Know About Planet Antares Fraud. ITS A SCAM!!!

Common Planet Antares Complaints

2010-11-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

Planet Antares Inc known for One Million Dollar Penalty by FTC has again resorted to suspicious means.

The company engaged in manufacturing and selling vending machines through various vending seminars and promotional events. Recently we ran across various users to find out performance of Planet Antares vending machines.

Coin Jam – Most of the vending operators worry about coin jams that that take place in vending machines. Coin jams not only stops machine functioning but operators also have to incur huge money to get it repaired.
Frequent failure – Planet Antares vending operators also worry about frequent vending machine failures.
Space – Planet Antares vending machines have not been upgraded to cater to new demands of people. They are stll using the standard models prevalent five years back.
A lot of people worry about Planet Antares Inc’s business model as there are no genuine and verifiable testimonials for the same.
As against promotional events commitment, support staff does not respond on time.
Many vending operators have lost their business contracts from good locations due to poor vending machine performances.

With recent findings, Planet Antares vending machines are not being favored by location owners. It came out to people that company is engaged in capturing web space with fake positive comments. For that they have hired a secialist company. Planet Antares has floated numerous websites targeting PLANET ANTARES SCAM on search engines. So that whenever someone searches for Planet Antares on the internet, he is shown only positive reviews.

Here are some genuine websites providing information about Planet Antares Inc.
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/jan/16/company_has_checkered_past68551/
http://edumacation.com/PlanetAntares
http://www.trustlink.org/ViewQuestion.aspx?QuestionID=345
http://www.friendsinbusiness.com/board1/index.cgi/noframes/read/127673
http://www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/Planet-Antares-Inc-13012540
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1999/0614/6312322a.html
http://repeatrich.blogspot.com/2009/02/financial-freedom-bashor-alert.html

Factors To Be Considered While Starting Planet Antares Vending Business

2010-04-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

Proper planning, thorough market research and analysis of available opportunities are imperative for business success in any business venture you take up. With increase in demand for vending machines and number of vending users, competition in this industry is on the rise. In this situation, every operator has to remember few things to become successful.

Competition and strategy: Tough competition exists in vending business. Hence choosing the right product can be quite challenging. Try to purchase machines that are cheap and at the same time very popular among customers. Planet Antares machines are specially designed to cater to specific segment of customers. Besides selection, positioning of vending machines is equally important. For instance if you are targeting children, you need to place your machine in locations that has maximum children footfall.
Nature of vending machine: There are various kinds of vending machines available in the market. Some of them run on electricity while others use mechanical power. Each of these machines has its own set of merits and demerits. The choice of them would however depend on the kind and number of products you would like to dispense.
Product: Make sure you take enough time before finalising on the product you would like to dispense. There are several products available in the market targeting various set of customers. You can choose a product depending on your target customers, financial limitations and competition in your location.
Location: Location influences the success or failure of your business to a great extent. Choosing the right location is vital for the success of your business. Make sure you place your machine in a place that has maximum customer traffic. However, the people who visit this place should include your target audience.

All these are the nothing but the factors that need to be considered by an operator before starting a vending business

Tips That Help In Choice of Planet Antares Vending Location

2010-04-15T03:40:00.001-07:00

We all know that location of vending machines greatly influences the success or failure of this business. Operator’s choice of location is influenced by several factors like his financial limitations, the kind of products he would be dispensing and off course target audience. However, there are two aspects which operator needs to bear in mind before finalising on a particular location. These aspects are visibility and accessibility. Both these determine the success of your business.

Operators are always in a dilemma when it comes to finalizing of a vending location. Few tips that can help you in identification of perfect location are mentioned below:

• Target audience and manpower are the two factors that need to be kept in mind while choosing a vending location. The kind of location you choose should not only be accessible to your customers but also to your employees.

• The number of customers or in other words customer foot traffic and its quality also needs to be borne in mind while finalising vending location.

• Security should also be considered. Security here is not just limited to the security of vending machines but also that of your customers and employees. Is the location easily accessible to customers? Is there ample parking space? Even these minute details have to be taken in to consideration while choosing vending location.

• Number of competitors existing and operating in the current location also needs to be considered by the operator. Try to target niche and untargeted market segments for installing your equipment. However, if you believe that business is profitable and you are looking to penetrate the existing market, then the best place to put your Planet Antares machine is close to your competitor.

• Operators need to have or update themselves with the other kinds of businesses being operated in that locality. This would help you in taking appropriate marketing or advertising strategies.

• It is mandatory that operator is well versed with the rules and regulations of the city or state in which he/she is operating. Usually rules vary from one state to another. Hence an operator needs to update himself on these before installing his machine.

Why Should You Take Up Planet Antares Vending Business

2010-03-30T09:19:00.001-07:00

Starting a new vending business is definitely one of the most attractive business opportunities. Wondering why? Vending business generates good income, gives you freedom both financial and operational and is also a lot flexible. Although there are several self employment opportunities, nothing is as promising as vending.

For all those who are new to this industry and who are wondering what vending is all about? Vending is a simple business model that primarily deals with stocking and maintenance of machines installed in various locations. These machines are capable of dispensing whole range of products right from drinks, candies, snacks, ties, newspapers, tooth brush and almost everything you can ever imagine.

Wondering how to start your own business? Anyone in the look out for starting a vending business has got three options:

• Start from the scratch: You can establish a Planet Antares vending business on your own. Just purchase some new vending machines of renowned companies, stock them with right kind of products depending on the customer group you are targeting and finally install them in a perfect location. However operators need to be very cautious at every step and conduct a thorough market research before getting started.

• Take over existing vending machines: This is nothing but starting from a point where the previous operator has left. This is also a common practise. The main advantage of this is that every thing is set for you. You have some existing customer base and products that are already offered. Operator only needs to be careful while operating and try to expand this business further.

• Work for a vending machine franchise: This holds well when you are an employee of an existing franchise business. This experience would definitely help you launch your own business in the long run.

Any of these methods can be taken up while starting vending machine business on your own.

Vending Benefits

2010-02-25T08:18:00.000-08:00

Vending has always been preferred choice among operators and customers. This is a very simple business that can be taken up by almost anyone. Some of the unique features of this business are

• It does not require specific technical knowledge or skills

• It gives its operator complete flexibility several aspects.

• Operators are free from paper work.

• Operators need not make huge investments unlike other business ventures.

• Over head and maintenance costs are also very low.

• Operators have lot of freedom when it comes to choosing vending machines, products and even in terms of locating the machine.

• This is the only business model that can make you self sufficient thus gives you a lot of financial freedom.

• This is in fact the only business where you need not hire any sales staff.

• There are no area restrictions and time limitations for running this business. You can operate it round the clock.

• This business can be taken up either on full time or part time basis.

• Profit margins in this business are very high. Hence operators would be able to enjoy huge returns with minimum investment.

• Latest models like Glass front vending machines from Planet Antares, allow customers to view products which they are about to purchase.

• Instant and fast services: The main reason behind increasing use of vending machines is the convenience and instant services it offers. Modern customers are too busy to stand in long queues waiting for purchase or products and services.

• This is the only business where all transactions are done in pure cash. So operators need not worry about collection issues or fear bad debts.

• These machines can be placed in those areas where it is not possible to run a full time cafeteria.

• Quality: Even branded products can be vended using these machines. So quality is no more a concern.

• Vending is no more restricted to few limited products. Customers can purchase almost anything from these machines.

These benefits are drawing more and more customers towards this business.

How To Start Vending Business

2010-02-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

Starting a vending business would be very simple as long as you adopt a step wise approach. Vending industry is not something new. In fact it has been in existence for quite sometime now and has proved itself over the past few years by withstanding the highs and lows of economic fluctuations.

In case you are a novice, a lot of questions related to starting a vending business may be haunting you. Below mentioned are few tips that can help you in your new venture:

The first and foremost step before starting any business is thorough/detailed market research. This provides you with information about present market condition, competitor’s strategies, customer needs and latest technology available.
Now that you have decided to take up vending business, chose a product that you would like to dispense. There are several products available in the market and selection of product would depend on target customers. For instance: if you are targeting kids, then you can vend gum balls, candy, ice creams, chocolates and plastic toys.
After finalising the product you would like to sell, choose the right kind of machine. Various models of vending machines are available in different sizes, shapes and colors. Choose the one that meets your business and financial requirements. Planet Antares machines have been around for decades and have already won the trust of customers which make them an obvious choice.
Decide where you would like to place your machines for maximizing your profits. Machines should be placed in such a way that they are easily accessible and clearly visible to customers.
In case you are unable to select a machine on your own, you can take the help of a placement companies. These not only help you in choosing vending location but also take you through process and also assist you in times of emergency.
Know your financial and physical limitations before setting up machines. Start on a small scale and expand gradually. This is an ideal way of doing business. Do not take up more than what you can handle. This can leave you stressed out and also you cannot provide justification to the work you have taken up.

These can help you in starting your business and also running it successfully.

Why Is There a Huge Demand for Vending Business?

2010-02-12T00:13:00.001-08:00

The reason behind any person starting a vending business is to make huge profits. Some start this business to make additional income while others start with a view of making this their only source of income. Whatever be the reason that drives them to take up this business, there are several benefits of starting a vending business. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Instant cash flow: In fact, this is one of the very few businesses that generate revenue right form the moment you place your machine.

• Cash business: This is an all cash business which means that there is no scope for bad debts and collection issues.

• Flexible Timings: Another amazing benefit is that regardless of what you do during the day, your machine works for you 24/7. As your machine takes care of sales, you need not worry about their supervision, training or motivation.

• Return on investment: The main purpose of any investment is to make money. This business provides you with high profit margins and greater return on investment. What else would you look for as an investor?

• Perfect business Model: No one to boss over, No set working hours, No employees, No paper work and No territory limitations. All these features make vending most preferred business opportunities.

• Part time or full time: This business gives you the unique advantage of continuing with your main occupation and take up vending as a part time activity.

• No sales force: Your machines are your sales force hence you do not require additional sales personal to be appointed.

Besides being of great use to its operators, vending machines are also beneficial for its users. The first and most important benefit it gives to its customers is convenience and instant services. What else would a customer engrossed in hectic lifestyle look for?

For more information on vending business , contact Planet Antares staff and get to know all you want to about starting a vending business.

Why Take Up Vending Business

2010-01-21T05:47:00.001-08:00

Since more and more customers are looking for instant and convenient modes for purchasing products and services, automatic merchandising is gaining popularity. This is giving scope for several new and upcoming entrepreneurs to take up this business. If you are looking for a business opportunity that can be started with low investment in limited space and without any labour costs, then vending is the only available option for you.

One of the main reasons for growing demand of vending business is its promise to give you guaranteed and study results right from the day of installation of your machine. You can take up vending business either on a full time or part time basis. Whatever may be your mode of operation, this industry leaves you with complete control over your time thus gives you ample time to spend with your friends and family.

This business makes you completely responsible for your actions as there is no one to dominate you. You are your own boss; you can run the business the way you want. The initial cost of setting up the business and overhead costs involved are also very low when compared to other businesses. Zero royalty, no commission and no out going fee will allow you to run this business conveniently. This means that you need not rent any premises and run the business from your home.

If you are looking for some additional income to substantiate your regular earnings, vending is most suitable business. This industry has helped several families make additional income and provided employment opportunities to many new and upcoming entrepreneurs. Make you-self well equipped with every minute detail about this business. The ball is now in your court, so take your time and make a wise decision.

For any help or advise on vending business, contact Planet Antares staff and get all the information you need.

Benefits of business with Planet Antares

2009-12-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

Planet Antares has many features to be called as the best in the vending machine industry. The biggest benefit of starting your business with Planet Antares is that it is one of the leading and the most trustworthy vending companies in US, and is also the only patent pending product manufacturer for ‘Office Deli’ which is one of a kind vending machine.

Planet Antares has an experience of more than 21 years in the vending machine manufacturing business that guides and supports you in establishing well revenue yielding vending business. This is not all; planet Antares has invented some of the best vending solutions for the market, leaving a benchmark for all its competitors.

Planet Antares has been recognized as a world-class organization with outstanding ratings from Dunn & Bradstreet. But this is not the only quality of being associated with Planet Antares because, with over $500,000,000 in equipment and services sold, Planet Antares is one of the largest and the most successful business opportunities in the United States and Canada.

With such a huge experience many distributors have benefited from Planet Antares. Planet Antares has successfully placed thousands of distributors into the vending business. Because of their outstanding pre and post-delivery customer services, Planet Antares has acquired the top position in the vending machine manufacturing arena, and has become a dependable and a trustworthy name.

Planet Antares has several times created revolution in the industry by inventing some of the best, robust and state of the art vending machines including ‘Office Deli’ which has given them a hand over their competitors. ‘Office Deli’, consisting of multiple machines is equipped with the latest technology.

Another benefit of starting your business with Planet Antares is that professionals provided by Planet Antares help, guide and support the distributors in their business giving them necessary directions time to time to do better in their business.

With pockets full of features, and benefits at every step, Planet Antares is definitely a name to reckon with in the vending machine industry, that guarantees profit in your vending business.

Vending a Reliable Business Opportunity

2009-12-16T08:01:00.001-08:00

Vending as we all know is one of the oldest business opportunities that have been in existence in the first century BC itself. However it gained prominence only in 1800’s. Initially these machines were used to vend holy water in Egyptian temples. Later as people started realising the advantages associated with these machines, they were used to vend postcards and gumballs. Thus these machines had to undergo a lot of changes before reaching their present form. Modern vending machines are used to vend almost all kinds of products.

Snack and soda are the most commonly used vending machines. These originated in 1940’s and had multi selections which accepted multiple coins. However, there were some drawbacks in these machines. They were unable to dispense change and had only limited selection options for the customers. These were completely mechanical machines and required no power supply at all. Electronic and technology improvements have gradually resulted in innovative vending machines that started accepting currency. This is how vending machines evolved.

As more and more operators were keen in using vending machines, Manufacturers continued to produce better versions of vending machines with improved efficiency and reliability. Like any other business, proper operations are the key to success in a vending business. So before you set up your business, analyze the market, look for various kinds of products, various locations, new market avenues and various types of vending machines available. All these factors influence the success of your business.

Based on financial limitations and budgetary limits set up by operators, vending operator can either purchase a new machine or go for a used machine. In either cases each of them has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to new vending machines, they come with latest features, more efficient, low maintenance costs and warranty. However, they are little expensive.

Used machines on the other hand require tremendous repair work before it actually gets into working condition. Even though the initial cost is less, time and repair costs can become very expensive.

A little care and careful planning can make vending a very profitable business.

Importance Of Sanitation In Vending Machine

2009-12-02T11:53:00.001-08:00

Keeping the surroundings of your vending machine clean is as important as keeping your machine clean. It is the responsibility of vending operator to ensure that once the machine is replaced, trash, empty cans, boxes and other components need to be removed immediately. The area surrounding vending machine needs to be clean and if required, operator needs to place a covered thrash receptacle. Operator has to check from time to time and identify problems such as leakages, overhead condensation, waste or sewer piping.

Whenever an operator purchases a new vending machine of a branded company, he needs to place it on a stand that is at least 6 inches above the deck. This will enable proper cleaning on all sides of the machine. Operators should see to it that the machine is free of dust and not at all sticky. The door and panel of the machine must be proper and vendors need to replace any outdated material. This prevents infection caused by foreign bodies. In case the operator has any employees working for him, he needs to provide them with adequate hand washing facilities within the vicinity of vending machine.

If an operator is dispensing food items that need to be maintained at certain temperatures, he needs to use proper refrigeration or heating units or thermostat controls. Automatic controls prevent the vending machine from dispensing items in case of a power cut or mechanical break down.

Vending machines of established brands usually come with inbuilt tight fitting and self closing covers. While choosing a vending machine, operators need to see to it that the exteriors of the vending machine are not designed in such a way that they cannot accommodate insects and rodents. Wherever there are openings, screening must be provided for proper ventilation. If the vending machine has a microwave oven, it must be cleaned once a day to prevent unwanted deposits of grease and soil on them.

Operators need to maintain proper records of vending operations which are required during inspection and servicing of the machine. Other things apart, operators need to make sure that both vending machine and the stock dispensed in it are maintained properly. Since this can lure more customers and thus increase sales of the machine.

How to Operate a Vending Business Successfully?

2009-11-05T06:21:00.001-08:00

Before taking up any business, you need to acquire a thorough knowledge about it. It is advisable to do a market research and gather information about the current opportunities, competitors, and demand for products, market response and other related factors. You should be willing to learn new concepts and upgrade yourself from time to time. This will help you in running your business successfully in the long run.

There are so many companies willing to help you in effectively running your business. Generally most vending operators start with one or two machines in the beginning and gradually expand by reinvesting the returns earned on existing machines. In this way they will not be overleveraged. Whether or not to take help will depend on the size of your business operations. Vending business operator needs to have focus on few areas for running his business successfully. Some of these are mentioned below:

• Concentrate on profitability: All of us take up business with a view to make profits. So, focus on profitability becomes very essential. The location of the machine also influences your profit. Make sure you have the right machine in the right place. Customers also influence your profitability. So, make sure you provide them with the best goods and services. A satisfied customer can be retained for a life time.

• Healthy products: Health consciousness is increasing among modern day customers. More and more customers are switching to healthy foods and avoiding junk food. One reason for this is growing health hazards and increasing obesity. As a vending operator, you need to make note of all these changes in customer’s tastes and preferences and serve them accordingly. Schools, colleges, health clubs and gyms are ideal places for setting up healthy food vending machines.

• Technology: Technology is one factor that helps increase your revenue. With latest features coming up, easy and more efficient services can be offered to customers. For instance: latest technology like GPS helps in closely monitoring the vehicle route and thus avoids any delay. Similarly movement of products sold can also be monitored. This helps in identifying product with highest and least demand. The slow moving products can be replaced with the faster ones. Thus operator can prevent wastage of products.

These things if borne in mind can be helpful to vending operators. For more information on running a successful vending business get help from Planet Antares staff.

Quality Food In Vending Machines

2009-10-29T06:14:00.000-07:00

Food and beverage vending machines have been very popular. These are mostly preferred by working people who look for quick, tasty and easy meals. As per The National Automatic Merchandising Association, in US alone, nearly $21 billion dollars is spent in purchasing food and beverage products from vending machines.

An average American works for nearly 8 to 10 hours a day and has no time for lunch breaks. For all such people, an in house vending machine is the best way to eat food. So it becomes very crucial for vending operators to maintain proper quality in the products they vend. The appeal and quality of food are the driving forces for making a customer visit again and again.

Every vending operator needs to ensure the below mentioned things:

• Stock: Load the machine with sufficient stock on a timely basis. Ensure that you vend high quality branded products.

• Fresh: Make sure that the stock is fresh and not outdated. Remove outdated stock or one that does not move quickly.

• Make sure that customers do not return empty handed. For this you have to see to it that you machine is sufficiently stocked.

• In case you are vending products that need to be maintained at a particular temperature, ensure that proper temperature levels are maintained.

• Make sure you have a power back up for your vending machine.

• Always keep the machine clean and tidy. This can attract customers.

• Check products regularly for expiry dates.

All these points mentioned above are very basic and crucial for success of your business. But most often these are ignored by operators. Proper attention, timely service and quality products can help you grow this business. This billion dollar industry is skyrocketing and has huge scope for further development. So all prospective vending operators out there make sure you follow these guidelines right from day one of setting up your business. For any help or assistance on planning out your vending business, call Planet Antares staff who have the experience and the expertise in setting up vending businesses.

How To Start A Vending Business?

2009-10-23T01:40:00.001-07:00

Vending is perhaps one of the very few businesses that do not ask for any specific qualifications or expertise. This is one reason that makes it very popular among the business circle. More and more people have started taking up vending business because of the high profit margins it offers. However, you need to do a lot of ground work and sound planning before you venture in to this business.

• Analysing the start up cost is one of the important aspects of planning. The start up cost of vending business will depend upon two factors: the type of vending machine you use and the number of machines you would like to start with. When you are starting this business for the first time, choose a product that is popular and also has maximum demand. For instance: if you are targeting children, then candy or gumball machine is appropriate for you. Try to purchase a new vending machine that is small and less expensive. Candies are very popular among kids and this machine is capable of giving you $127.50 per week. Once you have made enough money, you can acquire some more and different kind of machines. You can also consult Planet Antares staff who will guide you through step by step process of starting your vending business.

