Vending can enhance a distributor's offerings to customers and provide a return on investment but only if backed up by top-notch customer service, according to Mark Hill, owner of I M C Supply Co., Memphis, TN, a distributor of industrial metal working supplies, and founder of vending machine supply company 1sourcevend, in Top 5 Mistakes Distributors Make with Vending.
Simply implementing vending is not a guarantee that it will be successful, as many distributors can attest to.
"As a supplier of vending machines, I've seen distributors succeed with vending, and I've seen them fail," Hill says.
An automated system of vending isn’t an excuse to abandon top-notch customer service, according to Hill. While vending services take some of the uncertainty out of the traditional sales experience, they can also serve to magnify the interactions that are required.
"Thanks to cloud-based inventory control software linked to the machines, customer inventory levels can be viewed right from distributors' offices, precluding the need for manual, in-person inventory counts," Hill says. "Considering how easy modern vending software makes it to keep tabs on inventory, distributors have no excuse for providing poor service."
Read more tips for successful vending in Top 5 Mistakes Distributors Make with Vending.
