Tata Motors has been the CV market leader in India for decades. For obvious reasons, one knows that market dominance is not achieved just by having strong products and good selling skills, that too in a highly competitive market like India. Over the years, Tata Motors has backed up its proven range of products with equally reliable service support which has kept many of its customers loyal to the brand for life.
We hear from Mr. Vinod Sahay, Head Sales & Marketing, MHCV Trucks, Tata Motors, on how the company operates on the aftersales front.
Excerpts:
Path-breaking aftermarket initiatives
Tata Motors is constantly endeavoring to offer the best-in-class and optimal solutions to all our customers. This would mean not only the products, but also a multitude of services and offerings across all aspects of customers’ interactions with the company. This would include path breaking offerings such as Tata Motors’ loyalty programs by the name Tata Delight (for retail customer) and Tata Emperor (for large key customers) with loyalty points redeemable for products and services e.g. one of our large key accounts recently redeemed their points for a Land Rover Freelander vehicle. These offerings are unique to the commercial vehicle industry not only in India but across the world.
Some of our core service offerings include the ‘Tata Alert’ service which commits to customers that their vehicles, within warranty period, would be attended to within 4 hours of placing a call to the helpline, in the case of any breakdown events across any National Highway* in India. The service also commits to cover loss of income in case the vehicles cannot be put back on road within 48hrs of the call.
Tata Motors also introduced the 4year/4lakh kms standard driveline warranty in Jan 2013 on HCVs, an industry first, further strengthening our position as the market leader. We also offer a product by the name Triple Benefit Insurance (TBI) offering zero depreciation along with coverage for loss of income as well as current day price cover in case of total loss of vehicle. This combination is a first of its kind and unmatched offering across the worldwide CV industry.
These services are in addition to Tata Motors’ widest and unmatched service network with a touchpoint every 50kms on highways and of course the unparalleled parts network constituting 38000+ sales points.
Comprehensive training
At Tata Motors we have a focused approach to Driver Training with the twin objective of promoting safe driving and enhancing the supply of trained drivers for the country’s ever-growing vehicle population.
We engage in driver-care programmes at various levels also launching trucks with better driver comforts that make the life of a driver easier. As part of a CSR initiative, we are also working on giving the industry a pool of skilled drivers, which will in turn provide a safe transportation system, by adopting Driver Training Institutes across the country with the support of the State and Central Government, as per the guidelines of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India.
These Institutes offer basic driving course in LMV, LTV and HTV and assist in obtaining a license from the concerned authorities, after successful completion of training. Refresher courses are also conducted for existing HTV drivers. ‘Train the Trainer’ program is offered for trainers of existing private motor driving schools. These institutes are also equipped with driving tracks, simulators, dual control vehicles, cut sections of vehicle aggregates, class rooms, laboratories, hostels and experienced ‘Trainers’. The training also covers the technical aspects of vehicles and soft skills. Necessary medical check-up is also done for the trainees.
Tata Motors also offers the services of a pool of trained drivers who travel along with truck operators’ drivers to impart live training to help improve driver skills and vehicle performance.
In addition to this Tata Motors also adopts ITIs across the country and provide specific vehicle aggregates and training material and knowhow in order to generate a pool of skilled mechanics whilst also offering job opportunities to these trained personnel vide recruitment at our local dealerships.
At Tata Motors we undertake a number of initiatives to ensure the widest and best quality service and distribution reach along with a robust sales and services process, which have been a key in ensuring the company’s leadership position in the Indian commercial vehicles space. We will continue to lead the industry with our product and service offerings across the lifecycle, tailored to suit each customer. We expect that the next wave in servicing would be the adoption of Annual Maintenance Contracts (Tata Motors in 2005 was the first in India to introduce CV AMCs) as well as leasing and telematics. We at Tata Motors have already started developing offerings to lead the way in the future with one example being ‘Tata Fleetman’ telematics solutions.
Service network – covering every corner of the country
Tata Motors currently has 1,851 authorized service stations, 250 onsite containers, over 200 mobile workshop vans, 7,000+ Tata certified mechanics (service certification) and more than 38,000 retail parts outlets. Our service infrastructure across the country, to a large extent, is upgraded to handle any new product prior to its launch and the quality of the network is monitored and maintained through stringent half yearly workshop assessments. These assessments lay focus on aspects such as Infrastructure, Manpower, Service processes. In order to increase the service capabilities, for example the setups have been readied for Prima by ensuring availability of Diagnostic Software’s, Special tools, Computerised Truck Wheel alignment machines, Pneumatic tools, State of the art accident repair workshops combined with regular service trainings for the mechanics and works managers. Currently more than 85% of the setups have capability to handle these new generation trucks.