• Location of vending machine is also very crucial. This is one factor that contributes to the success of your business. Always prefer locations with huge customer traffic. These places include schools, large companies, restaurants, shopping malls, and bus and railway stations. Make sure that the place meets all your requirements. It should be easily accessible, easy to identify and should have a source for power supply. Since ‘there is no gain without any pain’, identify locations yourself instead of depending on other agencies

• The price of the product you choose to vend would also influence your business. The locality in which you place your machine influences pricing of your product. For instance: If you place your machine in a locality dominated by middle class customers, there is no use pricing a product high. These products would be out of there reach and hence your sales may get affected.

If these things are borne in mind, you are sure to reap huge profits.

Active vending with Planet Antares

2009-10-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

On the go shopping and eating is a part and parcel of almost every Americans’ lifestyle, be it a school going child, an adolescent or a workaholic adult. The growth in the mobility and activity among people is leading to a new era altogether. Planet Antares brings to you the solution for all your time management problems. Vending machines are being installed everywhere around us, right from lounges, train stations to cafeterias and shopping malls. Apart from providing ready to go food and beverages, vending machines are also a brilliant option for a new business venture. Planet Antares offer first class vending machines to their operators who wish to begin a new business enterprise on their own.

Location of your vending machine should be such that your business does not go away in a loss. Compromising for a cheaper location or someplace where you feel that the vending machine would not be suitable, do not put your machine there. Researching the market for a famous, workable location is an important feature of starting this business. As it is evident, vending machines are there to cater to the target population which is in a hurry or people who are immensely active where their lifestyle is concerned. Thus, in such a situation it becomes mandatory that the location is properly thought of and then decided upon because, otherwise, the business will end up in a no-profit deal which is a nightmare for any businessman.

Planet Antares offers snacks and soda vending machines which are a very good option for places like factories and large offices where there is a staff of at least 50 workers. Planet Antares has opened up new scopes for budding entrepreneurs who wish to start their own new business. Incorporating with Planet Antares vending business program will remove all the barriers that come in the way of your new business venture and its success. Make way for an active lifestyle among the Americans and get access to a new financial wealth in your own life with Planet Antares.

Strategy To Find New Vending Location

2009-10-07T13:46:00.001-07:00

When you are looking to start a vending business and there is a constraint of funds, you would probably adopt some basic strategy like cold calling. Although, this is not an alluring way to begin your business with, it still works. In order to get started, you need to have a business card or flyer with some basic information about the kind of services offered by you and your contact number.

The information on the flyer needs to be short and simple. Our aim is to spread across the message quickly and get contacted by people so that we can place our machines at their locations. You can also visit few businesses in your area along with your flyers and try to find out about the present service providers in that locality. This is a great way to do some research while you are exploring for new locations for your machines.

This method helps you gather huge information about various operators in that particular locality, kind of machines used by them, their pricing, services rendered by them and similar information which is vital for your business. You should go on repeating this process until you find few locations. After identifying, you can probably start with one location and gradually expand by reinvesting some of your earnings and also use other advertising strategies as well.

While looking to invest in advertising, one has to be very careful and selective on how and where to spend your hard earned money. You would definitely expect good return on your investment and a good return would obviously mean good leads and prospective locations. So be careful while choosing.

To make this successful, you need leads and people calling you for details. Finally it is up to you to close the deal on the location. So get your cards ready but before you do that, get an in-depth knowledge about vending business. This will help you in all aspects of your business and most importantly keep your hard earned money in your pocket.

Remember, placing the right machine in a right place can generate huge revenue for you. Choose Planet Antares for all your vending needs.

Planet Antares Front glass vending machines - Good source of revenue

2009-09-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

Vending machines were invented in the first century. Initially they were used to vend holy water in temples. Later in 1800’s, the first coin operated machine was developed in England. Since then, the invention process went on and vending machines are used to sell all kinds of products. Starting from 1950’s, even life insurance policies are being sold at airports using vending machines. With customers insisting on instant and easy access, vending industry has been growing ever since it was invented.

Choosing a right machine is as important as choosing the kind of product that is to be sold. There are several models of vending machines that are available in the market. Drop shelf vendors were initially used for selling single produce. The next step after electronic drop shelf machines are glass front vending machines. These have been recently developed and are far more beneficial when compared to the closed ones. Planet Antares Inc is engaged in manufacturing state-of-the-art glass front vending machines.

Few benefits of glass front machine are discussed below:

• More Sales: Front glass vending machines are believed to generate more sales. Customers can actually view the products stocked in the machines. At busy location, front glass vending machines are a huge success.

• Attractive features: Front glass vending machines usually come with LED illuminated motor, pull forward trays, easy dispensing and refrigeration units. These features help in catching the attention of customers and also give them complete satisfaction.

• Small shelf space: In a glass front vending machine, more products can be marketed in a smaller shelf space when compared to drop shelf unit.

• Customer involvement: Customer interaction and involvement is more in a glass front machine when compared to an enclosed one.

• Low wastage: Because of the possibility of electronic tracking, inventory wastage is reduced to a larger extent.

• More choice: Customers have more items to choose from.

• Branded products: Front glass vending machines are very useful to sell branded products as there is more flexibility in setting prices of the products.

These machines are also very useful for the operators. Operators can market more products in lesser space there by reducing their promotional costs. Electronic tracking helps them in identifying the product that has maximum sales and remove product that has least demand. Most front glass machines come with coin, token and bill acceptors capable of accepting up to $20. All this will only increase favoritism among customers towards your vending machine.

So don’t waste any further time and go ahead by ordering one front glass vending machine from Planet Antares now.

Starting A Vending Route Business?

2009-09-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

Establishing a vending machine route is an exciting business in itself. To start with, if you are a small time investor then this business has got a lot of scope for income and financial independence. If you think that vending business is very simple, then you are absolutely right. Little planning and foresight will ensure success in the business. With the number of players opting for this business on the rise, you should act now and make the most of the business.

Following few steps mentioned below will ensure success in vending business.

• Setting goals is the first and foremost step before starting any business. Goals determine the purpose with which you have set up the business. Why are you into this business? Your goal answers this question.

• Once goals are set, you need to plan your activities so that you can achieve the goals. For instance: your goal is to become top most soda vendor. So what equipment would you need? Where should you place it to maximize your sales? Who would your supplier be? How much investment is needed? All this and many more things need to be considered.

• After deciding on the activities that are to be taken up. Your next important step would include a small basic research work. You need to find out how many operators exist? How far are they located from your proposed location? On an average what are the number of hits on their machine? Is there any untapped segment? How frequent stocks have to be changed? What would be their maintenance costs? And so on.

• After getting a fair idea from your research work, proper analysis needs to be done. Make a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. Analyze your prospects and at the same time consider the bottle necks that may come up in your way. This would help you to be prepared for the worst.

• Develop a USP (Unique selling proposition) for your product. USP is that which differentiates your product to the existing ones.

• After all the ground work is completed, its time for implementing your thoughts and ideas. Make sure there is flexibility for making some corrections in them if required.

“All that starts well ends well”. Careful planning and research would promise you a successful vending business. To start a successful vending business, you can contact Planet Antares sales team. They not only supply state of the art vending machines but also guide operators to set up their business. Go ahead you are just a step away from success.

What Should You Look For In a Vending Machine?

2009-08-31T11:43:00.001-07:00

Selection of vending machine is very important. With so many advertisements around, a person can get confused about choosing the right vending machine. For running a smooth and profitable vending business, you should try and analyze different factors before buying up a vending machine.

While selecting a vending machine, you should look for:-

• How robust the vending machine is? Will it perform without failing for years to come?

• How attractive is the design of a vending machine? Will it look good and will suit aesthetics of a location?

• Is the vending machine equipped with latest features?

• How versatile the vending machine is? Can it cater to different products?

• Is the operational cost of a vending machine low?

• What are the security features of a vending machine?

• What is the after-sales support policy for the vending machine manufacturing company? Will I be provided a quick response in event of failure?

• How much experienced is the manufacturing company?

• Is it new or it is an old machine refurbished to have new look? Refurbished vending machines are outdated and should not be purchased.

Answer to these questions will help you to select the best vending machine. Since 1986, Planet Antares Inc. manufactures state-of-the-art vending machines designed for long life. Planet Antares vending machines are reasonably priced and have low operational cost. Planet Antares is No 1 in providing after-sales support. They are prompt to reply to any call they receive.

Besides providing remarkable vending machines, Planet Antares provides guidance to set up a vending business. Support staff guides through selection of vending locations, products to choose etc for ensuring a successful vending operations.

Vending- What’s IN

2009-08-10T05:03:00.001-07:00

Vending machine business has no more limited boundaries. The industry has been exploring new avenues to make its presence felt everywhere in America. Today, it is $40 billion industry with job options for millions. The automatic merchandising is undoubtedly the most lucrative business opportunity. Starting a vending business is not a tough job. Adopt a holistic approach while you understand the vending business. A thorough research in the industry will help you know what is happening around.

New products and vending machines are fast emerging as updated versions of the earlier models. Some traditional and innovative vending options include:

Coffee
Cosmetics
Snacks
Postcards
Toys
Video
Water
ATM machines
Bulk products
Stickers
IPod and DVD
Camera
Pizza and many more

With so many choices, it has become difficult for new vending business owners to decide which option is most suitable. Healthy vending is at its peak due to its increasing number of health conscious people. Options such as nutrition bars, low calorie cookies and candy bars, baked chips, fruit juices, yogurt, corn flakes, salads and many more similar selections are available for health conscious customers. The market is now customer driven and vendors lay emphasis on complete customer satisfaction.

Across major emerging markets, sales of impulse food and drinks through the vending channel have recorded rapid growth between 1999 and 2004. The recent development of sales of impulse food and drinks in the vending channel was accompanied by a corresponding increase in the number of machines. Consumers have also become more familiar with some of the major international food and drinks brands available through mass retail channels, which make them more easily recognizable and increases the vending possibilities.

More and more vending machine companies are constantly investing in R&D to manufacture unbeatable machines. Innovative machines can cater to varied needs and markets and are sure success. Due to changing consumer perceptions towards the vending, new opportunities for vending operators to install new machines have arisen. Constant growth and changing trends in the vending ensures that the industry will continue to appeal wide consumer base.

Planet Antares mission

2009-07-31T03:18:00.001-07:00

Since the time of Planet Antares inception in 1986, they have rigorously followed their mission to contribute in the success of their clients, employees and the vending industry. Their commitment towards achieving leadership in the vending market has helped them to attain a diligent work force and trust of customers as well as world wide business partners. Planet Antares offers an ultimate solution for your financial problems.

Planet Antares mission is based on following principles:

1. Customer and client satisfaction: Planet Antares is set to provide its clients a competitive edge in the vending industry. They have laid down a strategic importance towards customer orientation and satisfaction. An experienced and well qualified support staff ensures proper guidance of prospective vendors and strives to accomplish customer loyalty. They develop their vending services from the customer’s point of view in order to deliver excellent performance.

2. Market leadership: Vending industry continues to grow significantly. Planet Antares mission is to gain market leadership through consistent improvement in their vending technology and ideology. They specialize in meeting the market demands through quality services and offering a profitable business option for many.

3. A successful business opportunity: Planet Antares enables you to make the best of your vending business opportunity. The vending business owners enjoy the benefit of operating a business carrying a brand name. It is an all cash business and Planet Antares offers an opportunity to work part time or full time and earn additional income.

Planet Antares has successfully built a vast network of distributors and vendors and boast of their contribution in the $40 billion industry. Planet Antares vending machines are latest in technology and their unique and stylish features have helped them to gain an distinction in the vending market. In today’s vending market place where competition is ever growing, Planet Antares is a market leader. Planet Antares boasts of a pioneering team of marketing and technical leaders that provide guidance to the new and existing distributors at the every step of their vending experience making the journey easy and comfortable.

Recent Trends in Vending - Healthy Vending

2009-07-09T00:09:00.001-07:00

Gone are the days when human beings had active daily routines. Today more than 70% of the total population lead sedentary lifestyles which causes unnecessary weight gain. Health has become an issue of concern lately. Vending machines have been notorious for vending junk food which affects the health of the consumers. Now, more and more vending customers are asking for a healthy range of snacks and drinks. People have become extremely health conscious in this fast world where they hardly get time to stay fit or exercise. They are consciously substituting the high calorie fast-food with the low fat food.

In the past, schools have been the most desired location among the vending operators. They cater to the desires of children and earn huge revenues there. A nationwide survey of vending machines conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) amongst middle and high schools finds that 75 percent of the drinks and 85 percent of the snacks sold are of poor nutritional value. Children are not encouraged to have healthy eating habits. They get swayed by the wide variety of junk provided by the vending machines. Obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled among adolescents over the last two decades.

Today, in order to encourage healthy food among children, more and more products in the vending machines have been replaced by nutritional food such as bottled water, juices, low fat snacks and nutrition bars, etc. Products are being vended that don’t compromise in taste but still provide a healthy option to children. Locations such as health clubs, schools or colleges vend organic and nutritional food through vending machines as well.

The cleanliness of the vending machine also ensures healthy food purchases. Cleaning the vending machines makes them more appealing. In order to serve the health conscious consumers, providing healthy food vending services become essential for the vending operators. The temperature inside the vending equipment should be kept according to the products stored and the manufacturers’ recommendation. This will prevent the growth of the bacteria and keep the food fresh.

Planet Antares vending operators are playing a crucial role in encouraging the well-being of the general public. Planet Antares understands that every location has its own unique needs when it comes to dietary preference and fills the healthy requests accordingly. Planet Antares promotes the health trend among individuals and offers healthy vending when placing a machine in a location

WHY REPUTABLE VENDING MACHINES ARE PREFERRED

2009-07-03T03:31:00.001-07:00

A successful vending business depends upon the quality of services rendered by the operator and the vending manufacturer. The vending is done through the vending machines placed at different locations. The smooth operation of these vending machines is of utmost importance. The durability and reliability of the equipment is assured only by reputable and established vending companies.

An investment in the equipment manufactured by one of the best vending companies in the industry will never let you have regrets. Unfortunately, deciding on the best vending company has become bit confusing. Some of the companies sell equipment that is usually made of obsolete technology.

Locations that suffer inconvenience due to faulty and cheap machinery will not continue to use your equipment in the future. This will directly affect the sale of the product vended through your equipment. Profits in the business will decline with the decreased sales. The goodwill of the vending business also gets affected; whereas, equipment from a company which has established a reputable name in the industry will provide the best services to its customers with its state of the art technology. A trusted vending machine will attract huge traffic.

Planet Antares has adapted itself to the changing needs of the market. Planet Antares machines are up to date and provide solid services to its customers. Planet Antares guarantees the equipment, which is durable and strong-performing. The best quality raw material is used in the manufacturing of these vending machines which keeps them in good working condition for a long period of time.

The trained and experienced support system of Planet Antares keeps the operators updated with the latest technology. The unique identity of Planet Antares has also been transferred to its equipment. Reputable names such as Planet Antares carry the confidence of its operators and customers which gives it an edge over its competitors.

COMBO VENDING MACHINES

2009-06-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Combo vending machines are the machines which hold both soda and beverage simultaneously. Combination vending can prove to be a great start for the prospective vendors. Installation of these machines allows you to keep a variety of products and you are not stuck with just one type of snack or beverage.

Before you establish combo vending business, it will be advantageous to find who your competitors are and study them. Carry a complete research on how profitable their business is and what efforts they are putting to keep it working. Find out how many other combo vending machine businesses you have in you’re the areas you target. It will be very sensible to call a few of the other vending business and to pull out a brief idea of their business techniques.

After you are mentally prepared to start up a combo vending business, make a plan for your new combo vending business. Make a final decision of the amount to be invested initially and the tools that would be required. In order to get a hand on writing a plan easily, take assistance from Small Business Administration online.

Design a plan for the location of your vending machines. Decide where you will place these combo machines. Think of different places such as college campuses, bus stations, casinos, and hotel lobbies etc. Choosing the right location for your combo machine will give you great rewards. Make the location decision with complete precision. Contact the places you would want to leave your machines. Contact the location owner in person or over the phone and negotiate the payment with him.

Purchase or lease the combo vending machines. Planet Antares provides you the most robust and easy to maintain machines. It also helps you choose your vending route and provide support to help you exceed in your business. Make sure that the brands stocked in these machines are branded and are packaged in the same packing that it comes in from the source.

Play an active role as an operator and stay updated about the market shifts and trends and enjoy a profitable business.

Old Vending Machines Vs New Vending Machines

2009-06-15T10:50:00.001-07:00

Vending machines makes the vending business and the success of it largely depends upon the reliability and durability of the machines. The state of art technology and designing of the Planet Antares vending machines set them apart from the rest.

While you have thought to establish a part time vending business, buying an old vending machine will look as a lucrative offer. Undoubtedly the trial can be made by placing an old vending machine. This may seem and turn out profitable but while expansion of your business, an investment in the new vending machine is a wiser decision.

It is a bright possibility that the machine that you have acquired from a first owner, is not giving you disorder chills but being an old machine, it may not be equipped with the latest techniques. It will prove to be down beat for your vending business. Your machines would not be able to survive the competition and may die early. You can acquire old machines from an operator who is about to retire from the business but make sure that before installing used machines, they are serviced accurately and made capable to be placed.

Go for the old machinery in case you want to try the market and your capability to carry on the vending business. As short time investment, buying an old machine will prove fruitful to you as it will be inexpensive and will not cost you a bomb.

In case you are already an established vendor and want to expand your business, you have to make sure that your competitors in the market are no better than you. Install machines which are latest and give your competitors nasty chills. With the growth of the vending business, technological innovations have been introduced in the manufacturing of the vending machines.

Machines come installed with software to manage the accounts and the sales. A variety of new features make the machines and the vended products a hot property in the market. In order to attract huge traffic and to build a profitable vending route, a little investment in the new machines will give no harm to the vending business. Your customers will be left satisfying if their vending experience has been excellent. An old machine can break down any moment and if it leads to the customer’s displeasure, they won’t turn back to your equipment.

Buy the machinery according to your market requirements. A wiser decision will make you a leader in the vending industry.

Track Your Vending Business

2009-06-12T06:44:00.001-07:00

Merely establishing the business is not the job of a vending operator, until and unless he has no records of his business, he can not think of vending expansion. Initially with one or two machines, observing and managing is quite easy. But with the increase in your business opportunities, keeping a track of the vending operations would make a wise decision which will earn you huge returns and making your business organized and profitable.

Judgment on the profitability or loss of your vending business depends upon the maintaining organized accounts. A successful entrepreneur is one who has the complete record of his business transactions and is well equipped to make use of it in his benefit. Tracking your financial returns, execution of your equipment and market trends and the vending locations plays a pivotal role in the making of a booming business.

You can keep a control on your business accountability manually or electronically. Manual management would be a feasible option with your short line vending where as keeping a manual track for a long line vending will prove an imprudent decision. You can not go at all the locations and collect records. In such a case electronic management is the easiest option.

Make use of software like QuickBooks or Quicken for tracking your Planet Antares business operations. Planet Antares helps you to make use of such software and conduct a systematic operation.

The need to organize your business has to be recognized and make judicious use of the resources available. Once the operators have all the first hand information and updates about their Planet Antares business, the decision to invest more or less becomes easy.

Make the efforts and see your Planet Antares business grow into a dream project. An eye on accounts is not all that has to be made, you have to see if the locations are attracting traffic or not, satisfaction level of customers, competition in your area, price hikes or discounts in the vended products, efficient working of the equipment and many more.

Smart Tips For Planet Antares Vending

2009-05-15T06:02:00.001-07:00

To this day, many vending operators continue to struggle with low work site populations while others have found emerging technology to provide new ways to operate more profitably. Often, established vending machine companies like Planet Antares Inc have been at a disadvantage while competing with newcomers who are arming themselves with high-end computer systems that allow faster and more accurate accountability of machine and route operations.

No doubt, higher start-up costs are involved in advances in vending specific software but this will pay off in a more efficient operation of the vending business.

A major benefit of intelligent vending is through cashless vending solutions. Some of the vending industry observers belive that cashless vending will drive intelligent vending and lead Planet Antares vending operators to discover the other advantgaes of telemetry such as polling line item sales and machine malfunctions from a remote computer.

