German luxury carmaker, is betting big on future growth in India. Yet another confirmation of its intent was seen in the inauguration of the largest parts warehouse in the luxury-car industry and the company’s largest retail training academy in South Asia, christened Mercedes-Benz Academy, in Chakan, near Pune.

This infrastructure expansion by Mercedes-Benz India is a strong reiteration of the growing relevance of the Indian market and a strategic step towards future readiness to cater to the growth in the sector. The parts warehouse and the Mercedes-Benz Academy were inaugurated by Till Conrad, head-region overseas, Mercedes-Benz Cars at Daimler AG and Roland Folger, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.
  
Speaking on the occasion, Conrad said, “India remains one of the bright spots for Mercedes-Benz and this critical expansion of infrastructure. Mercedes-Benz is not only expanding its infrastructure here in India, but also strategically developing the skill-set of its workforce, ready to capitalise the future growth of the luxury industry. We are confident that initiatives like these will make the brand future ready.”

Dr Till Conrad, Head - Region Overseas, Mercedes-Benz Cars, and Roland Folger, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, inaugurating the Vehicle Preparation Centre on September 15.

Roland Folger added, “Creating the largest parts warehouse in the luxury car segment equipped with state-of-art technological processes, automations and also inaugurating South Asia’s biggest Mercedes-Benz Academy are significant accomplishments for Mercedes-Benz India. These initiatives are result of our focused customer orientation that will help create a long-term value to our discerning patrons, giving us a competitive edge in this dynamic market.”

Asia’s largest luxury car parts warehouse

The parts warehouse, which is spread across 16,500 sq. mt., can accommodate up to 44,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), has a multi-tier shelving system (G + 2 Levels) with in rack sprinklers in shelving system at every three metres. There are 10 outbound docks for loading and dispatching the material, and six inbound docks for receiving materials.

The warehouse, which caters to over 50 locations, is equipped with modern material handling equipment  like High Level Order Picker (HLOP), Low Level Order Picker (LLOP) and Reach Trucks (RT)) for efficient operations. To drive operational efficiency, there is Spare Parts Automation (SPAN).