2023 Product Status
UD Marine is Unique Diesel's Marine product division which was established in 2018 by acquiring the complete assets of Peninsular Engines Inc. Unique Diesel owns and possesses all intellectual and physical property for product lines sold formerly by Peninsular which enables continuance of parts and product availability for the Peninsular 6.2 and 6.5L Diesel Marine products. Peninsular was an OEM manufacturer for their own products, and now Unique Diesel is the OEM manufacturer for Peninsular products. This is not simply a distributor arrangement, this is the source for many of these components because they are manufactured by Unique Diesel.
Two important expansions to business operations are in place for 2023. First, the customer front end and product fulfillment is now handled by local contractor called Stern Trading, which free's Unique Diesel to invest resources into other needed divisions and areas. Second, another business arrangement has developed to offer an Official Engine Service Center for engine services in and out of the vessel, this business division may also act as a secondary parts distributor.
2022 Operational Changes
Prior to September 2022 the Peninsular product division was solely handled internally to fulfill orders, handle customer service inquiries via email and managed inventory and the warehouse. Starting in September 2022 a transition to a mostly parts-only sales model, a local contractor will handle order fulfillment, website management and all customer service inquires. Throughout the remainder of 2022 the local contractor matured to become Stern Trading. This contractor utilizes UD's warehouse, email, website to complete tasks. The following sections on this page outline how this arrangement works.
Customer Service Contact
Legitimate inquires that are from those that have an active purchase will have access to customer service for normal issues that can arise from conducting business. Customer service inquires will be limited and assistance with parts selection will be brief. Paid technical support options are currently unavailable as these were handled directly by Unique Diesel prior to Stern Trading's management of product fulfillment. Paid support was an unpopular but necessary tool against constant inquires for help with products formerly purchased from Peninsular Engines Inc., and not Unique Diesel. Sadly customers didn't seem to understand the issue with this. For now technical requests will be monitored and prioritized towards a paid technical information portal. For parts needs potential and actual customers are encouraged to reference the Engine Components manual and information found on the online product descriptions. A zero-tolerance operational policy is in effect whereby any derogatory, rude, or pushy correspondence will result in the permanent discontinuation of online account and customer privileges, this is to prevent situations that caused disruptions in product availability in 2022.
Product Sales Fulfillment
Due to new operational resources order fulfillment on shipments is limited to ONE time a week. Scheduled shipments will depart on the Monday of every week, unless that Monday is a holiday. Domestic shipments are limited to USPS and UPS Ground services only, no express type services are offered. International shipments will continue with UPS Air. Orders made Monday - Friday during a business week will ship the following Monday, orders on a Monday will not ship same day.
Bulk Ordering Restricted
Due to complexities in manufacturing components in the US's damaged economic climate, and sub-component souring from suppliers; the website has been reconfigured to disallow purchases of items solely based on inventory amounts. Restrictions are now in place to limit a product by it's use on one engine assembly. Maintenance items such as filters and gaskets are available in higher quantities for preventative maintenance and successful repairs as sometimes a gasket gets damaged during install and having a second on hand is necessary. This restriction does not limit making additional orders, so if you have two engines in need of the same parts, you will simply have to make a separate order. Bulk order is possible but follows a specific process and is similar to a back order. Contact customer service for the bulk ordering policy and process. Orders processed as bulk are a back order or special order with items being manufactured or sourced with specific lead times and not coming out of local current inventory.
Product Support
Product support is limited to products sold by Unique Diesel Marine. Inquiries made to Customer Service will be received and reviewed by Stern Trading. Should technical information or new product availability be necessary Unique Diesel will be contacted by Stern Trading. Through coordination by Stern Trading it has been seen that Unique Diesel is now more able to freely devote resources towards making more product items available and more product resources.
Exclusive Engine Service Center and Distributor
An exclusive Peninsular Service Center has been coordinated and is in the progress of formal establishment as of March 2023. This is exciting because this service center will be capable of repairs to complete refurbishment of Peninsular engines in and out of the vessel. This operational change has much more flexibility and options beyond what Unique Diesel Marine could offer independently. Optionally, it is being discussed how to handle the ability of expanded parts distribution through this arrangement, which may offer other sales mediums beyond online purchases.