Advertising for your Vending Business
Once your Antares business is underway and you have reached the stage where you would require employees, there are different methods that you can use to look for these employees. The methods that you can implement are: 1) print advertising, and 2) the Internet. Most vending operators are familiar with using the print media, namely newspapers.
Most vending operators do not know how to write their classifieds ads to attract the kind of people they want. For this reason, many operators have become disillusioned about the classifieds and rely solely on word of mouth to find people. This would not be a realistic plan for you, if you want your Antares business to be successful.
Print advertising
When you think of help wanted ads, the first place that comes to mind is the daily paper. You will need to do a little home work to determine what additional publications are available in your area. Weekly newspapers are well read by people who are not anxious to relocate. Once you’ve decided where to place the ad, you will need to determine when to run it.
What does your ad tell people?
It is important that you take your time and think about what you want to say. In today’s competitive market, everyone is vying for the same set of applicants. In the ad, you will need to put anything that will distinguish your Antares operations from other operations.
Make it reader friendly
Your ad will need to stand out and should have the ability to grab the readers’ attention. There are many creative ways you can do this. Ask the publication’s sales representatives for help as they can provide suggestions for achieving maximum impact.
Internet
The advent of the internet has added a whole new dimension to the job search. People looking for jobs are using the internet, so it would be wise for you to use it to advertise for your Antares vending business.
Antares vending operators that have Internet web sites for their company should include a “jobs available” section. You never know when someone who is looking for a job will visit your site.
In these times of low employment, employers need to target their recruitment campaigns better than they have in the past. They also need to utilize as many resources as possible in getting their message out to the job seeker.
Making Money with Vending Machines
Vending is a growing industry and you can decide to be part of it because it is possible to make money in an Antares vending business. Vending has a lot of good points and here are some of them.
· great cash flow
· stable income
· flexible hours (until you grow)
· work from home
When using a Natural Choice vending program, and of course combined with your hard work, you would definitely have a smooth vending operation. Despite this there are some problems that can come up with any vending operation such as:
· expensive machines
· coin jams
· sites that don’t make money
· it takes a lot of machines or turnover to become profitable
The vending business can surprise you. The amount of cash that you can collect in one day is unbelievable. You need to be turning over around $900 per week in your Antares business, to cover operating costs before you can start paying yourself. This applies especially if you are serious about running a proper business. When you start making money in your Antares business, you can then buy other machines from the profits. This is a pretty exciting time for a vending business.
The key to successful vending is good locations with the right machines, such as those provided by Antares Corporation. Good locations take a lot work, lots of sales calls and lots of being knocked back. You should get used to being rejected when it comes to making a sale.
For you to get a good location for your Antares business, you need to offer better machines and a better service. Follow up all sites every 3 to 6 months.
The maintenance of your Antares vending machines in the location is of primal importance. You will need to clean the machines because there is nothing less attractive than dirty hand prints on a glass vending machine. Fix problems with your vending machines QUICKLY, preferably within a couple of hours of them calling to complain.
If you have a snack or combo Antares vending machine make sure that the vending machines has vend detection. This is when the falling chips/chocolates break a beam of light as they fall. If the beam of light isn’t broken then the customer gets their money back. This saves a lot of call outs and machines damage. With Antares vending machines, the sales are better and it will take some time before you need to update them.
New Equipment Raises the Bar
The bottom line for the Antares vending operator is that the bar has been raised, as a result of the numerous advances in machine capabilities in recent years. Not only are machines more reliable and more aesthetically pleasing, they are more versatile. Operators just need to realize the improved value they can now offer their customers.
Equipment manufacturers have responded to a challenging environment with new features and capabilities.
How the bar has risen
Guaranteed product delivery has become a standard feature in Antares vending machines, making the buying experience ever more reliable. The old stereotype of the machine that fails to vend is falling by the wayside.
DEX/UCS and MBD have also become standard features, giving operators the ability to retrieve data instantaneously and at the same time to add capabilities such as remote data collection, multiple purchase transactions, cashless transactions and more.
