Tata Motors Essay: Benchmarking Analysis.

Benchmarking Measures

Discuss about the Tata Motors Benchmarking Analysis.

Benchmarking also referred to as “best benchmarking” or “process benchmarking”means comparing ones business operations, practices as well as performance with that of its competitors in the same business and market structure. The specific factors that are considered for a product or service offered by an organization are the quality, time and cost. They are the main constituents that are used to compare the organizations with one another (Cassell et all, 2001). However, companies can also compare themselves with those others that do not use similar processes in their operations. This means that they have a chance to evaluate their other competitors who use different processes and different markets but similar products. Benchmarking is used to evaluate the performance of a business as well as improve it (Sekar et all, 2014). Therefore, benchmarking allows an organization to make improvements in their business operations as well as learning new techniques, processes and technology to better their products or services. Also by learning from each other the businesses will be able to improve the product quality, increase productivity and make better and smarter decisions.

Benchmarking reports are used by the top management, potential and current investors, business analysts and decision makers (Min et all, 1996). It gives them an overview of the product offerings, performance and market or industry position of the business in relation to its competitors or those others in the same business (Yasin, 2002). The report is used to evaluate the management strategies used by the business management team in order for them its current business position. It can be used in a long term range to improve the planning techniques and strategies as well as improving the quality and market initiatives for the business to use in future to enhance its market position and compete with its competitors (Yasin, 2002).

TATA Motors being the company of my choice, is one of the best automobile companies in the world. It is a multinational organization and will compare it with other motor companies that also multinational like Tesla Motors, Toyota Company, Chevrolet among others. It is an Indian multinational automobile company located in Mumbai in India. After joining with Daimler-Bens of Germany in 1954, TATA entered into commercial vehicle business where it has made a lot of developments and grown in terms of business. Even with its assembly offices being located in Great Britain, Thailand, South Africa, Spain, South Korea and many other countries, TATA is still continuing to develop itself and increasing the number of locations for its operations in Turkey, Indonesia and Eastern Europe.

Customer Base

It has manufacturing and assembly, research and development centers in very many parts of the world where its’ daily operations are carried out, distribution and sales made. It has many various car models with very good quality and cheap to purchase for the consumers.

This is a group of people who frequently purchase a certain type of product from a certain company without failure. This means that no matter how expensive the product is, they still choose to buy it. Therefore, this can be referred as one of the main issues or requirements for a business for a business to succeed in its market structure. For a business to perform well and beat its competitors, it must have a perfect and good customer base. The customer base should be large, certain and should be able to generate good revenue for the organization.

That being the case, TATA Motors has got a very wide and large customer base in the whole world. This simply because it is a multinational automobile company that has offices in many countries around the world. In addition to that, the cars are also affordable for the customers and therefore they can be purchased easily. The TATA Motors cars are of many different models which gives the customers a variety of choices to choose from. Different consumers have got different tastes and preferences for different products according to price, quality, color, model, brand to name just but a few factors that affect consumer choices. Therefore, TATA Motors have a variety of those car models that consumers can choose from.

As mentioned earlier, TATA Motors targets different kinds of customers. This is in consideration of the fact that it has a variety of products like buses, trucks, vans, coaches to name just but a few. Its products are bought for travelling purposes especially by schools and other common passengers. Also it targets the government by manufacturing vehicles that can be used by military for country protection. This therefore increases the customer base to not only the common citizen of a country but the government itself.

As for its competitors, they may have different car models but may not be as cheap as those of TATA Motors. E.g. when a comparison is made between TATA and Tesla Motors, Tesla has few brands of automobiles and also does not engage itself in manufacturing, producing and selling commercial cars. On the other hand, TATA Motors deals with both commercial vehicles and automobiles. This therefore is likely to create a larger and wider customer base.

Products Range

In addition to that, the quality of the cars made from other companies is certainly poor compared to that of TATA Motors. TATA Motors have cars of very high quality. This certainly comes from the usage of high quality raw materials, modern and effective technology, good manufacturing and assembling processes that give the best quality in cars. However, it faces a lot of competition from other car companies that specialize in manufacturing and selling of motor vehicles like Tesla and Chevrolet Motors Companies. It is obvious that every consumer of a certain product would want to purchase a product that is of good and high quality. They would want to purchase a product that is worth their money and that which will serve the purpose they want. Therefore, TATA Motors Company is certainly able to satisfy its customers. This increases the number of customers who are likely going to choose its cars thus creating a wide customer base.

