Scania signs three-year deal with Unipart to manage service parts centre in Kunshan, China

Scania has signed a three-year agreement with Unipart for the provision of aftermarket logistics services in China. Unipart is working out of Scania’s new logistics facility in Kunshan, south-eastern Jiangsu province, to consolidate localised and imported parts. Scania is now able to deliver the full range of service parts to all its dealer locations across China from the Scania China Parts Center.

Scania has a directly owned dealership and service centre in Guangzhou but distributes parts to a network of affiliated dealers across the country. Unipart supports Scania’s supply chain in China, providing transport, inland haulage, storage and pre-manufacturing value-added services.

Unipart will be working with Scania to expand the logistics operation at Kunshan to double its size in the next 12 months. The facility currently covers almost 3,000 sq.m and brings together three prior parts warehouses. Scania said that the integration brings an 120% increase in capacity and a 50% increase in operating efficiency, with inventory order processing cut by 1.75 days. That will significantly improve the supply speed and responsiveness of aftersales parts, according to the truckmaker.

Smart packaging
The Scania Parts Center has digitalised processes and improved the transparency of the service parts supply chain in China. Scania said that optimised parts packaging enables customers to track orders by box number, achieving more accurate parts tracking and greatly improving customer experience. The packaging is helping to make loading more efficient, shortening delivery time and reducing logistics costs. It is also helping to tackle counterfeiting of parts. Operatives can scan the exclusive Scania QR code with mobile devices which runs through an anti-counterfeiting query system to accurately check the authenticity of parts. Scania said the system helps customers purchase genuine Scania original parts, protecting the quality of parts and customer rights.

“The successful launch of this project is a direct consequence of Unipart and Scania teams working in partnership to deliver a strategically important offer for their supply chain,” said Darren Leigh, CEO of Unipart. “We look forward to the benefits of this collaboration directly delivering Scania’s growth strategy in China.” 

Scania will open a $2.28 billion manufacturing hub in China in October this year with plans to make 50,000 commercial vehicles when fully operational. Located in Rugao, Jiangsu province, 150 km northwest of Shanghai, the new factory will be Scania’s third global production base, along with Sweden and Brazil. 

“The Scania China Parts Center is a powerful supplement to Scania’s investment and production in Rugao, China,” said David Källsäter, managing director of Scania Sales China. “It is also a key step in Scania’s China service strategy upgrade. It is an in-depth practice and important milestone in its long-term cultivation of the Chinese market. And this is just the beginning of our improvement of customer after-sales service quality.”