Mobile Business in the Vending Industry

Abstract

The business of operating vending machines substantially changes by the use of telemetry via wireless technologies. This technology enables operators to change their business processes from a fixed periodical to a needs-based operating and maintenance, generating efficiency and effectiveness added values. In addition, significant advantages can be achieved by real-time error reports, by analyzing and optimizing the product range and the profitability. The paper provides a general introduction in the vending market and the operating process. Based on this, drawbacks and opportunities of the use of mobile communication techniques in vending machines for a business process reengineering are discussed and criteria for the choice of telemetry-equipped vending machines’ locations are developed. The feasibility of the proposed concepts is examined with regard to the current technical state-of-the-art. Finally, conclusions are drawn and an outlook on the future of mobile vending is given.mobile business; mobile business processes; mobile BPR; vending industry; telemetry