TPS opened the doors at a new 13,000 square foot site in Ipswich, just as an influx of new parts is set to expand its ‘Brands at TPS’ range with HELLA and Valeo among the major names due to join the scheme in the New Year.
CAT was given an exclusive look behind the scenes at TPS Ipswich, which has seen a substantial investment to bring it to life. “The work that’s gone into everything is phenomenal,” noted Centre Manager Malcolm Park.
TPS Ipswich is now one of the biggest in the supplier’s national network, and is housed in a new 12-metre high building that includes a warehouse and sales office, as well as a boardroom and meeting rooms. 33 staff work across the site, which is based in an industrial park just outside the town.
15 delivery vehicles, including three EVs are based at the site and serve six regular routes covering Bury St Edmunds, Clapton-On-Sea, Colchester, Diss, Halstead, Saxmundham, Sudbury and Woodbridge. There is also an on demand local service for garages around Ipswich and Felixstowe. In total. 1,300 garages are using TPS Ipswich for parts.
TPS had been at the previous facility since 2007. “We had very much outgrown the old building,” noted Park. Attention to detail was key to what has been a very successful transition.“Everyone put so many hours in,” enthused Park. Citing an example of the team effort he said: “We needed to re-number all the shelves as part of the process. One of our van drivers took the barcodes from each tray on the shelves, cut the magnets down, amended the numbers and put the barcodes on the magnets. She even took them home so we would be ready in time. Then we were able to put them back on the shelves. Some of the boxes have three sections and she had to stick them onto the cardboard behind the plastic.”
Everything
Looking at how the site operates, a team of seven in the telesales office takes up to 350 calls a day. They includes a mix of former garage, dealer and factor operatives, with some having been on staff for up to 20 years.
Through the door in the warehouse, the warehouse team manages a huge mix of product, which includes fast-moving service parts, consumables and much more. “We have everything, from the smallest washer to whole body panels,” said Park. Currently stock is kept at floor level, but the building offers the opportunity to slot in a mezzanine once it becomes necessary.
Alongside parts, there is a battery offering focused around Yuasa. “We are one of the largest battery stockists in the TPS network,” Park pointed out. TPS Ipswich has purpose-built room on the new site for battery testing charging. “For this reason,” said Park,“ the AA in the area use us for batteries, as they know they will hold the required state of charge straight off the shelf.”
TPS Ipswich also has a comprehensive oil offering .with 120 barrels of oils in stock on site at any one time. While full-size bulk barrels are available for the most popular engine oils, TPS offers oils in either five or 20 litre in its Quantum cubes. “Garages will buy these and keep a number on the shelf for when they are needed,” said Park.”It’s what suits their business.” Convenience continues all the way to the bottom. “What’s great about the Quantum cubes is they are 100% recyclable, and when they are empty you can just collapse them for disposal, saving space.”
This is set to continue, as the market for oil changes. “There are so many oils now, and many are extremely low viscosity. Add to that the need for oils for wet belts, as well as specialist EV oils, and you can see why we need to carry so much.”
Genuine
The expansion into a bigger building means the branch is more than ready to take on the ever-increasing offering. As well as HELLA and Valeo parts arriving in early January, there will also be a comprehensive range of modular clutches from Sachs.
These are available alongside Volkswagen Group Approved Genuine Parts, which remains TPS’s primary parts offering. “TPS Ipswich holds a wide range of Volkswagen Group Approved Genuine Parts in stock at the site andwith the reassurance of fitting first time in the workshop and being subject to rigorous testing procedures, they remain a popular choice for customers.”
Park concluded: “We’re genuine all the way through.” We only supply genuine parts, along with trusted name parts via ‘Brands at TPS’. This is what makes us unique.”
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