Thursday, November 02, 2006

The Market Place for Vending

The need to understand change in the vending industry may seem obvious. However, companies misinterpret clues and arrive at faulty conclusions all the time. Despite all the talk about the need for organizational agility, an astonishing number of businesses stay stuck in neutral when they need to implement new strategies. If you stay in place, the competition will run over you.

The market place for vending is experiencing more change than others. Today’s economic conditions and fierce competition have resulted in an environment that is markedly different from that experienced in the past decades.

Your Antares vending business needs to be aligned with the changes taking place. For this you will need a strategy. In order to survive, you will have to make money at smaller accounts, achieve higher per capita sales, open new markets, introduce new products, utilize technology, sell new locations and most importantly, you must hold on to your existing business.

Cost cutting has its limits

When you want to improve on efficiency in your Antares Corp. vending business, you can look at cutting costs. But this is a one trick pony. When revenue drops again, another round of costs cutting is implemented, then another, until you wake up one morning and find out the organization has been crippled. In theory, costs cutting shouldn’t be needed if good expense management is practiced on an ongoing basis.

Your Antares vending business cannot afford to operate today without strong controls and preventive measures in place. Smaller businesses are more vulnerable because they typically lack the secondary controls and procedures.

Inventory control

Software has given vending operators, including Antares vending operators the opportunity for more control over route warehouse inventory than ever before. This opportunity can be lost when collection procedures are not followed and cash meters are recorded inconsistently.

All vending companies need a culture of excellence that incorporates cost controls and encourages outstanding employee performance. This is required because the market place is changing for the vending industry. The business has changed and that means that you need to change as well.