Automatic Merchandiser

AUG 2015

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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money upfront. "One of the biggest struggles in vending and OCS for years — for both small and large oper- ators — is creating cash fow," said Kevin Searcy, president of deORO Markets and owner of vending/ OCS company Golden Brew Bever- age. "As operators, we either are put- ting hundreds of dollars of product within a machine and waiting for it to sell or selling a customer items on invoice that can go to 90 days before payment. With account balances in micro markets we are fnally able to remove some of this burden." In most cases, operators receive the pre-paid funds or "foat" money in their account, which frees up capital to invest in other markets, which is another value added for operators when it comes to pre-paid micro market cards. Challenges of pre-paid accounts Money management, as well as refunding money, can be a challenge for operators who are frst dealing with pre-paid accounts. When opera- tors hold the pre-paid funds, that foat money becomes a liability on their balance sheet. This type of money management is new for operators, but it shouldn't deter them from utilizing customer pre-paid accounts, said Jeff Leider, president of Tri-R Coffee & Vending and Avanti Markets opera- tor. "There is no other way in the industry to get the money from the consumer before they buy an item," he said. "So right there the beneft of offering a pre-paid solution out- weighs the liability." When it comes to liability, Tri-R takes full responsi- bility. "If a customer loses their card, we issue another one with the credit transferred over to the new card. Consumers can pre-pay for items by loading credit/debit or cash into their micro market account. Pre-paid purchases can result in loyalty points that lead to rewards. '' We take full responsibility for funds. If a customer loses their card, we issue another one with the credit transferred over to the new card. '' Jeff Leider, president of Tri-R Coffee & Vending August 2015 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 19 M I C R O M A R K E T S E C U R I T Y

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