SANY’S new dedicated parts warehouse in Coatbridge is said to have been warmly welcomed by the company’s dealer network and customers.
The multi-million-pound investment in the facility — which is located next door to SANY’s UK headquarters in the M8 Interlink Estate — is designed to transform parts availability and ensure that orders are turned around more quickly and efficiently.
Boasting a floor area of some 11,000 square feet, the warehouse has been acquired following a significant impact made by SANY since the manufacturer targeted the UK market with its portfolio of construction equipment.
Leigh Harris, business development director for the UK and Ireland, told Project Plant that parts can be despatched overnight and arrive with the customer the next day.
“We’ve probably been a lot more successful than we envisaged since we set up the Coatbridge operation two years ago,” he admitted. “We’ve got 11 independent dealers now. We’ve grown the business really quickly and realised last year that we just wouldn’t have enough space in our current facility to look after our customers as well as we would like.
“As a new brand coming to the UK, there was always a concern from the customer base that they can’t get parts and service. Our focus was to give that confidence to the market and demonstrate that our priority is ensuring we look after our customers when machines go down, when they need parts and servicing. Hence why we decided to invest in the new dedicated parts warehouse sooner rather than later, so that we don’t have to rely on long lead times to get components.”
The parts warehouse is a short walk across the car park from SANY’s Coatbridge base. Previously an industrial unit left vacant by another company, SANY jumped at the opportunity to snap up the site. One major advantage of its close proximity to the HQ is that no employees have had to be relocated.
A six-month redevelopment project has resulted in the installation of five aisles of bulk racking, a two-tier picking tower, parts counter, an area for fast moving parts, and office space.
The facility has been fully operational since January and stocks everything from fuel caps and filters through to engines, track tensioners and cabs.
Leigh added, “We’re now stocking over 10,000 parts and over 250,000 individual items, which have been shipped in over the course of the last six months in containers from our main warehouse in China.
“Normally about once a month we receive a container load of parts. It really depends on the requirements of the customer base. Just before Christmas we managed to complete a big order with a key account for 100 machines. At the same time, we also placed an order for three container loads of parts, so that if those machines need parts or servicing in future, we’ll have them on the shelf.”
In terms of room for further expansion, Leigh stated there is the potential to install mezzanine flooring if necessary.
“As SANY continues to grow in the UK, if this warehouse isn’t sufficient, the business will look to take on another unit or possibly another parts warehouse somewhere else in the country,” Leigh explained. He stated that it’s ‘definitely not the case that we’ve taken this parts warehouse and that’s it for the next five years’. As new product lines are introduced to the UK, the company is prepared to invest further.
“We’ve now got six people working in the parts department,” Leigh added. “We’re turning orders around in 24 hours and parts are being despatched for next day delivery. Our parts availability is obviously significantly improved. We’ve got a good, efficient system and people on the ground to make it all happen.”
Leigh revealed the plan for this year is to continue to grow SANY’s market share on excavators. A number of new product launches are planned for 2023, including a two-tonne electric excavator – the SY19E – which made its UK debut at the Executive Hire Show. Two new telehandler models – 14 and 18-metre machines – are coming to the UK market in the coming months along with two wheel loader products.
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, Leigh is confident in making more progress over the next 12 months, singling out the Scottish market as one where SANY continues to see significant growth.
“We’ve had a great start to the year in Scotland,” he explained. “The Scottish market has started really strongly for us.
“We’ve found there’s a couple of areas (elsewhere in the UK) which probably aren’t quite so strong, mainly caused by the weather and just a little bit of uncertainty around the economic climate. Generally speaking, we’ve got lots of opportunities and we’re still very optimistic that although the market probably won’t be as strong as it has been in the last year or two for construction sales, that we can grow our market share and continue to grow our customer base.
“We’ve got a great product line; and we still offer a five-year warranty on all our machines. The machines come with a very high specification and represent great value for money as well.”
