Hero hunk

One of the biggest success stories in the Indian two wheeler segment, Hero MotoCorp is a household name today. Whats not so well known is the fact that the company has successfully used IT to help it reach the top. Hero MotoCorp formerly Hero Honda is a motorcycle and scooter manufacturer based in India. Hero Honda started in 1984 as a joint venture between Hero Cycles of India and Honda of Japan. The company is the largest two wheeler manufacturer in India. In 2010, When Honda decided to move out of the joint venture, Hero Group bought the shares held by Honda. Subsequently, in August 2011 the company was renamed Hero MotoCorp with a new corporate identity. For New Delhibased Hero MotoCorp, success has brought significant rewards and some daunting challenges. The company, established in 1985 as a joint venture between Hero Group of India and Honda of Japan, holds a 57% market share in India and has grown to become the worlds largest two-wheeler manufacturer. In the last six years Hero MotoCorps sales volume grew by 400%, and this year the company expects to manufacture and sell more than 3 million motorcycles. Its no wonder that Hero MotoCorp has won accolades in the New Delhi business press. In fact, in 2001 Hero MotoCorps chairman Brijmohan Lall Munjal received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for India, and in 2005 he was presented with

the Padma Bhushan, a prestigious award from the Indian government. But growth has brought unique challenges, too. Hero MotoCorp now supplies motorcycles through more than 500 dealers and 700 service points, institutions, and overseas customers. In addition, the company calls on more than 240 suppliers for its parts and subassemblies. The challenge for Hero MotoCorp: cut time and waste out of its supply chain and add more flexibility in meeting the fast-changing dynamics of the modern market in India Hero MotoCorp is a leader in the two wheeler segment in the country, and even claims to be the worlds largest two wheeler company in its advertising. To reach the heights that it has, Hero MotoCorp has successfully leveraged the IT advantage, especially in recent times. 7 PRE SAP SCENARIO The company has a highly efficient and reliable network today. But till 1998 Hero MotoCorp depended on legacy systems, which had a high failure rate. The set up was not in a position to cater to the expansion that Hero MotoCorp went through and was not suitably updated. Because it was obsolete, the management decided to revamp the entire IT set up according to S R Balasubramanian, vice president, Information Systems, Hero MotoCorp. MotoCorp had legacy systems working on different platforms, which were developed in-house and tailor-made to their method of working. Since the legacy systems took care of data processing, only some operational reports got generated by the system. Real MIS resided on Excel sheets along with different kinds

of analysis. Information, therefore, was fragmented and the authenticity was questionable. Over a period of time, the systems underwent changes and represented a patchwork of several additions and modifications. They were loosely integrated across functional areas. There was duplication and information inconsistency as happens with most legacy applications. It was therefore important to migrate from this platform to something more stable and futuristic. MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE At that point of time the management perception about IT was also changing and they decided IT would be part and parcel of Hero MotoCorp. This helped in modernizing the information systems at the company. Apart from this, competition in business and deployment of bandwidth hungry applications forced the company to migrate from a slower legacy network to the new faster and more reliable network. The managements vision was to align IT with business. IT was to be used as a strategic business tool rather than for a limited purpose of data processing. An information systems plan was drawn up, which besides other things, stated that the organization would go for common systems across the organization. It would also achieve integration between all systems; emphasis would be on improving business processes, to adopt best practices and to cover the entire supply chain. MotoCorp wanted to consider only stateoftheart systems and one which had a clear road map for the future including conduct of business over the net. Tired of in-house developed systems, they wanted a standard solution and in

