Mercedes opens parts warehouse & training centre in Chakan

Mercedes-Benz India has inaugurated a parts warehouse and training academy in Chakan, near Pune. The German automaker claims that this parts warehouse is the largest of its type opened by any luxury car maker in the country. Moreover, the training centre, which is called the Mercedes-Benz Academy, is the company's largest retail training facility in South Asia.

The parts warehouse in Chakan is spread over an area of 16,500 square meters and has a capacity to store 44,000 stock keeping units (SKU’s). It will be catering to the parts demand of more than 50 locations. The warehouse has 10 outbound docks for loading and dispatching the material, while the material receiving duties are handled by 6 inbound docks. Mercedes has used LEDs to illuminate the warehouse, which are expected to reduce energy related costs. The warehouse has a multi-shelving system (G+2 levels), and is equipped with all required safety features like VESDA (very early smoke detection alerts), in-rack sprinklers and air handling unit (AHU) among others. Material handling technologies, like high level order picker (HLOP), low level order picker (LLOP) and reach trucks (RT) are also a part of the warehouse system.

The Mercedes-Benz Academy has been inaugurated with an aim to support retail manpower growth. 225 participants per day can be training in this academy at any given time. It consists of classrooms, an aggregate room, and an eLab.

Mercedes also inaugurated a Vehicle Preparation Centre (VPC), which will essentially be used to store, maintain, and prepare vehicles, before they are dispatched to Mercedes dealers across the country. At the VPC, Mercedes will be carrying out checks on the vehicles during takeover from production, along with periodic maintenance and SVC (Standard Vehicle Check). The VPC will feature a unique inventory management software, that generates an automatic UPN (unique parking number) in order to classify the parking arrangement as per the car model and colour. It also has an automated key storage system and vending machine for safer and faster retrieval of keys. The VPC even houses a dedicated car modification centre for AMG styling, decal kits, specialized car upholstery, specialized paints, and other value added fitments.