"All items not in the standard vehicle specification were installed by Bott," says Neil Taylor, Selecta's General Manager for Product Logistics for UK & Ireland. "We approached a number of suppliers but none was as big, responsive and professional as Bott."

Selecta, recently acquired by Alliance Capital Partners, is the largest vending services company in Europe. In the UK Selecta serves over one million items to consumers every day from equipment installed in premises including offices, factories, schools and railway stations. The company operates over 20,000 machines and services a similar number of additional items for independent customers.

The service vehicles are used by the company's agents and ‘merchandisers' who visit customer sites to refill machines and carry out maintenance tasks. For a variety of reasons the old fleet comprised many vehicle models that had been fitted with a range of non-standard equipment by different independent suppliers.

"The company has grown and the old ‘one man band' approach was not enough," says Neil. "For the new fleet we had complete freedom to specify exactly what we wanted."

Working with its leasing company, Selecta chose to standardise on the 2.4 litre diesel Ford Transit. Each vehicle is designed to carry enough stock so that it only needs to visit one of the company's depots once a week - which means safety and security are major considerations. In addition to this important role the vehicles are branded to promote Selecta's corporate image.

"We looked at making the basic vehicle more operator-friendly for users with the right solution to include racking and security," explained Neil.

The company originally approached Bott after some of its operators in Scotland decided they wanted to improve their old vehicles. They asked Bott's depot in Cumbernauld to propose some simple enhancements which formed the basis of the new fleet specification after being picked up by Selecta's head office team. Some of the work on the new fleet has been undertaken in Cumbernauld with the bulk completed at Bott's main facility in Ashby.

Bott took the basic vehicles and installed a range of in-vehicle storage equipment and ancillary services to create an environment matched to Selecta's unique requirement. This covers everything from new flooring, an additional bulkhead, lockable shelving and cabinets to secure and store consumables as well as a range of other safety and security measures including a Thatcham-compliant alarm/immobiliser, vehicle tracker, speed limiter and slam locks on the rear doors to prevent unauthorised access.

Attention to detail was important. For example, Bott fitted a number of signs such as those now required following changes in laws affecting smoking and use of mobile phones. This involved taking into account different specifications which apply in England and Scotland. Bott also applied high visibility dots on the wing mirrors so that other drivers are more likely to see them protruding when the vehicles were coming towards them on narrow roads. This is expected to reduce the amount of accidental damage significantly with a consequent saving in repair bills. Finally, Bott applied exterior graphics supplied by Selecta's design agency, but in future the plan is to use its own in-house facilities to design, print and apply the distinctive full body wraps.

Bott co-ordinated vehicle supply logistics with Ford and leasing company Lex to ensure that deliveries were made on schedule. The company also managed the return of Selecta's old vehicles by arranging collection and carrying out checks and valeting before delivering them to the original leasing company.

"The logistics were quite complicated with four companies involved but Bott has done an excellent job," concluded Neil. "We have a good working relationship and they are very professional."

Claimed to be the UK's leading manufacturer and installer of in-vehicle storage equipment, Bott employs 300 people in the UK, provides extensive fleet installation, conversion and preparation services at its facilities in Ashby, Leicestershire and Cumbernauld. The company manufactures products to ISO9001 manufacturing and ISO14001 environmental standards at its factory in Cornwall. It has operated in the UK for more than 30 years and is part of the German-owned international Bott Group.

http://www.bottltd.co.uk/

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---