Lucas Indian Service Ltd. (LIS) celebrated its Founder’s Day on June 21 on the company premises in Chennai. Under this year’s theme ‘Let’s build the future’, the meet brought out some interesting and thought-provoking insights on changing customer expectations and dynamic market conditions that are transforming the Indian auto and auto component sector.
The function kicked off with a prayer song, followed by Mr. N. Ramamurthy, Sr. General Manager – HR, LIS, introducing the Chief Guest on the occasion, Mr. R. Ramakrishnan, Global Head – Customer Care, CVBU, Tata Motors.
Mr. L. Elangovan, President, Lucas Employees’ Union, delivered the welcome address which started off with a line in praise of the late T.V. Sundaram Iyengar, Founder of the TVS Group, whose unparalleled foresight and peerless vision led to the birth of the group which has today grown into one of the largest and most successful and respected business conglomerates in the Indian automotive industry.
Mr. S. Muralidharan, President, LIS, highlighted the versatility of the audience that included representatives from component OEMs, channel partners, fleet operators and vehicle OEMs, among other stakeholders. He made special mention of the value, trust and service that the TVS brand has become synonymous with over the last 100+ years. He further went on to underline the changing dynamics of the auto component and aftermarket realm, thanks to the digital revolution, GST, demonetization, e-way bill, BS-IV and BS-VI.
“We are standing at a point of time in history where we have three generations of technology on Indian roads – an inline pump, a rotary pump and a common-rail pump. Amidst all these changes, LIS has a choice – either to grow with our customers or to perish like several organizations in the past. Despite all these changes, we have chosen to grow and have shown strong profitable growth over the last two years for which I would like to thank each and every one of you (employees). ‘Let’s build the future’ is the slogan for our Founders’ Day this year; yesterday is history, so we have to prepare for the future and I am confident that we can do it very well together”, said Mr. Muralidharan.
Mr. Ramakrishnan, popularly known as Ramki, started his address by acknowledging the TVS Group companies’ long-standing association with Tata Motors and their efforts in keeping up the tradition of the TVS name, upholding its values and delivering to the expectations of customers.
Mr. Ramakrishnan spoke about changing customer expectations and what companies ought to do in the future in order to stay competitive in the market.
He shared: “We are all part of a big chain, playing in one small area of the chain. If we truly want to serve our customer, we have to look at our customer’s customer and see how it impacts him. The consumer finally is the king – the whole chain has to be able to respond to deliver what he wants. Part of this chain is the fleet operator, behind him is the OEM, behind the OEM is a component supplier like TVS, and all of us together have to jointly take care of the service aspect in the back-end. So, supporting a customer with full understanding of his business is the way to respond to the changing dynamics in customer expectations.”
Following the Chief Guest’s address, awards were presented to the high-flying achievers of LIS for their dedicated service and sincere contribution to the organization’s growth in the last financial year.
Ms. Priyamvada Balaji, Whole Time Director, LIS, in her address, said: “Customers are going to expect real-time delivery and service in the automotive sector. That’s where we at LIS need to step up our efforts because for the brands that we distribute we are the eyes and ears, we are the people in touch with the customers, in the field, with the mechanics, dealers, fleet operators – this is invaluable and also our single biggest strength. If we keep listening to our customers, doing what it takes to meet their requirements and systematically work towards it, success will automatically follow.”
Ms. Priyamvada also appreciated the LIS team under the leadership of Mr. Muralidharan and Mr. Ramamurthy, for their efforts in getting the company certified as a ‘Great Place to work’, one of the first automotive distributors in the country to achieve the prestigious recognition.
Mr. Arvind Balaji, JMD, Lucas-TVS, and Director, LIS, complimented the LIS team for its wonderful effort for a sustained period and shared his views on ‘change in mindset’. “A ‘defensive mindset’ is giving way to a ‘solution mindset’, a more ‘giving mindset’. A solution mindset comes from the heart, it comes from plenty; ‘because I have the confidence I will win, I will help you win as well’. India is moving happily towards solution mindset; in every industry, the disruptor is the one who provides the solution. Our job to the mechanics is to provide them a basket of services and solutions, such as the dongle LIS has developed to help diagnose BS-VI engines; imagine the number of mechanics whose lives we can help make better; if mechanics come to us, brands will run towards us for distributorship. If every LIS member is sniffing for problems and looking to provide solutions, there is no doubt that we as a business will have an evergreen future.”
Mr. V. Ramesh, General Secretary, Lucas Employees’ Union, proposed a vote of thanks.