Toyota Motor Sales opens new Lexus parts distribution center in Georgia

News Hour:

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. announced that it has officially opened a new parts distribution center (PDC) in Lithia Springs, Georgia. The new Atlanta PDC will employ up to 30 employees in 107,000 square feet of space.

Stocking approximately 43,000 Lexus parts, the facility will serve 27 Lexus dealers in the Southeast, primarily in Atlanta, as well as a five state area that include Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.

“The Atlanta PDC will improve service and support for Lexus dealers in the area, as it incorporates best practices learned at other PDCs,” said Jason Brown, operations manager for Toyota’s Service Parts and Accessories group.

“With same-day service in select metro areas and overnight delivery service by the next business day, we can help our dealers get Lexus Genuine Parts to our customers faster and with more service options.”

The Atlanta PDC offers Lexus dealers a way to place a parts order at the end of the business day and have them delivered before the start of business the next morning.

The PDC will also offer same-day service in some select areas where dealers can place an order in the late morning and either pick up the part at the PDC or at a centralized meeting point. With this service, dealers can have a Lexus vehicle back on the road the same day with minimal inconvenience to the customer.

Additionally, best practices that are incorporated at the PDC include:

• Strategically placed “Golden Zone” storage bins for quick and ergonomic access of the most commonly ordered parts
• The use of Order Pickers, powered equipment that lifts the operator into the air to get parts stored from the floor to the ceiling, to achieve high-density storage
• Rolling deck cages used during delivery to provide damage protection for parts during transportation and to make the drop-off process more efficient

Following a series of test runs prior to facility launch, dealers have expressed highly positive feedback.

“I love the new ‘decked cages’ and bumper and molding boxes as well! Hats off to you and your team. You have exceeded our expectations in every way so far. No damage or errors at this point,” said Lexus of South Atlanta.

From around 2000, Lexus dealers in the Southeastern area have received parts through a TMS partnership with Southeast Toyota (SET) and its facility in Jacksonville, Fla. Considering the growth of their own business since that time, SET needed to regain parts storage capacity at their Jacksonville facility, which led to TMS opening its own distribution center in the region.