British American Tobacco (BAT) in Switzerland, one of the world's largest tobacco companies, employs over 100 people in Boncourt and Lausanne. BAT faces a significant logistical challenge: regularly refilling 5,000 vending machines with tobacco products and other consumer goods. Additionally, all vending machines had to be retrofitted for the new Swiss banknotes, representing a major investment.
Time-consuming management of the vending machine fleet
Costly retrofitting of machines with new readers
Operational activities outside of BAT's core business
In close collaboration with DHL Switzerland, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post responsible for logistics and retrofitting, CHG-MERIDIAN developed an efficient management concept for all vending machines. Newly installed sensors allow DHL drivers to deliver tobacco products to the vending machines as needed, ensuring just-in-time delivery.
Retrofitting 5,000 vending machines with new readers for new Swiss banknotes and equipping them with sensors for more efficient (just in time) refilling.
Sale and leaseback: CHG-MERIDIAN purchased all machines and leased them back to BAT in line with the budget. This has significantly increased cash flow predictability, cost transparency and delivered additional profit to BAT’s bottom line.
The agreed monthly service and rental rates include all expenses incurred, covering installation, storage and delivery, repairs and upgrades. This comprehensive approach has significantly reduced the costs and risks for BAT. As a result, CHG-MERIDIAN's model allows BAT to concentrate more on its core business.
CHG-MERIDIAN successfully uncovered several opportunities for the tobacco company BAT through a carefully crafted concept to address logistical challenges, paired with an intelligent customised financing solution. The modernised vending machines now enable just-in-time delivery of tobacco products. The rental and service model has substantially decreased logistical efforts and risks, thanks to predictable regular installments.
Zoltkan Hotkai, Corporate Finance Manager at BAT, has expressed his satisfaction with CHG-MERIDIAN as a competent partner that can swiftly and flexibly address all technical queries.
"Managing our fleet of vending machines was time-consuming. We had to spend administrative time on operational activities that are not our core business.
By setting up an effectively managed fleet of vending machines, CHG-MERIDIAN has given us more time for our core business."
of executives in the industrial manufacturing sector have buy-in from senior leaders for the deployment of emerging tools and technologies.
of new leasings in Germany are production machinery, with an increase of 7 % in 2022.
of German companies say that the predictable return of leased assets is an important argument in favor of leasing.
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