Ford has opened a parts distribution centre (PDC) in Bangna-Trad, Thailand, to more effectively support its growing dealer network in the country and also support demand in adjacent export markets.
The carmaker has invested 100m baht ($3m) in the centre, which has 26,000 sq.m of storage space and can stock more than 2m parts. The carmaker said it had room to extend the facility to almost 80,000 sq.m.
“This new PDC further enhances our ability to efficiently service customer vehicles at Ford dealerships across the country by storing a vast amount of parts that are required for both preventive maintenance and general repairs and service for all models,” said Narong Sritalayon, deputy managing director, Ford Thailand.
The facility will use Ford’s Panda warehouse management system and has full access to Ford’s parts inventory across all nine Asia Pacific markets from which to source parts.
“Being fully integrated into our Asia Pacific parts inventory network helps ensure the seamless delivery of any required parts,” said Narong.
The PDC features a 9-metre high racking system, a multi-level mezzanine and multiple loading docks.
Ford is seeing continued growth in demand for its Ranger pickup truck and Everest mid-size SUV. Thailand saw the fastest sales growth for the Ranger in the Asia Pacific region. In the first half of this year, it sold 20,230 Ranger vehicles, a 51% jump over the same period in 2016, giving it a market share of almost 12%. Half-year sales of the Everest, meanwhile, rose by 14% to 3,647 vehicles.
