Vending Route Management

Now that you've got your business set up, secured your locations and put vending machines in them, its time to start collecting money! Here's how to make your route management as efficient as possible.

You'll need to keep stats on how much each location is earning, plus how often it needs to be serviced, and what products are doing well there. At that's the minimum. If you've got a computer you can bring with you on your route, or a cell phone that can serve as a mini computer, that's great. There are quite a few vending route management software programs, but if you're just starting out I recommend that you skip them for now to keep your costs down. Even if you don't have a computer, or you don't want to bring it in your car, a bunch of index cards or even a notebook will do.

A your form (or your excel doc) you'll want to include the location name, address, contact name and number. Include what kind of machine is there (with an id number if possible). Next you'll want a log of dates and actions taken. Each time you visit the location, make a log entry about what you found and what you did. How much money was in the machine? How much candy was left? Any problems or comments from the location owner? Any problems or issues with the vending machine? Is your time between machine checks about right, or should you be visiting this location more often? Write it all down... but not a book, just a paragraph or so. Your location log will become an extremely valuable document for you as your business grows. It will show you patterns and give you insights that you won't see in your day to day rounds.



The next important thing to bring on your route is a large cooler to hold candy in. Candy melts, and even if its winter, frozen and rethawed candy that's been frozen and thawed dozens of times just doesn't taste so good. So buy your candy in reasonably small batches so its fresher, and keep it in a big cooler for storage even when you're out on your route. Many people like to get two coolers -- one big one for candy storage, and then a smaller one they can easily carry into each location. The smaller cooler has enough product to do 2-3 machine refills, plus a container to hold the change in (income!), some cleaning tools (I like the antibacterial wipes that come in plastic tube containers. They clean glass and metal nicely), a pen knife or whatever your tool of choice is for getting quarters unwedged (the most common vending machine problem).

Its a good idea to also carry some extra parts for your machines. A down machine can cost you nearly $100 a month, and having to drive back and forth because you forgot some part is a terrible waste of time. So put together a machine repair kit and keep it in your car.

To minimize gas costs, try to do your whole route in one big loop that starts on the left side of your territory and loops around in the right direction. Some people like to clock their driving time, and that's OK. Do record your mileage -- all those miles are deductible to the tune of 50 cents a mile.

As you visit each location, try to be fast, but friendly as professional. You should be dressed neatly, like "business casual". Say a quick hello as you walk in to the location, then get your change container out and empty that machine fast. Then conceal your take home pay quickly -- you want to keep how much you're making under wraps or the owner might decide to buy their own machine, or ask for a cut. Then clean and refill the machine, and test it to be sure its working OK. If you notice one kind of product is not selling, consider asking what might sell better, but phrase it as "is there anything you'd like more than x?" Then leave a few handfuls of product (candy, or maybe a free soda) for whoever is the gatekeeper of the location, just to make friends.

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