Unipart

Unipart Group

Type	Private
Industry	Logistics
Founded	1974
Founder(s)	British Leyland
Headquarters	Cowley, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Key people	John Neill John Egan
Products	Logisitics, Supply Chain, Consultancy
Revenue	£1.03 billion
Divisions	Unipart Logistics Unipart Automotive Unipart Rail
Website	Unipart Group

Unipart Group is a multinational logisitics, supply chain, and consultancy company headquartered in Cowley, United Kingdom. It has operations in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan and works across a variety of sectors that include automotive, rail, marine and leisure. Its Unipart Automotive division is the UK's largest independent supplier of car parts, workshop consumables and garage equipment to the aftermarket.

Unipart is employee-owned and is one of the largest privately-owned companies in the UK.

History

Unipart House, Cowley. Headquarters of Unipart Group, and some subsidiaries.

Unipart was formed in 1974, when part state-owned car company British Leyland appointed John Egan to be its director of the parts and service division. Egan created a new organisation, independent of the main car company and branded as Unipart. But as losses in BL grew, in 1975 the company was nationalised, and Egan departed in 1976 to join Massey Ferguson.

29 year old John Neill took over running the business, and built Unipart as an independent business unit with the BL group, by offering other car companies UK logistical services. This was enhanced through the traditional route of motorsports sponsorship, from 1978 with the Triumph Dolomite Formula 3 team, and from 1980 in Formula1, first with Ensign and then with McLaren until 1983.

After further losses at BL and the sale of Jaguar, in 1987 Neill led a management buyout of Unipart, in part financed by a wider employee buy-in. The company returned to Formula1 sponsorship, with Tyrrell and later with Jordan Grand Prix.

Today the company operates as a logistics expert across a series of sectors, using its assets and intellectual property branded as "The Unipart Way" to both deliver and consult for a diversity of clients.

Operating divisions

Unipart Logistics warehouse, Cowley.

There are three main operating divisions with Unipart Group of companies each of whom is headed up by a managing director. These main operating companies are Unipart Logistics, Unipart Automotive and Unipart Rail and within these are various divisions.

• Unipart Logistics: Has three main divisions within the operating company which are; Unipart Aftermarket Logisitics whose main clients are Jaguar Cars, Land Rover, London Taxis International and McLaren Automotive. Unipart Consumer Logistics whose clients include Asos.Com, Homebase, Play.com, Pets at Home, Sainsbury's; and Unipart Technology Logistics whose clients include 3, Apple UK, BSkyB, Jessops, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile. There are a number of smaller divisions of Unipart Logistics which include Unipart Aerospace and Defence Logistics and Unipart Security Solutions.

• Unipart Expert Practices: This business sits within the Unipart Logistics division and represents the company moving from simply focusing on its own internal improvement activities to providing its services to external clients in the form of Management and supply chain consulting based on lean principles and continuous improvement. UEP has worked with a number of sectors including Health, Government and Finance.

• Unipart Automotive: This divisions core business is operated out of approximately 180 branchers across the UK who provide car parts for all makes and models to both the independent motor trade and national companies such Kwik-fit, AA and ATS Euromaster.

• Unipart Rail: This division is located in the North of England with sites in both Crewe and Doncaster and provides engineering and logistic solutions to the rail supply chain. The company also has several other brands which it has acquired and trades under such as Dorman who specialise in LED Lighting.

• Unipart Leisure & Marine: formerly known as Mark Dowland Marine, act as distributors of marine products, caravan, and motorhome products. The company sells under a number of other brands including Wetline Ltd and reports into Unipart Rail.

The Unipart Way

"The Unipart Way" is a system of lean manufacturing tools and techniques, with a guiding philosophy to reduce waste or activities which do not add value. Based on the companies learning from Honda and study into the Toyota Production System, it is the name the company has given to its methodology. It involves a process of continuous measurement which is designed to lead to a reduction of wasteful activity, thereby ensuring the best deployment of time and resources.

The methodology is not without its critics. Most publicly, the work done at HMRC was censured by PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, who stated, "By reducing staff to nothing more than machines on the whim of consultants, the department is undermining the morale of staff who face imminent job cuts and office closures."

HMRC argue that Unipart's work has produced significant benefits for them. An HMRC spokesman said: "Lean is all about offering a better service to our customers and staff. It is a key element in HMRC's plan to provide improved service and meet efficiency targets. Staff are asked to organise their desks when shared with colleagues to avoid clutter and to make sure they have everything set up to do their job effectively. Any suggestion that staff are restricted to a pen and cup on their desk is simply not true. Rather than making work boring and repetitive, staff are being invited to work with their managers to improve the way tasks and systems are developed.".

The independent NAO report of 6 July 2007 describes the purpose of Lean as "to streamline key work processes to eliminate duplication or reworking, improve accuracy, increase productivity, and reduce lead times in processing cases", and it predicts savings to the taxpayer of £440 million by 2011 "the majority of which will be achieved through implementing Lean."

Corporate social responsibility

Unipart has strong links with the local community and education, supporting many community initiatives and organisations. Unipart has a traditionally strong affiliation with motorsport. In 2006, the company teamed up with Nigel Mansell and his sons, Greg and Leo, in a sponsorship deal in support of Nigel's sons' careers in Formula BMW.

As the Unipart Way philosophy is wedded to removing waste Unipart has long held to a reduce, re-use, recycle agenda, driving improvements in its environmental performance. [1]

Currently Unipart also supports a pilot initiative to support 11 young people who were struggling at school. They now attend classes within Unipart daily and are supported through work experience. By being treated as trainees rather than pupils their attendance records and academic progress have been transformed. [2] Unipart also supports an initiative to give homeless people supported and paid employment.With nearly 10,000 employees, Unipart people play an active role in their communities as councillors, special constables and as volunteers for numerous charities and organisations. [3]

Unipart supports Business in the Community's Per Cent Club principles aiming to distribute one per cent of its pre-tax gross profits in goods or in kind each year. [4]

In 2008 Unipart Group achieved overall Gold status in the BitC CR Index and Platinum status for its environmental performance. [5]

References

• http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/spon-12115.html latest access on 13 dec 2009

External links

• Unipart Group Official site
• Unipart Logistics Official site
• Unipart Rail
• Unipart Expert Practices Official Site