Vendon provides an overview of the global IoT, telemetry, and payment solutions it offers the hospitality industry, and how it supports premium coffee and machine operators.
Latvia-based multi-service tool provider Vendon is determined to make the daily operations of coffee businesses easier with useful tools and solutions, provided by reliable telemetry data.
“In today’s competitive coffee market, staying ahead requires more than guesswork. Our goal is to provide advanced telemetry solutions and revolutionise the coffee-making process, empowering operators to create the perfect drink recipe of the best quality,” says Vendon CEO Kristians Vebers.
“With detailed reports and real-time data at their fingertips, users can make informed decisions, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive business growth.”
These objectives can be achieved through Vendon’s latest addition to its telemetry solutions, preventative maintenance. Vebers says this has been a long-awaited feature for the hotel, restaurant, and café (HoReCa) segment.
“Our team has developed this new solution with office and co-working space (OCS) operator’s most crucial need in mind – to have an easy and automated tool for coffee machine upkeep,” Vebers says.
“The new preventative maintenance solution takes care of all maintenance work monitoring and ensures automatic management of upcoming, planned, and completed repairs or upkeep of the coffee machines.”
Telemetry data is first collected from coffee machines and then integrated into the Vendon Cloud interface. This allows the user to schedule maintenance, either after a certain number of dispensed products, a particular time period, a certain level of water consumption, or a set amount of ingredient consumption.
“We have taken [this solution] a step further, as our tool not only monitors the machine’s maintenance but also forecasts the date of planned upkeep based on the chosen criteria. For example, upon choosing to carry out machine maintenance after a certain number of dispensed cups, the tool will automatically forecast the date when it will be due,” says Vebers.
He says without Vendon, the way water filters are maintained and replaced is based solely on how many days have passed since the installation date.
“This leaves room for error, as companies may change their filters too early or too late. With Vendon’s solution you can precisely know when to change the filter down to the last cup,” Vebers says.
“It is a helpful feature for OCS operators for planning machine upkeep works and maintaining the necessary stock of spare parts, avoiding unnecessary supply and therefore improving cash flow.”
Vebers says the key to increased revenue is that well-maintained equipment can sell products and operates more efficiently, consuming less energy and resources.
“With a centralised tool for scheduling and tracking maintenance works, the planning and allocating of resources is effortless while the operator stays informed about ongoing tasks and keeps accurate records of maintenance activities. It already saves money on costly repairs and minimises lost sales as there are no more unexpected breakdowns,” he says.
“By implementing proactive preventative maintenance, this ensures the coffee machines run flawlessly, establishing a positive reputation for the business.”
Vebers adds that proper calibration of machine parts, routine cleanliness, and sanitation also help maintain consistent coffee profiles for customers.
“They will acquire a fresh and tasty product, made in a hygienic environment, thus building loyalty to the product and increasing satisfaction. This also results in increased revenue thanks to clients who return for a delicious drink, and attracts new customers more easily,” he says.
Vendon’s Downtime Report is an additional monitoring and reporting tool that operators can use to quickly identify machines that require attention due to technical issues. Through this report, they can also receive a timely alert for a technical maintenance visit when sensors deviate from standard parameters.
“Without telemetry data, operators have next to no information about the machine’s technical status, until the next on-site visit or when getting a call from an unsatisfied customer. Plus, technicians have to bring a lot of unnecessary tools when visiting machines for repair, as they can’t know the exact problem beforehand,” Vebers says.
“Instead of receiving a call from the client, this feature allows operators to take proactive action in any problematic situation and resolve it immediately. Timely alerts about technical issues are delivered by email or the Vendon mobile app, which lets operators react quickly and more efficiently. Sometimes the problem can even be resolved remotely without visiting the machine, saving extra labour costs.”
Vebers says customers can even access reports that display lost sales due to downtime.
“Users must pay attention to issues that render the machine unable to perform and take action. Always keeping the machines in working condition can help increase sales and maximise revenue,” he says.
Vendon also provides an employee loyalty platform and mobile payment app called QuickPik. With the app, Vebers says it is easy to create an adjustable bonus system for employees or customers, increasing their satisfaction by rewarding them with special discounts or free items.
“QuickPik can also be used to track how many products have been dispensed to each employee, helping to keep track of invoicing in workplaces where products are subsidised by the employer,” he says.
“One of our customers even identified trends of what their employees like to consume and when, allowing them to tailor their offering based on employee preferences. Another customer used this data to move the designated lunch break to a later time, as they learned that a lot of sandwiches were bought after 12pm as people preferred to eat later.”
When using QuickPik, Vebers says operators have ample options to offer adjusted benefits for diverse business models, adapting to particular needs and sales strategies.
“The dynamics of consumer behaviour are ever-changing, and coffee businesses must continue to monitor what’s appealing to customers to become a solid part of their daily routine. This can be achieved with rewards and bonuses in exchange for customer loyalty. QuickPik has almost limitless options to customise the discount or bonus system to a particular business,” says Vebers.
“Discounts or free products can be conveniently applied in closed-loop spaces where drinks are consumed daily by a particular group of people, be it office staff or visitors. It is possible to allocate basic products like black coffee or espresso for free, while still charging the full price for more expensive drinks with milk or syrups. This provides rewards to particular consumer groups, while still earning a profit on more expensive products.”
Vendon continues to work on improving existing telemetry products and solutions to add more features and functionalities that assist vending and coffee operators on a daily basis.
“At the moment, we are working on two-way communication with machines, as well as media file sending to provide an even larger range of options to operators,” Vebers says.
“We are constantly looking for options to add new features to our existing product range. We are also working on a traditional telemetry solution and are quite eager to release a new data visualisation feature in September this year.”
Vebers says the Vendon team highly evaluates feedback from customers when considering new upgrades to the existing solutions to make them as useful and convenient as possible.
“We are always finding ways to improve payment technology to provide the most convenient user experience, as well as top-level security,” he says.
For more information, visit vendon.net
This article was first published in the September/October 2023 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more HERE.
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