PROJECT SCORPIO
A tale of category creation
Rajesh Jejurikar
Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales
Vijay Nakra
Deputy General Manager, Marketing

The Scorpio story started in 1997 with a vision - a vision to continue the domination of the Utility vehicle (UV) market in India; to be a global niche player. This vision also clarified that M&M would focus on the niche UV market and, hence, would not directly participate in the car market.
Its founders passionately believed that Indians are second to none. They had a dream: to make M&M known worldwide for the quality, durability and reliability of its products and services and at the same time play an active role in the development of the nation. The current management held this dream and vision as an integral part of their existence and that led them to set themselves a challenging goal of retaining their domestic market leadership with over 50 per cent market share of the Indian utility vehicle segment and create their name in the global market.

Market Reality
The Indian automobile industry had undergone a radical change since the opening up of the its economy in 1991. By 1997, the Indian automobile market was probably one of the most open and competitive automobile markets in the world, with all major global players having a presence there.
Most of the global players present in India had focused their business strategy in the passenger car segment with the exception of Toyota, whose entry strategy in the Indian market is through a Multi Utility Vehicle (MUV). Even the other global majors had realised the intensity of competition in the passenger car segment and were now eyeing the utility vehicle segment. The products they planned to launch in the Indian market were all to be positioned in the urban market, making it a highly competitive market.

Mahindra Context
Mahindra, hitherto a leader in the UV segment, was fast witnessing loss of market share. Global players were entering the auto market and aggressively launching products. The Mahindra share of business was largely from the semi urban and rural markets of India. A large contribution also came from institutional sales - army, police, paramilitary groups and other institutional groups. Though Mahindra had a wide product portfolio, what it was lacking was products that catered to the modern urban consumer needs. The markets where Mahindra was strong were stagnating. The urban markets where it did not have a product to offer were seeing all the growth and action.
The Mahindra Image was a big barrier as well. Though it had positives as rugged, tough, reliable, economical vehicles, the brand was not seen as modern or technologically advanced. The negative parameters were - uncomfortable, rough, not easy-to-drive, rural imagery, down market, fuddy-duddy, etc.

Consumer Context
The unique thing was that while these changes had led to creating a market of highly demanding customers, the basic psyche of the Indian buyer had not changed. He still was looking for Value for Money, VFM, in terms of low unit cost, operating economics packaged with modern style and robust design.

Strategic Approach
With the above reality as a backdrop, M&M defined a two pronged strategy for the Automotive Sector:
* Continue to dominate the rural and semi-urban market with a range of products catering to the needs for low cost mass transportation needs.
* Develop a strong presence in the fast growing urban markets with a range of value for money products.
To compete against the global players and also to meet its goal of developing a strong presence in the urban market, M&M embarked on Project Scorpio.
M&M needed to work to its strengths and competencies. To find ways of side stepping the MNC competition for it did not have the deep pockets that global majors did. The implication was that the project cost had to be optimised to a fraction of what world majors would spend. The other direction was to develop a product which would provide great value and hence would be very affordable.
A world class product which is also affordable is no mean task. It needs innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. The approach taken was to focus on and to prioritise what the customer values the most and to excel at it.
The broad objectives of the Project Scorpio were:
*To create a new segment and retain market domination
*To differentiate offering (vis-a vis MNCs)- an excellent value proposition
* To optimise project costs

New Product Development -to create a world class, yet Indian, product
M&M developed a new product to meet the above objectives and to create a world class product. Key achievements of the product development process were as follows:
* A unique process called IDAM
*Best in the world tie-ups but in-house execution
*Customer focus from thought to finish
*A cross-functional, co-located, young, lean team
* Lowest Project Costs
* Intensive Testing
* All new Manufacturing Set up
A New Product Development Process
called IDAM
Integrated Design and Manufacturing (IDAM), is a product development process, which was adopted by M&M to streamline the delivery of a world class, zero-defect, trouble-free product to the customer. It encompasses the entire value chain starting and ending with the customer. This outside-in approach ensures that the product is designed around the customer and not vice versa.
Unlike the traditional department structure, the IDAM team consisted of cross-functional teams, co-located in the IDAM Centre in Mumbai. These teams had cross-functional strengths that cover every aspect of product development, from ‘Design & Development, Testing & Validation and Manufacturing’ to ‘Vendor Development and Marketing.’

Global Alliances for best of the world inputs
M&M tied up with the best in the world in their respective areas of the global auto industry. Fukui, Japan for the Press shop. Fuji, Japan for the Dies. Korean company Wooshin for body shop. Fori Automation, USA for the tester line for final assembly. Durr Germany for the paint shop. Lear, USA for Seats and interiors. Visteon, USA for exteriors. Samlip, Korea for suspension and BEHR, Germany for AC. M&M tied up with Renault for petrol engines.
M&M facilitated the development of these aggregates and played the role of an integrator. The vendors set up facilities in and around the factory. The end result was a fully indigenous product with international quality at affordable price. The most heartening of it all was the fact that not only was M&M a staunch follower of the IDAM concept but even logistic support companies, vendors dealers bought into it whole heartedly. This synchronicity in commitment aided implementation and guaranteed success. Mahindra didn’t compromise on international quality and at the same time ensured that the product was fully Indian.

Customer Focus- from thought to finish
The first step was to trap customer requirements and map the market potential of the various vehicle categories. For this purpose, the in-house team visited the market and met customers from various segments. As a result, key buying factors were evolved through the Quality Function Deployment process (QFD). These customer requirements were then converted into product specifications and were taken to the design phase. At every stage, customer inputs were taken from first design to finished product.

A young lean team
Project Scorpio had just 120 people. These people worked in tandem, round the clock to develop a product unsurpassable in its design and manufacturing. The IDAM team for Scorpio was divided into 19 cross-functional design teams with people from design & development, testing & validation, marketing, manufacturing and supplier development.

Low Project Cost
A project cost of 120 million US Dollars may seem like a lot. But it’s only a fifth of what a world major would have spent on a similar-sized project. A typical ground up, new platform project would have costed 500 million dollars. This low cost was achieved by a series of innovative decisions.

Intensive Testing
Seventy four! That was the number of vehicles built only for testing. Then using the Simultaneous Testing & Examination Process (STEP), they were tested and re-tested. To check every component till only the best combination of form and function was left. Then the vehicle itself, as a whole, was put through the NOVA-C (New Overall Vehicle Audit-Customer) system to measure the overall quality of the production process itself. Thus, the Scorpio was put through some of the most grueling tests.

Manufacturing Set Up
A world class manufacturing facility spread over 120 acres with a capacity of producing 40,000 units on a 2 shift basis was set up in Nashik with an investment of USD 120 million.
Infrastructure-wise, three new, state-of-the-art lines had been set-up for Scorpio:
1. A fully automated press shop set-up with help from Fukui of Japan with Dies imported from Fuji, Japan to ensure quality output delivery.
2. The jig and fixtures in the body shop were developed with Wooshin of Korea, also on an automated line, equipped with CMM to ensure a high quality final output with excellent fit and finish.
3. A state-of-the-art Trim Chassis Final (TCF) line with a world class tester line, built in collaboration with Fori Automation USA for vigorous testing from the wheel alignment to squeak and rattle test. The paint shop was set-up in collaboration with Durr of Germany.
The final assembly and testing is done on the TCF line. The programmed logistics and flexible manufacturing system can accommodate a large number of variants in the product mix. This fully conveyarised system with minimum handling and effort combined with continuous improvement training for the workers ensures a quality product at the end of the line.
Marketing Strategy: To create a market category
The Marketing Objectives set for Scorpio

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