Leyparts set for 20% growth

After 3-4 years of slow growth, in the range of 5-10 per cent year-on-year, Leyparts "" the Ashok Leyland Ltd's (ALL) brand that services the after-market "" is gearing to double its growth to 20 per cent each year.

The brand that churns in a revenue of about Rs 200 crore from the domestic market today, is being further boosted not just by the boom the commercial vehicle (CV) market, but also by the company's other after-market initiatives.

Four months ago, ALL launched a concerted customer interactive programme, 'Mitr', that has mapped a network of 2,500 mechanics and 1,000 retailers in 10 states.

This Rs 4-crore relationship building project in the after-market, is tailored for retraining mechanics, getting their feedback on market requirement and also servicing the warranty driven after market, B Venkat Subramaniam, general manager, Leyparts, said.

ALL, which reaches the replacement essentially through its network of 80-100 dealers, is trying to better understand and grow a market that has certain peculiarities.

For CV operators, investment in parts is a capital investment. Their decisions are swayed by various factors determined by their business thinking.

Fleet owners can choose to pick up cheap substitutes in the replacement market when in hurry to meet their need to be on the move or they can show a brand preference or quality discretion.

This is a market where Leyparts faces competition not only from independent spare-part manufacturer but also from its own suppliers.

Thick networking, particularly along the highways and adequate warehousing for timely deliveries are very critical.

While defence and state transport undertaking form a substantial part of the company's CV market, it is not a growing business. Today, ALL sees a good portion of its market coming from the private fleet owners.

ALL has been working on giving total transport solutions, organising finance, offering maintenance, driver training and continuos improvement in product life as well as fuel and tyre efficiency. But the key has been in influencing the mechanics on the road, who finally advice the purchase choice.

ALL, which has been nurturing the after-market business for a decade now, has been taking some initiatives from time to time.

This includes the driving institute set up by it at the transportation hub - Nammakkal in Tamil Nadu, in 1995-96. The institute has trained 97,000 drivers to date.