particular, an ERP. Their idea was to partner with a technology vendor capable of taking them forward as the business expectations increase. 8 THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE The IT infrastructure of the company is connected over three major Local Area Networks (LANs). These connect the corporate office in New Delhi with three manufacturing plants (Gurgaon, Dharuhera and Haridwar), and other zonal and marketing offices. 21 locations are connected through its Wide Area Network (WAN) set-up. Most of these locations are connected with the corporate office through VPNs, leased lines, and at few places through VSAT connectivity. The motorbike major has a total of seven TDM/TDMA VSATs and two PAMA VSATs. As far as the VPN set-up is concerned, it is still a closed-user group. For connectivity between its Dharuhera, Gurgaon and Haridwar facilities the company uses a very fast radio link. The company has installed the PAMA VSATs from Comsat Max as a backup facility. The Hero MotoCorp network spans 750 nodes across the country. Hero MotoCorp uses 10/100 Mbps Ethernet switched technology for data transmission and is connected with both optic fiber and Cat 5 cables. Optic fiber is used for the backbone, which will also solve the future bandwidth requirements of the company. The company has three Cisco routers. The company also uses a mix of switches from three vendors: Cisco, IBM and 3Com. For non-critical applications, the company has opted for 3Com switches. As IBM switches are

cheaper than Cisco ones, we will be going in for more and more IBM switches in the future, says Balasubramanian. All the switches and hubs at the company are managed devices. Apart from this the company also uses an IBM RS 6000 server for running SAP applications, and other midrange servers for running Ingres and Oracle. For Lotus Notes applications the company has opted for IBMs Netfinity servers. As far as other networking hardware is concerned, the Gurgaon plant has two Cisco routers, which are connected to an IBM LAN Route Switch, and the storage box is connected to the RS 6000 server. The company is also using a tape library, which works as a backup device. One of the key features of Hero MotoCorps networks is that most sites enjoy excellent backup facilities. For instance, Dharuhera is connected directly to Comsat Maxs PAMA VSAT main hub. The IT facilities at Gurgaon are connected with two electrical sources, two MCBs, and two UPSes. The company has also installed an extra server as a backup. It possesses a Network Attached Storage system, with plans to shift to a Storage Area Network. For this Hero MotoCorp has gone in for an IBM Trivoli solution. The whole idea was that information systems should be 9 able to cater to 99 percent of availability. Even if a LAN or a switch fails it should just take 10 minutes to switch to another LAN or switch. ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS A good and reliable messaging system was a long-standing need at Hero MotoCorp. When they

first introduced messaging, it took off very well. To ensure its success the management arranged training programmes at all the three major areas and also invited the regional offices to join in. The success of the messaging system was so good that people started overlooking the VSAT network. The company messaging set up evolved around Lotus Notes. They evaluated both Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes, and finally decided to go in for Lotus Notes. The Lotus Notes application at Hero MotoCorp evolved around those applications that users are familiar with. This is done as a part of the information systems plan along with the business plan to integrate information systems in the organization, integrate all the departments. As the management knew that the implementation of ERP would take some time, they wanted to use that time to introduce an IT culture in the company. After the successful implementation of this system, the IT set-up faced some problems during the first Diwali after the introduction of the messaging system. This happened because of huge number of greeting messages and card attachments. This prompted the company to introduce a new greetings system on the lines of Bluemountain.com. They opened up a car4.809 cmds library system and asked the users to go to the card library and select a card and send it across. By this, no attachment would go, but only the link. After this they were able to avoid a considerable amount of traffic. And users were quite excited about having a card application. People started enjoying the use of IT applications. Subsequently, the company put up an intranet and workflow applications.

ERP IMPLEMENTATION The next move was to implement ERP in order to integrate various functions and control its operations. The company went live with SAP R3 on February 1, 2001. It uses modules like production, materials, finance, marketing, assets, quality sales and distribution. Siemens Information Systems was the implementation partner for this rollout. The ERP implementation 10 presented a high level of data integration. ERP has helped the company immensely. Today nobody asks any other department for information. One can log in and see reports online, says Mukesh Malhotra, deputy general manager, Hero MotoCorp. They were able to implement better cost control measures. This had helped them in calculating the cost of consumables, tool inventory cost, power and fuel costs, and plant overheads. Because of this they also became ready for future SCM and CRM implementations. SAPS ROLE Hero MotoCorp evaluated BAaN and Oracle. The overwhelming presence of SAP in the automotive sector was one of the important reasons for selection. The customer references spoke strongly about SAPs ability to address the needs. The project took off with a great start. It imparted one-day awareness training sessions to around 135 managers and key users explaining the project and roles of core team members and users. There were hiccups in between because of staff turnover at the implementation partners end

