Leveraging Digital Twin for Business Model Innovation at Ashok Leyland (A)
By Chandan Chowdhury
ISB (distributed by Harvard Publishing, IVY Publishing, DARDEN Business Publishing, and the Case Centre) | September 2024
Citation
Chowdhury, Chandan. (2024). Leveraging Digital Twin for Business Model Innovation at Ashok Leyland (A) ISB (distributed by Harvard Publishing, IVY Publishing, DARDEN Business Publishing, and the Case Centre) .
Copyright
ISB (distributed by Harvard Publishing, IVY Publishing, DARDEN Business Publishing, and the Case Centre), 2024
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Abstract
Ashok Leyland (AL), the automotive arm of the conglomerate Hinduja Group of India, was among the world’s leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles. Venkatesh Natarajan, President of IT and Chief Digital Officer at AL, had actively led the digital transformation movement for AL for over a decade.
Leveraging Digital Twins for Business Model Innovation (A), is set in January 2022; Natarajan reflects on the digital transformation journey of AL while addressing a summit on the ‘Future of Factories’ in Chennai. He highlighted AL’s footsteps in the domain of Commercial and Connected Vehicles and how AL transitioned from a product to a services-led, data-driven organization. He narrates how AL leveraged digital technologies for its future readiness to mitigate turbulence in the business environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. AL created digital twins, which led to a plethora of business cases for AL. The Case leaves the reader thinking if connected vehicles could translate to a higher share of wallet from the customer. Could this help amplify returns from vehicle sales?

Chandan Chowdhury is a Professor of Operations Management and Information Systems (Practice) at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He is also the Executive Director of the Munjal Institute for Global Manufacturing and the Punj-Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management at ISB.

Additionally, Professor Chowdhury serves as a Member of the Board of Governors at IIM Sambalpur and Lamrin Tech Skills University.

Before joining ISB, Professor Chowdhury worked in the corporate sector and was associated with three major multinational companies, where he held positions such as Managing Director and Country Manager. He served Dassault Systèmes for over five years, initially as Managing Director, India Geo, and subsequently as Vice President, Global Affairs.

During his last academic appointment, he was Professor, Dean (Academy), and Chairman of the Board of Research at IIM Mumbai (formerly known as NITIE- National Institute of Industrial Engineering, established as a joint initiative between the United Nations and the Government of India in 1963).

He is passionate about leveraging technology to make the world a better place. He served as an expert panel member at NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India, Government of India), helping to develop the Manufacturing India@2035 roadmap. He is also Chairman of the Technical Committee (Management and Productivity) at the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Professor Chowdhury is currently leading several research projects of national importance, such as ‘A Decade of Infrastructure Development in India: trends and Insights’, ‘Challenges and Opportunities for accelerating MSME’s growth’, ‘Making India a Skill Capital of the World,’ ‘India’s readiness for the 4th and the 5th Industrial revolution,’ and ‘Future of Jobs’.
He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and a PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and a PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

Chandan Chowdhury
Chandan Chowdhury