MANCHESTER, UK – Van Blanc Transport LTD (VBT), a leading specialist in fuel distribution logistics, has announced a strategic investment in Touchstar’s ‘FuelStar’ Electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) solution. This partnership marks a full fleet rollout designed to replace legacy paper-based processes with a high-performance digital environment, ensuring VBT remains at the forefront of the bulk fuel sector.
The Challenge: Enhancing Process, Efficiency and Compliance
Operating in the complex bulk fuel environment presents unique challenges regarding safety and legislative adherence. VBT identified a critical requirement to move beyond paper-based tickets to a system that offered total visibility and control. The primary drivers for the investment were the need to enhance process efficiency, improve operational visibility, and, most importantly, ensure absolute compliance with all relevant legislation and industry standards applicable to bulk fuel handling.
The Solution: Integrated Control and Rugged Reliability
Central to the project is the deployment of Touchstar’s FuelStar mobile application, running on TS3300 rugged ATEX-rated tablets. A defining feature of the solution is the direct integration into VBT’s in-house ERP system, ensuring a single, seamless flow of operational data without the need for manual rekeying or reconciliation. This unique capability facilitates the real-time transmission of ePOD data, enabling same-day or next-day invoicing and providing a seamless, secure data flow from the gantry to the customer tank.
To support rapid adoption, VBT has also selected a flexible rental model, allowing the business to deploy the solution quickly while spreading the investment over a five-year term, rather than making a large upfront capital commitment.
By removing the reliance on pre-printing and manual processing, the solution provides VBT with a secure, scalable platform backed by Microsoft Azure. To ensure long-term stability and ROI, the entire digital ecosystem is supported by Touchstar’s full lifecycle management. With one accountable partner for hardware, software, integration, and ongoing support, Touchstar reduces both project risk and total cost of ownership—positioning it as the natural choice over alternative providers in the market. By managing the entire technology lifecycle, Touchstar provides VBT with the assurance that their digital infrastructure remains robust, compliant, and future proof, fostering a technology partnership they can trust for the long term.
The Result: Operational Visibility and Professionalism
The transition, scheduled for an April go-live, is set to deliver significant improvements in operational control. By digitising the workflow, VBT will achieve a level of process efficiency and visibility that ensures a highly professional, reliable service for their client base.
“The ability to integrate FuelStar directly into our own ERP system is a pivotal step for our operations,” says Sam Bradley, Director, at Van Blanc Transport LTD. “It provides the visibility and control needed to ensure compliance in a complex bulk-handling environment. By partnering with Touchstar, we are providing our customers with a credible, stable supply, and we look forward to the significant gains in efficiency as we transition to this new system in April.”
Driving the Digital Journey
Touchstar delivers the UK’s most complete digital fuel depot platform. At its heart is FuelStar—an industry-proven solution for planning, executing, and reconciling bulk fuel deliveries in real time. By “driving the digital journey” for the depot sector, Touchstar’s wider technology suite gives fuel distributors a secure, compliant, and fully connected environment from gantry to customer tank.
About Touchstar Technologies
Touchstar is a UK-based leader in rugged mobile computing and fuel logistics software. With over 40 years of experience, Touchstar provides end-to-end digital solutions that help fuel distributors optimise their operations and maintain the highest levels of safety and compliance. www.touchstar.co.uk
About Van Blanc Transport LTD
Based in Manchester, Van Blanc Transport (VBT) specialises in the distribution and logistics of bulk fuel across the UK, operating a modern fleet dedicated to reliability and service excellence.
