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Outside the industry-specifc systems, savvy operators are also looking at online data — visits to their Website, social media interac- tion, SEO (search engine optimiza- tion), consumer trends and a lot of non-structured data that all melds together to give operators an idea of how their businesses are ranking in the local area and with customers. That is big data, the tsunami of information that the industry can now gather. For most it's overwhelm- ing, and equally staggering to turn that data into action. The good news is that big data is a revolutionary force that allows operators to maximize their opportu- nities. Although it is a diffcult force to tame, here are fve tips from suc- cessful operators who are working to harness vending's big data. Focus on key metrics daily First, look at how and where you are getting the data. Focus on some important metrics to start. "We use remote machine monitor- ing [telemetry] on machines to collect data for sales, inventory and machine errors," said Jeffery Smith, President and CEO of All Star Services, Inc. based in Port Huron, MI. He reviews this information daily. "The data can be very overwhelming," he said. Despite this, Smith understands that data can help him improve his level of service to the customer and operational effciencies as a company. "We like to use the data not just to identify issues and set corrective action, but also to answer questions about the business." In addition to capturing the data, Smith has created an internal process where changes based on the analysis can be done very quickly, often the next day. "This is very key as we can see items of interest that sales have increased and it would allow us to make a conscious decision to add fac- ings of a specifc item to ensure suf- fcient inventory on site," said Smith. Break it down to now, and later Operators are capturing a lot of dif- ferent forms of data, often more than they can analyze initially. It's impor- tant to capture data and implement a long and short term analysis strategy. "Today we're collecting SKU turn data (vending), UPC turn data (micro markets) cash sales, cash- less sales, connectivity reports, user frequency, emails and even cell numbers," said Jeff Whitacre, CEO of Food Express located in Greensboro, N.C. and founder of USConnect. Whitacre considers the data streams invaluable in running his business proftably. He focuses on which machines to service when and what products to offer, thanks to his VMS. At the same time, he outsources the user data collec- tion. It's important to him, but something he can't dedicate his resources to right now. "We are still fguring out how to assimilate it all into useful streams, but I'm happy with what we're collecting today and look forward to expand- 24 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com March 2015 T E C H N O L O G Y Meskin's telemetry how-to HOW MANY DAYS CAN I GO BETWEEN SERVICES? • Aim to collect $100 to $150 dollars each visit • Look at all machines at a location — If a snack machine needs service, check if the inventory levels of the drink machine will hold until the snack vender's next service. If not, the drink machine may need flling even though it only has $50 inside. • Aim for the middle — Maximize collections without hurting customer satisfaction by balancing par levels and sellouts. HOW CAN I USE DATA FOR MERCHANDISING? • Look at products by location — Your bottom seller should be at least 20 percent of your top seller. If sales of the top sellers are causing you to fll the machine often and the average collection is below $100, consider removing the slowest items and doubling up on the best sellers. • Look monthly at turns per item per location — High turners in a single machine could be sleeper items that will sell well in other locations. • Don't compare healthy items to your top selling traditional items — Re- member to compare them to the average selling traditional items. • Create variety in transient accounts — B&I; accounts have set plano- grams so daily consumers can count on their favorite snacks. We tend to change only the slowest movers to keep things new/gain sales. In tran- sient locations, we change offerings more often including new and higher priced items since the consumers change on a daily basis. • Streamline the warehouse — I look at how many machines I'm selling an item in and I make decisions monthly as to keep that item and increase the amount of machines we sell it in or cut it completely. WILL MY TELEMETRY DEVICE AND VMS WORK TOGETHER? • If you're new to telemetry, try a single provider — I started telemetry before the option of telemetry and VMS being an all-in-one system. If I made the decision today, I would prefer an all in one solution. The inter- facing between multiple systems is possible, but can cause extra steps which always leads to human error.