Remote data polling is another benefit. As technology advances, vending operators using either of these will not necessarily use both. Most of them are almost evenly distributed on which of these key areas are to be focused on. Till now, not a lot of them are expanding from one area of concentration into the other.

You can gain greater financial benefits for your Planet Antares vending business with the help of these advances. This can also get you at par with the competition. No longer will you have to compete with the new comers in the industry who are using this technology already.

As of now, cashless systems are being used primarily as selling tools. Still, vending operators have started understanding the different cashless and intelligent vending technologies. Those who will familiarize and implement these first will reap the rewards before the others come up with competitive strategies.

Benefits Of Planet Antares Quality Vending Machines

2009-05-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

The advantage of quality vending machines is that they can function perfectly, look good and are durable. If you are looking for vending machines that will make you maximum profits for the best possible price, Planet Antares vending machines are the right choice. These are quality vending machines that will not let you down.

As a vending operator who wants to provide good vending service to different facilities or locations, you will need to start by purchasing quality vending machines like those provided by Planet Antares. Keep away from cheap vending machines that are of low quality because you will only end up spending more on repairs and experience losses due to downtime.

Evidently, this will make achieving profitability in your vending business almost impossible. Low quality vending machines usually have a lower price as compared to good quality vending machines and that’s what attracts innocent buyers. To find quality vending equipment, you must look for customer reviews on the vending machines that you like. Ask existing users and customers of Planet Antares vending machines about their quality and durability.

Once you have bought quality vending machines, you don’t really have to worry about the vending machine breaking down. These vending machines are made with the strongest materials using the latest technology. This makes them durable as well as trouble free. If your vending machine breaks down frequently, you will end up losing sales that would otherwise have been made. Moreover, the reputation of your vending business will suffer a negative impact. This may lead to people avoiding your vending machines altogether.

Customers can get frustrated with bad vending experiences like coins getting stuck in the coin mechanism or a product refusing to eject from the vending machine. Their money and time is wasted by such events. The general result is that they try to shake the machine causing damage to the vending equipment sometimes. Planet Antares vending machines are made with the best components and features and are designed in a way that allows easy delivery of products.

Even location owners will probably ask malfunctioning vending machines to be removed from their premises. No vending operator would like such a situation to arise when he has to lose an account and start looking for a new location all over again.

To make your vending business successful, invest in quality vending machines.

Cleanliness Of Your Planet Antares Vending Machines

2009-04-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

Cleaning and Regular Servicing plays an important role in the vending business. Although as a starter, you may not be able to perform this but you have to learn this with time so that you can do these by yourself when needed.

The National Merchandising Association (NMA) has created a handbook that is a basic guide to route drivers who want to become professionals. Planet Antares Inc can provide the essential tips for you to become a professional handling your vending operations.

Cleanliness of vending machines and proper handling of food will directly affect your success and survival in vending business. There are professionals or personnel in the vending business who deal with the handling of food. They deal with taking care of food, cups and all other items from the start up till the time they reach the vending machine. It is there job to handle food carefully and to keep the vending machine clean.

Any negligence or poor cleaning on behalf of the Planet Antares Vending operator can lead to Food borne diseases, Food or chemical poisoning and customer complaints.

All this can lead to bad publicity, lawsuits customer rejection and loss in sales. In the end, this will hurt your Planet Antares vending business and you may not even be able to recover from it.
Customers, nowadays, are very concerned about cleanliness in food establishments. They want a clean vending location as well as attractive vending machines that are well maintained from which they can buy products. Clean looking and impeccably dressed personnel will also make them happy.

Keeping a check on the delivering trucks is also essential. Make sure the trucks are clean and the food is kept at safe and prescribed temperatures. Generally the temperature should be 41 degrees Fahrenheit or lower for clod food and 140 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for hot food.

Moreover, it is important to keep Planet Antares vending machines at the suitable temperature at all times so that the snacks and beverages never go bad. As a vending operator, it is your responsibility to ensure quality of food and prevent rotten or expired items from remaining in the vending machine.

If you want to become a successful vending operator, opt for quality vending machines and keep them in top condition with frequent cleaning and servicing.

Direct Purchases From Manufacturer For Prudent Vending

2009-03-12T02:46:00.000-07:00

Even though many vendors go to vending machine distributors, I would suggest you to buy reliable vending machines directly from a vending machines manufacturer. That is the best thing that you can do for your business.

High quality beverage and snack vending machines are available through vending companies like Planet Antares Inc. these vending machines are durable as well as attractive.

Of course, you need to gather some information about the various elements of the vending business before making any decisions. Planet Antares Inc is the best source for all your vending needs, be it vending machines, products or after sale services.

Look for a source of information which offers everything under one roof. It’s important to set off on the right foot and Planet Antares Inc can ensure that for you. to get a better idea, browse through their website to get information, assistance or even buy the vending machines and products directly at competitive prices.

When you make direct purchase of equipment from a manufacturer, you can gain access to instructions for repairing the vending machines. Moreover, you can get sound technical support for complex problems that you can’t handle on your own.

In order to get the best value for your money, you must compare different companies for vending equipment features, price and services. It is very easy to get reasonably priced, high quality vending machines from Planet Antares Inc. You can choose from a wide range of snack and soda vending machines and it’s simple to place an order too.

Manufacturers of vending machines have been supplying vending machines to hundreds of customers and providing satisfactory services to them since many years. Their wide network is always there to assist you in setting up and operating a successful vending business.

Direct purchase of vending machines from the manufacturer can help you get the right information and products at the least possible cost. in contrast to the vending machine retailers, there is no extra margin involved. Additionally, you might even get discounts on bulk purchases, useful tips, after sale services and much more.

Go Online For Planet Antares Vending Machines

2009-01-13T02:57:00.001-08:00

In basic terms, a vending machine can be described as an electronic, sleek, cheaper and faster version of a convenience store. You can purchase any item from such equipment by just inserting a few coins.

Undoubtedly, this is the perfect way to avoid the repeated trips to the neighborhood store. Moreover, automatic currency identification systems help to verify if the inserted money is enough to buy a specific thing.

Planet Antares Inc offers vending machines that serve different needs like dispensing cans, newspapers, candy, napkins and ice cream. Even DVDs can be sold through such vending machines.

The vending industry is full of vendors who have experienced the power of Planet Antares vending programs to offer profitable means of income. However, your success will depend basically on the quality of vending machines purchased and installed at strategic locations.

With the growing popularity of the Internet, vending operators have started using the online marketplace to sell vending machines. Planet Antares Inc provides efficient handling of vending orders, location, maintenance and technical support at very competitive prices.

For online shopping, the first step would be a visit to the vending company’s website. Check it for quality of content, contact numbers mentioned, ease of navigation and customer support features. Don’t forget to go through the reviews of different organizations and customer testimonials to know more about the services of the company.

Remember to compare the different deals offered by reputed vending machine providers like Planet Antares Inc. Beware of unreliable companies which offer low quality machines at very cheap prices to cut the competition and steal customers from better companies.

You must also verify that an instruction manual is provided by the company. This helps you in understanding the functioning of various components as well as effective maintenance and refilling.

Once you have done your homework and selected the best priced and superior quality Planet Antares vending machines, be assured of high returns and growth of your business.

Growth Of Planet Antares Vending Operators

2009-01-04T23:11:00.001-08:00

The origin of the first vending machine goes back to about 2000 years ago, where Hero of Alexandra created a coin operated machine that dispensed Holy Water. From then till now, the vending industry has grown tremendously to what it is today.

Generally, the vending industry is focused on providing service to businesses. This is where vending machines like those provided by Planet Antares Inc help in reducing the burden on busy catering staff.

Such vending machines enable people in a hurry to get what they want quickly. A lot of people don’t have the time to eat, so vending machines are a great alternative to daily meals. This has made Planet Antares vending machines very popular with a large number of people.

These days, many Planet Antares vending machines are being placed in non traditional locations like transport terminals, sports and leisure centers and garage forecourts. Vending has truly become a great business. Still, a majority of the vending machines consist of floor standing machines.

With technological advancements, cashless technology is becoming popular among vending customers. This technology has made it easier for them to purchase from Planet Antares vending machines without going through the hassle of carrying change with them. It will surely change the face of vending!

Now, employees do not need to waste time to get away from their office for lunch or go through the process of looking for a cup of coffee. All you need to do is place a vending machine in the cafeteria, insert some coins and push some buttons to get a drink or a snack.

Planet Antares vending machines offer all sorts of snacks and beverages these days. Their products are always in demand. The use of credit and debit cards in vending machines has led to vending machines being able to dispense all kinds of products, such as cameras and iPods.

Acquiring Taken Locations For Your Vending Machines

2008-12-29T02:50:00.000-08:00

Often, vending operators come across many places that already have similar vending machines and hence, move on in their search for good locations. However, that’s not the right thing to do!
This is not reason enough for you to get disappointed or discouraged. The presence of a vending machine in a location doesn’t automatically mean that you can’t get your vending machines placed there.

Before moving further, consider the amount of customer traffic expected by the location, their preferences and products to be dispensed to understand the scope of placing your Planet Antares vending machines there as well as serving customer interest.

Basically, you need to keep the following factors in mind while choosing locations with vending machines already placed by other vendors:

Sell different products than those being dispensed by the machines already present in the premises of chosen location. Your Planet Antares vending machines have greater potential for sales and profits if good service is lacking in the location. You may even get a chance to replace the other machine with your own equipment.

Stop looking for exclusive places for your vending machines. The trick is to offer some unique features or service to attract maximum number of customers. If you are successful in creating an independent brand image, there will not be any problems while sharing locations with other vending machine companies.

In locations with large number of employees, you can dispense more than average number of toys or candy for the same amount of money. This way, you can enjoy ‘word of mouth’ marketing for your Planet Antares vending machines. Gradually, you can cut down on the amount of candy dispensed per vend while maintaining the profit margin.

Make sure that your vending machine stands out among the line of similar vending machines. To survive the competition, keep your machine clean, filled and well-functioning at all times. Customers will dislike a dirty or empty vending machine. The best way to ensure smooth operations is to buy a high quality vending machine from a reputable vending machine supplier like Planet Antares Inc to get the best value for your money.

Keep a regular check on the performance of your Planet Antares vending machines and if the sales pattern is unsatisfactory, replace the low performing products or move it to another location.

Planet Antares Emphasizes Quality In Vending

2008-11-24T03:08:00.000-08:00

It is quite common for new vendors to make the mistake of buying a vending machine on the basis of its features, capacity and price.

Sadly, they forget to analyze the quality of the equipment. Planet Antares Inc understands and emphasizes the fact that no matter how many vending machines you buy and install, your vending business will prosper only when these machines are of good quality and capable of satisfactory performance.

Vending machines can be found in three grades of quality: A, B and C. It is important to understand the categories of vending machine quality before you actually purchase a vending machine. Different grades will have different build, price and features. So, you must be aware about the various options to make the right purchase decision.

Purchasing the equipment from reputed companies like Planet Antares Inc will ensure that you have to indulge minimum possible time, money and energy in maintenance of the machines and get value for your investment.

Grade C vending machines
These are usually built of plastic and lack reliability and strength. Be prepared for frequent breakdowns and wear and tear of components like coin acceptors. These machines will rarely find acceptance at high profile locations. This results in limited earning capacity and scope for additional income only.

Grade B vending machines
These will be a better quality option with metal built and reasonable stability. However, they suffer from various design flaws like wear and tear, vulnerability to scratching and rust. Make sure that your metal vending machine does not have corrosion which may damage the products stocked in it too.

For buying used machines, it is essential to watch out for rusted parts or broken machines. It’s best to go for a high-end metal machine or a durable plastic model. These will be good enough for starting with a low budget, small vending machine business.

Grade A vending machines
For those who want to treat their vending business as a full fledged venture, such equipment is the most suitable option. This included high quality metal and plastic components. It is superior to Grade B and Grade C vending machines and combines the best of both categories.

Keep all these factors in mind and select the right vending equipment because ultimately, that will determine your Planet Antares vending business success or failure.

Instant Returns With Planet Antares Vending Programs

2008-11-12T04:53:00.000-08:00

For anyone planning to start a home-based vending business, it is crucial to be aware of certain facts like:

1. Vending machines start earning revenue for you almost instantly.
2. It is quite inexpensive to buy a brand new, high quality vending machine.
3. If you choose the right locations for your vending equipment, there is great possibility of earning return on initial investment within the first year itself.

Ask any experienced Planet Antares vending business owner and he will confirm these facts. It is such a wonderful feeling to witness your first vending machine earning income almost instantly. Actually, the vending business is a unique opportunity to become your own boss and that is what attracts thousands of people towards it!

Beginners must remain careful while selecting the vending machines. Make sure that you don’t overpay for any equipment that is not worth the price. One of the best ways to ensure this is by going for a reputable vending company such as Planet Antares Inc and get high quality, durable vending machines from them at competitive prices.

Many times you will be approached by fraudsters who claim to offer the best vending machines, products and services and assure instant success to newcomers.

Of course, they hardly ever deliver on their promises and you may end up losing a lot of money, time and energy in the process. I suggest you to carry out preliminary research about the different kinds of vending machines and suppliers in your area to get the best deals.

After deciding about the machines and products, it is essential to search for effective locations. You may do this on your own or with the help of a hired vending machine locator. Planet Antares Inc offers locating services as part of their deal with customers.

Vending commissions are another issue to be taken care of while setting up a vending business. This constitutes the percentage of profits that is given to the location owners in exchange for keeping your vending machines in their premises.

Planet Antares Inc provides training and experienced advice to vending operators. As part of this, you will understand that saving is essential for business growth and development. So, it is recommendable to buy your products supplies and equipment from a wholesaler and not the retail distributor. This will save you a lot of money.

Planet Antares Inc: Vending Business Opportunities

2008-11-07T03:51:00.000-08:00

Today, the vending marketplace is filled with various types of vending business opportunities. There are all kinds of vending machines that can be financially beneficial. In search for a great vending opportunity, it is imperative to determine the amount of money you are willing to invest in it.

Like all other businesses, vending has a certain level of risk involved in it. If you associate yourself with the right vending company, like Planet Antares Inc, you can learn how to optimize your vending opportunity to the fullest.

This company offers lucrative vending business opportunities like:

Snack and beverage vending
Undoubtedly, this is the most popular vending opportunity out there. People love to snack and if they are in a hurry, all they need to do is buy a snack and a beverage from a vending machine. A huge variety of snacks and beverages are available through Planet Antares vending machines. These can be very profitable if they are placed in the right location.

This company can provide a reliable and profitable vending opportunity to you. This is known as full line vending. Begin with one or two vending machines and then gradually increase the number of equipment you have. Locations with high foot traffic will be ideal for these kinds of machines. Other good places are where people have to stop and wait for some time like subways and gas stations.

Bulk vending
Mostly, this involves selling of unsorted confections, nuts, gumballs, toys and novelties. Non electrical vending machines are used and are ideal for locations such as stores, shopping malls and Laundromats. Out of the total vending industry, less than 1% is constituted by bulk vending.
Coffee vending
Such vending machines can be found in office buildings, universities, airports and hospitals. Running a coffee vending business can be very profitable as it is popular among the masses. Moreover, coffee vending machines are easy to operate and transport.

You can select any of these wonderful vending opportunities provided by Planet Antares Inc to setup a successful vending business.

The Art Of Retaining Vending Business Customers

2008-10-30T02:43:00.001-07:00

Basically, 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.

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

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

It is an issue of concern for the average vending operator to worry about the competition offering his locations the same deals with new equipment that he is offering or even better deals.
With so many vending operators sitting on warehouses full of older equipment that they have taken from locations they have lost to aggressive competitors, it is important to form strategies and be careful while planning. The cost of acquiring or preserving a location can never be too high.

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

Planet Antares vending operators can be benefitted by new equipment as well as the location. It also requires fewer service calls. In the end, this will result in higher sales for the Planet Antares vending business.

Planet Antares Explains Process Of Vending Sales

2008-10-21T08:03:00.001-07:00

For a successful Planet Antares vending business, you will have to give constant commitment to a multidisipline process. This is true for both large as well as small vending businesses. A good vending operator is that which is able to handle all the issues involved in the daily operations of running a business.

The major elements of a vending operation include the product, machines and other goods and services. Moreover, the vending sales force represents the vending operators who go out and try to acquire new business.

On the supplier’s side, salespersons are basically responsible for relationship type selling process. You will be calling on the same people each day whether it’s for selling vending equipment or products at the regional level. For effective creation and maintenance of these relationships, there are some steps that you must undertake. Implement the following steps to make your Planet Antares vending business successful:

Building Relationship
It is very wrong to directly approach your new customers for trying your vending products and buying them. The first step will be to get to know the customer by asking about the origin and starting of their business and the people who are actively involved in running it.

Don’t hesitate to ask how they managed to make their business a success. Meet the route people and get involved in the working of the vending association. This can go a long way in ensuring the success of your Planet Antares vending business.

Dedication
You must treat your Planet Antares vending business in a professional manner. Make efforts so that you can get to know the customers properly. Usually, the sales people on the operator side of business do cold calling. Your task is to develop relationships which can turn to referrals and eventually more business.

Goals and objectives
Plan a sales goal for each month to determine how much work has to be completed for achieving them. This must be done on a regular basis and reviewed from time to time. You will also need to determine the number of appointments for creating adequate sales to meet the monthly target.

Interesting Planet Antares Vending Programs

2008-09-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

All the variety in the vending market has resulted in an overwhelming number of vending companies offering various kinds of machines, products and accessories that may make it easier for you to start a vending business. On the contrary, so much choice has made it all the more confusing for newcomers to choose the ideal elements for their vending enterprise.

When you think about vending, it seems like an easy to start, cash generating, enjoyable business. In short, all play and no work. If that’s what you believe, you’re absolutely WRONG!

Like any other business, vending also requires hard work and genuine efforts from your side. This involves several functions like:

1. Choosing the right vending machines
2. Selecting products desired by customers
3. Finding strategic locations for placing the vending equipment
4. Building strong relations with location owners, suppliers and employees
5. Ensuring effective vending route servicing
6. Regular repair and restocking of the vending machines
7. Marketing, branding and expansion measures

While all these may take considerable time, money and effort to be performed, a successful vending business takes care that it has all these aspects in place.

If you want to begin on the right foot forward, choosing a legitimate vending program is a must. I suggest you to try one of the Planet Antares vending programs. These are being used by thousands of vending operators to meet diverse customer demands and also face the dynamics of the vending industry.

At Planet Antares Inc, you will find many different vending options to choose from. Some of these include:

1. Soda vending machines
2. Snacks vending machines
3. Toy vending machines
4. Gumball vending machines
5. Candy vending machines
6. Sticker vending machines

Included in their vending programs are branded products for the selected machines and services like refilling, locating, repair and overall, maintenance of the equipment. All this is available at unbelievably affordable prices!

What more can you ask for?

GPS For Planet Antares Vending Operators

2008-09-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Technological advancements in recent years have led to many innovations in the vending machine components and functions. A lot of vending operators have been investing in new techniques like cashless payment technology, bill validator, etc. apart from these, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is also experiencing great amount of popularity. This enables satellite based monitoring of your vending equipment.

Planet Antares vending machines have GPS technology incorporated in them. If you are still thinking about becoming a vending operator or run an established business, investing in GPS technology can be a great idea with many benefits.

1. Updated information about the driver and vehicle activity including service stops and vending route variations is available through GPS. Check various GPS systems available in the market to buy the right one for your Planet Antares vending machines.
2. Another advantage of using this technology will be in the form of fuel saving. The GPS system monitors the company vehicle movements so that it isn’t being misused.
3. This technique can also be used to verify the speed of the vehicle to avoid fuel wastage or excessive speeding as well as ensure efficient routing.
4. Other benefits include increase in employee accountability, faster response time, lesser wear and tear of vehicles and improved customer relations.

In spite of high upfront costs involved in getting GPS technology for your Planet Antares vending machines, the benefits reaped by vending operators on using it will make it a worthwhile investment. Not only will it help in business optimization but also, increase the level of customer satisfaction. As a result, you can enjoy higher profits through more sales and effective use of resources.

Basically, there are two types of GPS systems, including:

Active system Cellular telemetry is used to submit the data to the main office or headquarters. This may also be transferred to a website so that the subscribing company is able to view fleet activity in real time.

Passive system In this case, the data will be uploaded to the main fleet computer after the vehicle returns from vending route to company office. Also, it incorporates a two way tracking system using low orbit satellites to allow communication between managers and drivers.

