Mahindra War Room 2019 Design to Disrupt

“THE MOMENT OF RECKONING HAS COME”

LIVE CHALLENGE FROM MAHINDRA PARTNERS - MARINE

“The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.”

Chapter 1: Empathize

As India evolved from an inward-looking socialism driven economy to a more

global, open and free economy in the 1990s, the state of business and economy
transformed profusely. From a regime that rejected entrepreneurship and saw
business as against the norm of social justice, the paradigm shifted to
encouraging entrepreneurship in diverse sectors of the economy. This posed an
opportunity for established business groups like Mahindra, to foray into avenues
that were hitherto not ventured.

Founded in 1945, the Mahindra Group commenced with Steel Trading. A few
years later, Automotive business was entered with the advent of Jeeps in the mid
1950s, followed by Tractors in the mid 1960s. Information Technology was the
fourth business entered in the 1980s, followed by Financial Services, Hospitality,
Realty and the Aftermarket business in the 1990s. The ventures of the decades
prior to the 1990s was in an atmosphere of “license and permit raj” where almost
every major business decision was scrutinized in many levels of the Government.

The new regime of open economy thus came as a breath of fresh air. Sensing
diverse business opportunities in the new open era which could span areas of
traditional strengths as well as newer un-ventured territories, Mahindra formed a
Private Equity and Venture Capital division in 2007 called ‘Mahindra Partners’.
The goal of Mahindra Partners is to incubate new businesses for the Mahindra
Group, provide growth capital to existing businesses, make strategic investments
in businesses as a third party investor and provide early stage funding for
promising start-ups.

Since its inception, Mahindra Partners has enabled the foray of Mahindra Group
into businesses as diverse as Third Party Logistics, Retail, Steel Solutions &
Recycling, Solar Energy, Engineering Services and Capacity Building, with a
portfolio size of over USD. 1 Billion.

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Chapter 2: Design & Ideate

India is blessed with an 8000 km coastline and a further 7000km of major inland
waterways accounting for the 7th largest waterline in the world. India’s coastline
passes 13 states and union territories and is mostly straight and regular. The
East Coast of India, spanning Utkal, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Coramandel
Coasts; and the West Coast of India, spanning the Konkan Coast, the Karnataka
Coast and the Malabar Coast dotted with coves, creeks and estuaries. The
opportunities around water - whether ports, harbours, transportation or recreation
& leisure, and grossly under-realised in India. With the emergence of the next
generation of consumers, these opportunities are bound to come alive in the
coming years.

Chapter 3: Prototype & Test

The large opportunity to sustainably harness India’s waterways for transportation,

recreation and other uses prompted Mahindra to venture into boats by
establishing Mahindra Marine in 2008. With Mahindra Marine, Mahindra became
the a provider of mobility solutions in land, in the sky and in water, with the large
automotive business and a fledgling aeronautical business then.

With primary focus on leisure boating, Mahindra launched the Odyssea brand of
boats in single and twin petrol configuration of 7m and 10m lengths in 2008. With
designs procured from Australia and molds built in China, Odyssea was
manufactured at a franchised factory in Goa. Select sales & service dealers were
appointed in key maritime states to drive sales. These boats gained early
acceptance among Forest Departments and in Dams & Reservoirs, for patrolling
and rescue missions. The low product cost, better maneuverability and good
speed made the products popular in these segments. However, Tourism and
Water Sports it the larger segment offering greater potential. Pursuing this,
Mahindra adapted the 10m Odyssea’s Hull to launch a Parasailing boat.

Mahindra’s early experience over the first few years indicated a greater need for
product customization. Mold building capability, design adaptability and product
certification knowledge were identified as critical factors imperative for success.
To be able to offer the same, Mahindra relocated the boatyard to a state-of-the-

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art site at Ambernath, near Mumbai, and attempted to meet the demands of
Indian customers with frugal in-house product development efforts, resulting in
the launch of the diesel engine powered Stern Drive propelled boat in 2012.

Identifying Commercial Port Patrolling as another significant segment, Mahindra

commenced end-to-end manufacturing of boats including mold building, and won
14m and 16m boat orders from a World Bank aided program and an upcoming
private port near Mumbai.

Indian Navy and paramilitary were the largest purchasers of boats, representing
over 60% of the industry. This segment was largely tender-centric and required
“IACS Class” Certified Boats, for which Mahindra Marine had to get the Boatyard
ISO:9001 and IACS certifications.

