA degree, summer internship is a critical component of the entire package. I wish to express my true regards to individuals who supported and directed me throughout this internship. My Sincere thanks to Mr. VS Ravichandran (Regional Manager, New Delhi), for giving me an opportunity to work in the company and to learn from the practical challenges that a manager faces while on the job. He also gave me his valuable time in initial days of my training to make feel me comfortable about organization and various other aspect like products, staff etc. My Sincere thanks to my Company Guide Mr Rajiv Bhushan (Senior Manager) who not only encouraged me to do my work positively but also gave me freedom to do my work in my own way. My Sincere thanks to my Faculty Guide Dr. Malini Reddy who always gave me his valuable feedback on my efforts and also gave me the direction in which my project should head.

I also thank Mr Raju Fatlani (Area Manager-Delhi Region for giving me their support in solving my doubts related to commercial vehicle segment. I really learned a lot from their attitude, behavior and interpersonal skills that how to interact with different kind of the persons in the organization in the different way.

I also thank Mr. Amar Sureka for giving me an insight about how the organization works and how each individual is important for the running of the whole organization.

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CONTENTS
1. Cover Page01 2. Title Page..02 3. Authorization...03 4. Acknowledgement...04 5. Abstract...06 6. Introduction07 7. Objective of the project.08 8. Methodology08 9. Scope of work09 10. Limitation.09 11. Indian Commercial Vehicle Industry..10 12. Light Commercial Vehicles ..16 13. Heavy Commercial vehicles...17 14. Recent Trend In Commercial vehicles..18 15. About Ashok Leyland.20 16. Application Mapping..24 17. Products Of AL27 18. Work Done Till Now.31 19. Work To be done48 20. References49 21. Questionnaire50

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Abstract
This project involves the in depth study of the existing Customer Relationship management methods and practices in Ashok Leyland, where in how the relationship with a customer is being built up and maintained. As per the recent trends the customer does not only buys the commercial automobile but also expects the organization to provide a wide variety of buddle of package such as after sales services, value added services and further incentives with the product. Thus after realizing the need for the organization in CRM at customer and dealer end, the problem statement is being formalized. In order to make necessary suggestion in the CRM of Ashok Leyland there is strong need to understand the existing group of customers and their satisfaction level with the organization what it delivers to them. Thereafter customer lifetime value will be calculated where in the value of each customers will be judged and then the customer satisfaction and customer lifetime value is mapped in order to find out the gaps in delivering the value to the organization existing customer group. In order to bring in value change new additions in the existing CRM methodology and software will be suggested.

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INTRODUCTION

The Indian Commercial Vehicle (CV) Industry is the lifeline of the economy. Approximately 66% of the goods and 87% of the passenger traffic in the country moves via road. The Commercial Vehicle industry draws its demand from the economy and hence is prone to cyclicality. However, due to greater versatility of usage, the LCV demand is less cyclical than the M&HCV demand. The industry is capital intensive in nature but with CV manufacturers moving towards increased ancillarisation, the initial capital outlay for setting up a Greenfield plant has decreased substantially. Instead manufacturers are now directing significant effort towards vendor development and rationalization. The industry is highly susceptible to technological changes. With environmental norms becoming stricter and consumers demanding better technology vehicles, it has become imperative for the manufacturers to either have technology partners or a strong in-house R&D. The need of having a wide product range in each of the segments along with the short lifecycle of these vehicles makes it mandatory for the manufacturers to constantly innovate so as to sustain competition. These factors together increase the entry barriers to this industry making it an oligopolistic market. Now in recent times with rapid competion with the other major competitors in the commercial vehicle market like TATA motors, EICHER, AMW, MAN etc, dealing with customer is very crucial and strategic in this particular scenario. Here in this type oligopolistic market of commercial vehicles where in customer retention and customer acquisition are rapid and crucial for a company like Ashok Leyland , there has been need generated for its customer relationship building , so that switching takes place at minimum level and the customer satisfaction is being well maintained by the organization. Thus there is extra benefit for the sales department of the organization in order to identify the key risk areas and focal points where in they can focus and build on the customer relationship stronger and bring in overall improvement in the organization.

Currently in Ashok Leyland the customer group with which the company is dealing is handled through a tool named CRM & DMS( Customer relationship management & Dealer management System), this helps them to keep a track of the leads & prospects generated for the sales to be done and track record for the invoicing of sales which is being carried out. Mainly this tool is fetching the organization as a database management tool. Thus in order to increase the scope of the tool one has to incorporate more functions like profiling the customers , analyzing the profitable customers, and measuring the gaps being created in customer value delivery.

For this particular above mentioned goal to achieve we require to measure the customer satisfaction level within the existing customers of Ashok Leyland Ltd and then measure the customer lifetime value of the existing customer groups of the organization , finally 7|Page

mapping the two in order to find out the various GAPs present in the Customer loyalty creation towards Ashok Leyland. Thus fulfilling the gaps with the help of some CRM initiatives within the organization. There in incorporating an analytical tool in the exiting CRM&DMS software to do the required analysis for building customer relationship. The customer lifetime value calculation will help us in determining the business demand diversity and this whole process will help in building a correct perception of product & service as held by any key opinion makers. The whole gap analysis in turn will help in identifying deficient making units and thus help us in categorizing areas of work like in of ABC category and key account management.

Objective of the Project: To conduct a customer satisfaction survey of the existing group of customers To calculate the customer lifetime value of the customers and to compare it with customers satisfaction and to find out the gap. So that the gaps can be filled in order to develop more close customer value creation. To finally bring in valuable suggestion in the existing CRM software. So that organization can understand the customer needs in advance stage.

