A project report on gap analysis of service delivered to sundaram finance ltd

Gap Analysis of service delivered to Sundaram Finance Ltd

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Executive Summary
Sundaram Finance Ltd incorporated in 1954 has grown today into one of the most trusted
financial services groups in India.

Today, the activities of the group span savings products like Deposits and Mutual Funds, Car and
Commercial Vehicle Finance, Insurance, Home Loans, Software Solutions, Business Process
Outsourcing, Tyre Finance, Fleet Cards and Logistics Services.

The Company was incorporated in 1954, with the object of financing the purchase of commercial
vehicles and passenger cars.
The company was started with a paid-up capital of Rs.2.00 Lakhs and later went public in 1972.
The Company's shares were listed in the Madras Stock Exchange in 1972 and in the National
Stock Exchange in January 1998.

About Sundaram Finance Fleet Card:

Sundaram Finance (SF) has tied up with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPC) & Indian Oil
Corporation Ltd. (IOC) for extending credit facility to the fleet customers, through co-branded
fleet cards. The FLEET CARD credit program was launched on 01.oct.2004. Under this
arrangement, BPC & IOC would be the issuers of SmartFleet & XTRAPOWER fleet cards. These
fleet cards are based on smart card technology.
SF would extend credit facility on these cards, for the restricted use of purchasing auto fuel &
lubes, at designated retail outlets of IOC & BPC. These retail outlets would be based mainly on the
highways & major roads where diesel sales are high, apart from key city centric locations catering
to corporates.

Product features:

In the Fleet Card program, the customer will receive a Fleet Card for every vehicle he has enrolled
for. This Fleet Card stores the card no., membership number, vehicle information and PIN
(Personal Identification Number). The Fleet Card is also an electronic purse, which enables the

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customer to preload cash into it by paying in a Fleet Card outlet. At the time of filling, the
customer has to opt for the Credit. However, the customer can also pay at any SF branch the
advance money & use it against his credit pouch - either to save on his interest or to avoid payment
at an outlet

Subsequently, the equity shares of the Company have been delisted from Madras Stock Exchange
Limited (MSE) with effect from January 27, 2004, in accordance with SEBI (Delisting of
Securities) Guidelines, 2003, for voluntary delisting

The project titled “Gap Analysis in terms of service delivered to Sundaram Finance Ltd,
Customers” is an attempt to analysis the service delivered to fleet card customers by Sundaram
Finance Ltd. As project deals with the study to know about what consumer expects from company
and how best company can fulfills the desire of a customer. The main aim of the project is to
analysis the consumer expectation, service offered by Sundaram Finance Ltd, even to know about
the satisfaction level of customer by using the Sundaram Finance Fleet Card.

Area of study was limited to Hubli city. The methodology adopted includes descriptive research;
the data was collected through primary method of data selection where in Questionnaire methods
with personal interviews and the results collimated according to the nature of question asked.

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OBJECTIVES:

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

MAIN OBJECTIVE:
Gap Analysis in terms of service delivered to Sundaram Finance Ltd, Fleet card customers.

SUB-OBJECTIVES
1) Study to know about the consumer expectations towards Sundaram Finance Fleet card.

2) Study to know about the performance of Sundaram Finance fleet card

3) Analysis of petrol outlet provides better service to fleet card customers.

METHDOLOGY
About Pilot Survey Questionnaire: The pilot survey questionnaire was designed under the
guidance of Institute guide Prof. Naresh D and the Company guide Mr. Ramesh Bhatt. The
questionnaire was designed keeping in mind that it should be short ( as the respondents do not have
time) and in same time it was designed to cater all the needs to serve purpose of the survey. The
questionnaire was designed in funnel shape format i.e. starting with general questions and then
getting narrower to get to that point. It was designed in such a way that it also includes sections
like Awareness, Customer expectations, Service delivered by company, satisfaction level about
petrol outlets. The questionnaire also had some briefs, which were uncomfortable for the
respondents to answer like how much kilometer their vehicles runs per month. In the end it also
has one open ended suggestion question. The pilot questionnaire served the purpose and helped in
achieving the purpose of the survey.

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About the Pilot Survey:
This survey was conducted in Hubli city. Study mainly concerned about Service Gap i.e. matching
and analyzing the service delivered by Sundaram Finance to their customers. I need to approach
them and collect the required data for Pilot study. The survey went in a very smooth way, as the
respondents were very patient and interacted well. I even spoke to the respondents to study what
their views were regarding the product, which they could not express it in the questionnaire. All
together the pilot survey was very successful and helped in getting the needful information for
which the survey was carried out.

SAMPLING METHODS
In the present research study, Non-Probability, Judgment sampling method techniques were
adopted. Individual sampling unit is taken for the Sampling method

MAJOR FINDINGS
1) 96.7% of the people were aware about Fleet card.
2) 70% of the people were using Fleet card.
3) 85.7% of the people were subscribed for Sundaram Finance Fleet Card.
4) 61.9% of the customers go for Sundaram Finance Fleet card because of feature like
Cash less transaction.
5) 80% of the people were aware of Sundaram Finance Fleet card.
6) 67% of customers opted for Smart fleet card, followed by Extra Power (33%).
7) 94% of the customers were satisfied with the credit limit charged by Sundaram
Finance ltd.
8) 73.7% of the people found that Fleet card operation was easy.
9) 83% of the customers were satisfied with the acceptability of the fleet card in IOC and
BPCL.
10) 63% of people were aware about fleet card and through company executive they have
come to know about Fleet Card.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Most of the people were well worse with Fleet card but it is not in case of usage so
company has to concentrate on how best they can assure people for using Fleet card.
2. As we found 63% of the customers they had come to know about fleet card through
company executive so better to increase the Advertisement campaign in various petrol
outlets.
3. Company needs to use other channels for Effective Advertisement.
4. As it is booming sector in India today ,company has to give importance about training
part of fleet card like how to take proper use of fleet card
5. As it was found less number of customers have opted for Extra Power so it is better
for company to give importance to increase the usage level of Extra Power fleet card
through effective Advertisement.
6. Company has to conduct and need to inform their customers what are all different
type of service they are providing to their customers.

CONCLUSION
As my study was to know and analyze the service provided by Sundaram Finance Ltd, to their fleet
card users. Most of them were aware of fleet card but as compare to it usage level is little less.
Almost majority of the customers were satisfied with the credit limit provided by company,
interest charged by company, about loyalty points and all. Even most of the consumers were
satisfied with the acceptability of fleet card in Indian Oil Cooperation and Bharath Petroleum Corp
Ltd.
As majority of the customers are satisfied with the overall performance and they liked the
service provided by company and they even found that the application part of fleet care is quite
easy. It will be a feasible for company to increase its advertisement and training regarding how to
use and take benefit of fleet card.

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

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A) STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

To study and analyze the Gap in terms of service delivered to Sundaram Finance Ltd, to its fleet
card customers.

B) CONCEPT UNDER THE STUDY

About Gap Analysis in Service Industry:

Gap Analysis
Gap Analysis
A marketing technique used to identify gaps in market or product coverage. In gap
analysis, consumer information or requirements are tabulated and matched to product
categories in order to identify product or service opportunities or gaps in product planning.
Gap Analysis
A method of improving a company's financial performance by reducing the gap between
current results and long-term objectives

Customer Gap:
• The central focus of the gaps model is the customer gap, the difference between customer
expectations and perceptions.
• Expectations are the reference point’s customers have coming in to a service experience;
perceptions reflect the service as actually received.
• The idea is that firms will want to close this gap- between what is expected and what is
received- to satisfy their customers and build long term relationships with them. To close
this all important customer gap, the model suggests that four other gaps-need to be closed.

