Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has opened a massive 80 000 sqm parts warehouse – the largest in the Southern Hemisphere – and production has resumed at its Prospecton, Durban factory after being flooded by two devastating rainstorms earlier in the year.
The parts facility provides service to 277 Toyota, Lexus and Hino dealerships in South Africa (BLNE countries), 36 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and six international export markets.
It houses around 2,700 million pieces of stock at any moment and ships roughly 22 000 order lines to local dealers and a further 3 500 order lines to the export market.
“I’m happy to report the R365-million expansion of the Atlas Parts Warehouse, that kicked off two years ago, is now complete!” says Andrew Kirby, President and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM).
“It also gives me great pleasure to announce that this facility will, going forward, be known as the Toyota Africa Parts Centre or the TAPC.”
Phase one of the warehouse launched in 2012. Toyota has been working out of two warehouse units since then. The second phase, formally launched in Boksburg, seeks to consolidate operations under one roof.
According to Anand Pather, TSAM’s Vice President of Customer Services: “The expanded warehouse allows us the opportunity to streamline our processes and operations.
Toyota is globally renowned for its Smart production and management systems. The automaker plans to pilot NEV transport for its dealer network distribution.
The company plots to go entirely off the grid in 2023 and intends to expand its solar yield and add battery storage capacity to support extended operational hours.
