BMW Group South Africa today opened its new Regional Distribution Centre at Waterfall, Gauteng. Project developer Attacq and BMW Group have invested together R260m to create a 32 000 sqm facility with storage space for 600 000 parts and the ability to deliver in increased flexibility to BMW Group dealers.
This investment is in addition to the R6.1bn injection that has been pivotal in upgrading the company’s Rosslyn manufacturing plant for production of the new BMW X3. The plant is currently ramping up production, and the first customer vehicles are rolling off the line, marking a new chapter in the story of Plant Rosslyn and the people of Tshwane.
BMW Group Regional Distribution Centre is a state-of-the-art facility
“The business of mobility is increasingly complex and intricate. More than ever, it’s critical that we’re able to be flexible in our approach,” says CEO BMW Group South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, Tim Abbott. “The new Regional Distribution Centre will allow us to react timeously and seamlessly to changing customer needs because it is a state-of-the-art, highly technical facility.”
The bespoke warehouse has doubled in size from 16 000m² to 32 000m² and has capacity for further expansion in the medium term. There are approximately 100 000 bin locations in the RDC containing 30 000 different kinds of parts. It will store some 600 000 parts and handle thousands of dealer orders every day, and services 56 dealers across Southern Africa. It will refine yet further the service customers of the BMW Group brands, with service delivery of up to three times per day to dealers in Gauteng.
The relocation of parts warehousing has created space at BMW Group South Africa’s Midrand head office. A further R260m investment is being made for the upgrade of all of the Group’s Midrand facilities, including the development of the Midrand Campus. This expansion will include office space to house some 500 associates from our SAP Shared Services Centre, currently based in Menlyn, Pretoria. The BMW Group South Africa SAP Shared Services Centre has grown at a phenomenal rate recently, doubling its headcount as it takes on more global contracts. Such is the space available at Midrand, there is capacity for further large-scale expansion if required.
“As a leader in the future of mobility we are a company focussed on learning, innovating, and inspiring. Our employees are at the centre of this philosophy. By moving our associates from the SAP Shared Services Centre, as well as incorporating our colleagues from BMW Financial Services, we’re in a better position than ever to collaborate and learn from each other,” says Abbott.
The speed and reliability of BMW Group SA’s customer services will yet improve further
“Taking care of our customers is a vital part of our business,” Abbott says. “This RDC will guarantee that we’re there for our customers when they need us most and that faster than ever, we can get them back to where they want to be – at the wheel of their BMW or MINI,” Abbott concludes.
