Bajaj Auto rides on the SAP advantage

The name Bajaj Auto is synonymous in India with two wheelers. One of the largest players in this segment, the company is a savvy user of information technology. Srikanth R P looks at the recent deployment of my SAP Enterprise Portal, the first case of full-scale implementation of this application in India.

Anil Khopkar says Bajaj Auto was looking for an IT system which could help it give an insight into the positioning of its new launches and the impact these would have on the market

The year 2000 was a momentous year for Bajaj Auto. It was in this year that Bajaj Auto decided to undertake a major restructuring exercise to place the company on a new growth path, away from stagnating sales.

Accordingly, an ambitious project christened ‘Project 110 percent’ was launched to spearhead Bajaj’s growth in the future. The project was so named since the aim was to increase the company’s topline by 100 percent and bottom line by 10 percent.

The marketing strategy was fine-tuned and new product initiatives were planned. To support these new initiatives, the company had to deploy an IT system that could not only support but enhance business processes. With the planned launch of new products, the company needed an IT system that could help it give an insight into the positioning of the new launches and the impact these would make in the market.

The company knew that it had to have in place an integrated system where data could be tracked and monitored on a real time basis. So, one of the first steps the company took was to go in for an ERP system (SAP) that would help it integrate disparate islands of information.

After the basic ERP system was in place, Bajaj Auto looked at integrating the next close link with the chain i.e. suppliers.

Says Anil Khopkar, general manager, MIS at Bajaj Auto, “We needed to bring dealers closer to our network as they were the ones who interacted with the end-customer. Hence, their inputs and views about Bajaj Auto were crucial. We also needed a system wherein we could capture pre-sales data and have deeper insights into our brand.”

When Bajaj Auto was looking out for ways to connect its entire supply chain—right from its manufacturing plants, vehicle dealers and the suppliers at the back-end—it found a perfect solution in the form of mySAP Enterprise Portal. The solution from SAP was chosen as the company already had an ERP system and being Web-based could improve dealer and supplier interaction with the company.

At present, around 300 dealers are a part of this portal and use it extensively. For example, dealers can log in to the system and place orders online. Previously, the same was done through faxes. On the other side too, the concerned department can check the credit level of the dealer and then clear the order accordingly.

A dealer can also check the status of orders. For example, a dealer can see the date on which an order will get executed and also check which carrier will deliver it.

The portal is also a boon for suppliers. A supplier can just log in and know his delivery schedule for various components. Consequently, the portal will help the company improve forecasting, sales planning and even distribution of work to dealers.
A supplier can also log in to the portal and know the status of his payments. Suppliers can also send in their invoices through the Web and get an automatic token number. What this means is that when suppliers deliver their components, they can just show the token number and the data regarding the material delivered is entered automatically into the system.

There is also a discussion board wherein dealers can have take up issues and swap stocks wherever necessary.

The portal can also help Bajaj Auto in forecasting and planning new product launches. For instance, through dealer interactions with the customer, Bajaj Auto can get useful insights into the positioning of its products and fine-tune products better. As the entire process is linked, the company can even know the impact a particular component, can have on the actual product if changed or upgraded. Similarly, Bajaj Auto suppliers will get up-to-date information on purchase orders, contracts and material schedules.

With an integrated supply chain and effective collaboration with both its dealers and suppliers, Bajaj Auto surely looks on track to achieve the objectives of Project 110 percent.