Monday, February 25, 2008

Things To Consider About A Vending Business

Vending business seems to be one of the easiest ways to start your own business and become an entrepreneur. All you need to do is buy or rent a few machines, place them at good locations, keep them filled and collect money at regular intervals. No need to worry about going to office and working all day.

Before you get carried away, let me tell you that it is not as easy as it seems to be. The vending industry is full of players, from small and medium sized firms to large vending companies. Primarily, they are re-sellers or distributors of vending equipment. For newcomers, it can be very difficult to recognize the legitimate vending machine companies and not get ripped off by the fraudsters who pitch the American dream of being your own boss and getting rich overnight.

Like any other business, vending is all about sales. The higher your sales more will be the profits you can earn. This means that you need to be very careful while choosing the vending equipment. Look for reliable vending machine companies such as Planet Antares Inc that offer high quality vending machines as well as after sale services like locating, refilling, servicing, repair and maintenance.

If you make sure that your machines are up and running at all times, you can provide high level of customer satisfaction and hence, generate huge rewards for your vending business. It’s all about selling the product which the customer wants, be it candy, soda, snacks, digital goods, water, newspaper or coffee.

Don’t enter the vending business before you are equipped with a business plan. You will have to think about all expenses and costs that can be incurred while running a vending business. Make estimates of the cost of machinery, products, employees, route vehicles, tools, vending commission, etc.

Be prepared with a convincing strategy and plan when you approach vending location owners to get your vending machines placed in their premises. You can also take professional help from vending locators like Planet Antares vending locators to get your vending machines placed at the best locations. Once this has been done, your machines will start making money almost immediately.

However, your work doesn’t stop here. You need to service the equipment at regular intervals, get it repaired, refilled and make sure that it remains in top condition. After all, you don’t want your vending customers to wait in front of a vending machine that doesn’t work.

These are some of the vital aspects of a vending business. Starting and running a vending business may not be a cakewalk but if done properly, it will certainly pay-off well in the long run.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Generate More Vending Business Revenue With PET Bottles

With the entry of PET bottles in the vending industry, the case of dedicated beverage routes has gained considerable strength and popularity. It is easier to invest with a plan that phases in dedicated routes than any other form.

For the typical vending operator, this has made life and business more complicated than before. Majority of the single service sales in the supermarkets are on account of plastic beverage bottles and for full line Planet Antares vending machines, they account for a smaller percentage. As a vending operator, you will have to offer customers the products that they want, not the ones you want to sell.

As compared to 12 ounce cans, PET bottles sell for a higher price. It will be foolish to ignore this opportunity for higher profits and dollars in gross margins. You will only deprive your Antares vending business of revenue that can be enhanced with PET bottles.

Some operators claim that PET bottles have lower gross profit percentage as compared to the 12 ounce cans and also reduce the space in their rote vehicles. Even in such circumstances, you must remember that your income is not measured in percentage but rather in dollars which you deposit in the bank.

Another solution for the space problem is the larger capacity route vehicles and trucks. These last for about 8-10 years and make a worthwhile investment for vending operators. A sizeable percentage of the market penetrating has been achieved through PET bottles by full line Planet Antares vending operators.

With the growing number of brands competing in the beverage and snacks market, vending operators must purchase larger vehicles to provide for mixed product routes. A dedicated beverage route will offer many benefits, especially during loading and unloading of the route vehicles.