MTA (New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority) recently announced that they would hike fares by .25 cents because vending machines can only dispense dollar coins and quarters. This has Big Apple straphangers up in arms (no pun intended) saying it is not acceptable to say the vending machines made us do it. Following closely behind this news, is an admission by MTA that a software glitch has allowed vending machines to dispense free train tickets in the amount of $800,000.00.This example suggests to me that outsourcing opportunities for the unattended sale of non-food and beverage products may exist. Many hi-tech savvy, full line vending companies could do better than MTA in managing the process of unattended sales of train tickets. Sources of new revenue from the vended sale of food, snacks and beverages are vanishing and will continue to do so. It is time to get serious about searching for new revenue sources. Take a look around your market place and note any unattended sale of any product and service. It might be worthwhile to approach government agencies or private locations with a respectful proposal outlining the strong advantages of your experience in the management of unattended sales. An absolute prerequisite for soliciting this channel will be the need to meticulously study state-of-the-art software systems and machines used in the sale of non-food and beverage items. It will require plenty of hard work and lots of new learning; is it worth the effort? I am not sure, but it certainly beats the alternative.
Cantaloupe
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University of Arkansas
Recycle Track Systems (RTS)
