bott selected by selecta

The contract includes installation of in-vehicle equipment and on-board ancillaries, and management of supply logistics to ensure deliveries meet Selecta’s schedules.

“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 Corporate Partners, is the largest vending services company in Europe and the market leader in the UK and Ireland. It 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, retrieve cash and carry out maintenance tasks. For a variety of reasons the old fleet comprised of 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 Taylor. “For the new fleet we had complete freedom to choose and specify 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 the Selecta’s corporate image.

“We looked at making the basic vehicle more friendly for users with the right solution to include racking and cash security,” says Neil Taylor.