Krishna Kumar Shetty
Director Operations, Mahavir group & CEO, Adishwar Auto Mercedes Benz
A graduate from Loyola College, Chennai, Krishna Kumar Shetty holds thirty years of extensive experience in the automobile industry. From starting his journey with brands like Maruti to Mercedes-BenzKrishna Kumar has come a long way to this position. He believes that passion for your dream can help you achieve great heights.
Krishna Kumar Shetty recently engaged in an exclusive interaction with CEO Insights. Here’s the highlight from the interview.
Tell us about your professional experiences and what motivates your business routines?
I have more than thirty years of rich experience in the automobile sector which includes half a dozen brands from Maruti to Mercedes-Benz. To add to this, I have won numerous awards at different positions from different brands. It is my passion for the car since childhood that led me to pursue the automobile sector as a bright career option. With each passing year, we are developing and we are setting benchmarks as well as raising the performance bar, all of this drives me towards excellence.
Define Adishwar Auto Mercedes-Benzas an organization. What
makes it stand out from its competitors? What are the major factors you consider to manage your operations in line with customer expectations?
Through Adishwar Auto Mercedes-Benz, we are focussing on creating value through relationships and this has been our driving force for years. We as a team are striving to achieve and we are committed to providing the best customer experience through our disciplined approach as well as the progressive vision that enables us to excel in whatever we are doing.
We follow a vigorous mechanism of follow-up process with the core team daily, where we discuss all the major KPIs, and the gaps related to it are addressed with timeliness. This ensures transparent updates to the front-end sales team who in turn update the customers which leads to customer-centric satisfaction.
Could you elaborate on the technological framework in your Digital Service Drive and what is the difference being established in the industry?
The adoption of Digital Service Drive was developed by the customer-centric approach which allows customers to stay connected during the service of the star while staying at home. This includes a host of digital solutions for customers to stay connected to their star and avail personalized services which provide access to the information starting from, all the information about the appointment for instance date and time of the appointment, Pick and Drop Executive’s/Service Consultant’s name, photo, and contact number, etc. Moving on to next is, Selection of preferences like pick/drop location, customer lounge access, etc. Real time tracking of the car during pick and drop. Realtime service status update. Access to service documents like estimates and invoices and lastly, online service bill payment. I strongly affirm that the initiative is a key differentiator for Mercedes-Benz
Through Adishwar Auto Mercedes-Benz, we are focussing on creating value through relationships and this has been our driving force for years. We as a team are striving to achieve and we are committed to providing the best customer experience through our disciplined approach as well as the progressive vision that enables us to excel in whatever we are doing.
The main focus point to work on is building a good rapport with the customers and to give delivery experience to customers worth remembering
We follow a vigorous mechanism of follow-up process with the core team daily, where we discuss all the major KPIs, and the gaps related to it are addressed with timeliness. This ensures transparent updates to the front-end sales team who in turn update the customers which leads to customer-centric satisfaction.
Could you elaborate on the technological framework in your Digital Service Drive and what is the difference being established in the industry?
The adoption of Digital Service Drive was developed by the customer-centric approach which allows customers to stay connected during the service of the star while staying at home. This includes a host of digital solutions for customers to stay connected to their star and avail personalized services which provide access to the information starting from, all the information about the appointment for instance date and time of the appointment, Pick and Drop Executive’s/Service Consultant’s name, photo, and contact number, etc. Moving on to next is, Selection of preferences like pick/drop location, customer lounge access, etc. Real time tracking of the car during pick and drop. Realtime service status update. Access to service documents like estimates and invoices and lastly, online service bill payment. I strongly affirm that the initiative is a key differentiator for Mercedes-Benz
which focuses on ensuring convenience and transparency of service.
How did you tackle challenges put forth by pandemic? What are the future market opportunities you foresee?
At the initial stages of the pandemic, it was really difficult to generate sales as it was impossible to give that physical experience of the car to customers. How ever, due to the digital transformation and ease of booking cars online, somehow the pandemic had less effect on the automobile sector it helped us to generate sales. On the contrary, there was an economic boom in this sector as most of the HNIs were booking from home.
Our main focus to work is on building a good rapport with the customers to provide the best quality delivery experience to customers and that would be worth remembering. The facility we provide is just not restricted to sales, but the overall experience delivered in the complete buying process and after-sales.
What suggestions you would like to give to the entrepreneurs who are starting anew in this domain?
The customer preference is rapidly shifting towards a green and ecofriendly lifestyle, my advice to upcoming entrepreneurs is to focus more on the electric market and think out of the box, be more creative to stand out among the other great auto leaders who are continuously making efforts towards excellence.
Krishna Kumar Shetty, CEO, Adishwar Auto Mercedes-Benz
An industry veteran with a rich experience of thirty years in the automobile industry dealing in numerous brands from Maruti to Mercedes-Benz, he is result-oriented and has a strong record of performance. With a disciplined approach and progressive vision, he is focused on achieving greater heights in the automobile industry. As the CEO of Adishwar Auto Mercedes-Benz, Krishna Kumar Shetty is working hard for the growth of the organization.
How did you tackle challenges put forth by pandemic? What are the future market opportunities you foresee?
At the initial stages of the pandemic, it was really difficult to generate sales as it was impossible to give that physical experience of the car to customers. How ever, due to the digital transformation and ease of booking cars online, somehow the pandemic had less effect on the automobile sector it helped us to generate sales. On the contrary, there was an economic boom in this sector as most of the HNIs were booking from home.
Our main focus to work is on building a good rapport with the customers to provide the best quality delivery experience to customers and that would be worth remembering. The facility we provide is just not restricted to sales, but the overall experience delivered in the complete buying process and after-sales.
What suggestions you would like to give to the entrepreneurs who are starting anew in this domain?
The customer preference is rapidly shifting towards a green and ecofriendly lifestyle, my advice to upcoming entrepreneurs is to focus more on the electric market and think out of the box, be more creative to stand out among the other great auto leaders who are continuously making efforts towards excellence.
Krishna Kumar Shetty, CEO, Adishwar Auto Mercedes-Benz
An industry veteran with a rich experience of thirty years in the automobile industry dealing in numerous brands from Maruti to Mercedes-Benz, he is result-oriented and has a strong record of performance. With a disciplined approach and progressive vision, he is focused on achieving greater heights in the automobile industry. As the CEO of Adishwar Auto Mercedes-Benz, Krishna Kumar Shetty is working hard for the growth of the organization.