As the long-standing sole distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Singapore, Borneo Motors has consistently provided the kind of quality service for which Toyota and Lexus are renown. Being customer-centric has also made Borneo Motors the market leader in Singapore’s automotive market.
In anticipation of high growth in the vehicle market and with the relentless pursuit of customers’ satisfaction, the company invested S$17 million to expand its network and upgrade its facilities. This is in line with its “Customers First” philosophy to provide the estimated customer base of 130,000 Toyota and Lexus owners with an after-sales service second to none.
This winning philosophy, coupled with the drive for being at the forefront of innovation to meet customers’ needs, has allowed Borneo Motors to spearhead creative programmes. For example, with Toyota Service Express (TSE), owners can have their cars serviced in just one hour at any of the 8 service centres dotted around the island (for customers who make an advance appointment and come in on time). Furthermore, with the Toyota BodyExpress (TBE), light and medium body repairs can be completed in just 2 and 3 working days respectively. That translates to a whopping time saving of up to 57%. These services also come with a guarantee: in the event that the vehicles are not delivered on time, Borneo Motors will refund 50% of the servicing or repair labour bill.
“This guarantee is the first in Singapore,” said Mr Melvin Low, General Manager, Parts Division, Borneo Motors (S) Pte Ltd.
The concept is adopted from Toyota, which is poised to overtake General Motors as world leader in car manufacturing by year-end. “Toyota’s competitive advantages lie in its world class manufacturing procedures and processes. Basically we design our repair methodology based on this same manufacturing concept, but we modify and localise it,” Mr Low added.
To provide such expedited service, the entire servicing and repair processes are split into constituent parts. For Toyota Service Express (TSE), 2 technicians will be working on a car simultaneously, concentrating on individual areas of the car. This is similar to a pit-stop experience. For Toyota BodyExpress (TBE), repair processes are categorized into 11 stages, enabling the technicians to become highly specialised in their respective areas. Once work is completed in one station, the car is moved along the line, just as in manufacturing. To ensure that everything goes according to script, Mr Low observed “parts and service have to synchronise to ensure 100% serviceability”.
The hybrid system adopted by the company combines Toyota’s exacting standards with Borneo’s prudent business practices. As part of the 4Rs - Right items, Right quantity, Right place and Right time – staff tracks weather patterns and accident records to determine what it should have in stock. “Right now we achieve 96.5% service rate for parts suppliability. Put another way, out of 100 line items required for the service or repair of customers’ cars 96.5% of this would be fulfilled” he added. This is amongst the best for Toyota agents worldwide.
For some engine components, very slow moving and expensive parts, the company finds it more cost effective to airfreight them when needed instead of storing them in anticipation of demand. While the freight cost is higher, it still works out to be cheaper than keeping them in stock. Car owners are not expected to stump up the freighting cost, though jobbers and stockists are.
The parts are delivered to the service centres based on the sell-one-buy-one concept. Supply is triggered by customers’ demand and parts are replenished upon sales. This results in optimisation of space and resources at each service centres’ parts store, ultimately resulting in customer savings.
The Central Parts Depot (or CPD), a 7,222-sq metre facility in Senkee Logistics Hub, is the aftersales distribution nucleus of Borneo Motors. The CPD moved to the present premises in April 2005, double its previous premises, to accommodate its growing parts business. The S$2.2 million facility now carries spare parts for Toyota, Lexus, Hino and Suzuki with a total value exceeding S$11 million.
The shift gave Borneo the opportunity to install the kind of storage system best suited to its requirements. Top on its list was flexibility, which the previous system could not provide. The previous Rack-Up Bin Shelving system had distinct limitations, said warehouse distribution manager - Mr Tan Aik Kee. Often the same product types had to be kept on all three tiers, which resulted in inefficient picking and binning operations and poor location maintenance.
After considering three proposals, Borneo opted for the SCHAEFER System. “The design of SCHAEFER is good and flexible. As it is easy to detach, reconfiguration is simplified. SCHAEFER also has the engineering capability and responds fast to changes. When we provide feedback, they respond immediately.” Mr Tan noted.
After two months of design and consultation and four months of installation, Borneo has a racking system, which meets its exact needs. The system comprises a two-tier R3000 shelving system with 1,080 shelf locations and a selective pallet shelving with 368 pallet locations.
The R3000 - a modular shelving system ideal for auto parts storage – when equipped with a comprehensive range of bins designed for small and medium parts, can be subdivided to optimise storage capacity. The uprights support a platform on which a different shelving layout is fitted (forming the 2nd-tier) to suit the storage of different sized parts. Basically, heavy parts such as doors and windscreens are stored at the 1st-tier on racks with deeper shelf sizes, whilst small and medium sized parts are kept at the 2nd-tier.
Using Galvanised R3000 frames, it is lean but strong. “I can create more space for storage,” said Mr Tan. By using SCHAEFER, Borneo can install 19 racks per row instead of 18 along the depth of its warehouse. Following its installation Borneo has increased its bin shelving area by 80% enabling it to store 30,000 Toyota and Lexus line items and 10,000 of Suzuki’s and still have space to meet its future business expansion.
Being modular it can be easily reconfigured depending on requirements. Fast moving items can become slow moving once the models age, said Mr Low. For Singapore, the process kicks in by the 4th year once the three-year warranty expires. Once the cars have depreciated in value, some owners may switch to replacement or after-market parts, so as to lower the cost of ownership.
For more information, please contact:
Schaefer Systems International Pte Ltd
Ann Ng
Tel: +65/6863 0168
eMail: ann.ng@ssi-schaefer.sg
As part of its Kaizen (continuous improvement) activities, the warehouse staff undertakes location maintenance every quarter. In the interest of productivity, slow moving items are moved to the back of the system leaving room for fast moving items. This is facilitated by a parts transfer module in its warehouse management system developed in-house by Borneo’s parent company, Inchcape.
Today the depot operates at a high rate of efficiency. Each week, approximately 15 TEUs (or twenty-foot equivalent units) of spare parts are discharged at the container loading bays. The consignments are thoroughly checked and sorted by the warehouse parts technicians, before being stored according to Toyota’s Seven Storage Techniques. The heavy parts are kept in the 1st-tier for easy access and handling. Similar parts are grouped together irrespective of models and stored within easy reach of workers, while fast moving items are located near the aisle. Based on JIT or “small lot frequent order” concept, the parts specialists at each service centres, body repair centres and satellite workshops order parts daily from the CPD, according to fixed order cut-off timings. Using only 4 delivery trucks doing round-trip deliveries, the parts are delivered to each branches at least 3 to 4 times daily – thus achieving “heijunka” in operations, good truck fill-rate and optimisation of resources.
It is now a ‘model’ parts depot, receiving frequent visitors from regional Toyota distributors and Inchcape affiliates.<s></s>
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