EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Atlas Honda is the market leader in the motorcycle industry and its efficient working shows this position can be maintained and improved even further in the years to come. Its nearest competitors have still a long way to reach Atlas. The reasons behind this are the quality standards at Atlas, its committed workforce and ample chances of growth at all levels in the organization.

Atlas Honda has this exemplary tradition of orientation which gives its new recruits a clear picture of the industry and production employed at the industry. I would like to appreciate Atlas Honda on their efforts and wish them future success (Amen).

This report contains the workings of the departments that I visited during the orientation program at Atlas Honda. This report also has suggestions for further improvements to the current working and processes in the organization.

1 ATLAS HONDA ± COMPANY PROFILE

Atlas Honda Limited is a joint venture between the Atlas Group and Honda Motor Co. Japan.

The company was created by the merger of Panjdarya Limited, Sheikhupura successor to Atlas Epak Ltd., Dhaka since taken over by the Government of Bangladesh and Atlas Autos Ltd. in 1991. Both these motorcycle manufacturing concerns were established by the Atlas Group. Atlas Honda Limited manufactures and markets Honda motorcycles in collaboration with Honda Motor Company. The Company also manufactures shock absorbers under a Technical Assistance Agreement with Showa of Japan, world leaders in shock absorber technology.

Honda motorcycles are by far the best selling motorcycles in the country with an unmatched reputation for high quality, reliability and after-sales-service.

Atlas has undertaken to develop local manufacturing capabilities to the highest, economically feasible level. While a major role in localization has been assigned to vendor industries, Atlas has the country's largest in-house manufacturing capacity in the industry at its Karachi and Sheikhupura plants. To support the production facilities, the company has established an R&D wing and tool making facilities, which are growing rapidly in size and functions as the company expands.

Atlas has managed to execute 9 Joint Venture/Technical Assistance Agreements between local vendors and foreign manufacturers for transfer of technology.

Atlas management is striving to modernize company operations by adapting applicable aspects of research and theory and more specially, Honda's unique philosophy of hard/soft technologies to the realities of Pakistani conditions. Efforts are being made to develop participation of all levels of personnel in decision-making and substantial and effective delegation has been established at levels where applicable. Various participation programmes such as 'Ala Mayar' Quality Circles movement, launched in 1985, are

2 strongly encouraged to allow constructive self-expression and teamwork. The Company training and development programme encourages each member to develop himself and contribute to his full potential.

Atlas Honda is playing a pioneering role in creating conditions for easy and confident use of motorcycles all over the country.

A vast and growing network of over 1500 motorcycles sales service and spare parts dealers has been established. To back up this system, Atlas has set up Technical Training Centers in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, which provide several courses of varying duration and complexity for motorcycle mechanics and users each year. Mobile training facilities take the latest know-how, technology and maintenance of motorcycles to major rural and urban centers around the country.

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK FOR THE CURRENT YEAR

 During the current year, the company produced 117,209 units, which is a 30% increase over the previous year¶s production of 90,064 units.  Sales revenue increased to Rs.6.98 billion from Rs.5.52 billion last year showing a growth of 26.44%  Profit before tax increased to Rs.650.92 million as against Rs.394.57 million for the previous year.  The operating expenses went up to Rs.360.04 million as compared to Rs.322.37 million last year.  Price for CD-70 has decreased to Rs. 58500 from Rs.68500 while the price of CG-125 has gone down to Rs.73000 from Rs.83000.

This clearly shows that the company is on the progress ladder and will overhaul its competitors by a large percentage. Currently, it holds around more than 60% of the market share in the motorcycle industry. Coordination and extensive efforts of all the departments put together has resulted in improved performance for the company.

3 VISION

To remain the market leader in the motorcycle industry and emerge as a globally competitive center of production and exports.

PROPOSED VISION

Strengthen our dominance as the market leader in the motorcycle industry, emerging as a globally competitive center of production and exports.

MISSION STATEMENT

 To be a dynamic, profitable and growth oriented company through market leadership, excellence in quality and service adding value to shareholders and maximizing exports.  To give attractive returns to business associates, shareholders as per their expectations. Be a responsible employer and reward employees according to their ability and performance.  To be a good corporate citizen to fulfill its social responsibilities.  To create and foster a network of researchers and engineers, who will make unique contributions to the development of motorcycle industry ensuring the satisfaction of our valuable customers and protection of the environment by producing emission - friendly green products.

