Large Size Candy for your Antares Vending Machine

In recent years, it has been difficult to find the next big opportunity in vending. Expense items such as health insurance, product costs, commissions and vehicle expenses, gas in particular, are growing at accelerated rates.

To counter this, there are various growth opportunities to consider. One of the simplest ones has always been to raise prices. This can be done in your Antares vending business, without jeopardizing unit sales, by providing different products to justify higher price points.

Large size candy

Major candy manufacturers are pitching to the vending operator what they say is the best revenue opportunity since large size snacks and 20 ounce beverages.

If we all moved as one body to the larger sizes, we wouldn’t have to worry about loosing sales. Unfortunately, collusion laws frown upon such things, so you will need to work independently for your Antares vending business. The only drawback of being the leader in the conversion process is that you may expose yourself to your competition that will invariably come in behind you and offer the customer the old products at the old price. This would then be of great concern for you and your Antares business.

Most of the large size candy will fit into existing spirals and shelving placements in your Antares vending machine. In spite of this there will be certain products that will require some adjustments to be done to the machines. If the focus of the conversion is done to minimize expense, you probably wouldn’t use incremental labor hours to get the job done.

Stay on top of location service

The Antares service techs or the route drivers will make the conversion part of their daily duties. When they do this they may end up focusing all their attention on the conversion process and thus neglecting other areas of service. The competition could decide to exploit those service lapses.

Costs to consider

During the conversion process to the large size candy, for your Antares business, you will need to consider the commission paid to the drivers. The drives will be paid more money to fill that same spiral.

Next you will need to consider the investment in equipment parts. Most vending machines have adjustable shelves that won’t require any additional investments. The expense can get costly, but you just need to keep your eye on the fact that it will bring in bigger profits for your Antares vending business.

Value Pricing in Vending

New management tools such as handhelds and Plano grams are giving Antares vending operators as well as other operators the means to track product turns with minimal extra labor. As a result of this, some Antares operators are evaluating their pricing strategies.

Vend prices not based on demand

Antares vending operators have long complained about not being able to raise prices to the same level as other retail channels. Vending prices are generally determined by competition and by customer contracts. Prices are not determined by consumer needs. Most Antares vending operators would agree that a more scientific pricing strategy would improve sales and profits. But historically, few operators have possessed the resources to track results in a manner that would provide them the necessary information to do this.

One veteran operator, Roger Monnin, recently developed an academic theory. He argues that by discounting secondary products, operators can improve customer choices and thereby enhance customer satisfaction.

Vendors don’t pass on savings

You should not pass the saving on to the customers so that you can keep the pricing simple and increase your Antares business bottom line. You can lower the price of certain items and still produce a gross margin similar or higher than the branded items. Your Antares vending machine should have the ability to draw attention. If you have snack items priced at 25 cents, you will find customers stocking up on these items at the end of the day and maybe taking them home. The ‘take out’ customer is almost unheard of in the vending industry. It presents a huge opportunity for growth in the industry. It has also been noted that if Antares operators supported secondary suppliers, they would lessen their dependence on big manufacturers

A good time to experiment

It has been noted that the current economic slowdown has provided a good time for Antares vending operators to experiment with value pricing. The reasons for this are:

· Consumers are more price conscious, and are paying more attention to special offers.

· Location sales have decreased because of downsizing, making it an opportune time to buy less from established suppliers.

For most, operating efficiencies continue to take priority over fine tuning their pricing strategies

Investing In and Motivating Your Staff

We are all fighting to keep all our positions filled with he best employees. Sometimes we win and maintain low turnover for a period of time, and other times all we seem to do is conduct interviews and train new employees.

There is no magic bullet to completely solve the war over retaining and motivating employees, but there are some easy steps that can help us reduce costly turnover. As an Antares vending business owner you need to take an aggressive role in keeping and developing your employees. The most consideration is your attitude towards your employees. Vending is a people business, so just we would like to have people who like to serve the customer, you will also need your employees to like working for you.

