has been difficult finding locations in
rural Iowa that are willing to give it a
try. "Many are worried about theft,"
he said. Theft has been about 1 to 2
percent in all locations. If it gets any
higher, a Smith Vending staff member
will watch video footage and combat
the issue head-on. The route supervi-
sor also travels to each market once a
month to inventory product.
More than half of Smith Vend-
ing's micro markets have had an
issue with theft, but Nester notes
that the problems stop at locations
once employees are disciplined. "I
think once people hear they were
disciplining at their workplace for
theft, they take it more seriously,"
he said. Overall though, he has seen
the benefit of micro markets for cus-
tomers and the company and doesn't
let theft issues deter his optimism.
"They are a great segment if you can
deal with the challenges that come
with it," he said.
Luckily, most challenges were
experienced with the installation of
the first few markets, so the company
could adapt. For example, integrating
a larger number of SKUs was difficult
until they knew just how many prod-
ucts would work for them. "Knowing
how many salads to place and having
a surplus of items was difficult at the
beginning but you learn how to solve
those kinds of problems as you grow,"
Nester continued.
The company currently operates
five vending/micro market combo
routes and one OCS route out of its
Clarinda branch and three vending/
micro market combo routes out of its
Denison warehouse.
From one generation to the next
Though the growth and success of
Smith Vending can be attributed to
technology integration, innovation
and micro markets, none of that
would be possible without a dedi-
cated staff, says Nester. "Teamwork
Headquarters: Clarinda, IA
No. of employees: 19
No. of vending/micro market
routes: 8
No. of OCS routes: 1
Micro market provider: Avanti
Technology providers: Crane,
LightSpeed
Annual Revenue: $5 million
October/November 2016 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 43
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