Customized Machine Fronts and Area Treatments

An improvement in printing technology has offered new options for vending operators who are looking to dress up their machine fronts. These options expand for enhancing the entire vending area as well.

Take a look at the break area where your Antares vending machine is placed. Does it look presentable? If it doesn’t, then it will all be up to you to make it colorful, inviting and sometimes even entertaining. People working in that office have to visit the break room everyday, so you need to find a way to hook these customers to your Antares vending machine.

Your Antares vending machines can also have character in addition to their attractive looks.

Design process

Specialists are taking advantage of new graphic design processes to enhance the aesthetic appeal of employee break areas. Vending machines in particular are beginning to come alive. You as an Antares vending operator can decide to use their services for your business.

In 1998 Automatic Merchandiser noted that Canteen Vending Service’s Market Central marked a new beginning for vending. The series of machine design concepts were nothing but revolutionary. The colorful designs were made of polycarbonate that fit over the top of the machines. Panel headers, including signs cut into decorative shapes, gave added visual effect.

Today, the design movement is gaining momentum as more and more operators recognize the need to dress up their machines, along with the machine environments.

Antares vending operators must keep in mind that by using customized door fronts, signage, customized floor mats and other customer unique offerings, that they can change the view of their service from a commoditized service to a premium service.

Today more operators are aware of the importance of aesthetics. Competition is now pushing the envelope, and the new graphic design technologies are bringing more products to the market.

Costly Power Disruptions for Vendors

Digital technology has become prevalent in vending machines and in other equipment, thus rendering vendors at risk to costly power disruptions.

Lightning, power outages, and energy surges can disrupt sales in your Antares vending machine and at the same time cause damage to your equipment and revenue. Protecting your Antares vending machines and equipment with power protection is more critical then ever.

Today’s vending industry is not what it used to be. With the introduction of digital technology to the vending industry, machines, office equipment and other sensitive digital equipment increasingly rely on quality power to operate.

Lightning, power outages, and energy surges are not the only things that you should be worried about for your Antares business. By simply plugging the machine into an outlet, the machine can be damaged by other disturbances.

Power protection products to the rescue

You will need to protect your Antares vending machines with a power protector. This will prevent harmful electrical noise and interference from disrupting your machines’ operation. You should prevent any type of damage from occurring on the machine. This will extend the life of your Antares vending machine, as well as increase reliability, and most importantly, protect your investment.

There are different options of power protection available in the market; it will just depend on what you will require to protect your Antares vending machine and equipment.

The competitive advantage

There are some manufactures who offer extended warranties that provide coverage for all repair costs for equipment, up to the full replacement value of the equipment if a properly connected filter fails.

As you compare power protection companies, you should also look for additional advantages and programs for your Antares business.

Power protection is vital for any vending business. This protection should cover machines, computer based systems and digital equipment. They all require power protection to ensure optimum productivity and profitability.

The Most Common Mistakes Made by Operators

The most common mistakes that operators make are usually at the beginning of their vending career. These mistakes can be avoided. Below are some common mistakes that are made by operators.

1) Buying into blue sky scams

Blue sky swindlers will promise you that your vending business will allow you to make money while you sleep. The potential operators would simply accept these promises without carrying out any research. Antares Corporation would provide you all the necessary information regarding vending. In this way you will avoid the scams you that are quite common in the vending industry.

2) Lack of accounting knowledge

Lack of accounting knowledge is one of the biggest causes of small business failure. You can’t get from point A to point B without a basic understanding of the accounting process. You will be required to evaluate and implement decisions that will impact profits in your vending business.

3) Under Capitalization

You will need to accumulate enough capital for your Antares business, up front, to support a conservative growth rate. The operator can start the business as a part time business, until the route gets established.

4) Trading away their advantage

Vending is an attractive business because the operator can operate the business with low overhead costs. As a result of this operators tend to think that they afford to offer lower selling prices and higher commissions. The operator can afford to do all these things only if the business has grown to the point where it requires more help. When the operator hires the first employee, the business has to be profitable enough to support the owner/operator and the employee. Don’t trade away your advantage in your Antares business by lowering your prices as soon as you start the business.