4 COMPANY POLICY

CUSTOMER Our customers are the reasons and sources of our business. It is our joint aim with our dealers to ensure that the customers enjoy the highest value of satisfaction from use of Honda.

QUALITY To ensure that our products and services meet the set standards of excellence.

LOCAL MANUFACTURING To be the industry leader in indigenization of motorcycle parts.

EMPLOYEES Enhance and continuously update each member¶s capabilities and education to provide an environment which encourages practical expression of individual potential in goal directed team efforts and compensate them attractively according to their abilities and performance. TECHNOLOGY Maintain and develop advantage by use of distinct business technology.

SHAREHOLDERS Safeguarding shareholder by maximizing profit, payment of regular satisfactory dividend and adding value to shares.

CORPORATE CITIZEN To comply with all Government laws and regulations to maintain a high standard of ethics in all operations, and to act as a responsible member of the community.

5 QUALITY POLICY

 Commitment to provide high quality motorcycles and parts.  Right work in first attempt and on time.  Maintain and continuously improve quality.  Training of manpower and acquisition of latest technology.  Safe, clean and a healthy environment.  Market leadership and prosperity for all.

6 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS  A cordial, friendly and frank environment free of any communication gaps.  MBO (Management by Objectives) ± Targets for the future are set well in advance by the management at Atlas Honda, which provides the employees with goals to work upon and improve any shortcomings.  Punch Card system, which creates a sense of accuracy and responsibility in the employees to reach on time and helps to maintain discipline.  A standardized uniform for all, which removes any possibility of discrimination and promotes cordiality.  Job Rotation is practiced on a regular basis aiding the employee to add to his skills.  Kaizen (Japanese principle of continuous improvement) and Ala Mayar (quality standards) strictly followed. This makes sure that the organization and the team at Atlas Honda, keep improving themselves and their surroundings.  Well-established brand name in the market.  Maximum employee satisfaction ± Turnover less than 1%  Adequate exposure to the surroundings to newly recruited employees before assignment of work responsibilities.  Continuously growing demand for Honda motorcycles all over Pakistan.  Expanding network of dealers and service facilities.  Committed management and a dedicated workforce.  Transparent and merit-based selection program for new employees.

WEAKNESSES  Inadequate backup strategies and planning for unforeseen and unpredicted competition.  Lack of an established Marketing Research department, therefore lacking in proper forecasting of future activities.  No major changes to existing models or introduction of a new model since past few years.

7  Lack of advertising campaigns for promotion of the product and entering newer markets.  Lack of extracurricular activities and sponsorship for sports etc.

OPPORTUNITIES  Huge market size covering all of Pakistan, with lots of unventured markets needing focus and attention, for development into future profitable territories.  Population growing and youth need to be focused on, as future prospects of motorcycle customers.  Poor quality and performance of Chinese motorcycles can be encashed by Atlas Honda, to project their ever improving quality and sustainability to the customers.  Various successful ERP implementations in organizations, supporting need for implementation at Atlas Honda, aiding smooth and efficient flow of business processes.  Low prices by competitors induced Honda to decrease its prices resulting in excess demand for the market leader, expected to grow at a larger scale.  Ever increasing media for advertising provides Honda with opportunities to project itself in the best-suited way to its prospect customers.  Growing second hand exchange of Honda motorcycles due to the cost factor. Honda dealers now practice this process, which gives Honda great deal of control over its circulation of motorcycles in the market.

THREATS  New Entrants such as the growing brands of Chinese motorcycles in the market pose a serious threat for Honda but due to the fact, that Honda has reduced its prices, they have increased their market share.  Political Instability and Unhealthy Law & Order Situation are also a major threat for Honda. Honda customers are reported to have said that they were robbed of their motorcycles after just having taken the motorcycle out of the factory. Honda is reported to have lost quite a great deal of market, especially in Karachi, due to these snatchings.

