Product Choice is too critical to Defer

In most companies, it is the owner who makes such decisions about things like when to buy a new truck or when to pull out worn vending machines from active duty. Managers can also make such decisions. The owners and managers know the numbers and they are the people that are best qualified to make these decisions.

In spite of this, when it comes to deciding what product to put in the machine, most operations defer these decisions to the route driver. This makes no sense, considering that product selection has as much impact on a vending operation’s success as anything else.

Category management

Several of the industry’s largest product manufacturers and software suppliers have introduced the opportunity to improve sales and profits through category management. And every year, more Antares operators take control of the process; most operators have been slow to realize the benefits of category management. As a result of this convenience stores and other retailers that use this tool are taking business away from vending.

Vendors simply aren’t keeping up with other retail channels in managing the product selection process. Most vendors purchase product based on manufacturer based sales programs instead of customer demand. Instead of this, you can improve sales and profits for your Antares business through the introduction of category management

While c-stores and supermarkets operate on lower profit margins than vendors, they nonetheless grow faster in the product categories in which they compete against vendors. They use every available tool to maximize efficiency. They don’t put their stock clerks in charge of deciding the menu for the shelves.

Product selection is critical for the success of your Antares business. Several product manufacturers and computer software suppliers now offer excellent data management tools. It is all now up to you to act in the best interest of your Antares business and use these tools. Product selection in automatic merchandising should not be left to chance.

Problems That Impact Profitability

Even if all your Antares operations locations start off earning what they should, there can be problems that may arise. Most of these problems that impact profitability can be divided into five major categories.

Gross sales

Sales will vary directly with the population at the location. As the population increases or decreases, so will sales. If a new fast food outlet opens across the street, sales can decrease. Since gross sales are the primary determinant of the bottom line, they must be monitored closely.

Gross profits

Gross profits equal sales less cost of goods sold. If product costs increase and you cannot raise selling prices in your Antares business, the gross profits from the location will fall. Similarly, if a dishonest route person doesn’t return all the cash collected, reported sales will appear to fall while the product costs will remain the same, and the gross profits will also fall.

Only one of these problems requires a confrontation with the client. Operators should understand that gross profits, reported as a percent of gross sales, don’t tell the whole story. Gross profits at a given location may remain as 54 percent; however, if sales drop by 50 percent in real dollars, gross profit dollars will also drop.

Operating costs

We should limit the discussion of the Antares operating costs to only those costs that relate to the client. These are usually the direct, variable costs associated with servicing the client. The big ones include direct labor and vehicle, commissions, equipment depreciation, sales taxes, etc.

Net profits

As the name implies, net profits, is what is left after deducting all of the operating expenses. It should be calculated in both dollars and percentages.

Return on investment (ROI)

ROI is the net profit from the location, annualized, expressed as a percentage of the capital investment in that location. If a location produces annual profits of $5, 000 and requires a capital investment of $25,000, the ROI will be calculated as 20 percent. This calculation is important because it is possible to show acceptable net profits, expressed as a percent of sales, and still have a problem. It is important that you monitor these problems that can occur in your Antares business, efficiently.

The Interior of a Route Vehicle

Customizing the interior of a route vehicle to maximize the efficiency of inventory handling is an important element to running an efficient operation. To do this, Antares operators often debate doing the work themselves or utilizing the services of vehicle design specialists.

First consideration: Soft drinks

The layout of the interior hinges on the volume of beverages an Antares operator will move on a route will center on the drinks. Soft drinks always take up a lot of room and need to be located for a good weight distribution. A simple rack won’t do when there is a mixture of ounces of cans.

Design specialists encourage operators to only carry what they need on a vehicle. It minimizes weight and extends the life of the truck. There are operators that have claimed that on a majority of routes, there are cases that are wasteful. This is not only because of the weight factor, but today’s incredibly thin can walls, proper inventory turnover is one of the essentials to prevent nasty leaks. If there is too much weight on the front end of the vehicle, it will wear out prematurely. If there is too little weight, the vehicle will bounce and the tires will wear early.

Step two: Snack shelves

After the number of beverage racks is determined, the snack shelves are considered. The amount of shelving required will again depend on the quantity and variety of products the operator wants transported. Chips, for instant, are light. They won’t affect the center of gravity or hurt the driver’s back, so these can be stacked on higher shelves.

Antares operators also need to consider if they plan to transport perishable products which might necessitate coolers. A candy cooler should be considered for chocolate so that the Antares operators won’t get a “blooming” effect. Blooming is the result of temperature changes.

The biggest mistake some operators make is underestimating their vehicle weight requirements. Cost and the ability to control the configuration of the space, are the two major concerns Antares operators have about getting a “professionally” customized vehicle interior. Each operator usually tries to do something different when it comes to installing an interior.

Branding Takes Constant Work

In order to keep your company’s name at “top of mind” with current and prospective customers, you will need to create and promote your brand constantly. There are various definitions of the word “brand.” Your company name, logo, color scheme and tag line all can be part of your “brand.” It is what makes people remember you and what you do.

Brand communicate who you are

For your Antares operations, your brand is meant to create awareness. This will promote the high quality image of your company and will also communicate your message of what makes you different from your competition. If your brand is successful in accomplishing these items with your current customers, then “word-of-mouth” advertising will occur for you.

Consider your firm’s full visibility

Without paying enormous costs, you can ingrain your brand into your customer’s minds through repetition via your Antares vending machines, vehicles and maybe through banners in your customer’s facility. Use these avenues to visually implant your brand into your customers’ and prospects’ minds.

To market your company successfully, it is important to have visual elements that represent your company. You should also have a communication plan that ensures that your prospective customers see your brand repeatedly throughout the day. The first step is the logo and color scheme that you use to represent your company.

The next step is the tag line. This is the small, easy to read statement that tells your prospective customer or your present customer, in literally two seconds, why they should choose your Antares operations for their vending services.

The third step is to decide what form of media you will use to communicate the look and message to your client.

In creating a logo, tag line and color scheme for your Antares business, you will need to ask the following questions.

1) Who am I targeting with my message?

2) What specifically is the message that I am trying to communicate to my target customer?

3) What colors help me to emotionally convey the message?

Vending Operators Rethink Plans about Candy

Changes in a key supplier’s program are forcing Antares vending operators to rethink plans in one of the most important product segments: candy bars. Vending operators have already suffered one round of price increases, only to face another one.

That costs are rising in such an important category has caused Antares operators to reconsider their buying plans. Most operators feel that they cannot raise prices more than they already have, due to competitive pressure. Some vending operators have considered larger size bars, which will allow these operators to provide greater value for a higher price.

Many operators have been unsure of their plans, but have all agreed there could be more changes to candy bar offerings in the time to come since the introduction of the glass front Antares candy/snack vending machines.

Operators watch price points carefully

There are some operators who are waiting for price points to move up just a little more before offering large size candy in their vending machines. You can decide to sell less candy in your vending machine by decreasing the candy facings from two selves to one and a half. This can work for you if candy is one of the least profitable things that you a sell.

There will be a cost involved in changing candy spirals to larger snack spirals. In the long run this extra cost will pay off for your Antares business. At the same time there are some snack companies that are willing to offer incentives in exchanges for guarantied placements.

Operators find consumer acceptance

You will find that the higher priced items will not compromise your profitability. Of course there will be number of customers that will complain about the higher prices. A lot of Antares vending operators have found the number of complaining customers to be less than expected, which indicates that the days of super sensitivity about prices are behind us. LSC and king size bars also create a better price environment for large size candy bags. There has been some improvement in the performance of these items. Despite all this, not everyone is convinced the time is right to charge $1.00 for candy bars.

Safe Driving Practices for Route Drivers

It is a fact that motorists do not follow safe driving practices as well as professional drivers. This means that you as an Antares operations route driver will have to exercise caution when driving. There are some common sense tips that can reduce your chances of being involved in an accident. They include:

1. Make sure that you get plenty of rest before getting behind the wheel. At the same time make sure that you eat well and stay fit.

2. Pay attention to vehicle maintenance. Learn how to inspect your brakes, identify safety defects and get them repaired. A smooth running vehicle is important for your Antares operations.

3. Beware of your “No Zone.” Other drivers may not be aware of the size of your truck’s blind spots. The “No Zone represents the danger areas. One third of all crashes between large trucks and cars take place in this zone.

4. Slow down in work zones. Work zone crashes are more likely to happen during the day. Take your time going through work zones and give yourself plenty of room.

5. Keep your distance. Always leave enough space between you and the vehicle that happens to be in front of you. If you hit a vehicle from behind, you are the one who is considered to be at fault. So you need to keep your distance so that no accident can keep you from conducting your Antares operations.

6. Fasten your seat belt. Buckle up for safety and control. A major cause of truck driver fatalities involves being ejected from the vehicle.

7. Always drive defensively. Avoid aggressive drivers. A lot of the accidents are caused by aggressive driving behaviors. Speed can only increase your chance for a crash.

8. Be professional on the road. Whenever it is possible. Help stranded motorists; notify the concerned people, of any crashes that you have seen or any other situations that can lead to crashes.

All these precautions would have been well explained to you as the route driver, by the Antares operator. All you need to do is keep all the precautions in mind at all times, so that you can avoid any accidents when you are on your route.

Global Positioning Systems Become More Affordable

Antares vending operators are taking a closer look at ways to operate more efficiently. Implementing technology to improve efficiency usually adds costs before saving any. There are some technologies like GPS that are proving their usefulness.

As with any new technology, Antares operators face a task educating themselves about how the technology works. GPS is still fairly new in vending and operators must sift through a lot of information before they can determine how much to invest and what the payoff will be.

Technology costs fall

GPS systems have been available for fleet management for several years, but as with many technologies, the costs have fallen in recent years. You can use this technology in your Antares operations to improve operating efficiencies and employee accountability.

There are two main types of GPS systems:”active” and “passive.” In an active system, data is transmitted via cellular telemetry to the main office or to an internet website where the subscribing company can view its fleet activity in real time. In a passive system, the data is stored for retrieval and uploaded to the principal fleet computer when the vehicle returns.

There is also a two way tracking system that uses low orbit satellites that allows communication between drivers and managers. This works in areas where cellular networks are not established. This is the most expensive option.

Rising fuel costs drive interest

Antares vending operators have taken more interest in GPS systems in light of skyrocketing fuel costs. Fuel savings using these systems are achieved in three distinct ways: 1) By making sure unauthorized use of the vehicle isn’t occurring, 2) By allowing more efficient routing, and 3) By allowing managers to know how fast a vehicle is moving because excessive speed wastes fuel.

Antares vending operators have found use for these systems for all their main vehicle functions; delivery, service and supervisory.

Investing in a GPS system for your operations is worth the extra cost because it helps you know where the service vehicles are. The biggest benefit has been improved routing efficiencies. The system costs have really come down and the prices and options vary considerably.

Moving your Vending Operations to your Own Dedicated Facility

Most first time vendors start their Antares operations in their house. Once you buy the vending machines, you wait to see the profits roll. With the Natural Choice vending program by Antares Corporation, it would not be long before you see the huge profits coming in. Your hard work will have to contribute to this as well.

In any business, you must make decisions at certain stages of growth to meet your desired level of growth. Moving the Antares operations into a separate building is one of the first decisions you must make as you grow. Most operators usually opt to rent a section of a “strip warehouse” along with other small businesses. Your Antares operation needs to be doing financially well, for you to make such a move.

At the time you need to make this decision, is the same time you will have to hire an additional helper. The work load would definitely increase since you have increased the size of your Antares operations.

Basic costs: rent and utilities

For the moving out of your operations, there are certain costs that you will need to start considering. First is the monthly cost of renting a small warehouse and office. The costs usually range from $1,000 to $2,500, depending on the square foot of the building.

Your utility bills would usually average in the hundreds depending on the size of the warehouse. The utility bills tend to be higher during the winter months.

To do it, sacrifices might be needed

It is said that your sales would have to have reached around $500, 000 before you can even consider moving to a new facility. In reality, many operators begin operating in new facilities at lower sales volumes because they have simply outgrown the house.

If you want to do this with your Antares operations, you will need to make sure that your business remains profitable. You may have to take a short term decrease in your pay to remain profitable until you acquire additional business.

Facility’s location: what to consider

When moving your Antares business from your house, you will need to choose your facility location carefully. A lower cost facility in an area of town far away from your home may actually cost you more than a more expensive facility located near your home.

Things to consider when looking for a proper location include security, traveling distance and time from your home, among others. The location of your facility can also be a factor in the quality of employees that are willing to work for you.

Promotions That Work, Give Something Back

Promotions that work in your Antares business will give back something extra to the customer, driver or operator. It answers that time honored requirements of pleasing the end consumer or, depending on the situation, the route driver. It also puts gloss on the vending operator.

Successful promotions range from the most homogenous projects generated by the Antares operator all the way to games and contests involving a whole continent of competing coupon or mailings to consumers or route drivers.

Promotions that don’t work don’t appeal the end winner, or don’t appeal to the Antares vending operator, or maybe they don’t even work for the manufacturer.

Antares operators can device their own promotions

Not all promotions involve manufacturers, some are operator driven. It all just depends on the size of your Antares operations. Promotions can be something simple such as t-shirts or caps to promotions that are more expensive.

Customers love specials

You can have some special offers in your Antares vending machines. Perhaps you can have combo offer for your snacks, because these are the things that customers love. You can offer prizes with every purchase of an item. This kind of system has worked well with a number of vending operators.

It is things like this that will make buying from an Antares vending machine very interesting. Promotions have picked up a lot in the last few years. Competition is keen, so you will need to come up with every kind of program to promote your Antares business.

As far as route driver promotions go, they can be motivated by less paperwork which will make the work generally easier for them. If things are complicated, the route drivers lose motivation. Route drivers are motivated by cash. For your Antares business you can run a route driver competition rewarding exact product accounting.

Anything that promotes high standards in route driver honesty and exactitude is worth the outlay.

Benefits of Dedicated Beverage Trucks

Running dedicated beverage routes for your Antares vending business, is a concept that should be welcomed because of the numerous benefits that come with it.

If you could only run a route with beverages, your Antares business would be able to function more efficiently. Here are some of the benefits.

Less loading

A well designed beverage truck, with outside, roll up doors on the sides can be loaded by the pallet with a forklift truck. This would take less time than if you were loading the beverages into a cramped, mixed- product route vehicle. You can save a lot of time using this system.

Makes training easier

New beverage route people will only have to learn how to fill one type of Antares vending machine. The new mixed product route people will have one less type of machine to learn. This will reduce the amount of time it will take to train a new route person for your Antares vending business. Reducing the number of machines a new driver must learn will have a positive impact on trainee turnover.

Specialization builds efficiency

When an employee handles only one product, he will learn how to handle that product with very few wasted motions. He will be able to pick orders much faster as well as feel the Antares vending machines much faster.

Improved employee satisfaction

Whenever you improve the quality of the workplace and the work, you wind up with happier employees. A route person enters the cargo area at least 20 times per day. The cargo area of a mixed product route vehicle is not a comfortable place to enter. Providing beverage specific vehicles will improve the working conditions.

Consider impact on female applicants

Women are reticent about applying for vending route jobs because they feel it involves too much lifting. If beverage cases were removed from the equation and provided with their dedicated trucks, then women will be inclined to apply for the job in your Antares business.

While all the reasons to run dedicated beverage routes mentioned above are compelling, it seems that the most compelling reason is the fact that doing so will allow Antares operators to improve the productivity of their beverage routes and their mixed product routes.

The Working of Software in Vending

Wireless transmission of data, if done cost effectively, can enable an Antares operator to solve a whole host of problems plus allow the operator to enjoy all the benefits that come with software. If every Antares vending machine is equipped with an automatic transmitting device, dynamic scheduling would become a reality and the operator would get to know instantly when a machine is out of order. However, real time transmission of data is not necessary for operators and suppliers to reap all the benefits from recording and reporting brand preference analysis, by individual machine.

Individual consumer brand preferences do not change quickly. Brand preference data, harvested from an Antares vending machine by a handheld computer when the machine is being filled, and then later downloaded into a host computer, is just as valuable as it would be transmitted in ‘real time’.

With this software system, a driver didn’t have to make two trips to the Antares vending machines. As a result of this Antares operators felt that the system met their needs, when it came to their vending operations.

Antares vending operators improved their office functions in many ways. Such as 1) data entry errors due to driver counting or writing errors are eliminated. 2) Accountability reports and sales analysis reports can be made available as soon as the cash is counted. 3) Management can directly impact the level of sales at each Antares machine by using cost effective brand preference analysis reports.

Most Antares professional operators will admit that the biggest problems with existing accountability reports are errors caused by counting or writing errors on the part of the driver. With this system, human intervention is eliminated. With this system, reports should be available, at worst, by the next business day so that they can be acted upon in a timely manner.

In addition to this, since each driver can now service more machines, the Antares operator should show lower operating costs based upon improved route productivity which is based on no data entry costs.

The primary goal in brand analysis by machines is to increase sales, and thus creating an opportunity to improve profits for your Antares business. All in all, this software system in your vending machines will produce the largest benefit for your business.

Raising Prices for your Antares Business

In vending, it appears that an Antares vending operator can only raise prices when he is able to demonstrate that product prices have gone up. It is thus much more difficult to convince clients to grant price relief simply because the cost of doing business has gone up. It is even more difficult get the customers to accept price increases for their products because of increased world wide competition.

However, it shouldn’t make a difference whether cost increase in your Antares business is due to product cost increases or other cost increases. Any increase in costs becomes a direct reduction in the bottom line, if you are unable to offset the cost increase with higher selling prices or increased productivity. Improving productivity in your Antares business, is a given in any professionally managed business. However, there will come a time when cost increases can simply outpace any possibility of recovery through increased productivity.

Antares operators as well as other operators are finding it difficult to hire people due to record low unemployment rates. As a result, labor costs have risen significantly. There are a number of reasons that make Antares vending operators want to increase their prices. These reasons include; increased fuel costs, increased interest costs and health care cots.

Labor costs, delivery costs benefit costs and interest costs are some of the biggest costs on P & L statements after product costs. If the Antares vending operator has already pushed productivity improvements to the maximum, then this would be the best time to increase prices if he wants to protect the bottom line.

It is never easy telling a customer that he is going to have to start paying a higher price to purchase products. There as some methods that you can use to communicate to the customer, that have proven to be less painful than others.

Supermarkets raise prices at will without consulting anyone. Antares operators and OCS operators usually operate under a long term contract with their locations. Since prices are one of the more important terms of a contract, prices are negotiated with the client at the outset. Any operator, who raises prices without at least giving the client the opportunity to comment on the change, runs the risk of losing the client.