Machine manufacturers are practicing what they preach; diversifying offerings to become multi-solution businesses. This includes offering flexibility in and around the machine. “New entrants to the automatic retailing market are driving the need for increased flexibility, as they look to offer products outside of the traditional vending product range,” said Angela Olson of Seaga Manufacturing, Inc. “Today’s machines are better positioned to be 24/7 retail units rather than just a black box selling crave-busting snacks. As our operators want to meet their customer demands for the latest trends, manufacturers have to design flexible systems to address all the variables. Flexibility is ever more important, as equipment provides retail solutions for different products, with different sizes and increasing the need for better on-board technology.”
AVT, Inc. has seen a niche in retail vending, particularly of non-traditional vending items. “I thought vending was stagnant and needed to be livened up. It needed to become a destination,” said Shannon Illingworth, founder of AVT. Illingworth started building machines with PC technology around the idea of the “vend-osk”, the vending machine that meshed with the kiosk. Illingworth’s focus has been to partner with brands, to put a business in a box. “We have a lot of people who came here with great ideas and concepts and have grown their business from automated retail,” he said. “What we see in the automated retail side is that more people are getting involved because there are no limits to what you can dispense, from cupcakes to electronics. It has vertically integrated into the right locations. The big brands who used to look down at automated retail are now seeing it as a viable and affordable option.”
This part of a larger story titled, "Re-Imagine the Machine" which appeared in our May 2015 issue. Read the full story here.
