The challenges in the vending sector

Operators often lack an overview of the stock of goods in the individual vending machines. Only when the vending machine is opened manually does it become visible which products need to be refilled. This leads to vacancies and loss of turnover. In addition, many vending machines are not flexible enough to respond to changing customer needs and preferences. This is where the innovative solution of intelligent vending machines comes in.

Intelligent control – even remotely

With its solution called "Smart Vending", SmartStore AG has developed an innovative method to integrate vending machines into the cloud using Microsoft technologies. The software enables vendors to view the inventory of all vending machines at any time and from any location. Through real-time data, vacancies can be detected at an early stage and the replenishment of the vending machines can be planned in time. This leads to higher efficiency and more sales opportunities.

Advantages of the Smart Vending concept

From the customer’s point of view, smart vending means a touch-free shopping experience around the clock. With the help of touchscreens, keyboards or mobile phones, the desired products can be selected and ordered. By optionally setting up a customer account, additional benefits such as credits or discounts can be offered. The Grab&Go principle even allows customers to buy and reserve items remotely via mobile phone. After successful online payment and scanning of a QR code at the vending machine, the corresponding items are dispensed.

In addition, the intelligent control of the vending machines enables flexible adaptation to changing customer needs and preferences. Targeted marketing measures and graduated and promotional prices can be used to address specific customer bases and increase sales.

Most recently, Prof. Dr. Rüschen, Professor of Food Retailing and Head of Studies at the DHBW in Heilbronn, was able to get a personal impression of the still untapped potential of conventional vending machines during a visit to Automatenland GmbH.
On his LinkedIn profile, he wrote: "Together with Pavlos Tsulfaidis from Smartstore, they explained to me why one circuit board is not the same as another circuit board, what role a circuit board plays in the vending machine and why their circuit board enables particularly intelligent and flexible control.
Learning: vending can be sexy and profitable."

The future of the project

The Smart Vending concept has the potential to change the retail industry for good. Through the intelligent and flexible control of vending machines, companies can work more efficiently while offering a modern and user-friendly shopping experience. Advancing digitalisation and the integration of cloud technologies will further enhance the possibilities of the Smart Vending concept.