Press Release Summary: In observing the growth of the Indian Automotive Industry, it strikes me that many of the OEMs seek to have a full spread of products, i.e., a comprehensive product portfolio. In Mahindra and Mahindra\'s case, they have the basic utility vehicles (pick up trucks, jeep derivatives, etc), the Bolero class of \"fun\" and utility luxury vehicles (hard top, soft top, etc), the \"Classic\" sporty jeep, and of course the up market super luxury Scorpio MHawk SUV. In Tata Motor\'s case, they have the Nano at the entry level, the Indica mid range series, the Marina estate version, the Indigo luxury sedan series and the up market super luxury SUV. Recently of course, they have closed the acquisition process of the ultra luxury Jaguar Land Rover marquee, giving them arguably the broadest four wheeler portfolio of any Indian Auto OEM.
Press Release Body: From an engineering focus, having a broad portfolio may call for extensive configuration management (CM), i.e., re-use of design IP and production of common parts across different platforms or products, with necessary variations to each. This seeks to re-use design data and achieve ease of maintenance, reduction in product structure, and therefore inventory & maintenance complexity and cist, and streamline and economise bulk ordering from suppliers. CM is a very sophisticated practice worldwide, and major OEMs have entire processes dedicated to managing CM effectively. This appears to be happening in India now, not only in the four wheeler market but also the two wheeler market, with bike and scooter manufacturers unveiling a plethora of new offerings.
Challenges in CM include identifying the type and number of products and variants. For example, you may have a hatchback series, a sedan series and an SUV series. However, each may have a GLX, VLX and AXX variant, depending on features offered. CM also entails engineering planning, effective supply chains, ability to gauge market demand and so on. Thus, effective CM could be almost as important as effective salesmanship and marketing to ensure market success!
Web Site: http://www.auto-pitstop.blogspot.com/
Contact Details: Rohit Biddappa Sr. Marketing Manager, PTC India
I have been a professional Marketer based in Bangalore (India) for the past 12 years. With experience in Advertising, Public Relations, Direct Marketing, Corporate & Marketing communication, I presently manage Marketing across India for Parametric Technology Corporation, the US$ 941 million supplier of Product Lifecycle & Enterprise Content Management software.
This blog reflects one of my personal areas of interest - the Indian automotive industry. I studied at the University of Mysore, gaining a Bachelor in Business Management degree, and also have an active interest in Military History and the Aerospace & Defence sector. I can be contacted at rbidd@hotmail.com