mercedes india parts warehouse - press release
TRANSCRIPT
Mercedes-Benz sets a new benchmark in
customer orientation: Inaugurates India’s largest
parts warehouse by a luxury car maker and
South Asia’s largest training academy
Mercedes-Benz Academy in Chakan becomes South Asia’s
largest retail training centre for Mercedes-Benz
The Parts Warehouse, the Mercedes-Benz Academy and the Vehicle Preparation
Centre (VPC), are three key infrastructural additions in-line with Mercedes-Benz’s
future growth plan
The Parts warehouse: Spread over 16,500 sq. mt. having a storing capacity of
44,000 parts will improve operational efficiency and enhance spare parts
availability for end customers, resulting in higher customer satisfaction
Mercedes-Benz Academy: This is Mercedes-Benz’s biggest Integrated Retail
Training Centre in the entire South Asia, housed in the current premises
‘Mercedes-Benz Academy’ has a world-class infrastructure of training 225 people
per day from across dealerships
With more than 15 class rooms and equal number of vehicles, this training centre
will be a key strategic expansion for the brand in the Indian market
Vehicle Preparation Centre (VPC): This has been created to accomplish
Mercedes-Benz’s vision to deliver ‘Zero Defect Customized Vehicles with high
Customer Delight’
The new VPC has a capacity of stocking 5,700 units; spread over 5 floors and the
terrace is also the largest of its kind for a luxury car manufacturer in India
The VPC which is located in the premise of the production facility was created in
a record time of just 13 months, with an investment of INR 15 million
An exclusive floor is reserved for CBU and invoiced cars for smooth supervision of
such highly exclusive performance and specialty cars
There are 6 vehicle loading lines for 6 different car carriers | A unique inventory
management software enhances monitoring the movement of vehicles and
maintenance schedules
Press Information
15th September, 2016
An automatic Unique Parking Number (UPN) based on model, color, combined
with automated boom barriers ensures passage for authorized vehicles; drivers
and a digital board displays parking occupancy status
Car Modification Centre: Carries out value added jobs like AMG styling, Decal
Kits, Specialized car upholstery, Specialized paints, Fitment of Rear Seat
Entertainment System, Illuminated Star, Diamond grille, Chrome plates, Alloy
wheels fitment
Pune: India’s largest luxury car manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz, today achieved the
double feat of inaugurating the largest Parts Warehouse in the luxury car industry and
also setting up the company’s largest retail training academy in South Asia– christened
as the Mercedes-Benz Academy. These infrastructure expansions by Mercedes-Benz
India are a strong reiteration of the growing relevance of the Indian market and a strategic
step towards future readiness to cater to the growth in the sector. The Parts Warehouse
and the Mercedes-Benz Academy were inaugurated by Dr. Till Conrad, Head-Region
Overseas, Mercedes-Benz Cars at Daimler AG and Roland Folger, Managing
Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Till Conrad, Head-Region Overseas Mercedes-Benz
Cars at Daimler AG commented, “India remains one of the bright spots for Mercedes-
Benz and this critical expansion of infrastructure and investment in retail training signifies
our strong customer centric approach and long-term vision; which underlines our
confidence in the Indian market. Mercedes-Benz is not only expanding its world-class
infrastructure here in India, but also strategically developing the skill-set of its workforce,
ready to capitalize the future growth of the luxury industry. We are glad to support such
strategic decisions and are confident, that initiatives like these will make the India growth
story more inclusive, making the brand future ready.”
Roland Folger, Managing Director & CEO, commented, “Creating the largest Parts
Warehouse in the luxury car segment equipped with state-of-art technological processes,
automations and also inaugurating South Asia’s biggest Mercedes-Benz Academy, are
significant accomplishments for Mercedes-Benz India. These initiatives are result of our
focused customer orientation that will help create a long-term value to our discerning
patrons, giving us a competitive edge in this dynamic market. At Mercedes-Benz India, it
remains our relentless endeavour to build-on to the strong foundation we have created
for the brand, and further develop a sustainable future for our partners and employees.