Hiring is a big part of creating a successful work environment. You will find that when you have the right employees in place, it is much easier to motivate them. You will need to create a workplace for your Antares vending business that rewards and encourages. You just need to find out what motivates each employee.

Use employee evaluations to motivate

Employee evaluations are an important tool in developing your staff. Most employees don’t like these evaluations because it amounts to having someone criticize them. But if the evaluation is done right, an employee can be a great tool for boosting morale in your staff. Periodic evaluations will also provide management an opportunity to interact with employees.

Low cost morale boosters

You will always need to keep your Antares vending employees motivated for the smooth and efficient running of the business. There are a few boosters that you can use to do this. You can decide to give a day off with pay to your employees, or you can start a subscription to a magazine for your employees that will be tailored to their interest, which is vending. These are just a few of the perks you can offer.

With unemployment reaching historic lows and with performance demands rising, Antares vending operators as well as other operators will have no choice but to invest in their most valuable resource, their employees.

How to Hire the Best Employees for your Antares Vending Business

As an Antares vending operator, you should be aware that the best job candidates do not stay unemployed long. They are usually in the running for several jobs at the same time. What you will need to do is to offer jobs to top candidates quickly. The key is to utilize the right screening tools in the right screening tools.

Step 1: Employment Application

Employment applications are not created equal. You should have a thorough employment application, because that will be worth its weight in gold. The application has to ask all the necessary questions. It would really help if you tell the applicant why they should answer your application questions truthfully. If you do this they will be more inclined to answer truthfully.

Step 2: Interview the Applicant

Once you have washed out the most undesirable applicants, it will then be time to interview the remaining applicants for your Antares vending business. Before you begin the interview, study the application thoroughly, and then make notes about answers you would want him to explain. In the course of the interview candidly point out the negatives as well as the positives of the job, and then ask the applicant if he is still interested after hearing about the job’s negatives. This can cut down on hiring costs.

Step 3: Do It Yourself Credit Check

With the applicants consent conduct a free credit check on the internet. This can be done in minutes. You should compare the applicants pay with their debts, because those whose debts and expenses always exceed their income may want to make up for the shortfalls by stealing from your Antares vending business. You will also need to run a criminal check on the applicant.

Step 4: Reference Checks

Many companies will provide only minimal information about former employees. You would only want to hire the best employees for your Antares vending business, so always record the information on a reference check and file it. You should also call and check up on the references. Many employers have made a mistake of postponing reference checks, and some even decide not to do so altogether. This has proven to be a big mistake to many employers.

Hiring the best will make life easier and will also bring in more profits for your Antares business. Hiring undesirables will cost you money and make your life miserable. Be wise and always look for the right people to work for you.

Vehicle Inspections keep Route Drivers and Trucks on the Road

It is estimated that the vending industry has 100 000 route delivery vehicles and drivers over 120 million miles a year. Even though your main work is servicing food and beverage Antares vending machines, you are also a truck driver subject to specific state and federal regulations.

To ensure that trucking regulations are the same state to state, the Federal Motor Carrier Act is used by every state to regulate trucks and drivers

In 1998, the Federal Highway Administration changed the definition of a commercial motor vehicle Act to include any vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 10, 000 pounds. As a result of this change, a large number of route delivery vehicles became subject to the truck regulations.

Your vehicle for your Antares vending business must have a medical examiner certificate card, current state driver’s license, current insurance card and a fire extinguisher plus a flares/flag kit for emergency use.

As an Antares business route driver, reporting of safety procedures becomes your responsibility. You have to prepare a safety report at the completion of each day’s work on the vehicle that you drive. The report needs to cover at least the following parts and accessories: brakes, steering mechanisms, lighting devices, tires, horn etc.

This report must identify the vehicle and list any defect or deficiency discovered by you that would affect the safe operation of the vehicle or result in its mechanical break down. Upon completion of the report, you must turn it over to the designated person.

