How To Start a good Vending Business?

Choosing the right vending machine is quite a challenging task for any vending operator. Several misguiding advertisements and false commitments make this job even more complicated. Apart from price and model, choice of vending machine is influenced by several other factors like product you would like to vend, target audience and many others.

First and foremost step while starting any business is market research. A thorough market research helps the operator to understand present market scenario, scope for new entrants, latest products, customer tastes and preferences and products with maximum demand. All this information helps in formulating a perfect business strategy. Planet Antares can be of great help while you are researching about this. Planet Antares staff can provide you with detailed view of how the vending business works and can also show some case studies of people who have grown in this business.

Once you understand what customers are looking for, you can decide on the product you would like to vend depending on your target audience. If you are targeting kids, then choose products like chocolates, ice creams, pizzas, plastic toys etc that can draw attention of kids.

After you have identified the product you would like to vend, decide on the kind of machine you would like to use. These days a variety of machines are available in the market which are capable of vending more than two products at a time. So, depending upon you requirement, you can select the machine.

Whatever kind of machine you purchase, make sure that you go for a new and latest one. If money is your prime concern, then you can go for used or refurbished vending machine. However, the efficiency and performance of a new machine is far more than a used one. Location is another key factor that influences the success or failure of your business. So, make sure you find a location that has maximum customer traffic.

If in any case you are unable to identify the most potential location for your machine all by your self, then you can take the help of Planet Antares staff. Planet Antares will not only help you in choosing vending location but also take you through the entire process and also assist you in times of emergency.

All these steps if followed carefully can help you not only in starting a vending business but also run it successfully.

Perfect Product Mix

We often talk about the importance of product mix, right product mix etc. What exactly is this product mix? In layman terms, product mix is the sum total of all the product items and its variants offered by an organisation. An appropriate product mix will can not only keep your customers satisfied but also provoke them in repeat purchasing.

There are few items which are not at all influenced by changes in the market or introduction of new items. Operators must make sure that they offer these products in order to have continuous sales and maximise profits over a period of time. Operators also need to rotate the products offered from time to time. This is known as category management. This helps in offering a wide variety of products to customers and thereby gains their attention.

Category management simplifies product selection at warehouse and thus makes sure that operators have complete control over the entire process. Operators can also control costs and mobilise resources successfully. This process when implemented in your business allows you to reap huge profits and save immensely. The three main areas where such savings are possible are:

• Category management is successful in reducing number of stock keeping units at the warehouse. Hence you need to invest only little amount in purchasing stock.

• Because of close monitoring efficiency and performance of route drivers and warehouse labourers increases. Thus overall profitability increases.

• A good product mix will ensure higher sales and profitability from different vending locations.

The main aim of implementing this process is to select fast moving products for your vending machines. Once you stock your machine with these products your sales will automatically pick up. This is also effective in reducing your investment in inventory. It has been observed that category management has succeeded in reducing inventory cost by 40%.

So what else are you waiting for, choose the perfect product mix and reap huge benefits.

Importance Of Cleanliness In Vending Machine

Timely servicing and proper cleaning of vending machine is essential part of vending operations. Though they may sound to be very simple and easy, not everyone is capable of performing these functions. These need a lot of practice and can be learned over a period of time.

The National Merchandising Association has come up with a book that guides route drivers on how to be professional in vending operations. If you are an operator who is vending food, the way you present it will definitely impact the success of your business. In food vending business, several personnel are appointed to handle food, cups and other material required right from the time of production till they reach the vending machine. In such a situation, food should be handled properly and thoroughly cleaned.

Improper maintenance and cleaning may lead to bacterial growth thus leading to spread of diseases or chemical poisoning. All this would drastically affect the business and create bad publicity in the market and thus lead to customer rejection. All of us are drawn by clean, attractive and well maintained vending machines. In fact, we would look for these features whenever we purchase products from a vending machine.

Operator should also see to it that the truck used for transporting food to vending machine is also kept neat and tidy. There are predetermined temperatures at which food needs to be stored. For instance in case of cold food, 41 degree Fahrenheit or lower temperature is required and hot foods need to be maintained at 140 degree Fahrenheit or above. The operator must be aware of these requirements and see to it that they are being properly implemented.

Another important thing to be noted here is that vending machines should always be maintained at right temperatures. This prevents food from getting spoiled. It is the prime responsibility of a vending operator to ensure that only quality food is being vended from their machines. This will keep your customers happy and healthy at all times. And satisfied customers can boost your sales thereby making vending a successful business.

Advanced Vending Solutions

Vending industry has seen a lot of changes. Right from coin operated machines to those that work on the swipe of a card. All these have evolved due to technology advancements. We need to keep pace with changes in order to survive.

Initially vending operators used to manually collect information related to various aspects of their business. This data was mostly inaccurate and thus pose a big challenge to operators. Vending operators had no other option but to rely on route personnel for collecting data related to sales, cash and inventory. This process was not only time consuming but also produced inaccurate results. All this paved way to introduction of vending software solutions. These were specifically designed to gather and analyse information relating to vending operations.

This new software made vending business much easy and simple. Using this technology, operators can not only track performance of their machines but also analyze the data. All this software has empowered operators to plan their activities in advance.

Software becomes essential as the size of business increases. Lack of proper tracking systems can make the entire business unorganised and messy. The data thus collected provides insights into the following:

• How often you need to refill your machines.

• Identify slow moving products or those with least demand.

• Which products have maximum demand?

• Identify customer tastes and preferences.

Use of advanced technology helps in running your business profitably. These machines with latest features and technology can increase your sales by drawing more customers and they can also withstand competition. Survival of the fittest is the modern mantra of vending industry. If you do not up date yourself with latest changes, then you would be washed away by severe competition. So, adopt latest technology and create an unique identity for yourself in this business world.