Quality Services – The Essence Of Planet Antares Vending

2008-09-09T03:54:00.000-07:00

You may be at any stage of the vending business but success is only when you provide quality vending services that will increase customer patronage as well as help you in surviving the competition. If your vending business is lacking in this sense, it will not remain successful for long.

Planet Antares vending operators would like to get their equipment placed in certain locations. Good places for vending machines include schools, business offices, hotels, restaurants, doctor’s clinic and other places that require vending machines in their premises. Don’t forget to explain the benefits of keeping your machines and negotiate the commission to be paid to the location owner.

The installation of vending machines does not mean that your task is complete. You will have to plan a proper time schedule for cleaning, maintaining and refilling of the vending machines. Another activity that will have to be performed by the route driver or the operator is cash collection. The frequency of collecting cash and the time needed for servicing will depend on the type of vending machines.

No location owner would want any problems concerning the use of vending machines in his premises. This makes it crucial to keep your vending equipment up and running at all times. Otherwise, the location owner may ask you to remove the vending machines from his premises. Obviously, no vending operator wants to lose a well-chosen, lucrative location due to lack of quality services.

Planet Antares vending machines allow you to enjoy many benefits especially that of quality vending services. As they are built of reliable and durable material and hardly suffer from any downtime at all, you will not be let down by these machines. For vending operators, downtime is equal to loss of sales. So, preventive maintenance can help you ensure smooth operations and customer satisfaction.

Moreover, you need to keep track of the regular intervals at which the machines must be refilled. This is an integral part of ensuring quality vending services. Also check the vending machines from time to time so that they are not empty for any period of time.

The trick is to observe and understand the needs of customers and clients to get best results. Provide what the customer wants through your vending machines. Also, take the opinion of the location owner as he has useful information about the customer requirements. Always remember that better the quality of your vending services, greater will be the rewards obtained from them.

Selection Of A Vending Machine Distributor

2008-08-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

While making plans to enter the vending business, you need to know about the vending machine distributors from whom you can purchase the vending equipment of different types, size, shapes and prices. A vending machine distributor is the company or person that provides vending machines to customers.

Initially, you will have to look for a vending machines distributor who can sell vending machines to suit your business requirements. Generally, a vending machine manufacturer has his contracts with distributors to sell and deliver their vending machines to different people.

After you have figured out the type of vending machines you need, it is time to look for a vending machine distributor that has the required kind of equipment. This is not an easy task for most people. You must compare various vending machine distributors for the quality of machines and services offered for them as well as the investment required for it.

Good quality vending machines are offered by Planet Antares Inc as they give you an effective advice regarding the types of vending machines that would be best for your area. You can also take opinion of the distributors in your area about the different elements of running a vending business. Apart from the buying method, a great way to get started is by purchasing an existing vending route.

In the beginning, you may not be able to deal with the vending machine manufacturer. It will be better to approach the vending machine distributor instead. They have knowledge about different kinds of manufacturers who have new and used Planet Antares vending machines in excellent condition. There is a probability of getting better deals through a vending machine distributor who has long term relationships with various vending manufacturers.

The internet presents a great technique of finding vending distributors. There are innumerable vending machine distributors online who offer vending machines at highly competitive rates. Along with the equipment, you can buy quality products from Planet Antares vendors. For better understanding of the vending distributor’s services and machines, check their website and verify their experience and expertise. A good website will be regularly updated and provide details about different vending machines on sale, their features and price. Also, call on the customer support number to test their service before you actually sign a sales contract.

Value Pricing In Planet Antares Vending

2008-08-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

Establishing a vending business takes more than purchasing and installing vending machines at good locations. It involves recording and tracking of transactions as well as employee operations through several methods and management tools. Techniques like planograms and handheld computers can be used to determine product turnover. In short, Planet Antares vending operators can find effective means to control and monitor product turns with very little extra labor.

Since the past few years, there has been incredible rise in the vending industry players. With such a rise, there is aggressive competition among the vending operators to get customers for higher sales and revenue. As the vending industry continues to become more aggressive, you must ensure cost cutting and profit maximization to retain and increase your market share.

Many of the Planet Antares vending operators complain that the retail stores and channels can raise prices without any issues. The main factors that effect vending prices are customer account contracts and competition, not the customer needs. A good strategy will be sales and profit enhancement for product pricing changes.

Initially, hardly any of the vending operators had the necessary resources for tracking the results of vending transactions. Now, the scenario has improved greatly. There are several theories that have developed over time as solutions to improve product pricing. As per one theory, operators can enhance customer choices and satisfaction by discounting secondary products. This can lead to greater sales and profits for your vending business.

Considering sales accountability and driver execution, majority of the Planet Antares vending operators believe that simplicity is the key to product pricing. They feel that any advantages created by strategic pricing will be minimal in relation to risks associated with more complicated strategies of pricing.

The current economic situation is a good time to test product pricing. This is due to several reasons like:

• Due to downsizing, the location sales have gone down and made it the best time to buy lesser from established, experiences suppliers.

• Special offers are appreciated by consumers as they become more price conscious.
New and improved tools are being launched for Planet Antares vending operators to handle both these factors.

Planet Antares Cashless Vending – What’s The Buzz About?

2008-08-01T00:19:00.000-07:00

All credit card companies have a single goal in mind – to increase their business profits!
In recent years, they have been striving for getting customers to use plastic instead of cash for small dollar transactions, like the transactions made in vending machines.

One dollar can fetch a consumer a soda or snack from a Planet Antares vending machine. The total of all vending machine purchases is something that credit card companies are aware of, and would like to be part of.

In 2003, there were more U.S. electronic payments than cash and check payments ever in history. Micro transactions, including those made at vending machines, accounted for $1.32 trillion in consumer spending. These have further expanded since 2003.

Credit and debit card associations aim to convert small purchases from cash to contact less, cashless payment technology. For organizations that have already implemented contactless payment options, the new technology has exceeded all company projections.

As a Planet Antares vending operator, you can implement this technology for the success of your business. The vending industry can play a significant role in converting consumers from cash to cashless transactions.

Currently, credit card companies are offering vending machine operators like Planet Antares vending operators, incentives to enhance their sales. These incentives include:

• Reduced credit card interchange rates
• Lesser transaction fees
Cashless payment options will be very beneficial for both credit card companies and vending machine operators in the long run by increasing profits for both. This new technology would be a relief to many customers who already enjoy the diversity of payment alternatives in other retail outlets.

People with hectic lifestyles will definitely be more inclined to garb a snack from a Planet Antares vending machine, if the machine has a cashless payment option. This implies that the product will be more accessible to them. By incorporating such a payment option in your vending machine, you can open up your products to new groups of customers.

Right Insurance Program For Planet Antares Vending Machines

2008-07-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

You may be an established vending operator or a newcomer in the vending industry. No matter what stage your vending business is at, it carries a certain amount of liability that you need to protect yourself against. This can be done without excessive spending on the insurance policy. All that is needed is a reasonable amount of information about what coverage is required.

Firstly, Planet Antares vending operators must realize that they cannot depend on personal auto and homeowner’s insurance for their business needs. They will have to consult a professional insurance company to determine the amount of coverage that will be needed to cover their business assets.

Insurance is a contract under which one undertakes to pay or indemnify another for loss from certain contingencies or perils. The term ‘Risk Management’ is used for the practice of protecting an organization from financial loss by identification, analysis and control of risk at the lowest possible cost. The four ways of risk management are:

1. Risk transfer
2. Risk assumption
3. Risk reduction
4. Risk elimination
Risk management is important to ensure your family’s safety in case of your absence, injury or sickness. You will need a written contingency plan. You should get insurance coverage for short term as well as long term disability for your Planet Antares vending business. A detailed plan will also be required for how your business operations will continue if you are out of the picture for some time. Don’t forget to plan for what will happen in case you leave the business in case of emergency or catastrophe.

Events like the loss of all your Planet Antares vending machines at one go will result in significant financial problems. Obviously, the possibility of this happening is quite low. When your Planet Antares vending machines face risk exposure, it would be best to manage the risk rather than transferring the risk of financial loss to your insurance company.

Rather than trading premium dollars and claiming them from your insurance company, you must treat vandalism and damage as a cost of doing business. The best approach is to manage the risk and fund small losses with internal funds and also depend on external funds for the significant losses.

Your vending business is the result of your hard work and investment in reliable vending equipment and products. Therefore, it’s important to choose the right insurance cover for your Planet Antares vending business.

Planet Antares Overview Of The Vending Industry

2008-06-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

For anyone, the vending machine business and the vending industry is a great business opportunity. This is an industry that has been around for a long time and is currently the number one all cash business in the U.S. Planet Antares offers you a great vending opportunity where you can earn a high income that will lead to your financial freedom.

Some of the reasons why vending is a great business include:

1) There’s no need to be business savvy or a professional to own and operate a Planet Antares vending business. It can be handled by anyone without much hassle. All that you need is the desire to be successful and the willingness to work at it. Just make sure that your vending machines are well maintained and serviced.

2) Vending is a $28 billion plus industry. The best part about the business is that it is all cash. No checks, accounts receivables or IOU’s are involved. It is all hard cash and provides great liquidity to you.

3) From the beginning, Planet Antares vending machines will start making money for you. There is no need to wait for months to build a clientage. Once the machines are placed in good locations, they will start making money almost instantly. The room for growth in the vending business is quite amazing, especially when it comes to the snacks and beverages section. Americans love junk food and that is going to carry on for a long time to come. This is one of the factors that will lead to the growth of the vending industry.

4) When you start a vending business, it is possible to begin with just one or two vending machines. This would mean that you will be running your Planet Antares vending business from home without any overheads while enjoying tax advantages. It will also allow you to spend quality time with your family, which is not possible in case of a regular job.

5) In Planet Antares vending business, your entire investment is in equipment and products. There is no franchise fee. You don’t need a large investment to get started. All that is needed is an initial investment to buy, rent or lease one vending machine. As your business grows, you will acquire more machines and finally, make more money.

Every year, the vending industry is growing at a much faster pace as more and more people discover how much money there is in the industry. The vending business is one that will allow you to be your own boss, where you will get to control your schedule and income completely.

Planet Antares Vending Machines Offer Contactless Payment Solutions

2008-06-17T02:25:00.000-07:00

Cashless technology is gaining popularity in the vending industry. The next level of convenience has come in the form of contactless and cashless payment technology. In such a scenario, purchase transactions are conducted with the wave or tap of a plastic card, flexible tag, mini card or key chain fob, but not the swipe of a magnetic stripe. When this happens, the transactional data is exchanged through contactless linkage with a specially designed radio frequency equipped device.

As per field testing, the transmission and receipt of radio signals that occur between a contactless credit card and radio frequency identification (RFID) enables Planet Antares vending machine reader can enhance sales by boosting transaction speed as well as customer satisfaction.

Such a mode of payment is aimed at traditional cash only merchant locations where fast customers are a critical business factor. These places include quick service restaurants, vending machines and gas stations.

The current customer habits are changing in favor of cashless payments. Contactless payments allow buyers to wave more and swipe less. As an account holder, all that has to be done by you is simply wave or tap payment media near or on the reader mounted on the vending machines and the transaction will be automatically initiated and accomplished.

As the owner of Planet Antares vending business, you will always be searching for ways to improve your vending machines services so that your revenue can increase. This objective can be achieved with the help of contactless payment technology since it can contribute to enhancing consumers’ perception of vending. Together with new product offerings and convenient methods of payment, this will certainly boost your sales and profits.

The Planet Antares vending machine customers will enjoy faster transaction speeds, while the vending operator has the luxury of lesser cash management and increased average purchases, which is commonly reported at 15 to 20 percent. Cashless transactions have definitely influenced speed and convenience in vending machines. Contact less technology can provide a competitive edge to your Planet Antares vending business in the marketplace.

Planet Antares Vending Route Commission Systems

2008-06-10T02:15:00.001-07:00

In situations where the employee has a lot of control over the rate of production, commission systems work quite well. Of course, it depends on his ability to work harder, smarter, longer and faster.

Commission systems can be less effective in industries where the employee doesn’t have total control over the rate of production. A vending route environment would ve one of those industries. For example, a route person who is aid on a commission basis knows that he will earn more if he collects more money on his route.

A route driver will learn how to fill and clean Planet Antares vending machines as quickly as possible. He must also reduce the amount of time spent at each location, with the hope that he will have more time to service machines and collect cash each day. Till now, a commission system appears to be a win-win situation for the Planet antares operaion and the route person. In this way, the employee can earn more commission and the company can earn more profits.

A survey conducted recently revealed that most operators pay drivers some type of incentive. Fewer pay drivers a fixed salary. Some of the vendors pay only commission and other pay a combination of commission and salary.

However, there are several issues related to commission systems as well. As the route driver would want to service more Planet Antares vending machines, he may:
1. drive too fast
2. perform less than 100 percent of the machine sanitaiton requirements
3. ignore simple mechanical procedures
4. fail to take the time to coin test a machine after filling it

Any or all of these factors can create more serious problems than the problem the commission system was originally designed to solve.

By itself, a commission system will not teach you how to schedule a route. The trick is to service the Planet Antares vending machines only after the machine has made enough sales to profitably justify the cost of service.

All About Planet Antares Vending Machine Company

2008-05-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

These days, vending machines have become extremely popular. Everywhere you go, you can see vending machines with your favorite soft drinks and snacks being used by countless number of people every day.

A large number of vending machine companies are readily available in the market to serve the diverse customer needs and desires. Planet Antares Inc is one such company. Since it’s establishment, they have provided people with the utmost vending experience, support and training in order to cater to customer needs in the best possible manner and enable vending operators to gain financial freedom through profitable programs.

Planet Antares corporation is located in Culver city, California. This company has been placing people successfully into their own business for over 20 years. Natural Choice has a program that offers you with experts to give full support and guidance at each step of the way.

When you look at the Planet Antares vending company, you need to look up their website because it will serve as a bridge between them and you. Visit the attractive and informative website that is also easy to navigate. It will answer queries and other concerns of customers. Moreover, it will show their reputation and success in conducting business with other people.

Vending machine companies offer vending machines at very competitive prices. When you compare their prices, you will find that Planet Antares Corporation offers some of the most reasonable prices for their equipment. Still, your aim should be to find durable and high quality vending machines and not focus on price alone. Natural Choice will offer you this opportunity to control your time, money and future with quality vending machines.

Usually, vending machine business can be quite profitable for you if you plan it carefully. It is important that you get a vending machine company that will serve as your partner in reaching your business objectives. So it is crucial to select a company that will provide you with reliable vending machines.

Planet Antares vending machines are balancing the present as well as future demands of the market as well as customers by bringing this vast and untapped vending opportunity to you. All your vending needs will be served under one roof, only at Planet Antares Corporation.

Recognizing Dishonest Vending Machine Operators

2008-05-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

When you become a part of the vending industry, there will be all kinds of entrepreneurs and their operations may or may not be legitimate. The key is to recognize dishonest vending operators and steer clear of any business relationships with them as partners, suppliers or customers.

A dishonest vending operator will usually report fictitious lower sales to the client. Alteration of the original, actual amount is done at some point during:

• Collection
• Counting
• Data entry
• Commission calculation

Unless all these are performed by a single person, all other members of the vending operator are unaware of the scam. It may be anyone, be it the manager or the route driver. As the owner of Planet Antares vending business, you will need to hire people who are trustworthy to run your vending business. If the personnel are dishonest, this will bring bad reputation to you.

Certain vending operators are comfortable running a dishonest vending business and their only concern is to prevent the customer from finding out. If he is recognized as a fraudster, he will loose the account and possibly face legal charges to recover lost commissions. In order to avoid all this, you must employ honest and experienced staff in your Planet Antares vending business.

The majority of the operator’s team handles cash or products that can be converted into cash. Make sure that you employ individuals with ethics, moral integrity and a conscience to prevent stealing incidents in your vending operations.

Apart from the risk of losing customers, a dishonest vendor even faces the real market risk. Occasionally, every vending operator may loose a client account. For example: if a location is lost due to under reporting of sales and is taken over by a reputable Planet Antares vending operator, it will show a sharp increase in sales and hence, greatly appreciated.

Moreover, there is a big chance that the reliable operator may drive the dishonest operator out of business. He may contact other locations and tell them about the wrongful activities of the fraudster vending operator. This means more business for the legitimate vending operators and higher profitability in the end.

The Best Vending Machine Supplier For Your Business

2008-04-23T03:46:00.000-07:00

Just about any product that you want to sell through your Planet Antares vending machines has dozens of suppliers waiting to provide you with their services. When you are starting a vending business, it is best to try to find a unique product that you know customers want to purchase. On of the most popular items on the market today is cold food as people want something quick from a vending machine when they don’t have the time to sit down for lunch. Another option is cookies. Keep these in mind while searching for a vending machine supplier.

Usually, a vending machine supplier has a vending machine program from which you can learn the basics of getting started in the vending machine business. It throws light on the pros and cons of the cold food vending machine or whether or not you should begin with something small like bulk candy vending machines. You can also opt for full service when you buy a vending machine. Cold food vending machine suppliers will bear the costs of the machine and servicing for monthly commission.

Alternatively, you can buy or rent your cold food vending machine from a distributor and then look for a vending machine supplier for the products that you want to sell. Some people even make the vending products on their own but it requires more work on your part. Whatever you do, choose locations carefully and keep in mind that cold food works well in places where people come frequently and pick up a sandwich as a snack to fill up till meal time.

Planet Antares food vending machines have glass front to allow customers to view the full range of products inside. It is about the size of a refrigerator and requires electricity so you will need a large area available when you want to place this kind of vending machine. Products in such vending machines include sandwiches, cookies, donuts, fruit juice, small containers of fruit and yogurt. The variety of products is growing as new and innovative products get launched in the market.

Vending machine suppliers usually sell in bulk. Generally, you will have to buy cases of the products and this means that you need to have a cold refrigeration arrangement to store them. When you visit the vending machines on your route, get a sample of all the products with you so that you can restock the ones that have sold out. Remember to check these vending machines on a regular basis so that the cold food is always fresh and not outdated.

It’s imperative to purchase your products from a reliable vending machine supplier like Planet Antares Inc so that you get the best quality products and run a successful vending business.

Packaging For Successful Vending Machine Business

2008-04-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

These days, most people are on the go and have little time. That makes it imperative for the products in your Planet Antares vending machine to add comfort, convenience and ease to that person. When you think about the products that will be right for your vending channel, you need to think about quick indulgences. These are products that make a busy person’s life easier.

Some of the main packaging challenges that are faced by vending operators include:

1. Cost Efficiency
This is the primary issue when dealing with vending packaging. If potential sales are estimated to be 5 percent or more of a product’s total, vending specific packaging becomes a viable option.

2. Form and Function
Many vending products come in the same packaging for vending machines as they appear on the store shelf. These may include confections and most beverages. However, many non-food products and non-traditional food products require veding specific packaging to maximize “appetite appeal” and secure them against damage. The majority of the vending machine products need to be designed for a single use. This doesn’t apply to snacks and beverages sold in Planet Antares vending machines. The size of these items will almost always be the same in a retail store as well as vending machines.

3. Communication
This implies the optimal wording on th facing panel of the package. Consumers usually cannot handle the product before they actually purchase it. They can’t turn it to inspect the back or side panels, which may not be visible inside the vending machine. Key information will be essentially displayed on the front to drive the sale and encourage impulse buying by the customers. The consumers should be able to see it through glass from two or three feet away.

Remember that the in the vending environment, the package has to work both inside the machine as well as in the consumer’s possession. This, of course, is what will work in your vending machine business. There are a number of strategies that can be incorporated in your vending business to drive sales. Effective packaging is one thing that you can do to have a successful Planet Antares vending business.

All About Water Vending

2008-03-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

Water vending machines allow you to fill bottles, jugs or other containers from self service water dispensers. Pure water is given out by these machines in return to currency, coins, tokens or cards inserted. These can be usually found in front of gas stations and supermarkets. They may also be placed inside apartment complexes, grocery stores, hardware stores and health and beauty saloons.

You can find water vending machines in many styles like mounted equipments for walls and windows or free-standing units. Features include fill and flush, coin changer, UV sterilizer and bill acceptor. Usually, water vending machines can dispense good quality water from 1-5 gallons. The cost of drinking water dispensed from such machines ranges from $ 0.25 - $0.35 per gallon.

