Optimizing Logistics and Pro-Active Service

Vending machines are very common in modern life, they allow consumers to purchase goods beyond opening hours or where conventional sales methods are not profitable. Vending machines today can sell a variety of items; hot or cold beverages, food or candy, ice-cream, bread, flowers, or even pizza. The product can be obtained from a machine resulting from a payment, cash, or cashless, or can be 'for free', in which case a landlord will typically provide this as a service to its staff.

One of the key challenges is making sure that the machine is adequately replenished, and that the appropriate amount of cash is being retrieved. A 2004 study at the University of Augsburg - Germany includes the following table that nicely indicates the potential for telemetry usage at vending machines:

Telemetry Function	Potential	Possible results
Defect messages	Recognizing defects Identifying defect types Remote Control	Reduction of maintenance and adjustment costs Reduce of downfalls Increasing availability
Transaction Messages	Avoidance of empty vending machines Avoidance of still filled vending machines Need based planning Verification of the locations’ profitability Transaction transparency	Increasing revenues Saving service turns Product-portfolio optimization Abbreviation of the filling process and in the administration Supervision of the employees
Remote control function	Price changes Change of summer- and wintertime Elimination of errors	Reduction of maintenance and adjustment costs Increasing availability Saving service turns Abbreviation of the filling process
Transfer of payment information	Transfer of electronic payment amounts Transfer of electronic payment data to clearing department	Verification of the revenues and supervision of the fillers Cost saving in administration Rent/tax benefit
Connection with ERP-Systems	Automatic linking of revenues and sales in electronic formats Supporting real time decisions with payment data for a better calculation	Cost saving in administration Improved possibilities for analyzing Unified data

As the margins on vending machine sales is typically very thin, ensuring that the cost of a solution to perform the above mentioned functions is bearable is key to its success. The self configuring Smart-Link box is capable of detecting the appropriate version of the EVA-DTS protocol, or can be set up to understand alternative means of communicating with the machine.

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