Friday, November 28, 2014

MTB's excellence, acknowledged yet again

When an organisation commits to outperform and sticks by it, it's guaranteed that the excellence it exhibits will be taken note of. At Mahindra Truck and Bus Division, we are proud to say that the commitment has been honoured and the so has the appreciation come our way.

Mahindra and Mahindra Limited have been recently conferred with the 'ABP News BRAND EXCELLENCE AWARD IN THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR, 4 WHEELER CATEGORY (HCV/ LCV)'. It came as a great honor as we stood alongside other leading & respectable brands, been lauded for delivering excellence.

The event, hosted by World Marketing Congress acknowledges the brands and marketers who have achieved extraordinary success from innovative and effective marketing practices. This stamp from a renowned organisation is an acknowledgement of international standards in quality & excellence in MTB's functional practices. Our commitment to work closely with the transport ecosystem, helping our customers and other stakeholders to rise was acknowledged through this award. The jury took note of the pioneering and unique initiatives like the Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards, which empowers critical but usually neglected stakeholders like drivers, mechanics, dhabas to MPOWER, our customised MDP with IIM, Ahmedabad  which trains the nextgen of Indian transporters to the Mahindra Saarthi Abhiyaan, the scholarship program for the girl child of truck drivers.


This award follows four other major marketing awards that we won recently.  We started the winning spree by bagging 4 CMO Asia awards for Marketing which included Brand Excellence, Social Media, Emerging Brand and Marketing campaign of the year. Innovation and robustness in our marketing approach and strategies helped us bag the Breakthrough in Innovation & Breakthrough in Marketing Strategy awards at AIMA 2013 & 2014 respectively. Our marketing collaterals have always been recognized & honored at the PRCI awards.


While these awards are recognition to our efforts, it's also adds a lot of responsibility to our team at MTB. It eggs us to stay committed & outperform. These recognition keep us on our feet to ensure that we repeat the glory year on year and maintain our commitment of excellence to our customers and stakeholders.


Monday, November 24, 2014

When Kids sent Dads to school...



No, we are not talking about Karma biting parents back. As frivolous as the blog title may sound, we mean serious business here. A student in one of our MPOWER batches in his feedback spoke up, “I wish my father attended this. It will help me implement what I learn here better.” That line echoed in the classroom, and before we knew we had almost all batches making similar requests. The request fell in line with our philosophy; to evolve the transport industry and its stakeholders. And this time we were talking about one of the biggest stakeholders of them all: Seasoned Transport Business Owners.

Such a big move had to create history; a one of its kind program called MPOWER Mentors Summit was launched, targeting transport veterans, mentors and parents of the MPOWER delegates. The men who dominated the Indian Transport Sector, now sat in the classrooms of IIM-A, to be trained to improve a business that they claim to know like the back of their hand.

The 2 day program had a 2-part structure:

  1. Develop an agenda for further professionalization of Indian Transport through a gathering of industry veterans.
  2. Facilitate the Mentors of Indian Transport to guide and enable their protégés to take charge of the business.

From 8th to the 10th of November 2014, Transport veterans exchanged notes and thoughts on topics like challenges in the Trucking Sector, Understanding Leadership Styles, Succession Planning & Delegation and Attracting Investments in Transport Business. These sessions were moderated intelligently by the IIMA Faculty and the top league of Mahindra & Mahindra, Truck and Bus Division. Experience sharing sessions turned into passionate discussions. Talks on macro level sector management evolved into need for running the sector professionally. The maturity & native intelligence of veterans merged with the experience and precision of the faculty created a melting pot of information and learning.

In came Dr. Mallika Sarabhai, throwing a twisted ‘mudra’ of splicing the brain into the left and the right. Creativity and Transport seemed like an unlikely couple, but Dr. Sarabhai merged both beautifully, allowing the participants to jump of their routines and embrace creativity. Jembes (Drums), played in tandem by the participants created a symphony, epitomising the greatness that one can achieve by merging the experience of the gray hair and the energy of the young. 

Panel discussion brought fathers and sons on the same stage. A healthy discussion followed, which captured the imagination of both, Mentors and ex-MPOWER delegates. Solutions flew out beautifully, nourished by experience and steered by the want to do more.

The summit concluded with a Networking Dinner where the stalwarts of this industry exchanged their views, learnings and networked with each other. It was indeed an introspective journey for most of them that left them excited.

The Mentors Summit was beautifully summarised by a participant. Emotions and appreciation surged high as he said, “We transporters are very well engaged with Lakshmi; today Mahindra has introduced us to Saraswati!”


 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

The Super Kids of the Transport Industry



Traditional family businesses are usually frowned upon by the next generation. Not because they have an urge to get stuck in a 9-5 job, but because they see this era as the age of techno-entrepreneurs. News of angel funding and investments flowing in to fuel the dreams of an out-of-garage entrepreneur to a B-school graduate, tickles their ambition. But there are some who are integrating the robustness of their father’s business to the swiftness that this day offers. 

