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New product development[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: New product development
New product development describes the complete process of bringing a new product or service to
market. There are two parallel paths involved in the process: one involves the idea generation, product
design and detail engineering; the other involves market research and marketing analysis.
Ashok Leyland is an Indian automobile manufacturing company based in Chennai, India. Founded in
1948, and it is Second largest commercial vehicle manufacturers of commercial vehicles, such as trucks
and buses, as well as emergency and military vehicles. Operating six plants, Ashok Leyland also makes
spare parts and engines for industrial and marine applications. It sells about 60,000 vehicles and about
7,000 engines annually. It is the second largest commercial vehicle company in India in the medium and
heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment with a market share of 28% (200708). With passenger
transportation options ranging from 19 seaters to 80 seaters, Ashok Leyland is a market leader in the bus
segment. The company claims to carry over 60 million passengers a day, more people than the entire
Indian rail network. In the trucks segment Ashok Leyland primarily concentrates on the 16 ton to 25 ton
range of trucks. However Ashok Leyland has presence in the entire truck range starting from 7.5 tons to
49 tons. The joint venture announced with Nissan Motors of Japan would improve its presence in the
Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment (<7.5 tons). The Chennai-based Ashok Leyland
Limited, the flagship company of the UK-based Hinduja Group have
registered a sales turnover of Rs.7,244.71-crore during 2000-10 fiscal, as
against the Rs.5,981.07-crore in the previous financial year. The net proft
also increased by 123 percent to touch Rs.423.67-crore (Rs.190-crore).
The commercial vehcile manufacturer had not effectively contained the
increase in raw material prices, especially stell and rubber, relfected in the
rise in consumption of raw materials by just 17 percent at Rs.5,217.52-crore
(Rs.4,452.25-crore). This was announced at a press conference convened by
the heavy vehciles manufacturer to brief the media about its annual
performance at its corporate office in Guindy.
The employee cost during the year rose by 18 percent to Rs. 665.93-crore
(Rs. 566.18-crore). Other expenditure went up by only 21 percent at Rs.
598.42 -crore (Rs. 493.21-crore) thanks to the efforts towards cost
reduction. Financial Expenses were curtailed by 31.7 percent at Rs. 81.13-
crore as against Rs. 118.71-crore in the previous fiscal largely through
better management of liquidity and working capital.
An expenditure of Rs. 3.27-crore (Rs. 13.49-crore) for VRS compensation
amortised is an extraordinary item. Income Tax claimed Rs. 121.10-crore
(Rs. 12.45-crore) to give a net profit from ordinary activities after tax of Rs.
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423.67-crorec (Rs. 190-crore). Depreciation for the year was higher at Rs.
204.11-crore (178.41-crore) mainly due to additions during the year,
including commissioning of the Pantnagar facility. Other income increased by
42 percent to Rs. 70.44-crore (Rs. 49.62-crore).
Ashok Leylands partnership with Nissan is also focusing on vehicle, powertrain, and technology development listed under
three joint ventures. With impressive investment, the joint ventures will focus on producing trucks with diesel engines that
meet Euro 3 and Euro 4 emission standards.
In the coming years, Ashok Leyland also has some hybrid trucks and buses in store for its market. The buses and trucks are
set to feature a new electronic shift-by-wire transmission technology as well as electronic-controlled engine management for
greater fuel efficiency. Ashok Leyland focuses on improving fuel efficiency without affecting automotive power, and the
vehicles will have a 5% improvement on fuel efficiency. Ashok Leyland is also developing electric batteries and bio-fuel
modes.
crosslinked
Over 25 models in 18 months; The Tatkaal guarantee of vehicle restoration within 48 hours.
Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship, today launched the new, innovative U-Truck platform with the unveiling
of the U-4936 (6x4) Tractor and the U-2523 (6x4) Tipper. The U-Truck platform will straddle the entire range of
tractors, tippers and haulage trucks in the 16 49 tonne segment, with over 25 models and a host of variants to roll
out in 18 months starting April 2010. The range will be powered by BS III and BS IV engines that are also protected
for BS V norms, ranging from 160 to 380 hp. Joining the proven H series is a new NEPTUNE family of engines -
entirely developed in-house - that are stronger and more reliable by design, with higher power and greater fuel
efficiency.



