A vending machine is a combination of different products. The machine itself could be compared to the smaller-scale supermarket without a sales force. And as in the case of a supermarket, the vending machine needs a continuous replenishment of products in order to function. For this same reason, service providers in this area are called operators.
The advantages of these vending machines is that you can serve yourself at any time of the day, any day of the year. And the service is transparent; it is totally WYSIWYG.
The most popular machines are in the 4C category (or currently in the 8C category):
4C’s: An abbreviation that represents the basics of selling as it has evolved; The industry started with, for example, COFFEE, SODA CUP, CANDY, CIGARETTES and grew to nearly 8 C (Coffee, Sweets or Sweets, Potato Chips, Cold Drinks, Canned Drinks, Cigarettes, Cold Cup, Commissary. (Source: http ://www.vending.org)
According to the same source, bottled and canned beverages represent 49.5% of the market (followed by hot beverages 10% and over-the-counter foods 7.8%).
The most important sector where the machines are used is the manufacturing sector (41% according to the NAMA (National Automatic Merchandising Association). This means that each manufacturer of vending machines will surely have their own machine so that employees can test the product and service. Having such a machine in place provides a great test case for improving the quality of these machines (“Eat Your Own Dog Food”) Offices account for 26% of vending machine sales, for example, the large number of coffee machines And in the health sector, penetration is around 7%.
Some sales figures; in 1994 vending machines were sold for about 18 billion dollars and in 2004 this number increased to about 30 billion.
Next, the situation in Europe…
© 2006 Hans Bool
