1. Remote Monitoring

Our vending machine business has grown to a size we would not have dreamed of 2 years ago thanks to Circumtec and back to base monitoring technology! We are now continually improving our sales, able to service more machines in a day, and have a greater level of control and understanding of our vending business.

We are now in control!
We reflect on when we first started vending. We filled the van to the hilt and headed off to fill the day’s machines, hoping that were all empty and the sites were open. We had to go back to the van 2 or 3 times and generally still came home with plenty of stock.
Now by using a restocking packing list printed out from the Circumtec website the night before, containers are pre-packed only with what they need and marked with the site’s name. Because the route has been organised in priority of machines needing attention, the van is then packed in corresponding order avoiding unnecessary lifting. When arriving at the site, we load the trolley with the marked containers, walk in once and fill the machine in an efficient manner. Too easy!
This saves us time, saves unnecessary trips to the van and rainy days are no longer a problem.

Our personal experience is that Circumtec have provided us with unrivalled support and back up service and this has allowed us to use the back to base monitoring system with 100% confidence. We can be proactive as well by identifying  potential issues with machines which may have coin jams or power off which are indicated by alerts on the website and attend to them quicker, sometimes before the site is even aware of it.
We are able to monitor our machines 24/7 day or night using our home computer and         iPhone when out on the road. We regularly review our machines to determine the favourite products each site likes as well as the slow moving products. Next time we go to that machine, we then make better choices by adding more of the popular products to increase sales. We are no longer afraid to change our machines around and the sites love the variety.
Using the Circumtec system allows us to fill more machines in a day, use fuel in the van more efficiently and we are home earlier to see our family. What more can we say?  We are extremely pleased with how Circumtec has improved our vending business and we are sure this is the way of the future in vending. J

Jason and Katrina – Gecko Vending

8/11/2010

 

2. Cashless Vending

High volume locations naturally give the best returns and profit to any vending business. The loss of a High Volume location to a competitor is damaging to not only to ones pride but also to the business. Generally this happens after a period of time where the site has either experienced a period of technical breakdowns or a drop in the level of service. The technical breakdown period is usually due to either the age of the vending machine or the coin mechanism being the primary cause. Anything we can do to alleviate the pressure on this piece of equipment and make the site experience a greater sense of reliability is something that should be seriously looked at.
Corporate Vending Systems (A 150 machine vending operator) was in this position with the constant threat of the largest private and multinational vending machine operators (Smiths Total Vend & Coca Cola Amatil) always trying to poach their valued sites.

CVS looked at the idea of Cashless Vending with the view that if they could tie the staff of the locations to their service and machines. Then this would always make it difficult for the “Poachers “to succeed. The investment in this technology would not only achieve additional security of tenure (3 year term instead of 1) but with the increase in machine reliability would also increase their sales volume through the machines and justify the investment cost.
We assumed that if the staff were able to see the increase in reliability of the equipment we would therefore see an increase in sales.
The Directors of CVS looked at the workings of the Cashless System as supplied by CircumTec and decided to trial an initial 6 machines at three different locations. The Directors spoke with the managers of the locations and all agreed that if it increased reliability and meant there would be a reduction in machine down time then this was the way forward.

CVS Directors then spoke with other card customers to find out how to overcome and ensure there was no resistance to the introduction of the cards. Suggestions included getting personalized cards with the name of the vending business embossed. This was to generate the feeling to the customer that they were now part of a “Club.” Being part of this club meant that the CVS Directors were now able to give back to their customers if they spent over a certain amount each month if they wanted to. This also meant that all future sites could also be run on the same system. Multiple vending machines on the same company sites would also benefit in that the employees could use their cards at any machine without the need to carry money.
The introduction of the cards was done using a standard 20 pitch coil. The cost of the cards was absorbed by CVS and each card was credited with $12.00 but could be purchased for $10.00 to ensure the take up rate was high. Once purchased the cards could be reused. Credit Top ups was easy. It simply meant inserting the notes into the note reader and then swiping the card over the reader. A countdown would show and at the end the card could be re swiped to show the new balance and then used to purchase. Coins are also able to be used to perform the same function.
To date 25% of the number of employees on site have purchased a card with an average top up of $15.00. An increase in turnover has been shown from previous months but as the selected locations are less that a year old no data is available to compare against. Though the number of service calls has dropped from 3 a month to less than 1. The number of coins has decreased through the coin mech and naturally the note reader usage has more than doubled.
As further results come through these will posted to this website

Debbie – Corporate Vending

1/12/2010

 

 

2. Credit card vending

To Upgrade or to not Upgrade
That is really the question. Currently America leads the way in total credit card installations in Vending Machines.
Vendors of America have embraced the technology? Yes and No.
Currently they have over 100,000 credit card devices in the field and the best results naturally come from machines that are placed in airports, hospitals, universities or where vending customers are limited in their access to local currencies.
Apriva the gateway provider aligned with NAMA (National Automatic Merchandising Association) has conducted a recent survey with 200 operators who belong to the association and has found some 57% of the respondents are planning to add or expand cashless payment capability in 2011. Only 8% of respondents said that they do not anticipate adopting this technology.
Apriva vice-president of sales Stacey Finley Tappin said the vending industry appears to be approaching critical mass in terms of adopting cashless technology.
"The findings confirm what we're seeing in the field -- that a growing number of operators understand the profound benefits offered through cashless technology, and are prepared to make the strategic decision of bringing these solutions into their businesses," she said.
Apriva and NAMA conducted the study as part of their ongoing efforts to educate operators on the operational and economic benefits of cashless vending.
Among vendors who indicated their intention of adding cashless in 2011, about 30% said that they would place cashless machines in university or school settings, while 12% cited hospitals and other institutions as their preferred locations.
"As cashless technology becomes more accepted in the industry, most operators will face a learning curve in identifying the right locations to deploy the technology," explained Dr. Michael Kasavana, NAMA-endowed Professor in Hospitality Business at Michigan State University (East Lansing).
"From what we can surmise from Apriva's survey, a good portion of operators sees that institutions -- such as schools and hospitals -- offer the right demographics to warrant electronic payments. As the technology continues to become more pervasive, I expect that we'll see cashless make inroads in a number of other facilities, like retail sites and offices."
In Australia managing Director of Natvend (Australia’s largest independent operator) confirms that Credit Card Vending continues to grow. Yes certain sites warrant the investment more than others and those sites continue to grow with the number of transactions increasing monthly. With a large number of credit card devices deployed around Melbourne international airport we find our equipment gets bombarded when an aircraft is delayed. Our customers at this point have generally little or no Australian currency so the credit card devices tend to do the majority of sales.
Smiths (Total Vend) and Coca Cola (Amatil) continue to embrace the technology and have plans to deploy the devices on all of their equipment. This in turn will mean locations run by independent operators will come to expect the devices to be installed as well.
Independent operators in Australia are adopting the technology following in the footsteps of the Major players. Most operators have 2/3 locations that would warrant the investment and are prepared to pay the 25/35c transaction fee (fee depends on the number of monthly transactions) to keep the location or to get an “opportunistic sale” (a sale provided on the basis of no other means of payment).
Circumtec is the leader in providing the Credit card solution to small vending operators. They provide the devices along with an Australian gateway and even deposit the funds next day along with a detailed report to assist with accounting. Remote monitoring is also a standard feature that is embedded in the technology and is included in the standard monthly fees.
For further information on how we can assist you in your area refer to contact details on this website

Stephen Slater– Circumtec

8/2/2011