Methodology:Research Design:Research design is a framework for conducting the research project. It is descriptive in nature as the information needed is clearly defined. Survey method is adopted which includes personal interviewing. The technique used to gather the required data is through questionnaire. I aim to take responses from as many customers of Ashok Leyland which are of varied kinds and profiles.

Data Collection:Primary Data:- It includes the direct responses obtained through questionnaire and personal or telephonic interviewing. Secondary Data:- It includes the fact sheets , newspapers , magazines and websites. Data Analysis:The data collected over a period would be analyzed using suitable data analysis techniques depending upon the sample size taken. I aim to use factor analysis to analyze the collected data.

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Interpretation of Results Result would be interpreted by an examination of the standardize factor analysis different set of variables, the structure coefficients, and certain plots. The gap analysis graphs will help in indentifying the gap areas. SCOPE OF THE WORK Geographical Scope The geographical scope of this project is limited as it is being done in only within the existing customer groups in which I am being sent by the organization. Therefore, the respondents are from Delhi and NCR only. Functional Scope The functional scope of this project has three fold objectives; firstly, it deals with Understanding of the conceptual framework and working of the company sales and marketing team. Secondly, it aims at analyzing the performance of products and their technical functionality and thirdly, it aims to know about the market scope of commercial vehicles. It has been observed that customers, in general, are concerned with not only the product alone, but also the after sales services, value added services and other incentives which company offers. This project endeavors to apply risk adjusted parameters that truly test the performance of the organization. If properly understood, these measures convey significant information about customer relationship management, proper management of dealers and forecasting the correct customer needs.

Limitations of the Study:

The scope of the analysis is limited to the analysis of Delhi & ncr area only. Sample size is also a limitation. In future, the study can be carried out on a much larger scale, say all over India or zones wise. Due to lack of time the additional CRM tool implementation may or may not be possible.

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Indian Commercial Vehicle Industry

One wonders how well founded is the correlation that one is tempted to draw between India's post-independence history and the evolution of commercial vehicles industry in the country. The rapid growth that marked the commercial automobiles' sector after independence can be, to a great degree, seen as a fruition of Nehru's pregnant visions of an industrialized nation and the subsequent exodus of masses to the cities. Today, India's commercial vehicles sector is one of the rapidly growing industries in the country. The output of commercial vehicles in India has shot up to 2.8 times between the years 1998 to 2004; the figure is significant in the light of the fact that the growth in passenger cars has been only 2.2 times between the same period. One can choose between new and used commercial vehicle, if planning to buy with a number of commercial vehicle insurance options flooding the markets.

Evolution of Commercial Vehicles:

Evolution of Commercial Vehicles dates back to a long time and happened over a period of time. Commercial Vehicles category will mainly include truck, bus, jeep, tractor, ambulance etc. The evolution of bus dates back to the early 19th Century. In the early 1830's Sir Goldworthy Gruney from the UK had designed some kind of a Hugh stagecoach, which was powered by steam engine. This was probably the first kind of bus developed by mankind. However, after the first breakthrough in 1830, the development of buses took a new stage in 1895. It was during this time, that the first passenger bus with four to six horse power single cylinder engine was made in Germany. The modern term bus had come form the Latin word "Omnibus", meaning "for all". And, by the year 1915, bus service had started throughout the world. And slowly the Horse-Drawn Carriage and the Electric-Trolley cars were replaced by Buses. The evolution of trucks dates back to the late 19th century. Gottlieb Daimler designed the first truck in 1896. However, the popularization of the concept of trucks happened during the World War times. It was during that period that the usefulness of the trucks was understood. Trucks can be defined as heavy vehicles specially manufactured to carry out special functions like transporting heavy goods, machinery etc. and to do specialized work.
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The specifications of the first truck were a four horse power engine which had two forward speeds and one reverse speed fitted with a belt drive. This was of German make and was the first pickup truck. However, with time, the development of trucks has come a long way. Today, trucks are very powerful and can be of 500 horsepower or more. Today's trucks are equipped with machinery that enables them to have very high power required for climbing mountainous regions and high altitude. They also have the required specifications to attain very high speed as well. The towing truck industry was established in 1916 by Ernest Holmes after he patented his invention.

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Production of Commercial Vehicles:

(Number of Vehicles) Category 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Passenger Vehicles 989,560 1,209,876 1,309,300 1,545,223 1,777,583 1,838,593 2,351,240 Commercial 275,040 353,703 391,083 519,982 549,006 416,870 566,608 Vehicles Three Wheelers 356,223 374,445 434,423 556,126 500,660 497,020 619,093 Two Wheelers 5,622,741 6,529,829 7,608,697 8,466,666 8,026,681 8,419,792 10,512,889 Grand Total 7,243,564 8,467,853 9,743,503 11,087,997 10,853,930 11,172,275 14,049,830 Automobile Production Trends
TABLE 1: Source - http://www.siamindia.c 1

12,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 0 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