8 MARKETING MIX

PRODUCT  Honda currently offers two brands in the market: CD-70 and CG-125 (CD and CG are manufacturing model codes for the motorcycle and 70 and 125 are the displacement volumes of the engines).  In the past, Honda has offered more than 40 brands for its customers, which were taken out of the production process due to their declining sales and contracting markets.  The main features of Atlas Honda motorcycles that have given it the edge over its customers are: High resale value, fuel economy, durability and reliability.  The product parts installed in the motorcycle are produced in-house, purchased from vendors or imported from Japan as CKD (Complete Knock Down) units.

PLACE  Atlas Honda has two production plants at Karachi and Sheikhupura. At the Karachi plant, only CD 70 is produced while at the Sheikhupura plant, CD 70 and CG 125 both are produced. The Karachi plant is on 5 acres while the Sheikhupura plant is on 25 acres.  The distribution network of Honda comprises of 64 Antenna Dealers and 925 Service Dealers all over the country (Antenna Dealers are responsible for the warranty claim by the customer and its relevant processing while Service Dealers are responsible for sales and parts replacement and service to customers).  4-Stroke Mechanics are independent mechanics who are trained by Honda to provide service to customers. Honda trains them in 4-stroke technology and later if they provide excellent service and satisfaction to customers, Honda can make them Service Dealers after quality assurance check.

9 PROMOTION  Atlas Honda practices advertising but only to a limited degree. The reason being that it already has a well-established market and excess demand.  The need for advertising arises when the product is to be ventured out into newer arenas or newer markets. Due to this factor, Atlas Honda has started advertisements some time back.  The most common advertisement seen on the media is on GEO TV with a catchy theme and tune.  Other than this advertisement, Honda uses sign boards, pana flex boards and billboards to display its products.  Print media is also employed for advertisements due to the fact that newspaper is a widely read medium of information.  Atlas Honda has sponsored Independence Day rallies in the past.  In the last Champions Trophy, Atlas Honda sponsored hockey matches but this needs to be practiced on a more regular basis.

PRICE  For the CD 70, Atlas Honda has set the price at Rs.58500 and for CG-125, the price is Rs. 73000. These prices have been revised after a Rs.10000 decrement in the price of Atlas Honda some time back.  Chinese competitors¶ motorcycles lie in the range of Rs.30000-50000, due to which people are going for Chinese motorcycles (cost factor but poor quality) but still cannot reach the market leader spot that Honda has occupied since many years.  Yamaha and Suzuki have also followed in Honda¶s footsteps and decreased their prices accordingly.

10 ORIENTATION PLAN The orientation program at Atlas Honda lasted for a week. It was a nice and knowledge acquiring experience of the company, its environment and workings. There was a visit of each department listed below, for 3 hours where the related employees briefed about their respective departments. It is a courtesy on behalf of the personnel in the various departments to take out time for the newly recruited employee and show him around and they deserve full regard for it. The departments visited were:  HR and Administration  Information Technology  Logistics  Finance  Quality Assurance  Maintenance  CAD / CAM  Production  PPC  Marketing / Parts

PLUS POINTS OF THE ORIENTATION

 The orientation helps the newly recruited employee feel at home and easy around his new working new environment. He gets to know the people in the organization who are always willing to lend him a helping hand.  The orientation program explains the business proceedings, the production processes and various related activities going on at the company and respective departments playing their parts.  All the departments are covered and the personnel brief about their respective departments. The employee now knows whom to approach for any particular problem, which requires solutions and explanations.

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Suggestions for Improvement in the Orientation Program

 The time duration for orientation in each department should be set keeping in mind the set-up of the respective departments and number of business processes it carries out. In our orientation, the production department orientation time was 3 hours, which was the same as other departments¶ orientation time although production requires more time to be understood well.  The personnel should be informed in advance about the new recruit¶s visit to his particular department. Otherwise, it happens that the personnel in that department have scheduled activities for the day and are unable to give ample amount of time to the newly recruited employee for orientation.  Before the orientation actually starts, each department representative should give a brief presentation to the recruit about his respective department¶s processes and then show him the actual working. The recruit can also be given a short pamphlet explaining each department and the personnel working in them.  The orientation should start with the assembly line and production after HR / Administration visit. This would help the trainee to grasp how actually things are carried out and prior knowledge of motorcycle parts and manufacturing.