With regards to drivers, in order to improve their driving skills, special onsite driver trainings are organised through designated Tata Motors driver trainers called ‘Dronacharyas’. These trainings ensure that the customer gets the best productivity from these new generation trucks.
Priority Desk: This is a dedicated desk for all Prima and Ultra customers at TATA Motors call centre. The desk is designed to provide end to end solutions for all customer service/breakdown requests with predefined time frames.
When it comes to emergency service support, Tata Motors has a touch point on all highways, one for every 50 kms. Tata Motors launched ‘Tata Alert’, where drivers will receive on-site breakdown assistance within 4 hours of dialing a toll-free helpline number (1800-209-7979), with restoration of the vehicle within 48 Hours on all National Highways. If the vehicle is not restored in 48 hours, Rs. 1000/- paid for each day delay after 48 Hrs. For paid repair, customers have to pay estimated cost of repair to Tata Motors. Load transfer and towing facility available at customer’s cost.
Ready for challenges
The truck aftersales business is subject to a number of influences –
• Better accessibility of aftersales facilities going forward
• Goods transportation is growing
• Rising number of trucks on the road
• Increased maintenance intervals, as components become more durable
• Increasing vehicle complexity will drive the complexity of aftersales services
• Many more CV brands in the market
• New intermediaries such as insurance companies and service providers will enter the market
• Chains and specialists will compete on prices and margins
• Increasing service contract base
• Larger fleets
• Growing need for better vehicle uptime and efficiency
Domestic OEMs have been expecting competition and to remain competitive, have invested greatly in upgradation of products, manufacturing technology and on the service front. There are multiple new generation products having been launched in the recent past, with several more in the pipeline. Additionally Indian OEMs have been strengthening their value proposition by introducing a host of new services.
At Tata Motors we constantly launch new products and services for customers and continue to offer a range with best KMPL, best vehicle uptime, highest resale value, best-in-class warranty and lowest maintenance cost. Tata Motors’ trucks are supported by the ‘Power of 5’, a set of innovative offerings, to enable Tata Motors to strengthen its customer support and engagement.
The ‘Power of 5’ includes:
Tata Alert – Tata Alert is a highway assistance programme for medium and heavy commercial vehicles, available across all national highways. Through ‘Tata Alert’, drivers will receive on-site breakdown assistance within 4 hours of dialing a toll-free helpline number (1800-209-7979). The 24×7 ‘Tata Alert’ service will ensure that a vehicle is put back on the road within 48 hours from the time restoration work begins. In case of major repairs and the vehicle carrying perishable goods, ‘Tata Alert’ will provide load transfer assistance.
Tata FleetMan – In an effort to empower customers, to allow customers to monitor their fleet from the comfort of their office or homes, Tata Motors launched the Tata FleetMan fleet telematics service. Combining the power of modern-day technology like SMS, emails and remote unit management, Tata FleetMan offers greater operation control, leading to faster processes and higher productivity for customers.
Triple Benefit Insurance – Tata Motors has launched a new premium ‘Triple Benefit Insurance’ across its range of M&HCV, ICV & LCV Trucks and Tippers, yet another first from Tata Motors in the Indian commercial vehicle space. Designed specifically to minimize the financial impact to Tata Motors CV customers, the new premium ‘Triple Benefit Insurance’ maximises peace of mind, to the extent of full protection against loss of time and income, due to accidents. In partnership with Iffco-Tokio General Insurance Company, the ‘Triple Benefit Insurance’ is available under the “Standard Motor Insurance” policy with 3 specifically designed add-on covers – Depreciation waiver / Zero Depreciation Coverage, New Vehicle Replacement Coverage and Loss of Income/ Vehicle Hire Cost.
Tata Motors 4 year warranty – Tata Motors now offers an unbeatable warranty of 4 years, on its entire range of medium & heavy trucks from 16 tonnes GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) and higher, and has been extended from the earlier 25 tonnes and higher GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) range as of March 01, 2014. The 4-year warranty is applicable on the full range of tractor trailers, multi-axle trucks & tippers, covering the vehicle’s driveline (engine, gear box & rear axle) as a standard offer. The 4-year warranty is supported by Tata Motors extensive dealership & service network of over 1,700 touch points with one present every 50 kms, on all major the highways of India.
Extended Service Interval – For any business it is important that a vehicle stays on the road for maximum time and doesn’t have to visit the service centre too often. Hence Tata Motors has extended service intervals on its range of M&HCV vehicles – on engine oil, gear oil and rear axle oil, enabling savings of Rs 30,000 over 4 years and delivering higher uptime.