because of which the project had to be extended by a month. However, they kept various activities on schedule. They were one week behind at the last stage of Go-Live preparation but made that up in the last month. The Steering Committee played a useful role and wherever some policy issues could not be decided, the CEO intervened to resolve. End users were involved at various stages and hence they adapted to the new systems well. The first few days saw several problems but the help desk (available 24 hrs) attended to them promptly. Every day thereafter saw lesser problems and the operations got streamlined in 15 days. The yearly closing ended on the 31st March 2001, (2 months from Go Live) and was completed in 24 days. Year closing for the following year was achieved in 11 days and Hero MotoCorp was the second company in India to declare results. This indicated the stability of systems and the efficiencies achieved. IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS Siemens Information Systems Ltd (SISL) was the implementation partners. They imparted initial training to the users and core team members. They also helped in redefining various processes based on their experience. They gave valuable suggestions for improvement at various 11 stages. In the Steering Committee meetings they clarified various issues and helped in convincing the management to make various changes. RECORD-BREAKING IMPLEMENTATION TIME Hero MotoCorp also profited from services delivered remotely by SAP consultants in Singapore

and software developers in Walldorf, Germany. This international approach ensured that any issues were dealt with rapidly and effectively. The speed with which technical issues were resolved was impressing. In some cases, SAPs German developers found answers overnight. Thanks to close collaboration between SAP and Hero MotoCorp, the project was completed in a record three months. Implementing the latest mySAP SRM and mySAP CRM capabilities in such a tight time frame was an ambitious goal.

If youre a bike thats been bestowed the name "Hunk," you better live up to it...and then some. Fortunately, the Hero Honda Hunk doesnt have to worry about the proverbial backlash attached to its name. Thats because the bike has been a popular seller in the Indian market due to its dashing combination of good looks and performance know-how. For the 2012 model, the overall look of the bike remains largely unchanged, although the addition of a digital instrument cluster is a refreshing bonus. The flared fenders and tubeless tires are also attractive to the eye, while the contoured visor gives it a sexy look. Finally, the Hunk also comes with an LED tail light, a ridged muffler cover, and front and rear disc brakes. At the heart of the Hunk, youll find a 150cc air-cooled, four-stroke, single cylinder engine that produces a tidy 14 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 12.8 Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm. All told, the Hero Honda Hunk is a bike that has been designed to be most suited for youngsters, especially college students. In addition, the bike claims to have a big bike feel, which is the most popular and sought after kind of bike in the Indian market.

Read more: http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-reviews/heromotorcorp/index810.html#ixzz2aQ8Eenr2 1983 - Joint Collaboration Agreement with Honda Motor Co. Ltd. Japan signed 1984 - The Company was Incorporated on 19th January, at New Delhi. The Company Manufacture motor cycles upto 100 cc capacity. The Company was promoted by Hero Cycles (P) Ltd. (HCPL). - The Company entered into a technical-cum-financial collaboration agreement with Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Japan (HML). As per this collaboration agreement, HML was to furnish complete technical information and know-how and trade secrets and other relevant data. - Hero Honda CD-100 is the first four stroke motorcycle to be introduced in India in 100cc range. Its most attractive features are fuel efficiency and its light weight. CD-100 will be equipped with electronic ignition system, illuminated speedometer, 4 speed gear box, neutral and flasher indicators, etc.