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Provider Gap:

• The provider gaps are the underlying causes behind the customer gap:

• Gap1: Not knowing what customers expect.

• Gap2: Not selecting the right service designs and standards.

• Gap3: Not delivering to service standards.

• Gap4: Not matching performance to promises.

C) BENEFITS OF CONCEPT

 Perception of the customer regarding fleet card service.

 To get the strong features of the company brand and the competitor brand.

 Makes the company aware of the shortcomings of its brand when compared to its
competitors and work on it.

 It will help company to know the customers expectations.

 What place the brand occupy in customers mind.

 The strategies that the companies adopt to attract the customer

THE PROJECT IS ALSO USEFUL TO THE CUSTOMERS:

 Consumer will get better service in future.

 Consumer will come to know about Fleet card concept.

 Mainly he will be aware of Sundaram Finance Ltd.

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D) REASON FOR STUDYING THE CONCEPT

This project was an ultimate experience to me in the marketing stream. Though this project was
able to get lot of inputs and it was a great learning experience for me. I was able to learn a lot of
things and co-relate them to theory with the practice on the field. Following were some of the
utilities to me from the project:

 It helped me understand how the Service companies use various marketing strategies to
attract the Fleet card customers.

 Overall view about service industry.

 It helped me in getting practical exposure in the field of study.

 It helped me to come to know about what do you mean by Gap and how we need to relate
that into practically.

 It helped me to compare with competitors of fleet card providers on various parameters like
price, service, flexibility and many more.

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CHAPTER II

METHODOLOGY

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A) RESEARCH DESIGN

It is the specification of the methods and products for .acquiring the information
needed. It is the overall operational pattern or framework of the project that
Stipulated what information is to be collected from which sources and what
Procedures.
Companies define and redefine problems, formulating hypothesis for suggested
Solutions, collecting, organizing, evaluating data making decisions and reaching
conclusions to determine whether they fit formulating hypothesis.
Research methods are classified as Casual, Descriptive and Exploratory.

Casual Research
This type of research investigates the cause and effect relationship between two
Or more variables.

Descriptive Research
It is done to know the proportion of people in a given population who have
Behaved in a particular way but for the present study, Descriptive research was done and has been
followed. The questionnaire was used to know the awareness of DDC

Exploratory Research
It is used when rates in the business have been declining for the past few
Months and costs are rising. But

B) RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Main Objective
Gap Analysis in terms of service delivered to Sundaram Finance Ltd, Fleet card customers.

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SUB-OBJECTIVES
1) Study to know about the consumer expectations towards Sundaram Finance Fleet card.

2) Study to know about the performance of Sundaram Finance fleet card

3) Analysis of petrol outlet provides better service to fleet card customers.

METHODOLOGY

A) GEOGROPHICAL AREA

For the purpose of collecting primary data research need to visit/ interact with customer who owns
the Fleet card with the help of questionnaire has been gathered from 30 Respondents of Hubli.

B) ABOUT THE COMPANY CHOSEN FOR THE STUDY
Sundaram Finance Ltd. - An Overview
• Sundaram Finance (SF) has tied up with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPC) &
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOC) for extending credit facility to the fleet customers,
through co-branded fleet cards.
• The FLEET CARD credit program was launched on 01.oct.2004. Under this arrangement,
BPC & IOC would be the issuers of Smart Fleet & XTRAPOWER fleet cards. These fleet
cards are based on smart card technology.
• SF would extend credit facility on these cards, for the restricted use of purchasing auto fuel
& lubes, at designated retail outlets of IOC & BPC.
• These retail outlets would be based mainly on the highways & major roads where diesel
sales are high, apart from key city centric locations catering to corporate.

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C) SAMPLING POPULATION

30 samples are taken for the study that fulfills the research objective.

D) DATA COLLECTION

Data are facts, figures and other relevant materials, past and present, serving as bases for study and
analysis. The data serves as the basis for analysis without an analysis of factual data no specific
inferences can be drawn on the questions under study. Inferences based on imagination or
guesswork cannot provide correct answers to research questions, the relevance, adequacy and
reliability of data determine the quality of the findings of a study.

For the purpose of present study, data from two sources have been collected namely primary and
secondary data.

Primary Data
Primary data are the data that are collected to help solve a problem or taken advantage of an
opportunity on which a decision is pending. The main method of collecting primary data is survey
method there are different types of survey technique for example personal interview, mail survey,
Internet survey and telephone survey.

Primary data is first hand information that has been collected by the researcher from the
respondents of Belgaum district as well as Dharwad district through personal interview method
with the help of questionnaire. Analysis, interpretation, summery of findings conclusion and
recommendations are completely based on primary data.

Secondary Data
Secondary data are data that were developed for some purpose other then helping to solve the
problem at hand. After identifying and defining the research problem and determining specific
information required solving the problem, the researcher’s task is to look for the type and sources
of data which may yield the desired results.
Secondary data in this research references made by the researcher with other published sources.
The present research will not be complete without complete references to the relevant secondary
data.

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METHODOLOGY

A) PERIOD OF STUDY
The study was undertaken for the duration of four months. Where in the plan for each week was
planned well before only and accordingly the project work was carried out.
B) UNIQUENESS OF STUDY

Though smart card use in India still lags behind other Asian giants like China, the potential is great
since a range of applications can be incorporated into a smart card. Unlike normal plastic credit
cards, smart cards are embedded with a small microchip, which can be programmed to perform
specific functions for the end-user. Smart cards can also store up to a thousand times more data
than other traditional media (like the magnetic strip) used on credit cards. What’s more, each
application can have its own logical space on the card, and can be read or written onto thousands
of times. It is not surprising therefore that smart cards have now begun to proliferate in almost
every sector.
Market research firm Frost & Sullivan (F&S) puts the value of the smart card market in India at
$5.1 billion, and a compounded annual growth rate of 39.8 percent. India’s fast-growing cellular
market is a key driver of this usage as it alone accounts for over 95 percent of smart card usage by
way of SIM cards in mobile phones. This potential would be much more if the same cards were to
be upgraded to support more applications.
Another important milestone in the history of the smart card market in India was a project
sponsored by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and named SMARS (Smart Rupee System). The
pilot project aimed to make the IIT-Bombay campus a cashless one. Since IIT-Bombay is like a
self contained unit, the project was seen as a kind of testbed to evaluate the potential of smart
cards. The SMARS project was also significant as it involved many partners. IIT-Bombay and the
Institute of Development and Research in Banking Technology jointly coordinated the project.
State Bank of India, Canara Bank and Citibank were the banking partners, while representatives
from Aplab, Ascom, EximSoft, CMS Computers, Schlumberger, VeriFone, Gemplus, SGS
Thomson and HCL Deluxe were involved in providing the terminals, cards, software and
settlement systems. Unfortunately, even this venture slowly slipped off the radar screen.

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C) LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Following were the limitations encountered during the project tenure.

 All the practical experience cannot be put on papers, but an attempt has been stick made.

 The city was totally new to me, so it increased the time span for the survey.

 The population of the city is very large and the sample size chosen may not represent the
entire population.

 The respondents’ views could be biased and ambiguous.

 The research was conducted in Hubli between Dec 10, 2007 to April 19, 2008 and the
findings are related to this particular area and time only.

 Due to the busy schedule of respondents it was difficult to interact with them.

 The given time span was very less to cover the topic of study.

 My study was live project.

.