We speak about the latest batch of Mahindra and Mahindra, Truck and Bus Division’s program MPOWER, silently chiselling next generation transport entrepreneurs. The program, which is designed and conducted at IIM-A, churned out the 5th batch of the program. Aptly christened as MPOWER, the program takes the participants through a structured curriculum directed by Anand Mahindra’s vision for the program ‘Take forward your family business with your own Vision.’
In this particular batch, over 31 participants came to IIM-A, from 17 cities. The participants represented 14 load segments and owned 4500 trucks amongst themselves. By training these 31 participants, the program creates a positive ripple effect and changes the dynamics of a combined turnover of INR 1500 Crores & the lives of 4500 employees. 

The batch which ended on the 8th of November, 2014, took the total participation of MPOWER to 141. Case study presentations, sessions with mentors and specialists, interaction with MPOWER War Room finalists peppered the program to provide great value for the participants. While learning how to create profit through process improvements was an expected outcome of the sessions, more humane conversations around driver relations and gaining family trust by implementing incremental positive change, widened the spectrum of the learning.  

What is interesting to notice is the continuous belief and participation of the trucking industry in a program like MPOWER. It shows sure signs of evolution, drafting out a pathway towards professionalism in an otherwise rough and relatively unorganised sector. With efforts like these, Mahindra & Mahindra, Truck and Bus Division confirms its commitment towards building and developing not only their business, but the industry at large. Kudos to that.

Please leave your comments in the comment section below.



 
 
 
 
 


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

The Power of 5

We call today the era of entrepreneurs. That belief has led to the launch of the 5th batch of MPOWER: the Management Development Program for the nextgen Youth Transport Entrepreneurs. On 1st of November, 2014, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, saw another set of participants of MPOWER, this time readying themselves for a more compact & effective 7 day program.
It’s just the course duration that has changed. The guiding philosophy of the program remains empowering the next generation of India’s transporters/ fleet owners to “Take forward their family business with their OWN vision”, as propounded by Mr. Anand Mahindra in January 2013. That thought was echoed on the very same day by Mr. Nalin Mehta, who stressed on MTB wanting to “walk the talk”. He was pointing at MTB’s marketing campaign, which was an year old then, urging the nextgen of transporters to join their ‘Papa ka Business’.
The program has grown from strength to strength, converting itself into an important cog in our effort to drive positive change in Indian Transport. This change is being driven top down with these initiatives and the numbers speak for themselves. With this batch we have involved 141 nextgen transporters who own over 37,000 trucks amongst themselves, with a combined turnover of Rs. 14,000 Crores employing over 37,000 people.

For the fifth MPOWER, 31 young transport entrepreneurs, the scions of the finest transport companies of India, selected by invitation, checked-in for the 7 day course. The course has been specifically designed keeping the transport sectors growth & issues in focus. Seven highly accomplished faculty members of IIMA will run the course that covers subjects like, PROFESSIONALISM, BUSINESS PLANNING, MARKET& SEGMENTS, HR PRACTICES, SERVICE QUALITY, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT& ACCOUNTING, SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, LEGAL AND REGULATORY, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRY FOCUSSED SESSIONS.


What has led us to continue the program? The successful engagement with the next-gen entrepreneurs has motivated us to reinvest in driving a positive change in the transport ecosystem while nurturing our business ties. The program today is in the league of other initiatives like the Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards and Outperformers’ League. All these initiatives will help us connect with various constituents of the Indian transport business at both the rational and emotional levels, which can be leveraged to build a strong transport ecosystem.









Monday, November 17, 2014

Mathura OPL focuses on liquid and chemical transport

Mathura witnessed an OPL on the 13th of September, 2014 in Hotel Radha Ashok. The seminar, which focussed on the Tanker segment, was attended by various customers. The customers used the opportunity of this exclusive platform to interact with the various shakeholders of the trucking industry.

The OPL’s opening speech was made by Mr. Vipul Jain, Marketing Manager, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. – Truck and Bus Division, who kick started the program with a detailed presentation on OPL and the various initiatives and customer benefits associated with OPL. He was followed by Mr. Rajanpreet Singh (Manager - HCV Sales), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. – Truck and Bus Division who presented the key products available with Mahindra.

Liquid and Chemical Transportation Expert, Mr. Santosh Deshpande, made an invigorating presentation, as he provided an overview on the petroleum tankers in India. He further explained about tanker body designs and how incorrect designs lead to damage. He concluded his presentation by explaining the design evolution of these tankers, leading to advancement in liquid transportation.
The program gained momentum with the motivational speech of Mr. Vijay Batra. His highly inspirational presentation on motivating transport employees and drivers helped the audience learn and understand the importance of self-belief and outperformance in every aspect of life.

The OPL also saw the display of the powerful TRUXO 25 and TRUXO 31.

The session was closed by Mr. Vipul Jain with a formal vote of thanks.


The seminar provided an exclusive platform to the various fleet owners to closely interact with other customers, industry experts, officials from the Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. - Truck and Bus Division team. The customers benefitted a lot from the seminar since they were happy to know about the growing business opportunities in their sector. Having received affirmative feedback, this OPL seminar ended on an enthusiastic note.

Vijay Batra - Motivational Speaker

Registration process

Product display


Customers at the seminar


Customer Take away