- The Logistics Centre of the Inchcape Group involved an investment of over three million pounds sterling and is one of the largest in its sector in Colombia.
As part of its regional integration strategy for spare parts operations, the Inchcape Group has inaugurated a new logistics distribution centre for parts of its automotive and machinery brands. The Logistics Centre in CLIS spans a total area of 9,440 square metres of storage, making it one of the largest self-operated facilities in Colombia. It has been designed to world-class standards to address the challenges of the national market.
This new centre represents a step forward in the company’s efficiency strategy. By consolidating its logistics operations in a single location, the Inchcape Group’s brands in Colombia will be able to centralise inventory management, optimise physical and human resources, and improve service levels for light vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles, and machinery.
According to Héctor Corredor, General Manager of the Inchcape Group in Colombia, “this transformation represents not only an operational improvement but also a strategic milestone for the organisation, strengthening its ability to respond to market demands in line with the group’s plan to increase its share in the Colombian automotive market over the next five years.”
The Inchcape Group made an investment of over three million pounds sterling, equivalent to approximately 15.8 billion Colombian pesos or 3.9 million dollars, allocated to construction, technology, equipment, and infrastructure maintenance. The new logistics centre represents a 15% increase in surface area compared to the company’s previous capacity in Colombia, with a 50% growth in pallet positions.
The facility features over 12,000 pallet positions, 18 loading docks with automatic levelling ramps, a concrete floor with a load capacity of 14 tonnes per square metre, two mezzanines specialised in spare parts, three intelligent vertical storage systems of the Modula type, a WMS (Warehouse Management System) configured for the sector, and 100% radiofrequency inventory management, among other features.
This centre is expected to have a direct impact on network optimisation, as it is backed by an average monthly inventory of 89 billion pesos across all represented brands. Additionally, a 15% increase in operational productivity is projected, thanks to efficient space utilisation, the application of advanced storage techniques, the reduction of rework, and improved cycle times. All of this results in greater availability and efficiency of parts and spare parts for the Inchcape Group’s customers in Colombia, as well as shorter waiting times in aftersales and repair processes.
In line with its commitment to sustainability, the centre utilises 90% natural lighting and 10% intelligent LED technology. All equipment is electric, 75% of OEM packaging material is reused, and 50% of the local fleet operates on electric power.
“This facility is one of the most important in Colombia and the largest directly operated by a company in the automotive sector. The investment demonstrates the Inchcape Group’s commitment to our operations in Colombia and our ability not only to meet the demands of a growing market but also to contribute with innovation and sustainable development to the challenges of the economy,” highlighted Claudia Vírguez, Logistics Director of the Inchcape Group in Colombia.
The commencement of operations at this distribution centre will enable agile and efficient operations for the parts business in the automotive and machinery sectors for the brands marketed and/or represented by the group, such as Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, Subaru, GWM, Citroën, JAC, Hino, Mack, Komatsu, among others.