Commercial Vehicles Passenger Vehicles Three Wheelers Two Wheelers

Production of Commercial Vehicles has taken a center stage in the automobile industry of India, today. After globalization came into effect in mid 1990's and the automobile sector of India was opened for global players, there has been an immense flow of capital in this particulate sector. However, the market is still quite untapped. But there has been a considerable amount of growth in this particular sector. The main mantra of the manufacturers of Commercial Vehicles in India is very simple. They are into indigenization of the products. Due to the opening up of the Indian market, capital investment is mo more a problem. The demand of skilled technicians and labor has also been met. Hence all the factors together have led to the increase in the Production of Commercial Vehicles in India. State-of-the-art facilities have been installed at the various manufacturing plants by the fore runners of this industry. According to the Economic Survey of Indian Government, the Commercial Vehicle sector made a growth of about 10%. The number of automobile manufacturing facilities in India has grown to nine for Commercial Vehicles as well. The Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs)
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grew by more than 19% during 2005-06 as compared to 2004-05. According to the manufacturers of Commercial Vehicles in India, there has been a growth of about 20% in the last couple of years or so. And they also predict a future growth of 22% in the near future. The following are the main players in the Production of Commercial Vehicles in India;

Ashok Leyland Ltd. Hindustan Motors Ltd. Telco Force motors Ltd.( Previously known as Bajaj Tempo Ltd) Eicher Motors Ltd. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Swaraj Mazda Ltd. Tata Motors Domestic Market Share for 2009-10

Passenger Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Three Wheelers Two Wheelers

TABLE 1: Source - http://www.siamindia.c 2

15.86 4.32 3.58 76.23

FiG 1: Source-SIAM 1

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Exports of Commercial Vehicles:Automobile Exports Trends Category Passenger Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Three Wheelers Two Wheelers Grand Total 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 129,291 166,402 175,572 198,452 17,432 29,940 40,600 49,537 2007-08 218,401 58,994 2008-09 335,729 42,625 (Number of Vehicles) 2009-10 446,146 45,007 173,282 1,140,184 1,804,619

68,144 66,795 76,881 143,896 141,225 148,066 265,052 366,407 513,169 619,644 819,713 1,004,174 479,919 629,544 806,222 1,011,529 1,238,333 1,530,594

TABLE 2: Source -http://www.siamindia.co 1

2,000,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Passenger Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Three Wheelers Two Wheelers Grand Total

Exports of Commercial vehicles are in full swing at the present moment. And to add fuel to recent growth in this sector, the Indian automobile companies have decided to extend their manufacturing capabilities along with their international counterparts. Hence, the recent boom in the Exports of Commercial Vehicles division is due to the newly improved network and infrastructure. The attractive financial packages that are being offered along with the improved infrastructure are an added advantage for the industry. The recent growth of the Indian economy and the upward trend of the Indian market is a very healthy signal for the export division. However, a lot depends on the budget and its implications on the exports market. Thus making it very important for the key players of the Indian economy to take correct decision for its betterment. It has always been noticed that the passenger car industry gets more recognition and focus in comparison to the Commercial Vehicle industry. However, going by the statistics we find that there has been a phenomenal growth in the sales of the Commercial Vehicles since 1998. The
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total sales of M&H Commercial Vehicles were 15,906 units in 2000 in comparison to the 12,949 units in 1998. In the same way, the total sales of Light Commercial Vehicles in 2000 were 8,642 units in comparison to 6,931 units in 1998. Even in the Multi Utility Vehicle Segment the sales have gone up from 13,400 units in 1998 to 17,194 units in 2000. This transformation in the Commercial Vehicle industry came into effect from the mid 1990's. Earlier, the scenario was not stable at all, as there were only a few local companies dealing in this particular sector. However, as soon as the concept of globalization was introduced in India, this particular sector gained speed with the MNC's making Foreign Direct Investment in as early as 2002. Thus, making India a perfect destination for global outsourcing. This is mainly due to the cost effective environment and the technologically skilled personnel found here. The condition of the industry, the willingness of the country to invest and the skilled labor are the other few reasons behind the specified sector to flourish. According to the Economic Survey of Indian Government, the automobile Industry has made a 15% growth in general and in particular the Commercial Vehicle sector made a growth of about 10%. The number of automobile manufacturing facilities in India has grown to nine for Commercial Vehicles as well. The Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) grew by more than 19% during 2005-06 as compared to 2004-05. Though there has been a thrust in the domestic market, yet the export potential of the country has not been properly exploited yet. It's still an untapped market. Although some amount of progress is being made. However, Export of Commercial Vehicles increased by 36% to 40,581 units in the 2005-06 as compared to 2004-05. India is also the largest Tractor Manufacturing country in the world. It has produced 270,000 units in 2005-06. According to the Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers of India, the growth in the recent past has been around 20 percent, and they predict that there will be phenomenal growth in this sector in the recent future. Their projection for the future is around 22 percent. Almost all the Indian manufacturers are focusing their attention on South Asia, Middle East and Africa as potential markets for the finished products. The reason being, the demographic similarity between the manufacturing country and the potential markets

