Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer and Sons launches new Toyota delivery center

KUWAIT: Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer and Sons launched the new Toyota Delivery Center in Ardiyah yesterday. The event was attended by Hiroyuki Fukui, Managing Officer Toyota Motor Corporation, Tadashi Fujiwara, Deputy Chief of the Mission from Embassy of Japan, Angela Loan, Charge D'Affaires, Jack Hajjar, Commercial Counselor and Regional Director at Austrade from the Embassy of Australia, Tatang Budie Utama Razak, Ambassador of Indonesia, members from Kuwaiti ministry departments and the Automotive Union, delegates from Toyota Motor Corporation, management partners from the press, representatives of the media, guests from banks and financial institutions, senior management and employees of Al-Sayer Group, among others.

Chairman Faisal Bader Al-Sayer welcomed the guests. "We are opening a mega integrated facility exclusively for our customers, mainly supporting our Toyota operations. I am delighted about this yet another memorable chapter for Al-Sayer that strengthens our many decades of partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation. This partnership will further strengthen in the future as we find better ways to contribute to economic and social sustainability in Kuwait. Al-Sayer Group has reflected Toyota's values of putting the customer first and continuous improvement at the workplace," he said.

"Today's ceremony is dedicated to our beloved customers. We seek to build long-term relationships and market share growth through our passion for competitive excellence in all aspects of customer service. We aim to build a long-term relation with them. I take this opportunity to thank our partners, governing bodies and local authorities for their valued cooperation over the years," he said. "Our employees are the most important asset - we protect and nurture them. I appreciate their dedicated efforts towards tirelessly working to deliver best in class service to add more smiling Toyota customers," concluded Sayer.

CEO Mubarak Naser Al-Sayer thanked the guests for attending the celebration of Al-Sayer's and Toyota's success and commitment to business excellence with the opening of this new facility. "Our present success has been built on a strong foundation from the past. Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer & Sons Co became the authorized distributor of Toyota in 1954 and started selling cars under efforts initiated by Naser Mohamed Al-Sayer, our honorary chairman," he said.

Since their establishment, MNSS and the Al-Sayer Group's strategy has always been to support Toyota operations in Kuwait with best in the business standards in customer service alongside the best products and being the best employer and responsible corporate citizens. "Various awards that we have earned for customer service from Toyota Motor Corporation over the years are testimony of this approach. Moving forward, we continue to invest in technology enhancement, employee development and most importantly our valuable customers. We are also confident about our infrastructure development and steady expansion plans in the future," added Mubarak Naser Al-Sayer.

"We will be opening new facilities during the next year including a new showroom in Abu Fatira and Jahra, a new service facility in Fahaheel, and a new management office of Al-Sayer Rental Cars in Ahmadi - to serve our customers across Kuwait," he noted. "The new Ardiya mega integrated facility that has been constructed on a plot of 18,300 sq m, with a total built-in area of 68,000 sq m, providing space for pre-delivery and delivery section, training centers, meeting rooms, this auditorium and car units storage," highlighted Mubarak Naser Al-Sayer.

COO Bengt Schultz said that this event is a very significant and memorable one for Al-Sayer. "Al-Sayer continues to be a customer-focused organization and our mission is to deliver the best products, facilities and customer service. We are constantly finding new ways of pleasing our customers," he noted. "So the push for infrastructure and opening of new facilities are our top priorities. In 2017, and the following years, our customers will demand more from us. In order to maintain what we achieved and to continue to do more, we will have to be innovative," added Schultz.

"Our way to respond is to engage with our customers one by one, inspired by the words of Mr Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation. Taking the time to listen and understand, and to adopt our service to their needs," he said. "Through engagement one by one with our customers, we will ensure the best results in the business. By doing this we will not only satisfy our customers, but we will ensure excitement in the work place. Today's opening ceremony of the new mega delivery center is just another important step, as part of our continuous efforts towards accomplishing our mission," concluded Schultz.

Mega pre-delivery and delivery

Johan Heislitz Senior Business Director, Toyota Group Sales explained the sophistication and technology featured in this facility for the customers. "Welcome to the brand new home of Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer and Sons mega pre-delivery and delivery center - we celebrate the grand opening of this magnificent structure," he said. "Today marks the culmination of a strategy that began 10 years ago - an idea about a new and sophisticated operation both for pre-delivery of new Toyota and Lexus vehicles. This facility would now serve as a catalyst for our growth over the next decade with really only one critical objective in mind, and that is customer satisfaction," added Heislitz.

"Consumers are demanding increasingly differentiated services and products to match their individual lifestyles. Addressing these needs of our customers is the key to economic growth and growth in market share in every segment that we compete in," he pointed out.  "To put things in some perspective, I would like to mention some of the processes and sophisticated features in this facility:

The Building

"The total footprint of this facility is divided into two basements for Lexus storage, with each basement 18,000 sq m in size. The all-new delivery center is 4,500 sq m in size, pre-delivery area 9,000 sq m and our new vehicle demonstration center is 1,500 sq m in size.

Car wash

"The car wash is a tunnel automated system from Germany. This company has 60 years' experience and is a world leader in automated systems. Each tunnel can wash up to 120 units per hour - 240 vehicles an hour through the two tunnels. Washing a vehicle will take approximately 4.5 minutes from end to end spaced at 30 second intervals. We have incorporated a complete recycling system with reverse osmosis reducing wastage of water in line with MNSS' green corporate commitment policy. The potential output for this facility is 32 vehicles per hour or 256 units per day in one shift only. This building has been designed also to accommodate our new training center with as many as seven very large training rooms completed for training sales information systems and customer interfacing courses for every level in the sales organization.

Standard Operating Procedures

"We have developed new standard operating procedures, which is a two-man operation building on Toyota VDQI as per our group service division  We conduct many extensive market surveys to better understand our customer requirements and to develop best practices and services that we must offer to our customers. During these surveys, many customers had requested that they would appreciate same-day delivery. This service became a reality some days ago. In cooperation with the ministry of interior, we have inaugurated a system for instant registration with number plates, and this enables our company to offer same-day delivery upon request," stressed Heislitz.

"Our system is equipped with the latest equipment available, ie a token numbering system for fast, efficient and quick delivery. We now have an upmarket accessories boutique, and same-day fitment can be arranged as and when required. This I believe will be much appreciated by our customers," he added. "Not forgetting our fleet customers - we are now in a position to offer the same service as and when required. This building as mentioned opens up a new space commitment and importance designed to meet the increasing demand and expectations of our customer base," he concluded.