5) Using low capacity equipment

Many operators purchase small vending machines to save money. These machines usually have low capacity. These machines have low capacity, which means that they will need frequent refilling. It is always advisable to go for large capacity vending machine like those provided by Antares corporation.

6) Ignoring reinvestment requirements

Operators usually invest thousands of dollars to buy new equipment for a new location. When they do this they tend to take their existing locations for granted. They fail to realize that they have to periodically upgrade their better locations to keep them current. As an Antares operator you need to take care of this, so that you do not suffer the loss of a major location.

How Fixed Costs Can Double Up Quickly

If your Antares vending business is growing, and you end up adding more routes over time, it makes sense to start treating expenses such as route labor, vehicle costs and depreciation costs as variable expenses. They are only fixed expenses in the short term. If you have a route person working and servicing a substandard account, then you will have to hire a new route person much sooner when a good account comes along. This would also apply to vending equipment.

As an experienced Antares vending operator you should understand that if you keep equipment employed in non profitable accounts, the equipment will not be available when a profitable account comes along. This means that you will have to needlessly invest in new equipment. These expenses should be eliminated in determining if a particular account should be resigned, because they are step-variable expenses, with frequent steps.

The average Antares operator can forget to deduct the direct labor cost of order picking in the warehouse, cash processing and the labor used for data processing attributable to the location, as the expenses that will disappear. You could argue that these are fixed costs for your Antares vending business. However if any of these functions employ more than one person, you should be able to reduce the hours of a second employee.

After adding up all the direct costs that would disappear, you should then give up the location if the revenues fail to cover the direct costs. This problem would become a little more difficult to solve if the revenues cover the direct costs but do not fully cover the fixed or so called overhead costs that have been allocated to this location.

In truth, the fixed costs are really fixed, when you give up such a location. On top of this, whatever contribution the location makes toward covering the fixed costs will disappear from your Antares business bottom line.

It is very important that you understand that the dynamics of allocating fixed or overhead costs to individual location statements. Fixed or overhead costs are a moving target in most businesses.

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Transportation of Inventory in Trucks

Customizing the interior of a route vehicle to maximize the efficiency of inventory handling is an important element to running an efficient Antares vending business operation successfully. To do this, operators often debate doing the work themselves or utilizing the services of vehicle design specialists. The first thing that you need to consider when customizing the vehicle is how much inventory you would need to carry.

First consideration: Soft drinks

The layout of the interior hinges on volume of beverages an Antares operator will move on a route. Soft drinks take up a lot of room and need to be located for a good weight distribution. Operators are usually encouraged to carry only what they need on a vehicle. It minimizes weight and extends the life of the truck. It has been said that on the majority of routes, over 200 cases are wasteful. This is not only because of the weight factor. Today the soft drink can walls are incredibly thin, which can lead to nasty leaks. This is the reason that proper inventory turnover is essential.

Your vehicle must be designed in such a way that proper weight distribution is achieved. If there is too much weight on the front end of the vehicle, it will wear out prematurely. If there is too little weight, the vehicle will bounce, making the tires wear out early. You can also decide to have the vehicle designed for you, to maximize inventory handling for your Antares business.

Step two: Snack shelves

The snack shelves are considered only after the number of beverage racks is determined. The amount of shelving required will depend on the quantity of product.

Chips, for instance are light, so they can be stacked on the higher shelves. In this way they won’t affect the center of gravity.

Antares vending operators also need to consider if they plan to transport perishable products (which will necessitate coolers) and other items such as carbon dioxide canisters. A candy cooler can be considered for chocolate, so that the Antares vending operators won’t get a blooming effect. Blooming is the result of temperature of temperature changes (i.e. cold chocolate put in a hot environment). A place for a hand truck should also be added, so it isn’t rolling around the back.