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Light Commercial vehicles:-

Light commercial vehicles (LCVs) are usually referred to goods and carriage vehicles with a light capacity that varies from one region to another. In Europe the popular definition for a light commercial vehicle is one good vehicle with a maximum permissible capacity of 3.5 tones of mass. The importance of a light commercial vehicle is obvious especially in a newly industrialized economy with large regions to cater where such vehicles play a niche role in transporting goods from one place to another throughout the country. In the Indian automobile context, light commercial vehicles have assumed a great degree of significance with the national economy poised for a greater leap forward. No wonder, all the leading automobile manufacturers are having their operations in the field of LCVs. Tata Motors for one, has made its position unique in the commercial segment of Indian automobile by having a presence in all spheres, light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles and the like. However, the other leading automobile players like the Ashok Leyland and Swaraj Mazda too, are not lagging behind and they have their own aggressive expansion plans on show. Some of the popular offerings in the field of light commercial vehicles from the Tata Motors stable are Tata 407 and Tata 709 of which the former has made a distinct mark in the category of Indian LCVs. However, the recently launched Tata Ace has brought about a dramatic change in the Indian LCV market. Low priced and attractively designed, the Tata Ace has been hugely popular and recorded significant sales in the first year of production itself. Ashok Leyland is another major LCV player with products like Cargo 759 Tipper to boast of. With a wheelbase of 3200 mm and 5 speed synchromesh gearbox, it has got 4 cylinder diesel power engines. The Premium model of Swaraj Mazda has a wide cabin and wheelbase of 2815 mm, has 4 cylinder engine capacities while Cosmo, another of its LCVs, has an overall length of the vehicle 4789 mm. Dual Cab and steel High Deck are the other popular forms of Swaraj Mazda's range of LCVs in India. Eicher 10.60 and Eicher 10.70 are the other popular LCVs that are visible on Indian roads.

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Heavy Commercial Vehicles:-

Heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) are an integral part of the economic activity of all countries. Having an overview of HCVS indicate is their import in places where economic development is reaching a high and the roadways and surface transportation play a significant role in transporting goods and services from one part of the country to another. Talking of India, the road transportation has an important role in the shipping of goods and essential services like, petroleum, gases, supplies and the like. The heavy commercial vehicles have the ability to load a tonnage exceeding the capacity of 3.5 tones and transport them over long distances. In the context of heavy commercial vehicles, Tata Motors is the most important player in the arena. With a range of options from Tata LPT 1613, Tata Se 1613, Tata LPT 2213, Tata LPT 2516 TC, Tata Sk 1613 , it has many forms and designs of HCVs to choose from. The company in a technical tie-up with Volvo, one of the globally acclaimed commercial automobile manufacturers has launched Volvo FH12-420 and Volvo FH12-340 in India. Swaraj Mazda's the north Indian commercial automobile manufacturer has Super ZT 54 as its HCV that however has failed to make a big dent into the Indian HCV market. Eicher 10.90 is the offering from Eicher which is an upgraded version of its light commercial vehicles like Eicher 10.70. However, Ashok Leyland is the only HVC manufacturer in India that has been able to give a decent bit of competition to the market leader Tata Motors in the HCV category. With a number of options like Cargo 909, Cargo 1512, Cargo 1614, Comet Tipper, Hippo Tipper and others, Ashok Leyland too is fairly well entrenched in the Indian heavy commercial vehicles market and is continuously working on coming out with more improved versions and features on its HCVs.

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Recent Trend In Commercial Vehicles:The commercial vehicle (CV) industry faced challenging times in 2008-09 - reduction in cargo and passenger traffic, lower freight rates, difficulty in availability of vehicle finance, stricter appraisal norms for financing - all on the back of the global financial crisis. The domestic CV sales dropped by 21.7 per cent over the previous year. The Goods Carrier (GC) segment witnessed a decline of 24 per cent, while Passenger Carrier (PC) segment witnessed sales drop by 7.1 per cent over the same period previous year. The exports too declined by 27.7 per cent in 2008-09. The profitability of the manufacturers came under pressure in 2008-09 in the first half due to high input prices and in the second half due to huge reduction in sales volumes. The operating profit margin declined to 5.7 per cent from 9.2 per cent in 2007-08. The stimulus packages announced by the government like a) excise duty cut from 14 per cent before December 2008 to 8 per cent (now rolled back to 10 per cent) b) implementation of the fleet modernisation program of the State Road Transport Undertakings [SRTU] under the Jawaharlal Nehru Nation Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and c) accelerated depreciation at the rate of 50 per cent of the annual allowance for vehicles purchased between September 30, 2008 and September 30, 2009 ensured a revival in the sector in 2009-10. Although the exports for the industry still have not come out of the woods, the domestic sales managed to revive, with recovery being more pronounced post September 2009 with growth rate for CV sales for the period September - December 2009 standing at 92.6 per cent y-o-y as compared to 19.1 per cent for April - December 2009. The sector was also helped by reduction in commodity prices during the first half of FY10. The prices of both steel and rubber reduced by around 20 per cent, translating into improved margins of the CV industry. Various launches were made during April - December 2009 owing to the revival in the CV demand. In Light Commercial Vehilce (LCV) GC segment, Tata Motors launched Super Ace and Ace EX under <=3.5 tonnes sub-segment. In Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (MHCV) GC segment it launched a new range of premium World Truck in the 10 to 75 tonnes. Ashok Leyland launched its 31 tonner Multi Axle Vehicle 3116. Mahindra and Mahindra launched the 0.5-tonne Gio in competition to Tata Motors sub-one tonne Ace. The company also launched Maxi truck CNG and a mini truck Maximmo during the said period. Thus, the competition level is rising in the CV industry. A Research foresees healthy growth of commercial vehicles in the next 4 5 years as the economy has resumed its buoyancy. According to Research, LCV sales are likely to outpace the MHCV sales in terms of units and overall GC segment growing at a faster rate as against the PC.
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Abundant and low cost labour coupled with local availability of raw materials like steel, aluminium and natural rubber, coupled with healthy demand outlook and 100 per cent FDI has made India an attractive destination for foreign players that are eyeing for a share in the pie either through joint venture with an Indian partner or on a stand-alone basis. In the light of growing cargo and passenger movement with the economy resuming its buoyancy, higher industrial output, investments in road infrastructure coupled with assistance by the government to improve the public transportation system, domestic commercial vehicle sales growth is expected to accelerate at a healthy pace in the next 4 5 years. Additionally, the sleuth of new launches both in the sub 1 tonne LCV segment and multi axle vehicle segment by major players like TM, ALL, MM at better value propositions than the currently available competing products, which is expected to improve the overall efficiency of the truck operators operations is expected to give the supply side push to the commercial vehicles sales. The advantages of abundant low cost labour, local availability of steel, aluminium and natural rubber as well as strong ancillary industry in addition to the 100 per cent FDI allowed in the sector has attracted global commercial vehicle majors like Volvo, MAN, Daimler, Hino, Nissan to enter the Indian market either on their own or through a joint venture.

