21st Century Vending Machines

In a recent interview, Mandeep Arora, the CEO of Cantaloupe Systems, explains his inspiration for starting a company that helps vending machine operators remotely monitor sales.

He was a teenager, riding along with a vending machine owner who was making his rounds to refill machines in various locations. At the first stop, Arora asked how long the slots had been empty, and the owner said he had no way of knowing. At the next stop, no slots were empty, and Arora asked, "Why are we here?" He knew that operators should have the ability to check machines before going to refill them. A decade or so later, he founded Cantaloupe Systems, which enables operators to use networked systems to check on item sales and plan refill routes accordingly.

21st century vending machines are turning up to solve B2B distribution problems, as well. For example, Facebook's IT wizards have installed a workplace vending machine to dispense small tech peripherals (keyboards, cords, etc.). Employees swipe their ID tags to pay for the items, and the proper department gets billed. No more time-consuming purchase orders, lost productivity, etc. Maybe it's unconventional, but it works!

Speaking of unconventional, a new machine in Minneapolis dispenses bicycle repair parts. Named the Bike Fixtation, the machine distributes tools, lights, and--of course--snacks.

In addition, in-store self-service kiosks are a growing trend adding to scrambled merchandising. Walmart is installing Ticketmaster kiosks in a number of stores, for example. This isn't a new development--free-standing kiosks selling diverse products were around before the dot-com boom/bust. These days, JCPenney and others are using kiosks to expand information about items that can be ordered in-store or online. What next for kiosks/vending machines?