The heavy-duty aftermarket had a run on distribution channel news in late May when Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) and Meritor each opened new parts distribution centers (PDC), and Navistar earned performance awards at three of its North American facilities.
PDC news stories aren’t the flashiest or most eye-catching articles we run in Truck Parts & Service — I think you can guess those are the merger, acquisition and new product announcements — but for most of you, unless an M&A release features your company’s name, I’d bet there are few news items that have a more direct impact on your business than a new PDC.
Think about it. We in trucking like to tout the importance of our industry by telling others that “everything you buy was delivered by a truck.” Well, Mr. Distributor, nearly everything you buy and stock was delivered to your facility from a PDC. Those enormous business park palaces define your inventory and how you go to market.
Just look at how the new DTNA and Meritor PDCs are changing their delivery speeds.
For those distributors reading in Eastern Canada, Meritor’s new location in Mississauga, Ontario, will soon provide you “greater ordering flexibility and shorter lead times,” says Brett Penzkofer, vice president of Aftermarket, North America.
The story is the same in Grimes, Iowa, where DTNA says its new facility will enable the OEM to deliver parts to more than 80 percent of its dealer channel in 12 hours or less. Both locations will feature same-day shipping for parts ordered by 4 p.m. local time and, in the case of DTNA, 5 p.m. for critical and warranty repairs.
If you’re a distributor or dealer served by these new facilities, you know how big of a deal same-day and 12-hour delivery can be. You know what the wait used to be.