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Ashok Leyland
History:-

The origin of Ashok Leyland can be traced to the urge for self-reliance, felt by independent India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister persuaded Mr. Raghunandan Saran, an industrialist, to enter automotive manufacture. In 1948, Ashok Motors was set up in what was then Madras, for the assembly of Austin Cars. The Company's destiny and name changed soon with equity participation by British Leyland and Ashok Leyland commenced manufacture of commercial vehicles in 1955. Since then Ashok Leyland has been a major presence in India's commercial vehicle industry with a tradition of technological leadership, achieved through tie-ups with international technology leaders and through vigorous in-house R&D.

Ashok Leyland has six manufacturing plants -

Ennore Plant, Chennai

Hosur Plants Unit I, Unit II and Unit II A.

Alwar, Rajasthan.

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Bhandara, Maharashtra

A new plant is to be set to be launched in Uttaranchal at Pant Nagar with a plant capacity of 40,000 commercial vehicles. Early products of Ashok Leyland included the Leyland Comet bus chassis sold to many operators including Hyderabad Road Transport, Ahmedabad Municipality, Travancore State Transport, Bombay State Transport and Delhi Road Transport Authority. In the popular metro cities, four out of five state transport undertaking buses come from Ashok Leyland. Some of them like the Double Decker and Vestibule buses are unique models from Ashok Leyland, tailor made high-density routes. Statistics reveal that the company is Indias largest exporter of medium and heavy duty trucks. It sells close to 83,000 medium and heavy vehicles each year. The company has a near 98.5% market share in the Marine Diesel engine markets in India. At 60 million passengers a day, Ashok Leyland buses carry more people than the entire Indian Railway network.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
In 1987 the overseas holding by LRLIH (LAND ROVER LEYLAND INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED) was taken over by a joint venture between the Hinduja group, the Non Resident Indian Transnational group and IVECO Fiat SPA part of the Fiat group and Europes leading truck manufacturing company. Ashok P Hinduja is the chairman of the company. The Hinduja group also associated with Ennore Foundries Limited, Automotive Coaches and Components Limited, and Gulf Ashley Motors Limited.

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The subsidiary holdings are Ashley Holdings Ltd., Ashley Investment Ltd., and Ashok Leyland Project Services. The chief competitors of the company are;

Mahindra Volvo Tata Motors Eicher MAN AMW

With a commanding strength of the about 12,000 employees the company is looking forwards to enhance the sxope of its action. It is aiming at expanding its production operation overseas to make it a more globally accessible company. It is looking to acquire a small to medium sized commercial vehicle manufacturers in China and other developing nations, which have an established product line. An example would be the 2007 acquisition of the Czech based Avias truck business rechristened Avia Ashok Leyland Motors.

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VISION
Be among the top Indian corporations acknowledged nationally and internationally for Excellence in quality of its products. Excellence in customer focus and service.

MISSION
Be a leader in the business of commercial vehicles,excelling in technology, quality and value to customer fully supported by customer service of the highest order and meeting national and international environmental and safety standards.

GEMBA Gemba is a Japanese word meaning Real Place where the real action takes place. In the manufacturing industry, there are 3 major activities directly related to earning money, developing, producing and selling products.

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APPLICATION MAPPING:Market Load Coal Iron ore Aluminium Stone/ Marble Bulk Material Sand/ brick/ blue metal Cement Road Construction Iron Products Steel Fish Paddy Vegetables Agri/ Housing G2 Perishable Poultry Food Grains Fruits Live Stock Trnspt

General

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Captive Use Parcel Loads LPG Cylinder Port Containers Car Carrier Scooter Carrier Other Tisco Mat Applications White Goods Matches Tyres Coils Refrigerated Timber/ wood ODC Petroleum Chemicals Others (oil) Tankers Milk Water Transit mixers (RMC) G1 RMC Construction Fly Ash Related Granite slab Tipper
In this particular table of application mapping it shows that how a particular set of sub application comes under head of one industry. So that its makes clear understanding of the type of product required for thr particular application and for which type of industry application use. This in turn helps to understand the particular need of the customer.

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Products of Ashok Leyland:1. LCV/ICV Trucks-

i.

912

ii.

1112

2. 4X2 Haulage

i.

Comet 1611

ii.

1612

iii. iv. v. vi.

1 2

1613 1613S SFC1 Haulage CG2 1616H 1616

Semi Forward Control Comet Gold

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vii.

1616S SFC Haulage

3. 6X2 and 6X4 MAV3 Haulage

i.

2214 (6X2)

ii.

2214 Super (6X2)

iii.

2514 (6X2)

iv. v.

2516 (6X2) 2516 (6X4)

vi.

2516 H (6X4) RMC4

vii.
3 4

2518H (6X2)

MAV- Multi Axle Vehicle Ready Mix Concrete

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4. 8X2 MAV Haulage i. 3116H

ii. 3121H 5. 4X2 Tipper

i. ii.

