General Motors Expands its Aftersales Support to Sub-Saharan Africa

General Motors's Parts and Distribution Centre (PDC) - geared up to support parts and accessories requirements for their new one ton pick-up which will be launched across Sub-Saharan Africa.

General Motors (GM) recently introduced a brand new business model for the new Isuzu Pick-up for its Parts Dealers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at its R250 million PDC, which boasts over 144 000 different part numbers, servicing key markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

GM has earmarked 600 square metres of floor space within the 38 000 square metre warehouse of its PDC facility located at Coega near Port Elizabeth.

Up until recently GM's operations in South Africa exported Isuzu parts to four countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which included Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique.  The company's customer base has now increased to 25 countries across the SSA region.

"We've been planning for the last 18 months to make this happen in the most efficient way with the objective of offering extreme customer service and support," said Brian Hunter, GM South Africa General Manager for Parts Marketing Sales.  "This investment will instil confidence that we take our SSA customer base seriously and, together with our SSA Dealer Network, we intend to provide industry leading Aftersales Support for many years to come," said Hunter.

"We have appointed a dedicated Logistics Service Provider (LSP) that will handle the parts to the various Dealers in SSA.  This service provider will be responsible for selecting the best suitable packaging for the parts in the most appropriate materials for the specific country."

According to Hunter, most Isuzu Pick-up parts will be air freighted to countries in the SSA Dealer Network, as this will ensure the fastest possible service to the Dealers and their customers.    
"In addition, we have a very robust internet ordering system which will enable Dealers to order parts directly from the warehouse.  Dealers will be able to see what the inventory levels are at the time of placing an order.  The live-update system will allow Dealers to have full visibility of all part numbers in the warehouse at anytime.  The system will also enable Dealers to place orders for parts that might not be within the facility at the time of ordering."

"We will also be shipping an initial order to every country in SSA.  We've planned an initial shipment which will have a variety of critical parts, so that if there is an immediate requirement the Dealer will have stock on hand."

Ross Johnston, GM South Africa Parts & Accessories Marketing Manager, said the new dedicated warehouse for SSA Dealers within the PDC will optimise storage and logistical operations and accelerate the distribution of Isuzu parts and accessories to the company's SSA Dealer Network in the 25 countries.

Johnston added, "A total of 154 accessory components, ranging from carpets to tow bars, will be made available to SSA Dealers.  The Isuzu Pick-up vehicle is manufactured to be accessorised and there are many options for both the Dealers and customers."