GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD and its CRM technology

INTRODUCTION OF TOPIC

To understand the real business scenario about the practice of CRM in Indian Automotive industry & than compare it with GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD in passenger cars.The automobile industry in India is the tenth largest in the world with an annual production of approximately 2 million unitsis expected to become one of the major global automotive industries in the coming years. A number of domestic companies produce automobiles in India and the growing presence of multinational investment, too, has led to an increase in overall growth. Following the economic reforms of 1991 the Indian automotive industry has demonstrated sustained growth as a result of increased competitiveness and relaxed restrictions. The monthly sales of passenger cars in India exceed 100,000 units. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers in 2008-09 the cumulative growth of the Passenger Vehicles segment during April 2008 March 2009 was 12.17 percent. Passenger Cars grew by 11.79 percent, Utility Vehicles by 10.57 percent and Multi Purpose Vehicles by 21.39 percent in this period.

BRIEF ABOUT COMPANY

GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD Limited is Indias largest automobile company, with revenues of Rs. 35651.48 crores (USD 8.8 billion) in 2007-08. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top three in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. The company is the worlds fourth largest truck manufacturer, and the worlds second largest bus manufacturer. The companys 23,000 employees are guided by the vision to be best in the manner in which we operate best in the products we deliver and best in our value system and ethics.

Established in 1945, GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD presence indeed cuts across the length and breadth of India. Over 4 million GOOD YEAR vehicles ply on Indian roads, since the first rolled out in 1954. The companys manufacturing base in India is spread across Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand). Following a strategic alliance with Fiat in 2005, it has set up an industrial joint venture with Fiat Group Automobiles at Ranjangaon (Maharashtra) to produce both Fiat and GOOD YEAR cars and Fiat powertrains. The company is establishing two new plants at Dharwad (Karnataka) and Sanand (Gujarat). The companys dealership, sales, services and spare parts network comprises over 3500 touch points; GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD also distributes and markets Fiat branded cars in India.GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD, the first company from Indias engineering sector to be listed in the New York Stock Exchange (September 2004), has also emerged as an international automobile company. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand and Spain. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover, a business comprising the two iconic British brands that was acquired in 2008. In 2004, it acquired the Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, South Koreas second largest truck maker.The rechristened GOOD YEAR Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company has launched several new products in the Korean market, while also exporting these products to several international markets. Today two-thirds of heavy commercial vehicle exports out of South Korea are from GOOD YEAR Daewoo.In 2005, GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD acquired a 21% stake in Hispano Carrocera, a reputed Spanish bus and coach manufacturer, with an option to acquire the remaining stake as well. Hispanos presence is being expanded in other markets. In 2006, it formed a joint venture with the Brazil-based Marcopolo, a global leader in body-building for buses and coaches to manufacture fully-built buses and coaches for India and select international markets. In 2006, GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD entered into joint venture with Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Company of Thailand to manufacture and market the companys pickup vehicles in Thailand. The new plant of GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD (Thailand) has begun production of the Xenon pickup truck, with the Xenon having been launched in Thailand at the Bangkok Motor Show 2008.True to the tradition of the GOOD YEAR Group; GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD is committed in letter and spirit to Corporate Social Responsibility. It is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, and is engaged in community and social initiatives on labor and environment standards in compliance with the principles of the Global Compact. In accordance with this, it plays inactive role in community development, serving rural communities adjacent to its manufacturing locations.

METHODOLOGYWe collected information from both primary & secondary data. We divided our group of 6 members into 3 groups of 2 each and visited various dealers showroom of GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD, MARUTI & HYUNDAI and asked their respective relationship managers about the companys offerings, to get detailed knowledge of CRM applications & practice in real business scenario.

Findings & Analysis:

BUSINESS STRATEGY & CRMThree key phases: Customer Acquisition. Customer Retention. Customer Extension.

Three contextual factors: Marketing Orientation. Value Creation. Innovative IT.

Customer AcquisitionThis is the process of attracting our customer for the first their first purchase. We have acquired our customer.

Customer RetentionOur customer returns to us and buys for a second time. We keep them as a customer. This is most likely to be the purchase of a similar product or service, or the next level of product or service.

Customer Extension- Our customers are regularly returning to purchase from us. We introduce products and services to our loyal customers that may not wholly relate to their original purchase. These are additional, supplementary purchases. Of course once our loyal customers have purchased them, our goal is to retain them as customers for the extended products or services. Marketing Orientation - Means that the wholes organization is focused upon the needs of customers. Customer needs are addressed by the Three Levels of a Product whereby the organizations not only supplies the actual, tangible product, but also the core product and its benefit, and also the augmented product such as a warranty and customer service. Marketing orientation will focus upon the needs of consumers for all three levels of a product. (N.B. 'market' orientation and 'marketing' orientation are not the same).

