For the Indian tyre giant JK Tyre business is more than just selling products to the fleet operators. The company not only sells good products to its patrons but also handholds them in improving their business through multiple channels like driver training, enlightening them about the forthcoming trends and also tutoring them with effective cost-cutting measures.
From our recent visit to Jaipur to interact with two leading fleet operators in the region, we understood that tyre, as a component, accounts for eight per cent of the total operational costs, for whom the average life of a tyre is 1 lakh km and they use 70-80,000 km per annum. Both the fleet owners have acknowledged that radial tubeless tyres would be the future with nylon tyres set to become almost obsolete.
Take the case of K M Trans Logistics Pvt. Ltd. (formerly known as Kundanmal Mukanmal Traders Pvt. Ltd.), which was incorporated in 1988. The Jaipur-based fleet operator uses numerous JK-branded tyres like JDH3 in the drive axles, JDH3+ at the front, JUL 1 in car carriers and front. Running a total fleet of more than 700 trailers, 150 flat-bed trailers, 500 car trailers and 130 chassis carriers, the company transports an average of 17,000 cars per month across India. Its oldest car trailer is just 7 years old – a TATA 3516 made in 2006. The Rs. 250-crore firm has nearly 1,000 drivers on its rolls and is also preparing a blueprint to triple its Tata Prima fleet count to 600, with almost all the products fitted with tyres from JK.
Says Mr. Amit Chandwar, Director, K M Trans Logistics Pvt. Ltd.: “In our journey of more than 20 years, we have changed many lanes of transportation. We started with LPG bulk transportation and began transportation of LPG packed cylinders in 1990. In 1995, we moved to POL tanker fleets. As a family-owned company, we entered into finished car transportation in 2000, while the year 2006 was another milestone for us when we forayed into steel transportation. The year 2012 was again a year of significance when we entered into chassis carrier transportation for Tata Motors. With such diverse arenas of transportation we are truly rolling the wheels of commerce across India.”
The IBA-approved transporter and ISO 9001:2000-certified firm became a leading transport operator and a long-time ally of Tata Motors and JK Tyres owing to a number of factors: Best standards for maintenance of hardware with complete check-up in every 30 days, every carrier is fitted with GPS system for real-time tracking and tracing, carrier drivers are contacted by phone twice a day, a communications network to run spot checks on drivers/carriers and for point-to-point searches, and best-in-industry in-house training service.
Talking about its association with JK Tyre, Mr. Gaurav Benara, Executive Director, K M Trans Logistics Pvt. Ltd., shares: “With JK it’s not like a customer-vendor relationship. JK has always been particular about taking care of their customers like us. We are like their family members. JK Tyre is actually the pioneer in the radial tyre industry, and we are working with them for the last 15 years. JK has a dedicated fleet management team and regularly inspect their tyres and tell the workshop personnel whatever deficiencies exist (in the vehicle). Moreover, they were the first ones to send service engineers who stayed for six months at our place, to monitor the tyres completely. They provided us the fleet account and also gave us cost savings from bias tyres to radial tyres. They were also the first to instruct us on how to use the second life of the tyres and recommended the use of tubeless tyres. We have learnt retreading from JK and now we are using tubeless tyres thanks to them.”
Mr. Benara, making a suggestion, states: “We would like JK to impart regular training for drivers, service personnel and fleet operators. It would also be great if they can setup in-house retreading plants which might be better than outsourcing it to third party players. After the interaction, we also visited K M Trans’ massive workshop facility that is used for maintenance, repair and overhaul of vehicles. Nearly Rs. 10 crores has been invested for the facility which employs approximately 100 people.”
The second visit was to another leading operator in the city, New Jai Shankar Transport Company. Set up in 1992 with a single truck, the company ramped up its fleet to 16 during the initial few years. All its vehicles are parked at its in-house 11,000 sq. ft. workshop in Transport Nagar.
Giving a brief about his company, Mr. Balbir Singh, Owner, Rajasthan Logistics Pvt. Ltd., says: “We started with the Jaipur-Gujarat route when we started servicing the transport sector. Now we have 335 vehicles from MAN, Tata, Ashok Leyland, Eicher and Mahindra and around 350 drivers. We usually transport agricultural products, and very recently we have tied up with Wonder Cement for transporting cement using 200 trailers built by Tata DLT and Tranztar.”
Talking about his company’s association with JK Tyre, Mr. Singh shares: “Our relationship with JK dates back to 1996. They were the first to introduce radials, and 80 per cent of our tyres are radials. While tyres account for eight per cent of our total operational expenses, JK takes care of 60 per cent of our tyre requirements and help in great savings.”
Mr. Singh, like his peers at K M Trans, urged JK to set up its own retreading facility which could prove to be a win-win situation for JK and customers like themselves.
Talking about the company’s growth prospects, he says: “We are doing a turnover of around Rs. 110 crores. Though the money flow is pretty restricted right now, we expect things to look up post October. We have plans to set up a dedicated workshop to improve our services while we are also looking to provide improved facilities for drivers and their families.”
Our interaction with the two fleets goes to reflect the fact that having a good product is just part of being successful in the market. What is equally, if not more important, is to have the right understanding of the market and connect with the customer which JK seems to have done quite well.
Jaipur being one of the country’s most important fleet hubs and JK being one of the strongest representations of indigenous technology when it comes to tyres, it is fitting that the company has established very good presence in the region as it looks to maintain its stronghold in future as well.
