KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd is expanding its regional parts centre (RPC) to Kota Kinabalu, which will cut spare parts lead times by 30 per cent.
This follows the establishment of a similar facility in Sarawak last year.
The expansion is driven by increased output capacity at Proton Parts Centre Sdn Bhd (PPCSB) in Peninsular Malaysia and direct imports of parts, meeting the growing demand in the company's third-largest state for vehicle sales.
Located in a commercial area in Inanam, the new facility covers about 28,000 square feet - 2.5 times larger than the previous site.
It can handle up to six containers of parts simultaneously, an increase from two containers before, and is currently processing an average of 26 containers per month to manage up to three months' worth of stock.
"With more storage spaces for parts, lead times to deliver to dealerships and customers could be reduced," it said.
Proton announced that its RPC in Sabah and Sarawak can now manage up to 28 containers per month from Peninsular Malaysia and overseas, up from the previous limit of 24 containers.
This increase in shipment capacity is expected to significantly enhance order fulfilment in Sabah, allowing for up to three months' worth of parts inventory at the site.
Additionally, Proton Parts Centre implemented a new warehouse management system (WMS) across all its locations earlier this year.
This upgrade has boosted the daily delivery capacity at the new RPC by 66 per cent, increasing from 180 lines in July to 300 lines, with a target of reaching a maximum capacity of 400 lines by September.
"The added space also allows the allocation of 8,500 bins to store parts, up from 5,000 bins in the previous facilities.
"As a result, the stock value is expected to increase 1.5 times to RM9 million by December 2024, up from RM5.8 million a year earlier," it added.
Proton Edar vice president of sales and after sales Edmund Lim said Proton's previous warehouse facilities in Sabah were overflowing with parts and operating inefficiently due to limited space, which did not meet the growing customer demand in recent years.
"The opening of this new facility in Kota Kinabalu will complement its counterpart in Kuching and both will function collectively as parts distribution centres for after sales parts and components for East Malaysia.
"This overall improvement in storage has created a buffer for demand surges and fluctuations, enabling us to increase parts throughput and as of today, we are rapidly addressing the backlog of orders from our dealers and customers in this market," he added.