The Swedish brand Volvo recently received awards from Carlisle & Company for their excellence in the distribution of their service parts. Volvo Cars North America was given the distinction as having the number one automotive parts distribution network in the United States by the private consulting firm.
Carlisle & Company polled 14,000 parts manager which represents 19 car manufacturers with operations in the United States to come up with the winner for the distinction.
"Being selected as top performer has been one of our long term objectives, actually since 1992," says Robert Deutsch, the North American Parts Manager for Volvo Cars. "We started with a rather good system and have systematically improved it over the years. Today our total service parts network is focused on delivering the right part, at the right time, every time... we strive for perfection," he added further.
The award given to the company is the Service Parts Supply Chain Fulfillment. The award recognizes the Swedish firm's dedication to provide their consumers utmost satisfaction in every part of Volvo car ownership. The distinction means that Volvo is successful is providing spare parts like to their consumers. They achieved this feat by making sure that their parts distribution network is effective in its task.
"Today, the new car sales experience is just the first touch for customers visiting Volvo retailers. Ownership expectations, and of course meeting those demands, are key to having repeat new car sales," says Deutsch. "Our whole parts organization should take credit for this achievement. Without a collective effort and holding to our long standing objective of end service to the customer, this award would not have been possible."
Aside from the Service Parts Supply Chain Fulfillment award, Carlisle & Company also acknowledged Volvo Cars of North America as one of the three Best Practice Leaders for Global Supply Chain Fulfillment. The three winners of the award came from the automotive, agriculture, and construction equipment fields. "Volvo was the only automotive manufacturer to be recognized for superior total Parts distribution processes," says Deutsch of the citation.
"Our global approach is based on Volvo Cars, Sweden's unique approach of handling functions that best done centrally and of allowing in-country markets to be a local extension of the total logistics system. We have an extremely good supply structure that is both global and local at the same time," he continues.
The Swedish company is known for producing safe cars and this year has marked its 80th anniversary. For the 2008 model year, the company's offering for the United States auto market are the Volvo S40, S60, S80, V50, V70, XC90, C30 and the C70. These cars are known for their safety - in fact, the C70 convertible recently received the Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This shows that Volvo does not only excel in the distribution of their auto parts but also in providing their customers with safe vehicles.
The award was announced after rumors started in the auto industry surrounding the fate of Volvo Cars. It is speculated that the Swedish car manufacturer will be sold by the struggling Ford Motor Company. Volvo is currently part of Ford's Premiere Automotive Group (PAG) along with British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover.