Chapter 4: Scale Profitably

Attempting to build a sub-10 lac boat for inland waterways and harbor tourism,
Mahindra bought a 5m design in 2014 from an Indian designer and launched the
same in 2015 with limited success in price point and performance. The
sophisticated Stern Drive system was not supported in Indian water, due to dirt
and salinity. Mahindra ideated and introduced a 10m shaft propelled boat as an
alternative to the service-intensive Stern Drive boat. Mahindra executed the
supply of an air-conditioned cabin boat, stepping up the confidence of executing
orders with high levels of customization. Mahindra also built the first 16m luxury
yacht on the proven 14m platform for the Uber-luxury segment, the first of its kind
to be executed by an Indian boat builder.

After persistent efforts to enter the Defense Segment, Mahindra obtained a

supply order for 17 units of the 11m work boat, gaining a foothold into the high
volume Defense segment for boats in 2016. Mahindra delivery these class
approved boats in the stipulated timeframe, exhibiting serial production skills.
Mahindra received further orders for 14 units of Rigid Inflatable Boats and 14
units of Survey Motor Boats for hydrographic survey missions, both to be carried
aboard large ships and frigates. Mahindra demonstrated the ability to execute
both orders simultaneously, testing the production team’s resilience and
capabilities.

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Mahindra Marine received further orders for 6 units of Water Ambulances for the
Ministry of Health, and also built environment friendly Solar-Electric harbor cruise
boat for a Forest Department Project Tiger site. Mahindra Marine is currently
working towards building Formula 1 type race boats and carbon-fibre armored
boats; bigger and longer boats are also on the anvil, once the manufacturing is
relocated to a waterfront boatyard site.

Mahindra Marine has thus established versatile capabilities to build a broad

spectrum of boats, with new hull platforms, adaptations of existing hull platforms,
and deck superstructures for new variants and applications. Mahindra Marine
has obtained stringent IACS certification for its products and developed a wide
array of strategic suppliers around the world.

Mahindra Odyssea’s boats are made of Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP), and
Mahindra Marine is the only Corporate Boatyard in India. FRP is identified as a
future-popular material, being light-weight, long-lasting, low maintenance and low
carbon foot-print, with lower horse power needed to achieve the required speed,
compared to boats made of traditional materials such as steel, wood and
aluminum. Mahindra Marine has focused on becoming a systems integrator with
core FRP body building skills, customization and end-product certification
established in-house. Strategic tie-ups for engines, auxiliary equipment &
specialized base materials were done to deliver international standard end-
product.

Chapter 5: Design to Disrupt

It is becoming more evident now that the Government has realized the urgent
need to augment marine infrastructure to reduce the load on Rail and Road
infrastructure for the movement of goods and people, as waterways have the
lowest cost per ton-km of movement. A series of initiatives such as Sagarmala,
IWT Policy, Interconnection of major rivers and others are expected to accelerate
marine segment attractiveness in the near future. The growth trajectory is
expected to replicate the growth witnessed due to the automotive revolution
witnessed by Mahindra in the early decades post-independence, wherein
Mahindra gained early mover advantage in off-road applications with frugal

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development skills & ability to meet Indian consumer and environment

requirements. In other words, the moment of reckoning for Mahindra Marine is
nearing. For over 12 years now, Mahindra Marine has slowly and surely built
capabilities and delivered products in difficult and constrained market conditions.
Now, with a proven track record, Mahindra Marine is going to be faced with the
opportunities emerging from the supportive policy framework and may be able to
leap forward with the first mover advantage.

The new Government has exhibited seriousness to develop Marine

infrastructure, with the objective of accelerating market growth and demand,
especially in the areas of tourism, passenger movement, harbor cruise (sea, river
and lake), port use, patrolling etc. New regulations that curtail sub-standard and
unsafe boating practices may lead to increased demand. The development of
new marinas will help ease hardship faced by existing owners. Littoral security
enhancement will spur specialty boat demand. These developments will be faster
for maritime states, but won’t be confined to them alone.

This is the moment Mahindra Marine has been toiling for.

Based on the above, design a 10X growth strategy for Mahindra Marine, by
evaluating the complete ecosystem surrounding the business environment,
emerging product segments which are likely to witness demand growth,
and emerging trends in consumptions of both individual and commercial
segments.

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