- 15 No. of equity shares subscribed for by the promoters, etc. In November, 119,99,985 No. of equity shares issued at par of which 71,99,985 shares reserved for allotment as under: - (i) 31,19,998 shares to Hero Cycles (P) Ltd., Hero Investments (P) Ltd., and Bahadur Chand Investments (P) Ltd. - (ii) 31,20,000 shares to Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Japan and - (iii) 9,59,987 shares to friends and association of promoters. Out of the balance 48,00,000 shares, 2,40,000 shares were reserved for subscription by the employees of the Company and 96,000 shares by business associates. The remaining 44,64,000 shares were offered at par for public subscription during November. 1985 - The Company embarked on its 2nd phase of expansion of increasing its installed capacity from 1,20,000 to 1,50,000 vehicles per annum by the addition of several critical aliminium and steel components. 1986 - 36,00,000 rights equity shares issued at par in prop. 3:10. 1987 - The Company offered 6,00,000 - 15% secured redeemable non-convertible debentures of Rs 100 each for cash at par on rights basis in the proportion 1 debenture: 18 equity shares. - Another 3,00,000 - 15% debentures were allotted to retain oversubscription. The debentures were to be redeemed at a premium of Rs 5 per debenture on the expiry of the 7th year from the date of allotment of the debentures. - 3,75,000 rights equity shares issued at par in prop. 3:10. 1989 - The Company introduced a new model "Sleek" during July. - 850 No. of equity shares forfeited.

1990 - The Company was planning to launch a new model motor cycle-CD 100 SS sutiable to semirural conditions. In the domestic market the Company was reported to have a market share of 46%. - 850 forfeited shares reissued. 1994 - The Company proposed to expand the capacity of existing plant at Dharuhera to 2,40,000 nos. per annum. Another plant with an installed capacity of 1,50,000 nos. per annum at Gurgaon Industrial Estate was being set up. - The Company issued 39,79,500 bonus shares to the existing shareholders in the ratio of 1:4. The Company also issued 28,557 number of fractional coupons representing 14,250 shares against which shares shall be allotted to presenting the same for consolidation and allotment. - The Company's production and turnover increased to 1,83,490 motorcycles and Rs.483.85 crores respectively due to growth in demand for two wheelers and declining inflation. 1995 - 14,420 bonus shares issued by way of consolidation of fractional coupons. - A new Technical Collaboration Agreement has been signed with Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Japan for the period upto the year 2004 which includes technology related to models of higher Engine displacement. - The Company alloted 39,79,500 No. of Equity Shares of Rs. 10/- each as Bonus shares on 7th February, by way of capitalisation of General Reserves. - The Company had issued 28557 No. of Fractional Coupons representing 14.250 shares against which the Shares shall be alloted on presenting the same for consolidation and allotment. 1997 - Hero Honda Motors has launched its newest motorcycle, the Street, a 100 cc bike designed for use in congested urban traffic conditions. - Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) has set up a new motorcycle plant in Gurgaon, near Delhi for the manufacture of the Honda Super Cub 100 cc stepthro bike.

