Running a tighter operation: The technology shift operators can’t ignore
Running a tighter operation: The technology shift operators can’t ignore
Publish Date: 2026-05-19 14:39:00
Source Domain: www.vendingmarketwatch.com
Many operators, Zimbler said, are working with multiple systems that were never designed to operate together. A typical operator might have multiple card readers; each tied to a different backend. The result, he said, is inefficiency that affects route planning, warehouse picking, reporting and day-to-day troubleshooting. Yet, operators often ignore technological shortcomings to focus on more immediate demands.
“The reality is, most operators are firefighting every day,” Zimbler said. “They’re servicing machines, fixing issues, restocking, trying to grow. They don’t always have the time to step back and look at where the inefficiencies are.”
The solution he described is not simply a better VMS, but an enterprise-focused operating platform.
“One system,” he said. “And of course, once you’ve got all the data in one system, as a vending operator, there’s all sorts of savings — mainly operational cost savings — that come into play which aren’t necessarily calculated on the same part of the P&L sheet.
“This is not just about adding an extra 1 cent profit to a product. You’re now saving valuable time of your staff, and you’re able to service more machines, with fewer people, in a shorter period of time. And that could be anything from the actual servicing of the machines, to repairs, to maintenance, to downtime reporting, to backend reporting, to generating pick lists and actually packing those boxes for the machines,” Zimbler added.
Instead of treating vending management as a standalone function, the backend technology connects the entire operation, from machine data to warehouse activity to reporting, he said. Yet for a solution to be viable, it must be flexible. Operators are not going to replace existing hardware overnight, so any system that expects a clean slate will struggle to gain traction.
“You have to meet operators where they are,” Zimbler said. “That means being able to take data from different devices and bring it into…