1613 ST ( SFC Tipper) CT5 1613H Tipper

iii. CT 1616 iv. 1616 ST SFC Tipper BSIII6 6. 6X4 MAV Tipper

i. ii.

2516H / 4C 2516T

5 6

Comet Tipper Bharat stage III

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iii. 2516T HD iv. 2518T HD v. 2516 H3/4 7. Tractor

i. ii.

3516TT7 3518TT

iii.

4019TT

iv.

4921TT

Tractor Trailer

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Work Done Till Now:The work done till now in Ashok Leyland was first to understand the functionality of the organization marketing and sales team, so there is proper process in order to reach out for the customers in the organization. First to start with we need to understand the process of market mapping wherein there is a deep study of 1. Application analysis 2. Present status 3. Predicting the future trend of various applications In application analysis the application wise products are classified according to their engine specifications, GVW8 and other special requirements for the particular type of application. Then after careful analysis of application present status of the product is being checked which is being checked by looking for the current TIV 9, market share of AL10 and AL standing in the particular market and finally future trend of applications are being carried out in order to check the potential of products offering to the particular application.

Source: AL portal 1
8

GVW- (Gross Vehicular Weight)it the gross weight of the whole vehicle including the body, cabin and capacity of load. Eg in 1613 GVW is 16 tones and in 2518 GVW is 25 tones. 9 TIV (Total IN Volume) This is the total number of commercial vehicles in the particular market region. 10 Ashok Leyland

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The second step is to understand the customers business, its important to execute this process to that right kind of product consulting can done for the customer which will be beneficial for customer and in longer run for the organization. In this we first indentify the key business drivers for the customers like their main industry they function, applications which they cater etc. then customer profiling is done according to the information gathered. According to the information then key customers are identified then customer interactions are being carried out in order to judge the exact requirements and needs , thus they can be consulted on the particular product to buy. Here is the architecture explained pictorially in order to interact with a customer:-

Source: AL portal 2

Then we study the industry trends and develop a knowledge bank of that particular industry and develop a particular applications setting for the customer. Finally the customized options of products and services are being formulated for the customers , this is how each customer in Ashok Leyland is being handled. There is pictorial representation of the whole process shown further.

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Delhi Region market Study:In Delhi there is vast field of transport contractors present in this capital territory of India. The various HUBS present in Delhi are:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar Azadpur Punjabi Bagh Tughlakabad Badarpur

Hubs have offices and workshops of the transport contractors of various profiles, wherein they operate from. According to the applications of the products their total volume as well as volume of Ashok Leylands product is being captured in the Delhi region.

Application-wise Tractor-Trailer Market - Delhi

200 180 160 140 133 101 AL TIV 57 31 60 28 8 16 6 13 4 12 50 186

AL vs TIV

120 100 80 60 40 20 0

Application

This particular graph explains comparison of tractor trailer products of Ashok Leyland with the total strength of the trucks in the market. This shows us the potential what Ashok Leyland can have in particular applications in particular region. Similarly other products potential can be explained in particular applications in Delhi region.
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Application-wise 4X2 FF Market - Delhi

500 450 400 350 AL vs TIV 300 250 200 150 106 132 100 50 0 153 61 278 273 206 165 193 AL TIV 472

53

66

70 13

44 42 39 34 32 29 25 23 11 10 9 7 10 3 7 4 3 0 07 04

Application

Application-wise 4X2 SF Market - Delhi

350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 0 Sand/ brick Road Construction Application Petroleum 0 0 83 AL TIV 297

AL vs TIV

20

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Application-wise MAV Market - Delhi

600 528 500

400 AL VS TIV

300

258

269

AL TIV 164

200 138 100 80 77

138 84 35 29 20 75 14 67 19 58 16 0 4

0 MarketIndl Gen Goods Goods Load White Courier-Logistics Petroleum Edible Oil Grains / Pulses/ Sugar VanPlywood Chemicals Refrigerated Timber/ Applications

Application-wise 4X2 Tipper Market - Delhi

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 AL vs TIV 15 10 10 5 0 Building Material Application Road Construction 2 11 AL TIV 43

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Application-wise 6X4 Tipper Market - Delhi

160 140 120 100 AL vs TIV 80 60 40 21 20 0 0 Road Construction Flyover/Metro Rail Housing Application Building Materials 3 17 0 5 53 147

AL

TIV

Application-wise Pvt. Passenger Market - Delhi

300 280

250

200 AL vs TIV

AL TIV

150

100 44 11 0 Luxury long distance (> 300 kms) School/ college bus City bus/ stage carriage Application Contract carriage 53 14 0 0 6

50

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Study of exiting CRM process:In Ashok Leyland there is a CRM /DMS tool available which is know as customer connect in the organization. This tool helps in capturing the customer information and reviewing it for further details. The focus of this project would be to incorporate appropriate use of the software with inclusion of more help tools available in the market. As per the confidentiality of the tool interface the process carried out in tool is being explained further in form of flow charts, steps etc. thus wont be able to present the tool screen shots. The steps involved in the sales process carried out in CRM tool are: Lead generation Prospecting Sale Order Allotment Invoice Dispatch Sales Return

Lead Generation:In lead generation customers are contacted and whosoever is interested in buying the product is being noted and being noted as the possible lead, then this lead is being targeted in order to change into a prospect customer.

Prospecting :When a prospect customer is being created then that particular customer is being contacted and that particular customer is quoted price , consulted on product as per the applications & industry where is he functioning. When the prospect agrees to buy the product the sales order is being generated.