- Hero Honda has set up a new state-of-the-art plant, heralding a new phase of development of motorcycle industry in India, to provide the most modern and technologically advanced production facilities. - Hero Motors of the Rs.1,600 crore Hero group, as part of its globalisation plan, has set up a plant in Brazil for manufacturing hero winner scooters. - A new step thru model `Street-100' with unique feature was launched on 24th January. 1998 - The company proposes to increase the share capital to 5 crore equity shares of Rs. 10 each, 4 lakh cumulative redeemable preference shares of Rs. 100 each and 4 lakh cumulative convertible preference shares of Rs. 100 each with power to increase or reduce it from time to time. - The company further proposes to capitalise Rs. 19,96,87,500 from general reserve to share capital through issue and allotment of bonus shares. Altogether, 1,99,68,750 fully paid bonus shares will be allotted and distributed to members of the company holding equity shares of the company in the proportion of one bonus share for every fully paid equity shares of Rs.10 each. - Motorcycles major Hero Honda is considering entry into scooters in collaboration with partners, Honda Motors, after the Japanese company decided to walk out of Kinetic Honda, their scooter venture with the Firodias of Pune. - Honda Motors recently pulled out of its joint venture with the Firodias in which it held a 51 per cent equity stake. - Honda Motor Company Ltd of Japan (Honda) and Kinetic Honda Motor Ltd (KHML) have signed a five-year licence and technical assistance agreement under which KHML will continue to receive the technical knowhow, critical vehicle parts and access to Honda's markets even after the sale of Honda stake in KHML to Kinetic Engineering Ltd (KEL). - The Company changed the paradigm in two-wheelers by launching the most powerful and fast bike- CBZ(ee) with a unique feature of Transient Power Fuel Control (TPEC) system. - 23,962,500 bonus shares issued in prop. 1:1. 1999 - Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) and 20th Century Finance Corporation Ltd have signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for financing of Hero Honda motorcycles. - The company, a joint venture between Honda Motor Company of Japan and Hero group of India to produce four-stroke motorcycles, also aims to increase its share by 1 per cent to 38.6 per cent during the current fiscal. - Leading two-wheelers manufacturer Hero Motors has formed a joint venture with Briggs Stratton of US to develop and manufacture four-stroke engines for mopeds and scooters in India, a top company. - Honda Motor Company of Japan has decided to re-enter the scooter market in India as also foray into three-wheelers in a joint initiative with its existing joint venture company Hero Honda Motors Ltd. 2000 - Hero Honda Motors Ltd. and Tata Finance Ltd. have signed a national tie-up agreement. The Company is the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the country. - The Company will relaunch its stepthru Stree Smart on Baisakhi 13th April. - Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML), has launched an upgraded version of the existing stepthrough motorcycle - the Hero Honda Street. - The Company was ranked as the 9th Highest Value Creator among 12 industry groups within the Bombay Stock Exchange top 100 companies over a five year period (1994-99). 2001 - Hero Honda Motors Ltd. has launched a new 100cc motorcycle named `Passion'. - The Company has secured shareholders' approval for splitting one equity share of Rs 10 each into five equity shares of Rs 2 each in the ratio of 1:5. - Hero Honda Motors Ltd. has become the largest seller of motorcycles amongst all Honda companies and ventures in the world by selling one million motorcycles during the current financial year. - Credit rating Agency Crisil has reaffirmed outstanding `AAA' rating assigned to the proposed Rs 15 crore non-convertible debenture issue, Rs 16 crore commercial paper programme and

fixed deposit programme of Hero Honda Motors. - Promoter-Chairman of the countrys largest motorcycle manufacturing company, Hero Honda Ltd, Brijmohan Lall Munjal has bagged the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) award here on September 27. 2002 -Company included in the 30 companies Bombay Stock Exchange index (Sensex) -Becomes the world's largest two wheeler company by selling 1.3 million vehicles in 2001 -Japanese automaker Honda Motor for the first time decides to source motorcycles from its Indian joint venture Hero Honda to sell as 'Honda' brandname in Vietnam -Royalty to the Japanese parent, Honda Motor Co, hiked to Rs 630 per vehicle as compared to the flat royalty of Rs 200 on existing models like Splendor and Passion -Approves Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) to increase their stake from the present 24 per cent to 40 per cent -Comes out as the most profitable two-wheeler company in the country during the trailing four quarters by overtaking second-largest player, Bajaj Auto -Launches Ambition, a 133 cc 11 BHP vehicle -Unveils Smart, a 75 cc step-thru -Comes out with a free insurance scheme worth Rs 1,000 for all its bikes -Bajaj Auto goes ahead of Hero Honda in market capitalisation (m-cap) growth in the last fifteen months 2003 -Achieves a landmark sales turnover of over Rs 5,000 crore during 2002-03 -Launches its cheapest 100cc motorbike 'CD Dawn' -Hikes production capacity at two of its manufacturing facilities to three lakh units

