BPSM

CASE STUDY ON
Siebel CRM Drives Closer Cooperation between Tata Motors and
Dealers to Improve Sales and Service

Submitted To: Ms. Himani Sharma

Submitted By: Geeta Prasad
Roll No: 108H24
MBA(G)

Abstract
Tata Motors is Indias largest integrated automaker. Tata Motors needed a
standardised application for its 1,200 dealers and their 10,000 users across the
country. The goal was to ensure stronger dealer relationships, improve operational
efficiency and provide a better customer experience. For this the company
implemented Oracle's Siebel Automotive, a comprehensive customer relationship
management (CRM) solution designed specifically for companies in the automotive
industry. This has helped to overcome the challenges of relying on disparate sources
of information, as well as having inconsistent business processes. The employees and
dealers are much more responsive and can serve customers more efficiently and
effectivelydrawing upon real-time, centralized customer and vehicle data. It has
also helped dealers respond to customer queries regarding vehicles that arent in a
dealers stock, but which can be ordered directly from Tata Motors. In all the
implementation led the company stronger dealer relationships, improved operational
efficiency, and a better customer experience.

Introduction
Tata Motors is Indias largest integrated automaker, with a line-up that includes
commercial, utility, and passenger vehiclesand market shares approaching 60% for
commercial vehicles and 20% of Indias passenger car market. Founded in 1945, Tata
Motors is Indias largest and only fully integrated automaker, with 22,000 employees;
1 million customers; and annual sales of approximately $3 billion in commercial
vehicles, utility vehicles, and passenger cars. It is part of the widely diversified Tata
Group, which has annual revenues of $14 billion, approximately 2.4% of Indias
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Tata Motors holds a 59% share of Indias market for
medium and heavy commercial vehicles, with global sales that rank it among the top
six manufacturers of commercial vehicles worldwide. Although the company only
entered the passenger car business in the late 1990s, it has already captured a 16%
share of the passenger market in the country.
Important Issues:
The company was looking for real-time availability of customer and product data
from its entire dealer network, faster response to customer requests, increased
productivity and revenue generation, and a system that would give it a 360-degree
view of customers across all possible touch points.
Tata Motors needed a standardised application for its 1,200 dealers and their 10,000
users across the country. It also needed to integrate the new applications with an
existing SAP ERP system. The goal was to ensure stronger dealer relationships,
improve operational efficiency and provide a better customer experience.
For this the company implemented Oracle's Siebel Automotive, a comprehensive
customer relationship management (CRM) solution designed specifically for
companies in the automotive industry.
CRM is a combination of policies, processes, and strategies implemented by an
organization to unify its customer interactions and provide a means to track customer
information. It involves the use of technology in attracting new and profitable
customers, while forming tighter bonds with existing ones. Seamlessly integrated with

Tata Motors dealer management system and SAP back-office applications, Siebel
Automotive has delivered significant benefits across the extended organization,
including improved customer satisfaction, increased revenue and productivity, and
reduced costs.
Getting the right systems:
The company was looking for real-time availability of customer and product data
from its entire dealer network, faster response to customer requests, increased
productivity and revenue generation, and a system that would give it a 360-degree
view of customers across all possible touch points.
The implementation began in a phased manner. With over 250 dealers already using
the application, the first part also included the discovery, design, development and
testing of the technology. This was completed by March 2005, and the rollout
commenced in April 2005. It is interesting to note that although the rollout started
recently, the deployment was conceptualised and work had begun a few years back.
The project was conceived five years back. There was work to be done at the back
end, and physical and customer support processes. They were put in place within two
to three years.
The reason for the phased development had been the size of the application. Explains
K R Sreenivasan, Head of CRM and DMS Project, Tata Motors, We are taking a
dealer-by-dealer approach. Each dealer is trained on the systems and requirements.
Then, we help them move from their existing applications to new systems.
The right partner:
A major concern was to find the right application partner. We felt that Siebel was one
of the best automotive CRM applications. Moreover, inter-operability with the
existing ERP system was a key requisite. It was important for us to have applications
that would talk to the existing SAP system, says Sreenivasan.
Tata Motors was using the SAP ERP module, and it was extremely important that
front-end solutions easily integrated with the ERP system. Siebels proven SAP
connector was a key factor in helping Tata Motors pick it.

