Smart Vending: Experience vending machines in a new way with IoT telemetry
Insert money, jerk the handle vigorously and take out the desired goods – these were the vending machines from the 1960s, which have now disappeared completely from the cityscape. It’s a completely different story with their elite successors: Smart vending machines can be found wherever people enjoy quick and uncomplicated catering, for example through snack or beverage vending machines. This mainly concerns locations such as shopping malls, train station concourses or even office buildings.
Particularly due to the benefits of digitization and automation, self-service machines are becoming increasingly popular – to the benefit of operators. For them, the use of modern vending machines goes hand in hand with increased efficiency and lower operating costs. This opens up many forward-looking business models, but also poses some challenges. In the following, we explain why you should increasingly rely on IoT solutions.
Mastering challenges with Smart Vending
A vending machine is only profitable if it is ready for operation, stocked with sufficient goods and equipped with a functioning payment system. This ensures that it meets the demands of customers and is perceived in the long term. The challenges in setting up and operating vending machines thus lie primarily in the areas of quality management and service. At the same time, however, the effort required for maintenance must be reduced.
It is important for vending machine operators to keep an eye on their devices at all times – across all locations. However, this cannot be accomplished by a service employee who travels to all locations to check the fill level of the vending machine, for example, and then fills it with merchandise. The solution for optimizing maintenance processes and at the same time exploiting new digital opportunities is Smart Vending.
Increase profitability and service qualities through intelligence
Thanks to the many possibilities opened up by the Internet of Things (IoT), vending machines are not only practical, but also smart. The Smart Vending machine – often called a telemetry machine – is so sophisticated that it monitors its own fill level. In concrete terms, this means that the vending machine has sensors that monitor the filling quantities of the goods and also other conditions for functionality and report them to the operator. So, in addition to the vending machine hardware and customized software, a communication solution is required. At the heart of the communication is a built-in router that enables access to the vending machine via LTE connection – without any DSL connection at all.
It also enables VPN tunnels to be set up and is equipped with a practical diagnostic program that executes control commands remotely. The LTE routers from MC Technologies fulfil all these requirements and are already used in many vending, ticket and petrol stations. They are easy to integrate, consume little power and establish a stable connection to the Internet.
In short, through M2M communication, the vending machine sends the appropriate message to the data center or cloud in real time. This allows operators to remotely assess whether an on-site service call is necessary.
MC Technologies - Your provider for innovative solutions
From cost savings to new revenue opportunities and improved customer loyalty, IoT-based vending machines offer great potential for operators. If your equipment meets the high technological requirements, Smart Vending will be a success.
We support you and stand by you as a reliable partner for M2M communication. With our broad product portfolio and our comprehensive consulting expertise, we also have the targeted IoT solution ready for your vending machine – whether stationary or mobile. Simply fill out our contact form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
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