IndiaThink

Coming Soon: An Indian Car to a Dealer Near You

“Mahindra’s American strategy is to offer high value and good milage from efficient diesel engines” NYT June 28, 2009

Goldman Sachs estimates that by 2020 one in six cars produced in the world will by bought by and insisted that the US will be driving them very soon. 

The Nano has been discussed extensively all over the web with excitement around mobilizing those with the capitol to purchase a motorcycle into a four wheel vehicle.  What we have heard little about is Mahindra & Mahindra’s plans to enter the US market by the end of the year with a sport utility vehicle and truck line. 

Mahindra’s plans focus on one work: DIESEL.  Its vehicles will run at reasonable cost points--around $25-30,000 and offer value and good milage. Mahindra could not have chosen a better time to enter the US market.  Owning a well versed line of SUVs and pick-ups that have trekked the roads of several countries beyond India, having product and production experience they are poised to enter when a void has appeared: dealers forced to close by Chrysler and GM who still want to be in business, but have been rejected by their franchise owner. 

The real question is.....How will the US public react?  Some dealers believe it will be difficult to cover truck owners to a new brand.  But what about locals?  People who saw their trusty GM dealer go under to emerge as a Mahindra speciality shop?  Will purchasing a Mahindra Pik-Up become a way to “act local”?  Will this be an experiment in a global company propping up a local community?

Mahindra owns Satyama, a list of global hotels, a industrial line of trucks and farm equipment, insurance firms, Financial firms, BPOs and many other lines of business....a huge conglomerate  that has so far been somewhat silent on the US shores.

Heading to the USIBC Synergy Summit

The USIBC Synergy Summit starts this evening in Washington, DC.  On hand will be the premier leaders of the Indian business community as well as Hillary Clinton and other US Government officials. 

Hillary will be telling the world about the Obama plan for the India US relationship.  More to come later!

Do you need an India Specific Project Plan?

Any project manager will tell you making a plan is the path to success.  The problem is many firms looking to outsource work to India do not create India Specific Project Plans.  Here are a few questions to consider:

How would you describe your relationship with your Indian outsourcer?
a.) Horrible.  They do not answer the phone when I call.  I am canceling.
b.) Ok.  We may send work there again but the Return on Investment was near negative.
c.) A partnership.  We have a understanding on both sides of the table what the needs are and how to get to that goal.

How many additional resources, beyond the plan usage, were assigned to get the project to completion?
a.) None.  We had a very detailed plan on what the project required and it was completely accurate. 
b.) We worked with the Indian outsourcer who helped us determine how to best allocate our resources to complete the project.  They were very knowledgeable in directing us.
c.) Many more than planned.  We had to pull resources from other projects to bring the outsourced work to final delivery.

How late was the last project outsourced to India delivered?
a.) The project was delivered 6 months late.  We have canceled our contract.
b.) The project was a few months late.  We are not sure why that happened.
c.) The project came in on time and every aspect of the deliverable was completed.

Did the outsourced project allow you to access talent that you would have otherwise not been able to hire?
a.) The work was done by people we could have hired locally, but we were trying to cut costs
c.) The outsource relationship offers us access to talent we could not have used based on cost or accessibility.
c.) We outsourced the work but we could easily do it ourselves.

If you answered C, A, C, A congratulations.  You are achieving the dream of outsourcing projects to India.  We are all envious of your success. 

For the rest of you, an India Specific Project Plan is required. 

The Real News Behind Outsourcing to India

The New York Times on June 8th said "Firms Close Back Office in India to Cut Costs."

What the content of this article is about is quite the opposite.  Firms are closing their doors in India, and handing the keys over to large Indian firms who want their business.  And their employees who are often well versed in the business. Citigrou and Aviva are some of the firms that engaged in large transaction swaps if you will, offering large contracts to the firm that purchased their centers.

While some are leaving India, most are just starting to shop as they figure out new ways to grow their business.  Amitabh Chaudhry, the chief executive of Infosys BPO, expects his business unit to grow up to 20-40% this year.  While this is far from the growth curve of 2007, the growth pattern continues.

Nano. Nano. NANO. NANO

The world so needs something to cheer about.  We need invention, shiny objects, fascination, a need to understand...

One wonders if Tata planned the launch of the Nano car in the middle of this endless pit of gloom on purpose. 

USA Today called it the most talked about car....that is not in US show rooms.  I call it a WOW.  Here is something everyone need in India...but for some reason no one made until now.

The Nano has over 70 facebook pages filled with pleas directed specifically at Tata to "bring the Nano here, and fast" with a few concerns about "how fast" it will really go and extensive details on how to get on the waiting list.

Yes.  I said waiting list.  The first 100,000 will purchase the car through a lottery system and must put down 50% of the total payment. 

So, that will set you back about $1,500. Check it out yourself...