Automatic Vending machine:

Vending machine: a revolution for food and beverage service department 

                    : Amaresh Jha   ajha.mithila@gmail.com

Vending machines are dispensing machine use to dispense varieties of items like snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, cologne, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine. But we are talking about the vending machine which is use for dispensing snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes or fruits.

Now days by the invention of various mechanical equipment(s) food and beverage service industry also adopted these machines automatic vending machines are one of them. In a fast growing age and quick and busy life it is very useful with so many advantages and disadvantages.

The first vending machine in the U.S. was built in 1888 by the Thomas Adams Gum Company, selling gum on New York City train platforms. The idea of adding games to these machines as a further incentive to buy came in 1897 when the Pulver Manufacturing Company added small figures, which would move around whenever somebody bought some gum from their machines.

The vending machine was introduced to hospitality industry just few years before most probably 2000-2010, but now days it is very popular and very frequently used.

There are four types of vending machines are used in hospitality industry, Merchandiser, Beverage vendor, In-cup system and Micro vend system.

Some advantages of this machines are: 24-hour service, Low cost, Cost control, economy of labour, Variety, Reduce Wastage etc. like each coin has two faces it also has some disadvantages like Less communication between customer and seller, customer resistance, Risk of falling machines,  coin fraud etc.

Japan has the highest number of vending machines per capita, with about one machine for every twenty-three people. These machines are not very common in India and are usually found only in major cities or along some national highways. In Australia, where gemstones are commonly mined, these machines selling gemstones have appeared. The machines, usually converted candy machines, sell gemstones. It can be found in many places in China. Many vending machines are also built in China. Hong Kong has one of the highest numbers of vending machines in the world. Vending machines there are known as automatic selling machine. Due to high labour cost and limited space, vending machines have been introduced to Hong Kong. Majorities of the vending machines are in the public, with some in the shopping centres and schools. The majority of vending machines in Hong Kong are stocked with drinks, snacks. Besides that, some vending machines are stocked with cases and accessories for mobile phones and cameras, umbrellas, cosmetics, and so forth.

The vending machines in Hong Kong allow the customer to pay by cash, credit cards and Octopus cards, a type of smart card. A common feature of snack bars in the Netherlands is known as the AUTOMATIEK or more commonly the AUTOMAAT and is similar to an automat. It consists of a wall lined with coin-operated machines. Each has a vertical row of little windows, with a (usually hot) snack behind each, e.g., a croquette, a frikandel or a hamburger. Usually the automatiek is part of a larger establishment and will sell a broader range of food and drinks not suitable for vending machines at a counter. The AUTOMATIEK is there to service customers that do not want to, or cannot, wait to be serviced by a person at the counter. However, some snack bar chains' business focus mainly on the automatiek.

The ‘brain’ in the vending machine is effectively a small computer that performs the role of registering the customer selection and instructing the relevant spiral to rotate. The software in this computer also often incorporates innovative additional functionality such as the ability to confirm a vend was successful by way of a laser sensor in the tray and energy saving modes to reduce electricity consumption in low use periods.