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CHAPTER III

LITERATURE SEARCH

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Correlation:
Concept:
Many a times we come across problems or situations where two variables seem to move in
the same direction such as both are increasing or decreasing. At that time an increase in one
variable is accompanied by decrease in another variable. Such changes in variables suggest that
there is a certain relationship between them.
Correlation analysis is used as a statistical tool to ascertain the association between two
variables.
Types of Correlation:
1. Positive and Negative
2. Linear and Non-Linear
3. Simple, Partial and Multiple.

For the analysis of this project I have used positive and negative correlation analysis.
Positive correlation indicates that both the variables move in the same direction. Negative
correlation indicates that if there is an increase in one variable, the other variable declines.
For gap analysis in wildlife conservation, see Gap analysis (conservation)
In business and economics, gap analysis is a business resource assessment tool enabling a
company to compare its actual performance with its potential performance. At its core are two
questions:
Where are we?
Where do we want to be?
If a company or organization is under-utilizing resources it currently owns or is forgoing
investment in capital or technology then it may be producing or performing at a level below its
potential. This concept is similar to the base case of being below one's production possibilities
frontier.
This goal of the gap analysis is to identify the gap between the optimized allocation and integration
of the inputs and the current level of allocation. This helps provide the company with insight into

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areas that have room for improvement. The gap analysis process involves determining,
documenting and approving the variance between business requirements and current capabilities.
Gap analysis naturally flows from benchmarking and other assessments. Once the general
expectation of performance in the industry is understood it is possible to compare that expectation
with the level of performance at which the company currently functions. This comparison becomes
the gap analysis. Such analysis can be performed at the strategic or operational level of an
organization.
'Gap analysis' is a formal study of what a business is doing currently and where it wants to go in
the future. It can be conducted, in different perspectives, as follows:
1. Organization (e.g., human resources)
2. Business direction
3. Business processes
4. Information technology
Gap analysis provides a foundation for measuring investment of time, money and human resources
required to achieve a particular outcome (e.g. to turn the salary payment process from paper based
to paperless with the use of a system).
Note that 'GAP analysis' has also been used as a means for classification of how well a product or
solution meets a targeted need or set of requirements. In this case, 'GAP' can be used as a ranking
of 'Good', 'Average' or 'Poor'. This terminology does appear in the PRINCE2 project management
publication from the OGC.
Contents.
• 1 Gap analysis and new products
o 1.1 Usage gap
o 1.2 Market potential
o 1.3 Existing usage
o 1.4 Product gap
o 1.5 Competitive gap
• 2 Market gap analysis

Gap analysis and new products

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The need for new products or additions to existing lines may have emerged from the portfolio
analyses, in particular from the use of the Boston Growth-share matrix or the need will have
emerged from the regular process of following trends in the requirements of consumers. At some
point a gap will have emerged between what the existing products offer the consumer and what the
consumer demands. That gap has to be filled if the organization is to survive and grow.
To identify the gap in the market, the technique of gap analysis can be used. Thus an examination
of what profits are forecast to be for the organization as a whole compared with where the
organization (in particular its shareholders) 'wants' those profits to be represents what is called the
planning gap: this shows what is needed of new activities in general and of new products in
particular.
The planning gap may be divided into four main elements:
Usage gap
This is the gap between the total potential for the market and the actual current usage by all the
consumers in the market. Clearly two figures are needed for this calculation:
• market potential
• existing usage
Market potential
The most difficult estimate to make is that of the total potential available to the whole market,
including all segments covered by all competitive brands. It is often achieved by determining the
maximum potential individual usage, and extrapolating this by the maximum number of potential
consumers. This is inevitably a judgment rather than a scientific extrapolation, but some of the
macro-forecasting techniques may assist in making this estimate more soundly based.
The maximum number of consumers available will usually be determined by market research, but
it may sometimes be calculated from demographic data or government statistics. Ultimately there
will, of course, be limitations on the number of consumers. For guidance one can look to the
numbers using similar products. Alternatively, one can look to what has happened in other
countries. It is often suggested that Europe follows patterns set in the USA, but after a time-lag of
a decade or so. The increased affluence of all the major Western economies means that such a lag
can now be much shorter.

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The maximum potential individual usage, or at least the maximum attainable average usage (there
will always be a spread of usage across a range of customers), will usually be determined from
market research figures. It is important, however, to consider what lies behind such usage.

Existing usage
The existing usage by consumers makes up the total current market, from which market shares, for
example, are calculated. It is usually derived from marketing research, most accurately from panel
research such as that undertaken by A.C. Nielsen but also from 'ad hoc' work. Sometimes it may be
available from figures collected by government departments or industry bodies; however, these are
often based on categories which may make sense in bureaucratic terms but are less helpful in
marketing terms.
The 'usage gap' is thus:
usage gap = market potential – existing usage
This is an important calculation to make. Many, if not most marketers, accept the 'existing' market
size, suitably projected over the timescales of their forecasts, as the boundary for their expansion
plans. Although this is often the most realistic assumption, it may sometimes impose an
unnecessary limitation on their horizons. The original market for video-recorders was limited to
the professional users who could afford the high prices involved. It was only after some time that
the technology was extended to the mass market.
In the public sector, where the service providers usually enjoy a `monopoly', the usage gap will
probably be the most important factor in the development of the activities. But persuading more
`consumers' to take up family benefits, for example, will probably be more important to the
relevant government department than opening more local offices.
The usage gap is most important for the brand leaders. If any of these has a significant share of the
whole market, say in excess of 30 per cent, it may become worthwhile for the firm to invest in
expanding the total market. The same option is not generally open to the minor players, although
they may still be able to target profitably specific offerings as market extensions.
All other `gaps' relate to the difference between the organization's existing sales (its market share)
and the total sales of the market as a whole. This difference is the share held by competitors. These
`gaps' will, therefore, relate to competitive activity.

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Product gap
The product gap, which could also be described as the segment or positioning gap, represents that
part of the market from which the individual organization is excluded because of product or
service characteristics. This may have come about because the market has been segmented and the
organization does not have offerings in some segments, or it may be because the positioning of its
offering effectively excludes it from certain groups of potential consumers, because there are
competitive offerings much better placed in relation to these groups.
This segmentation may well be the result of deliberate policy. Segmentation and positioning are
very powerful marketing techniques; but the trade-off, to be set against the improved focus, is that
some parts of the market may effectively be put beyond reach. On the other hand, it may
frequently be by default; the organization has not thought about its positioning, and has simply let
its offerings drift to where they now are.
The product gap is probably the main element of the planning gap in which the organization can
have a productive input; hence the emphasis on the importance of correct positioning.
Competitive gap
What is left represents the gap resulting from the competitive performance. This competitive gap is
the share of business achieved among similar products, sold in the same market segment, and with
similar distribution patterns - or at least, in any comparison, after such effects have been
discounted. Needless to say, it is not a factor in the case of the monopoly provision of services by
the public sector.
The competitive gap represents the effects of factors such as price and promotion, both the
absolute level and the effectiveness of its messages. It is what marketing is popularly supposed to
be about.
Market gap analysis
In the type of analysis described above, gaps in the product range are looked for. Another
perspective (essentially taking the `product gap' to its logical conclusion) is to look for gaps in the
'market' (in a variation on `product positioning', and using the multidimensional `mapping'), which
the company could profitably address, regardless of where its current products stand.
Many marketers would, indeed, question the worth of the theoretical gap analysis described earlier.
Instead, they would immediately start proactively to pursue a search for a competitive advantage

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Definitions matching
Gap Analysis
Gap Analysis
a marketing technique used to identify gaps in market or product coverage. In gap analysis,
consumer information or requirements are tabulated and matched to product categories in order to
identify product or service opportunities or gaps in product planning.
Gap Analysis
a method of improving a company's financial performance by reducing the gap between current
results and long-term objectives
The communication dynamics between healthcare providers and patients tend to follow a usual
course. The patient has symptoms that he or she cannot explain and goes to the physician for
assessment and diagnosis. If the diagnosis is for a treatable disease or condition, the patient's relief
is apparent. The medical information about the condition is welcomed and treatment
recommendations are actively sought because the physician is the expert in "treating" the problem.
When the condition is overweight or obesity, the usual physician/patient relationship often
disconnects. The healthcare community, which includes physicians, dietitians, and others, relies on
established, science-based Clinical Guidelines to assess, diagnose, and treat excess weight.1
In the case of overweight, the Guidelines provide an in-depth analysis of the evidence surrounding
weight loss, including the amount of weight loss needed to achieve health benefits and the methods
that have been demonstrated to effectively create lasting weight loss.
Unlike other diagnoses, most overweight or obese adults are aware of their condition prior to
medical intervention. Through years of experience and exposure to consumer-directed information,
they have developed a knowledge base and belief system about excess weight and its related
treatments.