Sreenivasan explains, Fortunately, most of the dealers already have some standard
systems. For instance, processes such as operations and documentation were the same.
However, each had a system either as a package or as an application developed inhouse. Now, with Siebel, we are all working on one application.
Theres no doubt that Tata Motors found the going easier as many of its dealers
already had some systems in place.
Bypassing roadblocks:
Despite all this, there were roadblocks. The magnitude of the project and the nature of
the application, logistics and user adaptability were all concerns. Nobody has used
Siebels CRM solution as a transaction application. Its like a dealer management
system that allows dealer transaction with customers, and generates backups on the
same system. The need to move onto a common platform was to get real-time data on
the customer. Otherwise the dealer would have to transfer the data to us which leads
to duplication, Sreenivasan explains.
In terms of logistics, Tata Motors has service centres across the country at places such
as Arunachal Pradesh, Kutch, Srinagar, Leh, Kanyakumari and the Andamans. Many
of these service stations are in remote locations and are connected to the central
location in Mumbai. The logistics of rolling out the application to them was a huge
challenge.
However, for a successful system, they had to get their connectivity in place. Tata
Motors links its 1,600 customer touchpoints with its centralised data centre in
Mumbai using a combination of VSATs, high-speed VPNs and at some places even
dial-up connectivity.
The next hurdle was training and change management. We have about 10,000 users
with different skill sets and knowledge. Some are skilled but not computer literate,
while others are highly tech-savvy. Imparting training to such a spectrum of users was
a big challenge, says Sreenivasan.

Implementation:
TATA deployed a robust technology platform to improve the flow of information
across the enterprise. The platform consists of an innovative dealer management
system, which helps individual dealerships with everything from inventory
management and credit reporting to calculating commissions, and Siebel Automotive,
a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) solution designed
specifically for companies in the automotive industry. By tightly integrating Siebel
Automotive and its dealer management system, TATA streamlined transactions and
ensured that dealers capture customer data as a part of their normal operations. The
solution provided a 360-degree view of customers to the extended organization, with
appropriate visibility controls to ensure that one dealer is not privy to information
from another. To further enlist dealer support, Tata Motors involved dealers
throughout the solution configuration and deployment process.
Deploying Solution in Three Phases Tata Motors had taken a phased approach to the
implementation, with the goal of achieving success in each phase before moving
forward. Phase 1, focused on capturing customer and vehicle data and automating
routine tasks. Phase 2 will focus on leveraging data to improve customer interactions
and streamline product development and planning. Phase 3 will focus on tuning the
system and delivering additional value-added services to customers.
Dealer network:
Tata Motors also liked the fact that Siebel Automotive provides multi-organisation
support, can be deployed easily over the Internet and provides robust partner
management capabilitiesideal for the company with its far-flung dealer network.
A decision was taken to get business managers involved to the extent possible.
Sreenivasan says that IT is a tool for enhancing business. The core team that leads
applications development comprises people from sales and marketing.

Benefits:
Registering Strong Success with Dealers Siebel Automotive has already begun to
deliver benefits for Tata Motors dealers throughout India. Overall, Siebel
Automotive has transformed our organization and made it truly customercentric,
says Sreenivasan. Weve overcome the challenges of relying on disparate sources of
information, as well as having inconsistent business processes. Today, our employees
and dealers are much more responsive and can serve customers more efficiently and
effectivelydrawing upon real-time, centralized customer and vehicle data. One of
our first dealers to install Siebel Automotive said that his sales volume doubled in
three months without the need for additional manpower, he continues. Another
dealer said that for the first time he was able to view his entire stock of vehicles and
how his inventory was aging, improving his control. Siebel Automotive has also
helped dealers respond to customer queries regarding vehicles that arent in a dealers
stock, but which can be ordered directly from Tata Motors. Sreenivasan says, Siebel
has been very committed to helping us in all aspects of the project. Combining Siebel
Automotive with our dealer management system is unique, so we have needed quality
support. Siebel has played a major role in getting us to where we are today.

References:
www.tatamotors.com
www.hindubusinessline.com
www.expresscomputeronline.com
www.insidecrm.com