Planning ahead for technology disruption
There was palpable excitement and expectation among those who had gathered at the hall of that posh hotel on May 11. As the steady stream of people trooped in, the subdued ambience transformed and the tempo of interactions picked up. People started exchanging pleasantries and camaraderie. This was quite befitting the occasion – a get-together event of the aftermarket leader in its domain, Speed-A-Way Pvt. Ltd., Chennai, an Amalgamations Group company, at its annual sales conference held during May 10-12. It was an important event for the company dealing with reputed brands of firms like Rane, Tata, Talbros, Schaeffler, Mahindra, Mobil, Exide, Endurance, Autopal, Continental, Timken, Goodyear, Bosch and Delphi, to name a few, apart from a host of leading brands of the group companies like Simpson, Amrep, Bimite, Tafe, Shardlow, and IPL. Speed-A-Way focusses on the south India market and serves the customers with a network of 45 branches and 5,500 retailers.
The program started with the traditional invocation, followed by the welcome speech by Mr. R. Sarath, Wholetime Director and Secretary. Thanking the audience representing various Speed-A-Way branches, principals for their presence, he expressed his gratitude to Mr.Vinay Lakshman, Managing Director, Rane Brake Lining Ltd., for having consented to deliver the keynote address on ‘Future of Mobility in India’.
Mr. Sarath, also indicated that e-mobility has definitely arrived. He said: “The auto segment will benefit by not viewing it as a threat but as an opportunity. The three stake-holders namely, the Government, charging infrastructure service providers and auto companies, have key roles to play in the faster adoption of e-mobility.”
Mr. K. Balasubramaniyam, President-Operations, introduced Mr. Vinay Lakshman, citing his Master’s degree in the US and his extensive stint with global leaders like KPMG, Arthur Andersen and TRW before taking the helm at Rane Brake Lining Ltd.
Stellar performance
Commenting on the performance of Speed-A-Way in FY-18, Mr. Balasubramaniyam said: “The company had to face the demonetization hangover and the impact of GST during the year. However I am glad to inform that the management and operations team rose up to the occasion and ensured a relatively better performance compared to the industry and competition. In most of the product lines we retained the No.1 position on an all India basis and if not we maintained the regional No.1 position. As you are aware, the company operates on six broad verticals that include auto spare parts under independent aftermarket brands and OES, lubricants, tyres, batteries and garage tools. In each of the above, we registered a positive growth. In all of these, Rane Brake Lining continues to be our top revenue generator, with sales exceeding Rs.50 crores. Hence it is just appropriate for us to invite Mr. Vinay Lakshman to share his views on the chosen topic.”
Electro-mobility reality
Mr. Vinay Lakshman began his presentation by citing the important role played by the auto component industry and its share at 2.3% of GDP. He went on to elaborate the CSAE (connectivity, sharing, autonomous and electric) aspects with slides and supporting data. Some of his observations on the developments included that electro-mobility or e-mobility has become a buzzword like that of Y2K during 1998. Connectivity enabled thro’ the SIM card of smart phone exists for infotainment in cars. Also OEMs have all the operational data of the vehicle thro’ telematics. However OEMs are not having currently the business model to integrate all the data and offer a single platform solution. Once it fructifies, offerings to customers such as vehicle usage-based insurance, prediction of the component life and replacement of wear-off parts can become a reality.
Shared mobility is already picking up and bound to extend to all segments of transport. While autonomous mobility may not be attained in the near future, electric vehicles have already started plying on roads. Adoption in two and three-wheelers will be faster and buses will follow soon, he added.
The Annual Meet also witnessed the Prize distribution based on the performance parameters to various branches.