Halfords has appointed Simon Wherry as delivery director for the group. Simon joins Halfords Senior Leadership Team and the group’s growing IT function. According to the company, Wherry brings experience in business change delivery, underpinned by technology. He joins from management consultancy firm, CapGemini, where he was a programme director working in the defence manufacturing arena.
The UK’s largest aftermarket manufacturer of exhausts has announced the opening of a dedicated distribution centre in France. The new Klarius Products site near Lille will enable next-day deliveries to stockists and distributors in the majority of France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, as well as 48 to 72-hour deliveries to other parts of the EU.
Valeo has recently unveiled its autonomous, electric delivery droid prototype at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. The Valeo eDeliver4U was developed in partnership with Meituan Dianping, China’s leading e-commerce platform for services, which operates popular food delivery service Meituan Waimai.
Helping the aftermarket distribution network to serve independent garages as promptly as possible, Klarius has announced that standard UK mainland deliveries will be made the following morning when ordered by 5:30pm. New Group CEO Mark Brickhill states, “Over 97 per cent of all our deliveries are with our customers the following morning across the UK. Klarius stockists grow their business even in challenging markets by having the widest range of stock available on the shelf. Our unique delivery service allows them to massively reduce stock levels of individual parts, while freeing up valuable warehouse space and capital.”
GSF Car Parts has taken delivery of a new Valeo branded van for its Stoke branch. The joint-branded livery on the Peugeot Bipper integrates GSF branding alongside key messages from Valeo. The global parts giant’s current ‘multi-specialist’ livery has been designed to reinforce the breadth of product range available to UK garages.
RH Claydon is introducing a regular delivery service to Devon and parts of Cornwall, via the firm’s own delivery vehicles, from 1 February 2016.
Customers of Autoparts UK will have their parts orders delivered rapidly by a brand-new fleet of unique Renault Twizy electric cars. The 12-branch motor factor has invested in the new environmentally-friendly vehicles as part of a drive to reduce its carbon footprint. The cars will mainly operate from the company’s branches in Glasgow & Dundee, delivering a rapid deployment of parts under its exclusive brands including Padtech brake pads, Disctech discs and Ultratech oils. The Renault Twizy is a twin-seater car that is powered by a 17bhp electric motor. Its battery can be recharged by plugging into any 220V power source.
At the beginning of 2014, Kings Road Tyres entered a new era. A controlling interest in the wholesaler was purchased by a group involving Chinese European and North American interests, and involving the Sailun Group “indirectly”. Following its sale, the existing management team, led by Adrian Bader, has overseen the development of its brand portfolio, with an increased involvement in the passenger car segment for the commercial vehicle tyre specialist heralded by an agreement to distribute Aeolus-branded PCR and 4×4 products. KRT says this deal, launched at October’s Brityrex show, alongside other investments in its brand portfolio and business infrastructure is setting up leading UK tyre wholesaler Kings Road Tyres (KRT) for a sustained period of long-term growth.
Halfords