AUTOMOBILE CORPORATION OF GOA LIMITED

THE MARKETING ASPECT

The buses which ACGL manufactures belong to three categories:

1) LCV (Lower carriage vehicle)

2) MCV (Medium carriage vehicle)-School buses

3) High tech-X Volvo (Espano)

The focus is on the MCV segment to increase the revenues.

Marketing Department
The department consists of 5 employees, there are three officers who report to the Deputy Manager
and the Deputy Manger reports to the Senior Manager. The sales force consists of 25 people. They
make cold calls and personal visits to the companies.

Till now, 80% of the revenues used to come from exports. The major clients are in the Middle East,
including Saudi Arabia. Because of the recession, the revenues last year had come down to Rs 233
Crores from 330 Crores.This has compelled the company to relook at the strategy of dependence on
exports. Now the company is eyeing on the domestic market.

Initiatives taken

New brochures have been published to enhance the visibility of the company in the market. New
laptops have been provided to the salespeople to boost up their efficiency. They are being
encouraged to network more to acquire clients in different states. Advertisements have been
published in Auto magazines which incurred an expenditure of Rs 4 lakhs. The Marketing budget has
been increased to Rs 25 lakhs from Rs 10 lakhs. Because of this new budget, the Company has
decided to participate in the BusWorld in 2011 for the first time. Plans are being made to give
advertisements in the television medium, only in the local channels. Also the company may hire the
services of an outside consultant to increase the brand equity, which will incur an additional
expenditure of Rs 15 lakhs, subject to approval by the management.

Our analysis:

Speaking with the employee of the marketing department and understanding the current situation,
we have identified some major flaws.

First there is overdependence on Tata Motors for getting the orders .For example the latest order of
520 buses from Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was given by Tata motors.
This company which is so heavily dependent on exports for its survival does not even have its own
Exports Marketing Division. It relies solely on Tata Motors for getting business and has not invested
to develop its own Marketing expertise because anyway it was able to get orders because of Tata
Motors. Now, the revenues have decreased and the company finds it necessary to focus on the
domestic market but there is no sense of urgency to scale up the Marketing Department. The
amount of budget that is allocated is peanuts compared to the need.

Second, to target the B2B customers and get orders from various state government bodies, the
company must have a pan India presence. But ACGL wishes to stay Goa centric (it wants to give
advertisements only in local channels).Moreover, for effective corporate communications it is
prudent to have offices in the various tier 1 cities of India.Instead,the company plans only to hire few
marketing professionals in some cities only, where they will be provided workstations in the offices
of Tata Motors and they will be reporting to ACGL office in Goa. This clearly reflects the lack of
commitment of the management to make strategic investments.

We conclude that due to the unwillingness of ACGL management or due to financial constraints, the
company continues to be ensconced under the umbrella of Tata Motors.ACGL is definitely not a
marketing oriented organization.

THE OPERATIONS ASPECT

Stage 1 - Shell Line:

Body Combination: The side, rear, front portions of the body are welded. Floor is made in this stage.

Roof Fitting: The roof is dropped on top of the shell and welded. It now looks like a capsule.

Stretch Panelling: The side panel of the body is welded. This panel gives a smooth touch to the body.

Battery boxes and doors: In this stage battery boxes, baggage boxes, doors are fitted to the body.

Floor Work: The floor which was prepared in the first stage is covered by plywood or chequered
plate or both as per the requirement of the client.

Skirt Panelling: In this stage, the area below the stretch panel (stage 3) is fixed. This includes the
panel around the tyres and baggage boxes.

Bumpers and Small Activity: Front and rear bumpers, dents for signal and tail lights and other small
activity are performed in this stage.

Stage 2 – Painting:

In this stage, the body is painted after checking if there are any defects on the body surfaces.
Stage 3 – Trim Line:

Window fitment and Wiring: In this stage, window fitment, vinyl fitment and wiring is done.

Head and Tail Lights: In this stage, the head and tail lights are fitted and window panelling is done.

Door Fitment and Roof panelling: The doors are fitted after painting and the roof panelling is done.

Shell Dropping: The shell (body) is dropped on to the chassis and the connector welding is done.

Dashboard and bumpers: The dash board, steering, bumpers are now fitted.

Rear Windshield Fitment: In this stage, the rear windshield is fitted.

Stage 4 – Final Testing:

Seat Fitment: Seats will be fitted as per customer specifications.

Pre-delivery Inspection: The body is checked for any abnormalities in paint, panelling, window
fitting, wiring, etc., and appropriate action is taken.

Under body testing: The lower part of body is painted and checked for any defects.

Shower Test: Water shower test is done to ascertain there is no leakage.

Final Painting: Final painting is done and then the bus is handed over to dispatch.