TATA motors in comparison with Chevrolet Motors, it is in a better position that Chevrolet. This is because Chevrolet does not cover as much products as TATA. Also it does not have many brands and models like those of TATA. Additionally, the vehicle manufactured by Chevrolet seem to be some of the most expensive vehicles in the motor vehicle industry. In relation to that, they seem to be made only for the rich people which lowers its customer base to a smaller one compared to that of TATA. Obviously, most of TATA’s vehicles are cheaper and more affordable even by the middle class earning people which increases its customer base into a much wider and larger market.

As mentioned above, TATA Motors deals with automobiles and commercial cars. This means that they have to start from scratch to manufacture and assemble as well as sell the cars. It has many models and brands of cars in its industry which they sell all around the world. Generally, its products include: passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses construction equipment and military cars. Some of the models and brands of the commercial cars include small commercial vehicles e.g. Ace and Super Ace, light commercial cars e.g. Ultra Range, pick-ups e.g. RX Pick-up and Xenon Pick-up, medium and heavy commercial vehicles Noxus and Prima Trucks. In addition to those, there are buses, luxury cars, personal cars, mini vans, vans, Nissans to name just but a few. This clearly shows that TATA has many different kinds of cars meant for customers to choose from.

Geographical Location

Furthermore, TATA has also developed a model of cars that use electricity. The type of car that was developed is the Tata Indica passenger car that is powered by TM4 electric motors and inverters and the Tata Ace commercial vehicle. Both cars are run using Lithium batteries which is quite modern and unique. Apart from these two electric vehicles, TATA Motors is still trying to develop another model of a car that will still be using electricity. This is a clear indication that TATA Motors is a company that is growing fast in terms of technology and also product innovation and development.

An organization that has many products for customers to choose from is likely to grow faster in terms of innovation because it will have the desire to satisfy its customers even more and offer them more and better choices in the future. They will be pushed to come up with new products that will outdo those of their competitors and be given more and better preference by the customers. Therefore, a company with many brands and models of products will definitely face a lot of competition from other companies that may be producing the same or similar products. E.g. TATA Motors faces a lot of stiff competition from Tesla which also has many brands of vehicles.

TATA Motors is a multinational motors company. It has offices in most parts of the world. Additionally, it operates I so many countries in the world where it manufactures its cars as well as sells them. TATA Motors headquarters are well located in Mumbai in India. This is certainly different and far away from the headquarters of its competitors like Tesla Motors which is based in Palo Alto, California. TATA is strategically located near its raw materials source, laboratories and assembling centers. This therefore makes it easier for it to do its daily operations and sell its cars. Also it is located in a region and country where its cars and other products have already become popular as well as famous. The location of TATA has become of great help for it to increase its sales.

When TATA Motors is compared to its competitors it is well and better placed and especially its offices, Assembling and manufacturing centers.

Research and developments of the company are done at Jamshedpur. The research is mostly to improve the product quality or to coming up with a new product. However, this is done by over 1400 specialist and experienced engineers. In relation to the research, after the research and development, the information or product is taken to the only Indian certified test facility where they are tested for noise and vibration. They are tested to ensure that both vibration and noise are of desired environmental acceptance. They are supposed to be both environmentally friendly and accepted. Currently, TATA Motors is till increasing its technological knowhow by developing the TATA Motors European Technical Center (TMTC) where design engineering, product development and TATA motors support skill tests are done.

 In addition to that, a subsidiary of TATA Motors TATA Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company has also started a research and development facility in Gunsan South Korea as well as Hispano Carrocera Zaragoza in Spain. This clearly shows that TATA Motors is growing with time in terms of technology and product development which gives it a better position in the competitive market with its competitors. Tis gives it a better chance to improve the quality of its products and develop new ones that are better than that of its competitors. When I compare TATA with one of its main competitors like Tesla motors, it is in a better market position because it seems to have more research and development facilities than those of Tesla.

