A must-read for the MDs, CEOs, CXOs, Plant heads, Supply Chain Heads, Operations Heads of the automobile sector, and others

After the success of its first business novel in India, Vector Consulting Group launches its 2nd edition of "Apparent in Hindsight". Presented as a story of two key managers of a company, the narrative follows their personal and professional struggles as they deal with conflicts and contradictions that life throws at them. Vinod K Dasari, who served as the CEO of Royal Enfield, and was a leader across automobile companies, says in the book's Foreword, "The authors present issues and facets of an auto components company in a way that leaves you feeling as if they were present in some of your meetings . the reader is led step by step - through a series of disagreements, missteps, unexpected inspirations, and light bulb moments - towards the logic of the solutions."

The book closely examines and challenges the fundamental assumptions that have held firm since time immemorial, and guided the management of these companies across departments of procurement, operations, distribution, and sales, creating situations where the inherent dependency that exists in the system is ignored. The book categorically brings out how silo-based solutions or problems dealt with in a symptomatic manner, end up creating solutions at one end and problems at the other.

The novel is also a commentary on the state of the much-haloed improvement techniques being employed by companies for decades - large and small alike - with little improvement to show for the humungous efforts being put into finding relevant solutions. The endeavour of the book, written in an engaging and relatable way, is to examine and apply practical methods of improving the state of affairs of companies. Interesting and immersive solutions provided in this 2nd edition have made it more compact, powerful, and focused.

Niranjan Kirloskar, MD, Fleetguard Filters Pvt. Ltd. says in the Afterword, "Apparent in Hindsight is a practical guide and call-to-action for Tier-1 and Tier-2 auto component companies grappling with chronic issues like unreliable supplies, continuous expediting, frequent rescheduling of production plans, unsatisfactory capacity utilisation and unavailability in the After Market. The book allows us to look anew and deliberate upon these issues by asking some fundamental, albeit uncomfortable questions . through a process of reflection, analysis, and evaluation, the book guides its reader to an understanding of a surprisingly simple solution to the complex set of problems. At Fleetguard, we have been practising this philosophy since 2007. All our systems are based on the Theory of Constraints. "

Speaking about the book, Vector Consulting Group's spokesperson and Director Mr. Puneet Kulraj said, "We are very excited to launch the second edition of our book 'Apparent in Hindsight'. This book is a culmination of more than a decade's experience in implementing the Theory of Constraints solutions in about 50 companies. Management books present a theory with examples, but this flawed approach of confirmation bias leads to randomly correlated variables being presented in an unscientific manner despite the data available. We have presented the ideas in a story format avoiding the confirmation trap and reaffirming reader friendliness. Breakthrough solutions after being verbalised are apparent only in hindsight!"

The book is focused on the Indian auto component industry, and highlights highlighting the unsolved problems, and the need for a system approach to deal with such situations. Long workdays and sleepless nights at the end of each month, quarter, and year are a part of the inescapable norm for most automobile managers, and for whom where work-life balance only remains only on rosy posters. If you find yourself complaining about these typical industry issues, you need to pick up this book and give it a thorough read. The book is published by Rupa Publications.

About Vector Consulting Group

Vector Consulting Group is a management consulting firm with a focus on a single solution offering to help clients build unique operations and supply chain capabilities that can be leveraged as a competitive edge in the market. Vector uses the platform of Theory of Constraints (TOC) solutions and thinking processes for developing these capabilities for its clients. Vector Consulting Group is widely known for being an implementation-focused consulting firm with a unique risk-sharing model of consulting, unprecedented in the Indian industry.

Founded in 2006, Vector is now one of the largest and fastest-growing management consulting companies in India, well within its first decade. Vector has pioneered the Theory of Constraints implementation in companies belonging to large corporate houses in India such as Tata Motors, TVS Group, Cummins, Kirloskar, and Larsen & Toubro, among many others. www.vectorconsulting.in.