Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. has opened a new parts depot in Lithia Springs, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. The parts depot will employ up to 30 employees in 107,000 square feet of space. Stocking approximately 43,000 Lexus parts, the facility will serve 27 Lexus dealers in the Southeast, primarily in Atlanta, as well as a five-state area that includes Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Starting in 2000, Lexus dealers in the Southeastern area received parts through a TMS deal with Southeast Toyota (SET), and its facility in Jacksonville, Florida. SET needed more parts storage capacity at its Jacksonville facility, which led to TMS opening its own distribution center in the region.
“With same-day service in select metro areas and overnight delivery service by the next business day, we can help our dealers get Lexus Genuine Parts to our customers faster and with more service options,” said Jason Brown, Operations Manager for Toyota’s Service Parts and Accessories group.
The Atlanta PDC offers Lexus dealers a way to place a parts order at the end of the business day and have them delivered before the start of business the next morning. The PDC will also offer same-day service in some select areas where dealers can place an order in the late morning and either pick up the part at the PDC or at a centralized meeting point. With this service, dealers can have a Lexus vehicle back on the road the same day with minimal inconvenience to the customer.
Claimed PDC Best Practices
- Strategically placed “Golden Zone” storage bins for quick and ergonomic access of the most commonly ordered parts
- The use of Order Pickers, powered equipment that lifts the operator into the air to get parts stored from the floor to the ceiling, to achieve high density storage
- Rolling deck cages used during delivery to provide damage protection for parts during transportation and to make the drop-off process more efficient
