Apriva And MEI To Host Town Hall Meeting At Southeastern Vending Association Conference Aug. 4, 2011 In Destin, Fla.

Apriva, a provider of end-to-end wireless transactions and secure information solutions, and MEI, the leading global manufacturer of unattended payment systems, announced that they will jointly host a town hall meeting on the economic advantages of deploying bill recycling technology, intelligent vending solutions, and cashless payments solutions at the Southeastern Vending Association (SEVA) Conference, at the Sandestin Resort in Destin, Fla. The town hall is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 4th at 1:30 p.m. in the Magnolia D room at the Baytowne Conference Center. The event is open to all vending operators attending SEVA, and is free of charge.

Following 2010’s town hall event at SEVA, this year’s session focuses on the variety of solutions that vending operators can successfully leverage in order to grow revenue, reduce costs and increase profitability. Among the topics to be covered are bill recycling benefits and site recommendations, intelligent vending and advanced telemetry solutions, vend pricing strategies, location, demographics and other factors for successful bill recycling and cashless vending, and an overview of Interchange policies and processes.

“With our Apriva Vend™ offering, we’ve worked with vending operators throughout the country who are now enjoying the tangible business benefits associated with cashless technology,” noted Stacey Finley Tappin, vice president for Apriva in a prepared statement. “We would like to use this town hall session as a vehicle to share our collective experiences and demonstrate how operators can use cashless technologies to address their most urgent needs, like breaking out of a commoditized sales cycle, reducing OPEX, and most importantly, improving profit margins.”

An end-to-end solution, Apriva Vend gives operators the ability to cost-effectively integrate cashless vending into their operations to improve customer satisfaction, increase operational efficiency, and capture better sales and profit margins. Apriva Vend’s comprehensive services incorporate system hardware and software, wireless connectivity, transaction and alarm reporting capabilities, and integration with leading payment processors and financial institutions.

“Bill recycling and cashless payment solutions are proven tools for driving same location sales lifts. Many of the operators we speak with already have a good understanding of the mechanics of bill recycling or cashless technology, and are currently evaluating the practicality of deploying these solutions within their own businesses,” said Chuck Reed, MEI’s marketing director. “This Town Hall event gives us an extraordinary opportunity to share best practices, and reinforce the numerous benefits that bill recycling and cashless technology delivers to operators across the board.” ion in?ai?8??ald’s will expand new in-restaurant, website and mobile communications, and marketing vehicles making access to this information even easier. To begin, McDonald’s is now making available its first mobile app so customers can access nutrition information on-the-go on iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Android devices.
During the past two years, the McDonald’s system has significantly invested in nutritional menu innovations and communications. Examples include investing in scientific and customer research, expanded agricultural supply chain contracts, an expanded team of nutrition experts, and updating nutrition information on McDonald’s website.
“As a member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, I applaud the commitments made by McDonald's today,” said Roger Clemens, University of Southern California, adjunct professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences. “They have captured the intent of the Guidelines and have taken a reasoned, evidence-based approach that should have a positive impact on the millions of children and adults McDonald’s serves every day.”
“I welcome and support today’s announcement by McDonald’s. These types of incremental improvements in popular meals can have a broad impact on public health,” said Adam Drewnowski, PhD, director, University of Washington Center for Obesity Research. “Better to improve the diets of many than to seek perfection for the few.”
Actions in support of the nutrition commitments are already underway at restaurants.