Automotive: Kiosks for demand-driven manufacturing
BANGALORE: How do you like the idea of walking out of an automobile showroom, knowing exactly when your dream vehicle is going to be delivered-designed exclusively for you?
This could soon be a reality at Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) showrooms, according to Rajan Wadhera, VP – Operations, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra.
The Indian automobile manufacturer has arrived at the concept of ‘demand-driven manufacturing’ with demand being captured by kiosks at dealer showrooms. “You walk into a showroom-customise your car according to colour, levels of sophistication-feed it into the computer and it will throw up the lead time,” said Wadhera, talking exclusively to CIOL.
“It is totally IT driven, where information will be captured by kiosks at the dealers’, he said.
So apart from high-level customer servicing, what’s in it for the company? “All IT projects have an ROI-this would prevent stocking up-which would save a lot of money,” said Wadhera.
For starts, the company plans to roll it out at metros before expanding to other regions in two-three years.
Out to leverage technology to the hilt, M&M is also considering ‘virtual manufacturing’ technology to enhance its manufacturing processes. “It is like driving a car in a video game-you simulate a factory on a computer,” elaborates Wadhera.
However, while some US manufacturers are using this technology extensively, commercially it is very expensive, added Wadhera.
Source: CIOL