Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2018 and was updated for accuracy.
If you’re a vending machine operator, you are always looking for ways to make your business run more efficiently. One of the most difficult logistical challenges that you face is most likely inventory management. This guide will help you learn some tips and tricks on how to maximize vending machine inventory tracking tools to streamline your vending business.
How to Set Up Vending Machine Inventory Tracking Tools
At the end of the day, you want to make sure that you’re selling as many of your products as possible. This means that you need to make sure that your machines are always fully stocked. But how do you know what to stock them with and when? This is where vending machine management software with features like product maps, picklists, and inventory dashboards come in.
Vending machine management software may be available in a desktop or mobile version. Among other things, this software will help you keep track of your vending machine inventory with the following three features.
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Product Maps
Product maps can be set up when you stock your vending machine. These give you an overview of which specific products are placed in which row and position in your machine.
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Picklists
Picklists allow you to add a numerical value to your product maps so you can keep track of how much of each product was stocked where.
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Inventory Dashboards
Inventory dashboards give you a complete overview of all of your inventory by machine or by product.
Now that you’ve recorded which products you’ve placed where, you can use the vending machine management software to track your sales and to know exactly which products were sold from which machine. The next step is to keep track of your inventory.
How to Keep Track of Vending Machine Inventory
Vending machine management software makes keeping track of your inventory easy with tools such as real-time alerts. You can set up these alerts via a vending machine management app, and choose when and how you want to receive them.
You’ll want to set your par level first, which will help you determine when your products reach a critically low level. Once you’ve set your par level, you can decide if you want to be notified when products reach par level or beforehand. You can set your alert thresholds and choose whether you’d like to be alerted via text message, push notification, or email. You can also choose which days and times you’d like to be alerted, whether during or after work hours.
These alerts help you know which products need to be stocked in which machines and when, which helps you become more efficient and save time.
Ask us about our inventory management solutions
How to Use Inventory Management to Drive More Sales
Inventory management tracking tools don’t just help you save time and restock more efficiently, they can also help you increase your sales. Vending management software helps you understand which products are selling better or worse and at which machines. This helps you gain a better understanding of what your customers are looking for so that you know which products to keep selling and which ones you may not want to order again.
When you add your products to your product maps and picklists, you can also enter their expiration date. Keeping track of this information helps you reduce spoilage and provide your customers with a better experience. If you see a product is nearing its expiration date, you can use loyalty tools and campaigns to promote it at a discount to ensure it doesn’t go to waste. To see what else you can do with Nayax’s loyalty and engagement tools, click here.
If you want to learn more about Nayax’s inventory management software, contact us here