Value Creation - Centers on the generation of shareholder value based upon the satisfaction of customer needs (as with marketing orientation) and the delivery of a sustainable competitive advantage.

Innovative IT- is exactly that - Information Technology must be up-to-date. It should be efficient, speedy and focus upon the needs of customers. Whilst IT and/or software are not the entire story for CRM, it is vital to its success. CRM software collects data on consumers and their transactions. Huge databases store data on individuals and groups of individuals. In some ways, CRM means that an organization is dealing with a segment of one person, since every consumer displays different purchasing habits and preferences. Organizations will track individuals, and try to market products and services to them based upon similar buyer behavior seen in other individuals (e.g. When Amazon tells you that customers that viewed/bought the same product as you, also bought another product).In

AUTOMOTIVE industry , Companies focus upon the needs of customer, not only providing the tangible product i.e. CAR but also augmented product such as warranty, customer service, providing more services than competitors, distributing free gifts, free vehicle check-up, etc & now-a-days almost every big company use CRM software in collecting data on consumers & their transaction, providing them customized service . After every new launch of a car, companies give information about that same product to their loyal customers. Not only companies stick to that car only but tries to sell accessories also like seat covers, Alloy wheels, music system so that customer doesnt have to go to several places & quite often dealers give discount also in these items as a CRM business strategy .

GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD has taken a phased approach to the implementation, with the goal of achieving success in each phase before moving forward.

Phase 1, currently under way, focuses on capturing customer and vehicle data and automating routine tasks.

Phase 2 will focus on leveraging data to improve customer interactions and streamline product development and planning. Phase 3 will focus on tuning the system and delivering additional value-added services to customers.

To address its competitive challenges, GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD began standardizing its customer-facing business processes companywide, laying the foundation for stronger dealer relationships, improved operational efficiency and effectiveness, and a better customer experience. This has posed numerous challenges, as it involves working with 250 dealer organizations and more than 1,600 locations staffed by more than 10,000 salespeople across India.

CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGECustomer knowledge refers to understanding your customers, their needs, wants and aims is essential if a business is to align its processes, products and services to build real customer relationships. Customer knowledge can be approached from two ends.Firstly, you could say that customer Knowledge is the "collection of information and viewpoints that an organization has about its customers".Using this definition, the role of customer knowledge management is to capture and organize this data to allow it to be shared and discussed throughout the organizational alternative definitive of customer knowledge is that it is the"collection of information and insight that you need to have to build stronger customer relationships". From this point of view what you currently know about your customers may not be sufficient. You may need to put in processes and systems to gather more information and data about who your customers are, what they do and how they think.

CUSTOMIZATION:Customization bonds approach suggest that customer loyalty can be encouraged through intimate knowledge of the individual customers and through the development of one-to one solutions that fit the individual customers needs. GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD believes in 'Customer is THE KING', and also knows well how to make them feel One. They have an extensive follow up programme and prompt service. This helps them to change their strategies and customize their services to fit developing customer needs. For this purpose, they always request the customers to fill in their feedback form that follows the service/repair visit. If a low score is received on their feedback form, they would go outof the way to apologize for the error. Simultaneously, they provide technicians who visit their home place in order to attend the issues and rectify them to their satisfaction level. Follow up calls are made to ensure that how efficiently their problems were resolved.

RELATIONSHIP POLICY: The customer is tied to the company primarily through financial incentives lower prices for greater volume purchases or lower prices for customers who have been with a firm a long time. As we know, the acquisition cost is not the only cost one faces when buying a car. it may not necessarily be affordable to maintain, as some of its regularly used spare parts may be priced quite steeply. GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD provides very good after sale services to its customers. It is in the economy segment that the affordability of spares is most competitive as compared to others. It also provides its long term customers either with stable prices or lower price increases as compared to the new customers. GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD provides financial incentives and rewards to the customers who bring more business to their service station by recommending and spreading good word of mouth to others about their services. GOOD YEAR INDIA LTDprovidesfreeofcostservicingtocustomershavingGOOD YEARcarswithinatwoyearwarrantytimeperiod.GOOD YEAR INDIA LTDalsooffersanextendedpaidwarrantyprogrammarketedunderthebrand,ForeverYoursforthethirdandfourthyearafterpurchase.Theextendedwarrantyprogramhelpsinstrengtheningcontactwiththecustomerandalsoincreasetherevenuegeneratedfromsaleofspares,accessoriesandautomobilerelatedservices.

