The energetic participation of leading lights of the aftermarket ensured a vibrant knowledge exchange session.
MOTORINDIA – Aftermarket & Service was privileged to organise a conference during ACMA Automechanika. It was titled: Indian Automotive aftermarket at an Inflection Point: How does it scale up amid opportunity and an increasingly complex ecosystem?
The event was graced by Shraddha Suri Marwah, President, Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA), Vinnie Mehta, Director General, ACMA and Raj Manek, Managing Director, Messe Frankfurt India along with Vikas Yadav, Assistant Vice President, TechSci Research and N. Balasubramanian, Executive Editor, MOTORINDIA. A whitepaper, developed by TechSci Research, was unveiled during the conference.
The whitepaper and speakers emphasised upon the tremendous growth potential of the Indian aftermarket in the context of an increasingly educated and demanding customer. It is interesting that this growth is manifesting in both scope and scale. Undoubtedly, marquee events such as ACMA Automechanika help accelerate this journey.
The two panel discussions slotted for the day had the audience glued to their seats. The first panel was titled:
Digitisation: A boon or a bane?
The high-powered panel comprised:
- Rakesh Kher, CEO, Aftermarket vertical, Uno Minda
- Sharad Bhatia, Head, MAHLE Aftermarket India & Head of MAHLE Service Solutions Asia Pacific
- Oleksandr Danylenko, Founder and MD, Boodmo.com
- Ravish Deshpande, MD, India and South Asia, TecAlliance
- K. Balasubramaniyam, Wholetime Director, Speed A Way
Moderator: Sridhar Chari, Consultant, MOTORINDIA
During the conference, speakers addressed themes such as efficient data acquisition and deployment to maximise business benefit while complying with data protection laws. They also touched upon the dynamic interface with customers through apps and virtual reality tools, leading to shorter lead times in the order-delivery cycle. Along the way, the supply chain is being revitalised and often reconfigured. Pricing is being rationalised and the incidence of spurious parts has come down noticeably. Independent e-commerce-based service and parts retailers are rapidly coming to the party, with tier 1 component manufacturers collaborating with them in a win-win manner. However, while the digitisation story has picked up pace, the bulk of the market is still offline. Parts have considerable variety and regularly go through generational changes. So, the thrust of digitisation is the most visible in standardised and long-lasting products.
The second panel discussion was titled:
Electrification of vehicles: Implications for the aftermarket
The panellists included:
- Rama Shankar Pandey, CEO, Tata Green Batteries
- Ramachandra Puttana, ZF’s Head of Aftermarket Business, Region India,
- Karn Nagpal, President, Rosmerta Group,
- Sathya AR, President, Ki Mobility Solutions
- Vivek Sharma, Founder and CEO, Fixcraft.in
Moderator: Vikas Yadav, TechSci Research
The consensus of the panel was that all industry players must come together to make the most of the inexorable march towards e-mobility. In the light of this trend, the aftermarket has been characterised by fewer but more high value moving parts. In a sense, electric vehicles require more electronics and software engineering skills rather than mechanical engineering skills. In this new environment, mechanics need to be well-trained to ensure productivity. There must be seamlessness in how information is being shared and service must be democratised to the end- customer’s benefit.