Vendekin’s digital platform enables a smartphone interface for touchless purchases from vending machines
(Milcah Anila, Intern Journalist)Pune: FMCG BRANDS HINDUSTAN Unilever, Godrej, CCD & Georgia coffee machines. Coca Cola has already adopted touchless technology for some of its colas vending machines at airports.
These companies have partnered with Vendekin Technologies, vending machine automation, and aggregator platforms, to make this shift to the shift to the new normal.
The Pune-based firm’s digital platform enables a smartphone interface for touch-less buying and contactless digital payment to complete the transactions.
“Touchless has become a must-have in offices and our technology enables the use of the machine through the mobile phone instead of using the machine’s keypad,” says Aroon Khatter, founder and COO, Vendekin Technologies. According to Khatter, with the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a growing demand for a touchless vending space.
Around 95% of the vending machines operating in the country are installed in offices and these vending machines need to become touchless as social distancing and new hygiene standards become the norm.
Vendekin has developed a retrofittable plug-and-play device that makes an existing vending machine smart in a few minutes.
“We retrofit their existing machines with our patented technology to make those machines smart,” says Khatter.
The company has got two US patents and one Indian patent that enables it to convert the legacy machines into smart vending machines.
Apart from retrofitting, Vendekin also makes its factory-integrated machines that can vend a wide range of goods from snacks and groceries to hygiene products.
Khatter says the FMCG company, the vending machine operating company or micro-entrepreneur as well as the consumer stand to benefit from this disruptive technology.
The touchless technology offers the consumer a safe way to make her purchases, ensure lower operating costs and higher margins for the vending machine operator, and an opportunity for FMCG brands to streamline the supply chain as per consumption pattern and gather rich consumer insights.
According to Khatter, the vendekin intelligent solutions platform coupled with the cashless payment app delivers value to the vending channel which now becomes more data-driven and efficient.
“Another benefit is real-time data analytics to help brand outreach and cost optimization. The mobile-first approach for supply chain optimization increases business visibility and advanced consumer insights as it introduces a new channel of sales to enhance FMCG growth by offering just-in-time inconvenience,” he adds.
As the pandemic shows so signs of abating and most office complexes remain closed, machine vending operating companies are exploring new alternatives, from malls to housing societies to place these self-service unmanned touchless contactless retail options.
As Khateer says:”The advent of the digital era has made the cash and card vending machines of yesteryear obsolete. The era of smart,digital vending machines is here”.
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