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Brand loyalty at Nissan isn’t earned during a sale. It’s earned later, when a driver needs a repair, and the part they need is already there. That moment shapes Darrin Lucas’s work. He leads after-sales supply chain operations across the Americas, making sure vehicles stay in service instead of sitting in a bay waiting for parts.

His team manages warranty support, service parts, and dealer inventory with one goal in mind: a repair should feel routine to the customer. The planning beneath it, however, is anything but routine. Instead of reacting to dealer requests, they work ahead of demand and stock items based on what they expect will be needed weeks from now.

To make those decisions earlier and with more accuracy, Nissan is moving past traditional forecasting habits. The company utilizes AI-driven predictions, real-time performance dashboards, and automation in its distribution centers to prepare the correct parts before customers arrive for service. 

With better insight comes a different kind of supply chain partnership. Suppliers aren’t just shipping parts; they’re sharing data, adapting quickly, and helping Nissan support both production and service without sacrificing one for the other.

Dealers are also part of the strategy. Darrin talks about advisory boards where dealers give feedback, test ideas, and influence how inventory gets planned. 

This helps Nissan prevent shortages before they occur, and it provides a clearer picture of what customers are actually experiencing in service bays, not just what spreadsheets predict.

Darrin’s own career mirrors the way Nissan wants the organization to work. He joined Nissan as a packaging engineer and moved into logistics, quality, and operations because leaders encouraged him to learn beyond his role. That gave him the perspective he uses today. 

Now, he leads by giving his team the same space to grow, allowing people to learn, think independently, and solve problems without being controlled by every metric. When people understand the business, the KPIs follow.

Nissan views after-sales as an ongoing promise to customers who have already chosen the brand. It isn’t a backup to manufacturing or a response to breakdowns. It’s part of the relationship that continues long after the car leaves the showroom, earning loyalty through every mile the vehicle stays on the road.

Themes discussed in this episode:

• How stocking service parts weeks in advance prevents vehicles from sitting idle at the dealership
• The shift from outdated forecasting methods to AI-driven demand planning in automotive after-sales
• How automation in distribution centers speeds up service part delivery and reduces wait times
• Why suppliers must support both production and after-sales to meet customer repair expectations
• The increasing demand for OEM parts through e-commerce and how it disrupts traditional delivery models
• How proactive parts planning turns after-sales into a strategic advantage instead of a reaction to breakdowns
• The value of cross-functional experience in building leaders who understand the entire parts lifecycle
• The responsibility of after-sales supply chain teams to maintain customer confidence after the sale

Featured on this episode:

Name: Darrin Lucas

Title: Director, Aftersales Supply Chain Operations Americas at Nissan North America

About: Darrin is the Director of Aftersales Supply Chain Operations for the Americas region at Nissan Motor Corporation, where he leads strategies to optimize logistics and ensure the timely delivery of parts across the dealer network. With nearly two decades at Nissan, Lucas has played a pivotal role in strengthening supply chain resilience and driving operational excellence. Passionate about collaboration and continuous improvement, Lucas emphasizes efficiency, speed to market, and customer satisfaction as core priorities for Nissan’s aftersales operations.

Connect: LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:

[04:41] Where Loyalty Actually Starts: After sales is the part of the business that earns trust by keeping vehicles on the road through parts support, service, and warranty care long after the sale.

[06:50] Forecasting the Fix: Nissan is shifting from traditional demand guesses to AI forecasting and stronger supplier partnerships to keep the right parts flowing where repairs are needed most.

[08:43] Manual to Smart: Nissan is introducing AI forecasting, real-time dashboards, and new automation tools to replace manual after-sales planning and boost operational efficiency.

[09:24] From Hesitant to All In: Darrin admits he once doubted AI, but now pushes his team to embrace it fully as a tool that strengthens customer support and future talent development in supply chain.

[10:13] Collaboration Still Wins: Darrin credits better forecasting and open performance data as the foundation for trust-driven collaboration with suppliers, purchasing, and dealerships.

[11:07] Dealers in the Driver’s Seat: Nissan uses rotating advisory boards to test ideas, challenge plans, and give real service feedback before new after-sales initiatives roll out.

[12:57] A Culture People Return To: Nissan’s culture encourages employees to explore new functions, build cross-functional experience, and even boomerang back because empowerment makes them want to grow there.

[16:31] AI, Automation, and Going Green: Nissan plans to expand AI forecasting, automate distribution centers, adopt eco-friendly packaging, and build centers of excellence across the Americas to boost after-sales performance.

[17:25] No More “How We’ve Always Done It”: Darrin challenges suppliers to move faster, stay flexible, and break old norms so they can meet changing customer needs without hesitation.

[18:28] Unlearning the OEM Way: The industry must rethink daily dealer delivery models and learn to serve e-commerce customers with new expectations and faster final-mile options.

[19:35] Empower First, Measure Second: Darrin leads with family-style trust and balance, believing that when people are empowered, culture delivers the results KPIs never could.

[21:35] Leaders Who Think Ahead: He looks for people who challenge norms, plan beyond the KPIs, and drive improvement instead of repeating the same work without progress.

Top Quotes:

[00:00] Darrin: “After sales or service part is everything we do to support the customer after that initial vehicle sale. That's about keeping the vehicles on the road and ensuring the customers are confident in our parts availability, service support, and warranty care. It's where we build a trust with the customers, and we want that brand loyalty because we want them to come back to the brand again and again.”

[17:54] Darrin: “We have to be more dynamic, flexible, and adjust to our customer needs and adjust to the industry. I think we've had a lot of events over the last 15 to 20 years that've kind of challenged us from a flexibility perspective, and we're better for it, but I think we can even improve on that. With customer demands and trends changing ever so often, we have to be able to shift almost on a dime these days to make sure we're satisfying them.”

[20:23] Darrin: “Leading a large team as I do, across the Americas region, it's all about empowering my team. And I think it's key to our success, right? Without it, we can't service our customers. And I like to say I try to lead with balance. So that's operational excellence, sustainability, and team engagement. Because strategies only work where the culture brings it to life.”