TATA Motors has joined with other companies that deal with technologies with an aim of creating partnerships and finding ways of improving its own technology. E.g. in the year 2015, TATA signed an agreement to announce a redefined engagement model with Tata Technologies which was meant to strengthen the relationships between the two companies but mostly to help TATA Motors business improve its technological position in the motor industry. However model was also meant for helping it improve its product quality so that they are able to deliver innovative world class products to the market and to the consumers themselves. On the other hand, Tesla motors does not seem to join or partner with its related companies to help it solve or deal with some challenges that it may be facing. Instead, Tesla believes that it can deal with the challenges and do away with the on its own.

Marketing and sales is one of the main operations of a business that should be a prioritized. This is because it entails encouraging the customers and making sure that the organization has made profits from its costs.  TATA Motors uses a very well structured marketing and sales approach that is meant to understand the requirements, needs and desires of the customer. There is a lot of research that is conducted at frequent times to ensure that the company is satisfying its customers the best way they can. This researches are made by looking for the specific requirements of the products which helps in innovation and development of the product in question or even new products with the customer characteristics.

There are independent teams that are meant for this purpose who are experienced and specialized in these sectors. The information is also used to learn more about TATA’s competitors and the ways in which they can be better than them. They ensure that the market dynamics and customer preferences are very well known and understood so that they can be able to satisfy them. In this market research, the company uses modern technology to find and learn this kind of information. This has been very helpful to the company in beating its competitors because the company it is able to satisfy its consumers better than its competitors.

These researchers have the responsibility of making sure that the company has all the information it needs for its manufacturing, development and sales. Therefore, this means that they have to conduct research for all products and all car models and brands as they compare with what its’ competitors are offering and what its’ customers need and desire. This fact of marketing and sales has caused a lot of improvement and increase in the profitability of TATA Motors and has caused a lot of growth for the company. TATA’s growth rate is currently at 8% down from 6% and & 7% from the previous two months of year 2016. Therefore, the marketing and sales research and development has certainly become very advantageous to the company.

When I compare TATA with Tesla its competitor, TATA has got better marketing and sales techniques because the market research is done by experienced and skilled workers. Thus, they are able to get very vital and good information about the markets, the consumers as well as the competitors positions. The information is usually very valuable in such a way that it is the one that is used to make most of the important and decisions about markets and sales of the products.

This is another tool used in benchmarking of business organization organizations. This is certainly because technology is one of the main requirements for an organization to have good performance and to grow. When an organization used modern, right and better technology, then it is in a position to produce good and high quality products that increases the chances of them being purchased more when compared to those of the competitors. The product consumer always choose the products that will satisfy them and especially in terms of quality.

TATA Motors uses about 2% of its annual profits to invest in new technology for their research, developments and manufacturing purposes. The technology in this company helps the employees to remain updated with the latest products, sales methods, modern manufacturing processes,  market dynamics, customer dynamics to name just but a few areas where technology can be used. Additionally, TATA Motors has got many prototype building and testing facilities where operations after research and development is done. This is where the new products are tested and new information and ideas are developed and natured into new unique company products. The employees who work at this place are usually very good decision makers as well as innovators with very wise business ideas and experience.

That being the case, TATA Motors also uses the modern and developed technology to partner with other related companies which can be of help to it. When it partners with other companies, it will have a chance to learn a lot from its partner especially on issues that may be difficult to it when it is one. These issues include areas like in marketing, customer maintenance, technology development, raw materials buying to name just but a few. Generally, when organizations combine efforts, their work become easier and their costs may also reduced because they are likely going to share the expenses whenever they are to share. With shared technology developments, TATA Motors gives itself a better chance to compete with its competitors and be on top of those that may not have advantage like itself.

Therefore, with the help of the modern and developed technology, TATA Motors is able to top up in the motor vehicle industry where there so much stiff competition. It is also able to keep in touch with its current market position and finding ways to improve and be the best in the market. This actually includes making very good market decisions concerning the market structure, position and segment. TATA Motors has to do all that it can to win the market and maintain its customers.

On the contrary, some of TATA’s competitors like Tesla and Chevrolet have not had so many technological developments mentioned or known. They may have grown but still using the technologies that are not helping them change and grow significantly or even at a faster rate. Also they view technology sharing as competition and do not seem to like such idea. Therefore, this still places TATA Motors at a good position in the market.

Conclusion

It is vital to remember that for an organization to grow and develop itself as well as reach its goals, it has to do competitive benchmarking. This will help it know its market position and be able beat its competitors.

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