System failure at PSA’s UK parts distribution centre left Peugeot and Citroën franchised workshops with severely limited parts supplies for four working days.

Computer servers running the picking system at Tile Hill Parts Distribution Centre were down from September 25 to October 1. As the centre resorted to manual processing, Peugeot and Citroën implemented an emergency parts ordering procedure. It restricted each workshop and bodyshop to five parts orders per day “for cases where a customer vehicle is disabled and/or a customer satisfaction issue is likely as a result of the delay in delivery”.

An emergency newsletter informing dealers about the problem advised that the limited amount of orders would be delivered on September 28 for Great Britain or October 1 for dealers in Northern Ireland. It also exempted oil, batteries, consumables, accessories, all body panels, windscreens, gearboxes and engines.

A spokeswoman for PSA Peugeot Citroën admitted there had been a problem, but it had been repaired and parts service had returned to normal on October 1.

David Manchester, Charters Group managing director and head of the Peugeot dealer council, said the network dealt with the issue well. However, not all dealers were so relaxed. One told AM: “We’ve had cars sitting here in pieces with no work going on, we’re running out of courtesy cars and I’ve had to tell people I don’t know when their car will be ready.”

Manchester said: “It was a computer problem, the server crashed. We’ve all just had to get on and work around it.

“As soon as the crash happened Peugeot implemented emergency order proceedings, which worked well while the system was down. It hasn’t been a problem with customers.

“We explained the situation and it’s been fine. We’ve held two dealer forums since the crash and there’s been no negative reaction from the network.”

Manchester said dealers’ CSI would not be affected as a result of the delays.