NEW FEATURE LAUNCHES IN SMARTVEND

Vianet has been continually evolving SmartVend as part of an ongoing commitment to our customers to deliver against the present and, more importantly, future requirements of their customers and prospects. New features were released earlier in 2022, including cash management, asset management and a ticket-based alert system. The latest releases will also offer customers the tools to be proactive, and effectively manage their estates.

Rob Thompson, SmartVend’s Product Owner, said

“While the focus on continuous improvement is central to every decision made at Vianet, the benefit of working this way has been best demonstrated in the changes we have made to how we develop our products. Whether that be in the people we’ve added to the team or the changes we’ve made to processes, we’re able to successfully deliver as a result and we know that what’s coming will have a positive impact on the way our customers run their businesses.”

The new launches in SmartVend include…

SERVICE DASHBOARD – ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR BUSINESS

SmartVend will feature a brand-new service dashboard, giving vending operators a live view of site/estate performance, helping to ensure service levels are maintained, machine downtime is minimised, and customers receive the best possible service. The dashboard has been designed to accommodate bespoke configuration that reflect your business priorities.

Customisable widgets provide actionable insight into the issues that matter the most to you and your customers – from parts requiring restock or visits requiring parts, to open service visits and machine performance.

From machine profitability to operator performance, data driven analysis on key metrics highlights key opportunities for the user to drive operational efficiencies and maximise revenue.

IN-FIELD COMMUNICATION – BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN OFFICE & FIELD

SmartVend will feature a ‘prompt management’ tool, enhancing direct communication between your office and field-based workforces via the SmartVend app. Prompts can be set up against machines, sites and/or operators and are triggered by time/date or an event, for example, a weekly vehicle checklist, or a reminder regarding a ‘no nut’ policy upon arrival at a specific site.

This fully customisable feature allows users to add both mandatory and non-mandatory actions, notes, alerts, reminders, requests for information (for example start or end mileage) and/or checklists for operators to complete during their routes. This new feature will include a customisable report providing users with a clear record of what has been sent or requested, when it was received and how the operator responded.

SCHEDULED ROUTES – ENABLING PRO-ACTIVE PLANNING SAVING VALUABLE TIME

Scheduled Routes will offer SmartVend users the ability to schedule re-occurring visits/routes based on time, stock levels or customer-specific thresholds. Users will also have the ability to re-assign routes from one operator to another in just three clicks!

Enhanced functionality allows users to add photos and notes to service visits, alongside parts used and/or replaced, contributing to an accurate record of both the action taken by the operator and the cost of resolving the issue. Users can also monitor progress against schedules to maximise operator up time and minimise the impact of unplanned visits, allowing users to act quickly when issues arise.

WHAT DO THESE LAUNCHES MEAN FOR SMARTVEND CUSTOMERS?

The new launches will offer customers a more extensive toolkit to manage their estate. The enhancements have been designed to give SmartVend users more flexibility, greater efficiency, and the essential tools they need to maximise the profitability and efficiency of their business.

Matt Thornton, Vianet’s Client Director said

“Our customers have communicated their needs and requirements with us, and our technology and product teams have worked hard to deliver effective solutions that not only combat the day to day needs of these operators but arm them with essential tools to drive their business forward into the future of vending.”

TRANSFORM YOUR VENDING ESTATE FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Vianet is committed to delivering products that not only support their customers with their day-to-day business needs, but also in enabling the reduction of their carbon footprint, and the overall efficiency of their businesses. SmartVend helps to facilitate this through highlighting areas of avoidable carbon consumption and opportunities to reduce costs such as mileage between visits, van size and stock carried.

While SmartVend’s Stock Management tool is predominantly used to ensure machines are well stocked and sales opportunities are maximised, it also offers insight that can help our customers reduce waste.

