National Automatic Merchandising Association Honors 21 Innovation Award Winners

The National Automatic Merchandising Association recently released a complete list of all 21 i-Spot Award winners. Some were honored during a special presentation at the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) OneShow^SM. VendingMarketWatch reported on the presentation shortly after the OneShow in April. The awards, presented by lead judge Paul Schlossberg, were based the following categories: features, benefits, creativity, image, productivity and profitability.

The 21 i-Spot Gold winners include: 

• VendScreen, the day’s biggest winner, with five Gold i-Spot awards:
• For Realize, a user interface turns an “ordinary” machine into a smart vending machine.  All operations are handled through an interface with touch-and-swipe controls already in use on mobile devices.
• For Redeem, a mobile wallet app for payments, enabling users to browse and use coupons as part of the payment. The system is powered by Apriva and works with any smart phone and any credit card. With Redeem consumers can pay, use coupons, view information, and get a receipt in the app. This resolves concerns for cashless vending transactions.
• For React, an iPhone and Android mobile app, helping operators and service techs track and view service calls in real-time and then map out travel to the next call. Through the app machine service techs are able to access manuals and send a refund code directly to a customer’s cell phone.
• For Realm, a real-time graphical dashboard, delivering key performance indicators on a PC or iPad. Designed by a leading operator, Realm includes important measures and formats and provides actionable information for decisions about daily operations.  
• For Revolution, a retrofit Android-based device with a touchscreen that can be installed into almost any existing vending machine in the field operating on a standard MDB interface. The four key features include cashless acceptance, a complete nutrition facts panel, data to track usage and advertising and promotions.

Other winners recognized at the show (listed in alphabetical order) include: