Vending machines enabled with the world’s most advanced telemetry technology are set to save UK operators and facilities managers up to 80% of costs on current engineering interventions, according to vending equipment supply company, Smart Vend Solutions.
The advancement represents a significant time, and cost, saving for operators as it removes the need for manual repairs and restocking requests, potentially reducing the average number of costly engineering call-outs per year from three to one. This is based on extensive field tests carried out by Rheavendors Servomat in Germany this year on a sample of 20,000 machines.
Representing a huge technological advancement for the UK’s vending machine operators, new software and hardware developed by one of the most established names in European vending manufacturing, Rheavendors, could dramatically change maintenance and operation procedures.
By linking each machine to a centralised ‘always on’ IP communications system, the usage, maintenance, potential mechanical failures and reverse calculated stock levels of every unit is automatically fed back to the machine provider Smart Vend Solutions’ external operations management database.
The TM.On software is able to directly correlate the amount of, for example, coffee beans ordered by the client with the precise amount dispensed before automatically scheduling a pre-emptive delivery while also instantly relaying any maintenance issues. Furthermore, pre-emptive delivery ordering, which balances sales versus stock levels, is designed to ensure machines never run out of coffee, milk or cups, therefore significantly reducing lost revenue through machine down time.
To ensure the uninterrupted functionality of the machines, Smart Vend Solutions has launched a box swap ‘pool’ maintenance system. Any machines reporting a serious pre-emptive maintenance issues are simply talked through solutions by the factory trained help desk or replaced by an identical machine before being refurbished and placed back in the ‘pool’ for the next swap.
The launch of the new telemetry technology comes just a month after Smart Vend Solutions was launched to the UK market, heralding the arrival of the world’s first vending machine enabled for facial recognition, the Luce X2 Touch TV.
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