HOW BOSCH SEES OPPORTUNITY IN ADVERSITY

 The economic slowdown has put a whole lot of domestic auto component manufacturers on the backfoot but Bosch Ltd, the Indian arm of the German company that manufactures common rail systems, believes that this period can actually be used productively.

This slowdown offers us a unique opportunity in doing many useful things like, for instance, making the company fitter, stronger and better prepared for the future, the Managing Director, Mr V.K. Viswanathan, told Business Line in a recent interview.
In addition, it will further improve our quality management systems, enhance core, operational skills of our human resources by focused training, and speed up processes in innovation, he said.

Bosch has had a rough run lately in the slowdown which has seen schedules being impacted across its plants in terms of lesser working days per week. However, Mr Viswanathan said that this lull in business activity had led to a greater zeal in improving operational efficiencies coupled with a sharper focus on cost control.

During these difficult times, we can look at what we can do better and how we can keep our customer delighted through product innovation and value engineering, he said. Some of this could be achieved, for instance, by developing low-cost starters and alternators or through energy-efficient products.

Communication with staff
The biggest challenge for most companies is retention of human capital during an economic crisis. In a scenario where lay-offs have become the order of the day, Mr Viswanathan said the top management at Bosch was communicating constantly to its workforce explaining the developments in the market and customer requirements.
Consequently, we adjust production to make sure we do not carry unnecessary inventories. And through this cont inuous dialogue processes, we are able to take employees along with us as to why we need lower working days and through a very balanced optimisation, he added.

Further, attempts are constantly under way to employ people gainfully in areas which they otherwise would not have normally done. This includes high levels of training, some R&D activities, networking with other functions to prepare for the future and so on.
There are lots of activities which do not necessarily mean active production but get people employed in certain things, which they would not have generally done, to ensure a fruitful and productive future for Bosch, he said.

According to him, calendar 2009 was going to be tough where the slowdown effect would continue for some time though there was likely to be some kind of recovery in the second half of the year.

Bullish on India
Bosch is particularly bullish on India and believes that it will take off sooner than other countries in the world. The reasoning is based on the premise that automobile usage in the country is lower than many other developing nations with penetration levels of barely 7-8 vehicles per thousand people.

Bosch, internationally, has all the products for Indias needs and we believe that we are well positioned to capitalise on the opportunity that the country will offer in the future once the recovery process begins, Mr Viswanathan said.