If any defect or deficiency is listed in your vehicle inspection, then it must be repaired before you can take out the vehicle out the next day. Your vehicle must always be in great shape so that it can handle the duties of your Antares vending business. The vehicle inspection reports shall be maintained by your employer for 3 months from the date the report was written.

If you do not maintain the required safety regulations, you might end up being fined or your company truck can be taken off the streets. If the vehicle is involved in an accident, all the details must be mentioned in the report.

The best advice is to practice defensive driving and of course keep filling out the daily safety reports, and always keep in mind that an ounce of prevention is certainly better then the long arm of the state.

Vended Packaged Cold Drinks

Soft drinks have always held strong as the largest vended cold drink category for vending machine sales. The vended cold drink dollar volume has just kept on increasing, just as the number of vending machines has also increased. Americans love soft drinks over all other drinks. This is a known fact and that is why they are the largest vended cold drink category in Antares vending machines as well as other vending machines.

Closed front soda vending machines remain in the majority, but glass front vending machines continue to increase from 7% to 13%. Antares vending machines have a glass front so that you can see the products that you would want to purchase. As a vending operator you should choose vending machines with glass fronts such as Antares vending machines because they allow greater variety and a larger display of eye catching packages. It is important that the customer should be able to see the product that they would like to purchase. The customer should not be kept wondering what the selection of products are. Package choices also continued to broaden as vending machines are able to accommodate anything from 5.5 fl oz to 1 liter bottles. It has been reported that 73% of cold drink sales were generated by twelve ounce cans. Antares vending machines can hold over 150 cans which are 12 oz. cans. This size is the most popular in all vending machines.

Premium products continue to replace less expensive cold drinks in vending machines. Consumers prefer premium products which offer promises of enhanced well being. The relatively new vending machine category of energy drink products also increased 1% in vending machine sales.

Soft drink sales always remain the most popular in all vending machines, followed by diet soft drinks. These two dominate the percentage of sales for cold drink vending products. Antares vending machines sell cold drinks, so as an Antares vending operator you will always make a huge profit in your business since cold drinks are quite popular with the public. You can always be sure about having continuous sales which is what any vendor always wants for their business.

Vending Operator Sales

According to the 2005 Automatic Merchandiser State of the Vending Industry Report, the vending industry took advantage of a slowly recovering economy to report its first sales gain since the current recession that began in 2001. The vending industry’s total sales rose a full percentage point in 2004 to $21.26 billion. This was mainly driven by higher product sales. Despite being able to increase product prices, Antares vending operators were also faced with an increase in operating costs.

A recent study shows that consumers are drinking more specialty coffee. There is a daily increase in the percentage of Americans who drink coffee daily. Although consumers are drinking coffee in their workplace, they are also getting coffee from outside the office. This opens a huge market for coffee vending machines.

Over the past years vending operators were faced with having to pull equipment out of large traditional industrial accounts. The manufacturing/warehouse/fabrication accounts that have traditionally been the vending industry’s largest customer base fell below 30% of the total customers in the vending industry in 2004. These shifts in the customer base are reflective of the changes witnessed in the nation’s workforce.

In 2004, it was reported that many vending operators, including Antares vending operators, retreated from accounts from schools and correctional facilities. The operators realized that these accounts were based on commissions and must be periodically rebid. School officials viewed vending machine operators as direct competition, rather than a support service to their schools. School accounts were also greatly compromised by growing nutrition restrictions. As an Antares vending operator you can place healthier foods in the vending machines.

Automatic Merchandiser reported that extra-large vending operators (those with $10 million or more annual sales) largely increased their share of the vending industry. Over the years these extra large Antares vending operators were able to increase their total market share at the expense of other vending operators. Even though they were unable to increase their share of the vending industry, large vending operators also reported some gain. They reported that that they were able to invest more resources in new equipment, training, marketing and technology. Antares vending operators have discovered the advantage of investing in technology is that it allows vending operators to increase efficiency.