Less Service Can Mean Better Service

Many operators service a snack or soda machine when it is only 30 % depleted, and when it has sold out one or more products. Here is a strategy for servicing an Antares vending machine less often while still providing better service.

· Double up on the best selling two or three products that are selling out. On a “space to sales” soda machine, reallocate the space to the best seller (s) to accomplish this.

· Monitor the sell outs for the next few services – they should be eliminated.

· Work to reschedule the Antares vending machine aiming for a 40 to 50 percent depletion level. Typically, this will involve scheduling it for service at a 30 to 60 percent longer interval.

If collecting these metrics is difficult, or if a manual system is being used, then let the drivers collect the data, and then let him/her write the following on each service ticket.

· How many products have sold out?

· Approximately how empty is the Antares vending machine?

· The products that are selling best and how many columns of each they have allocated.

Just asking for this information will get your drivers focused on it.

The latest software and technology solutions can automate much of the manual route scheduling process, using the following systems:

· Dynamic scheduling – this automates the delivery schedule each day based on user defined parameters, such as the number of sell outs, percent depletion, or the number of days since the last service. If an Antares vending machine doesn’t require servicing, there is no need to waste gas and the driver’s time on a trip. Dynamic scheduling works with non DEX as well as DEX able machines.

· Remote monitoring – this requires DEX, as well as a wireless or hard-wired network to remotely enable the machines. This technology allows the operation to optimize scheduling and merchandising by providing real time sales data. It is most suitable for distant locations that are costly to service.

By using these techniques you can not only have reduced visits, but you can also cut entire routes in your Antares vending business. This means that you can add customers without adding staff, or you can also reduce staff.

DEX: The Bottom Line

Companies that are using DEX in most or all of the machines have two distinct advantages when it comes to controlling cash collected from vending machines.

1) They are capable of settling all cash differences on the same day the driver returns, or as soon as the cash is collected.

2) They can plug forever the change fund loophole

As a result, the best have gone from having cash control issues of 5% to 7% to having cash control down to within 0.1 %. This would make a difference to your bottom line in your Antares vending business.

Tracking individual products

Most Antares vending operators would love to have item level sales from each vending machine, but few are willing to pay the price of collecting the data. Even with an efficient handheld, a driver that tracks every slot in a snack machine is going to take five to ten minutes to service each snack machine. If you marry the DEX column sales data with a handheld computer that knows the product selection in each Antares vending machine, you will get all your item-level sales data during the DEX reading, which will take about five to fifteen seconds. Collecting this data will offer your Antares vending operation several obvious benefits.

Help in identifying sales trends

Software management systems can aggregate this data and look for trends and opportunities. Simply replacing bad sellers with extra columns of the best sellers will increase your customer’s satisfaction while allowing you to service the Antares vending machine less often. This system will allow you to increase revenue 15% and free up 10% more bandwidth to take on new accounts.

Tracking products: the bottom line

A driver taking one trip to the Antares machine can usually service 10 to 20% more machines in day, especially if they are moving from a manual system. From a productivity standpoint, the best solution would be to have all your Antares vending machines ‘online’ via a remote monitoring solution, and having the solution fully integrated with your back office systems. The main advantage of this system is to poll each Antares machine every night, to find out what it needs and when it will it needs to be serviced.

Handhelds for Route Drivers

Vending is the last route based industry to utilize handhelds. Handhelds will make Antares vending route drivers more productive. This will be an added advantage for the business.

Apart from vending, every other route based industry has used “handhelds” for over 20 years. Company’s decided to employ handhelds after hearing about operator’s positive handheld experiences. Vending experts and trade magazines have endorsed handhelds for nearly a decade.

The expectations of handhelds are that they improve warehouse and route efficiency for your Antares vending business, with barcode scanning and information accuracy. The benefits harvested from improved machine service and product merchandising also encourages their deployment. Handhelds will be recognized by your Antares customers as a sign of professionalism, which they see as something that will improve the management of their satisfaction.

