By N. Balasubramanian & Ganesh Kalidas
IIM-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), one of the most reputed business schools in the country, hosted perhaps its most unique batch of students from November 8 to 10 this year. A group of 20 transport veterans from across the country spent a week-end at the IIM-A premises as part of a truly remarkable initiative by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) – the MPOWER Mentors Summit. The participants collectively owned a fleet of over 3,000 trucks, clocking more than Rs. 3,000 crores of annual turnover together and, more significantly, touching over a lakh of lives through their transport businesses.
The Mentors Summit was the first of its kind in the industry and was held immediately after the fifth edition of the regular MPOWER program for young transporters. MOTORINDIA had the privilege of being invited to witness the Mentors Summit.
Though the transport industry plays a crucial role in the economic development of the country, transporters face multiple day-to-day challenges related to cost versus value focus, asset & non-asset based operations, managing business scope and scale, driver management, adoption of information technology, service back-up and quality management, among others. Added to these challenges is the ever-increasing demand of the customers and the sky-rocketing prices of fuel, toll and manpower.
‘MPOWER’ing transporters
In order to empower the transport industry overcome these challenges, M&M had pioneered a program called ‘MPOWER’ in 2012. Designed in association with the prestigious IIM-A Institute, the program aims at bringing professionalism to the trucking industry through youth transport entrepreneurs. Today, MPOWER has successfully completed five phenomenal batches with the participants of all the batches going through an enriching experience during the tailor-made course which has given them confidence of taking their family businesses to greater heights.
A student in one of the MPOWER batches, in his feedback said: “I wish my father attended this. It will help me implement what I learn here better.” The opinion echoed in the classroom, and soon almost all the batches started making similar requests. Since the request was in sync with Mahindra’s philosophy of evolving the transport industry and its stakeholders, discussions sparked off about conducting an MPOWER program for one of the biggest stakeholders in the transport industry – seasoned transport business owners – thus leading to the birth of the MPOWER Mentors Summit.
Knowledge forum
The MPOWER Mentors Summit was a collective learning program, offering the transport veterans a platform to share their views on the prospects of road transport with other fleet owners and seasoned professionals. At the conclave, the mentors had an opportunity to interact with the IIM-A faculty and discuss how the next generation could be guided to take up the responsibility of improving not just their own businesses but also the transport sector.
In today’s ever-changing industry, it is imperative for industry veterans and their protégés to have the right tools along with effective business strategies to be able to gain an edge over competition and, through the Mentors Summit, the transporters certainly got better equipped to face competition and also handle their own companies more efficiently.
The focus areas of the MPOWER Mentors Summit:
• Overview of the transport industry
• Decision areas and challenges in the trucking sector
• Managing family business
• Understanding leadership styles
• Succession planning and delegation
• Attracting investments in transport business
The participants exchanged notes and views on topics such as challenges in the trucking sector, understanding leadership styles, succession planning & delegation and attracting investments in the transport business. The sessions were moderated by the IIM-A faculty and the top league of M&M’s Truck and Bus Division. Experience sharing sessions turned into passionate discussions with talks on macro-level sector management evolving into the need for running the sector professionally. The maturity and native intelligence of the veterans who are leaders of business merged with the experience and precision of the faculty, who are leaders of academics, creating a melting pot of information and learning.
In addition to the interactive theoretical sessions, a fleet simulation game specially formulated by IIM-A for the MPOWER course was conducted. As part of the game, the participants were divided into groups with each one expected to manage a business under simulated conditions of customer demand, fleet availability, market conditions, etc. The game made them wear their thinking hats and also helped strengthen the bonding among the participants.
Amidst all the learning, discussion, brain-storming and knowledge sharing, in came Dr. Mallika Sarabhai throwing a twisted ‘mudra’ of splicing the brain into the left and the right. Creativity and transport seemed like an unlikely couple, but Dr. Sarabhai merged both beautifully, allowing the participants to jump of their routines and embrace creativity. Jembes (drums) played in tandem by the participants created a symphony, epitomising the greatness that one can achieve by merging the experience of the gray hair and the energy of the young.
The Mentors Summit was aptly summarized by one of the participants who said: “We transporters are very well engaged with Lakshmi (wealth), and today Mahindra has introduced us to Saraswati (knowledge).”
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The MPOWER Mentors Summit is a coming together of the leaders of business (transporters) and the leaders of academics (IIM-A faculty). I am happy that Mahindra Truck & Bus has been instrumental in facilitating this forum for exchanging ideas. As always, Mahindra will continue to take initiatives which will benefit everybody in the transport ecosystem. – Mr. Nalin Mehta, MD & CEO, Mahindra Trucks and Buses Ltd. |
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The MPOWER Mentors Summit was the first time in my life after college that I attended classes, and it was a wonderful experience. Coming to learn at IIM was excellent and the subject covered is not just business but also includes personal life, mind-set changes, etc. I am a 52-year-old person running a business since last 37 years and had a feeling that it is all enough. The Mentors Summit has given me a lot of energy to keep going strong. Mahindra is changing the perception of the transport industry by making the younger generation ready to join our businesses. They should definitely conduct more such excellent programs. – Mr. Mukesh M. Shah, Director, Shreeji Transport Services (P) Ltd. |
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The Mentors Summit is a program to help the transport industry develop and rise to a new level. The next generation youngsters in many cases are not too keen on continuing their father’s transport business as the sector is not very attractive. We felt the need to make the industry attractive and came up with the MPOWER initiative in which Mahindra’s role is just to co-create and fund the program. – Mr. R.C. Mangal, Sr. VP – Sales & Mktg, Mahindra Trucks and Buses Ltd. |
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I used to handle a dealership of Mahindra while my husband took care of our logistics business. I think I have to go back and take over logistics, because this program has inspired me so much. I have never experienced such a program in my life, and it was a good learning for all of us. All the participants have become more like a family now, and interacting with the youngsters in particular was truly wonderful. – Ms. Rama Rayudu, Pranava Logistics Pvt. Ltd. |
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IIM-A is the knowledge partner for the MPOWER program and, over the last two years, we have learnt so many things through it. We have framed the course curriculum after interacting with several transporters and understanding how family-owned businesses operate. We have developed customized modules for the transport delegates, focusing on important areas like decision-making, supply chain, finance, branding, etc., and have tried to fill the gaps in the transport industry. On the whole, MPOWER has been a great experience for us, and I salute Mahindra for taking such a wonderful initiative. – Debojit Roy, Professor, IIM-A, and MPOWER Course Co-ordinator |
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The MPOWER Mentors Summit is a very good initiative, and we have gained a lot of information and inputs. It also made us understand how good a role we play in a family business as a mentor and the changes to be done in that role. Such a program is very important because 90 per cent of the transport industry comprises of family-driven businesses and a course of this nature would guide the seniors or fathers to mentor their children well and to shape their future better. All I would say to Mahindra is: ‘Excellent, continue it!’ – Mr. Ajay Bindal, Director, Bindal Logistics Pvt. Ltd. |