Sales Order:The following process of sales order is being explained in the following flow chart :-

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Quote Latest Version of the Quote details will be populated in S.O. Record Customer Purchase Order Number / Financer D.O. No. In CRM, different Quotes are prepared for different Variants of the same model. Doc. Reference No. / P.O-D.O. No.

Populate Customer/Party Name, Address, Contact Details

Populate Customer Preferences (Item Info.) Model, Color, Variant, Application, Route, Segment etc.

Process escalation to Sales Manager for Approval

No

Is Quotation Time & Cost Terms Valid

Yes Is Approved Yes

No No Procurement of Customer Preferred Model Notify Customer in Case of Delay in Procurement No Reference can be any of the following : 1. Sales Executive. 2. Broker. 3. Existing Customer. 4. Financer. 5. Employee.

Is Vehicle In Stock Inform Customer for inability to process Yes

Is Reference Applicable ? Yes

Populate Reference Details

Is Financer Applicable ? Yes

No

Record/Populate Finance Details with Scheme No., Name, Branch, Case No. Loan Amount, Down Payment, Installment Amount, No. of Installments, Rate of Interest, D.O. Number, Disbursed Amt.

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Is Insurance Applicable ?

No Is Insurance Managed By Customer ? Yes

No

Yes Record Insurance Information Insurance Co., Branch, Contact Person, Insurance Scheme.

Populate Sales Executive Details like, Employee No., Name, Sales Group etc.

Populate Vehicle Cost

Item/Price Master Different Taxes can be configured for various tax structures applicable in various states e.g.. 1. L.S.T., 2. C.S.T., 3. VAT 12.5% 4. VAT 4%, 5. VAT 1%, 6. Service Tax 10% + 2% surcharge & more. Tax Master populates based on Configurtions

No

Is Tax Applicable? Yes

Check Tax Configuration & Populate the Applicable Taxes

Discount can be applied at various levels like, 1. Before Taxes are applied. 2. After Taxes are applied. 3. Customer wise discounts. 4. Item wise discounts. 5. Store wise discounts & more. No Is Discount Applicable? Yes

Populate from Discount Configuration

Check Discount Configuration & Apply/ Populate Discounts

Create Separate Credit Note for Discounts

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Calculate & Display Total Amount

Specify Expected Date of Delivery

Displays receipts information created for Sale Order

Verify Credit Limit / Credit Days & Set Parameters for the customer

Escalate for Approval

No

Are Credit Parameters Valid Yes

Is Approved

Yes

No Inform customer about non-eligibility to process sale order

Confirm Sale Order

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Allotment:Select Sale Order Number

Populate Customer Purchase Order Number

Populate Customer Details

Populate Customer Preferences recorded during Sale Order Creation

Check Vehicle Details

No

Yes

Update Customer Preferences if required

Is Vehicle In Stock

No

Procurement of Customer Preferred Model Notify Customer in Case of Delay in Procurement

Yes

Escalate for Approval

No

Check Credit Parameters Yes

Is Approved

Yes

No Inform customer about noneligibility to process allotment

Irrespective of Credit Balance Check, Sale Executive should be able to allot Chassis no. for a specified period eg. 3-4 days. Allot Chassis No. for this customer/sale order

Along with Chassis No., more aggregate information can be collected like, Battery No, Key No, CNG Kit No, Service Coupon No etc.

Is PDI to be performed No

Yes

Continue with PDI (Service) Process

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Sales Invoice:Select Sale Order / Allotment Number

Populate Customer Purchase Order Number

Populate Customer/Party Name, Address, Contact Details

Customer Preferences (Item Info.) Model, Color, Variant, Application, Route, Segment etc.

Populate Battery No, Key No, CNG Kit No, Service Coupon No based on Selected Lot (Chassis)

Is Reference Applicable ? Yes

No

Reference can be any of the following 1. Sales Executive. 2. Broker. 3. Existing Customer. 4. Financer. 5. Employee.

Populate Reference Details

Is Financer Applicable ? Yes

No

Populate Finance Details with Scheme No. Name, Branch, Case No. Loan Amount, Down Payment, Installment Amount, No. of Installments, Rate of Interest, D.O. Number, Disbursed Amt.

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Is Insurance Applicable ?

No Is Insurance Managed By Customer ? Yes

No

Yes Record/Populate Insurance Information Insurance Co., Branch, Contact Person, Insurance Scheme.

Populate Sales Executive Details like, Employee No., Name, Sales Group etc.

Populate Vehicle Cost

Item/Price Master Different Taxes can be configured for various tax structures applicable in various states e.g.. 1. L.S.T., 2. C.S.T., 3. VAT 12.5% 4. VAT 4%, 5. VAT 1%, 6. Service Tax 10% + 2% surcharge & more. Tax Master populates based on Configurtions

No

Is Tax Applicable? Yes

Check Tax Configuration & Populate the Applicable Taxes

Discount can be applied at various levels like, 1. Before Taxes are applied. 2. After Taxes are applied. 3. Customer wise discounts. 4. Item wise discounts. 5. Store wise discounts & more. No Is Discount Applicable? Yes

Populate from Discount Configuration

Check Discount Configuration & Apply/ Populate Discounts

Create Separate Credit Note for Discounts

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No

Is willing to make RTO Registration Yes

Collect RTO Region, Amount info.