As well as this, utilising product sales insight to optimise planograms ensures machines are stocked with the right products at the right time, changing an operational tool into a way to maximise product shelf life and minimise waste. Something as simple as moving products with a shorter shelf life to the optimal spirals in a machine can significantly improve turnaround and reduce expiry date driven waste – a win for both revenue and the planet.

The journey from warehouse to machine highlights further opportunities to reduce carbon emissions. Factors such as speed, road quality, load weight and the distance/frequency of the journey are all ‘problem areas’ we can work to improve, when considering the impact of our carbon footprint. Utilising picklists to ensure operators only carry the stock they need – immediately reducing CO2 emissions – combined with ‘green’ route planning and live sales data, not only avoids unnecessary journeys, but also significantly reduces both fuel consumption and emissions.

WHAT’S NEXT?

As part of Vianet’s ongoing commitment to continuous and strategic improvement, we will shortly be sharing details of our new Finance Module and API suite – ensuring seamless integration with third party providers.

Mark Parry, Vianet’s Commercial Director said

“The future is looking promising for the industry with the support and flexibility they will get with SmartVend’s cloud-based vending management system and its continually evolving features. As we expand our reach across Europe and into new verticals of unattended retail, this technology and insight is paramount to any operator looking to drive profit growth and improve efficiencies within their business.”

Find out more about SmartVend here.

Vianet’s SmartVend data insight portal is the industry’s only cloud-based IoT (Internet of Things) end-to-end solution for the vending, coffee and unattended retail markets.

Built around an easy and intuitive dashboard, the insight portal is designed to accommodate bespoke configuration that reflects customer priorities.

SmartVend already includes a comprehensive reporting suite, product sales analysis, and actionable data insight, with real-time machine alarms and alerts and a newly developed service module offering invaluable operational capabilities.

With over 34,000 active contactless and telemetry devices across their unattended retail estate currently connected to the insight portal, there are over £3.8m sales processed and 4 million transactions reported remotely every month on SmartVend. This technology is also tested and compatible with 200+ vending machine models.

Vianet’s technology team have been continually developing SmartVend, evolving its software offerings within vending as part of an ongoing commitment to ensure they deliver against the present and – more importantly – future requirements of their customers and prospects.

In 2022, Phase 2 of the SmartVend development plan is currently underway, including several brand-new features offering customers a more extensive toolkit to manage their assets and machines.

This week, the team released phase 2.1 of the development including the following new features and enhancements…

Cash Management
Using the SmartVend App to scan cash bags at the point of collection reduces input errors and allows for easy cash reconciliation. SmartVend Cash Management compares data captured in the field/by the machine to that counted in the office, highlighting any discrepancies, and removing the possibility of revenue loss at every step.

Asset Management
SmartVend’s Asset Management solution provides real-time visibility of your assets; allowing you to monitor and track their location and status throughout their lifecycle; ensuring a streamlined process from order to shipping to installation and decommissioning.

Ticket Dashboard
The new Ticket Dashboard provides immediate insight into potential problems across your estate that – when paired with our fantastic Route Planning capabilities – allows users to limit any potential loss in revenue when things go wrong, while auto-closure rules avoid any unnecessary call outs when issues are resolved.

Looking forward in 2022, there will be further releases in SmartVend on the roadmap that are coming soon including a new service dashboard, enhanced route scheduling and a third party finance integration.

Vianet have been shortlisted as a finalist for this year’s Tees Tech Awards under three award categories – ‘Company of the Year’, ‘Digital Innovation’, and ‘Best Digital Project’. Vianet are the only company amongst the finalists that have been shortlisted for 3 awards.

The Tees Tech Awards is a Tees Business event in association with DigitalCity and Middlesbrough Digital, and the award ceremony itself is due to take place at Hardwick Hall Hotel on Thursday, April 28. The awards recognise and celebrate the organisations and individuals thriving within the Tees region’s fast-growing digital sector together with the local companies driving their business through digital transformation.

Nearly 90 entries and nominations came in for the awards across the 11 categories, with sponsors now announcing their choices for the final three for each award.

Vianet have seen a strong recovery coming out of the global pandemic as hospitality and pubs reopen, together with good growth in both new business and contactless payment solution sales in their unattended retail division. Innovative and ever-growing, Vianet have evolved and shown strong potential throughout their 27 years as a technology business on Teesside.

Company of the Year

Vianet’s aim is to be the recognised leader in delivering unparalleled insight and actionable information that is game-changing for customers in their chosen sectors. As well as this, Vianet pride themselves on being a people business, creating opportunities for growth and development for their employees as well as their customers.

With over 140 employees, Vianet has over 300 customers across their technology estate, including several global blue-chip clients such as Lavazza, Greene King, Compass Group, Atalian Servest, Coca-Cola, and many more. With more than 250,000 devices connected to Vianet’s platform, along with years of experience and knowledge, form a powerful technology and insight capability that few can match.

Digital Innovation

Vianet are an Internet of Things company whose software platforms and solutions specialise in delivering innovative data insight, remote asset management and contactless payment for the hospitality, vending machine, unattended retail, food service and fuel sectors. With products such as their SmartInsight reporting suite, and SmartVend insight portal, Vianet deliver unique and meaningful data to customers, including blue-chip companies, allowing them to make informed operational decisions to drive profits, increase sales and create efficiencies.

Best Digital Project

With the vending industry going through a period of change, Vianet’s SmartVend data insight platform, combined with its contactless payment and telemetry solutions, offers the industry’s only cloud-based IOT “end-to-end” solution for the vending, coffee and unattended retail markets.

Built around an easy, intuitive dashboard, SmartVend gives vending operators the ability to view their machine data anytime, anywhere.

The software is proving a big hit. For example, Compass Group – the world’s largest foodservice company – has identified a 45 per cent increase in average monthly sales as a result of installing contactless payment and being able to review its sales data remotely within the SmartVend portal.

Vianet would like to wish all their fellow finalists the best of luck at this year’s Tees Tech Awards.

Keep checking back for updates on our progress.

Go Vending are a vending machine supplier for the drinks and snacks sector based in Scotland.

(Go Vending’s vending machines in-situ with Vianet’s SmartContact installed)

Vianet’s contactless payment, telemetry, and data insight solution has driven both an increase in sales and a measurable reduction in cost for Go Vending. They continue to receive a positive experience and invaluable service as a Vianet customer.

Find out more by clicking the image below to read our strategic partnership with Go Vending in further detail.

If you’d like to find out more about how our products and services can transform your vending business performance, please check out our Vending Solutions.

JW Vending recognised that cashless and contactless are the future of payment and approached Vianet to provide them with a cost effective and reliable contactless solution to support them in making that transition. Vianet deliver a combination of contactless payment, telemetry and data insight solutions to JW Vending, along with expert support & guidance in order to grow their business. With high quality products and accessible technology, Vianet continues to prove invaluable to JW Vending as they continue their partnership.

Find out more by clicking the image below to read our case study in further detail.

Data insight is critical to providing our customers the opportunity to transform their business performance. Our SmartVend platform offers easy functionality, invaluable insight, and concise reporting to improve profitability and drive efficiency. Vianet has been working hard to grow their product offerings within vending as part of our ongoing commitment to ensure we deliver against the present and – more importantly – future requirements of our customers.

Our dedicated technology team has extensive industry expertise and, after recently completing the second phase of the SmartVend Roadmap, are currently working hard on the next exciting development of our journey. Vianet’s most recent releases have seen the introduction of an integrated solution for stock and warehouse management, and are proud to now introduce the SmartVend Mobile App.

MAXIMISING VENDING INSIGHTS AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES WITH THE BRAND NEW SMARTVEND MOBILE APP

The SmartVend Mobile App will provide SmartVend customers with enhanced functionality in the field and a more user-friendly experience. Working in conjunction with the SmartVend platform, the app is designed to allow operators and engineers to work as efficiently and accurately as possible ensuring accurate and up-to-date operational data at all times.

