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Mechanical Technology — August 2015
⎪
Materials handling and minerals processing
⎪
A
tlas Copco South Africa’s Jet
Park Distribution Centre (DC)
ensures the streamlined deliv-
ery of world-class product and
service solutions to south and Southern
African mining and industry.
The global industrial group serves
customers by “delivering sustainable
productivity solutions through the supply
of compressors, vacuum solutions and
air treatment systems, construction and
mining equipment, power tools and as-
sembly systems” according to Willie Nel,
Atlas Copco DC manager. “Atlas Copco
considers customer service excellence as
fundamental to its sustained success,”
he adds.
“To achieve excellence in this field,
our service and after sales service must
match our world-class product quality
every step of the way,” says Nel. “This is
where our massive, highly organised and
reliable DC – located at our state-of-the
art 78 000 m
2
facility close to OR Tambo
International Airport – takes centre stage.
The DC enables us to enhance our
customers’ service experiences across
the board through the delivery of high
Christopher Ngubane, a material handler,
operating one of the Hubtex forklift trucks in
the Atlas Copco Distribution Centre.
The Atlas Copco Distribution Centre Team is responsible for the streamlined delivery of world-class product
& service solutions.
Willie Nel, Atlas Copco distribution centre manager, talks about the value of
consolidated service delivery for the high-quality products from three Atlas
Copco business areas, namely Compressor Technique, Construction Technique
and Mining and Rock Excavation Technique.
Distribution centre enhances customer
quality, end-to-end product and service
solutions.
“The DC has made it possible for
us to consolidate the warehouse and
logistics and to centralise and sup-
port three Atlas Copco business ar-
eas, namely Compressor Technique,
Construction Technique and Mining
and Rock Excavation Technique, which
includes Rock Drilling Tools (RDT) and
Exploration Products Africa (EPA).”
The Atlas Copco business areas ben-
efit greatly from the DC’s capabilities,
which include parts and equipment
distribution to local and neighbouring
countries, export to various destina-
tions and the supply of a consolidated
storage and distribution service locally
and to neighbouring countries. “We also
operate a structured system whereby
customers can collect from one central
point,” adds Nel.
The DC supports national and regional
activities including regional workshops
and adds value for Atlas Copco branches
through parts replenishment. The centre
currently handles a total of 15 000
product lines for the three business areas
with another 2 500 lines for the mining
business area to be added. Nel explains
that personnel at the DC endeavour to
dispatch all items on the same day they
were picked and pick slips are batch-
released twice a day to ensure as many
back orders are covered as possible.
Special care is also taken to ensure that
all breakdown deliveries, emergencies
and special requests are handled as
per customers’ requirements. “In other
words, the DC enables us to standardise
on high levels of service and ensure that
all customers from all the business areas
are treated equally.”
The DC comprises a total area of
20 800 m
2
of which 9 750 m
2
is under
roof, where smaller product lines, acces-
sories and spare parts are stocked. The
remaining 11 050 m
2
is yard area with
ample space for storing a wide range of
capital equipment for all the business
areas including surface and underground
drill rigs and various other mining equip-
ment, compressors, generators, explora-
tion equipment, road building machinery
and pedestal booms.
The DC presented Atlas Copco with an
ideal platform to create jobs and embrace
good Employment Equity and B-BBEE
practices. All supervisors and the major-
ity of managers are Employment Equity
personnel.
The entire DC team consists of 40
employees: 33 members are on the floor
to take responsibility for picking, packing
and dispatching and seven people look
after administration and management.