The new machines in most product categories have more contemporary styling to improve the consumer’s buying experience. The vending machines by Antares Corporation are very stylish and very pleasing to look at. The perception of the vending bank as boring and institutional is also falling by the wayside.
Machines now meet more needs
The new Antares glass front cold drink and snack vending machines have given the operators the ability to cash in on the diversified beverage market. The vending industry has not kept pace with retail food service because older machines do not showcase enough product variety.
Plenty of progress has been made on the food front as well, particularly in machine versatility. Operators can now offer food in locations that are not large enough to support dedicated food machines.
A new definition of service
Antares operators should view the new features as integral to the quality of service they provide. The new generation of equipment has raised the bar, allowing the operator to provide a higher quality of service, which in turn, requires a higher level of commitment. To service these machines, operators need better trained route drivers and technicians. Operators who step up to the plate with new equipment deserve more respect from their customers. They should demand it.
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Quality of Data Affects Market Value
Accurate, comprehensive financial data allows a company to know its capitalization value. This is important for the business owner who hopes to someday sell his business or unexpectedly finds himself in a situation where he needs to sell quickly. Having accurate financial information allows a company to invest in its future.
Quite a number of Antares vending operators already use some type of inventory management software to monitor the profitability of machines, locations and routes. Operators can use this information to calculate the company’s profitability.
One of the big advantages of newer software is that it also enables Antares operators to more quickly identify changes to some operational aspect to improve the profitability of a machine, location, route or the company as a whole. They can also use this information from these reports to address business goals, as determined in their business plan.
Key ratio: Return on assets
There are a variety of reasons for improving return on assets. An operator could improve his return on assets by reducing accounts payable, reducing equipment depreciation, reducing product shrinkage, raising prices or redeploying equipment to more profitable accounts. Before Antares operators can set tangible goals for any of these actions, they will need hard data. Here is where state of the art, industry specific software is invaluable.
Basic inventory management
Software will allow the operator to maintain perpetual inventory for every warehouse, truck and machine. Basic vending management reports include:
· product purchases from suppliers
· periodic inventories of the warehouse
· product movement from warehouse to route truck
· periodic inventories of route trucks
· periodic inventories of vending machines
By accurately measuring these inventories, the operator is able to track cost of goods sold. By taking action to improve efficiencies, the Antares operator will notice changes in his critical profit variables. The most important benefit is the insight that these measures will provide about the operation’s profitability, and how specific operational changes will affect it.
Rising Fuel Prices Add Pressure on Vendors Bottom Line
Antares vending operators are particularly concerned about the gasoline hikes, given the fact that many had already raised prices within a 12 month period to cover higher operating costs. One needs to be sure how much to raise their prices because there is no need to raise prices in the short term, only to have to raise them again after a period of time.
Fuel surcharge not seen as an answer
Most Antares vending operators don’t think fuel surcharges, which vend product suppliers charge operators, are an option. The only options most felt they had in the short term has been to raise prices or to ask customers to reduce commissions. In addition to this they could review routing and cull unprofitable accounts.
There are a number of operators who have switched to diesel fuel over the years; however fuel costs haven’t differed significantly from gasoline, since both types of fuel depend primarily on crude oil.
Some Antares vending operators have been forced to raise their prices because of the fuel price hikes. Other Antares operators have not felt the need to pass on the higher fuel costs on to their customers. They have tried to maintain their prices, hoping that the increases are a short lived cycle that the economy will come out of. Nobody likes to increase their prices, so they do everything to minimize the impact on their customers.
For your Antares operations you can implement GPS on the routes. This will definitely reduce fuel costs. There are a number of strategies that you can use to counter the fuel price increases.
Consider how to prepare customers
While Antares operators are typically reluctant to raise prices, past experiences has shown this task is easier when consumers see prices rising in other retail venues. This is clearly the case today, as everyone is paying more for gasoline. Vendors can also take a lesson from their colleagues in the OCS business, many of whom have been successful in passing on higher prices. Seeing prices increases at the supermarkets, consumers were less resistant to higher OCS prices. The greater the understanding by the consumer, the easier it is to raise prices. In the meantime, vendors can evaluate their vehicles and their driving practices to minimize fuel costs.