16.07.2013
Ashok Leyland posts Rs 142cr loss in Q1; shrs hit 4-yr low
10.05.2013
Ashok Leyland Q4 net down 42% to Rs 150cr; shrs fall




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1. Executive Summary
This project starts with a brief history of the automobile industry followed by the profile of
Ashok Leyland. The various products and the current trend of Ashok Leyland have been
explained. It is obvious for any company of any industry to have one or more competent, and
only because of the competition the company strives more to improve itself as per the
competition. In the same way Ashok Leyland too has competition from many companies and the
way it is tackling the competition is great.
I have tried to cover as many details as possible with regards to the company and my findings
and the actual facts has been mentioned in the end. I have even mentioned a few of my
recommendations and suggestions in the end of the project as per my views and by analyzing
the current procedures carried out by the company in the field of sales and marketing.
Scope of the Report:
- Provides all the crucial information on Ashok Leyland Limited required for business and
competitor intelligence needs
-Data is supplemented with details on Ashok Leyland Limited history, key executives, business
description, locations and subsidiaries as well as a list of products and services and the latest
available statement from Ashok Leyland Limite
We are concerned about the earth our children will inherit. That's why we make sure our vehicles consume
less, pollute less. This concern is reflected in the manufacturing systems, the various processes, energy
conservation measures and conscious greening initiatives of the Company.

Compressed Natural Gas provides a cleaner and a more cost effective alternative to the Diesel which is
used in most of the Commercial Vehicles. Many of the Government and Transport agencies across the
world are now switching over to CNG in order to reduce the level of pollution and operating costs. Ashok
Leyland has taken a conscious decision to be a part of this cleaner and greener initiative in a big way, by
offering a diverse range of products as a suitable alternative to Diesel run vehicles.

Ashok Leyland is one of the technological leaders and largest manufacturers of CNG vehicles. Our product
is this segment ranges from 22 seater mini bus to 60 seater bus. In the goods segment Ashok Leyland has
CNG product offering from 9 to 16 tonne GVW. Ashok Leyland CNG buses form the backbone of public
transport in many Indian cities including Delhi and Ahmedabad. CIO: What about innovation? How
has it contributed to the organization?
R. Seshasayee:
One of the interesting things we have today is a huge program that connects thousands of
mechanics directly to us. We are looking at state-of-art-technology using voice recognition, etcetera.
With this, we will be able to reach out to a much larger universe of customers - not necessarily direct
customers - but indirect ones like mechanics and retailers. That's a part of our innovation, and while
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we are still studying it, it is most likely to be Web-based technology. Also, we were one of the first
few in the industry to have supply chain automation. We have an active portal, which enables all our
suppliers to appraise vendor quality for themselves. It allows complete transparency; everybody can
access information on the transactions of the company and so on. It's an active portal.
How have you optimized your processes and has this had an impact on costs?
R. Seshasayee:
Yes, of course. If you look at the last nine years, there is no doubt that we have achieved cost
optimization. We started this journey about 10 years ago when we put together a long-term IT
strategy. That roadmap has become integral to the profit plan of the company. Since then, we have
had 30 percent growth in production and sales. Return on investments has also moved steadily
upwards during this period - without a single year of backtracking. We've had steady improvements
year after year on all parameters related to asset and inventory turnaround. This progress has also
shown up in manpower productivity analysis. None of this would have been possible without making
IT an integral part of our growth strategy. At a sublime level, the results are evident. And, at more
specific levels, the use of IT has certainly enabled us to take critical action with regard to inventory -
and with fairly impressive results. It has also improved our efficiency in terms of logistics since we
have a hundred thousand vehicles moving around the country.
High discounts on trucks and buses and low volume have crimped the firms earnings for the March
quarter High discounts on trucks and buses and low volume have crimped the firms earnings for the
Ashok Leyland hires McKinsey, BCG to improve performance

