Vending machine route planning is a crucial aspect of operations in the vending industry, where companies strive to find innovative solutions that not only optimize their operations but also elevate employee effectiveness. One such success story comes from Kaffeemax, a Germany-based classical vending business that has been operating for almost 10 years. Kaffeemax is running more than 500 vending machines and has been on a journey together with Vendon since they began their business in 2014.
Business overview:
- On a journey together with Vendon since 2014
- Business type: classical vending business based in Germany operating more than 500 vending machines
- Business needs: route planning, remote management, real-time monitoring, employee management, consumption patterns, business optimization
- Vendon Solutions: Route Planning, Remote management, Real-time monitoring
The story
We sat down with Rainer Sauer, the CEO of Kaffeemax, to talk about the long-lasting partnership between Vendon and Kaffeemax and gain some insights into how Vendon has played a crucial role in their journey.
Rainer recalls the challenges they faced in the early days, filling machines manually without any knowledge of real data. “When we began, we had only a few machines. Soon, we realized that filling all of them was a massive undertaking. With the need to transport all the products in the vehicle, we had to anticipate what was missing and what needed restocking. This process required frequent trips back and forth between the car and the vending machines, making it very time-consuming”.
Also, retrieving encashment data from machines was a quite big challenge each time, remembers Rainer: “The fillers had various methods for reading out the data from different machines, leading to frequent mistakes in financial calculations”.
One day Kaffeemax decided to undergo transformative changes by directly addressing these time and money-consuming processes with Vendon solutions. This decision revolutionized their operations and resulted in increased efficiency and a fundamentally altered approach to work. As Rainer says,
“When we found Vendon, we quickly discovered that investment in this product saves us a lot of time and work so that we can work much more efficiently.”
Kaffeemax highlights how Vendon has reshaped its approach to warehouse management. Thanks to real-time data, they only stock what’s necessary, minimizing warehouse space and reducing costs. Rainer adds that Vendon allows them to operate a much smaller warehouse because the goods can be procured just when needed. Now they are able to see in advance what is needed and there is no need to keep a large amount of stock as they can only fill in what’s necessary.
Rainer especially emphasizes the Route Planning tool and the benefits that it provides:
“The most powerful tool for us is Route Planning because it helps us create a stable daily routine. This means we can take care of a lot of things. If employees are sick or on vacation, we can reschedule and rearrange things in seconds.”
Commenting on the impact of Vendon solutions on the day-to-day of Kaffeemax, Rainer highlights that Vendon is crucial in making their employees more efficient and easier to deplete. He appreciates the opportunity to train new people quickly as it is much easier to fill the equipment with data retrieved from Vendon Cloud.
“Without Vendon, we wouldn’t be where we are today because they have made the path significantly easier for us to grow faster, better as well as more constructively and economically.
I would say we can run 30% more machines with the same employees compared to if we had no telemetry,” says Rainer.
Looking ahead, Kaffeemax is convinced that the future of vending will not be possible without telemetry and Vendon will continue to play an important role in their business growth. Vendon solutions prove to be essential also during seasonal changes, enabling Kaffeemax to track consumption patterns year-round. Whether the high demand for cold drinks in summer or increased coffee consumption in winter, Vendon’s insights empower Kaffeemax to plan, adapt, and serve their customers optimally.
Rainer sums up the successful partnership with Vendon, “Anyone who uses Vendon and adapts their way of working, will quickly learn that it is the best gift they can give themselves.”
Kaffeemax’s experience with Vendon shows how using advanced technology in vending machines can really change things. The key improvements that Kaffeemax sees since working with Vendon are the optimization of business costs and processes as well as efficient employee management. From avoiding unnecessary visits to machines and improved warehouse management, to simplified data retrieval, Vendon has become an essential partner in Kaffeemax’s success story. As Kaffeemax continues to grow, it stands as proof that innovative solutions can reshape traditional businesses and drive them toward new heights.
Implementation of Vendon solutions has revolutionized Kafeemax warehouse management, enabling real-time demand tracking and minimizing stock levels, resulting in cost savings.
Key Takeaways
- Kaffeemax with Vendon’s telemetry, can handle 30% more machines without needing additional staff.
- Vendon’s Route Planning tool helps to establish stable daily routines, allowing for quick adjustments to employee schedules and optimizing human resource utilization.
- Vendon’s user-friendly interface has made equipment replenishment easier, enabling faster training for new employees and enhancing overall workforce efficiency.
- Kaffeemax firmly believes that telemetry solutions like Vendon will be indispensable for the future of vending, enabling adaptability to seasonal demand fluctuations and facilitating continued business growth.
This success story is the result of our long-standing partnership with our trusted official distributor in the D/CH region Engeltec who have always strived to deliver best quality and service to Vendon customers.