Some models may not have a coin or bill acceptor. In such cases, the customers have to pay the required amount at the counter to get water. These types of vending machines are suitable for in-house storage.

This is an option for people who want to start a vending machine business. The water dispensed by these machines goes through a long filtration process including heavy filters, ultra violet light and reverse osmosis filters. To keep these machines in good form, you should maintain them properly and service them at regular intervals. The quantity of water in the machine may be measured through water meters or timers.

Be careful while purchasing a water vending machine. Search for a trustworthy vending machine company like Planet Antares Inc and buy only those water vending machines which have been certified for being of the required standards. Such approval is given on the basis of a review made by the water vending operators and industry experts.

The equipment selected by you should be able to provide potable water. This means that it can be used for domestic work, drinking purposes, etc. moreover, it should fulfill the quality standards under rule R309-103 of the Department of Environmental Quality.

Check the various parts of the water vending machine such as drip pans and containers for any leakage, corrosion, dirt and breakages. The machine should be easy to clean, accessible and replaceable. You must ensure that the machine can be removed and cleaned.

Ask your vending machine supplier about the various ways to keep your equipment clean and well maintained. Also, enquire about the various local and state government regulations before starting your own business.

Don’t go for any “get rich” schemes. Research and analyze the different aspects of water vending business and then decide whether this line is right for you or not.

Sales Trend For Vending Operators

2008-03-06T05:20:00.000-08:00

As per the 2005 Automatic Merchandiser State of the Vending Industry Report, the vending industry reported its first sales gain since the recession that began in 2001. As the economy recovers slowly, the vending industry’s total sales rose to $21.26 billion. The main drivers of this growth has been the higher product sales. Planet Antares vending operators were also faced with an increase in operating costs along with the increase in product prices.

A recent study showed that consumers are drinking more speciality coffee. The percentage of Americans who drink coffee daily is also going up. Apart from the coffee in their workplace, the consumers are also going out to buy coffee. This is a great opportunity for coffee vending machine operators to grab a larger market share and increase sales and profits.

Over the past years, vending operators had to face the challenge of pulling equipment out of large traditional industrial accounts. This resulted in a fall of the manufacturing/warehouse/fabrication accounts below 30% of the total customers in the vending industry in 2004. Such shifts in the customer base indicate the changes witnessed in the nation’s workforce.

Recently, it was reported that many vending operators retreated from accounts in schools and correctional facilities. They realized that these accounts were based on commissions and must be periodically rebid. Moreover, the school authorities consider these vending machines as direct competition to their schools and not as support service. The nutritional restrictions also compromised the school accounts to a great extent. As a Planet antares vending operator, you can place healthier food items in the vending machines.

About National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA)

2008-02-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

The National Automatic Merchandising Association is the national trade association of the American food and refreshment vending, coffee service and food service management industries.
For membership, the vending industry organizations can be:

• Service companies
• Equipment manufacturers
• Vending operator companies
• Product and service suppliers or providers

It is important and beneficial for Planet Antares vending operators to be a part of this organization. The basic aim of NAMA is the collective advancement and promotion of the automatic merchandising systems in vending machines.

NAMA supports with the logistical, financial and administrative assistance of a network of more than 30 affiliated State councils in 36 states. There, the vending industry emphasizes on the local issues and concerns as well as on gathering for networking opportunities. As a Planet Antares vending operator, this can have a positive impact on your business.

Volunteer members undertake the creation and review of the policies and programs of NAMA. They serve as members of the Board of Directors and Committees. Once the programs have been established, they are implemented by the executive staff of the association.

It is a good idea to join the association for all vending operators, including Planet Antares vending operators. This decision can result in significant improvement in the performance of your business and long term profitability. It is not easy to carry out business networking and keep up with the industry trends while handling a full vending business. Joining this organization will enable you to do the same without getting overburdened.

The National Automatic Merchandising Association recognizes the obligation to serve its industry and the general public including clients, employees and communities. They are committed to the highest standards of integrity, honesty and responsibility in conducting their business ethically.

As a Planet Antares vending business owner and member of the association, your conduct should reflect positively upon the industry. This will also make your vending business successful.

Gaining Financial Success In Vending Business

2008-01-07T02:05:00.000-08:00

According to a study by a department of commerce, less than 5% of new vending machine companies fail every month. This is a very low rate as compared to 65% for the Small Business Administration. Apparently, the vending industry is performing well and forms a lucrative source of income for many small and large enterprises.

For those who want to experience financial success and a long-term rewarding business, the best way to do so will be to start a vending business. However, you must ensure that you select a reliable business opportunity like those provided by Planet Antares Inc. they not only provide the equipment but also the vending products and supplies along with sound after-sale services such as locating, servicing, repair and maintenance of vending machines.

If you want to become your own boss, this is the right business line for you. There is no restriction on the amount of money, time and effort spent on your business. So, you get to decide the scale of your business, whether part time or full time. Everyone wants to make more money and be financially independent. That’s exactly what a vending business allows you to do. Choose your own working hours, type of niche to be catered and get complete control over the sales and profits.

In vending business, you have the benefit of getting higher yields and returns from lower investment. By investing about 10-20 hours per month, you can expect to get a return of 100% to 200% in the first year. if you compare it with the interest earned at the bank with a current deposit, it will be almost 10 times more. Isn’t that interesting?

This all-cash earning business will start generating income as soon as your vending machines are installed in the premises of the location owner. Always remember that choosing a good location will increase your potential for earning greater amount of money. The only thing you need to do is to set a time schedule for cash collection at regular intervals. No bad checks to worry about. Going by the exponential growth of the vending industry, it seems as if this business is recession
proof.

Given below are a few interesting and useful facts about starting a vending business and its income opportunities:

• Any good vending machine will earn as much returns as the initial investment within the first year.
• 50 well located vending machines will earn almost three times the purchase value of the vending machines themselves.
• Once a vending route has been successfully established and turns profitable, you can sell it to another person for a large profit.

Majority of the vending operators start vending business on a part-time basis along with their regular job. Gradually, they convert into full time vending operators. With Antares vending machines, you can attain your financial independence and finally be in control of your life.

The most profitable vending business categories include snack, beverage and food vending such as Antares vending business programs. The $40 billion vending industry continues to grow at a rapid pace and is the right place for you to secure a financially independent future.

Challenges Of Serving A Mixed Customer Base

2007-12-26T08:18:00.000-08:00

Your vending business will face challenges of different kinds while serving a wide customer base. People differ in their tastes and preferences, likes and dislikes. To keep all of your customers satisfied is not a simple task. You have to cater to diverse needs instead of focusing on a single category of people.

United States has a cultural diversity in its population. The native whites are the original inhabitants while the blacks, Asians, Mexicans and other communities are all residents too. Your vending machines will be used by people from all cultures, so you must be prepared to fulfill their varying desires.

While selecting ethnic items for serving a mixed customer base, keep the following factors in mind:

a. Presentation matters
When you are serving immigrants, it is important to focus on the visual appeal of your Antares vending products and machines. Having a vending machine with glass front door is a good idea as it will attract many people. Immigrants are impressed by interesting, attractive designs and products. They will buy by color of the products.

b. Lower prices
You should not expect immigrants to pay much for their purchases. They are frugal spenders and may not buy large amount of vending products at first. So, you cannot expect them to spend as much as other groups.

However, you cannot ignore the ethnic groups as they are a growing part of the American population. Hispanics and Asians are fast growing into the majority groups of the current population, especially in blue collar locations. For many vending companies, such places comprise of major business and revenue generators. That means that you will have to concentrate on serving the needs of these customers.

c. Emphasis by suppliers
Vending machine and product suppliers are focusing on developing technology and products that suit the needs and objectives of vending customers. Hence, marketing strategies are changing in favor of the buyer as compared to the previous emphasis on the seller.

d. Packaging changes
With the customers coming from different ethnic groups, you will have to adopt product packaging that can be easily understood and liked by maximum number of people. Using bilingual text is a good way to reach the immigration population.

All these factors make it essential for you to keep an eye on the type of customers you are catering to and adopt suitable measures to make them happy and coming back for more. Ethnic groups are becoming an important part of the vending customer base and hence, will get more attention in the future.

Bilingual text proves helpful
You can target the Hispanic consumer with bright and colorful packages with bilingual text. Bilingual packaging is important in reaching the immigration population because it shows more authenticity.

If you want to make a decision on whether or not to have ethnic items in your Planet Antares vending machines will all depend on the location that you are catering to. If your machines are in a location with a large ethnic community then it would make financial sense to vend these products.

Why You Should Buy Vending Machines From The Manufacturer

2007-12-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

Contrary to popular belief, the best way to buy relaible vending machines is to get them directly from a vending machines manufacturer. That is the best thing that you can do for your business. At Planet Antares Inc, you can get high quality beverage and snack vending machines which are durable as well as attractive.

To start as a vending operator, you must gather some information on the vending industry that can help you make informaed decisions. Planet Antares is the best source for all your vending needs, be it vending machines, products or after sale services. You will get the right information for starting and running a vending business. It’s important to set off on the right foot and Planet Antares corpoartion can ensure that for you. You can access their website to get information, assistance or even buy the vending machines and products directly at competitve prices.

Keep in mind that your vending machines are in good condition and do not break down frequently. Buying equipment from a manufacturer will allow you to gain access to instructions for repairing the vending machines as well as get sound technical support for complex problems that you can’t handle on your own.

Before you select a particular company, it’s best to compare several vendors for vending equipment features, price and services. It is very easy to get reasonably priced, high quality vending machines from Planet Antares Inc. you can choose from a wide range of snack and soda vending machines and it’s simple to place an order too.

Since many years, Planet Antares corporation has been supplying vending machines to hundreds of customers and providing satisfactory services to them. Their wide network is always there to assist you in setting up and operating a successful vending business. This, in combination with professional staff having great knowledge of the vending industry has given them an edge over the other vending machine suppliers. The engineering department of the company designs highly reliable and technically advanced machines. Hence, you will have to face very less mechanical problems and if any, they will be well taken care of.

Buying a vending machine directly from the manufacturer helps you get the right information and products at the least possible cost. There is no extra margin involved, as in case of vending machine retailers. Also, you might get discounts on bulk purchases, useful tips, after sale services and much more. That’s a great way to start and run a smooth veding business.

Valuation Of Vending Business

2007-12-04T03:25:00.000-08:00

In recent times, there has increasing amount of pressure on the vending business operators due to rising products and machine prices, competition and changes in government policies. Not only operators but also vending machine distributors and manufacturers have been challenged to maintain the financial stability of their companies.

Some have even been forced to exit the industry to escape losses due to low-performing business. Under such circumstances, there is need to estimate the correct value of their business and prevent under or over valuation. Often your expectations don’t match the reality. This results in a much lower offer than what you expected or estimated. Such differences between the buyer’s offer and the seller’s acceptance price can lead to conflict and dissatisfaction for both parties.

As an Planet Antares vending machine operator, you need to use a sound system of financial valuation that has logical base, both theoretical as well as practical. This can be an effective tool for estimating the selling price correctly.

The most popular and common method of doing such valuation is the Earnings Method. To understand its working, read the below listed steps.

The first step will be to gather relevant information about your Antares business. in order to derive a reasonable value for the business, you must make necessary assumptions and use the pertinent data effectively.
After assimilating the information, you need to normalize earnings i.e. adjust the income statement according to the generally accepted accounting principles and standards. Also, you will have to remove the non-reoccurring and unusual items.
Next, you will have to adjust the normalized earnings for gains, losses and expenses that don’t affect operational cash flow in order to convert the earnings to cash flows. The resulting figure will be the ‘net projected cash flows’.
The final step will be to calculate the capitalization rate. This can be done in different ways. You can take the help of your accountant to develop one such method for determination of the rate of capitalization. For example, the build-up model assumes constant earnings, with requirement for deduction of a growth factor in case of growth of expected returns.

Following the above steps will help you in calculating the right value of your Antares vending business. There will be better negotiations as the price will be mathematically deduced. The buyer can be convinced easily through such logical figures and financial data.

How To Fill Vending Machines.

2007-11-22T06:31:00.001-08:00

When you decide to become a vending machine operator, you must ensure that you are aware of your responsibilities and duties. After all, investing your hard earned money in vending business and not getting adequate returns due to your own ignorance is not justified. This means that you have to carefully select, purchase, locate and maintain your vending machines to get value for your money.

One of the most basic features of vending machine servicing is that of filling or stocking it. It is essential to store the products properly to make sure that there are no problems while dispensing them. This includes checking the products before and after they are shipped. Many times, vending operators skip this part and this leads to filling of vending machines with damaged or rotten items.

Its best to buy high grade, branded products from reputed companies like Planet Antares Inc. Once you have ensured that the products are good quality and fresh, your vending machines are ready to be stocked. However, you must first estimate the number of items that can be placed in different slots of a vending machine. Customers may get irritated if they order their favorite drink or snack and something else is dispensed.

Also, keep in mind that refilling of vending machines will be required at regualr intervals. Plan your time schedule for visiting the vending route accordingly. Don’t forget to indicate the number of items placed in the vending machine and check it for efficiency in operations after that. Along with refilling, a vending machine may require cleaning and repair of any broken parts. Verify that the coin acceptor is not sticky or jammed. This can create problems when the customers try to get the ordered products from the vending machine.

While servicing the vending machine, check that the lights are in proper working order. These may indicate sold out and currency change limits that will not be displyed if the same are not working.

Not just the quantity but also the timng of filling the vending machine makes a difference. You must place a sign regarding the last item filled in the vending machine on it. This way, customers will know which items are fresh and hot in case of snacks and cold in case of beverages. If your vending machine is placed in a business office, make sure that it is filled and ready to dispense products at least an hour before the employee working hours begin.

From time to time, you may keep introducing new products that are in demand at the moment. This doesn’t mean that you should stop filling conventional bestsellers in your vending machines. A combination of both will be most effective for your vending business sales.

Tips For Collecting Cash From Vending Machines

2007-11-20T04:28:00.000-08:00

The major attraction of the vending business is its power to generate all-cash income. Your vending machines can start making money from the moment these are placed in good locations. The customers will just have to insert coins or notes in the machine and the required products will be dispensed.

Each time you service your accounts, there will cash collected and deposited in the bank. If your vending machines are located in apt places and easily accessible by customers, you will have enough income to collect each time you visit your vending route.

Usually, vending machine operators have a regular job besides this business. So, cash collection can be done on weekly or monthly basis. Whenever you are free from your job, take the time to collect cash from equipment. Also, you will have to empty the machine for cash when you want to repair the coin acceptor or the machine itself.

The frequency of cash collection will be determined by the performance of your vending machines at various locations. Planet Antares vending machines are high quality, durable machines that allow you to make great profits without too much investment. If your vending machines are in a high traffic location with lots of customers using it frequently, there will be need for collecting cash at regular intervals. However, a less popular location can be visited for cash collection after longer gaps in time.

If you have more than one vending machine at a location, it may not be easy or even safe to collect cash from them at a single day. In such a case, you can set a locked deposit box in the vending machine or get a sales outlet operator to deliver the cash. Another option is to use a night depository box.

Using a reliable vending machine like Planet Antares vending machines can really increase the potential for earning high profits. There will be smoother operations, better customer service and higher sales. So, you will need to plan your visits frequently to collect cash from such high performing equipment.

It will be better to carry a money bag to the vending locations to keep the collected cash. You must also be alert while doing this task. There may be people watching you and to avoid theft, keep changing the day of your visit to various vending locations for cash collection. Invest in sound security systems to ensure that your money doesn’t get stolen as well as protect your vending machine from damage.

How To Decide The Rate Of Vending Commissions?

2007-09-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

Starting a vending business will require you to take many decisions. The primary decisions involve selection of the vending machine supplier, machine models, pricing, products and vending machine locations. As a new business owner, you may not be sure what rate of vending commission to offer to the location owners.

The best thing would be to offer no commission at all. This is possible when you have associated with a charity and business owner allows the amount to be paid as commission to go to the charity. If you aren’t linked with a charity, you can try to convince the business owners regarding the benefits of keeping a vending machine in their premises.

However, these arrangements may be possible in the short-term only. Eventually, you will have to pay commission to location owners to keep your machines. What will be your strategy to arrive at a certain rate? You can’t get into a bidding war or heated negotiation deal with a prospective location owner. So, it is important to plan the vending commission to be offered beforehand.

It is always better to explain the computation of commission to the prospect. This will help them in understanding the costs deducted from projected revenue on which the commission will be paid. You should also offer a comparative analysis of the rate offered by you and other vending operators.

Another option is to place your Planet Antares vending machines for free at the potential location for the first month. Observe the machine sales during this time period and then fix a monthly commission on that basis. This approach establishes two things:

The location owner is assured that the operator is genuine.
The vending operator can use a logical basis of computing commission rather than depending on rough estimates and industry standards alone.

Vending commissions may seem to be a financial burden but when fixed correctly, they can boost your vending machine operator business too. A reasonable rate will help you establish good relationship with premises owners and go a long way in enhancing future contracts and reputation.

Planet Antares Vending Machines: Electrical or Mechanical?

2007-09-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

So you are planning to start a vending machine business. The first step will be to purchase the machines from a reliable supplier like Planet Antares Inc at prices that fit in your budget. Initially, you don’t want to invest too much money so you need to find a low-investment vending machine.

Vending machines are of different kinds, such as:

1. Gumball vending
2. Toy vending
3. Snack and Soda vending
4. Newspaper vending
5. Digital products vending
You will also find a variety of styles, colors and sizes. So it is imperative to choose a vending machine according to your requirements and objectives. Vending machines may be electrical or mechanically operated.

In case of electrical vending machines, there are various features which may not be present in case of mechanical vending machines. Some of these are:
• Wide range of sizes and capacities that enables appropriate selection of the desired vending machine.
• Heavy and bulky machines ensuring safety and lesser thefts
• Accept dollar bills through an acceptor and changer supported by a keypad
• Automatic return of change to the customer after dispensing the ordered product
• Electric vend counter to dispense the products
• Need third party technical support for repairs and servicing
• More profits per transaction as these machines can vend items priced upto $100
On the other hand, mechanical vending machines have features including the following:
• Smaller size and capacity
• Accepts coins through different coin receptacles and if one gets stuck, the others still continue to function
• The selected products are dispensed when a customer turns the handle
• Change is returned by additional bill changer equipment mounted at its side
• Don’t require electricity in most cases but soda vending needs power to keep the beverages cold
• Easy to repair and service
• Lesser profit potential per transaction as the product prices are usually upto $1

Your choice of the vending machine depends on your budget, local area needs and the products you want to sell. You will find superior-quality electric and mechanical vending machines offered by many good companies like Planet Antares Inc. Do your homework and make an informed decision for best results.

Vending Machines: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

2007-08-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

A vending machine is that machine which gives out products when money is inserted in it by a customer. A currency detector identifies whether the money deposited is sufficient to buy the product desired by the customer.

The Hero of Alexandria invented the first vending machine in the first century. Apparently, vending machines have been around for a long time but it is only recently that they have been recognized as a potential source of earning substantial profits.

You can spot vending machines practically everywhere but these are commonly found in hotels, amusement parks, restrooms, office lunchrooms and busy stations.

Usually, vending machines are categorized according to the products filled in them. These may be as follows:

Candy vending
These are mechanical machines which dispense a handful of candies at a time for one or two quarters. These are very popular amongst kids.

Soda and Snack vending
These machines provide soda cans or bottles and various snacks.

Newspaper vending
As the name suggests, newspaper vending machines sell newspapers.

Specialized Vending
These machines dispense specialized products like tampons, tissues, etc in ladies restrooms and other products like cleansers and condoms in men’s restrooms. These are usually placed in heavy traffic areas.

Customized vending
This is the latest concept in vending machines. Various innovations have led to the rise of customized machines which can be styled as per the customer demands and business objectives.

The future innovations in vending machines will witness the emergence of vending machines which will be capable of dispensing many new products that were not available through this channel before. Already, digital products like cameras, iPods, etc are being sold through vending machines in some countries and rapidly becoming a global trend.

One of the most interesting breakthroughs in vending innovations is the concept of telemetry. This involves the use of wireless technology to transmit data to a remotely located headquarters to enable the arrangement of route stops, recognizing component malfunction and collection verification.

Among vending solution providers, Planet Antares provides uniques and state-of-art vending equipment which suits everybody's need.

