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Miniature Vending Machines

We have a refrigerator sized soda vending machine in our small office with about 23 employees including management. It is hardly used with approximately less than 10 sodas bought in a month. A soda vending machine costs between $3,000 refurbished to $5,000 brand new. This is already a steep investment in capital...


Vending Machine are Often a High Cost Low Profit Business

Vending machine owners gets 50 cent profit for each soda they sell on their machine. This means that the owner of our office soda vending machine would take more than 83 years to recover his investment on the vending machine alone. This is not considering the cost of paying electricity, maintenance and depreciation of the machine.

This means that the owner is actually losing money on the soda vending machine in our office. The truth is that just like any business there are much more losers than winners in certain lines of businesses. The proof is that there are many second hand vending machines that can be found online selling for as much as $1,500 only.


Smaller Vending Machines

What we need are cheaper and smaller soda vending machines that could be as small as 1 layer only. They should be stackable together so they can deal with increased demands. They should also have the ability to turn off themselves once they are empty so there is no wastage in electricity costs.

These soda vending machines should ideally be also able to send messages to their owners that they are already empty or about to get empty so they can be restocked. Of course this requires hitech which can be prohibitive. Maybe only a periodic telephone call is needed by the owner to inform them of the status of their machine.

With this setup the owner has more capital to spend on distributing the smaller machines in more locations. This means they will be able to know which locations are better for their business. Since the machines are smaller and lighter they can be easily transported from one location to another without the need for specialised transport. Even a normal car will do.

This is ideal for mobile stores as well. They can just connect it to a portable electricity source, secure it so it would not be stolen and then leave it alone. The mobile stores can go about selling their other products without having to attend to customers who are just buying a can of soda which is small profit for a fair amount of effort.

They are easier to maintain too. Since they can be handled with relative ease they can easily be repaired on the spot if necessary. Since they are lighter they are easier to lift and they can be handled with relative ease. If they are not repairable they can easily be carried to the repair shop with ease.

Who stands to benefit from miniature vending machines? The first would be the manufacturers of course. They can sell more machines because people who cannot previously afford their products can buy them now because they are cheaper. The manufacturers have more customers now who can possible upgrade to bigger machines in the future.

The owners of the soda vending machines benefit too because they now can buy a cheaper product that fits their needs. They can enter the vending machine business with more ease and they have the advantage of being able to test out which locations will bring them the best profits.

The consumers too benefit because of the possibility that they would have more access to cold drinks because they are now available in more locations. Since they are restocked more frequently consumers have access to newer and fresher soda drinks unlike the refrigerator sized ones whose soda drinks may be sitting there for months on end.

So where are they ideal to be located and who are their ideal users ? Small companies with only a small number of staff would be ideal for single level soda vending machines just like my example office consisting only of 23 employee of which most are health conscious they are not avid consumers of soda drinks.

As previously mentioned they should be stackable so if the demand ever increases in one location the owner can take advantage of this and put in more machines. Making them modular that they still save up on space and also save up on electricity cost is important. Profit margins on vending machines are very tight that owners need to save as much on cost as possible like maintenance and electricity cost.

What is their greatest disadvantage? They can easily be carried and therefore stolen. They can easily be destroyed as well. All one needs to do is lift it up and throw it in a solid surface to smash or damage it. Unfortunately these are normal things that happen when any owners leave their possessions unattended.

How to fix this? Put it in areas where it is safe to leave. Office pantries can be full of onlookers its hard to steal them without being noticed especially when there are cctv cameras. Manufacturers can also put lock and chain accessories on their soda vending machines so they can be secured properly.


Conclusion

As can be seen miniature vending machines have a lot of advantages over traditional refrigerator sized vending machines and should be introduced. They offer the logistical flexibility and electricity cost saving that current vending machines do not offer. They also cost lesser to maintain. They are also cheaper for startup businesses to access.


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