Small Location Concepts Reduce Service Needs

If a location loses people, Antares vending operators will look for ways to reduce operating costs and replace unprofitable accounts. Under such situations, operators typically consider less profitable locations. When they do this, competition for smaller accounts increases, making even this segment of the market less profitable.

Servicing a small location profitably continues to remain a challenge. Most established Antares vending operators shun small locations, while those with open minds will at least find the new products worth looking at.

Some small location machines are designed to reduce service time by means of interchangeable, preloaded cartridges, in addition to other features.

Equipment costs keep rising

Antares vending operators and manufacturers have struggled for years to find ways to serve small locations. The challenge has become harder as costs have increased much faster than the prices operators can charge for vended products.

Equipment manufacturers have found ways to take cost out of equipment, but this typically results in reduced capacity and product variety. Some operators have come up with plans to charge for service equipment, which allows the location to operate the machines.

Honor boxes

One method that is being widely used is honor boxes, where the operator places a tray of snacks and customers pay on the honor system. This arrangement is ideal for accounts with fewer than 20 employees. However, the high product shrinkage and high customer turnover requires ongoing account solicitation to maintain profitability.

A random survey of vending operators revealed widespread skepticism about small location vending. Operators and suppliers both agreed that small locations as a whole will continue to be the domain of inexperienced vendors.

There will always be a market for small location vending, due to he low cost of entry into the business. If you want to start of your new vending business by Antares Corporation with a small investment, then a small location would be ideal for you. This segment has a rapid turnover.