Inside Meritor's Parts Distribution Center
Meritor offers a wide variety of undercarriage and drivetrain components.
Fast moving parts are located in the VAS Supermarket. This area of the PDC went through a lean transformation to take waste out and add speed and agility in order to better react to market needs.
Large overhead cranes are used to move larger parts and components throughout the PDC.
Palletized orders are ready to be shipped. Orders to various regions of the country are shipped on different days of the week. Truck-down orders are shipped every day all over the country.
Parts pickers are given the spatial location of the parts. Once in the correct area, they pick the needed quantity of a specific part number. Pickers are also told which box size to use, which eliminate waste and reduce shipping costs.
Items that weigh less than 5 lbs. are packed in bags rather than chip board cartons.
About 18 months ago, Meritor launched a rebranding effort to make it easier for customers to understand the company’s various product offerings. The company recognizes that different types of parts are needed at various stages of a vehicle’s life cycle. It offers Meritor and Meritor WABCO genuine OEM replacement parts for the first owner of the truck, Meritor All Fit parts and Euclid parts for the second and third owner, and Green and Mascot remanufactured components for older vehicles.
Quality is a key driver at the PDC. An on-site lab allows testing and auditing of parts quality. If there is a concern from the field, the lab can measure and diagnose the issue. If tests determine there is a problem, lot traceability allows Meritor to know exactly where other parts from the same lot are so they can notify their customers.
Kits are part of the VAS Supermarket. To ensure accuracy, kit weights are checked. This is part of what leads to the PDC’s 99% inventory accuracy and 99.85% shipping accuracy.
Forecasts are used to ensure the PDC has the parts in stock when the customer needs them.
A Customer Care Center receives approximately 1,000 calls a day. On the day HDT visited, by late afternoon the center had already handled 820 calls.