'Chinese auto parts suppliers have an edge over India'
Indian automobile component suppliers are unlikely to have an edge over their Chinese counterparts unless the Government monitors iron ore exports to China, according to Mr Kumar Narayanan, Partner - Industrial and Distribution Sector, IBM-Asia Pacific.
Speaking to news persons on the sidelines of a two-day conference-cum-exposition on 'Current trends in achieving global competitiveness by integrated use of technology', Mr Narayanan said Chinese auto component suppliers and manufacturers had an inherent 12 per cent cost advantage compared with Indian manufacturers. This was because steel prices in China were 20 per cent cheaper than in India and about 40 per cent of iron ore imported by the country was from India.
"Government intervention is a quick fix to improve the competitiveness of Indian players. Additionally, companies should focus on creating business flexibility," he said. At the conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr. Narayanan said many Indian companies in the automobile and auto component space were focusing on product innovation and not business flexibility, thus, reacting slowly to market changes. A lot of technology was still being deployed in work flow processes to improve operational efficiency, unlike in China where it was used in business development, he said citing cases from a 2006-07 survey on the automobile sector conducted by IBM.
A case in point was Nissan Motors that had deployed technology to build flexible manufacturing lines rather than developing new products.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
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