It’s a well-known adage that everything is bigger in Texas, and that is certainly true for Russell & Smith’s Houston parts warehouse. In 2015, Russell & Smith was Ford’s largest parts retailer by providing $60.7 million in new parts sales with the majority being wholesale parts. The warehouse not only handles Russell & Smith parts orders, it also acts as a distributor for other Ford dealerships in the region, as well as parts for other manufacturers.
To provide a perspective on the importance of wholesale parts to Russell & Smith, their dealership parts department has two employees while the wholesale operation uses 11 people. Orders are taken via phone, fax, email, social media, and websites which allow customers to place orders. Once placed, the dealership fills the orders from its inventory of over 200,000 items and delivers it with a fleet of 27 dedicated trucks using a contract logistics company.
Russell & Smith can also supply parts to greater Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma using a series of satellite hubs. Four trucks supply the hubs on a daily basis from the Houston warehouse, and the hubs can also supply other parts needed locally. The Houston warehouse even receives rail cars loaded with sheet metal sent from Ford in Michigan.
The result of this massive operation is a parts business that can supply parts faster than Ford itself, and has been doing it successfully since 1988 when co-owner William Russell asked his parts director what was needed to grow their parts operation. The answer was a $1 million investment in parts and employees. Keeping it successful requires careful management and employees with motivation and the experience to make it happen. Russell & Smith has parts employees with an average of more than 15 years service and some with more than 25 years. They run an internship program and other training programs to promote and develop employees from within their organization, further enhancing customer service.
When you need OEM parts for your fine Ford vehicle or many other brands, think of Russell & Smith first. We are the biggest for a reason, and that reason is fast and dependable customer service with one of the country’s largest parts inventories.
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