CRM Systems and ImplementationThese are some of the key features for which AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR applies CRM software: Sales management shares customer information between sales, service and parts departments Vehicle management gives complete vehicle data along with sales, service and financial history, as well as dealer and license information and owner and contact information Activity and e-mail management systems link e-mails with associated contacts, leads and opportunities Service management increases customer loyalty by enabling consistent, personalized interaction across all customer touch points including, telephone, e-mail, Web, wireless devices and in-person meetings.

GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD implemented Oracle's Siebel Automotive, a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) solution designed specifically for companies in the automotive industry. Seamlessly integrated with GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD dealer management system and SAP back-office applications, Siebel Automotive has delivered significant benefits across the extended organization, including improved customer satisfaction, increased revenue and productivity, and reduced costs. By tightly integrating Siebel Automotive and its dealer management system, GOOD YEAR has streamlined transactions and ensured that dealers capture customer data as a part of their normal operations. The solution provides a 360-degree view of customers to the extended organization, with appropriate visibility controls to ensure that one dealer is not privy to information from another. To further enlist dealer support, GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD involved dealers throughout the solution configuration and deployment process. Integrating Siebel Automotive with our dealer management system ensured that our dealers would immediately see the value in the solution, Sreenivasan explains. This has helped us overcome the usual resistance to change and gain rapid acceptance from our dealers. Siebel Automotive has been closely integrated with a wide array of SAP back-office applications, including applications inventory management, fulfillment, and parts location. Pricing and tax calculations can be adjusted for each dealers requirements. In addition, comprehensive sales and reporting functionality built into Siebel Automotive enables GOOD YEAR to distribute sales targets to its dealers and roll up sales numbers across the country.

GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD also liked the fact that Siebel Automotive provides multi-organization support, can be deployed easily over the Internet, and provides robust partner management capabilitiesideal for GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD with its far-flung dealer network.Further, the user-friendly interface has simplified the process of training GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD 10,000-plus dealer sales force. Covering a country with an area of 3.3 million square kilometers (or about one-third the size of the U.S.) also required an innovative communications solution. GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD links its 1,600 customer touch points with its centralized data center in Mumbai using a combination of VSATs and high-speed virtual private networks. Siebel Automotive has already begun to deliver benefits for GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD dealers throughout India. Overall, Siebel Automotive has transformed our organization and made it truly customer-centric, says Sreenivasan. Weve overcome the challenges of relying on disparate sources of information, as well as having inconsistent business processes.Today, our employees and dealers are much more responsive and can serve customers more efficiently and effectivelydrawing upon real-time, centralized customer and vehicle data. One of our first dealers to install Siebel Automotive said that his sales volume doubled in three months without the need for additional manpower, he continues. Another dealer said that for the first time he was able to view his entire stock of vehicles and how his inventory was aging, improving his control. Siebel Automotive has also helped dealers respond to customer queries regarding vehicles that arent in a dealers stock, but which can be ordered directly from GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD. Within the first year of implementing the solution, we are targeting improvements of 5 to 10% in customer satisfaction, revenue growth, operating cost reduction, and productivity gains, says Sreenivasan. These numbers should increase considerably over time. He concludes, Siebel has been very committed to helping us in all aspects of the project. Combining Siebel Automotive with our dealer management system is unique, so we have needed quality support. Siebel has played a major role in getting us to where we are today.

RecommendationsMany organizations operating in automobile market still do not differentiate their CRM activities at the segment level. They contact each prospect with the same Frequency instead of applying a level of effort consistent with the cost of acquisition and profit potential. Their unrefined use of resources not only leads to wasted investment but can cause annoyance among customers who are either being oversupplied or undersupplied with attention.

Companies keep the name of financing company as the owner of the vehicle and in many cases does not have the record of effective owner of vehicle who was responsible for the purchase decision. In CRM Indian Automobile industry has to learn much from other service industries such as airline industry. Each time a customer approaches a service agent, his entire history was flashed on screen. Customer knowledge can be used to give customer specific offer on purchase of second vehicle in family. Services such as pick and drop, on-road service, should be provided at GOOD YEAR service station, which are common in other companies.

CONCLUSION

GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD has proven excellence over the years through its technologically advanced products, market expansion, customer satisfaction and increasing sales. GOOD YEAR INDIA LTD consistently strives to increase shareholder value, build stronger customer relations and work with its business partners to provide the best value for money. The company is also involved in accelerating the countrys economic growth and protecting the environment. With the initial financial backing of the giant parent company, GOOD YEAR Group, the division has built a strong business over the past 60 years and continues to show strong financial results. The continual improvement and introduction of new products in the market have allowed it to successfully enter as well as dominate the automobile industry in India. With increasing sales, employees, product offerings, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers along with expansion outside India, the company seems to have a promising future.