Planet Antares Tips: Large Sized Candy And Price Points

The introduction of larger sized candy in your Planet Antares vending machines means that you will need to increase the price of the candy bar. First of all assume a vending price of $1 and then a $0.57 blended cost on the large size candy and $0.75 on its smaller counterpart with a blended cost of $0.38. you also need to consider the 6 percent commission paid to drivers. This is a percentage of gross profit and usually 15 percent on the large size candy and 12 percent on the smaller size candy.

If the large size candy proposition has to work in your Planet Antares vending business, the product must sell for at least $1. In certain cases, price points above a dollar are required if the larger size line is to be financially beneficial. A positive move will be higher price points for your Planet Antares vending business. Your coin mechanism will suffer with incremental price points of $1.10 and $1.15 but this is part of the vending business as operators strive for higher revenue.
In the short term, the operating expenses for your vending business are fixed. Some of these are rent, insurance, depreciation, amortization and interest. You need to find a way for your Planet Antares vending machine to produce more with each route driver stop.

The introduction of large sized candy in your Planet Antares vending machine will provide you with this opportunity. This, of course, would not be without a few concerns. The proposition that the candy companies are promoting is almost identical to what we have heard before from salted snack companies and bottlers.

For vending operators who are willing to change, the conversion to the larger product has been favorable. This has not been easy for everyone. Those who plan to become market leaders will expose themselves to the possibility of lost business as the competition overtakes their accounts with the traditional programs.

All About Full Line Vending Machines

In terms of physical appearance as well as functionality, full line snack and soda vending machines are top of the line. Vending machines differ in terms of size, structure and their potential for returns. They can be used seperately or as a group in order to maximize profits and utilization. These machines can also be customized at additional costs making the machines suitabel for almost any location.

For Planet Antares vending operators, the vending machines have the advantage that many locations recognize their need for such machines. In fact, many locations will take the initiative to contact a vending company to request installation of a machine. Many of these location owners also recognize the difficulty in moving the machines and are less likely to request removal, unless the operator does not provide satisfactory services.

Usually, the soda and snack vending machines have vend counters to track how many items are sold, making it difficult for an employee to steal money. The machines themselves, being large and heavy, are difficult to syeal without drawing considerable attention towards them.
Planet Antares vending machines stand for quality and innovaive vending equipment that has services to offer like:

• Refilling
• Cash collection
• Cleaning
• Repair work
• Rebuilding existing equipment
• Replacing malfunctioning parts

What’s more, these vending machines are very economical and keep your budget in mind. As compared to other machines with similar features, the operating cost of their machines is much lesser.

How To Develop A Winning Vending Business

If you want to start a great business and considering vending opportunity for the same, there are several things that need to be kept in mind. Firstly, you would have to decide on the type of vending machine that you want, the location of your vending machines and the number of machines that you will be able to operate.

Planet Antares offers great vending machines as well as a vending program that can help you get started in this field. Here are some steps that you need to follow when beginning with a vending business:

a. Call up locations like hospitals, universities, businesses and schools in your area and ask them if they have any vending machines in their premises and if yes, if they are happy with the service and commission that they are getting.

This will allow you to know whether you have found a potential location for your Planet Antares vending business or not. Meet the owner of the premises and try to convince him that you can do better than the previous vending operator.

b. Avoid buying coffee, fresh food and ice cream vending machines unless you are also supplying a snack and beverage vending machine to the same location. The most profitable vending machines to buy are snack and beverage vending machines such as provided by Planet Antares Inc.

c. Focus on purchase of good quality vending machines and be careful to inspect the features of the equipment before buying it. This is especially important in case of refurbished or used vending machines.

d. Consider joining the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA), a neutral industry trade association.

e. Subscribe to the vending industry’s leading trade magazines that carry a lot of information about the vending business.

The success of your vending business depends on research and sheer hard work. This should always be kept in mind when you are establishing a vending business. These steps can enable you to develop a good vending business.

Obtaining And Retaining Vending Business Customers

There are important similarities between the operations of a machine shop and a full line vending machine business. Both of them depend heavily upon expensive capital equipment that seems to last forever. For any business, growth and customer satisfaction are really important.

Commonly, Planet Antares vending operators associate growth with the acquisition of new locations. Firstly, they will hire expensive salespeople to seek out new customers and alos they would be prepared to invest substantial sums and take additional debt to pay for the new state-of-art machines to equip the new account. Moreover, the vending operators sit back and look at their existing customers as cash cows.

Remember that your vending machines will last long only if the vending equipment is maintained in a proper manner.

The average vending operator keeps worrying about the competition offering his locations the same deals with new equipment that he is offering or even better deals. All this can be a worthless exercise as there are too many vending operators sitting on warehouses full of older equipment that they have taken from locations they have lost to aggressive competitors. The cost of acquiring or preserving a location can never be too high.

