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GROWTH REQUIRES MORE SPACE
From the beginning, Shapiro has tried to run S&O Vending as professionally as he runs his restaurant. He started renting storage space for vending products less than a year after starting S&O, and has outgrown the space three times since 2004.
Shapiro and Krtiz currently rent a 1,000-square-foot warehouse with a large dock door for deliveries. They own three vehicles and employ three drivers, one of whom also repairs machines.
“My ideas possibly hurt me at the beginning (financially), but if we want to sell the company or grow larger, the proper business management systems are in place,” said Shapiro. He uses QuickBooks for payroll and accounting.
Running the business professionally includes treating the vending customer with integrity, said Kritz. Coming on board in 2007 from a retail electronics’ business, Kritz brought experience in managing routes and dealing with consumers.
Communication between management and the location is vitally important to running a professional business, so S&O makes sure price increases are communicated with care. First, the decision maker is contacted, and then a notice is put on the machines to inform consumers. “We’re not afraid to charge what we need to,” said Kritz, “and the customer deserves to know that.”
TECHNOLOGY BRINGS NEW BENEFITS
Shapiro and Kritz recently became interested in a remote monitoring system they saw at a trade show. They put 25 Cantaloupe Seed systems in their busiest machines. While it worked well for the route drivers, Shapiro and Krtiz soon realized having all the Cantaloupe systems on one route would be better than having them spread out.
“When we put it on one route, it told us how to run that route most efficiently. It changed how we do business completely,” said Shapiro. The system has already paid for itself through improved efficiency and operations.
