Mopar Virginia PDC Awarded Bronze Status in World Class Logistics

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

• Mopar Parts Distribution Center (PDC) in Winchester, Virginia, reaches Bronze status in World Class Logistics (WCL) program
• Mopar Winchester PDC is second in North America to reach WCL Bronze status
• WCL program recognizes facilities that meet set technical and managerial pillars in reducing waste and improving quality
• Mopar PDC in Center Line, Michigan, also awarded WCL Bronze status earlier this year
• Mopar Winchester PDC one of two opened in U.S. in 2017
• Mopar global network features 50-plus PDCs worldwide

The Mopar Parts Distribution Center (PDC) in Winchester, Virginia, recently received notification that the facility has earned Bronze status in the prestigious World Class Logistics (WCL) program, which recognizes facilities that achieve set technical and managerial pillars in reducing waste and improving quality.

The Mopar Winchester PDC is the second FCA distribution unit in North America to receive WCL Bronze status honors, and just the third worldwide to earn the prestigious honor. Earlier this year, the Center Line PDC, located in Metro Detroit, earned WCL Bronze level recognition.

The WCL methodology provides a blueprint, using 10 technical and 10 managerial key metrics, for FCA distribution operations to follow in order to function more efficiently and cost effectively.

"At Mopar, we hold ourselves to the highest standards and we are extremely proud of the employees at the Winchester PDC who contributed to reaching WCL Bronze status," said Steve Beahm, Head of Parts & Service (Mopar) and Passenger Car Brands, FCA - North America. "Including our Center Line facility in Michigan, this is the second Mopar PDC in six months to earn WCL Bronze recognition, which is proof of our commitment to delivering the most productive parts distribution processes to better serve our dealers and customers."

The Winchester, Virginia, PDC received the WCL Bronze Award following a two-day audit conducted by Thomasz Gebka, Lead Auditor and Plant Manager at Belvidere (Indiana) Assembly, along with co-auditor May-Leng Yau-Patterson, Head of Mexico World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Operations.

The Winchester facility has been able to reduce operating costs through continuous improvement projects and effectively expand its systematic pillars of Safety, Workplace Organization, Autonomous Maintenance, Professional Maintenance and Logistics & Customer Service, far exceeding the WCL Bronze level criteria of 30 percent extension. The Winchester PDC was also ranked high in benchmarking metrics in regards to the quality of warehouse parts "picking."

The Winchester PDC, which opened in 2017, demonstrated rapid progression in earning WCL Bronze status. The quick recognition was thanks in the large parts to efforts undertaken during the construction and development phase of the PDC to ensure it was designed to meet WCL technical and managerial pillars.

The 400,000-plus-square-foot Winchester PDC represents more than 70 jobs over two shifts. The facility handled 386,951 inbound tasks and 2,066,681 outbound tasks last year alone. The Winchester location was one of two new Parts Distribution Centers opened in the U.S. in 2017, encompassing a combined investment of $22.6 million by FCA US.

The Mopar global network includes more than 50 PDCs around the world. The historic Fiat plant in Rivalta, located near Turin in Italy, was recently announced as the planned site of a Mopar PDC serving Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and additional world markets.

About Mopar
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) is the service, parts and customer-care brand for FCA vehicles around the globe. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era, with Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, and expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, the Mopar brand's global reach distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in over 150 markets around the world. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 25 customer contact centers globally, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for all FCA US LLC vehicle brands. Mopar parts are engineered together with the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for FCA vehicles, offering a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. Complete information on the Mopar brand is available at www.mopar.com.

For more information, please visit the FCA US LLC media site at http://media.fcanorthamerica.com.

SOURCE FCA US LLC