12 DEPARTMENT VISITS

HR / ADMINISTRATION

Workings of the Department The HR Department is responsible for testing, interviewing, recruiting, hiring and training employees for Atlas Honda. The select ion process for the candidate is transparent and based totally on merit and only the candidate¶s skills, qualifications and abilities can lead to his selection. The HR Department is also responsible for monitoring relations among fellow employees and unions. Employee health and safety programs, payment plans, reward systems etc. are also looked over by HR. During the recruitment process, the most appreciable aspect of the process was the speedy replies to the interviews and assessment of the candidates. Most other organizations take a great deal of time to answer to the candidate after he has given an interview. Atlas Honda completed the whole recruitment process of an Aptitude Test and 3 interviews in just around 10 days. The efficient working of the HR Department is supported by the turnover rate, which is less than 1% proving that the employees hired have been loyal, in some cases more than 30 years. Employees are offered such a congenial environment and luring incentives that they do not even think of joining another organization. Regarding leaves and attendance, management staff is allowed a total of 26 leaves while the workers are allowed a total of 41 leaves during the year. Management staff is allowed no grace time on arrival at the factory while the workers are allowed 10 minutes grace time to reach the factory. After an employment freeze for 10 years, Atlas Honda is now hiring young people as trainees and posting them in different departments. The Trainee program lasts for 1 year during which the trainee gains adequate exposure to the industry and the workings of the department. Last year, training was provided to 54 employees and 4 were sent abroad for similar purpose.

13 Hay¶s Job Evaluation System is used for compensation of employees and their performance measurement. Job grades are assigned to positions instead to persons and each position is analyzed individually and compensated accordingly.

Suggestions for Improvement of HR Activities

 An Employee Suggestion Form to be circulated on which each employee would mention extracurricular activities or other events that need to be organized on a more regular basis and also list the shortfalls in the processes that need to worked on.  Get together events should be encouraged and planned on a more regular basis. These events can be for the employees or for their entire families titled as ³Family Fun Day´ to give the worker the much-needed interaction informally with his colleagues and enjoy with his family.  To capture the youth segment, who love riding motorcycles and find it a daring experience, Atlas Honda needs to sponsor shows and other tableaus in schools and educational institutions.  Newspapers and periodicals to be circulated more often in the organization, which could assist the employee¶s knowledge of worldly affairs and activities.  Organize sports games and matches for employees on off days or holidays as means of relaxation and entertainment. Atlas Honda needs to sponsor commonly watched sports shows and other regional sports depending on the region, as a publicity campaign for their products.

14 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) DEPARTMENT

Working of the Department The history of the IT Department at Atlas Honda traces back to the 70¶s when the IBM Platform was introduced in the company. Further replacements introduced System 36 and then AS 400 (Operating System used on AS 400 was OS 400 and languages worked on AS 400 are COBOL and RPG). In ¶95, Atlas management made a decision to install Oracle Server and related products that are platform independent. The IT staff at Atlas built customized programs for various departments specifically designed for them. Each system devised has all functions undertaken by the department, incorporated in it.  The Networking equipment at Atlas consists of switches; nearly 80 PC¶s on a LAN (Local Area Network) and Windows 2000 licensed OS. TCP / IP is used as the communications protocol and Compaq Servers are used.  Operating systems for Client and Server are: Windows ¶98 for Clients and Windows 2000 Server for Servers.  The OS used for Oracle Servers is UNIXWare.  2 UPS are used to counter any power failure. Usually the electricity is restored in less than 25 seconds by use of powerful generators.  For internal communication and email, Lotus Notes is used which is rapidly growing in popularity in use for organizational purposes.  The various systems developed by the Atlas IT Team for the various departments are:  Fixed Assets  General Ledger  Import Accounting / Dealer Accounting  Accounts Payable  Payroll  Petty Cash  Inventory Accounting  Costing  Systems are regularly updated for any changes, which are to be incorporated.

