An insight into GSF Car Parts’ recently opened NDC

GSF Car Parts’ new national distribution centre (NDC) is up and running, and we were invited for a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility, one that has 500,000sqft of space but can be expanded to 750,000sqft. With more than 400 new jobs created too, GSF has a lot to shout about, as Freya Coleman reports.

The first thing that hit me and my fellow journalists was the height of the building – it was so tall! – and while our entourage spoke about GSF’s ambition to get “back on top”, I didn’t think they meant literally! Of course, that wasn’t the case; this was an emphasis on how the senior management team had needed to work tirelessly to reverse the direction and set a new path for the company – starting with putting people first.

Along the same theme, it was stressed that the “customer is king” and that GSF is determined to “fight for the title”. With a group of journalists in the room, I wondered if anyone would ask about the ‘elephant in the room’, namely its direct competitors and Sukhpal’s former ‘baby’. No-one hid; no-one shirked at the question, and it was addressed candidly. It was claimed that, actually, one of GSF’s competitors had acknowledged the progress and good work achieved by the new regime.

Let’s look at the numbers

I’ve already mentioned the gargantuan height and space of the facility, the number of jobs that have been created, but there are more stats and figures that are worth divulging: The NDC now serves as the hub of GSF; everything goes through this building from a logistics perspective, in the hope of strengthening its supply chain and streamlining delivery processes across its near 200 branch network – 194 to be exact but expect that to grow in 2025.

This is set to be achieved thanks to 58 docks, eight-level access loading doors and almost 700 parking spaces for cars and HGVs. With sales up by almost 23% year-on-year and 3,000 staff on the books, it is right to assume GSF Chairman, Sukhpal Ahluwalia, believes the business is in a good place.

He said: “The NDC will be an absolute gamechanger for GSF and the industry. GSF has desperately needed a central distribution centre for years, but similar projects under past owners have been met with false starts.

“As soon as we acquired the business last year, we knew we needed to get it done – no ifs, no buts. We made the commitment, and we delivered. Our ability to deliver this massive 500,000sqft facility talks to the quality of our team. No one else would have been able to deliver a complicated project such as this one at breakneck speed.

“The new NDC is all about putting our customers at the centre of the business. When I was speaking with our customers last year, they all said that availability was one of their top priorities. They wanted to know that they could trust GSF to have the right part at the right time, every time.”

GSF CEO, Steve Horne, added: “The opening of our NDC is a landmark moment for GSF Car Parts. For years, we recognised the need for a centralised facility to elevate our service, and now that vision is a reality. Located in an ideal, central position, this facility empowers us to deliver exceptional service and product availability to our customers.

“The NDC will ensure branches have more products on the shelf and will remove lots of time-consuming processes so our network can focus on serving the customer. It is the flagship of a broader investment programme that’s transforming GSF at every level. The NDC doesn’t just enable us to serve customers better, it also creates a host of jobs across the West Midlands and beyond, reflecting our commitment to invest in the growth and success of our branch teams. Our goal is clear: to become the easiest business to trade with in the UK aftermarket.”

Final thought

As the day progressed, little nuggets, little reveals were shared; for example, GSF is hoping to run three TechFest events this year. There was a lot of praise for the branch managers too; it appears GSF has a lot of trust in them and that energy and belief is reciprocated too. Finally, I predict that we will hear more about e-commerce initiatives throughout this year, given the references made. I guess we’ll have to watch this space, but one thing is for sure, we won’t have to watch for long.

It’s been a busy time for GSF; not only is its new NDC up and running, but it recently held its branch managers’ conference. ‘Fully Charged – To Deliver’ took place at the Vox Conference Venue, Birmingham, and welcomed more than 400 attendees, including branch managers, senior leaders and representatives from more than 30 suppliers.

Presentations, ‘workshops’ and awards were crammed into two busy days. Sukhpal and Steve were among the speakers, delivering addresses and the message that the company “has never been in a better place to service its customers”. The pair cited the investment, not just in the NDC, but in GSF’s infrastructure and expanded vehicle fleet.

Speaking at the conclusion of the conference, Steve said: “We’ve had an incredible couple of days as we continue to push forward our plans with an amazing, motivated and passionate team behind us. Thanks to all our suppliers for their exceptional support. We’re changing the industry and offering garages more choice.

“At GSF the ‘customer is king’ and our branch teams have the independence to own these relationships and make decisions locally that benefit us all. It’s been energising to celebrate how far we’ve come in the last 12 months. We are now fully charged to deliver more growth in 2025 and beyond.”

Sukhpal added: “The conference was an exciting opportunity to celebrate the hard work of our fantastic team. The results over the last year have been nothing but extraordinary, and this has been down to the unrivalled people working across GSF.

“We are dedicated to becoming our customers’ most trusted partner, and we are investing across the piece to make good on that promise. This means boosting our availability through our new NDC. It means increasing convenience through our refreshed e-commerce offering. And, most importantly, it means giving our customers access to the most knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and passionate people in the car parts business.

“Over the last 12 months, we have driven 23% year-on-year sales growth. But we have only just started and there is no complacency at GSF. We will go into 2025 with even bigger ambitions.”