Generate RTO Documents as per system configurations

Various State wise RTO Documents and Print Layouts can be configured

Calculate & Display Total Amount

Specify Expected Date of Delivery

Check Credit Limit & Credit Days for the customer

Displays cash/bank receipts information created for Sale Invoice

Escalate for Approval

No

Is Credit Limit/ Days Cleared Yes Warranty period Information with expiry dates for various vehicle components. Like Battery, Tyres, Engine etc

Is Approved

Yes

No Inform customer about noneligibility to process sale invoice

Warranty Details to be populated/ recorded on the basis of Model.

Is PDI to be performed No

Yes

Continue with PDI (Service) Process

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Despatch:Select Sale Invoice/ Sale order Number

Populate Customer Purchase Order Number

Populate Customer Name, Address, Shipping Address, Contact Details etc.

Record Warehouse information from where to dispatch

Populate vehicle details like Chassis No., Model, Color

Record Missing List

No

Validate Check List of Items to be delivered Yes

Items Check List 1. Toolkit 2. Medikit 3. RTO Documents 4. Sale Declaration 5. Accessories etc.

Add Items those are missing as per check list

Populate Items List

Populate/Enter Dispatch Quantity

Populate Amount & Taxes

Specify Due Date of Dispatch

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Sales Return:Select Sale Invoice Number

Populate Customer Purchase Order Number

Populate Customer Name, Address & Contact details

Populate Item Information

Specify Reason for Return

Reverse Financial & Inventory Postings

All the Financial postings are reversed & posted in the respective accounts. Inventory is taken back in the respective stores

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This is how the whole process of sales is being carried out in the CRM tool. This flow charts are being formulated on discussion with the marketing and sales team of Ashok Leyland and the various managers who use this tool, even the sales representatives at dealer end. Thus by gathering the valuable information from the concerned people the process existing for the current CRM application is being understood and various challenges forth coming in the particular CRM applications is being notified which is mainly in proper usage adherence, proper forecasting tools incorporation, and more enhancements in ease of operation like automation of certaion process.

Advantages: Easy track records for the existing customers Easy database handling Proper invoicing and ease of dispatch tracking Information can be view at all level of the organization Proper documentation

Disadvantages:
Forecasting is a challenge Automation is required at certain levels for ease of work Varsity of data is a issue Proper adherence require in procedures

Work To be Done:What I aim to do in my project report is that after collecting the questionnaires from all the customers, I would analyze the responses of the customers. For this I plan to use data analysis techniques such as Factor analysis (to show correlations among the different set of variables). Then I would be calculating the customer lifetime value of the customer group of Ashok Leyland. Thereafter I will map the CLV and Customer satisfaction in order to find out the gaps present in the system, thus will bring valuable suggestions in the exiting CRM system and methodology in order to effect in implementation.

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References: http://www.ashokleyland.com AL portal ( Intranet Database of Ashok Leyland) Ashok Leyland Virtual library www.siamindia.com www.tatamotors.com www.automobileindia.com www.surfindia.com www.crminfoline.com www.statisticshell.com

Books:1. MALHOTRA NARESH K., 2008. Marketing Research- an applied orientation. Fifth Edition, PHI Learning Private Limited.

2. Philip Kottler , fifth edition, Marketing Management 3. Kristin Anderson and Carol Kerr , Customer relationship Management

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QUESTIONARE
Ashok Leyland Customer Satisfaction Survey
This Survey is being conducted in order to judge the customer satisfaction within the customers group of Ashok Leyland.

Name *

Organisation *

Industry Type

Primary Application *

Sub Segment Application *

Vehicles Owned

912 1112 Comet 1611 1612 1613 1613S-SFC Haulage CG 1616H 1616 1616S - SFC Haulage 49 | P a g e

2214 ( 6X2) 2214Super (6X2) 2514(6X2) 2516(6X2) 2516(6X4) 2516 (6X4) RMC 2518H (6X2) 3116H 3121H 1613 ST (SFC Tipper) CT 1613H Tipper CT 1616 1616 ST-SFC Tipper BSIII 2516H/4C 2516T 2516T HD 2518T HD 2516 H3/4 3516TT 3518TT 4019TT 4921TT

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Cutomer Profile FTU 1-3 Years 4-6 Years 7-9 Years More Than 10 Years

Small Fleet(1-29) Medium Fleet( 30- 50) Large Fleet (51- 100) Very Large Fleet (<100)

Q1 )What Is the sorce Of information About Ashok Leyland ?

Through A call By Sales Representative Ads In Newspaper/Magazine/Television etc Walked in Dealer Outlet reference from Others Website Q2 ) How often you buy trucks from Ashok Leyland?

Never Rarely (within 1 year) Sometimes ( within 6 months) Often ( every Alternate Month) Always (Every Month)

Q 3) How Satisfied are you with the overall purchase process in AL?

Fully Dissatisfied somewhat Dissatisfied niether satisfied nor dissatisfied Somewhat Satisfied Fully Satisfied

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Satisfation On Vehicle delivery :1 Schedule Location Fit & finish Information Dos & Donts Body Build Suggestions Knowledge delivery Payment Facility Product Training Dirver Training Mechanic Training 2 3 4 5

Responses For Product Satisfaction:1 Price Fuel Economy Safety Loading Ease Span Of Loading Payload/ GVW Environment Factors Technology Aesthetic Value Maintainance Cost Warranty Acessories Discount 2 3 4 5

Other Services Satisfaction Responses 52 | P a g e

1 After Sales Service Overall Vehicle repair Response Workshop Facility Location Parts avaibility Parts Quality Finance Incentives Brand Organisation as Whole Sales Representatives of AL Sales Representatives of Dealer Govt policy & regulations Resale value Resaleability - Time

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:-

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