Vianet’s Lead Software Engineer, Richard Smith said:

“Our last production release in June saw us deliver a brand-new stock module to the platform, enabling our customers to more effectively manage their stock across their estate by being able to track an item from the warehouse all the way to the machine. Our next release is due this month and will see the delivery of the SmartVend Mobile App for android devices, further enhancing our ability to collect and analyse data for our vending customers. We are very excited to be launching this app whilst we continue to work on the next phase of delivery for the platform, which will be a new service module.”

HOW SMARTVEND MOBILE APP CAN HELP YOU TO OPTIMISE YOUR VENDING AND MACHINE OPERATIONS

The all-new app will ensure the best experience possible for the vending and unattended retail sectors. It provides customers with numerous improved efficiencies including but not limited to:

The ability to update stock, counter and cash levels.
Add photos to a visit.
Manage daily list of jobs; which sites to visit, which machines to restock etc.
Work offline when an internet connection is not available.
Complete stocktakes and stock transfers from the palm of their hands.

Keep your eyes peeled for further functionality and products as we move through 2021. Our customer experience team are ready and waiting to assist customers with any questions. They have comprehensive training videos for the app and the portal is available now on our SmartAcademy site.

If you would like to find out more about how our SmartVend platform can help drive your vending business forward, please contact our team today.

As we navigate our way through the remaining restrictions on hospitality and beyond, our Vianet team attended and exhibited at our first physical event in over 18 months. We are pleased to have caught up with Operators and Supply Members across Wednesday 7^th and Thursday 8^th July 2021. The NIVO’s Business Expo and Networking Golf Event was an important opportunity for us to discuss our products and services prepared this past year.

Established over 30 years ago, NIVO represents National Independent Vending Operators with over 250 operator members and over 90 supply members (NIVO Group, 2021). They provide support and networking opportunities in the vending industries, and acts as the organisers of these events held annually.

VIANET PREPARES FOR EXCITING PRODUCTS RELEASING OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS

During the first day’s expo and seminar, we had the opportunity to showcase our products on the stand with live demo devices and talk to both vending operators and clients. Recently, we revealed our SmartVend roadmap as the functionality expands into new Stock Management Module and SmartVend mobile app in the very near future. Alongside the display of SmartMetrics and our current contactless payment solution SmartContact, we have given a preview of the SmartContact Pro which is coming soon. The brand-new contactless payment reader will offer vending operators both style and functionality suitable for their business needs.

Cole Little, Business Development Manager pictured at Day 1 of NIVO’s Seminar Event.

Further details of our product roadmap were also covered in a 5-minute talk at the ‘Five Minutes of Fame’ seminar event. In addition to our own talks, there were plenty of other presentations and talks held by different businesses within the vending industry including the AVA, Coca Cola and Red Bull.

Our Marketing Manager, Rachel Little had this to say: “This is the first physical event we’ve been able to attend and my first expo with Vianet. It’s been fantastic to be out and finally getting to meet and socialise with some of our clients and contacts in the industry. It’s also been great being able to showcase some of the exciting things Vianet have been working hard on over the last 2 years.”

(RIGHT) James Dickson, Chairman and Mark Parry, Commercial Director pictured at Day 2 of NIVO’s Networking Golf Event.

In the Vianet stand, we also offered customers goodie bags featuring our product leaflets, new brochure and some golf balls for the event the following day.

(LEFT IMAGE) James Dickson, Cole Little, and Mark Parry by our Vianet stand.

In day 2, our Chairman James Dickson, alongside the Vianet team Mark Parry, Paul Land, Paul Sansome and Cole Little had taken some of our clients from the Wilkes Group and Simon Wilkes out on their 4-ball teams. There was perfect weather and opportunities to network with our Vianet team and some great people in the industry throughout the day.