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There are large gaps between the Clinical Guidelines used by healthcare professionals to treat
overweight and the beliefs and perceived knowledge that are deeply embedded in their patients.
Rarely are the gaps exposed or resolved through the course of the medical consultation, setting up
an environment for miscommunication, distrust, frustration and disappointment.
Definition of Success
For example, the medical definition of weight-loss "success" is a 10% reduction in body weight.
For a patient who stands 65 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds that equates to a body weight of
180 pounds. Conversely, it is not unusual for weight-loss "success" to be portrayed as the
achievement of an ideal body weight (e.g., 130-140 pounds for the 65 inch patient). In a survey
that quantified this gap, the authors concluded that a majority of patients do not highly value a
10% weight loss.2
Similarly, there is a wealth of science that demonstrates that the method used to lose weight is
important to maximize the health effects and increase the likelihood for sustaining the loss.3 This
science remains largely unknown to the general public.
In an effort to shrink the gap between medical guidelines and consumer beliefs, Weight Watchers
has co-authored a book with leading cardiologist, James M. Rippe, MD. Titled Weight Loss That
Lasts: Break Through the 10 Big Diet Myths, the book examines common beliefs surrounding
weight loss and provides the evidence to put those beliefs into a context that is based in science.4
Karen Miller-Kovach is Chief Scientific Officer & Vice President of Program Development for
Weight Watchers International. She also chairs the Global Development Team, a group of weight
management experts that represent the four international development hubs of the corporation. In
addition, Karen coordinates all clinical research initiatives sponsored by Weight Watchers
International and the Weight Watchers Foundation.
Go to the In the Spotlight archive to see more columns.

Growth objectives
- The needed and desired performance results to be reached by means outside the present
products and markets. Objectives are identified by a direct translation of business goals from the
growth strategy. The growth objectives guide decision making so a firm can reduce the gap
between the forecasts of profit contribution of present products and markets from the overall
objectives.

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Govt, service sector drive smart card growth
If you thought that flashing a plastic card was the privilege of only the educated urban elite, think
again. Smart cards have made inroads into the heart of rural India. And surprisingly, it is the
Centre and the state governments that are taking the lead in bringing technology to the masses.
Srikanth R P and Stanley Glancy tell us more about the status of smart card implementations
across India
How would you like to carry your driving licence, passport identification, insurance policies,
health records, ration card information and other relevant documentation all on one card? How
would you react if you were told that all your provident fund claims could be settled in a matter of
days by just flashing a card? Want to change your address on your passport? Just use your card.

Girish Rangan believes that EMV II compliance will drive the growth of the smart card segment
If this sounds like a scenario from the US or Singapore, think again. For India too is witnessing the
start of a revolution—although on a smaller scale—in the area of smart cards. And unlike other
sectors, it is the traditional laggard—the government—which is driving this growth.
Look at some of the projects being undertaken using smart cards. The Employees Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) plans to issue smart cards for its 2.6 crore subscribers; these cards can be
accessed through its 267 offices. The key advantage is that each member of the EPFO will be able
to access his account irrespective of the place he is currently employed. Settlement (which now
takes ages) can be done in a matter of days. Two states, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh (MP), have
started adopting the concept of smart cards and are issuing smart card-based driving licences. The
smart card can not only hold details about the driving licence but also store a variety of data like an

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individual’s signature, fingerprint and even his photograph. The traffic police would also be able to
enter data about traffic violations in the smart card. Automobile owners benefit because they do
not have to bother about carrying their ragged and torn paper licences wherever they travel.
In Kerala, the state government is issuing smart card-based ration cards for monitoring the
distribution of supplies through the public distribution system. In a country that is ravaged by
pilferage of resources at various points in the system, the use of smart cards can cut down on fraud.
In a small village called Naila in the Jaipur district of Rajasthan, rural women are using smart
cards to improve milk collection methods. The smart cards are used in recording the amount,
quality and fat content of milk sold to milk distributors. The smart card includes a picture
identification, and serves as a non-transferable bank book. This project has eliminated middlemen
and increased profits.
The use of smart cards can also bring down India’s high corruption levels. Says Pradeep Kumar,
country director, ST MicroElectronics India, "Take the banking segment. We have lots of
customers in rural India who are not educated, and may be cheated by touts and corrupt officials.
But with smart cards, all transactions are digitally recorded and tamperproof."
Indian scenario
Though smart card use in India still lags behind other Asian giants like China, the potential is great
since a range of applications can be incorporated into a smart card. Unlike normal plastic credit
cards, smart cards are embedded with a small microchip, which can be programmed to perform
specific functions for the end-user. Smart cards can also store up to a thousand times more data
than other traditional media (like the magnetic strip) used on credit cards. What’s more, each
application can have its own logical space on the card, and can be read or written onto thousands
of times. It is not surprising therefore that smart cards have now begun to proliferate in almost
every sector.
Comments R D Grover, managing director, CMS, "The main advantage smart cards have for a
country like India is that unlike magnetic cards they are not dependent on an online infrastructure.
Also, unlike magnetic cards, one can deploy multiple applications—like a ration card, passport,
driving licence, access authorisation or registration certificate—on a single smart card."
Additionally, the processing power of a smart card makes it ideal to mix and match multiple
functions. For example, government benefit cards can be used to provide users access to other
benefits such as healthcare clinics or job training programmes. Similarly, a college identification

26


card can be used to pay for food, phone calls or even to access the Internet in the campus cyber
cafe.
Market research firm Frost & Sullivan (F&S) puts the value of the smart card market in India at
$5.1 billion, and a compounded annual growth rate of 39.8 percent. India’s fast-growing cellular
market is a key driver of this usage as it alone accounts for over 95 percent of smart card usage by
way of SIM cards in mobile phones. This potential would be much more if the same cards were to
be upgraded to support more applications.
Says Girish Rangan, managing director, Venture Infotek Global, "Smart cards were introduced in
India only 3-4 years ago, but since then the number have grown steadily. From approximately 30
lakh in 2000, we have grown to about 68 lakh smart cards today." Adds Anil Gupta, managing
director, BGS Smartcard Systems India, "The future is definitely bright for the smart card industry
in India, with growth being driven by ID projects, driving licences and the financial services
industry. However, like any new technology, it will take some time before gaining mass
acceptance."

