Capital Equipment News April 2015

TRANSPORT

quirements and are capable of delivering logistics solutions that work smoothly in their day-to-day reality. Parts are supplied to the Johannesburg RDC from the various brands’ Central Parts Distribution Centres (CDC) in France (Re- nault Trucks), Japan and Singapore (UD), Sweden and Belgium (Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo Bus, Volvo Penta and Vol- vo Trucks). According to Colin Govender, general man- ager, Logistics Services, for the southern and East African region, local operations have refined their processes to ensure on- time local delivery for all brands. “We have agreements in place with the various CDCs for the prompt processing of emergency parts, as well as for day and stock orders. Agreements are also in place with transport providers for the forwarding and clearing of daily air and weekly sea shipments – ensuring a continuous flow of regular maintenance, as well as critical parts to dealers and ultimately to custom- ers,” said Govender. The Volvo Group RDC has a same-day delivery policy to dealers within 50 km of the facility, and a 24/7 set-up in place for emergency parts. Overnight and next day deliveries are in place for the remainder of the dealers across South Africa, as well as up to twice weekly dedicated deliveries to export dealers outside the country. Most of the advancements and facilities in the new RDC have been made to increase the efficiency and accuracy of parts deliv- ery to customers. These include more floor space to manage inbound parts, as well as for the checking and packing of orders. There is also a new bin store that creates opportunities to store small parts in a mod- ular way, as well as an increased number of bays for large parts. The facility has staff compliment of 16 office workers and 52 industrial workers – all of whom have been trained in the new ware- housing processes and systems to ensure accuracy, productivity and efficiency. “The integrated warehouse boasts one sys- tem that effectively covers all the brands supported from South Africa,” said Govender. “Ultimately, this means one defined process, one way of developing the competencies of our staff, and creating more opportunity to have multi-skilled people that can support the operation in different areas as needed.”

VOLVO GROUP SA opens new R60 million integrated parts distribution centre

The Volvo Group SA has officially opened its new Regional Distribution Centre in Boks- burg. This new upgraded facility, which now incorporates the parts warehousing and logistical services for the various Volvo Group brands operating in southern Africa, was established at an investment of ap- proximately R60 million. The more than 52 000 parts housed in the new Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) include stock items for Volvo Bus, Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo Trucks, Vol- vo Penta, Renault Trucks and UD Trucks. The main warehouse size was increased to 11 500 m² and now also has an addi- tional 1 500 m² storage capacity for cabs, as well as for hazardous materials such as coolants. “As the Volvo Group SA we believe that the merger of our warehouse facilities under one roof will enable us to better support the company’s future growth within south- ern and East Africa,” said Torbjörn Chris- tensson, president of the Volvo Group SA. “It is therefore a strategic investment in our future and will enable us to support our customers more efficiently and timely, especially in light of the significant volume growth our brands have experienced over the last number of years.”

Group RDC will lead to more speedy parts deliveries, more streamlined and efficient operations, as well as increased warehous- ing capacity for all its brands. “Increased uptime for our customers is one of our core objectives within the Group,” explained Christensson. “Customers are rightly demanding exceptional parts avail- ability – something we believe we will be able to achieve with the new facility, its innovative systems and skilled workforce.” Across the world, the designing, managing and optimising of logistics services within the company falls under the auspices of Volvo Group Logistics Services within the Group Truck Operations (GTO) division. “The aim of Volvo Group Logistics Services is to deliver services with world-class op- erational excellence, in an efficient and sustainable way, thereby reducing costs, disruption and environmental impact,” said Christer Svärd, senior vice president of Volvo Group Logistics Services. “We also aim to constantly ensure the global avail- ability of aftermarket parts to dealers and end-customers at the right time, the right place and at the right cost.” Svärd said that after more than 50 years of global experience within this industry, the company understands customers’ re-

In essence, the new consolidated Volvo

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