Volkswagen's regional distribution centre in Pune to cater Indian market as well

Volkswagen Group India Wednesday opened a new centralised warranty parts return centre (WPRC) for enhancing customer satisfaction and said its regional distribution centre (RDC) at Pune will now cater to the domestic market as well. Spread over an area of 25,000 sq mt in the premises of the Volkswagen Chakan manufacturing plant, the distribution centre had come up last September and was initially focused on supporting the car maker's export markets, a statement said.

The RDC will now distribute parts to centres in NCR region as well as Bengaluru from where further supply to all the dealerships and service stations in those regions will take place, a release said. For the dealerships in western and central India, RDC would directly supply spare parts to ensure that customers get one-day delivery, thus improving the satisfaction level.

Customer satisfaction is one of our top-most priorities in India. With the expansion of operations from our Chakan centre, we have taken an important step towards this goal," said Gurpratap Boparai, Head of Volkswagen Group India. "Volkswagen Group is committed to the Indian market and with these steps, we are reinforcing our promise under our India 2.0 project," he added.

The group, last July announced its India 2.0 project along with group company Skoda Auto through which it plans to invest around Rs 8,000 crore as part of its strategy to strengthen Indian operations. "This centre will provide spare parts for all models available in India under the Volkswagen Group including brands Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini," said Justin Nolte, director for after-sales and vehicle logistics, Volkswagen Group India.

The move is aimed at addressing the concerns of the domestic customers, he said adding, with one-day delivery of spare parts, it will bring a dramatic improvement in customer satisfaction. The setting up of the WPRC is for strengthening part analysis and product improvement, the release said..