Automatic Merchandiser serves the business management, marketing, technology and product information needs of its readers including vending operators, coffee service operators, product brokers, and product and equipment distributors in print.
Issue link: http://automaticmerchandiser.epubxp.com/i/148356
PREKITTING roll machine and truck forecasting, prekitting machine and forecasting as well as telemetry based forecasting. "It is important to realize that skipping the prior steps doesn't eliminate the prior requirements," said Fisher. "…Trying to accomplish everything in a single step can be overwhelming, costly and disruptive." Get the frst route right "You want to hit a home run with your frst route," said longtime vending software salesman Bill Lockett, sales director of VendSys. "You want the drivers to want this — that it's not just another big brother thing." Lockett explains that starting to prekit takes at least four months. It needs an administrator in the offce to print reports and techs in the feld to fx DEX issues and move machines. "Every machine talks differently," said Lockett. "You have to have a service tech who can get it back online before the driver sees it again." Lockett believes small operations should start prekitting from the truck, getting drivers to make one trip into a location. "Once you get four routes prekitting at curb and the driver says it works, then move it to the warehouse," he said. At the warehouse level, operators can pay $12.50 per hour to pick product versus a driver picking it for $20 an hour. Plus, a driver can easily manage to service 80 to 100 machines per route, an additional 50 to 75 machines without being over worked. There's a potential for servicing even more machines with the application of wireless/telemetry, according to Lockett. What to expect "One trip in and one trip out is so much more effcient and economical," said Randy Smith, president of LightSpeed Automation and former vending operator. "It pays for itself in no time." However, one thing operators need to do is monitor how many units are going in each prekit. "You 22 Automatic Merchandiser How prekitting affects vehicles "The vending vehicle is an integral part of the prekit strategy," explained Trak Coveleskie, director of sales and marketing for Equipment Innovators. The truck should make an operation safer and more effcient, while delivering a higher dollar yield daily. Coveleskie believes the best prekit truck bodies bring everything to the operators' fngertips, and should not require a lot of movement to unload needed inventory. Interiors should be practical and organized including lightweight and sanitary shelving for tubs and racking for soda. Jeff Maloof, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America and also a NAMA knowledge source partner, feels operators looking to save money with their feet need not always move to smaller vehicles, but can make up for the decrease in fuel economy by prekitting and servicing more stops. "The point is that if you can increase your route average by 20 to 30 percent, it makes a far bigger impact on your bottom line than a few more miles per gallon," he said. MULTI-MEDIA: See more from Coveleskie in the VendingMarketWatch News Episode 9 – 3 Vending Vehicles Trends http://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/11004186 See more from Maloof in Guest Blog: The Best Vehicles For Prekitting http://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/10981221 can't afford to take a prekit with 30 products into a machine," explained Smith, "It's just too expensive. Conversely, you don't want three totes — VendingMarketWatch.com August 2013 250 products — because you aren't going often enough." Smith recommends the correct balance is to bring roughly 100 pieces of product per machine when a driver services it. "You want to have enough product to justify the visit," he said. Drivers working on commission want this too. On the warehouse side, the traditional vending model with 10 routes has 10 mini warehouses (the vehicles) and all the drivers want to fll the trucks back up to maximum product capacity, explains Smith. Essentially, that's $2,000 to $3,000 of inventory rolling around on a truck that never goes away. When an operator turns on prekitting, he or she gets a onetime pick up of $2,000 to $3,000 per truck just from that product going back into the warehouse. "Really, that pays for a lot of technology," Smith said. Because product distribution goes back to the warehouse, it also tightens up inventory, creating more 'just-in-time' ordering. "I was an operator for 15 years. I just don't think you can compete if you're not prekitting," said Smith. When is an operator ready for a lighted picking system in the warehouse? Smith says that the systems are so fast, an operator should have at least 3 to 4 routes before considering an automated system and at least one route fully prekitted before scheduling the installation. Prekitting should be at least a goal of all vending operations. Operators need to consider the return on investment of hardware, software and dedicated staff compared with the revenue lift of route consolidation and potential for added machines per route. If sales growth per route is stagnant, prekitting could be the answer. It can start at the truck level with drivers making one trip into a location and grow into a warehouse with rollers and pick-to-light systems. It's a versatile tool that vendors can use to add to their proftability.