The fast-growing trucking industry in India means that components are increasingly needed. To help meet that demand, Meritor HVS (India) Limited has opened a new aftermarket distribution center in Pune, India.

The new facility is strategically located to improve delivery time of brakes, drivelines, and axles, to original equipment (OE) and warehouse distribution customers, Meritor said.

“Our new center in India will reduce transit times by 33% on average,” said Craig Cartmill, general manager, Worldwide Aftermarket Operations. “By providing more than 90% first-fill parts availability off-the-shelf, overall lead times will be reduced by more than 30 days. Helping our customers improve service levels to end users and driving cost out of their supply chain is our primary focus.”

The distribution center will be supported by a customer service center designed to handle order processing and inventory planning. A new operating software system has been installed to support the center, added Meritor.

Receiving, inspections, packaging/kiting, and packing and shipping of orders will all be performed at the 32,000-sq.-ft. center.

The Meritor Performance System (MPS), a continuous improvement/lean operating process and philosophy will be employed at the facility. The process is designed to reduce waste and encourage employee engagement.

Meritor recently launched Aftermarket Services, a third-party logistics service to improve distribution activities, packaging capabilities and remanufacturing techniques within a given country or continent. The company operates distribution centers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, United Kingdom and United States.