JCB India: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do at JCB”
Being the largest equipment manufacturer with 40+% market share is a matter of pride but comes with a big responsibility specially in a developing country like India where you have to introduce, upgrade equipment on a regular basis keeping lowest possible cost with best possible technology suiting Indian geographical conditions as well as operating adversities, in mind. Would you please shed light on that how JCB is performing flawlessly to this growth trajectory addressing these points?
JCB has been in India for over 35 years and is now a leading manufacturer of Construction and Earthmoving equipment. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do at JCB. All our offerings, be it our range of world leading products or the finest after-market support, are focused on ensuring customer satisfaction. We believe the key differentiator for us is that we understand customers better and recognise their usage pattern in India. Here machines work at difficult and arduous sites, therefore, they need to be designed to withstand extreme working conditions with maximum output.
The entire product range is backed by industry proven technology to ensure minimal operating costs to the end users. Moreover, we regularly innovate and upgrade our machines to offer the best safety and operator comfort features - through ergonomic designs etc.
Our investments in Product Support through our 60 dealers and 600 outlets ensure that customers have access to world class support with minimum downtime of equipment in this class of products.
JCB is known for doing regular innovation to make its equipment more productive and reliable. Will you please give an overview on the working of your recent introduction "Livelink" ---a technology of future and first of its kind in India and its benefits? This technology works on the mobile network but there are many places where network availability is very poor. Could you please tell us how will it notify the owner, in this situation?
Innovation is one of the cornerstones of our business strategy. The introduction of JCB Livelink is another step towards our endeavor to always provide the best in class products to our customers and ensure that they derive the best value from them. JCB "Livelink" is an advanced telematics system that helps our customers in remotely monitoring the machines.
Our machines are fitted with this state-of-the-art technology wherein customers can get SMS alerts on their mobile phones or smart devices regarding service alerts, operations and security of their machines by using the Geo-fencing and Time-fencing features. All this information is available to the customer on real time basis.
Now it is almost five years, JCB India started exporting its products to many countries. How has the journey been so far and how much in terms of revenue it contributed to your Indian operation?
The journey has certainly been exciting as we have noticed considerable growth in this segment. We export our products to over 60 countries and have received a remarkable response from our customers. JCB "Made in India" machines can be seen operating successfully in various parts of the world now.
How has JCB India's heavy line equipment division been performing in the last two years? How close are you to your target of becoming number two by 2016?
The Excavator segment overall has gained popularity in the past few years because of the preferred use of specialized machinery. Projects nowadays are time bound and require specific machines which exhibit reliability and performance.
JCB Excavators are backed with a proven performance record in tough Indian conditions. Our entire range starting from the 3T Excavator to the 8T, 12T, 14T, 20T and 22T Excavator is competitive in terms of price, durability, and productivity.
Currently in the Indian market, the 20T to 22T category leads the Excavator market in terms of volume and JCB provides two world class machines in that category – the JS 205LCExcavator and the JS 220LC Excavators which are already a desired choice for customers.
In the Wheeled Loaders segment, we offer three variants– the 430 ZX, the 432ZX, and the 430ZX Plus. JCB Loaders are known for their productivity and efficiency and are widely used in the material re-handling segment, ready-made concrete units, mining and quarries.
Similarly, given the investments made by the Government in the Roads and Highways sector, our Compactors portfolio will also witness an upsurge in the demand. We offer three world class Compactors namely VMT860eco, VM115, and VMT330.
What about after sales and after-market services?
Our latest offering to our customers is the JCB Livelink. It has revolutionised the way our dealers interact with customers and are able to give world class product support on real time basis. Our dealers, apart from a JCB Customer Experience Centre also have their own Livelink Command Centre with which they are able to monitor machine health being used by our customers.
What are your plans for Excon 2015? What will be the new products at JCB India stand this year?
JCB India will be a leading exhibitor at Excon 2015. Over the years, Excon has emerged as a platform where every manufacturer (global as well as domestic) showcases its products and technology. It also gives an opportunity to connect with all our stakeholders including visitors, customers, and financiers.
In 2015 edition, JCB will showcase its entire range of equipment which will include Backhoe Loaders, Excavators, Wheel Loaders, Compactors, Loadall, Skid Steer Loader, and Gensets along with the varied range of Attachments, Parts and Consumer Products.
JCB's world famous 'Dancing Diggers' show will also be performed in the exhibition to enthrall and entertain visitors.
NBM&CW November 2015
