Maruti Udyog was the only manufacturer to have improved consistently since 1997 and has been a

leading catalyst for driving up the overall Customer Satisfaction Index industry average. Maruti's industry
leading performance was a result of strong performance on service-related factors. 1
- J.D. Power Asia Pacific, 2002.

Vendor Management
Vendor management became an important area as Maruti attempted to improve operational efficiency.
Maruti procured components worth about Rs.5,000 crores every year. The company's top 10 vendors
accounted for about 34 % of its aggregate purchases of components from vendors in India.
Maruti was working on a 3.5% per annum reduction in vendor prices by 2004-2005. Maruti streamlined
the sourcing and stocking of materials and components through its Delivery Instruction system , one of
Suzuki's best practices. This system provided details of Maruti's component requirements for every 15
days, across the different variants of the various models, to its vendors. Web initiatives helped Maruti to
bring down procurement time and costs...
Leveraging Information Technology
When Maruti decided to automate its operations in the early 1990s, there was no ERP vendor support
available in the country. So, the company decided to do it all by itself. A team of 45 engineers, using a
combination of software from Oracle and Computer Associates, built a variety of applications covering
inventory management, receipts, excise, consumption, production, sales, invoicing, exports, financial
accounting, payroll, and bank reconciliation. The applications were developed and upgraded on a regular
basis, while the maintenance and administration were outsourced...

Looking Ahead
Maruti had plans to raise its operating efficiency to that of Suzuki's premier plant at Kosai in Japan by
2005. This program had the personal backing of O. Suzuki, worldwide chairman of Suzuki. Suzuki
planned to bring in new technology from Japan making Maruti capable of full model-development by
2007. Maruti had plans to export to the Middle East and Far-East Asian Countries in a big way.
Maruti had set itself the target of wresting a 60% market share of the country's car market during the
period 2003-2006..