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The IT Structure at Atlas is about to undergo revision at a massive scale. The reason for this is the new proposal under consideration. Atlas is planning to shift from:  LAN to WAN (Wide Area Network)  Oracle to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) : The ERP is to be installed at Karachi and connected to the other regional offices in different cities. In Karachi, connection of the company¶s Server with the ISP will be via Radio Link while the ISP ± ISP Link is to be of Fiber Optic.  The ERP to be installed is currently under consideration. It is to be selected from the packages available in the market or it is going to be a customized one: People Soft, JD Edwards, SAP are market leaders in ERP packages. ERP covers all the departments of an organization and their related accounting etc.

Suggestions For Improvement of IT Department

 The ERP installation process under consideration is a great effort on behalf of Atlas Honda to venture into new IT arenas to produce maximum efficiency. This proposal should be brought forward at the earliest and implemented.  ERP experienced and ERP trainees to be hired when ERP implemented at Atlas Honda, adding to the currently available skill set of employees. Current employees need to be given extensive training to get the ERP know-how.  Creating a company website localized according to the cities and having online query forms so visitors queries are handled effectively and the latest information is uploaded on the website. Suggestion forms should be present so employees can contribute as to how to improve the workings of the company and visitors can suggest ideas too.

16 FINANCE

Workings of the Department

The Finance Department consists of various sub departments:

Sales Tax FINANCE Import Accounting

Dealer Payables Salaries & Cost and

Accounting Benefits Inventory

SALES TAX The Sales Tax applied is VAT (Value Added Tax), which is at the rate of 15% on final product after the cost and profit are calculated for registered goods and 18% for unregistered goods. IMPORT ACCOUNTING Import Accounting deals with the complexities involved in the Import process of parts to the company. The first step is the opening of L / C by importer in favor of supplier and the insurance coverage etc. After L / C is opened by importer, supplier is informed by the L / C Advising Bank in the supplier¶s country who proceeds with the documentation needed (Supplier must submit sales invoice with the description of goods and their cost, Certificate of Origin identifying the country where the goods were manufactured and other relevant documents) The supplier sends his documents (e.g.: Bill of Exchange (Short term financial instrument addressed by seller requiring buyer to pay a certain amount of money at a future date), Sales Invoice etc.) to the L / C Advising Bank. The bank examines the documents for compliance with credit terms. These documents are sent to Issuing Bank who confirms the deal. Bill of Lading is issued by carrier

17 describing the goods accepted by the carrier and under certain conditions, and serves as a receipt for goods to be delivered to a designated person. Bill of Entry is taken to Customs House where importer tells them that goods are coming at port and duties etc. are cleared (HS Code helps to identify the goods being imported). Insurance coverage is also accounted for and is divided in: FOB (Supplier¶s responsibility for cost of goods until they are loaded on ship), CIF (Supplier¶s responsibility for goods only until loading of goods from supplier¶s port, but he has to insure the goods and must pay the cost and freight necessary for delivery of goods to buyer and C & F (Supplier must pay the costs and freight till delivery of goods to port of destination).

DEALER ACCOUNTING

The dealers after accepting payment from the buyer deposit the money in the respective branch of the bank designated by Atlas Honda for this purpose. From there on, the payment is transferred to the Central Branch of the designated bank. Order form copy is received by department and booking is okayed.

SALARIES AND BENEFITS

This department is concerned with salaries structure preparation, which is done through a computerized system. Attendance of employees is recorded and at the end of the month, salary of all employees are paid after deductions of tax, absenteeism etc. Additions for medical, overtime etc. are also made accordingly.

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PAYABLES

Payables are prepared for:  Vendors  Utility  Insurance  Tax payments  Club payments  Other miscellaneous payments

COST AND INVENTORY

For inventory purposes, FIFO (First In-First Out) accounting method is followed. Stock is maintained up to 10 days average. Fixed Assets accounting is also done by this department. Depreciation on fixed assets is done using Straight-Line and Reducing Balance Method. Computers and Accessories and Dies and Jigs are charged to income on a straight-line basis. Other assets are depreciated on reducing balance method. The depreciation method and useful lives of items of fixed assets are reviewed periodically and altered when needed. Costs associated with developing and maintaining computer software are recognized as expense as incurred. Costs associated with unique software products and generating economic benefits exceeding costs beyond one year, are recognized as Intangible Assets.

