TVR – Parts Support
TVS Supply Chain Solutions demonstrates continuing parts support for TVR
As the official supplier of Original Equipment TVR parts worldwide at the time of the company’s closure in 2006, TVS SCS continues to demonstrate its strong commitment to supporting the iconic marque.
When TVR’s Blackpool factory shut down TVS SCS moved quickly to acquire the parts inventory and immediately carried out a comprehensive exercise to identify and catalogue the material and to store it safely.
At TVS’s headquarters in Lancashire further work was undertaken aimed at ensuring that TVR owners – still numbering around 9,000 in the UK alone – could obtain genuine parts for their cherished cars at competitive prices. This included re-establishing links with former suppliers to TVR in order to ensure continuity of supply.
At the same time the dealer network was strengthened with new appointments that have resulted in 36 dealers covering the UK with a further eight in Continental Europe.
These dealers benefit from the proven service standards that TVS SCS provides to all of its automotive customers, including next day delivery of parts ordered before 6.00 pm on any weekday. Availability levels have also improved across the total parts range of some 1,500 product lines ranging from consumables for routine servicing to windscreens and chassis components.
To further support owners via the dealer network, TVS SCS created a dedicated TVR Electronic Parts Catalogue (EPC) using its considerable in-house IT capabilities, making it much easier and quicker for dealers to identify and order parts.
Amongst recent updates to the EPC were the introduction of the Sagaris and Tuscan models and other changes to improve navigation around the catalogue. These were part of a package of measures that also included improvements to the returns and warranty policies and which were all aimed at making it easier for TVR dealers to do business with TVS SCS.
In April 2011 the company carried out a review of parts prices and reduced the cost of a large number of product lines and in June it was present at TAG 11 in support of the TVR dealer network.
Chris Williams, TVS SCS’s Commercial Director, says: “Although we serve other sectors, it is our focus on the automotive market that gives us a competitive edge. It means that we can enjoy economies of scale when negotiating with suppliers, enabling us to provide Original Equipment quality parts for TVR cars at very competitive prices.”
He also points to the economies that come from shared use of the company’s large and highly-automated distribution centre along with their ability to keep down transport costs.
“For a low volume marque like TVR these costs, if borne alone, would have to be reflected in the price owners pay for parts. By spreading them across our entire customer base, which includes leading truck, bus and municipal vehicle manufacturers, we can keep costs down and parts prices competitive.
“We’re proud to be associated with such a prestigious marque as TVR and remain totally committed to providing the highest level of parts support that we can achieve and look forward to doing so for many years to come,” he concludes.
This case study demonstrates TVS SCS’s ability to recover lost ground on behalf of niche automotive marques by offering ‘big company’ benefits that enable them to provide their customers with support and service levels not normally associated with such small operations.