Investing in the infrastructure and also in people is a
hallmark of a fundamentally strong brand like Mercedes-Benz, and this strategic decision,
will play a pivotal role in our future growth in India.”
Mercedes-Benz Parts Warehouse:
The Parts Warehouse is spread across 16,500 Sq. Metres and can accommodate
up to 44,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKU’s)
It is equipped with LED lights for energy saving with motion sensors
Wi Fi provision around the entire warehouse for continual connectivity
Multi-tier shelving system (G + 2 Levels) with in rack sprinklers in shelving system at
every 3 meter
10 outbound docks for loading and dispatching the material, 6 inbound docks for
receiving materials
50+ locations catered through newly built warehouse
Modern Material Handling Equipment (MHE) like High Level Order Picker (HLOP),
Low Level Order Picker (LLOP) and Reach Trucks (RT)) for efficient operations
Spare Parts Automation (SPAN) update to showcase operational efficiency | SPAN
1.0 Wholesale – Spare Parts Automation @ Wholesale
Systems designed considering future requirements in warehouse (with efforts
towards paperless warehouse operations)
World class equipment (RD devices) for operations
SPAN mapped with modern MHE’s to improve operational efficiency
Warehouse equipped with specialized safety features like VESDA (Very early smoke
detection alerts), in-rack sprinklers, Air Handling Unit (AHU), etc.
Mercedes-Benz Academy:
Mercedes-Benz’s Retail Training division has been actively contributing in developing,
nurturing and mentoring retail manpower effectively for the last two decades. Be it
establishing the in-house Mechatronics School, successfully driving the ADAM Course
at Government Polytechnic in Pune, Aurangabad and Government Engineering College
Trivandrum, or developing training content creating virtual learning platform for Global
Training of Daimler AG. The Retail training has been the backbone of developing
manpower required to support future business growth.
Mercedes-Benz India now consolidates its Retail Training division and inaugurates its
largest training facility in South Asia, christened as the Mercedes-Benz Academy. The
key objective of this academy will be to pursue the cultivation of knowledge and support
retail manpower growth. Some of the key highlights of the Mercedes-Benz Academy are:
Trainings for 225 participants per day at any given time
Combi-bays: 4 Large bays that can accommodate 2 vehicles per bay, 2 small bays
that can accommodate 1 vehicle per bay
It hosts classrooms, aggregate room and an eLab
Vehicle preparation Centre:
The VPC is created to cater to vehicle storing requirement of Mercedes-Benz India till
2024 and will aid the company’s vision to deliver “Zero Defect Customized Vehicles with
Customer Delight.
At VPC, the vehicles are stored, maintained and prepared for dealer dispatches following
the stringent VPC guidelines laid down by Daimler. Apart from these guidelines, the
system is subjected to Process Audits, Integrated Management System (IMS) Audits and
various Inventory Audits. All the vehicles are subjected to stringent checks during take-
over from production, periodic maintenance and SVC (Standard Vehicle Check) before
dispatching the vehicles to the dealers. Some key highlights are:
Use of an Unique Inventory Management Software which eases the monitoring of the
movement of vehicles, their maintenance schedules and also this software has
features such as Automatic UPN (Unique Parking Number) generation as per model
and colour
Entry is restricted only to authorized vehicles and drivers through automated boom
barriers, digital board displaying parking occupancy status, etc.
Automated key storage and vending machine for safety and faster retrieval of required
key
Automated Conveyor System for Automatic Car Wash Machine which removes
human intervention while placing the car in Auto car wash
State of the art Underground exhaust extraction system in workshop
9 productive bays comprising 5 scissor lifts and 4 two post lifts and a facility to lift
Guard vehicles
Exclusive storage facility for VPC loose parts, welcome kits for customers
A world-class paint booth, paint preparation station for paint repair jobs
A supreme car modification centre to carry out value added jobs like AMG styling,
decal kits, specialized car upholstery, specialized paints, other fitments etc.