-Hero Honda and SBI Cards launch co-branded credit card for Hero Honda's customers -Achieves milestone by producing five million bikes from its Dharuhera plant in Haryana -Launches its new 223-cc, 16.8 BHP Karizma at Rs 79,000 -Joins hands with Small Industries Service Institute (SISI) to train the unemployed youth who have finished diplomas -Initiates a new dealer credit system which will bring down its receivable levels to around seven days and save the company Rs 100 crore -Introduces Passion Plus, new version of Passion motorcycle -Forges marketing pact with Aprilia, the Italian bike maker, to introduce its range of motoscooters and top-end motorcycles in India -The company has bagged two Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS) Awards. -Hero Honda Karizma bags BBC Bike of the Yr Award 2004 -Hero Honda retreats Ambition -Hero Honda unveils new version of Ambition -Hero Honda's Dawn emerges as largest entry-level bike -Hero Motors introduces 'Sting' new 4-stroke bike -Hero Motors has announced a licensing agreement with Austria-based Bombardier-Rotax that will provide 125cc-175cc engines for the upcoming `Hero Aprilia' range of scooters. -Hero Honda renews alliance with Honda Motor -Two-wheeler major Hero Honda and SBI Card, the credit card arm of State Bank of India, have joined hands to launch India's first co-branded credit card in the two-wheeler industry

2005 -New product launches widen HHML's product portfolio -Two-wheeler major Hero Honda on October 5 announced launch of its first scooter 'Pleasure' -Hero Honda rolls out 150-cc motorcycle Achiever 2006 -Hero Honda launches CBZ variant X-treme -Hero Honda announced the launch of two new variants the new 'Glamour' and 'Passion Plus' limited edition. - Hero Honda is the World No. 1 for the 5th year in a row - 15 million production milestone achieved 2007 -Hero Honda Motors Ltd. has appointed Mr. Yutaka Kudo as Director and Whole-time Director of the Company in the category of Executive Director w.e.f. April 1, 2007. - Hero Honda is the World No. 1 for the 6th year in a row - New 'Splendor NXG' launched - New 'CD Deluxe' launched - New 'Passion Plus' launched - New motorcycle model 'Hunk' launched - 20 million production milestone achieved 2008 - Hero Honda Motors Ltd has informed that Mr. Arun Nath Maira. has been appointed as an Additional Director in the category of Non Executive and Independent Director w.e.f. December 20, 2008 by the Board of Directors by way of passing a resolution by circulation.

- Hero Honda Haridwar Plant inauguration - New 'Pleasure' launched - Splendor NXG lauched with power start feature - New motorcycle model 'Passion Pro' launched - New 'CBZ Xtreme' launched - 25 million production milestone achieved - CD Deluxe lauched with power start feature - New 'Glamour' launched - New 'Glamour Fi' launched 2009 - Hero Honda Motors Ltd has appointed Mr. Ravi Nath as an Additional Director in the category of Non Executive and Independent Director w.e.f. October 14, 2009 by the Board of Directors by way of Passing a resolution by circulation on October 14, 2009. - Hunk' (Limited Edition) launched - Splendor completed 11 million production landmark - New motorcycle model 'Karizma - ZMR' launched - Silver jubilee celebrations 2010 - Hero Honda - Honda & Hero Honda sign MoU for New Licensing Arrangement - Hero Honda on September 2 launched the new model of Super Splendor that comes with 'Honda intelligent ignition system' (HIIS). Priced at Rs.45,950. 2011

- New licensing arrangement signed between Hero and Honda (Hero Honda is renamed as Hero) - Launch of new refreshed versions of Glamour, Glamour Fi, CBZ Xtreme, Karizma - Crosses the landmark figure of 5 million cumulative sales in a single year - Hero Honda Motors Ltd has received a fresh copy of Certificate of Incorporation consequent upon change of name from Hero Honda Motors Ltd. to Hero MotoCorp Limited. - Hero Honda rolled out the updated variants of their 125 cc motorcycle namely Glamour and Glamour FI where the new Hero Honda Glamour will be priced at Rs 50,500 for the drum brake variant and Rs 52,500 for the disc brake variant. -Company has changed its name from Hero Honda Motors Ltd. to Hero MotoCorp Ltd. 2012 - Hero Honda - Hero Motocorp Forms Strategic Parternership With Erik Buell Racing of USA - Hero Motorcorp signed deal with a European design and technology partner. - Hero MotoCorp joins hands with HDFC Bank to offer financing at 6.99% - Hero Investment Pvt. Ltd. to Merge with Hero Motocorp Ltd. - Hero MotoCorp tied up with US-based Erik Buell Racing (EBR) to outsource technology to be used for its high-end bikes.