Ford Motor Co. says it will restructure and expand its U.S. parts distribution network in order to deliver service and repair parts to dealers faster and more efficiently.

Over the next three years, the automaker will increase the number of parts distribution centers it operates from 10 to 21. The company says the change will allow dealers to order and receive parts every day, instead of once a week. The distribution network will include both existing facilities and new buildings that Ford will lease.

The first new center will open in Memphis, Tenn., by January. Others will be phased in through 2004. Each will be one of the following types:

• A low-volume/low-cube center, which will handle small, low-volume products. Ford's plans call for just one such center, to be located in Memphis.
• A high-cube center, which will concentrate on large products. High-cube centers will be opened in three strategic locations, as yet unnamed, to improve delivery reliability
• A high-velocity center, which will concentrate high-volume parts in 19 locations and provide daily deliveries. Items distributed by these centers account for more than 80 percent of dealers' needs for customer repairs.

The Memphis facility will incorporate all three of the newly designed distribution hubs and is expected to be the operating model for all of the centers being opened across the country, according to Ford.