Date:23/09/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/09/23/stories/2004092302850400.htm

Back `IT must benefit the customers'

Our Bureau

(Left to right) Mr Gopal Srinivasan, Director, TVS Electronics; Mr S. Surya, Managing Director, Motorola, Malaysia; Mr S. Mahalingam, Chairman, Connect 2004; Mr M.B.N. Rao, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Bank; and Mr David Friedman, Managing Director, Ford India Ltd, at a session on `Excellence in manufacturing and service through IT - a holistic approach' at Connect 2004 organised by the CII in Chennai on Wednesday. - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , Sept. 22

ADOPTING information technology should not be just for the sake of being an IT-driven company, but to ensure that customer benefits in the end. That is what Ford, the global automobile major, and TVS Motors, an Indian automobile manufacturer, have successfully adopted.

According to Mr David Friedman, Managing Director and President, Ford India, information technology is a terrific enabler for complex problems, and mustbe used to enable development of products that meet customer requirements.

For instance, Ford uses simulation and digital prototype to a large extent, as against clay models of the cars in the past. Today, everything is in the digital form, and it saves a lot of cost for the company. This cost benefit is ultimately passed on to the customers, he said at Connect2004.

Today, computer-aided engineering is used extensively in vehicle dynamics, safety, thermal effect and aerodynamics. In future, this would be extended to telematics, embedded control systems, vehicle management systems, knowledge-based systems and road safety.

Mr Gopal Srinivasan, Director, TVS Electronics, said that collaborative enterprise is the only answer to enhancing customer experience. That's what TVS Motor and TVS Finance have done in the last one year, and both have reaped the benefits of the extended enterprise by using IT. TVS Finance is the prime financier for TVS brand two-wheelers in the South, and TVS Motor is a leading manufacturer of two-wheelers.

TVS Finance is present in over 450 locations and its loan disbursals are about Rs 20 crore a month. The company does over 5,000 transactions a day. TVS Motors went live on SAP, an enterprise resource planning application, in April 2003.

This integrated the entire supply chain, and between both the companies. With this, dealer order fulfilment service level had been increased to 95 per cent from 82 per cent, warranty claim settlement days had gone up to 60 days from 25 days and factory finished goods inventory had been reduced to Rs 72 crore from Rs 109 crore, Mr Srinivasan said.