Standard Motor Products Opens New National Distribution Center

Standard Motor Products Inc. (SMP) announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art national distribution center in Shawnee, Kansas. The 575,000-square-foot facility was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 17. Members of the Shawnee Chamber of Congress, City of Shawnee leaders and SMP leadership were in attendance.

The Shawnee facility adds over 200,000 net square feet to SMP’s distribution footprint and provides a centralized location to provide coverage across the United States, reducing transportation lead-time for improved service, stated company officials in a press release. This distribution center is equipped with the latest in logistics technology to enhance overall distribution capabilities and to deliver products promptly and reliably.

Existing SMP Team To Move From the Edwardsville Distribution Center

With this new facility, SMP states that it will now operate a multi-point distribution strategy for high-volume, fast-moving SKUs. Shawnee is located less than 5 miles from the existing Edwardsville distribution center and allows SMP to retain existing associates and management team. SMP says that it intends to exit the Edwardsville distribution center at the end of the year.

Eric Sills, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of SMP, stated, “We are excited to fully open our new Shawnee distribution center that will expand our capacity, improve turnaround times and provide automation efficiencies for our customers, ensuring our supply chain efforts keep pace with their growing demand. We thank all those involved in helping to get this new, state-of-the-art distribution center launched on time and look forward to the benefits Shawnee will bring to Standard, our customers, our employees and the community.”