The Direct Exchange (DEX) of machine information with a handheld contains two important sets of information. First, it contains information on how many dollar bills are in the bill acceptor of your Antares vending machine, coins in the collection box and exact tube activity. Secondly it contains the number of vends for each column (selection).

From the cash information comes “tamper proof cash reconciliation,” while the column vends allow the handheld to instantly tell the quantity of each product necessary to restock the Antares vending machine.

DEX information is usually passed onto the handheld with a cable that connects the machine to the handheld. This process would take about 15 seconds. This of course is much faster than the manual process. This would inevitably mean that the accuracy of the data improves, and problems with illegibly completed route tickets and service logs are altogether eliminated. Your route capacity would increase because you are now able to service more Antares vending machines

Sophisticated product forecasting can predict what products are needed in which vending machines. it will pinpoint when the products will be needed.

Should Vending Operators Offer Cashless Payment Options?

A recent survey showed that vending machine operators reported an immediate halt in vandalism and theft from vending machines one a cashless payment system was installed. Not only are machine handling and storing less cash, they now have the capability to electronically track all transactions. As a result of this vending operators were not only experiencing a higher volume in sales, but they were also saving money on vending machine repair or replacement.

Vending machines offering a cashless payment option generated more sales than traditional cash only payment option vending machines. As an Antares vending operator you will find that offering a cashless payment option in your vending machine will generate higher profits for you. A vending machine operator once carried out an experiment by placing two vending machines that offer the same products in a location. One machine accepted only cash transactions while the other accepted only credit card transactions. The vending machine accepting credit cards generated 15% more revenues than the cash only vending machine. Forty seven percent of its transactions were multiple product purchases. This just goes to show you what trend is going to be the popular in the coming future. The other retail industries are all using cashless payment options, so why not you as an Antares vending operator.

Cashless vending can help turn around your Antares vending business. Since everything else is more convenient for the customer, then your profits will only rise. Other vending operators have seen the benefits of this payment options and have implemented it in their business. Cashless vending has also allowed vending operators to offer products not traditionally found in vending machines.

Cashless vending options will be cost efficient for those Antares vending operators who maintain large accounts. In such cases you will find a significant number of vending machines placed in a large company or maybe in a location that has high traffic. Cashless vending options are on the rise even though the technology is still quite expensive. There would be little benefit in offering this payment option on vending machines servicing a small group of people.

Finding Reputable Vending Machine Locators

Did you know that the overwhelming majority of companies that find locations for vending machines are usually unethical, dishonest, or both. These locators usually focus on individuals who are new to the vending industry. Clients sought by locators are usually individuals who are retired and are looking for part time income. References provided by locators are often employees of the locating company or friends or relatives of management. Promises of guaranteed satisfaction or money back are often worthless, since the locators will either be out of business or simply refuse to honor their obligations. Most of the state governments have laws governing the sale of vending machines tied to locations. The question here is how do you as an Antares vending operator select a reputable vending machine locator?

First you should ask the company whether the locations they offer already have vending machines. If the company wants to place your Antares vending machine in a business that has no vending machines or does not have the same type of machine as you, in operation, then chances are high that you might just end up loosing your money. Companies that do not currently have vending machines are companies that are viewed by established vending operators, as well as Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola bottlers, as inherently unprofitable vending opportunities. As an Antares vending operator it would be best to avoid these kinds of companies. You would not want your Antares business to end up in a financial loss by taking a chance with such companies.

Locators at times sell vending machines as well, so you would need to consider the type of vending machines for sale that are being offered to you by the company. As a beginner in the vending business, you can purchase your vending machines directly from the manufacturer. For this you can pay a visit to Antares Corporation. This is where you can purchase quality vending machines. You can get a machine that has a dollar bill changer so that you do not loose any potential sales.

Don’t be to fast in working with just any locator company to place your Antares vending machines. Find out about the company first so that you do not go at a financial loss. These dishonest locator companies always look for people that know nothing about the vending business, and make them pay a certain fee for services that won’t be worth your while. Go only for the reputable locator companies.