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FUTU R E
O F VE N D I N G
backgrounds are more likely to understand this concept than those without it.
One thing that everyone agreed on is that a strong work ethic remains important. New tools are creating new capabilities, but there is more training needed and supervi- sion remains as important as ever. Paul Tims, owner of Imperial Companies in Tulsa, Okla., thinks technology raises the bar, and in doing so, requires stronger market- ing and communications skills. His company is proactive with many vending technologies. Tims is ada- mant that it is easier to fi nd people with strong technology backgrounds than with good marketing skills. The need to educate customers about health and wellness issues has brought even new demands to the game, Tims noted. "It takes a smooth, more clearly capable person to communicate all the health and wellness (information)," he said.
Self checkout markets enter the fray Tims is also among those opera- tors who think self checkout micro markets require an even stronger marketing skill set. His company recently hired someone to market the self checkout systems. Five Star Food Service Inc., based in Chattanooga, Tenn., recently hired a vice president of micro mar- kets, with a convenience store chain operations management background, for its self checkout micro markets line of business. Alan Recher, com- pany president and a 28-year vend- ing industry veteran, believes the markets require a type of merchan- dising more similar to convenience stores and retail than the merchan- dising of traditional vending. Recher said the products sold in the markets are of various sizes and higher quality while offering a better value to customers, and must be merchandised differently. He
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Tom When- nen of The Entrepreneur's Source, Oak Park, Ill., sees operators becoming more "customer centric."
Glenn Butler, CTO Services LLC, Boston, Mass., says self checkout mar- kets have more data to manage than vending.
Allen Wein- traub of Vend- ing Consultants Co., White Plains, N.Y., thinks self checkout markets require more oversight than vending.
did not wish to be specifi c. Recher added that his company has hired a dedicated marketing manager for self checkout markets for each of its major market regions, all of which brought with them retail merchan- dising experience. Glenn Butler, who operates CTO Services LLC, a Boston, Mass.-based consultant, agreed that the self checkout markets involve more data to manage than vending machines, and the data must be managed effi - ciently. He said operators will not need additional skills for managing these systems provided they are able to integrate the self checkout mar- kets' reporting with their vending management software. Allen Weintraub, who operates
Vending Consultants Co. based in White Plains, N.Y., said a lot more attention to detail is needed with
Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com April 2012
self checkout markets. He said it's easier for products to be displayed sloppily on shelves and in coolers than in vending machines. "It's more complex," he said. "You have to have someone who analyzes the data to maximize sales and change the products." Not everyone agrees with this. John Mitchell, president of Treat America Food Service, which provides self checkout markets to its custom- ers, has used vending employees to both sell and service the markets. Operators agree that as technol- ogy is adopted, many existing job roles will change. These changes affect nearly every standard position. "We would be well served to dedi-
cate more resources to data analysis than we have in the past as an indus- try," said Mitchell. Dave Griesedeck, a longtime St. Louis, Mo.-based operator, welcomes the new technology and has DEXed his machines and is using cashless card readers. He thinks the most important skills will not change. The employees must be trained on the job and drivers must be able to work unsupervised and represent the com- pany professionally. Griesedeck agrees that fi nancial and business skills will always be important. Hence, a business and fi nancial education will give some- one a good foundation for vending.
Leaders must be more versatile The role of the leader will be to understand all the roles as they change, in addition to understand- ing the capabilities of new technol- ogy, staffi ng in a way that allows the company to use the tools effectively, and rewarding employees according to new areas of responsibility. The vending operators of the
future will need a solid foundation in fi nance, marketing and commu- nication skills in addition to a good overview of evolving technology.
