LKQ Digraph Expands Reach with Scalable Parts Supply Model

The acquisition of Digraph by LKQ in July 2023 signalled more than just another industry consolidation--it marked a turning point for commercial vehicle parts distribution in the UK. Now trading as LKQ Digraph, the business blends scale with specialism, delivering faster service, deeper stock, and local agility. As fleets evolve and downtime costs rise, this hybrid model is setting a new benchmark for what parts suppliers must deliver.

When LKQ completed its acquisition of Digraph Transport Supplies, the commercial vehicle parts sector took notice.

For insiders, it marked more than just another consolidation; it represented a strategic realignment that signals where the market is heading. With rising expectations around parts availability, service speed, and support for alternative drivetrains, operators are seeking suppliers who can match their pace. In Digraph, LKQ recognised not only a well-established name in the HGV, coach, and bus sector but also a platform ripe for transformation.

Founded in 1976, Digraph had already built a reputation as a reliable source for commercial vehicle components. But under the majority ownership of Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia, best known for founding Euro Car Parts and later selling it to LKQ for GBP280 million, the company underwent a significant national rollout. Over five years, Digraph expanded its reach, solidified its supply relationships, and demonstrated the kind of scalability that LKQ could leverage.

That relationship came full circle with the 2023 acquisition. At a glance, LKQ's acquisition of Digraph may have seemed like a predictable next step. The two companies already had a relationship: LKQ made an initial investment in Digraph in 2017, providing procurement support and strategic advice.

But the July 2023 deal signalled a shift from partnership to complete integration--and with it, a reimagining of how commercial vehicle parts are sourced, supplied, and supported in the UK. Digraph was no stranger to ambition. Under the leadership of Chairman Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia, the company expanded rapidly across the UK, aiming to plug a longstanding gap in the market--a national commercial vehicle parts distributor offering genuine product breadth, rapid fulfilment, and competitive pricing.

Ahluwalia, who made his name scaling Euro Car Parts before selling it to LKQ, saw Digraph as an opportunity to replicate this success in the HGV, trailer, bus, and coach sectors. For LKQ, the acquisition offered several strategic advantages. First, it extended their reach beyond car and LCV into the heavy-duty vehicle arena--a natural evolution for a group already serving a broad spectrum of automotive sectors.

Second, it allowed them to combine Digraph's brand equity and customer base with their formidable infrastructure, including 280+ branches, two national distribution centres, and a logistics network capable of providing same-day and next-day service across the UK. But the move also reflects deeper industry currents. Operators are holding onto vehicles longer, vehicle types are diversifying, and the shift to alternative fuels is well underway.

All of this places new pressure on parts suppliers--not only to stock more complex, mission-critical components but to deliver them at pace. Post-acquisition, the business retains its identity - now 'LKQ Digraph' - but benefits from LKQ's buying power, overnight distribution, and financial clout. The integration of its management signals further alignment across LKQ's business lines, creating a more unified yet still specialist-focused offering.

Building on Scale

If the acquisition of Digraph gave LKQ a strategic foothold in the heavy-duty vehicle market, it's the group's logistics infrastructure that gives it teeth.

For operators used to juggling patchy lead times and stock unpredictability, the behind-the-scenes setup at LKQ is more than impressive--it's transformational. At the heart of this network are two national distribution centres: T1, a 300,000-square-foot site, and T2, a million-square-foot automated facility that anchors the entire supply chain. These hubs operate in concert with 13 regional fulfilment centres and over 280 branches across the UK and Ireland.

Together, they form a parts delivery ecosystem built around a three-tier service model: on-demand, same-day, and next-day. Fast-moving, critical items are held locally at the branch level--close to the customer. Larger regional centres stock around 40,000 SKUs for same-day replenishment, while T2 handles next-day products and more niche components.

This structure means that if a branch runs out of stock, it can be resupplied in hours, not days. And for operators dealing with breakdowns or urgent repairs, that speed is game-changing. Before the acquisition, Digraph relied heavily on third-party couriers.