Pramod Rao says that innovative applications like smart cards integrated with biometric
technologies will drive smart card growth
Pioneering projects
Apart from e-governance initiatives, there have been a couple of projects by organisations like
BPCL. The corporation launched a smart card known as the PetroCard, with a loyalty programme
branded PetroBonus. PetroCard is a loyalty card whereby customers get additional mileage points
or ‘petromiles’ for using the card. The points are stored directly on the card, with loyalty
statements printed out with each transaction. The project has turned out to be a phenomenal
success, and now there are more than ten lakh customers using the card.
Also much talked about is the BEST project in Mumbai where smart cards were proposed to be
used on its public transport buses. The project began in August 1998, and the idea of smart cards
was mooted for solving the problem of issuing loose change, and for increasing overall efficiency.
Explains Amit Phatak, industry analyst, IT practice, F&S, "About 51 percent of BEST’s total
expenses are costs incurred due to salary. If the entire bus fleet was equipped to handle smart
cards, there would be around 22-25 percent reduction in staff costs. The biggest advantage for

27


BEST would be that all its passengers could have a smooth and hassle-free ride." It was a
significant moment for the smart card industry, since it was for the first time in India that a mass
transport organisation had decided to go in for smart cards. The project was well-received, and
over 6,000 smart cards were issued in about four months. Going by the initial reaction, BEST
officials were optimistic that the entire fleet would be equipped for validating smart cards. The
concept was good as it not only allowed bus conductors to be less burdened with cash handling and
ticket issuing, but also addressed issues like coin shortages, counting cash and daily accounting.
Since all transactions were recorded on a memory pack in the smart card validator, the data could
be used in different ways, from identifying non-profitable routes to maintaining punctuality.
Though BEST did not face any technical glitches, the project failed to take off as BEST did not
have the required funds (close to
Rs 60 crore) for installing the smart card validating equipment on all its buses. If this pilot project
had taken off, the use of smart cards would have risen to a new level in the country."
Another important milestone in the history of the smart card market in India was a project
sponsored by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and named SMARS (Smart Rupee System). The
pilot project aimed to make the IIT-Bombay campus a cashless one. Since IIT-Bombay is like a
self contained unit, the project was seen as a kind of testbed to evaluate the potential of smart
cards. The SMARS project was also significant as it involved many partners. IIT-Bombay and the
Institute of Development and Research in Banking Technology jointly coordinated the project.
State Bank of India, Canara Bank and Citibank were the banking partners, while representatives
from Aplab, Ascom, EximSoft, CMS Computers, Schlumberger, VeriFone, Gemplus, SGS
Thomson and HCL Deluxe were involved in providing the terminals, cards, software and
settlement systems. Unfortunately, even this venture slowly slipped off the radar screen.
Recalls P NKaranth, director of marketing at EximSoft, "Residents and merchants around the
campus participated, and the aim was to develop common technical infrastructure to promote
interoperability of competing card schemes and find ways to encourage wider acceptability for this
sophisticated retail payment mode. By May 1999, final specifications of the smart card system’s
interface standards for payment system applications were submitted to the RBI for adoption at the
national level. However, due to various technical reasons, RBI could not make use of the
specifications, and the struggle is still on in another form for the acceptance of smart card e-cash

28


transactions in India." A great project thus remained a pilot project, and today no player is too sure
about its status.
But despite the small number of failures, smart card players are optimistic about the few successful
projects which could inspire others. Take the example of MP, which launched a project for issuing
driving licences and vehicle registration certificates based on smart cards. MP currently has around
30 lakh driving licences and registration certificates for commercial and non-commercial vehicles.
Every year about 1,84,000 new driving licences and 2,50,000 registration certificates are issued
manually. Think of the potential if all these licences are digitised; it would lead to a paperless
administration, less corruption, and would be easy to monitor. The terms of the agreement signed
between the vendor and the government is also a case study for future government projects. Since
Smart Chip (the vendor implementing the project) invests money in the technology, the
government does not incur any additional expenditure for issuing smart card-based licences and
certificates. Smart Chip recovers its cost as it gets a pre-determined rate per licence/certificate
issued. This could be the way forward for cash-strapped state
governments.
Agrees Vinay Sawarkar, executive director-eSolutions, Rolta India, "The government has been
acting as a catalyst for various applications like driving licenses, national ID card, ration card, etc.
Various state governments have been introducing smart card-based projects on a build, own,
operate and transfer (BOOT) basis wherein complete investment is done upfront by the
participating vendors. Once the deployment is successful in a few states, other states will follow
suit."
Authentication & identification
Compared to traditional magnetic strip cards, smart cards offer enhanced security as they can
incorporate encryption and authentication technologies. For example, smart cards can be combined
with biometric authentication methods to control fraud and misuse. Says Pramod Rao of Zicom
Secure, a specialist firm in the area of security, "One of the most recent innovative uses of smart
cards integrated with biometric technologies has been in jails. We designed an application to
ensure that the actual criminal is present in the jail, and not an impersonator. With smart card and
biometric integration, all prisoners have to enrol themselves in the morning and evening to ensure
that the prisoners are physically present."

29


P N Karanth feels that for a developing country like India it is imperative to stop the pilferage of
resources at various nodes in distribution channels, which can be ensured by using smart cards
Another notable achievement in the field of secure smart cards has been implemented by Siemens
Information Systems (SISL). Currently there is a shortage of cards which incorporate more than
one biometric feature, since the task of packing more applications (like, say, facial recognition) is
extremely difficult. But SISL has worked around this impediment with the introduction of the
Intelligent Digital Passport (IDP). The technology allows three levels of biometrics to be
incorporated on the card to provide maximum security—fingerprint identification, facial
recognition and voice recognition. What’s significant is that the company has managed to
compress all these features into data of just 6 KB in size, and which can be incorporated on a 32
KB chip, leaving enough space for other applications.
The Indian government now plans to issue multi-purpose identity smart cards to about 29 lakh
people in selected areas of 13 border and coastal states by next year as part of an exercise to
strengthen security. A smart card incorporating biometrics and a photograph would serve as proof
of identity, and also would be tamperproof. This can go a long way in reducing terrorism-related
activities.
Explains Karanth of EximSoft, "We think that this project is of vital importance to national
security. With India’s long and porous border, and with a lot of unwanted elements moving freely
across this border, monitoring the area is a tough task. Additionally, verifying the authenticity of
ID papers can be time-consuming. Smart cards can definitely ease the situation, and are a step in
the right direction." On the same lines, the Indian government is also thinking of a smart card-
based national identification card for detecting illegal immigrants. If implemented, this project
would create mega opportunities for Indian smart card players.
Challenges
While there are numerous instances in India where smart card projects were visualised, most of
them didn’t progress beyond the pilot stage. The ability of various service providers and the
government to convert vision into reality will be a pointer to the evolution of the smart card market
in India. Additionally, there is a lack of standardisation across the Indian smart card industry,
which is a hurdle to growth; smart card applications in different states may be incompatible if they
are built using different standards.

30


Fortunately, the government quickly realised this could be a potential stumbling block, so it
specified a standard for operating system specifications for transport applications in India. The
system is called the Smart Card Operating System for Transport Applications (SCOSTA). Explains
Grover of CMS, "SCOSTA is an important step in the right direction, and can help solve
interoperability problems before they arise. All driving licences issued in the country will have to
adhere to this standard. Once SCOSTA is implemented, it will be much easier for different states
to implement projects and applications since the operating system is going to be the same across
the country."
Future
With global financial institutions pushing for migrating their credit card and debit card transactions
towards smart card-based transactions, the future of smart cards does seem bright. Says Rangan of
Venture Infotek, "From year 2005 onwards, as per EMV II compliance (Europay, Mastercard,
Visa), all new credit/debit cards will be issued only on chip (instead of magnetic strip) which will
drive huge growth in this segment. Security concerns in financial transactions will also force banks
to opt for smart cards sooner or later."
Also, India’s fast-growing cellular base will be another big contributor to this growth. If the
government’s plan to set up a national ID system takes off, the growth of smart cards will be
phenomenally high. Also, the emergence of contactless smart cards could be a key driver for smart
card usage—the next time you drive on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a smart card reader at the
toll bridge could just debit the toll from the smart card fixed on your car as you drive past the
bridge.
Whichever way you look at it, the future of smart cards in India looks very bright.

