From the beginning of July this year Penske will manage the storage and supply of “significant SKU volumes” of vehicle and motorcycle parts, according to the company, as well as ‘lifestyle items’, from the 80,000-square-metre facility to BMW Group dealerships in North America.
“We are very pleased to expand our current relationship with Penske Logistics,” said Lawrence Demski, department head, BMW of North America Parts Logistics. “We are confident this global company will deliver world class performance at our largest parts distribution centre in North America serving BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad.”
Penske Logistics has been working with BMW since 2007 and provides a variety of services including transport and supply chain management for the carmaker’s inbound to manufacturing needs at the Spartanburg plant in South Carolina. It also supports BMW’s aftermarket and semi-knockdown (SKD) inbound transport network.
Penske Automotive Group, which is one of the largest dealer groups in the US, operates 12 BMW dealerships across the country for BMW (nine of which stock the Mini brand).
Penske Logistics said employment would be offered to BMW employees at the facility and the company has worked with both BMW NA and the UAW Local 2326 leadership to reach a labour agreement for the unionised workforce at the site, as well as providing a transition plan for the workers.
“We are pleased to further expand our existing relationship with BMW,” said Penske Logistics president Marc Althen. “We are collaborating closely to ensure a smooth transition of the operations and in welcoming the employees into our organisation.”
Earlier this year BMW North America signed contracts with real estate-developer Prologis to build two new parts centres in Redland, California and Dallas, Texas, respectively. The move follows BMW selling an existing parts centre in Ontario, California, which also had union staff (read more here).
