An operator that concentrates heavily on car dealerships or another single industry can be vulnerable when conditions change. Arwin pointed to COVID as an example of how quickly that can happen.

For operators building a route, the question isn’t only whether the next account is a good one. It is also what that account adds to the overall customer mix, he said.

3. Invest in good data

Gator Refresh was testing mobile payment technology as early as 2012. Today, Arwin considers cashless payments and vending management software basic tools for running a competitive operation.

“In order to be competitive — in order to be quick and efficient — you have to have technology. You have to have a vending management software program,” he said. “Now, you have to have a credit card reader, and then you have to have the further technology of vending management software, to be able to track everything and keep track of it to be competitive.”

Gator Refresh’s own numbers illustrate the shift. Arwin said about 94% of its sales are now credit card transactions, compared with about 6% cash.

There are exceptions. Arwin cited locations where customers are paid in cash and may not be able to use credit cards.

The point is to know the account, Arwin said. Look at the payment data rather than assuming cash is necessary — or that it isn’t.

4. See if one AI cooler can do the work of two machines

Gator Refresh has installed about 30 AI coolers in six months, and Arwin sees more than novelty in the format.

“It allows you to offer a combination of things in one unit: cold food, regular snacks, drinks,” he said.

Arwin offered the example of a location that wants a full selection of beverages but only four or five snack choices. Instead of installing separate drink and snack machines, an AI cooler allows him to stock the drinks, snacks and some fresh food in a single unit.

Arwin also suggests comparing actual equipment costs.

“If an operator looks at the actual cost of a vending machine these days versus an AI cooler, to be honest, the actual AI cooler is less than the vending machine,” he said.

Gator Refresh doesn’t automatically replace vending with AI coolers. Sometimes it removes both vending machines. Sometimes it keeps one. At other locations, it keeps both and adds the cooler.

“Everyone that we’ve even approached about [smart coolers] is excited about it, sees the potential, sees the fact that they can have all these different products in one piece of equipment, and have things that they’ve never had before,”  he said.

5. Don’t pay for features an account doesn’t need

Gator Refresh uses AI coolers from both Micromart and Haha Vending, and Arwin sees a place for each.

He describes Micromart as the more premium option, citing its screen, digital price tags and other features. Haha coolers have fewer bells and whistles but integrate with the Seed Cantaloupe system Gator Refresh uses.

“You know, it depends on where you’re putting it,” Arwin said.

For a high-end car dealership, he said, Micromart might be the better fit. “But for most locations, either one would work.”

That gives operators a fairly simple test for new technology: What does this particular account need, and which features will it actually use?

6. Highlight the advantages of working with an independent operator as part of the offer

Asked what advantage an independent operator has against larger regional and national competitors, Arwin didn’t hesitate.

“Oh, the list is endless,” he said.

Independents can make decisions while talking with a customer rather than waiting for corporate approval, Arwin noted, or change an agreement on the fly, or the product mix.

“We can make decisions on the spot. So, we’ve got quicker decision-making, better, faster customer service and more product choices. If someone says, ‘Hey, I got to have this product,’ we can just go out and get that product,” Arwin said.

Speed is another advantage. If a customer needs vending machines in two days, Arwin said Gator Refresh can rearrange its schedule and make it happen.

“We’ve got faster turnaround times,” he said.

For independent operators, those capabilities are worth putting in front of prospects: quicker decisions, product flexibility and the ability to respond when an account needs something now.