Smart card market: Percent of unit shipment by application (India), 2001-05
Year Telecom % Banking & Retail(%) Transport (%) Healthcare % Government %
Others %
2001 68.9 16.5 0.55 0.03 13.7 0.32
2002 66.5 17.9 0.53 0.03 14.7 0.34
2003 64 19.4 0.57 0.04 15.6 0.39
2004 62.5 20.7 0.57 0.04 15.8 0.39
2005 59.6 23.7 0.72 0.05 15.5 0.43

31


Note: All figures are rounded; the base year is 2001
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Notable smart card projects
1. PetroCard issued by BPCL.
2. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and Siemens’ joint venture project to
offer smart card facilities to EPFO’s 2.6 crore subscribers.
3. Initiatives by state governments like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to issue smart card-based
driving licences.
4. Rajasthan milk card project—the world’s first milk collection system based on smart card
technology, and run exclusively by women.
5. The RBI-sponsored SMARS project, which involved the issuing of smart cards to the
students and staff in the IIT Bombay campus.
6. The BEST project to solve the problem of loose change, ensure better administration, and
increase efficiency. This project was significant as it was the first time that a mass transport
organisation in India decided to go in for smart cards.
7. The Kerala ration card project to monitor the distribution of supplies through the public
distribution system. The project has helped in cutting down pilferage of resources at various points
in the system.
Why India is a hot spot for smart cards
• Asia-Pacific accounts for approximately 30 percent of worldwide smart card sales, and is
the second-largest market after Europe. India is said to be the next big market after China and
Japan for smart card growth.
• In addition to various e-governance projects, smart card-based projects like the national ID
card, driving licence and vehicle registration will drive the use of smart cards in India.
• Frost & Sullivan puts the value of the smart cards market in India at $5.1 billion, with a
compounded annual growth rate of 39.8 percent.
• The requirement of smart cards as identity cards, and combined municipal and welfare
cards, is expected to be 60 crore by 2005.
• The demand for smart cards in healthcare and transportation is expected to reach 35 crore
by 2005.

32


CHAPTER IV

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE

33


34


Organizational Profile

Sundaram Finance Ltd incorporated in 1954 has grown today into one of the most trusted
financial services groups in India.
Today, the activities of the group span savings products like Deposits and Mutual Funds, Car and
Commercial Vehicle Finance, Insurance, Home Loans, Software Solutions, Business Process
Outsourcing, Tyre Finance, Fleet Cards and Logistics Services.

History:
The Company was incorporated in 1954, with the object of financing the purchase of commercial
vehicles and passenger cars.
The company was started with a paid-up capital of Rs.2.00 Lakhs and later went public in 1972.
The Company's shares were listed in the Madras Stock Exchange in 1972 and in the National
Stock Exchange in January 1998.
Subsequently, the equity shares of the Company have been delisted from Madras Stock Exchange
Limited (MSE) with effect from January 27, 2004, in accordance with SEBI (Delisting of
Securities) Guidelines, 2003, for voluntary delisting.
Founder:
For him it was a lifetime involvement in automobiles, finance and philanthropy
Born on November 8, 1912, Mr.Santhanam had his education in Madurai. In 1930, he joined his
father in business, and thus began a life-time involvement in automobile and finance.
He was not only deeply involved in negotiations with foreign collaborators for the manufacture of
quality auto components, but also in financial planning and project financing. His financial acumen
was always regarded highly, not just in the TVS group, but outside as well. He served on the
Government's Direct Taxes Advisory Committee, and the study Group on Road Transport
Financing among others.
For Mr.Santhanam, quality was paramount. He ensured that his auto component distribution
companies provided transport operators genuine and quality products at fair prices.

35


He was also the founder chairman of trade associations such as the Federation of Automobile
Dealers' Association and the South India Hire Purchase Association.
He was an ardent supporter of sports, especially football, cricket and tennis. In the late 1940s he
promoted TVS Greens, which had several leading national football players. A keen tennis player
himself, he sponsored several leading players during the early stages of their career. He was often
spotted at Wimbledon during the tennis fortnight cheering on India's maestro, Ramanathan
Krishnan.
He championed educational, religious and charitable causes and was instrumental in donating large
sums of money from the companies with which he was associated.
T S Surendran, Vice-Chairman of Sankara Nethralaya, said Mr.Santhanam had contributed
liberally to "the cause of our foundation." He was associated with the foundation for over 25 years.
The Sundaram Medical Foundation and the hospital managed by it stand testimony of his keen
interest in charitable causes.
"Work was worship for him," according to officials in the TVS Group. "His number sense was
incredible," said a ranking official of Sundaram Finance, who had worked with him closely. He
knew his principal employees by name and qualification. He kept himself updated on the
happenings in the group companies and attended meetings of the Sundaram Finance Board till
recently.
Mr.Santhanam, according to T T Srinivasaraghavan, Managing Director of Sundaram Finance, was
a "visionary."
Even in early 1950s, he had understood the need for a good road infrastructure. "He tirelessly
worked for the uplift of transport operators," Mr.Srinivasaraghavan said, and pointed to the travels
Mr.Santhanam had undertaken across the country often sipping tea with the drivers.
Mr.Santhanam brought to bear such involvement in the non-banking finance business, encouraging
small players to become corporate entities. "He never saw anyone as a competitor," he said

36


Milestones:
IN RECOGNITION OF SERVICE TO INVESTORS
A Certificate of honour was given by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analyst, in recognition of
the Company's efforts to set a trail blazing record of investor rewards , fostering the equity cult on
ethical lines among the top hundred investor rewarding companies in India for the period 1990-95.

Birth of Sundaram Finance
First finance company to be listed on the Madras Stock Exchange.
Started Leasing operations.
Formation of Lakshmi General Finance
Receivables crossed Rs. 1000 crore (Rs. 10 billion)
Deposits crossed Rs. 500 crore (Rs. 5 billion)
Formed Sundaram Newton Asset Management Company Ltd. in collaboration with Newton
Management Ltd., UK.
Received Best Tax Payer Award
Received Best Tax Payer Award
Receivables crossed Rs. 2000 crore (RS. 20 billion)
Promoted Fiat Sundaram Auto Finance Limited, a joint venture with Fidis S.p.A., Italy
Promoted Sundaram Home Finance Limited with equity participation from International Finance
Corporation (IFC), Washington, and FMO Netherlands
Promoted Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture with Royal &
Sun Alliance Plc, for Non-Life Insurance
Promoted Sundaram Infotech Solutions - Infotech division of Sundaram Finance
Promoted Sundaram Business Services - BPO arm of Sundaram Finance
Merger with LGF making SF Billion dollar Balance sheet NBFC
BNP Paribas Asset Management Group, France acquires 49.90 % stake in Sundaram Asset
Management Company Ltd from SFL.
Union de Credit pour le Batiment SA (UCB), a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas SA,
France acquires 49.90% stake in Sundaram Home Finance Ltd from SFL.

37


Awards Received:

• Certificate of Commendation’ award by the Government of India under the scheme of
“Good Tax Payers”.

