This author wonders how your company will fair when your industry changes course.
Today’s post is by Lauren Gentry; Account Manager at SafeSourcing.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Restocking the Old Vending Machine with Live Bait and Prescription Pills,” the vending machine industry has taken a complete turn. “Traditional vending machines disappeared from 134,000 locations between 2007 and 2010.” Not to mention that “sales from vending machines sank more than 11%, to $42.2 billion in the same period.”
The vending machine industry has to either find a change in product or customer in order to continue to be profitable at all. A change in product is exactly what has happened. Vending machines are now found with things such as live bait, over the counter medications, rental videos, and high tech gadgets. “Machines, like Coinstar Inc.’s Redboxes, are smart enough to rent DVDs. At airports, vending machines with headphones and electronics are now common.” The industry has made an obvious change in product sold in order to stay relevant. There are several indicators as to why the industry has shifted; fuel and food costs increasing are the leading indicators.
So, how do these companies source the content for these more current versions of a historical format? Not much has really changed there. Or, maybe it has and you should take a look at SaaS based cloud offerings that also do similar things in very different ways.
With changes and innovation taking place in a commodity industry such as vending machines, how will your company adjust to a shift in your industry? And will there be a difference in how you control your costs?
For more information on SafeSourcing and how we can assist you while transitioning your company to new delivery models and its related cost centers, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative for more information.
We look forward to and appreciate your comments.