19 QUALITY ASSURANCE DEPARTMENT

Workings of the Department

 When the parts come in from vendors, a Tender note is prepared for all the incoming parts in the day. A receiving report is prepared for the goods when they are received.  The incoming parts are divided into:  Critical parts: Concerned with safety of bike rider  Control items: Which can cause functional failure  Others: Concerned with appearance of motorcycle  A shortage list is prepared at day¶s end for items short supplied by vendor.  An inspector checks the items and takes random samples from them. After checking, an Inspection Report prepared which discusses the equipment checked and the specific measures that were used. Those who have failed the test are returned back to vendor if purchased from vendor.  80% of items are checked at Vendor¶s location and the remaining 20% are checked at Atlas Honda by their own inspector. In case of doubt on a particular lot, the whole lot is checked. At the vendor¶s, this inspector from Atlas Honda attends the quality check carried out and suggests improvements for the processes.  Meetings are held from time to time discussing the various equipment, quality assurance checks and suggestions for improvement are put forward.

There is a Standard room for quality check where the items are checked on Calibration Equipment. For example, Roundness Testing Machine checks for roundness of various motorcycle parts and is sensitive up to 0.1 micron. Other equipments are micrometer and verniers, ageing machine, owen etc which have separate functions. An endurance test is carried out and the motorcycle is checked for several kilometers on several obstacles and routes for durability and efficient performance.

20 MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT

Workings of the Department

The Maintenance Department is responsible for working on the machines and equipment that shows faults and breakdowns during the day and to get them into running position as the earliest so there is minimum production loss. It is responsible for supervision and managing spares and staff. It is also involved in forecasting and planning for machine and equipment replacement. Currently, there are 282 machines with 197 of them in production.

Types of Measures:  Corrective Maintenance: This is carried out for daily breakdowns and inefficiencies in machines.  Preventive Maintenance: This is carried out as advance planning of faults that can occur in the machines. Forecasting and planning for machine and parts replacement is prepared at the start of each year to see which equipment needs work.  Spare Parts (Machine wise): Spare parts are reordered on basis of minimum stock level and historical usage in the past. A spare part report is prepared for finding utilization of spare parts machine wise.

Suggestions for Improvement of Maintenance Department

 The management staff for the department should consist of more than one skilled manager. The reason being, that the machines can breakdown any time and if one manager is employed in repairing that particular machine, the other can work on the next machine that breaks down.  The maintenance manual should contain record of the most common breakdowns and scenarios where the recent breakdowns were tackled efficiently so other people in the team can anytime study and learn from them.

21 PRODUCTION PLANNING AND CONTROL DEPARTMENT

Working of the Department

 Production Plan is prepared for the whole month deciding color, number of units to be produced ± depending on market demand (usually information is got from dealers).  Copy of the production plan is given to procurement and stores.  Plan is submitted at start of the month for units required to be produced as decided by Marketing Department.  Daily Activity Report prepared for planned and actual monthly produced units. It also shows record for local parts and those In-Transit.  A list indicating the shortage of parts is sent from Sheikhupura at day¶s end to Karachi. Those units are checked in store and if present, are sent with next day¶s scheduled supply to SKP.  Raw Material Import File maintained which tells about shipment, order, arrival, production and stock maintained for 2-3 months.  Work Order given to shops which gives an outline of production for the month at hand.  Issuance of frame number and engine assembly number also done by PPC.

Suggestions for Improvement of PPC Activities

 The department personnel have a daily check on the units produced and go for the information to the various shops producing the units. They check the files and records. The simple way should be that for each department, their display board should display the units actually produced and planned production and reasons for the shortcomings so that they can be improved on and discussed for later improvement.