Now, it's being integrated into LKQ's overnight dispatch model. Every night, over 100 trailers leave T1 and T2, distributing parts to secure drop zones at each branch before sunrise. So by the time doors open at 6 or 7 am, everything is in place for same-day customer delivery--including returns and recycling pickups.

Automation plays a key role. Around 70% of T2's daily picks--up to 90,000 cases--are managed via conveyor systems and robotic packers, ensuring both speed and accuracy. For customers, the impact is straightforward: reduced downtime, improved service-level agreements (SLAs), and fewer missed MOTs or lost contracts.

What's perhaps most remarkable is how Digraph has slotted into this without losing its specialist identity. It now benefits from the full weight of LKQ's logistics, but continues to tailor its branch-level inventory around customer-specific needs, from refuse fleets in Kent to plant hire in Yorkshire. This hybrid model--national reach with local agility--is fast becoming a benchmark in the commercial vehicle sector.

Product Range

The integration with LKQ has enabled Digraph to significantly expand both its inventory and supplier base, resulting in a breadth of range that rivals any OEM or aftermarket operation in the commercial vehicle sector.

Across its branch network and national distribution centres, LKQ Digraph now supports an expansive portfolio that covers the full spectrum of commercial vehicle categories. From 18-ton rigids and 3.5-ton LCVs to complete tractor-trailer units, the company stocks components for HGVs, trailers, plant machinery, buses, and coaches. In total, more than 30,000 part numbers are managed across the estate--up to 20,000 of those at T2 alone.

The product range is tailored to meet customer needs and vehicle types, with stock held locally. A branch in Rotherham might prioritise tipper truck components, while Gloucester could lean more toward bus and coach parts. This local profiling, supported by demand analytics, ensures high availability for the parts that matter most to customers.

Core product categories include braking systems (with top brands such as Textar, Knorr-Bremse, and Don), axle components (BPW, SAF, and JOST), and suspension systems (Lemforder and other ZF Group brands). Engine, exhaust, and emissions technologies are also heavily represented, especially as Euro VI and emerging Euro VII regulations continue to reshape parts demand. LKQ Digraph also supplies filtration (MANN+HUMMEL), lighting, electrics, body panels, interior coach components, and a wide array of workshop consumables.

Crucially, many of these parts are OE equivalent, giving customers the confidence of original equipment performance without the price tag of a dealership. Thanks to LKQ's national and international reach, the group maintains decades-long relationships with most of its supply partners, enabling better pricing, more reliable stock flow, and stronger aftersales support. Another advantage is the ability to tap into LKQ's private label programme, delivered via its Emotive brand.

Already well-established in the car and LCV sectors, private label offers a compelling option for price-sensitive customers who still want quality assurance. Plans are underway to extend this to HGV and trailer parts, creating a differentiated value proposition--especially for operators looking to keep older vehicles and third-life coaches economically viable.

Big Scale, Local Feel

While the scale and logistics muscle of LKQ has transformed Digraph's ability to serve customers quickly and consistently, it hasn't come at the expense of human connection. Quite the opposite is true.

The business model is intentionally designed to preserve local relationships at the branch level, underpinned by field-based support teams who know their territories inside out. Each LKQ Digraph branch continues to operate with autonomy in its engagement with the customer base. Whether it's a one-truck owner-operator or a fleet manager at XPO or DPD, the principle remains the same: build trust, understand local requirements, and deliver reliably.

In most cases, branch managers know their customers by name. Account managers still make regular in-person visits. And in some locations, customers still come in to pick up parts, share a coffee, and chat about the job.

This isn't window dressing--it's a deliberate strategy that mirrors how LKQ Euro Car Parts, another LKQ business, retained its core customer base through its transition into a multinational brand. In fact, over 80% of LKQ Euro Car Parts' trade today still comes from independent local garages, precisely because those relationships were preserved. LKQ Digraph has leaned on that experience.

Local account managers are empowered, not micromanaged. They can make decisions based on customer needs rather than rigid national policies. And for larger customers with multiple locations, national supply agreements are implemented, offering group-wide pricing and consistency without compromising local service.