Ashok Leyland hires McKinsey, BCG to improve performance

March quarter High discounts on trucks and buses and low volume have crimped the firms earnings for
the March quarter
High discounts on trucks and buses and low volume have crimped the firms earnings for the March
quarter High discounts on trucks and buses and low volume have crimped the firms earnings for the
March quarter

R. Seshasayee:
We have a lot of new product development related to the defence business. One important part of
defence is developing a fairly large number of variants and doing it quickly. Today, we have a large
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number of design, testing and validation tools, which are all IT-based. This means that we can
simulate a lot of testing. I'd like to think our product development is pretty contemporary in terms of
simulation - particularly with defence vehicles because quite often we have to predict behavior
- See more at: http://www.cio.in/ceo-interviews/innovation-mantra-ashok-leyland-s-lead#que
R. Seshasayee:
We have a fairly elaborate process. Most of the manufacturing units have installed networking units
for energy meters with an automated system to track and monitor energy consumption. The result is
that data is delivered at the shop floor and energy monitoring is interwoven into shop management
practices. This is only possible because of instantaneous information.
- See more at: http://www.cio.in/ceo-interviews/innovation-mantra-ashok-leyland-s-lead#ques2

- See more at: http://www.cio.in/ceo-interviews/innovation-mantra-ashok-leyland-s-lead#ques2
- See more at: http://www.cio.in/ceo-interviews/innovation-mantra-ashok-leyland-s-lead#ques2
.





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Executive Profile*
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Vinod K. Dasari
Managing Director and Wholetime Director, Ashok Leyland Limited

Age Total Calculated Compensation This person is connected to 18 board members in 2 different
organizations across 5 different industries.

See Board Relationships
47 27,930,641
As of Fiscal Year 2013
Background*
Mr. Vinod Kumar Dasari has been the Managing Director of Ashok Leyland Limited since April 1, 2011.
Mr. Dasari served as the Chief Operating Officer of Ashok Leyland Ltd. since April 6, 2005 and served as
the Head of its manufacturing, strategic sourcing and corporate quality engineering divisions. Mr. Dasari
served as a Joint Managing Director of Cummins India Ltd. He joined Cummins in 2002. He commenced
his career with the General Electric Company in 1986. He served ...
Read Full Background
by Taboola
From Around the Web
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Name
Board
Relationships
Title Age
Vinod K. Dasari 18 Relationships Managing Director and Wholetime Director 47
K. Sridharan B.Com., ACA,
Grad.CWA
5 Relationships Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Finance 58
J. R. W. Begg No Relationships Head of Vehicle Engineering 68
Sam Burman No Relationships Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director 59
S. Gopalakrishnan No Relationships Principal Engineer of Advanced Engineering Group 44
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Ashok Leyland hires McKinsey,
BCG to improve performance
High discounts on trucks and buses and low volume have crimped the firms earnings for
the March quarter

