MTEA: The Plot Thickens

Evolution is the ultimate reality, and excellence its currency. Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards, our initiative to capture the excellence and evolution of the transport eco-system crossed a major milestone on 5^th and 6^th of December 2014, with the successful conduct of the Expert Jury round. <Click to read more about the selection process>

MTEA, now in its 4^th Edition has consistently helped the transport eco-system to evolve and be recognised. The belief of the stakeholders in this initiative has solidified in the past years, and this has been ratified by the 20% increase in the entries collected. The initial conversation with the jury indicates an upsurge in the quality of entries, which is motivating.

The Expert jury, which was held on the 5^th and 6^th of December 2014, evaluated the entries sieved out after an initial scan. 27 jury members <click here for expert jury>, who are authorities from different walks of the transport business, interacted with 73 nominees. The nominees went through extensive reviews as their case studies were evaluated by the jury.

The shortlisted nominees would be put up for the final round of evaluation by the GRAND JURY, which will be held in Jan 2015. Meanwhile, the Expert Jury for Dhaba, Mechanic, Spares Retailers and Financiers category was held on the 12^th and 13^th Dec 2014, shortlisting the entries for the Grand jury.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Rajan Wadhera emphasized Mahindra’s intent and the philosophy behind MTEA, “The Awards initiative is an effort by Mahindra to help the industry stakeholders view this industry in a new light in the Transport Ecosystem that has not received enough attention. Embracing all who contribute to the ecosystem, is the foundation of these awards. Be it the next generation entrepreneur who needs that encouragement through recognition to take on his Papa Ka Business to that an unsung Driver, who seeks little dignity and respect! These awards have only got bigger and better year on year.”

The plot just got exciting. Watch this space for more. 

FIRST-HAND TRUST FOR SECOND-HAND TRUCKS

No one likes hand-me downs. Talk to a money-wise buyer and he will explain the financial advantages of a price-depreciated, but good quality product. Vehicles fall under this category. Their value depreciates with time, but a well maintained or refurbished vehicle can provide great value to its owner. However buying used vehicles is not always a pleasurable experience. The credibility of the source/mediator, the safety & efficiency of the vehicle comes into question. It is imperative to have someone trustworthy filter these elements out.

So you may ask why the long introduction? We at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. bring you MTrust, the most trust worthy way to buy used Mahindra & Mahindra Trucks. At MTrust, we assure you everything that Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. stands for, good quality and great service peppered with Trust and assurance to Outperform.  

Each vehicle goes through 166 tough health checks and is certified for use by qualified engineers. The worn out parts are refurbished by genuine Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. spares to ensure that the Truck outperforms from the word go. The retouched truck is then given a 1/2/3 Star Rating, depending on its performance and sent in for resale, where MTrust also provides refinancing options for prospective buyers.

So now that we have ensured that the vehicle is good as new, we also ensure that the transaction and service experience is excellent. The transaction is hassle free and transparent, with minimum glitches during the otherwise much horrid stage of ‘paper transfers’. The buyer also ends up with a 1 year warranty* & 3 free services*. The offer is topped with an optional AMC and on-road assistance for the customer’s convenience. 

For more information, leave your details in the comments section below and we will get back to you.

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.

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 8^th to the 10^th 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!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 5^th 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 8^th 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.

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