Ace Tata Motors dealer focus on manpower and infrastructure
In the last one year Kamal Motors has contributed around 38 per cent to the Tata Motors overall commercial vehicle business. This is four per cent higher than the previous year’s contribution. It is also particularly notable that the SCV segment has shown signs of improvement after a steep decline in 2014-15 and 2015-16. “We have registered around 48 per cent in the Q1 of 2016-17 which is seven per cent better compared to the same period last year,” says Mr. Tejpal Ailsinghani, Managing Director, Kamal Motors.
Its stellar performance didn’t go unnoticed. “We got the All Round Performance Award-West as well as the All India Best for PCG Sales (Public Sector Cooperative and Gramin Bank) and After Sales for 2015-16,” states Mr. Kamal Ailsinghani, Chairman of the company.
Elaborating on the Award for PCG Sales and aftersales, Mr. Venugopal Nair, Chief Executive Officer, Kamal Motors, adds: “We convinced PCG banks like Canara Bank of the need to offer CV loans and disperse their risks of lending around Rs. 1 crore amongst several first-time SCV buyers rather than giving it to 3-4 people. It meant a little hard work for them, but our team worked closely to provide those leads, helped them in documentation and in some cases also extended support in collection.”
It turned out to be a win-win situation for banks which too were looking to focus on SMEs. “We matched them with the first-time users who were pleased to get the vehicle financed at an economical interest rate of 11% against the higher rates charged by other private banks and NBFCs. This helped us grow in our PCG penetration from 8 per cent to 30 per cent,” reveals Mr. Chandrashekhar, Executive Director, Kamal Motors.
Honed resources
Kamal Motors had already planned its expansion. The growth of the SCV segment augmented the reach. From having a few outlets, Kamal Motors has come to have 12 touch-points and the two 3S outlets (Bhiwandi and Vasai) for full range of Tata CVs. “We got a score of 100 in CEI (Customer Engagement Index 2015-16). A 100 per cent score is very rare for both the workshops in Bhiwandi and Vasai. It was primarily because of the service and infrastructure we have managed to provide,” beams Mr. Tejpal Ailsinghani.
Within the service premise, Kamal Motors has created 55 service bays (each bay having the capacity to take two vehicles for service) and some of these are Express bays “As the vehicle is the source of livelihood for the operators, it should be out within 90 minutes,” beams Mr. Nair.
Another aspect of the infrastructure that drew attention was that it is done keeping in mind the future growth, volumes and technology. It is also fully owned by the Ailsinghani Group and nothing is on lease.
Come BS-IV and the subsequent BS-VI implementation, all the vehicles are going to come to the authorized workshop only. Many of the transporters are looking forward to shut their own workshops and rely on the authorized workshops. “Since getting trained manpower is an issue and then to train them and put these old school ‘ustads’ on computers is a new challenge. Even before BS-VI has been implemented we have got an in-house service trainer who is very tech savvy and has worked on advanced technologies, keeping in mind the future engine changes that Tata Motors will undergo. He also is updated on new engines that Tata Motors will bring in. We will need someone who can handle these tools and service it through trained mechanics,” elaborates Mr. Tejpal Ailsinghani.
Systematic approach
With an approach of ‘training for all’ Kamal Motors has managed to train all its employees and has been able to successfully build a culture of ‘valued employees’. This training covers employees from all the business verticals, from mechanics to sales and service team. “We have an in-house training centre where all the aggregates are kept and mechanics do regular training on the aggregates. It is a first-hand experience for the workforce. We feel that in the next five years everything will switch from hardware diagnosis to software diagnosis,” avers Mr. Kamal Ailsinghani.
In its quest to retain people for a longer period of time, Kamal Motors has invested time in shaping people as future managers through various programmes. “Some also include outside coach for special programs,” says Mr. Chandrashekhar. Special attention is paid to define every individual’s KRA.
The company also organizes a steering committee meeting every month where people from all the departments are present. “One of the biggest advantages of the steering committee meeting is that every team member will know what are the issues faced by the other team and they can collaborate and solve issues. Sometimes a sales issue is actually because of a service problem. Unison helps put an end to the blame game if any. It also gives us a peak in to the potential of a person and aspirations of individuals,” beams Mr. Nair.
“Kamal Motors also awards the employees every year, based on the monthly score sheets and a loyalty award at the completion of 10 years. Such practices have not only kept the attrition rate under 10 per cent but has also resulted in more than 70 per cent of staff being 5 years and older”, reveals Mr. Tejpal Ailsinghani.
Clearly, employee programs have garnered a lot of attention from Tata Motors too. The OEM is looking forward to pilot a tab-based marketing program for the sales representative with Kamal Motors. “When a sales representative gives the details about the product on a tab to a customer who already is savvy with whatsapp, smart phones, etc., rather than brochures, it looks progressive as well as professional. The feedback of the customer can be entered into the software in real time and everybody linked to it is updated,” adds Mr. Tejpal Ailsinghani.