Isuzu Australia Limited Expands Supply Chain Capabilities

Following the recent announcement by Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) of the establishment of the new overarching Sales and Aftersales business unit in response to unabated demand growth, the company has doubled down with the creation of a new Supply Chain Department.

The Supply Chain Department has been formed to boost efficiency as the organisation manages the dual challenges of extraordinary growth across the business and ensuring that it can sustainably meet the ongoing demand that has led to record sales.

The new department will be overseen by experienced IAL executive John Plunkett, who has held the critical position of IAL National Parts Manager for more than a decade.

With an MBA in strategy and leadership and well credentialled industry experience, Mr Plunkett held senior sales and marketing roles in other large Australian automotive companies before joining IAL.

New Department in Experienced Hands

As well as high level general management and administration skills, Mr Plunkett possesses specialised knowledge of marketing, sales, import and export procedures, transportation, inventory management, distribution and warehousing.

Director and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Harbison said Mr Plunkett’s appointment was a key step in a broader strategy to build efficiencies into the expanding IAL business model by merging all supply chain functions into one team. ​ ​ ​ 

“Since joining IAL in 2011, John has been integral to the expansion of both the parts department scope of operations and capabilities,” Mr Harbison said. ​ 

“John has been responsible for overseeing significant growth in annual parts sales and a rapid expansion of the product on offer, including genuine Isuzu parts, our innovative Best Value Parts (BVP) second tier parts range for older model Isuzus, many new accessories and the expansion of our popular Isuzu Lubricants range as inventory lines for Isuzu dealers.

“Beyond the product, John was also the key driver behind the success of such initiatives as the establishment of IAL as the parts distribution hub with responsibility for New Zealand and the South Pacific, plus the development of a rapid parts express service out of Japan for shipment of urgent parts,” he commented.

Insatiable Demand

The economic growth experienced in Australia over the past 18 months and the ongoing impacts from overseas production and shipping bottlenecks has heightened the focus on supply chains across all industries.

“With an impressive 33 consecutive years of Australian truck market leadership and the 34^th year just around the corner, for IAL, a keen eye on supply chains and logistics efficiencies has been an important part of our enduring success,” said Mr Plunkett.

“When we moved our entire parts warehouse from Brooklyn to Truganina back in 2018, the dividends from this huge undertaking were the immediate efficiency returns from a consolidated operation of all the functions of our business, from engineering to sales and parts under the one roof.

“This same urgency to find the best response to a challenge was evident during the covid lockdowns when we had to continually find innovative ways to manage staff and freight impacts plus regulatory requirements to ensure uninterrupted parts supply to our customers,” he said.

“It’s this type of combined strategic planning and determination to get the job done that will deliver for IAL with the new Supply Chain Department and I’m delighted to be involved in the next stage of IAL’s continued growth in Australia,” he said.

The Supply Chain Department has responsibility for all supply chain functions, including New Truck Logistics, procurement, parts inventory, logistics and warehousing.

Organisational Revamp

“IAL has undertaken an organisation restructure to ensure we have people, processes and practices to meet an ever-growing demand for our product,” said Mr Harbison.

“Isuzu Trucks have enjoyed a record sales year in 2022, the same year we celebrated the milestone of 50 years of operation in Australia.

“We want to ensure that we are set up for another 50 years of success and it’s developments such as our dedicated focus and resourcing of our supply chain management that will get us there,” he said.

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