Tata Motors rolls out registration-based system for sales planning

Shailesh Chandra said, “The shift to Vahan data drives the whole culture towards the real demand”.

Indian carmakers have been dispatching vehicles to their dealers based on retail performance, which doesn't give the exact picture of actual sales. Now, Tata Motors has taken the initiative to change this practice. 

Tata has aligned its sales planning and demand forecasting with vehicle registration data, which is the best indicator of the conclusion of the sales cycle, as opposed to retail numbers. 

Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said, "The company rolled out the Vahan-based system of assessing sales and dealer performance in October and has benefitted from the move. On one hand, it has helped the automaker align supplies to demand better and pare inventory. On the other hand, dealers have benefitted as it has freed up working capital."

Chandra added that it has enabled the carmaker to maintain a healthy inventory by reducing dispatches to dealers. The average inventory at dealers was negative in the December quarter compared with previous quarters. During this period, the average monthly number of vehicles registered was 50,386 units, higher than the average dispatches of 46,029 units.

“The shift to Vahan data drives the whole culture towards the real demand,” Chandra added. Dealers say the new Vahan-based system has improved their cash cycle.

Source: ET