Mahindra & Mahindra: Implementing BPR

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) was the flagship company of the Mahindra group, one of the top ten industrial houses in India. The company's history dates back to 1945, when two brothers, J.C.Mahindra and K.C.Mahindra, decided to start a business of general-purpose utility vehicles. The brothers formed a company, Mahindra & Mohammed Ltd., in association with their friend Ghulam Mohammed. In October 1947, the first batch of 75 jeeps was released for the Indian market. In 1948, the company was renamed Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Over the next few decades, the group promoted many companies in areas as diverse as hotels, financial services, auto components, information technology, infrastructure development and trading to name a few (Refer Exhibit I for M&M's history).

In 1994, a major restructuring exercise was initiated as part of a BPR program. M&M introduced a new organizational model, in which various divisions and companies were regrouped into six distinct clusters of related businesses, each headed by a president. M&M's core activities, automotive and tractors were made autonomous business units. The other activities of the group were organized into infrastructure, trade and financial services, telecommunication and automotive components. According to company sources, the whole exercise was intended to develop a conceptual map to provide direction for the future growth of various business lines. It was decided that, in future, the group would confine its expansion to the identified thrust sectors.