• “Second Best Tax Payer” in the category of Private Sector Company for Assessment Year
1994-95 in Tamil Nadu Region, from the Income Tax Department, Tamil Nadu.

• ‘Rolling Trophy’ by Rotary Club of Madras South West for Best Employer-Employee
Relationship for the year 1995-96.

• “Best Tax Payer” in the category of Private Sector Company for Assessment Year 1995-96
in Tamil Nadu Region, from the Income Tax Department, Tamil Nadu.

• “Automan Award” to Shri T S Santhanam, Chairman, from Motor India in 1998.

• “Pioneering Service Award” to Shri T S Santhanam Chairman, from Chennai Good
Transport Association.

• “Sarige Ratna Award” to Shri T S Santhanam, Chairman, from the Bangalore City Lorry
Transporting Agents’ Association (Regd).

• “Most Valued Customer Award” to Shri T S Santhanam Chairman, from the State Bank of
India.

• “The Best Financier of the New Millennium 2000” to Shri. G K Raman, Managing
Director, from the All India Motor Transport Congress.

38


Company Structure:

Chairman Sri S Viji

Director Sri S Ram, Sri S Narayanan , Sri A Rangaswami , Sri S Padmanabhan,

Sri T R Seshadri

Managing Director Sri T T Srinivasaraghavan

Deputy Managing Director Sri Srinivas Acharya

Company Secretary Sri. S Venkatesan, CFO & Secretary

Compliance Officer Sri. P N Srikant, Assistant Secretary

Types of Business: Investments: 1) Deposits 2) Mutual Fund.

Retail Finance: 1) Car Finance 2) Home Finance.

Business Finance:
1) Commercial Vehicle.

2) Equip met Finance.

3) Tyre Finance

4) Fleet card

39


Services:

1) Infotech solutions.
2) Business Process Outsourcing.
3) Logistics Services.
4) Insurance.

Group Companies
Sundaram Finance
Lakshmi General Finance
(since merged with SFL on 1/4/2005)
Sundaram BNP Paribas Asset Management
Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance
Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance
Sundaram Infotech Solutions
Sundaram Business Services
Sundaram Finance Distribution Limited
LGF Services Limited
Infreight Logistics Solutions Limite

40


CHAPTER V

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

41


42


Analysis and Finding Part
1) Vehicle

50

40
40

30

20

17 17
Percent

10

7
0 3 3 3 3 3 3
1997-08 1999-08 All All types Tractors
1997/07-08 2001-08 All type Car Truck/04-08

VEHICLE

Interpretation: As graph clearly indicates that 40% of customers were having almost all the
models of vehicle followed by tractor, trucks and car.

43


2) Occupation

Other

16.67

Business

33.33

Transport Student

40.00 10.00

Interpretation:
The above graph indicates the occupation of the people. By looking at the graph, most of the
customer’s occupation falls in the group of transportation that is 40% and 33.33% are business
people, 10% are the students who are very few and 16.67% of the customers are scattered to
different occupation.

44


3) Are you aware of Fleet card?

No

3.3%

Yes

96.7%

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates the awareness of people regarding the fleet card. By looking at the
graph we can say that almost every other person is aware of the fleet card that is 96.7% of the
surveyed people know about the fleet card and there are very small percentage of people are not
aware of it that is 3.3%.

45


4) Are using fleet card?

80

70

60

40

30

20
Percent

0
Yes No

Are you using fleet card?

Interpretation:

By looking at the awareness level of the customers towards fleet card we can definitely
interpret that there are many people who use fleet card. Looking at the above graph 70% of the
survey population use the fleet cards and there are very few that is only 30% of them do not use
fleet cards.

46


5) Which company fleet card do you have subscribed?

Others
4.76 / 4.8%
Reliance

9.52 / 9.5%

Sundaram Finance
85.71 / 85.7%

Interpretation:

The above graph represents the different company’s fleet cards used by the surveyed
population. Among them most of the customers use the fleet cards of Sundaram Finance as
indicated by the above graph about 85.7% of them are the users of fleet cards of Sundaram
Finance, and the remaining percentage of people use different company’s fleet cards like Reliance
of about 9.5% and others 4.8%.

47


6) What type of services you look in fleet card?

Free credit period s
9.5%

Security
14.3% Easy to operate
14.3%

Cash less transactio

61.9%

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates the various services, which the customers look in for the usage of
fleet card. By looking at the above graph we can interpret that large number of customers look for
the cash less transaction services as shown in the graph about 61.9% of the customers prefer for
cash less transaction and 14.3% of the customers look for the ease with which one can operate that
is the comfort ness and 14.3% of the customers prefer security and the rest 9.5% of the customers
look for free credit periods.

48


7) Are you aware of Sundaram Finance fleetcard

100

80
80

60

40

20
Percent

20

0
Yes No

Are you aware of Sundaram Finance fleet card?
?

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates the awareness level of people towards the Sundaram finance fleet
cards. The above graph shows that 80% of the people are aware of the fleet cards offered by
Sundaram Finance and very few survey customers that is only 20% of them are not aware of the
fleet cards offered by Sundaram Finance.

49


8) How did you come to know about Sundaram Finance Fleet card?

Petrol/Diesel outlet

4.5%

Word of mouth

31.8%

Through compny execu
63.6%

Interpretation:

By looking at the above graph one can say that about 63.6% of the customers came to know
about the fleet cards offered by Sundaram finance through the company executives, and 31.8% of
the customers are aware mainly due to word of mouth, and remaining 4.5% of the customers came
to know about fleet cards through various petrol and diesel outlets which they visit.

50


9) Do you want to have a Sundaram Finance Fleet Card in future?

70

60
60

50

40
40

30

20
Percent

10

0
Yes No

Do you want to have a Sundaram Finance Fleet card in future?

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates the market potential for the Sundaram Finance Fleet Cards. The
above figure shows that 60% of the customers do not wish to purchase the fleet cards of Sundaram
Finance, Though 60% of the customers say no to the company’s fleet card still 40% of the
customers who are willing to purchase the fleet cards of the company and so the 40% of the market
has to be tapped by the company.

51


10) How long you had been using Sundaram Finance fleet card?

2 to 3 years
11.8%

1 to 6 months
41.2%

7 to 12 months

47.1%

Interpretation:

The above graphs indicate the duration of the fleet cards used by the customers of the
company. From the graph we interpret that about 47.1% of the customers have been using fleet
cards from 7-12 months, and 41.2% of the customers have used it for a period of 1-6 months and
remaining 11.8% of the customers have been using it from 2-3 years. So we can say that there are
very few customers who had been using it from 2-3 years.

52


11) Which Fleet card do you have in Sundaram Finance?

70

67
60

50

40

30 33

20
Percent

10

0
Smart Fleet card Extra Pow er

Which fleet card do you have in Sundaram Finance?

Interpretation:

The above graph represents the type of fleet cards particularly of Sundaram Finance used by
the customers. 67% of the customers use the smart fleet card offered by the company and 33% of
them use Extra power fleet card and so we can say that the potential for smart fleet card is high.

53


12) Are you satisfied with the credit limit provided by Sundaram Finance?

No

5.56 / 5.6%

Yes
94.44 / 94.4%

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates the satisfaction of customers towards credit limit facility provided
by Sundaram Finance. The graph shows that most of the customers are satisfied with this service
and the percentage is 94.4% and the remaining 4.6% of the customers are not satisfied with this
service.

54


13) Are you satisfied with the interest charged by Sundaram Finance?

100

94

80

60

40

20
Percent

0 6
Yes No

Are you satisfied with the interest charged by Sundaram Finance?

