Granular Gains: Tata Motors' Data-Driven Forecasting Overhaul

The automotive industry, perennially navigating fluctuating market demands and complex supply chains, continues to grapple with the critical challenge of accurate forecasting. Anil Sekhar, Head of Salesforce Excellence for Commercial Vehicles (CV) at Tata Motors, shed light on his division's strategic efforts to overcome this hurdle, detailing a granular approach designed to enhance inventory management and operational efficiency.

Sekhar recalled initiating an exploratory effort last year with the core aim of achieving a highly granular level of forecasting that could effectively integrate the auto market's dynamic conditions. "A lot of tech-driven data is being used to control inventory," Sekhar noted.

Under this new system at Tata Motors, dealerships are now tasked with submitting their monthly vehicle requirements with the "last level of granularity" at the beginning of the preceding month. For instance, January's requirements are determined in early December. To aid dealers in this process, the company provides them with data reflecting the previous month's trends, enabling them to formulate more precise projections.

Sekhar spoke during a panel discussion organized by FADA at the 7th Auto Retail Conclave held in Delhi on Wednesday. Bharat Chordia, Director, Khivraj Automobiles; Jyoti Malhotra, MD, Volvo Car India; Ashutosh Varma, Chief Business Officer–IBU, Hero MotoCorp; Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra; Tarun Garg, Whole-Time Director and COO (Sales, Marketing, Service & Product Strategy), Hyundai Motor India; Yogesh Mathur, Director–Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India; and Sanjeev Kumar, President and Head of M&HCV at Ashok Leyland were other participants in the panel discussion, which was moderated by Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor, Autocar India.

While acknowledging that this is an early part of the journey, Sekhar expressed optimism that the system will reveal a stronger correlation between dealer forecasts and real-time market momentum and product variances. This data-driven clarity is expected to allow Tata Motors to make informed decisions on product supply, moving away from a strategy of blindly pushing vehicle volumes to the dealers.