Starting a Successful Planet Antares Vending Business

2007-08-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

Planet Antares offers you a great opportunity to start a vending business. They will also take the time to show you how you can develop and build your business by providing you with the right strategies. A vending business is something that you can start part time or full time. If you have a regular job, you can still go ahead and start a vending business. Anyone can start a vending business, because there is really no training needed to start the business.

When you are ready to go into the vending business, first thing that you should do is find out a little about the business by carrying out research. If you know any vending operators, you can talk to them. They are the people who are capable of giving you first hand information which can prove to be useful to you. When you are done with this, you can then look up vending companies from the internet. A reputable vending company is important for the success of your vending business, so don’t waste your time with companies that promise more than they can deliver. Planet Antares has built a solid reputation over the years and they have helped a large number of entrepreneurs set up successful vending businesses.

Planet Antares will provide you with all the useful information that you would require to get your business up and running. They will also provide you with high quality vending machines. This is important for the smooth running of your operation. Customers find it very frustrating to find a vending that is out of order or one that does not deliver the product, nor returns the money due to some malfunction. That is why you need vending machines that are trouble free.

The products that you place in your vending machines also play a very important role. Engage a supplier to provide you with the products that you need for your vending machine. The supplier has to be able to provide you with bulk products, so that you don’t have to keep going back for more supplies. Snacks, beverages and candy are the most popular products to be found in vending machines. People just love to buy these products. When you have a snack and beverage vending business, make sure that you have branded products in the vending machine. They are sure sellers.

The location that you pick for your vending machine is the most crucial factor to the success of your vending business. Try to find out about which locations in your area are working well for snack and beverage vending machines. This will give you a good idea of where to place your vending machine. If there are other vending machines in the location, convince the location owner that you will provide a better service. If your vending machine is accepted, you will just need to compete with the other vendors by providing a better service. Locations with high traffic are ideal for snack and beverage vending machines.

Planet Antares Inc. will help you start a vending business the right way by providing you with the right strategies to use. Starting with such an opportunity can prove to be very successful.

Why Bulk Vending is Good Business

2007-08-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

If you are planning to start a vending machine business but don’t know where to begin, don’t worry. First of all, you need to recognize your abilities as well as your aim. You can select a particular niche or decide to diversify into various categories. There are various types of vending machines on hand but you must know which one is right for your business. Your budget will also affect the vending machines you select, be it used or new ones.

It is also important that you choose a good distributor to get superior quality vending machines. There are different models available for dispensing M&M candies, peanuts, gumballs, Reese pieces, etc. there is no need to buy separate vending machines for different products as bulk vending machines offer combining of various products in one machine only. Planet Antares bulk vending machines are one of the best vending machines for earning great amount of profits. All you need is to place it at the right location to earn money.

Bulk vending machines are very popular among kids and adults alike. Kids are always eager to buy candies and they prove to be the best customers of bulk vending machines. Usually, a handful of candies are dispensed from the vending machine at a time. This is a great way to make money as well as keep children and their parents happy.

Planet Antares vending machines are provided with a good source of the product being filled in the vending machine. You are provided with adequate quantity of the product, usually about 30 pounds a bag, to fill up the bulk vending machine. Make sure that you refill the machine as and when a new supply is required. You must be careful to keep the machine well-maintained and well-stocked at all times.

You should take good care of machine parts which are at a risk of damage such as the coin receptacle and the turning knob. It is best to post directions providing the proper way or steps to use the bulk vending machine.

Bulk vending machine business is a good way to start a low-investment, less risky and highly profitable business. Moreover, you can avoid the headache of managing a large amount of inventory and cut on electricity costs too, as these machines don’t run on electric power. All these factors make bulk vending business an excellent opportunity to earn lots of money.
Its time to stop thinking and start earning!

Points To Keep In Mind about the Vending Business

2007-07-19T00:31:00.000-07:00

With a vending business it is very easy to achieve financial success when you use the right strategies. In the constantly changing vending machine industry, you cannot allow your vending business to remain stagnant. The vending business is very competitive, so you need to use strategies that will ensure profitability. Here are a few points that you should keep in mind about the vending machine business.

• Having a secured vending machine location does not mean that you have a safety net. If you have a Planet Antares vending business, you will need to give your locations the attention and service that they deserve. Good customer service is key to the vending machine industry. This is because it is based on reputation and word of mouth advertising. The reputation of your Planet Antares vending business must be excellent so that the word of your vending services can spread. If the clients of your vending location are not satisfied, a vending business competitor will take over the vending machine location. This will mean a loss of a location for you.

• As a Planet Antares business owner, you must extent your oversight beyond your company office. The first thing that you can do is to get into the field and get to know individual customers at the locations. This is something that you can do by carrying out periodic location visits. Talking to vending machine users and keeping an eye on vending machine purchasing trends will help you in the tailoring of menus and services to specific vending machine locations.

• Sharing information and vending machine business tips with other vending machine business owners can help the vending machine industry to move forward as a whole. This does not mean that all secrets have to be divulged. Sharing of information will benefit everyone because new vending machine trends or changing consumer demands are responsible for steering the vending industry.

• Openly slandering your vending machine competitors is not encouraged in any way. Fair play and mutual respect is important to the vending machine industry. Healthy competition will only foster growth in the vending industry. Undermining the competition will only give the vending industry a bad rap.

• Keep your mind open to new vending technologies like cashless payment options. This technology has proved to be quite popular and financially beneficial to vending businesses. Times have changed, so having this technology in your Planet Antares vending business would greatly change the face of your vending business.

Since the vending industry is very competitive, you need to find ways to beat out the competition. By keeping the above points in mind, you will ensure profitability in your vending business.

How to Beat Out the Competition in Vending

2007-06-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

The vending business is a very competitive business. If you want your Planet Antares vending business to be successful, you will need to beat out the competition by staying on top of your game. When you place a vending machine in a location that already has snack and beverage vending machines, you will find that the degree of competition among the vending operators will increase greatly. To beat out the competition you will just need to implement some strategies in your vending business.

Quality Vending machines
If you have a quality vending machines that function without too much trouble, your chance of beating out the competition will increase. Planet Antares vending machines are attractive vending machines that are strong, durable and have the ability to attract the attention of potential customers. Vending machine sales are impulse sales, so if a potential customer sees an attractive vending machine that is offering some kind of refreshment, he will be compelled to buy from the vending machine. Your vending machine will be singled out from the other vending machines that are offering the same merchandise, because it is the one that managed to grab the attention of the customer. All this means that you should consider the looks of a vending machine before buying it.

Implementing Technology
Incorporating some form of technology in your Planet Antares vending business will be a quick and easy way of pulling customers to buy from your vending machine. If other vending machines in the same location are all offering the same kind of service and your vending machine is offering a vending experience with a difference, customers will definitely buy from your vending machine. In addition to this, location owners would want to have such a machine in their location because they know that it will bring in more business for them as well. The use of technology in your vending machines will mean that you will have a quicker and more efficient service.

Products
Provide the customers of your Planet Antares vending business with quality products, so that they will continue to buy from your vending machine. Find a supplier that can provide you with branded products as well as a wide variety of other products. This will give the customers a wider selection to choose from. As customers continue to buy from your vending machine, you will slowly get to know which products are popular in each location. When you find that out, you should only keep those products in your vending machine, to ensure that customers will keep coming to your vending machine. Get the best deal that you can from the supplier so that you can sell your products at lower rates than other operators.

Maintenance
Make sure that your vending machines are serviced on time and the machines are well maintained, so as to avoid mechanical problems. Keep the vending machine clean as well. There are many vending operators that are late in servicing their vending machines or some that never clean their vending machines. People tend to avoid such vending machines. Provide quality services and you will keep customers to your vending machines.

Mending a Vending Machine

2007-06-14T04:02:00.000-07:00

The vending business is not only about restocking the vending machine and collecting money from the vending machine. If you have a Planet Antares vending machine, you need to make sure that it is always in good working order so that you do not experience any downtime. Having some basic knowledge about servicing your vending machine is important because you never know when you will be required to take care of malfunctions in your vending machines. Below are some few things that you need to know about vending machine repair.

The easiest way control malfunctions in your Planet Antares vending machines, is to have a technician look over them at all times. If you are running the vending business and probably going to a regular job at the same time, it will be very hard to service and repair all your vending machines on a regular basis. If this is your case, it would be wiser for you to hire someone to do all that for you. If you are renting vending machines in your business, make sure that the vending operator is practicing preventative maintenance on the vending machines.

Mechanical vending machines like those that are provided by Planet Antares are easy to repair. When you have a vending machine business, it would be important for you to know the most basic repairs that can be done easily with just a screwdriver. This means that you don’t have to call a repair man each and every time you need some work to be done on the vending machines. A product can easily get stuck in the vending machine. For that you do not need to call a technician. All that you would need to do is to open the door of the Planet Antares vending machine and move the candy out of the way. Doing such kind of repairs on your own can help you save money.

If your vending machine totally breaks down, this would be the best time to call in the professionals. There are mechanical problems that you simply can’t deal with on your own. A mechanic would come to the location of the vending machine and mend the vending machine on location once they have diagnosed the vending machine. There are some repairs that cannot be done at the location since it would involve some heavy machinery. In that case, the vending machine would have to be hauled to the mechanics shop.

Preventative maintenance of your vending machines is the only thing that will prevent your vending machine from breaking down. This is something that you need to do on a regular basis so that you don’t end up losing business when your vending machine is out of order. Vending operators lose money from downtime all the time. This is a situation that you want to avoid at all times.

The Role of the Route Driver in your Vending Business

2007-06-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

Route drivers are an integral part of a vending business operation. As an owner of a Planet Antares vending business, you know that increasing route driver productivity will increase profits. This is why route drivers are paid on a commission basis. The route drivers can receive a base salary plus a percentage of weekly sales. This is a system that you can use in your Planet Antares vending business to encourage soda vending machines route drivers to take a more proactive role in increasing sales.

Incentive programs are necessary to encourage route productivity. However, incentive programs alone may not be enough to maximize profits. In theory they work when employees have total control over their own productivity. When it comes to snack and beverage vending machines, consumers also play a role. Incentive programs are created so that route drivers are encouraged to service as many machines as possible. This will allow for the collection of as much money as possible. If you are using this system in your Planet Antares vending business, you will need to make sure that the route drivers are not cutting any corners in an effort to work faster. The route drivers can easily decide to speed in-between locations, ignore sanitation and cleaning requirements or fail to test vend each soda vending machine after service. This can jeopardize the profitability of your vending business.

The route drivers of your Planet Antares vending business must be encouraged to do a thorough job in a proficient manner. They must follow all health and safety guidelines. When the vending machines are well maintained, costly future breakdowns will be prevented. The route driver is the one that checks on the vending machines on a regular basis, so they know better than anyone else what the vending machine requires. The vending machines need to be kept clean at all times and serviced on time. A good route driver will know exactly when a vending machine needs to be serviced.

The route drivers should spend a little extra time talking to clients to determine what products and services consumers’ desire. Route drivers should carefully pre-select product menus for each location to maximize sales. When the vending machine has products that the consumers desire, there will definitely be an increase in sales.

The route driver for your vending business should be efficient at all times by never failing to deliver. When you are designing incentive programs for your route drivers take the above factors into consideration. The incentive programs should encourage them to be more efficient, not to make them less efficient.

Starting a Vending Business on a Small Scale

2007-05-30T04:06:00.000-07:00

When most people start vending businesses, they usually start with one or two vending machines. If you are new to the vending business, this is the ideal way to get into the vending business. Starting a Planet Antares vending business on a small scale will leave you with plenty of room for growth.

The first thing that you would need to do is buy the one or two vending machines from a reputable vending company like Planet Antares Inc. These Vending machines are of the best quality and are reliable. Downtime is something that you would not really have to worry about with these vending machines. A small scale vending business does not require you to make a huge investment for the vending machines. Planet Antares vending machines are among the most reasonably priced full line vending machines in the market. The price of a vending machine should not burn a hole in your pocket. If your vending business is successful, you will be able to pay off the vending machines within a year. After that you will just be making pure profit. Starting a vending business on a small scale with used or rented vending machines would also be a great of getting into the vending business. Just make sure that the vending machines are in good working condition.

With a small scale vending business, you would probably have the Planet Antares vending machines in the same location. This would be an advantage, because you would not be required to move from one location to another to service the machines. This will save you time and fuel expenses.

A small scale vending business will allow you to give a more personalized vending service since you only have to cater to few vending machines. Meeting a customers needs is crucial to the successful running of any vending business. A personalized vending service will mean that you are catering to the needs of customers by providing them with the products that they want and listening to the needs that they have. If the location is happy with the vending services that you are providing, it will result in a long tern relationship with the location.

Servicing a small scale vending business is a big time saver since there are fewer vending machines to service. It will leave you with plenty of time for your family and friends. Keeping a track on how the products are selling is much easier with fewer vending machines. The vending machines will always be fully stocked.

There is always room for expansion with a small scale vending business. When you start small you slowly get to learn everything about the vending business. Starting a large scale vending business can easily result in you making mistakes. By slowly learning the vending business, you will get to know the right strategies that you should use to expand your vending business. Expansion will bring in more revenues for your vending business.

The Importance of Safety in Vending Machines

2007-05-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

Vending machines have to come with numerous safety features. They are used by people of all ages, so they have to be user friendly. Planet Antares vending machines are considered to be extremely user friendly. When choosing a vending machine, always keep safety as your top priority. There are accidents that have occurred to individuals while using a vending machine. These accidents have been the result of intentional misuse and abuse of the vending machine. This is usually done by tipping, shaking or rocking of the machine.

Possible steps need to be taken to avoid or reduce the number of such incidents taking place. When you have picked a location for your Planet Antares vending machine, the first thing that you should do is to determine the safety of the location of the vending machine. In addition to this, you will also need to check on the manner in which it has been installed. The vending machine has to be properly installed so that it is stable in its position. If the vending machine is not secure in its position, it means that it will be unstable. This will make it a danger to anyone who tilts the vending machine.

There are some guidelines on vending machines safety that you should follow. These guidelines can be used when it comes to the placing of the vending machine. As business owner you may not know much about which precautions you need to take when placing your vending machine. This is why you will need guidelines. They will enlighten you about other precautions that you will need to take to make your vending machine safe to use.

Make sure that the location of the vending machine has sufficient light and that the vending machine is securely anchored to the floor, wall or other stable fixed building component. Kids are more susceptible to vending machines accidents more than anyone else. They can get their hand stuck any part of the vending machine, if they play around with the machine. Since Planet Antares vending machines are user friendly, so kids will not have a hard time using them.

Accidents can easily occur in locations where the vending machines are left unattended for long periods of time. You will need to take precautions to ensure that the vending machine cannot be tipped over. Vending machines in such locations should be anchored to the floor, wall, and post or by attaching two or more machines together

To warn customers about the danger involved in tipping or rocking the vending machine, you can affix a decal on the vending machine, which will warn them about that. Keep in mind that is an accident occurs in a vending location that has your vending machine, the consumer can decide to hold you responsible. That is why it is so important that you should keep your Planet Antares vending machines safe to use.

How to Remain Profitable In a Vending Business

2007-05-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

The vending business has seen an increase in competition among vending operators that it has become quite a challenge to remain profitable in a vending business. Remaining profitable in the vending industry will not be difficult if you use a vending program, like the one provided by Planet Antares. This vending program can show you how you can remain profitable by using some of the strategies below.

1) Raising product prices
Raising product prices is seen by vending operators as one of the easiest way of increasing profits. This is not always the case. Before you raise prices in your vending business, you should consider other options such as removing unprofitable vending machines, charging vending machine rental fees, reducing the level of service or lengthening service intervals to vending machines. If you need to increase prices of the snacks and beverages in your Planet Antares vending business, you can just go ahead and do that. However, it might be met with some resistance. Customers will understand the price hike if you can justify the reason why you are hiking the vend prices. When they come to understand why you are doing that, they will accept the new prices. To make it easier for the customers when you are increasing the prices, you can offer incentives such as price reduction on less popular products. Another technique that you can use is trade-up snack marketing, where large-size vending machine products are sold in order to increase consumer value.

2) Cut commissions
By cutting down on the commission that is paid to locations, you will find that it is the easiest change that will have the least impact on vending machine consumers. This is a strategy that you can use instead of increasing prices in your Planet Antares vending business. Nevertheless, you can offer profit saving concession to the location owners. You just need to decide on the type of concessions to offer.

3) Good relations with location owners
A cooperative location owner is important for the smooth running of your vending business. Sharing accurate financial information with the location owner will make the location owner more willing to cooperate with your changing needs as a vending operator. Accurate accounting is critical in determining the profitability of an account and making adjustments to vending machine products and prices.

4) Incorporating Technology
Incorporating new technology in your Planet Antares vending business will result in improved efficiency and profitability. Vending machine software is capable of analyzing vending machine sales by location, machine and line item. This will help you to determine which products to sell. Other technologies that can be used are alternative payment options. Vending operators that have incorporated technology in their vending businesses have seen a significant improvement in the running of their business as well as increased profits.

The Best Way to Start a Vending Business

2007-05-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for information on the vending industry, the best place to look for it would be the Internet. There is a wealth of information about vending machines and vending routes available online. It is an easy business to get into. It just requires you to make a substantial investment. Vending companies often have payment plans available and you can choose to lease the equipment that you need. One reliable vending company that has built up a good reputation over the years is Planet Antares Inc.

There are people that have started vending businesses by purchasing an established vending route. This is one of the best ways of starting a vending business because there wouldn’t be so much work involved in getting the vending business up and operating. All that you would have to do is pick up where the previous vendor left off. There would be no need to around looking for locations and suppliers. An established vending route comes with all that. Distributors can give you information about vending machine routes for sale where vending machines have already been placed in strategic locations. If you can find an established Planet Antares vending route, it would mean that the vending operator was using Planet Antares vending machines as well as an excellent vending program. Finding success with such a business would not be difficult especially if the previous owner was already running a successful vending route.

It is almost impossible to accurately predict how much money can be made from a vending business. The success or failure of a vending business will depend mainly on the location of the vending machines and the products that are sold. Starting a vending business scratch might be more beneficial than buying an established vending route.

By starting a Planet Antares vending business, you need to abide by state rules regarding vending. A business license would be required and you would also need to keep accurate financial records for tax purposes. One thing that you need to remember is that when you have acquired a location, the location owner will have to be paid a commission out of your profits. This is usually 40% of the gross, before you make any deductions.

When you want to start a vending business, you need to be sure about the products that you want to sell. There is no point in investing in vending machines that will not bring you profits in your area. Snack and beverage vending machines generally do well in all kinds of locations. This has always made them a safe investment.

Reasons to Buy Vending Machines

2007-03-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

For decades people have been investing in vending machines and making loads of money from running a successful vending business. Vending is a business that has evolved since it was first introduced in the U.S. It is a business that depends on a number of factors for it to be successful. This is what makes vending machines worth buying. When you use good vending programs like those that are provided by Planet Antares Inc., you are bound to succeed in your business.

To start with you need to look for the right vending machine manufacturers. Planet Antares vending machines are quality vending machines and they are worth every cent. These are machines that will hardly ever let you down because they are reliable and durable. In addition to this, they are also sold at some of the lowest rates in the market. In other words these are the best machines that you can buy from the market. People sometimes avoid buying new vending machines because they find them expensive. This is something that you will not have to worry about with Planet Antares. When you use these vending machines, you will find that the money that you invested in them will be paid back within a short period of time. If you have good machines in a location, the machines will be frequently used by customers who will keep on coming back because they find the machines fast and reliable. This will bring in a good cash flow into your business. Don’t think twice about spending good money on quality vending machines because you will get the money back, plus so much more.

Locations are also vital to the success of your vending business. Choosing a location also depends on a number of factors. The type of machine that you have as well as the products that you sell are what will determine what type of location that you should go for.

The vending machine business will leave you with a lot of time in your hands. Servicing your Planet Antares vending machines will probably take only one day of the week to do, so that will leave with plenty of time to do other things. You can keep a part time job or a full time job while still running your vending business. The vending machines will make your life more worthwhile because you will now have the time and money to do the things that you were probably not able to afford before.

Vending machines can bring in a good profit for you, if you know how to run your business. The vending business is not for slackers. Servicing and maintaining your vending machines regularly so that you will have no problems. If you do this, the machines will continue making money for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All in all, the right vending machines are worth every cent, so long as you run your business well.