###
About Mercedes-Benz India:
For more details, please visit www.mercedes-benz.co.in
Media Contact: Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd.:
Shekhar Das Chowdhury | [email protected] |+91 98508 36477
Reuben George | [email protected] | +91 9823969057
About Mercedes-Benz India:
Established in 1994, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. pioneered the luxury car market in India and boasts of
more than 130 years of cutting edge innovation in the luxury automobile industry globally. Set up in 2009,
Mercedes-Benz India’s world class production facility is spread over 100 acres in Chakan near Pune. Since
June 2015, Mercedes-Benz India also commenced production from its new expanded production facility
located in the same premises. The production facility now carries an investment of INR 1000+ crores and
has the largest installed production capacity for any luxury car maker in India.
Mercedes-Benz India product portfolio comprises the locally produced Mercedes Maybach S 500, S-Class,
E-Class, C-Class, CLA luxury sedans and the GLA, GLE and the GLS luxury SUVs. Completely Built
imported cars portfolio includes the A-Class, B-Class, CLS, E-Class Cabriolet, S-Class Coupé, GLC and
the S 600 Guard a range of other Guard vehicles etc.
The product portfolio also comprises the iconic off-roader Mercedes-AMG G 63 as well as a wide range of
other Mercedes-AMG performance cars like the AMG CLA 45, AMG C 63 S, AMG S 63 Coupe, AMG GL
63, AMG S 63, AMG GLA 45, GLE 450 AMG Coupe, AMG GT S sports car and the AMG SLC 43. Given
Mercedes-Benz’s continuous success in India across myriad spectrum of sales, network, operations,
services, finance, etc. 2016 will be the cornerstone to inculcate the spirit of winning despite emerging market
challenges.
‘Winning with Mercedes-Benz’ philosophy is also derived from the unrivalled success created by the
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team in the highly competitive Formula 1 in the past years. In 2016, Mercedes-
Benz will initiate a range of innovative customer oriented initiatives which are ‘winning’ in nature and will
further underline the brand’s strong customer centric approach. In 2016, Mercedes-Benz began its ‘winning’
motto with the launch of the fascinating GLE 450 AMG Coupe, as the first product of the year. This was
followed up with the introduction of the Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard which is the costliest product from
Mercedes-Benz India fleet, yet. Mercedes-Benz also introduced the S400 flagship sedan and also the
luxurious SUV GLS 350 d. The quintessential SUV that strengthens the SUV portfolio of Mercedes-Benz is
the GLC and this was launched in June. The sixth launch of the year, AMG SLC 43 got launched in India
nearly after four months of its international debut with the 43 nomenclature for the first time in India.
The seventh launch is the petrol variant of the highest selling SUV, GLE 400 4MATIC. The versatile GLS
400 4MATIC with a petrol variant now becomes the eighth launch of the year.
Underlining the service excellence achieved in India, the company has also been ranked number one in
the prestigious J.D. Power Customer Service Index 2015, among all the luxury brands for the second year
in a row. Mercedes-Benz India also registered a historic 32% year-on-year growth by selling 13502 units in
the Jan–December 2015 period and became the No. 1 luxury car brand in terms of sales volumes.
Mercedes-Benz scripted historic sales for the 2015-16 Fiscal Year, selling 13,558 units between April 2015
and March 2016. The company has maintained steady sales growth by selling 6,597 units from January to
June 2016 period. The brand has won as many as 30 prestigious automotive awards conferred by different
media houses across India, the highest won by any luxury automotive brand in India this year.
Mercedes-Benz launched one-of-its kind, innovative service programme, ‘My Mercedes-My Service’. With
the launch of this programme, Mercedes-Benz aims to completely redefine the after-sales experience by
digitizing service process and create an unparalleled benchmark in the luxury car service do-main. ‘My
Mercedes-My Service’ programme comprises industry first initiatives like ‘Digital Service Drive’, ‘Premier
Express Service’ and innovative ‘Service Products’.