You should understand that the existing customers are more valuable than the future customers. With existing customers, you have already dealt with the cost of obtaining and equipping the customer and enjoy a certain level of credibility with them, based upon the quality of product and service offered by you.

New vending equipment can provide benefits for the Planet Antares vending operator as well as the location. It also requires fewer service calls. Higher capacity vending machines produce lower route labor and vehicle expenses for the operators. In the end, this will result in higher sales for the Planet Antares vending business.

How To Profit From Vending Machine Rentals

A large number of people have established successful vending businesses by starting with rented vending machines. Everyone may not have the capital for investing in new or used vending machines. There may also be people who are not sure about the potential of vending business and want to try it with as little cost involvement as possible. In such circumstances, rented vending equipment is the best option. Store owners and businesses are usually offering vending machines on rent.

To setup a vending business as a long term venture, you will have to make enough profits that enable you to buy your own vending machines in the future. Initially, you can begin with rented vending machines. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to settle for any kind of vending machine available in the market. It is imperative to go for quality vending machines like Planet Antares equipment only. Basically, you want your business to be profitable, be it with new or rented vending machines. So, renting Planet Antares vending machines can be highly profitable for you.

With the boom in vending industry, the demand for vending machines is quite high. However, vending machine rentals can be found almost everywhere. All that needs to be done is to get in touch with the right people that can provide you with quality vending machines. Vending machines are rented by shops and business offices alike for their customers and employees refreshment as well additional income. This means that you can use rented vending machines as a tool for making extra income.

Make sure that your rented vending machines are placed in the right locations and have the right products for meeting customer demand. These products must be popular, branded items to ensure continuous sales and profits. If a product becomes slow in performance, you need to switch it with something new. It’s always best to stick to branded products. You must also observe your vending machine sales pattern to discern which products are to be included or not in the product mix for your vending route.

If you have installed software to do this task, it will not be an issue. Otherwise, you will need to hire someone to supervise the product sales and observe the trends in order to place only winning product selections in the Planet Antares vending machines.

Renting of vending machines can be extremely profitable, if you have the right vending machines and the right products in them. The most important thing for any business is to generate good returns.

Complete Vending Service With Planet Antares Vending Machines

So far, the vending industry has accomplished a lot in offering customers the best service that they can but are yet to improve the way they market themselves. This area is still not explored and needs development. At one time, convenience stores had to overcome a stereotype as an overpriced outlet to one that offers great convenience. A complete service of convenience and affordable rates of products if provided by Planet Antares vending.

Customers no longer price shop between a supermarket and a c-store because they realize that c-stores are selling a convenience. The vending industry can change consumer perception too. Many Planet Antares vending operations should have an entire division committed to marketing.

A great way to promote your vending business would be to educate customers about the vending services. Once the public is educated about the vending industry, they will be more willing to pay for it. If vending operators keep competing on the basis of price alone, the vending industry will not be able to move forward. As a Planet Antares vending operator, you need to keep looking for ways to move your vending business forward.

Category management is a system to simplify selection as the route and warehouse levels and enables a vending operator to control the machine menu. To do this, the vending operator must be able to track individual product sales accurately. This can be done by investing in handheld computers.

Both vending and c-stores are retail outlets with limited selling space. The common factor consists of a product being sold, but more importantly, a convenience. This is something common in both vending and c-stores. The vending industry has limited space and it requires all vending operators to treat this limited space like gold.

Importance Of Sanitation In Vending Machines

As a vending operator, you must know that it is important to keep the vending machines and surrounding areas clean at all times. After refilling your Planet Antares vending machines, remember to remove all the trash, empty soda cases, boxes and other components. Make sure that the immediate area of the vending machine is well lit and has a covered trash receptacle. Moreover, the area must be protected from overhead leakage or water condensation, waste or sewer piping.

The vending machine should be mounted on a stand so that it is at least 6 inches above the deck. This will make it easier for the vending operator to clean under and around the vending machine. It is imperative to ensure that the surface of the vending machine inside or out is free of dust and not sticky.

Check whether the door and panel to the Planet Antares vending machine and any other opening for food is tightly fit. Any worn out material must be replaced to prevent dust, or any other foreign particles from entering. Workers need to be provided with adequate hand washing facilities near the vending machine.

Vending machines that provide potentially hazardous items must be provided with refrigeration or heating units and possess thermostatic controls to ensure the maintenance of safe food temperatures. Also, automatic controls must be included to prevent the machine from vending food in the event of a power failure or a mechanical failure.

A tight fitting, self closing cover must be provided for the vending stage of a Planet Antares vending machine. Take care that the vending machine exteriors are designed and fabricated in order to minimize the entrance of insects and rodents. Effective screening must be provided for ventilation louvers or openings in the vending machine. For microwave ovens, it is a must to clean the cavities and door edges at least once a day to keep them free of grease deposits and other accumulated soil.

You should also maintain a record of the vending machine operations and keep them with you during inspection and servicing. It is important to provide vending machines and the food contained inside with the same protection as provided by any other food service facility.