The power to suprise keeps on growing
From importing and retailing two model ranges through 12 dealerships in 1998, to eight complete model ranges sold through 70 dealerships, KIA Motors has seen dramatic growth and expansion in its sixteen years of doing business in South Africa.
With stellar sales figures across all the KIA model ranges, the brand makes up a notable portion of the South African car market. Yet it’s not only our cars that deliver on our brand promise, “The Power to Surprise”. With a state-of-the-art parts distribution centre, the company’s parts availability and exceptional service levels are critical to KIA’s success in the local market.
Formed in 1998, KIA Motors South Africa (KMSA) initially operated out of a 40m² warehouse in Kempton Park, from which the parts warehouse moved to a much larger, 500m² facility in Springs in 1999. The next year, the parts warehouse moved a second time, and again to a larger, 800m² facility in Germiston.
In 2002, KMSA built a brand-new head office in Meadowdale, which included an adjacent parts distribution centre (PDC) covering a massive 2 620m². However, due to the considerable growth in South Africa even this facility proved insufficient.
Representing a R65 million investment, KIA Motors South Africa’s new PDC, located in Germiston, was operational by mid-January 2012, and officially opened as part of KMSA’s Annual Dealer Conference on March 2, 2012. It’s a state-of-the-art facility that offers 5 303m² and a generous maximum storage height of five metres.
The facility currently holds stock worth more than R40 million, with 16 000 lines comprising all parts that move twice in a six-month cycle. With such abundance of stock at hand, and especially on those line items that have high turnover, KMSA has been able to ensure that its dealer network can offer customers top-notch service levels with quick turnarounds.
“Parts availability is definitely not a problem for KIA Motors South Africa,” continues Hans Stenger. “They are ordered by the dealerships in real time and couriered from the PDC twice a day for delivery on the next business day.
Our Gauteng-based dealerships can also collect directly from the PDC if a part is needed urgently,” he adds. “Often these parts are slow moving or once-off items that are produced in Korea upon request only,” explains Stenger, “making it unfeasible to stock. However, all parts ordered from Korea are shipped with air-freight to South Africa in order to be delivered in 10 working days.”
Occasionally KMC is out of stock on certain items, which can add three to four weeks to the process. “In such instances, and if the service or repairs fall within the customer’s warranty period, we supply the customer with a rental car,” Stenger concludes.
