Automatic Merchandiser

SEP 2013

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.

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SPONSORED BY CHART 12C: IF REDUCED STAFF, WHICH AREAS? ● SALES ● DELIVERY ● REPAIR ● WAREHOUSE ● OFFICE ● OTHER 4.4% 22% 11% 11% 15% 41% 21.4% 14.3% 14.3% 7% 43% 21.7% 21.7% 11.1% 27.3% 27.3% 47.8% 55.6% 27.3% 18.2% 4.4% 2008/2009 2009/2010 11.1% 2010/2011 55.6% 11.1% 2012/2013* 2011/2012 * 2012/2013 includes multiple mentions OVER half of operators raised prices and absorbed losses to deal with rising costs. operators who added this feature viewed it as having potential for consumer sales as well, with products shipped via UPS. is shown in chart 12b, where the largest hiring happened in the delivery area in order to handle new business. For staff additions and reductions, the percentages will show quite a bit of difference from previous years, because operators were allowed to choose all the areas they added or reduced staff, instead of being limited to one area. After delivery personnel, the next area most commonly added was sales people. For the small number of Dealing with increased costs More than half of OCS operators reported using a combination of raising prices and absorbing losses when dealing with rising costs, shown in chart 11. Operators raised prices when they felt locations would tolerate increases, especially as many customers were still shopping for OCS service based on price. Also, single cup options being available from outside the channel forced a certain price point for operators. An increasing percent of operators looked for other means of dealing with increasing costs, such as switching to lower cost alternatives in products and making their businesses more effcient. Staffng changes As OCS revenues grew, roughly a third of operators added staff, 35.1 percent in 2012, compared to 25.5 in 2011, see chart 12a. Only 6 percent reduced their staffs. Among the additions, evidence of operation success September 2013 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 29

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