How to Increase your Vending Profits

2007-02-22T01:15:00.000-08:00

Running a Planet Antares vending business successfully takes work and dedication. If your vending business is not being profitable, you need to look for ways of increasing profits in your vending business. If there is no profit being made in your vending business, it means that you will begin going at a loss.

Thousands of people enter the vending industry every year with the promises of easy money. Unfortunately, once they have started their vending business they find their profit levels decreasing with time. This can happen to any vending operator at any point of time in a vending business. That is why you need a good vending program like that that is provided by Planet Antares which can help you out of such situations.

For you to have an effective vending program you need to associate yourself with the right vending company, so that you get the right advice how to run your vending business.

Increase profits at current locations
If your Planet Antares vending business is not making a profit, you need to evaluate the locations that you have chosen for your vending machines. Perhaps the locations are not working out well anymore. If this is the case, then you can try increasing sales at that particular location. The location may not be working well because you have the wrong snacks and beverages in the vending machines. You can correct this by following product trends. There are products that are always popular with consumers. This means that you should be aware of what consumers want to buy from your vending machine. Don’t just place any product in the vending machine.

New products always interest the consumer. Placing new products in your Planet Antares vending machines may result in you experiencing a higher normal level of sales in your Planet Antares vending business. When the ‘new appeal’ of the new product fades, you can replace the product with another product that is trendy at that time or you can decide to continue selling it.

Increasing locations and vending machines
This is an alternative way of increasing your vending profits. If increasing sales at your current locations doesn’t work, you can then try buying more vending machines and adding up on your locations. This of course is a more costly solution, but it might just be the only way for your vending business to make profits. When you increase your locations and it turns out to be successful, you will end up making huge profits since you have more vending machines.

Vending Business Opportunities

2007-02-16T04:04:00.000-08:00

There are various types of vending opportunities that are available in the market today. There are all kinds of vending machines that are financially beneficial. If you are looking for a great vending opportunity, you can find the right one for you once you have decided on what kind of investment you would like to make. The one thing that you need to understand is that business is not without some level of risk. If you associate yourself with the right vending company, like Planet Antares, you can learn how to optimize your vending opportunity to the fullest. Let’s have a look at some of the vending business opportunities that are out there.

Snack and beverage vending
This is the most popular vending opportunity that is out there. People love to snack everyday. If someone is in a hurry and doesn’t have enough time to sit down for a meal, the next best thing that they can do is buy a snack and a beverage from a vending machine. Planet Antares provides snacks and beverage vending machines. These machines can be very profitable when they have been placed in the right location. If you are looking for a reliable and profitable vending opportunity, then look no further than Planet Antares. This kind of vending is also considered as full line vending. When starting a snack and beverage vending business, you can start of with one or two vending machines, and then steadily grow. Locations with high foot traffic would be ideal for these kinds of machines. Locations where people have to stop and wait for a few minutes are also ideal. This would include places such as subways and gas stations.

Bulk vending
This is where vending operators sell unsorted confections, nuts, gumballs, toys and novelties. This kind of vending involves different products and strategies. The vending machines that are used are non electrical and are usually ideal for locations such as stores, shopping malls and laundromats. Bulk vending represents less than 1% of the total vending industry, as compared to full line vending which has a larger percentage. Bulk vending machines are used whenever someone has spare change on them.

Coffee vending
This kind of vending does well in office buildings, universities, airports and hospitals. Coffee breaks are always popular with the masses, so running a coffee vending business can be very profitable. Coffee vending machines are easy to operate and transport.
These are just some of the popular vending business opportunities that are available today, with snack and beverage vending being the most popular. Planet Antares can provide you with this kind of opportunity that would lead to your financial freedom.

A Well Stocked Vending Machine

2007-02-06T01:03:00.000-08:00

When you start a Planet Antares vending business, you will always need to make sure that the vending machines are well stocked. This would mean servicing your vending machines whenever they need servicing.
Vending machines are all about the products that they vend. The products are the ones that bring in the money. Your products need to sell for your business to be profitable. People usually start running a vending business with one or two vending machines. You wouldn’t want to go in over your head by biting more than you can chew. This is the mistake that some vending operators have done. Mistakes in a vending business can cost the vending operators quite some money. Once you have established your Planet Antares vending route, you would need to make sure that your vending machines are always well stocked. This is much easier to do with one or two vending machines.

A snack and beverage vending machine will do well in high traffic locations. These are locations such as, shopping malls, schools, hospitals, subways and train stations. These kinds of locations usually have high traffic and they are ideal for snack and beverage vending machines, like those that are provided by Planet Antares. If you choose the right location for your vending machines, you can be sure of high sales and profits. This of course will only be possible if your service your vending machine whenever it needs servicing. If a customer approaches a vending machine and finds that their favorite beverage is out of stock, they will feel frustrated. This is what you need avoid happening in your vending business. In each location there are usually products that sell faster than others. This means that you should need to keep a watch on the items in your vending machines. Always make sure that you have ample stock of the fast selling items. It is also important that you pick one day or several days of the week to service the vending machine. Once you have picked a day or days, make sure that you go on that particular day each and every week. This is the only way that you can get to know how the products sell in your vending machines. When you know how the products sell, it will determine the quantity of the products in your vending machines.

It is always wise to go for a local vending supplier for your products. Check on the credibility of the supplier. You wouldn’t want a supplier that will provide you ‘nearing expiry date’ products. The supplier has to also be able to provide you with a bulk stock of the products that you want in your Planet Antares vending machines. When you buy the products in bulk, you can then keep them in your garage where they will always be ready to refill your vending machines. A well stocked vending machine is critical for the profitable success of any vending business.

All about Electronic Locks

2007-01-25T03:53:00.000-08:00

Once you have your Planet Antares vending business up and running, you will need to protect your vending business from internal theft as well as external theft. Technology has provided the vending industry with answers that will help it combat this persistent problem.

In the market today there are a variety of electronic locks that are available to protect all types of vending machines, which includes Planet Antares vending machines. Electronic locks in vending machines offer several advantages over convectional lock-key methods. The benefits of electronic locks are numerous. Here are some of them listed below.

• Cannot be picked: Once you have installed an electronic lock in your Planet Antares vending machine, there would no longer be a need for a visible lock on the front of the vending machine. The lock can only be opened using an electronic key. There are machines that also use non-contact infrared key fobs.
• Hard to drill: You can choose to have hardened steel roll pins incorporated into the vending machine’s t-handle locks. This will prevent drill bits from coming in contact with the actual lock.
• Key cannot be duplicated: The software used in the electronic vending machine keys is encrypted, so only you will access to key codes.
• Full control of keys: You are the one who will have complete control how many times the key will be used.
• Access to all locks: An electronic lock would be of great advantage because there would be no need to change all the vending machine locks if one set of keys gets lost all that you would have to do is to quickly change the key codes.
• Ability to monitor a route person work habits: The electronic lock can give you the ability to determine the time that the route person takes to fill a vending machine and the time it takes the route person to move from one vending machine to the next.

To replace the convectional locks in your Planet Antares vending machines with electronic locks would take about the same time as changing a regular lock.

There are other ways of increasing vending machine security. You can choose to reinforce weak components of the vending machine. This can be done by installing mechanical security panels to secure dollar bill acceptors from the front and rear of the vending machine. Vending machines security can also be increased by implementing cashless payment options.

The Right Products in Your Vending Machine

2007-01-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

Having the right products in your Planet Antares vending machines is vital for the success of your vending business. Planet Antares vending machines sell snacks and beverages, which are products that sell highly in most of the locations. People usually feel inclined to have a snack or beverage when they are passing through a location or waiting in a location.

When you are looking for products for your vending machines, the first thing that you should look for is a supplier that will provide you with all of the products that you will want to have in the vending machines. The supplier has to be one that will be close to your base, so that you have no problems transporting the products from the supplier to your base. The supplier has to provide you with products that are fresh and have an expiry date that is not anywhere close to the date of purchase. You wouldn’t want consumers to visit your vending machine when they feel like having a snack, and then finding that the product that they have purchased has already expired. This will hurt your business, because the next time the same consumer will avoid your vending machine.

If you are not sure about which products to place in your vending machines, you can go out to different vending locations to watch people buy from the vending machines there. Check to see what snacks and beverages they are being bought the most. Do this with several locations in your area. This will help you learn a lot. When you are equipped with this information, you will then know which products to place in your Planet Antares vending machine. Kids make a large number of purchases from vending machine. They always know what is new and popular in the market. Try asking a few kids about what products to place in your vending machine. The information that they can provide to you can prove to be very helpful. Suppliers are also the right people to ask about which are the right products to vend because they are always in touch with other vending operators.
The supplier usually learns a lot from the vending operators that come to the shop to collect their product supplies.

Brand products in your Planet Antares vending machines, can never go wrong. These are products that are easily identified by the consumer and this is the reason why they always do well in vending machines. With these products, there is no need for you to advertise the products in order to promote them. A brand product will always be easily identified in your vending machine. These products will always ensure successful sales from your vending machines.

Finding the Right Supplier for your Vending Business

2007-01-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

There are vending machine suppliers for almost any product that is available in the market today. When you get started in the vending business, try to sell products that you know the customers will want to buy. Snacks, candy and beverages are products that always do very well in the right locations. These are products that are sold in Planet Antares vending machines.

Look for a supplier in your local area, because you shouldn’t have to drive a long distant just to buy your supplies. Search the Internet for information on the suppliers in your area. The supplier should have all the products that you would want to purchase. When a product is new in the market, the supplier should have the product available with them, especially if the product is popular with the public. This means that if you want to be on top of your Planet Antares vending business, you should be very much aware about the products that are popular in your area at a particular time. When you are armed with that piece of information, you can then ask your supplier for these products. Trends come and go; a product may be a hit for a short or long period of time. This is the reason why you need to be up to date with how products are doing in the market.

A vending machine supplier will also provide you with information on the products that you want to sell in your vending machine. This means that for your Planet Antares vending business, you need to look for a supplier of snacks and beverages. They will tell you which locations are ideal for these kinds of products. These suppliers deal with a huge number of operators, so they get to know a lot about which locations are working well for the vending operators in your area. They are the best people to give you advice on this.

When it comes to snacks and beverages, a vending machine will need to carry brand products as well. These are products that sell themselves, so your supplier should be able to provide you with these items.

When you are purchasing products for your Planet Antares vending business, you will need to buy cases of the products. Your vending machine supplier should sell the products in bulk, so that you don’t keep going back for the next stock. Since you are buying products in bulk, make sure that you have ample space to store them. A garage can be an ideal place for them if you are running the business from home. A warehouse is also another option, especially when your business has expanded.

Lastly, buy your products from a reputable vending machine supplier who will not sell you products that are about to expire. The products should have a best before date that is well in advance of when you make the purchase. Selling fresh products in your vending machines is crucial to the success of your vending business.

Full Line Vending

2007-01-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

Full line vending is where vending machines sell cans or bottles of soft drinks and/or small packages of snacks. These are the kind of products that are sold by Planet Antares Inc. vending machines. The common volume for soda is usually 12fl oz or 20 oz. it has been estimated that 7 out of 10 people buy an item from a vending machine in any given day. This is why it is such a great business, especially when you are selling both drinks and snacks. Planet Antares can offer you this great opportunity.

Some years back there was a trend in the U.S for large national retailers to make contracts with national companies to provide full line vending services to all their branches’ break rooms. In quite a number of cases, managers and staff of individual stores objected to this, because the national vending operators were not essentially receptive to their item preferences.

Advantages of full line vending
Locations usually recognize the need for full lone vending machines like those that are provided by Planet Antares. This is of great advantage to the vending operators because when they are looking for locations for their vending machines, they are more likely to get a ‘yes’ from the location owner. Locations sometimes contact a vending company to request for installation of a vending machine. In addition to this, companies usually recognize the hassle of moving vending machines, so it would be very hard for then to request removal of your vending machine, unless you are doing a bad job. These machines are also very hard to steal, since they are heavy and they also have vend counters that helps to keep a track on the number of items that are sold, making it difficult for an employee to steal money from the machine.

Planet Antares offers a combo vending machine, which has a wider capacity, than other similar machines. They are also reasonably priced, making them affordable to potential vendors. These kinds of machines do extremely well in locations with high traffic or offices with a large number of employees. Most locations will be attainable, since full line vending machines are always in demand. When people are in a hurry and don’t have time to eat, they would rather go for a snack in a vending machine. Employees in an office don’t always have the time to go out for a bite to eat, so the only option for them would be the vending machines at the corner of the cafeteria. A good gross sales benchmark for a full line vending machine would be $75 a week for a location with 50 employees. If you are able to secure bigger accounts then, then the more profits you make.

2006-11-03T04:54:00.000-08:00

Vendors Respond to Public Concern about Vending

The issue of health and nutrition is an issue that won’t go away any time soon. Vending operators read about it everyday, mostly as it relates to schools.

Trade organizations are spending their members’ money to make the media and government officials aware that the vending industry didn’t create the obesity crisis and are trying to be part of the solution. Antares vending operators for the most part support these efforts, which they view as a price they must pay for being in a business that is involved with public health.

The bottom line, however, is that the obesity and nutrition debate has very little to do with daily business reality for the average operator. Any Antares Corp. operator will be more than happy to provide customers products with higher nutritional content if the customers want it. This can be done through their purchasing habits, which for the most part isn’t happening.

Government and industry drive change

A less visible movement has emerged in the private sector: employee wellness. Medical costs are forcing employers to consider multi-faceted wellness programs to ensure healthier employees and lower health insurance premiums.

Obesity interest continues

The media isn’t going to let up on the obesity issue, because it is a problem that is affecting all parts of society. Time has shown that issues in the public spotlight tend to take on lives of their own; media attention feeds itself until the public genuinely loses interest.

Most Antares vending operators have been satisfied to let their national trade association carry the weight of the burden. But many are also learning that the issue affects them directly.

Vendors have new education tools

There is a campaign that was introduced last year, which provides tools to help operators address the media at the local level, and help them participate in legislative initiatives at both local and state levels.

Another tool is the support of a group of dieticians who are available to help Antares operators work with legislators and other public officials on the industry’s behalf.

The real bottom line for most operators is that they cannot expect to put the health and nutrition issue on the back burner, lest they get burned.

2006-11-01T04:12:00.000-08:00

Brand Development Process in Vending

First impressions are everything. How your vending company by Antares Corporation is perceived in the market place is critical to your long term success. Separating yourself from your competition by utilizing a professional website, a creative brochure and other eye catching marketing elements are significant in winning new business.

Corporate identity: This is your entire visual identity or what your brand looks like from its logo, business cards, letterhead and other signage.

Brochure: Your Antares vending company is unique and special. Communicating with prospective clients through a creative brochure is very important when it comes to the selling process. A professional brochure establishes immediate credibility.

Website: Your website is your online sales pitch for the vending prospects searching the Web. Everyone uses the net today. When your prospects are looking for a new service provider, they will look it up on the net, not in the phone book. Your website has to stand out from the crowd in two unique ways. Firstly, it needs to look sophisticated and professional. Secondly, your website needs to appear on the first page of the “free” search results on popular search engines.

Truck signage: You should take full advantage of the free advertising and branding opportunities on your fleet. This is cost effective marketing for your Antares business.

Machine fronts: If your vending equipment is several years old, you can easily give your vending machines a “facelift” with durable Tuffronts. These pre-cut plastic panels replace the existing exterior panels on your vending machines. A creative design will bring new life to the machine and promote your brand in client locations.

Uniforms: Your employees are an extension of your brand as they represent your Antares vending company when delivering new products to client locations. Your employees should be “dressed for success” and should also proudly display your brand on their uniforms.

2006-10-31T01:41:00.000-08:00

Glass Front Vending Machines Offer Variety

Glass front Antares vending machines, merchandise products better and offer more variety. These vending machines allow the customers to see what exactly is in the vending machine. When the customers can see what choices they have in selecting an item, they will be more inclined to purchase an item. The look of an item can entice a vending operator to buy the product. This can really boost the sales of your vending business by Natural Choice USA.

Glass front vending machines are mainly used in high population sites where the demand for greater product variety was viable. In sites with smaller populations, the sales of alternative products would not be that high to justify the extra time needed to load and place additional stock keeping units. Glass fronts Antares vending machines, proved to be more service intensive than the traditional closed-front machines. The addition of more stock keeping units means more work.

In the vending industry, you always have to come up with ways of staying on top of your competition. There are locations that can have a number of vending machines from different companies. This is the reason why you will need to compete with the other vending operators on the same level or on a higher level.

When it comes to glass front vending machines, you will find that there are snack glass front vending machines and beverage glass front vending machines. Antares Corporation offers a combo glass front vending machine that will have both snacks and beverages. This makes the vending machines ideal for all types of locations. The one thing that is will be important to have in your vending business will be variety in the items that are being sold. A glass front vending machine will allow you to offer this. This will increase your sales because not only can the customer see what they want, but they also have a wide variety to choose from.

The vending industry is a $40 billion industry that serves an estimated 82 million Americans at least once every month. The industry is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 4.9 percent over the next few years.

By leveraging technology, the machines are making huge strides in improving the efficiency and impact of products and packaging beyond the vending mainstays of food and beverages.

2006-10-26T05:52:00.000-07:00

Determining a Company’s Market Value

The need to assign a market value to a vending business has become increasingly important to many Antares operators during the recent economic period. The purpose here is to present a practical and theoretically sound method of helping potential buyers realistically value a vending business.

Earning versus asset valuation

The earnings method utilizes the value of a vending company by looking at the potential cash flows. Risks are associated with those cash flows. This method is one that can be best used to analyze a profitable Antares vending company. Such a business is one in which sufficient profits and positive cash flows will be generated into the future.

Both the earnings method and the asset method require gathering pertinent financial information and making necessary assumptions in order to arrive as a reasonable value for the business.

Consider all types of assets

The asset method consist of there separate categories to determine value. The first category is operating assets. Operating assets are those items that are required and necessary for your Antares vending company to conduct its normal business activities. They would include machinery, equipment, inventory, trucks, building and land.

The second category involves the non operating assets. These are vital for the Antares business to continue. Items may include excess cash, excess working capital, luxury automobiles, artwork, stocks and bonds.

The final category would be the intangible assets. Intangible assets would include reputation, quality of products, services and other components that are commonly referred to as “goodwill.”

Condition of the assets

The more modern and well maintained the assets are, the more a prospective buyer is willing to pay for the assets. In most selling transactions, both accounts receivable and accounts payable remain the responsibility of the selling organization.

Certain assumptions can be made when valuing operating assets. Primarily, a company’s value depends heavily on the worth of its operating assets. Secondly, the company has developed unpredictable cash flows and earnings history. Thirdly, the prospects that the company continues to operate are poor.

2006-10-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

Buying New Vending Machines

The message that the U.S. automatic merchandising industry is sending to its customers is that there should be an end to recession. This message comes in the form of equipment purchasing plans. A survey that was conducted revealed aggressive buying intentions despite the state of the economy. There are a large percentage of operators who are planning to buy candy/snack equipment as well as other product category machines. Of course when buying a new vending machine it would be advisable to go for a quality vending machine like those provided by Antares Corporation.

The results of the survey that was conducted are very encouraging. It indicates that most operators recognize that they cannot build their companies without investing in new equipment such as those by Antares Corporation. A significant number of operators recognize that the employee downsizing that has plagued customer locations in the past years will not continue indefinitely. These operators know from experience that high quality machines are needed to meet customer needs over the long term.

Need to upgrade machines continues

In the past few years, Antares operators as well as other operators were inclined to hold off on new equipment purchases. Less activity in accounts reduced machine use, increasing machine life expectancy. Many of these operators postponed the purchasing of new equipment. Equipment distributors, on their part, reported exceptionally slow sales of new equipment.

Antares vending machines are quality machines. This is what has made them quite popular with many vending operators. When you are ready to purchase a new vending machine, you would want to buy one that is reasonably priced and can provide your customers with the right kind of service because of its proper functioning. This is especially important when you are just starting out in your vending business.

When you want a snack and beverage vending machine, then these are the best machines that you can go for, because they are durable and easy to maintain.

The economy may not be very encouraging at this time, but this is not something that has stopped a large number of vending operators from purchasing new equipment.