Paul Sansome, Vianet’s Business Development Manager did their team proud by taking home prize for the longest drive at the golf event, hitting a 370 yard monster, landing on the green.

(RIGHT) Paul Sansome with Graham Kingaby – Managing Director at NIVO Group – collecting his prize for the longest drive.

If you’d like to find out more about how our products and services can transform your vending business performance, please contact Vianet through our enquiry form.

For business owners, Data Insight is the key to making positive progress and informed decisions. SmartVend grants you access to all the information you need to optimise your vending machines and increase your sales while managing all your costs.

With COVID-19 driving every business to up their game in order to overcome these tough times, it is more important than ever for companies to make use of all their resources in order to enhance their performance. One of the most important resources which need to be taken into consideration is Data Insight. With an unpredictable future, business owners need all the support they can get to make informed decisions and adapt to the new trends. By enabling you to perform all these tasks, Data Insight is a pivotal factor in minimising the potential damage COVID-19 could cause your company.

As a vending operator, one of the biggest challenges encountered is having the time and resource to monitor all your machines, from Sales trends and stock levels, to technical misfunctions. Vianet’s latest software release, SmartVend can offer you improved monitoring so you can promptly react to your machine performance, and quickly target technical problems, improving route planning, avoiding extra costs on unnecessary stock refills and saving time from making unrequired machine engineering visits.

Through its easy functionality and concise reporting, SmartVend offers you a greater insight into your machines’ data, offering you a better understanding of their performances and helping you in establishing the key areas which need improving and take immediate action in order to increase your profits and boost your machines’ efficiency. Moreover, it will enable you to adopt new payment systems, including contactless payment and NFC (Near Field Communication) together with interactive vending technologies.

How SmartVend can help you to optimise your vending and machine operations:

1. REVIEW AND REACT TO YOUR MACHINE’S PERFORMANCE

The Sales and Performance Insight reports provide you with actionable data indicating which machines are underperforming to help you identify machine trends and make well-informed decisions.

2. GAIN QUICK ACCESS TO DETAILED MACHINE INFORMATION

Machine Information gives you a quick and detailed insight into your machine’s data, revealing information in terms of open tickets, signal strength and sales data which can then be drilled down, filtered and exported from regions to individual machines. The overviews generated will highlight sales patterns to facilitate trends analyses.

3. SAVE TIME AND MONEY BY ONLY VISITING MACHINES THAT NEED YOUR ATTENTION

With the capacity to check your inventory for each machine, SmartVend’s Planning Map can generate a ‘pick-up’ list based on your stock levels saving you from making extra purchases and spending unrequired money.

4. PROACTIVELY TARGET ENGINEERING WORKS TO PREVENT ISSUES MOVING AWAY FROM REACTIVE SERVICE CALLS

SmartVend’s operational reports provide regular information on your machines’ performances aiding you in identifying and reacting to any technical issues that might appear. By being able to individually target those machines which need technical support, you will save time and prevent extra costs.

All of these features included in the SmartVend portal can raise your profitability levels and the operational efficiency of your machines and will bring you and your customers more satisfaction, offering you a better management of your costs and increase in your sales.

Vianet’s Head of Customer Experience, Joanne Vinton-Bullwinkel said “SmartVend is not just about bringing the best functionality of our existing platforms into one cloud-based solution, but more an opportunity to really listen to what our customers need.

We’re not recycling old ideas here, we’re building a future ready solution that will deliver not only business efficiencies for our operators, but invaluable insight into the way the industry works, allowing our customers to maximise on the many opportunities the next few years will bring.”

Any questions and issues you might encounter will be efficiently answered by our dedicated technical support helpdesk who has a reputation of promptly solving our customers technical problems.

The SmartVend portal has now gone live to our existing VendExpert customers. Customers will also gain access to our brand new Smart Academy Training Portal which will provide users with video training and guides on how to navigate SmartVend.