This hybrid approach is especially practical in sectors such as the coach and bus industry, where operators are often family-owned, multi-generational businesses. These customers value face-to-face relationships and often rely on informal channels to resolve urgent needs. For them, the reassurance that their local contact hasn't disappeared behind a corporate firewall is a powerful differentiator.

Future-Proofing Fleets

LKQ, having long served the car and LCV markets, is bringing that accumulated knowledge into the heavy vehicle space.

It's T1 distribution hub already includes a dedicated training academy offering EV courses for technicians and garage staff. The vision is to extend that capability into the HGV and PSV sectors, where similar skills will be essential as new drivetrains arrive in greater volumes. According to senior leaders at LKQ Digraph, part of their job is to anticipate what customers will need, both in the short term and in the long term, one, three, or five years down the line.

That includes not just parts but also technical guidance, training, and stock profiling. Already, teams are monitoring EV trends, talking to OEMs, and planning inventory that aligns with next-gen vehicle platforms. But the shift isn't only mechanical--it's also data-driven.

The ability to map parts demand based on vehicle location, type, and fleet activity is critical. Using a mix of O-licence records, MOT station proximity, and VMU activity, LKQ builds heatmaps to plan branch expansions and RFS coverage. It's far from perfect--data quality across the commercial vehicle world is notoriously fragmented--but it's improving.

The business combines insights from its fleet supply with services like the AA and RAC, along with broader industry intelligence, to ensure its fulfilment model matches real-world needs. That intelligence also informs investment decisions. A new branch in Sunderland, for example, was opened not just to fill a geographic gap, but because analytics showed a concentration of high-activity logistics and PSV operations in the North East.

Other target zones include Kent, Essex, and South Wales--corridors of intense freight movement with heavy HGV and coach traffic.

A Group Strategy That's Delivering

The story of LKQ Digraph is more than a tale of acquisition--it's a live case study in how to integrate scale, specialism, and service in a sector that rarely tolerates compromise. For commercial vehicle operators--from national logistics groups to single-coach businesses--the stakes are high. Downtime is costly, trust is hard-won, and supplier loyalty is contingent on real-world performance, not corporate polish.

What LKQ has done with Digraph since 2023 is notable because it hasn't simply absorbed the business into a faceless machine. Instead, it has respected and retained what made Digraph valuable in the first place: its deep-rooted knowledge of HGV, coach, and trailer parts; its strong regional presence; and its reputation for responsive, relationship-driven service. At the same time, it has bolted on the strengths of a pan-European enterprise--logistics power, procurement scale, digital capability, and financial backing.

The result is a parts supply business that's uniquely equipped for today's market realities and tomorrow's uncertainties. Overnight replenishment, RFS network coverage, and automation mean same-day and next-day parts are no longer the exception--they're the expectation. Private label product lines, OE-equivalent inventory, and workshop consumables offer choice at every price point.

And above all, the blend of national strategy with local discretion ensures that no customer--regardless of size--is left behind. Critically, LKQ Digraph isn't standing still. Its roadmap includes expanded regional reach, stronger integration across its four UK business units, and increased investment in training, EV transition, and data-led stock planning.

Plans are in place for a national parts footprint with sub-one-hour coverage, a broader rollout of private label options in the HGV space, and further collaboration with fleet operators on bespoke supply models. For a group the size of LKQ, the temptation might have been to centralise everything and standardise every process. Instead, the company has opted for nuance: preserving local insight while elevating service through systems and scale.

That's a tricky balance to strike--but if the response from customers and competitors alike is any indicator, it's resonating. As the commercial vehicle industry continues to grapple with technological change, regulatory pressure, and economic strain, suppliers will be judged not just by what they stock but by how well they understand the people who rely on them. LKQ Digraph is betting that the answer lies in agility, partnership, and a relentless focus on keeping the wheels turning.

More information:
LKQ Digraph: lkqeurope.com/businesses/lkq-digraph
LKQ Corporation: www.lkqcorp.com

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