Kubota UK, has joined forces with Unipart in a deal that will see the logistics expert manage Kubota’s national parts distribution and logistics functions for the next five years.
Kubota awarded the contract to Unipart as part of a wider investment program by the company to meet its future growth aspirations and help facilitate its expansion plans into newer markets, like the mainstream agricultural sector. Teaming up with Unipart will therefore enable Kubota to enhance its after sales proposition to its wide variety of end user customers.
Kubota has partnered with Unipart
Dave Roberts, Kubota UK’s Managing Director, said, “Over the years, Kubota has developed a fantastic reputation for providing a first class after sales offering. In order to continue to deliver exceptional service levels, we evaluated potential distribution partners, and it quickly became apparent that Unipart’s extensive expertise in managing supply chain solutions was second to none.
“This, together with the close proximity of Unipart’s distribution centre in Cowley (Oxford) to our Thame HQ, made them the ideal partner. The creation of this new distribution operation will support the significant investment we have put in place in order to grow our product range and increase our market share.
“Due to the nature of some of the sectors in which our products operate, we will be setting Unipart some very challenging targets linked to speed, flexibility and creativity for our parts distribution. I am confident, based on the contracts they already have in place, that the Unipart team will have no problem meeting and no doubt exceeding our expectations.”
Unipart’s 24/7 operation will run the warehousing and distribution for Kubota, including the provision of mission critical components, to support Kubota’s customer base both in the UK, Ireland and the Nordic Countries. Unipart will also supply components straight to Kubota’s assembly line in Thame.
By outsourcing its parts distribution, Kubota can meet the high service level agreements it is has in place with many of its customers who work in environments where maximum uptime is critical. It will also free up much needed space at Kubota’s Thame site, to allow it to meet its future growth aspirations and help facilitate major expansion in to new markets.