Candy/Snack/Confections Sales Improve
Candy, snack and confection sales posted a slight recovery in 2004 following a setback in the previous years. Much of the improvements in 2004 were driven by manufacturer price increases, particularly in candy bars, the segments largest single revenue generator.
Operators had been removing snack machines from their locations every year since the recession began in 2001. However, the pace of removal slowed in 2004. Antares operators have been using the Natural Choice vending program in their Antares operations and have had very profitable accounts due to the program.
More stable work site populations in 2004, along with price increases, allowed the segment to recover some of the sales lost over the previous years. Candy bars continued a comeback for the third straight year in 2004, following two years of dominance in 2000 and 2001 by bagged chips.
In 2004, the major chocolate companies attempted to support their comeback by introducing large size versions of some of their top selling products. Antares operators reported mixed results to the large size candy offerings. The large size candy required $1.00 price points to enable the operator to maintain his traditional profit margin.
The Antares operators who reported success with the large size candy noted that the product typically did not move as fast as the regular size version. The higher sales were enough to compensate for the slower turns. Most Antares operators noted that the product performed best among male workers in blue collar locations.
Antares operators have been facing increased scrutiny about the nutritional content of snacks in 2004 due to legislative initiatives and ongoing media focus on obesity. Many noted that location managers asked for healthier alternatives, particularly in larger accounts.
Meeting requests for healthier options was not difficult, thanks to the large number of options available. The candy, snack and confection segment has the largest product variety among all the vending segments.
Vending Management Software
An Antares vending operation can be at different stages of development. It can be at the beginning, growing, stagnant or declining stage. Vending management software offers an important tool for improvement for all these stages.
Industry specific soft ware systems have existed for many years, and they have progressively offered more benefits. For Antares operators that plan to grow, management software is a tool that will keep the company organized and thus allowing it to operate efficiently.
The challenge that most Antares operators face is in making the time to learn the capabilities of the available software systems. Most vending companies do not have the resources to allocate an employee to studying and implementing software.
A major investment that pays tangible dividends
Software, like any management tool, requires a significant investment. This in itself forces many operators to put off the decision to make the investment. In time, however, all sensible operators realize there is more to lose than gain in procrastinating.
A review of the major software packages indicates that most of today’s packages provide significant benefits that will not become obsolete. Upgrades will not be overly time-consuming and most of the work is handled by the software provider.
A key development in recent years has been the establishment of the uniform DEX protocol; the electronic data standard that will enable Antares vending machines to report to management software. Most of the vending specific software systems will allow operators to use DEX.
Consider your future needs
A vending operation with three routes may not feel it can justify investment in a route inventory control system, but if the operation hopes to someday grow, the investment will be justified. If you want to see growth in your Antares operations than that means that you should be willing to invest.
There are benefits of category management system that include simplifying product selection at the route and warehouse levels, which will give management more control over individual machine menu.
While it may be difficult to predict future information needs, a software system that offers a comprehensive package of management tools will be a better investment for your Antares operations.
How to Protect your Trucks and Drivers
There is no foolproof system for protecting trucks and drivers from robberies, vehicle break-ins and high jacking. However, measures can be taken to reduce the chances of such occurrences and provide a reasonable amount of safety to the driver and the cargo.
A driver security plan in your Antares operations, will involve a combination of tools, such as alarms, safes, door lock hardware, as well as procedures for communications and security awareness.
Procedures will minimize danger. It is difficult to quantify the relationship between training employees of your Antares operations in the area of security procedure and the benefits that result from this training. However, many robbery incidents occur because drivers do not follow proper safety awareness practices. Training is the only way to instill these practices. It is very important for Antares operators to recognize the importance of security training of route personnel.
Know the surroundings. The Antares vending route driver usually drives a truck that is visually identified as a service vehicle. The truck usually contains cash and merchandise. The driver has to be always alert to what is around him, whether he is making a service stop or when driving.