2006-10-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

An Effective Business Plan

A good place to start is with the company’s mission statement. Having a mission statement is not an exercise in rhetoric. It provides ongoing guidance, and the basis for individual employee responsibilities. You can use the mission statement for your Antares business to improve the company’s goals to succeed in the face of any new challenges that may come about.

Priorities, barriers and strategies

The priorities in your Antares vending business can be improved employee training, identifying new growth opportunities, improving vehicle maintenance, upgrading field equipment, etc. On the other hand barriers to growth might be poor customer service due to insufficient employee training, old equipment, or weak client relations.

Strategies for growth can be creating a director of marketing position; enhancing customer relations skills of service personnel; or increasing the number of stops on existing routes. Each of these strategies can be developed in greater detail.

Establishing goals

An effective business plan should establish company goals for your Antares business, preferably both short term and long term. Goals give an employee something concrete to aspire to. They also give management a concrete basis for rewarding employee performance. Goals setting can be one of the key tools in the success of your vending business.

Goals: qualitative, quantitative

In a busy schedule, goals will provide any employee focus. The two types of goals a company should identify in a plan are quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative goals are measured in numbers, such as sales and profits. Qualitative goals are people-oriented.

Once goals for your Antares business by Natural Choice USA have been identified, the tasks must be created to achieve the goals. All goals, quantitative and qualitative, should be divided into annual, quarterly, and maybe even monthly, weekly or daily tasks. When doing this, you need to consider the state of the industry and local market conditions.

Plan describes marketing strategies

Many operators want to improve their marketing strategies. If the company performance has resulted in the non achievement of the company’s goals, then two things need to be evaluated: 1) the market, and 2) how the company is serving the market. This helps to group it into segments, such as type of locations.

2006-10-13T05:40:00.000-07:00

Electronic Security Systems

Electronic locks will offer a great tool in the fight to prevent loss, especially in the area of keyed entry. The first advantage is the ability to limit access to each and every Antares vending machine. The state-of-the-art electronic system allows the administrator to hand out the keys that are programmed according to a daily activation schedule. A key can be programmed to work during specific hours and only on certain machines. You can also program the key to expire completely after a certain period of time.

The only problem is that, the machine can be burglarized by the individual who has been authorized to service it. But management will have a much better idea about who has been in what Antares machine during what period of time. Electronic locks provide an audit trail of all lock activity. In state-of-the-art systems, key audits are done automatically at the time of reprogramming and are available for future reference.

Keyed entry can be defined a in a couple of different ways. It doesn’t necessarily require a key. It can be defined as entering a lock with a key, a copy of a key, or by picking the lock. Keyed entry is much harder to control than physical attack because it is harder to identify.

Reports can be customized

A report on all of a key’s activities for your Antares vending business will be automatically created when the key is reprogrammed. The reports can be customized so that they can provide information on what machines have been serviced, which locks have been opened and what attempts have been made to open the system. A report can be run for any time period.

Electronic audit trail

Electronic security systems audit not only the keys, but the locks as well. The locks can be audited separately. A lock audit will include a complete history of the keys being used to access a machine. This will give the Antares vending operator a complete review of who was in the machine and when. The encryption inside the key of an electronic lock cannot be duplicated or picked.

The greatest advantage of all is the audit trail created by the electronic lock. This audit trail will provide some of the same accountability features that are presently provided by route handheld computers. This means that the vendors, who have not implemented handheld, will find this particularly beneficial.

2006-10-11T05:33:00.000-07:00

Category Management Will Pay Off

Advances in equipment technology and computer software are giving Antares vending operators more control of their business. These technologies are providing benefits on several fronts: routing, service scheduling, accountability and product selection. For most Antares operators, accountability at the route and/or machine level is a top priority in choosing state of the art management software.

The ability to choose a more profitable product mix is usually further down on the list of most operators’ priorities. There is a lot of education and management time needed to do this, and that is why it is not a priority on the vendors list. The long term impact on an operator’s profitability, however, can be significant.

Only a small percentage of Antares vending operators have began to fully utilize the latest management tools. Despite this, the pioneers, which include companies of all sizes, are revolutionizing the business. Change is occurring on two parallel fronts: product accountability and product merchandising.

Technology enhances dual functions

Advances in both hardware and software have given Antares vendors the ability to track individual product movement, which enables them to do two things: 1) account for the route drivers’ actions in the field, and 2) plan their offerings based on more timely and accurate sales history.

Software companies sought to develop product accountability programs in response to widespread concern among operators in regard to this issue. As these systems evolved, Antares operators began to recognize the benefits of line –item sales reports, namely, the ability to use sales history to menu their machines.

Vendors, for the most part, recognized the benefits of category management but were not set up to implement it. In the beginning vendors allowed drivers to select most of the products for their route, and because of this they hesitated asking their drivers to change their work habits.

Category management represented a new management philosophy that affected the drivers, the warehouse and the purchasing department. Most operators found that the concept made sense in theory, but were reluctant to change established operating procedures. Product suppliers nonetheless persisted with educational initiatives.

2006-10-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

Mid Market Accounts

With the rising costs, many Antares vending operators have been forced to ignore locations with fewer than 100 people. One segment of this market, the honor box customer, continues to hold on. But as product and labor cots have increased in recent years, even honor snack operators have begun exploring new business opportunities.

One of the most obvious has been what some term the “mid market” accounts-locations too small for traditional vending machines but larger than 10 to 50 person accounts that honor box operators traditionally serve. As an Antares vending operator, you can take an interest in this underserved market.

For the time being, the honor snack market remains the exclusive domain of a small group of operators who have learned to survive the demands of 30 percent product shrinkage, 30 percent annual account turnover, high employee turnover and almost no means of product accountability.

High account volume essential

Some don’t see vending as a threat to any of honor box accounts. No vending company is interested in an account with only 18 employees. Most of the honor box accounts have fewer than 50 employees. High account volume is one of the keys to the honor snack business.

If an account’s needs are not being fully met by an honor snack box, then you can place multiple boxes at a location. In addition to this you can call up an Antares vending company to take over an account with about 80 people that want a snack machines and a soda machine. The owner of the honor box can be looking to diversify his business to meet the growing demands of midsize accounts.

Making the leap to vending

A person who operates an honor snack business can also operate a vending route. Usually there is a need of vending when an account gets too big for an honor snack box, or maybe the shortages are too great to economically continue with the boxes.

It is difficult to make a leap from an honor box to an Antares glass front vending machine. There is a need to address the midsize accounts. Something is needed that can be a small location machine that can be serviced quickly. A driver needs to service 50 or more a day. All this goes to show that there is an un-served midsized market out there.

2006-10-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

Smart Card Vending

A smart card is a credit card-sized plastic card with an embedded computer chip. The chip can either be a microprocessor with internal memory or a memory chip with non-programmable logic.

How they work

There are two general categories of smart cards, contact and contactless. A contact card requires insertion into a smart card reader. It is via this physical contact point that transmission of commands, data and card status takes place.

A contactless card requires only close proximity to a reader.

When it comes to vending machine applications, the vending industry definitely is the “tail,” and not the “dog.” Smart card vending has so far been widely practiced in college campuses.

U.S Vending: limited applications

Some Antares vendors have reported that systems on college campuses work very well. But the conversion is limited to the machines in the campus system and operators have not extended it to other types of locations. A card only operation would bring about increased security and shrinkage benefits for your Antares vending business. This system would no doubt bring about efficiency in your operations.

Benefits noted in vending

This system comes with a number of advantages. Route people will no longer have to carry cash. In addition to this there will be no more jams, sales can be tracked by site, there would be no coin counting room and no more shortages. The cost of the card equipment for your Antares vending machines is about the same as for coin and bill changers.

Widespread acceptance of smart cards requires multiple use applications, not just in vending only. Yet everyone in vending wants to be an automatic supermarket and this will require smart cards to achieve it. If you want to achieve efficiency in your Antares vending business then you would need to convert to cashless vending.

A smart card reader on this country’s vending machines functioning like a coin mechanism will eventually happen in the future. For widespread application of smart cards here, the infrastructure must first be created.

Costs are still too high for widespread vending application. This of course will change in the time to come.

2006-10-03T05:26:00.000-07:00

Outdoor Locations for Vending Machines

Vendors have witnessed a new concept in outdoor machine security in the form of an enclosed kiosk with a motorized door. The outdoor snack machine and enclosed kiosk are among several innovations designed to help Antares vendors tap the largely untapped outdoor market. While the number of potential outdoor sites has not been quantified, observers agree that the vending industry has historically shied away from these locations.

As traditional indoor locations have become saturated, one can only wonder if vending companies can ignore nontraditional sites. This cannot be done since technology is addressing the problems of vandalism and poor visibility which is frequently caused by brick and mortar solutions.

Traditional vendor view: No thanks

Antares vending operators have historically installed machines in outdoor locations on a request-only basis due to concerns about vandalism and exposure to the elements. Machines that are placed outside are exposed to more vandalism and the elements. While these concerns remain valid, technological improvements give operators reasons to reconsider this view. Some operators’ attitudes after all, are based on 10-year-old experiences with outdoor machines. There are some vending operators who have been discouraged from placing machines outdoors because of vandalism.

There have been improvements in cold beverage machines, which comprise the majority of outdoor placements. Components are now coated with ultraviolet-light resistant powder, which will prevent damage to the Antares vending machines that is caused by exposure to outdoor light. In addition, coin mechanisms are now made with electronic components which automatically disconnect as soon as they come into contact with any liquid substance.

Big market: Recreational sites

Outdoor recreational sites, such as theme parks, water parks and campgrounds, have become more accepting of vending as a way to capture sales that concessions stands might miss. This is great for Antares vendors as snacks and cold drinks do quite well in these locations.

Vending machines have proven to be an effective remedy for long lines at concession stands

2006-09-28T05:14:00.000-07:00

Multiple Benefits of DEX in Vending Machines

You can make your Antares operation more efficient by accessing electronic data from your vending machines. Electronic data exchange is a technology with a lot of promise. Some additional investment would be needed, but the payoff would be great, if other operators’ experiences are any indication.

One your route is up and running, you will realize that you have made a worthy investment. With this system in your Antares operation, the drivers will bring back their handhelds and download the data to the company’s home computer. You can then view your machines’ cash transactions on the computer and compare them with the cash collected in the money room. In this way, the driver is unable to cheat you. There are also other benefits that come with this system.

Benefits

The handhelds also recorded sales by column for all the snack and soda Antares machines. This would enable you to tailor your product offerings to customer preference. The machines could be planogrammed so that the best selling items would get the right amount of space. You can mix the spirals with different products, based on the location’s sales history, and thereby menu the columns to sell at a more uniform rate.

Time savings a major plus

By not having to read meters at the Antares machine and count products, a 10-minute job for the route driver will be cut down to less than a minute. The time saved will enable some routes to add one more stop.

By plugging the DEX cable on the handheld into the DEX port on the machine, the driver downloads the transaction data and immediately sees what’s needed in the machine. At the end of the day, the driver will place the handheld into a telephone modem and send the information to the warehouse. The computer will then prepare a pick list for the next day, which warehouse employees use to prepare the next day’s order. There will be no need of the driver to go to the warehouse.

Built in DEX ports rarely have service problems once they are interfacing with the computer. The problem with DEX ports so far has been being able to rely on them.

2006-09-26T04:03:00.000-07:00

Category Management to Build Vending

Category management, computerized route accountability and point of sale promotions are all current buzz words in the vending trade. You can use all these tools to build your Antares vending business. The use of technology can help you to remain competitive. You might find that technology will enables you to service small accounts profitably and to take on accounts that vendors would pass by.

How vending compares to c-stores

Category management is a system that simplifies product selection at the route and warehouse levels. It would enable the Antares operator to control the machine menu. To do this, the operator must have a way to track individual product sales accurately. Investing in handhelds computers is something that you would need to do.

Vending and c-stores are both retail outlets with limited selling space. In both, a product is sold, but more importantly, a convenience. The vending market has far more limited space and that space has to be treated like gold.

Key to success: supplier support

A major difference between the two channels was in supplier support. A lot of Antares vending operators have complained about suppliers’ fill rates and pull errors.

Handhelds: Better inventory control

The initial training may be difficult for the driver. One downside is that if a handheld is not working, a manager has to ride the route to do the old manual system. But the benefits are numerous. Besides better inventory control in your Antares business, the handheld system would allow you to eliminate a warehouse position.

Spiral-level data invaluable

The information that you can get from handhelds is invaluable. With this information you can tell the manufacturer exactly how many units have moved in any given time period and you can also show the product suppliers how their products moves in comparison to competing products.

Category management is a key factor in your Antares operation’s choice of product. You can create a planogram for every snack/drink machine configuration for every location type. A few slots per machine are left up to the discretion of the route driver, who can choose between a few specific items per category.

2006-09-23T02:13:00.000-07:00

Manufacturers Cite the Benefits of Customization

Operators just starting out usually have limited capital. This should be a reason to buy a customized vehicle, not a reason not to. A vehicle with fewer racks, room for refrigeration or a less expensive cooler using ice packs means the same vehicle can be used for years by adding more racks and changing out cooler options.

Antares operators as well as other operators have been making requests for roll up side doors, but when the operators hear the price, some balk. It costs about $2.000 to have two doors put in. it all just depends on how the warehouse is set up. If the warehouse has a low dock, it is a disadvantage because the driver has to get off the dock to load from the outside.

The new trucks with the side doors are more efficient, ergonomic and safer. Placing shelving systems in existing trucks is better than nothing, but full benefits will come with the roll up side doors. The highest demand for the roll up doors comes from medium sized vending companies. There is also a big demand from small companies with few routes, because they have also seen the benefit firsthand.

Customizing the route vehicle for your Antares operations will definitely improve efficiency. If a truck breaks down and a driver has to use a different vehicle, he or she still knows where all the products are located and thus will not lose any time searching for it.

Some Antares operators prefer to have the installation done in-house instead of sending the vehicle to a manufacturer to get it customized. The operators can decide to buy kits and place them in the vehicles. By making the installations on your own, it would take you longer, but you would get the exact specification that you would want. Route drivers have input into what they will need that will make their job much easier.

In the end customizing the interior of a vehicle with high quality material that is meant to take a beating, hold the weight and adjust a growing business, will save cost for your Antares business in the long run. A well designed interior is worth its price when it comes to product poundage, route driver ergonomics and efficient servicing.

2006-09-21T04:12:00.000-07:00

Vendors have a Dual Customer Focus

When promoting your Antares business there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. Firstly you need to know who you are targeting with your message. There are actually two groups of people that you need to target: the people who actually make the decision about the vending service, and the people who will use your Antares vending machines everyday.

The majority of the people who decide what vending services their companies use tend to be either personnel managers or purchasing managers. In a workplace, the actual consumer of the products is an important group to reach.

Your Antares operation needs to stand apart from the competition. There are a number of things that can make u different. It can be the freshness of your products or the use of technology. You can stand out by providing high quality products and services.

What media do you use to communicate?

There are several forms of media that are used to promote your business. Some are more appropriate for business to business companies than others, yet all need to be considered.

Print media includes newspapers, magazines and Yellow Pages. Broadcast media includes television and radio. Vending and office beverage operators are business to business companies and cannot justify investing a lot in these consumer oriented media. Instead, they normally communicate through a direct sales force via sales calls or direct mail.

Your assets can double as media

The two forms of media that very few people use and everyone has available are delivery and service vehicles and vending machines. You can transform these assets into forms of media to promote the message of your Antares operations.

It is very inexpensive when compared to other forms of brand promotion and advertising. Vehicles can be used to promote the company to prospective and current customers.

Antares vending machines are another asset to transform into an advertising medium and reinforcement tool. Your logo, your color scheme, your tag line and your website could be imprinted across the top and bottom section of your vending machines.

2006-09-19T01:50:00.000-07:00

Some Operators Resist Change

There are some operators that claim cocoa and sugar costs have not been raised enough to justify the candy price increases. Prices at retail stores just keep lowering, meaning that other retail channels have not had to pay higher prices. Antares vending operators as well as other operators have simply opted to reduce candy bars to the top selling standbys in order to reduce costs. This raises questions about what to do with the remaining candy slots. Historically, operators bought a variety of candy SKUs (stock keeping units) whereby all the SKUs from a particular manufacturer would fall under one rebate program.

A number of Antares operators have reduced its candy bar offering to the main core sellers. They have decided not to raise prices on the top sellers, out of fear of being undersold by competitors, and rather to add more of the larger size offerings.

The larger size confections (LSC) have been slowly gaining acceptance in the last two years. Many of these offerings allow Antares operators to make an acceptable profit margin as $1. 00. Operators have found success with these larger size products unanimously agree that they use the larger size offerings in place of and not in addition to the regular size version. This is the same strategy that has proven effective for large size snacks. Some operators are even using king size bars, which cost more and usually require a selling price higher than $1. 00. This will allow an acceptable profit.

The LSC’s have sustained 100 percent of the regular size versions, where the king-size bars have delivered at 85 percent. All this will increase the Antares operations value to the customers as well as the consumers who are using the machines. It is not just a matter of price increases.

The fact that candy prices are rising is reason enough to try some of the larger size products. It is uncertain how much momentum there is behind the push to larger size candy. Some Antares operators pointed out that this movement is contrary to the consumer demand for healthier offerings in vending machines; larger size candy means more sugar and calories. Some operators think moving to larger size candy is compatible with their current emphasis on healthier eating.

2006-09-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

About Global Positioning System

GPS fleet management systems utilize a network of satellites that transmit radio signals to ground based receivers. GPS technology combined with analysis and mapping software, can provide an Antares operator with up to date information on vehicle activity, including graphic annotation of key events such as service stops, excessive speed, variations from the route and more.

GPS systems have proven particularly useful in facilitating service dispatch operations, thereby enhancing customer service in a more efficient manner.

Early users were more challenged

Installing a GPS system in the early days was very challenging. Cellular signals were not always reliable and there were also issues with the GPS hardware and software. The receivers also sometimes drained the vehicles batteries if the driver didn’t turn the engine off when he left the vehicle. The system at that time did provide certain benefits; it identified route redundancies and could also identify the location of a stolen truck.

Handhelds and electronic locks

Some Antares operators see GPS as a way to compliment the accountability that handheld computers and electronic locks provide. Route handhelds provide an activity record for route drivers while electronic locks do the same for machines

GPS keeps employees honest

Employees of your Antares operations will be more honest and productive because they will know that they are being watched. The route drivers for example, will not use the trucks for running their personal errands and they will also not be able to over speed. These are the things that can waste fuel for your vending operations. Keeping in mind the high cost of fuel, the GPS would be a great way for you to check on the fuel consumption.

In addition to all of the efficiencies and enhanced accountability that will be provided, many Antares operators also noted that GPS provides a good selling tool. It assures customers that service needs will be met. Below are some of the GPS benefits:

· improved feet efficiency

· faster response time/improved customer relations

· improved employee accountability

· reduced fuel costs

· reduced liability and insurance costs

· decreased vehicle wear and tear

· automation of vehicle record keeping functions

2006-09-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

Vendors Slow to Respond to the Ethnic Market

Antares vending operators on the lookout for ethnic products are having an easier time than they were a few years ago. A survey found that 90 percent of operators believe that product suppliers are providing enough variety of food, snacks or beverages to meet their customers’ requests.

This is a welcome development for those operators who recognize the rising demand for ethnic products. The industry as a whole, however, seems to be slow to recognize the need to cater to this growing market.

Ethnic market expands

Nearly three-fourths of vending operators recognize that their customer base is becoming more ethnically diverse. Antares operators reported that the biggest gain was in Hispanic customers.

A large percentage of operators also cited African Americans as an ethnic group being served. However, other surveys have indicated that this group does not have specific product demands.

While most Antares operators recognized a gain in ethnic customers, only about 40 percent of all operators reported success with the products targeted to these consumers. This reflects the fact the fact that only a minority of vending operators have offered these products to this group.

The Antares operators that have met ethnic demands have reported positive results. The challenge, however, has been in determining how much of the product mix should be geared to the ethnic audience when the customer base is mixed.

Ethnic products for all categories

The largest portion of ethnic products has been offered in the salted snack segment, closely followed by food. This category has offered the greatest product variety for several years, and snack machines have more facings than other types of machines.

Antares vending operators have also provided ethnic choices in the cold drink category. The Jarritos soft drinks have proven particularly popular, and not only among ethnic customers.

As ethnic customers continue to rise in number, vending operators will find it necessary to carry products that target ethnic customers.