June-July 2022 - 48

closed their cafeterias and want micro
markets in their place.
" We lost some business as a result
of the pandemic but, for the most part,
we were very lucky that most of this
area kept moving, " the operator said.
OCS UPSWING
Office coffee service is a small but
important and growing piece of
Vander Vending's business. It first
offered the service to its vending
customers at the lowest possible price
on coffee possible and focused on
making its revenue from vending.
" But we didn't realize how much
could be made in coffee if we charge a
fair price and offer exactly what they
want, " Schreiner said. " We don't want
to gouge customers, but we've found we
have to raise prices because everything
is skyrocketing and who knows to
what end. And we still have a lot of
interest in our coffee program, and it's
something we're focused on growing. "
During the early days of the
pandemic, Vander Vending swapped
many of its traditional coffee brewers
for liquid concentrate and bean-to-cup
equipment, including Newco, Bunn,
Nestle and Cafection models that
minimize or eliminate touchpoints,
many of which " make every specialty
drink in the book. " These machines
have been well-received and further
fueled demand for specialty coffee,
opening doors for more business,
according to Schreiner.
LABOR AND SUPPLY CHAIN WOES
" It wasn't so much COVID, but
the worker effect later on has had a
repercussion on our bottom line, " the
operator observed. " We have to pay
people more who have less experience
than people we had. "
Another challenge, especially as
Vander Vending is working to fine-tune
its ordering system in preparation to
install the LightSpeed Automation
pick-to-light system in its warehouse,
48 Automatic Merchandiser * June/July 2022
Vander Vending recently updated its
50-truck fleet with seven new Transits
for its routes and Ford Fusions for its
managers, with bold new graphics
promoting its brand and services.
What many don't
understand is that if
we lose a $100,000 account,
we can quickly place the
machines somewhere else to
make money because of the
reputation we have built. "
- Jerry Schreiner
is shipping delays and product
shortages across the supply chain.
" Keeping the right things coming
into the warehouse every week is a
struggle; there's always something new
our distributors are out of. Customers
understand but only to a degree, " he
said. " With Cantaloupe's vending
management system, each specific
item has its specific place. If that item
doesn't exist one week, we have to enter
a new one; you can't just replace it in the
machine. So it's more time and money
while we have these supply chain
shortages. It's probably a good time for
people to develop new products while
operators are more apt to try something
new to fill the gap if it's an appealing item. "
Another interesting outcome of
these turbulent times is enormous
interest in the vending business,
according to Schreiner.
" Never before have I been so
inundated with calls from people getting
into the vending business. I don't know if
most realize how much work is involved,
the technology, servicing the customer.
We keep up, " Schreiner remarked.
" A lot of guys are looking to get into the
vending business because of desperation.
I got into it because I wanted to build a
business to best serve the customer and
make money and leave a legacy for my
family. People think it's so easy when
they walk through the warehouse.
What many don't understand is that
if we lose a $100,000 account, we can
quickly place the machines somewhere
else to make money because of the
reputation we have built. "
The operator emphasized that the
only way to get more business is to
take care of existing customers to the
highest standards.
CUSTOMER FIRST
" You're only as strong as your
weakest link. You need managers for
checks and balances, because finding
dedicated workers is not what it used
to be, " Schreiner stated. " We all have
the same issues. Even as we battle
each other for accounts, we have to
have standards, and customers will
eventually come back if we lost them
in the end because we always keep an
eye on the customer. It's still a moral
dagger when I lose an account I spent
so much time cultivating because of
competitors that brought a few good
sandwiches to woo them - that they
wouldn't even sell in a market, which
is a deceptive sales pitch. "
Vander Vending also has a
competitive advantage as a member
of the Greensburg, Pennsylvania-based
Unified Strategies Group purchasing
cooperative and Greensboro, North
Carolina-based US Connect consortium
of the industry's leading independent
vending and foodservice operators.
US Connect offers a proprietary loyalty
and promotional program and the
ability to bid at the national level.
" We try to be at the cutting edge of
everything. We use Cantaloupe to track
product and sales in real time and for
prekitting, and we're adding LightSpeed
to make prekitting faster, " Schreiner
June-July 2022

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