Indias second-largest commercial vehicle maker, has hired consulting firms McKinsey and
Co. and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to help improve its performance. The company is also in
the midst of a recast that involves absorbing subsidiaries to raise efficiency.
The consulting firms have helped the company pare its working capital requirement from Rs.2,200
crore in the third quarter of 2013 to Rs.1,200 crore by the fourth quarter of 2013, chief financial
officer K. Sridharan said in a conference call with analysts on Monday,
High discounts on trucks and buses and low volume crimped earnings at the Chennai-based truck
and bus maker for the three months ended March. While net profit fell 23.37% to Rs.433 crore from a
year ago, net sales dropped 9.14% to Rs.3,648 crore.
Sridharan said he expects the commercial vehicle market, especially medium and heavy duty trucks,
to remain subdued in the first half. Sale of such medium and heavy-duty trucks dropped 23% to
23,602 units for the March quarter from a year ago. Total industry volume on the other hand fell 34%
in the same period. For the full year ended March it contracted by 25% to 221,710 units for Ashok
Leyland over the last year as Indias economy expanded at the slowest pace in a decade.
Rajive Saharia, executive director of marketing at Ashok Leyland, attributed the drop in margins and
profitability to the companys inability to raise prices. Owing to adverse market conditions, we had to
hold on to the prices, said Saharia.
Discounts in fourth quarter moved to Rs.0.13 million (Rs.1.3 lakh), up from Rs.0.11 million (Rs.1.1
lakh) in third quarter, impacting margins. High cost of annual maintenance contracts under JNNURM
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(especially Delhi Transport Corporation contracts) are further hurting margins, Sorabh Talwar, an
analyst at HDFC Institutional Research, wrote in his earnings review on the firm.
Meanwhile, in a move to meet international accounting standards, Ashok Leyland plans to merge
two of its associate companiesAshley Investments and Ashley Holdings Ltdwith itself by
December.
Shares of Ashok Leyland fell 1.56% to Rs.22.10 on the BSE on Monday. The exchanges benchmark
Sensex declined 2.16%.
Slowdowns not a fire to look for
the exit: Ashok Leyland
While test driving the N-truck, a code name for its yet-to-be-launched medium and heavy
commercial vehicle, at a quarry in Keerapakkam, Tamil Nadu, Ashok Leylands Managing Director,
Vinod Dasari, learnt a simple truth. One may pack the vehicle with fancy gizmos, but the user may
not want any of the unnecessary frills.
When Dasari asked the truck driver what he liked the most about the vehicle, he was expecting him
to gush over the beauty of the cab. But the driver said emphatically: A 6-CD changer is nice but all
I want is a USB port to listen to Tamil music. Often, the CD does not work with the dust. A DVD
player is a distraction while I drive. And no need for a radio in a mine, there is no radio signal. He
also said the large luminous light on top was useful to read a newspaper or magazine as he waited
inside the dark quarry.
Ashok Leyland is eager to pack in a lot of such learning, as it gears up for the launch of its N-truck, a
16-to-49 tonnes ready-to-go vehicle with a factory-built cab, made at its factory in Pantnagar,
Uttarakhand. This will come later this year, after the Boss, an 8-15 tonnes intermediate commercial
vehicle scheduled for launch next month.
Made in Pantnagar as well, the Boss (which Ashok Leyland sells in Europe as Avia) vehicles have
clocked five lakh km of testing (including running on two left tyres as vehicles sometimes swerve off
roads with a narrow tarmac). ).
In the Boss (our vehicles names are following a pattern, Dost, Partner, Boss.. he says), Ashok
Leyland has installed an automated manual transmission, developed in association with Wabco.
Unlike auto transmission, in this, a sensor on top of the manual transmission box chooses the gear
based on engine RPM, pedal position and load condition. Dasari talks excitedly about the lady owner
of a large fleet who drove this vehicle and was totally taken in by it. Leyland, he says, bagged an order
for 150 trucks with this system.
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RUST-PROOF WARRANTY
The Boss also promises a three-year rust-proof warranty, bumper to bumper. The company will pay
up if the vehicle rusts, insists Dasari.
The company hopes the Boss will plug in the gaps in the 7.5-15 tonnes segment. Historically, Ashok
Leyland has had only a 2-3 per cent market share in this segment. With the upgrades to its Ecomet
vehicle, it gained share to 11 per cent last year, albeit on a small base.
At the lower range, Ashok Leyland has the Dost (with a payload of 1.25 tonnes), in a joint venture
with Nissan, which gave a respectable boost to Leylands volumes last year.
The company is also launching its Neptune engine this year which offers higher horse power and will
be available on multi-axle vehicles. Its LCV joint venture with Nissan will launch the Partner and
Stile, apart from Dost variants.
The slowdown has seen Ashok Leylands 5,000-odd executives taking a five per cent pay cut this
year. The company has also scaled back investments in capacity addition. But no cutting back on
investments on new products, says Dasari.
We can either cry about the market or offer the right things to the customer so that he chooses you
and rewards you. Last year, the total industry volume fell 25 per cent; we gained a market share of 3
per cent. We cant do anything about industry volume falling, he explains.
The idea is to be future-ready, reiterates Dasari. This is not a fire where we are running towards
the exit. In times like these, the customer is watching if you are really serious. There will be no
slowdown on tooling and employee development programmes that enhance the quality of the
company.
swetha.kannan@thehindu.co.in