McKay NAPA was recently interviewed by The Journal-News to discuss their big plans and the positive impact it will have on their customer base.
They have moved into their new 54,000-square-foot distribution center replacing the former warehouse–and semi trailers–that were at the same site as the Litchfield retail store. That much new space, along with the new tech processes now in place in the new building, allow McKay to buy direct to keep costs down, and service the 22 auto parts stores in the system twice daily.
"We know our process is benefitting our customers," President Earl Flack said.
McKay NAPA spent about $1 million to upgrade an empty building in the Litchfield Industrial Park with new efficient LED lighting, eight miles of shelving to hold $4.5 million in auto parts, and a meticulously organized system that allows parts to be checked in and sorted for quick turn-around to one of the 22 stores. Stop into the new distribution center and you'll see a well-oiled system, with employees zipping around on scooters to save steps.
If a customer stops by any of the 22 McKay NAPA stores in the morning, and that store has per chance run out of a particular part, it will be restocked from the new distribution center and in the store later in the afternoon–the same day. If a customer stops by a store in the afternoon, the part will arrive from the distribution center the following morning.
And if even that kind of turn-around isn't sufficient–picture a farmer broke down in the field and in need of a particular ag part–the store can have the part ready for the customer to pick up himself, ready to go just inside the door of the distribution center. Don't worry; the new distribution center will have it.
"We now stock 13,350 new SKUs that we did not have in stock before," Vice President Ed Hamman said. "We have over 5,000 different brake rotors now, just as an example."
The new distribution center now processes about 80 trucks a week, moving in and out more than 540 pallets of auto parts–up from about 125 pallets at the old warehouse.
Plans for the future–the very near future–include a new retail store in Litchfield this year on the same site as the present one, and a new office built onto the distribution center next year.
To read the full article, check out The Journal-News