The Vending Market in Germany in 2009-2010 - Press1

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underwear, swimsuits, jeans, batteries, mobile phones, electronic accessories, souvenirs, umbrellas, votive candles, magazines, works of art, toiletries, bait for fishing and even gold ingots. And industrial companies often use machines to dispense tools and safety equipment. Deserving of special mention is the large number of machines in Germany that accept empty bottles, soda cans or plastic tubs and pay back a deposit or give the customer a receipt. Negative factors • Although opportunities for consumers in small communities and suburbs to purchase drinks and small snacks have become more limited in recent years, some municipal authorities are sharply restricting the scope for installing food and drink vending machines on public roads. The BDV is therefore campaigning for liberalisation of construction regulations and planning laws. • The costs of “coin removal” — in other words the fees paid to banks and armoured car services for receiving the coins from vending machines — are continuing to rise and are causing high cost burdens for the operating companies. • The banks’ rigid rating system for granting credit is leading to large additional strains — especially in the operating business, which involves major investments — and it is inhibiting purchases of new vending machines. • In many large companies where vending machines are essential for supplying staff with snacks, the works councils and plant managers are increasingly becoming more interested in securing the lowest possible price instead of ensuring that services and products are of high quality. Current issues in the vending sector • Data transfer from and to vending machines, which is already being integrated into a growing number of machines, will make them more customer-friendly and will reduce the need for technical maintenance and services to help with filling the machines. What’s more, permanent monitoring of turnover and identification of the products that are most in demand is being made possible by telemetry. • The range of different types of vending machine payment systems is growing. Coin systems are still the most common, but around 25 per cent of all vending machines now feature cashless payment systems. Although closed, in-company systems generally use non-contact chip cards, some vending machines allow customers to pay with bank cards (GiroCard), debit cards and credit cards — and now payment can also be made with non-contact chip cards, such as MasterCard’s PayPass system. More and more machines are also accepting banknotes in addition to coins. While payment via mobile phones poses no technological problems for vending machines, such systems haven’t been successful on the market so far. • Public vending has great market potential that is being increasingly exploited. Vending machines are therefore becoming more common at train stations, bus stops, motorway petrol stations, airports, sports and leisure facilities, DIY stores, Page 6 of 7
department stores, administrative offices, universities and other public facilities such as hospitals. • Water coolers are found in an increasing number of companies and offices and are expanding the range of vending machines for beverages and snacks. They include point-of-use water coolers as well as machines using bottled water that are independent of the pipe network. • Ever since a regulation for the introduction of vending machine professions went into effect in Germany in early 2008, many young people have been training at operating companies as either vending machine servicing specialists (two years of training) or as vending machine specialists (three-year training). With these training programs, the companies in the vending machine industry are now able to train their own teams of qualified young professionals. • The trend towards organic food, fair trade produce and food cultivated in a sustainable manner can also be observed in the vending business at schools and universities, especially in the area of public vending. • Due to their coffee expertise, an increasing number of vending machine operators are being commissioned by major companies to set up coffee corners for their employees. The premium products offered at these “miniature Starbucks” help win over discerning customers who have an espresso machine at home and previously were not inclined to use vending machines. Conclusion: The vending machine sector’s role as a service industry is widely recognized. Given that high labour costs will continue to limit the degree to which services can be provided by personnel, vending machines will be used in more and more areas as a means of distributing products 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And the availability of drinks and snacks at affordable prices from vending machines makes it possible for everyone to consume popular products (the McDonald’s effect). In light of these developments, the vending machine sector is looking to the future with optimism. (2nd February 2011) Bundesverband der Deutschen Vending-Automatenwirtschaft e.V. (German Vending Association) Weißhausstr. 36-38, 50939 Köln, Germany Tel. + 49 (0)221 447968, fax + 49 221 422522 info@bdv-vending.de, www.bdv-vending.de Page 7 of 7
Page 1 and 2: The Vending Market in Germany in 20
Page 3 and 4: In 2009 Germans therefore spent €
Page 5: In the catering sector in particula

The Vending Market in Germany in 2009-2010 - Press1

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