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates the satisfaction of customers towards interest charged by
Sundaram Finance. The graph shows that most of the customers are satisfied with the interest
charged and the percentage is 94% and the remaining 6% of the customers are not satisfied with
this service.

55


14) Are you aware of free credit period?

Yes

33.3%

No

66.7%

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates the awareness of customers towards free credit period allowed by
the company. About 66.7% of the customers are not aware of free credit period and only few of the
customers, that is about 33.3% of them are aware of it.

56


15) Are you aware of loyalty points? & have you ever redeemed your loyalty points?

100

80
78

60

40
Percent

20 22

0
Yes No

Are you aware of loyalty points and have you ever redeemed your loyalty

Interpretation: According to the graph 78% of the customers were not aware about loyalty
points which were given by the company to their customers as a added service.

57


16) How do you feel about the application procedure?

Tedious

10.5%

A verage

15.8%

Easy
73.7%

Interpretation:
The above graph indicates the customer’s opinion about the application procedure.
The graph shows that 73.7% of the customers feel that the application procedure is easy , 15.8% of
them feel that it is average and the remaining 10.5% of the customers feel that the procedure is
tedious.

58


17) How do you feel about the acceptability of the SF card in various fuel outlets?

100

80 83

60

40

20
Percent

0 6 6 6
Satisf ied Dissatisfied
Not satisfied Highly dissatisfied

How do you feel about the acceptability of the Sundram Finance card in v

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates the customer’s opinion about the acceptability of the Sundaram
Finance card at various fuel outlets. The graph shows that 83% of the customers are satisfied with
the acceptability, 6% of them feel that they are not satisfied with the acceptability, 6% of them are
dissatisfied and the remaining 6% of the customers are highly dissatisfied. Overall the satisfied
percentage of customers is high.

59


18) Easy to operate

E grade
5.6%

B grade
5.6%

A grade
88.9%

Interpretation:
The above graph indicates the satisfaction level of the customers the service of easiness to
operate.

60


19) Security

E grade

5.6%

D grade

5.6%

C grade
B gradeq
38.9%
50.0%

Interpretation: As the graph indicates about 50% of the customers have given their opinion about
security as B grade and even 38.9% of the customers were C grade.

61


20) Cross tabulation between fleet card users and service they expect in fleet card?

Are you using fleet card? * What type of services you look in fleet card? Crosstabulation

Count
What type of services you look in fleet card?
Free credit
Easy to Cash less period
operate transaction Security scheme Total
Are you using fleet card? Yes 3 13 3 2 21
Total 3 13 3 2 21

Interpretation:
The above table indicates the relationship between fleet card users and service they expect in
fleet card. From the above table we can interpret that there are 21 fleet card users in total and out
of those 21, 13 users would prefer cash less transactions and 3 of them expect security and the
remaining 3 expect easiness in its operations.

62


21) Cross tabulation between Sundaram Finance Fleet card users and how did they come to
know about that?

Are you aware of Sundaram Finance fleet card? * How did you come to know about
Sundaram Finance Fleet card? Crosstabulation

Count
How did you come to know about
Sundaram Finance Fleet card?
Through
compny Word of Petrol/Diesel
executive mouth outlet Total
Are you aware of Yes
Sundaram Finance 14 7 1 22
fleet card?
Total 14 7 1 22

Interpretation:

The above table indicates the relationship between fleet card users and the awareness of that
particular company’s fleet card. From the above table we can interpret that there are 22 fleet card
users of Sundaram Finance and out of those 22, 14 users came to know about fleet cards of
Sundaram Finance through company executives, 7 users are aware due to word of mouth and 1
user came to know through petrol and diesel outlet.

63


22) Cross tabulation between Awareness level and future prospective?

Are you aware of Sundaram Finance fleet card? * Do you want to
have a Sundaram Finance Fleet card in future? Crosstabulation

Count
Do you want to have a
Sundaram Finance
Fleet card in future?
Yes No Total
Are you aware of Yes 2 2 4
Sundaram Finance
fleet card? No 2 4 6
Total 4 6 10

Interpretation:

The above table indicates the relationship between awareness of fleet card and the willingness
of the customers to purchase the fleet card of Sundaram finance in future. From the above table we
can interpret that out of 4 customers 2 of them wish to purchase company’s fleet card and the
remaining 2 do not wish to buy it this means there is only 50% scope for the purchase of card. And
out of 6 customers who are not aware of fleet card only 2 of them wish to purchase it.

64


23) Cross tabulation between Users and Credit limit satisfaction level?

Are you using fleet card? * Are you satsfied with the credit limit
provided by Sundaram Finance? Crosstabulation

Count

Are you satsfied with
the credit limit provided
by Sundaram Finance?
Yes No Total
Are you using fleet card? Yes 17 1 18
Total 17 1 18

Interpretation:

The above table indicates the relationship between fleet card users and the credit limit
provided by Sundaram Finance. From the above table we can interpret that there are 18 fleet card
users in total and out of them, 17 users are satisfied with the credit limit provided , 1 user is not
satisfied with the credit limit provided by the company.

65


24) Cross tabulation between Users and Free credit period?

Are you using fleet card? * Are you aware of free credit period?
Crosstabulation

Count
Are you aware of free
credit period?
Yes No Total
Total 6 12 18

Interpretation:

The above table indicates the relationship between fleet card users and the free credit period
allowed by Sundaram Finance. From the above table we can interpret that there are 18 fleet card
users in total and out of them only 6 users are aware of the free credit period provided, and 12
users are not aware of the free credit period provided by the company.

66


25) Cross tabulation between Users and Acceptability of the Sundaram Finance card in
various fuel outlets?

Are you using fleet card? * How do you feel about the acceptability of the Sundram Finance card in
various fuel outlets? Crosstabulation

Count
How do you feel about the acceptability of the Sundram
Finance card in various fuel outlets?
Highly
Satisfied Not satisfied Dissatisfied dissatisfied Total
Are you using fleet card? Yes 15 1 1 1 18
Total 15 1 1 1 18

Interpretation:

The above table indicates the relationship between fleet card users and their opinion about the
acceptability of the Sundaram Finance fleet cards at various fuel outlets. From the above table we
can interpret that there are 18 fleet card users in total and out of them 15 users are satisfied with its
acceptability, and remaining users are not satisfied with its acceptability.

67


26) Cross tabulation between Users and Loyalty points?

Are you using fleet card? * Are you aware of loyalty points and have
you ever redeemed your loyalty points? Crosstabulation

Count
Are you aware of loyalty
points and have you
ever redeemed your
loyalty points?
Yes No Total
Total 4 14 18

Interpretation:

As this summary indicates that more than 75% of customers are using fleet card but they
were not aware of loyalty points which is considered as one of the service feature provided by
company.

68


27) Cross tabulation between satisfaction level of service provided and customers
recommendation to others?

Are you satisfied with the service provided by Sundaram Finance
fleet card? * If Yes, would you like to recommend it to others?
Crosstabulation

Count
If Yes, would you like to
recommend it to
others?
Yes No Total
Are you satisfied with Yes
the service provided
11 7 18
by Sundaram
Finance fleet card?
Total 11 7 18

Interpretation:
The above table indicates the relationship between satisfaction level of customers towards the
services provided and customer’s recommendations to others. From the above table we can
interpret that there are 18 fleet card users who are satisfied with the services provided and out of
them 11 users would like to recommend it to others and remaining 7 users would not wish to
recommend it to others.

69

A project report on gap analysis of service delivered to sundaram finance ltd

A project report on gap analysis of service delivered to sundaram finance ltd

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A project report on gap analysis of service delivered to sundaram finance ltd