Know the risks. Antares operations drivers can begin their routes in the early morning, when there are fewer motorists on the road. Drivers often also have to drive through questionable neighborhoods, hence they have to exercise caution at all times and not allow concerns outsides the job to distract them. The vehicle with its “vending services” sign can mark a driver as a potential target for crime. You can choose a different name for the sign.
Things you can do. For your Antares operations you should plan alternative routes and delivery schedule in advance with the drivers. Avoid having drivers at the same place at the same time every day. Drivers should make a mental note of road side emergency phones, where the nearest police station and hospitals are located. If they think they are being followed, this can be invaluable.
Contingency plans. This means that you should not wait for a situation to occur before determining a course of action. Planning should include the procedures to deal with both routine contingencies such as lost keys and emergency situations. For your Antares operations, you can print instructions on what to do in case of a robbery, and this can be posted on the vehicle dashboard as a constant reminder of the rules and procedures that have to be followed.
Cold Drinks: a big market awaits OCS
Nothing beats an ice cold cola during a hot summer day. American employers know that cold beverages keep employees in good spirits. This is the reason why they look to their refreshment service provider to offer cold drinks in addition to the traditional office standby, coffee.
Cold beverages are the largest segment in the automatic merchandising industry. Most Antares vending operators view their cold drink sales as good add-on business, but beverage suppliers think they could do more.
Cold drinks challenge OCS operators
The main reason most OCS operators don’t market cold drinks more aggressively is that synergies with their primary business, which is coffee are limited. Single serve beverages-which constitute the largest portion of the cold drinks sold by OCS operators-are bulky and take a lot of space in the warehouse and on delivery trucks.
While many OCS operators acknowledge that there is a market for cold drinks, the economics are less than encouraging when comparing them to coffee. Antares vending operators have had success with selling cold drinks from their vending machines. It has always proved to be profitable for them. Profit margins on single serve beverages are lower than on fresh brewed coffee. And the logistics of delivering cases of cold drinks to offices and small locations are often challenging.
The traditional case delivery is also becoming more problematic for OCS operators as consumers ask for larger size bottles. This is what the Antares vending operators are also going through. These operators have found that people like the 20 ounce bottles.
Delivering beverages requires a lot of work and also they always takes up a lot of space. Delivering cases of cans is labor intensive and might require you to provide small refrigerators. This is why some Antares vending operators have opted to use dedicated beverage delivery trucks, to ease the workload of the transportation of the beverages.
OCS operators who welcome a reliable, countertop dispenser for carbonated and non carbonated drinks, would make good profit margins and at the same time meet customer needs.
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Consumer’s Attitude towards Vended Products
Technological improvements and enhanced variety have given the automatic merchandising industry a better image in the eyes of the consuming public. Though most Antares operators are thankful for the progress, they still would like to see their industry’s reputation improve even more. If the public had more confidence that the Antares vending machines they use provide better value for their money, then the operators could charge higher prices and thus be in a better position to maintain the highest level of service.
Operators have still found that customers do not understand them. This can be improved. Most Antares operators and suppliers agree that more could be done to upgrade the industry’s image. The public has a different set of expectations when it comes to purchasing from an Antares vending machine than other retail channels. Almost half of the consumers believe that retail prices are lower in convenience stores than in vending machines. This of course isn’t true.
There are a number of consumers that have low regard for vended food. These people regard mobile catering food higher than vended food. The vending business has the challenge of turning this around.
The automatic merchandising industry is not experienced in image building and has not utilized public relations as a tool for change. Antares operators are always equipped with information on how to deal with questions asked about potentially difficult issues, such as food contamination.
The public that do not believe in purchasing from vending machines, need to change their views. Retail prices are not lower than the vended snacks that you can find in Antares vending machines. It is usually the other way round. If you buy a snack from a vending machine, you will find that it is cheaper than the convenience store.
Consumers always expect high quality service from every channel, thanks to the performance of competing foodservice channels. This means that it is all up to the Antares vending operators to always ensure the quality service that they are already known for.
