Dealer Demonstration and Service Vehicles: A Pilot Before Fleet Rollout

Project overview

Customer

A building products manufacturer

Application

Dealer product demonstrations and transport of installation tools and consumables

Initial concept

Vehicles for a dealer network of approximately 500

Initial delivery

Two pilot vehicles

Follow-on orders

15 additional vehicles over the next two years

Our scope

Vehicle configuration, layout design and conversion

The approximately 500-dealer network was the initial rollout concept, not a confirmed order for 500 vehicles.

The Customer’s Initial Plan

After seeing a competitor’s service vehicle at a trade show, the customer approached us with an idea for its dealer network: a vehicle that could demonstrate products and carry the tools and consumables needed for installation work.

The initial concept was a long-wheelbase, high-roof vehicle on an imported or joint-venture commercial chassis, with extensive exterior styling and an interior product display.

The proposed rollout covered approximately 500 dealers. Before developing the vehicle specification, we worked with the customer to establish how the vehicles would be used and purchased.

Establishing the Operating Requirements

The daily users would be the dealers’ sales teams, and the dealers would pay the full purchase price. The vehicle therefore needed to provide useful demonstration and transport functions at a cost dealers were willing to accept.

The brief included two functional areas:

• Product demonstration area: Live demonstrations, hands-on product demonstrations and promotional video playback.
• Tools and consumables area: Space for transporting items required for installation work.

These requirements provided the basis for comparing configurations. The assessment covered both the manufacturer’s presentation objectives and the dealers’ day-to-day use.

Comparing Two Configurations

We presented a higher-cost and a lower-cost configuration.

Budget and the potential for wider dealer adoption were central to the decision. Space and payload were not the limiting factors in this project.

The customer selected the lower-cost configuration, retaining the required functions while simplifying the vehicle’s presentation.

Delivering Two Pilot Vehicles

1. Initial conceptA network of approximately 500 dealers; rollout quantities not confirmed.
2. Two pilot vehiclesPlaced with dealers for daily demonstration and installation-support work.
3. 15 additional vehiclesPurchased over the next two years following the initial delivery.

We built two pilot vehicles and placed them with dealers who would use them in their daily work.

The vehicles performed the required tasks, and further orders followed. Over the next two years, the customer purchased another 15 units in addition to the two pilot vehicles.

Starting with two vehicles gave the customer an opportunity to assess dealer uptake before committing to a wider rollout. It also kept later purchasing quantities adjustable as the project developed.

The original concept had envisaged approximately 500 vehicles. That was an initial rollout idea, rather than a confirmed order. The staged approach allowed actual purchasing to develop from field experience.

What This Project Demonstrates

For a dealer vehicle programme, the first vehicles need to establish more than whether the conversion can be built.

They should help answer three practical questions:

1. Can the vehicle perform the required daily work?
2. Will the intended user accept the purchase cost?
3. Is the configuration suitable for wider deployment?

In this project, simplifying the chassis and presentation retained the essential demonstration and transport functions. Delivering a small initial batch allowed the customer to assess the concept before deciding on further purchases.

Our role was to translate those operating and purchasing requirements into a vehicle specification and take responsibility for the completed conversion.