Planet Antares Inc | Planet Antares | Planet Antares Vending

A blog to discuss vending solutions provided by Planet Antares Inc

Friday, December 19, 2008

Ensuring Vending Truck Drivers Comfort

With changes in vending products size and packaging, more space is required for product upsizing, especially the 16 and 20 ounce cold drink bottles. Both the vehicle drivers and the vehicle are experiencing greater and heavier loads on them.

This has made it essential for suspension systems to be stronger. There has to be more room in the body and the bottles have to be arranged in a way that minimizes the bending and lifting needed in the process.

Planet Antares vending operators need to consider vehicle capabilities, ease of use and driver comfort features. The traditional step in van still remains the preferred choice among vending operators. However, the advantage step vans offer ease of loading and has become crucial with the growth of bottles. It also allows the driver to access the merchandise without leaving the vehicle.

Many Planet Antares vending operators are discovering that there are other options to consider in trying to reduce the driver’s work load and simultaneously achieve greater cost efficiencies. Bigger chassis, while a higher capital outlay, can offer greater driver comfort, better maneuverability and higher cost efficiency over the long term.

It is also necessary to consider the individual needs of your vending business while deciding upon the trucks and the requirements for enhancing driver comfort. Operators with dedicated food trucks are more likely to want built in temperature controls.

Due to the rise in truck loads, Planet Antares vending operators will have to pay attention to driver comfort, be it outside or inside the vehicle. The top priority is the ease of loading the vehicle while buying a new route vehicle.

It is best for you to buy a dedicated beverage truck so that only beverages can be transported through it. Separate vehicle can be purchased for transport of snacks. This way, you can load the vending trucks easily and enhance driver morale and focus of his attention on the tasks at hand.

A lot of vending operators make the mistakes of underestimating the weight of the vehicle while purchasing it. As a Planet Antares vending operator, you will need to assess the real weight of a typical truck before deciding what size chassis to buy. Also, consider the capacity of drinks to be carried on the trucks.

Selecting the chassis for your vending business involves consideration of factors like proximity of service centers, fuel economies, warranties, low frame height, turning radius and driver comfort.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Hot And New Technology In Vending Machines

In the recent times, vending machines have incorporated latest technology. This allows the vending machines to operate more efficiently. On the other hand, this has made the vending business more efficient and more profitable as well.

Apart from machine features, technology is also used in the operation of vending business. With increasing competition from other operators, you will have to look for new ways of staying ahead of them.

Vending business owners have a limited space to merchandise their products. Within that space, you will need to maximize sales. In spite of the profitability of vending business, several difficulties may arise in achieving maximum profitability from time to time. Some of technological innovations can be adapted by you to improve the profitability of your vending business.

If you think about it, the vending operations have undergone significant changes with the use of technology. The sales from vending operations have increased after implementation of technology. Vending operators are also able to keep track of the sales that were made from the vending machine.

Category management has helped vending operators to select the right products for vending machines and restock vending machines in time. Improvement of your Planet Antares vending business is possible with all forms of technological advancements. To determine the most appropriate form of technology for your business, you must consider the size of your vending business.

By using technology in your Planet Antares vending business, you can sell more and spend less in your vending operations. Once they are technically equipped, all you need to do is implement other forms of technology in your vending operations. This can help you save up to two hours per day per route by employing technology.

Additionally, you will have higher percentage of sales increases from the same machines through a better understanding of location preferences. To implement technology, you just need to have enough funds to finance the innovation.

Other than this, technology will ensure smoother operations and efficiency in productivity. You must remain aware of all the latest technologies coming in the vending marketplace if you want to survive and thrive in the vending industry.

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Monday, December 1, 2008

Expand Your Vending Business With Acquisitions

In the recent past, the vending environment has seen buy-outs and acquisitions becoming a permanent feature. Any acquisition creates ripples in the vending industry and has far reaching effects.

Not only the parties involved but even customers, competitors, equipment manufacturers, distributors, product suppliers and other participants in the vending industry experience an impact of such changes.

The immediate impact of an acquisiton would be on the customers of the vending operator. It is essential to take good care of customers and this will depend on who is acquiring them. If you plan to acquire a vending business as addition to your Planet Antares vending business, customers will have to be well attended and satisfied.

Many times, customers feel that they won’t have the same level of attention when a new company serves them. It is possible that an acquisition can result in a negative impact on relations with some of the key accounts of the vending operator. If you don’t want the customers to feel like a pawn in a game of chess, you will have to handle the acquisition with great care.

A good idea is to visit each account with the previous owner during the acquisition. Most vending operators don’t do this but it is important to maintain that relationship. You can also hire the previous owner to stay on as consultant for best results. His job would be to maintain and smoothen over the relationship with the account. This is an effective way to transition key accounts from one company to another.

The consolidation of vending operators can result in a direct impact on supplier businesses, including distributors and manufacturers. Ultimately, the impact on suppliers will affect Planet Antares vending operators. This means more sources to shop in a competitive supplier environment.

From the pont of view of suppliers, an operator acquisiton does not eliminate business but just gets compacted into a tighter space. If the sales of company A are $1 million and that of company B are $2 million, combined they should total $3 million.

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