Like most industries, the vending business has benefitted greatly from many of the technological innovations of the last couple of decades, most notably, the integration of computers and software.

When Premier Vending first started servicing vending machines in Chicago in the late 1980s, the approach to a service frequency was simply educated guessing.  Operations Managers would ask pointed inquiries like the number of full-time staff, number of daily guests, hours of operation, etc.  They would then canvas the surrounding area to see what snack and beverage convenience options were nearby.  With that information, a decision would be made that this account probably needs to be serviced once a week, twice a week, once a month, etc.

Although adjustments were frequently made to the service schedule based on historical data, this approach never accounted for unique times when the vending machines would be utilized more than usual.  For example, if there was a big multi-day meeting in the building that brought in a surplus of guests, or perhaps a period of inclement weather that kept staff in the building, rather than leaving the facility to grab something to eat or drink.

With the advent of Vending Management Software, vending operators are now able to see real-time data on each of their machines to help determine service frequency.  In fact, instead of making set routes and service days, many vending companies now dynamically route their drivers based on accounts’ specific daily needs.

In addition to optimizing service frequencies, Vending Management Software also gives operators a plethora of data on the products that are available in the vending machines.  By utilizing telemetry within the machines, vending operators can see metrics like daily consumption rates, current sell outs and days until the next sell out.  This data ensures that the right product mix is in the vending machines, after all, it doesn’t do any god to have products available in the machines if they aren’t popular and no one is buying them.

Perhaps most importantly, Vending Management Software gives vending companies real-time alerts on possible services issues on their machines.  Although Premier Vending uses brand new, state-of-the-art vending machines, at some point a wrinkled dollar bill is bound to get stuck or a foreign coin gets inserted into the coin mechanism causing it to jam.  Rather than having to wait until the driver discovers the problem on his next scheduled visit, Vending Management Software alerts operators that there has been a prolonged period where the machine has not successfully accepted a bill or coin.

Any good vending operator is going to be dedicated to ensuring their customers’ satisfaction.  Great vending operators utilize every tool at their disposal to guarantee every possible avenue to customer satisfaction is being optimized.  Vending Management Software has been a game changer in the vending industry, Premier Vending is proud to be one of the first operators in the country to deploy the technology and is one of the reasons we are recognized as an industry leader in the Chicago market.