Leyland to practise spare part surger
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LEYLAND has begun to supply parts for other makes of commercial vehicles through its distributor network. The Multipart service will eventually cover 68 parts categories including clutches, brakes, filters and fuel pumps and 21,000 part numbers for all popular makes of lorries operating in this country, reports TIM BLAKEMORE.
Clutches, filters, RollsRoyce and Perkins engine parts are the first four product groups, the rest are to be introduced in stages up to 1984.
Currently 43 Leyland franchise holders throughout the country have been appointed as Multipart specialist distributors and each one of these has a computer terminal linking it to Leyland's central parts warehouse at Chorley.
If the part required is not in stock at the distributors an immediate response from the computer will confirm whether or not it is available from Chorley.
Parts ordered under the VOR (Vehicle Off Road) system can be delivered to the listributors within 24 hours.
Alan Simpson, Leyland's marketing director responsble for Multipart, told me that Leyland had started the service in order to win back some )f the business lost by manufacturers to factors in • ecent years.
He realises that a definite hange in operators' parts maying policies is needed for hem to go to a Leyland disributor for Volvo, DAF or 3edford parts, but he believes .hat competitive prices and ;ood service will persuade :hem to do so.
No age limit has been set for iehicles catered for by the ;ervice — potential sales 7olume is the criterion — so, 'or example, clutch covers and liscs are available for Seddon 7our-Series and Volvo F12s.
Twelve makes of vehicle, ipart from Leyland, are inluded in the first four product ;roups. All Multipart products lave a one year unlimited nileage warranty.
The success of importers in ncreasing their share of the commercial vehicle market is another reason for Leyland diversifying its parts business to utilise fully the warehouse at Chorley — already claimed to be the largest commercial vehicle parts store in Europe and now undergoing further expansion.
In 1973, 30 per cent of the UK's commercial vehicle market over 31/2 tonnes was held by Leyland whereas in 1979 that share had fallen to 17 per cent.
A key part of the new venture is the computer system which went "live" in January 1978 and has been used since then by distributors for VOR orders and stock inquiries for lorry and bus parts.
The computer itself, an IBM 3031, is housed at Walton Summit just outside Chorley and holds information on 135,000 current Leyland part numbers and 140,000 superseded ones.
If an inquiry for a superseded part number is received, the new number is automatically transmitted back to the distributor. From the 67 terminals currently in use, Walton Summit receives approximately 1500 inquiries and 700 VOR orders each day.
Without the computer, the task of compiling the Multipart application manual, which shows original part numbers, Multipart number and part applications, would be lengthy and expensive.