22 LOGISTICS DEPARTMENT

Workings of the Department

LOGISTICS

VENDOR PROCUREMENT COMMERCIAL

 Vendor Procurement deals with parts which are: In-house produced, CKD (Complete Knock down Units) (these are units imported from Japan) and Vendor procured (Those procured from Vendors). 80 Vendors currently are in Karachi and 65 Vendors are in Sheikhupura.  In house production is of the various motorcycle parts mainly press parts and fenders, patches, hub, switch assembly line, frame body etc.  Commercial Section deals with Imports of parts and their record keeping & Local purchases (parts other than used directly in motorcycle like thinner etc.)  Vendors are selected if they follow the QCRC principles (Quality, Cost, Reliability and Capacity). They are upgraded and their processes updated through Vendor Production Systems Upgrade and Vendor Improvement Programs.  The Logistics Section also decides the delivery method for the materials delivery and presents a truck route which covers maximum dealers.  BMR (Balancing Modernization and Replacement) principles are followed which helps to keep the processes and work methods according to the current industry standards.  OSP (Outside Processing) is also practiced which includes changes made to parts sent to Vendors like chrome plating of parts etc.

23 PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

Workings of the Department  The efficiency of the production department speaks for itself due to the fact that it takes around just 2 min 5 sec to complete a motorcycle.  The major positive points of the production process are its speed and control on the processes, safety notices placed everywhere for guidance to workers from any unseen hazards and the maintenance of prim and proper conditions such as regular cleaning of the floors.  The production department is divided into several shops which produce their respective parts such as fenders, hub etc.  On the assembly line, all the parts are placed together in the shape of a motorcycle.  There are workers on either side of the assembly line placing the parts together.  The paint shop takes care of the painting of different motorcycle parts using spray painting techniques etc.  Speed is checked on a speed device.  Engine is checked on equipment especially for this purpose.  After assembly, personnel perform a second check and place an ³OK´ tag on the ones which are ready to be sold.

Suggestions for Improvement of Production processes

 There are some processes like the melting aluminum which are to be handled cautiously preventing any mishaps. For this a worker needs to have safety equipment always on and protecting him.  Rotation on the assembly line as regards different duties should be regularly practiced as to remove redundancy and boredom in the work and improve performance.

24 CAD / CAM DEPARTMENT

Workings of the Department  CAD / CAM Department is responsible for preparing dies, high pressure die casting molds and inspection jigs and fixtures.  The process starts with a request from GM Logistics for manufacturing of Dies / Molds for each fiscal year.  Die can be prepared either from study of the drawing of the part or by Reverse Engineering. For Reverse Engineering, Renishaw is used which is a device which traces the exact pattern of the part under use and then sends that diagram to the computer where it can be adjusted accordingly.  The methods and machinery used for Die preparation are:  Steel Cutting ± For blocks etc.  Electrode or EDM - Uses kerosene for fine performance  Wire Cut ± Wire made of brass which cuts sheets of metals  The other necessary features include:  Orientation ± This means that the part placed should be in such an angle that it is evenly distributed and metal does not collect in one place when filling the die model.  Shrinkage: This means that the part to be made has first a large sized metal used because during process, metal shrinks so the part has extra metal to use and complete the structure.  Cavity, Core Generation: Outside look of the die is the cavity portion while the inside is called the core generation. This is the structure of the die.  MCS (Machine Coordinated System) is used to determine axis of parts in machines.

25 MARKETING DEPARTMENT

Workings of the Department  Marketing functions are divided into Sales, Services and Spare Parts.  Sales department is responsible for sales to different markets and customers. Institutional sales are made to private companies, government sector and tender business like police.  Spare parts division is responsible for booking of genuine parts, service and parts¶ dealer coordination and proper management of demand and supply.  Services are the services provided to customers by the company and its dealers.  The dealers maintain the 5 S concept which includes Sales, Services, Second Hand Exchange, Spare Parts and Selling on Installments.  Dealers are divided into Antenna Dealers (Responsible for fulfillment of warranty deal with customer), Authorized Service Dealers (Responsible and trained by Atlas Honda to work for them. They are encouraged to improve their shops, add more facilities, try to cover all the 5 S) and 4 Stroke Service Mechanics (They are independent but trained in 4 stroke technology by Atlas Honda and offered incentives to become authorized service dealers).  Marketing Research for the department is conducted by research firms such as AC Nielsen etc. but some research projects are handled by the team at Atlas Honda as well which include Quantitative (Interviewing people) and Qualitative Methods (Focus groups).

Suggestions for Improvement of Marketing Department

 Expand the dealer network to growing markets.  Extended promotion should be practiced in new and existing markets.  The areas should be subdivided and allotted to sub division heads.  A formal marketing research department should be set up.

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