How route optimisation drives our efficient vending machine service.
You’ll struggle to engage with the news now without coming across global warming, climate change, and the like. We can all play our part in creating a better planet for future generations and, yes, that includes our own business.
Efficiency drives our vending machine and refreshment service here at Coinadrink. Not only does this enhance the customer experience, but it also reduces our carbon footprint.
And our route optimisation, used by all field-based employees who attend customer sites, is a key aspect.
What is route optimisation?
Route optimisation ensures that our field-based employees drive the most efficient route possible to their destination.
For Coinadrink, this includes our team of operators who maintain and replenish our vending machines, and our team of engineers who attend service calls.
Route optimisation serves the same purpose for any business or individual – that is to cut costs, reduce their carbon footprint, and streamline customer service efforts.
How we use route optimisation in our own business.
Like most of our technologies here, our route optimisation is a bespoke initiative that was created and continually modified in-house. It means we can make constant improvements without the delay that may be caused were we to use an off-the-shelf system. This benefits both Coinadrink and the customer.
Primarily utilised by our logistics department, in conjunction with our service and operations departments, route optimisation means we are combining customer visits in as few routes as possible.
When you are just starting your customer journey with us, your location will be inputted into our system along with important information such as the number of vending machines you have on site, initial anticipated usage and then the actual usage.
We do this because it helps us understand how many times we need to visit your site to maintain and refill your machines; a pro-active and dynamic approach as opposed to a structured one.
A clean and well stocked vending machine is one of our promises, so the most important thing ahead of anything else is making sure we fulfil this promise with a service tailored to your usage.
When we have a required level of understanding, our route optimisation determines a route our team should follow. This will be flexible, but its main purpose is to provide a clear route that balances speed and efficiency.
And it works, too! The original introduction of intelligent route planning cut our routes by 25% whilst also improving the customer experience.
Combined with our smart replenishment process that is led by AI, in addition to improved vending machine capacities and innovations, we have since been able to cut routes by a further 15-20%.

A Coinadrink vehicle driving off as part of our operated vending machine and refreshment service in and around the West Midlands.
The foundation of a sustainable approach.
Route planning, in conjunction with the aforementioned replenishment process, lays the foundation for a sustainable vending machine service that cares for the environment.
It allows other initiatives to flourish. For example, telemetric insights fed back to us from our vending machines in real time help us analyse which products are proving popular and, more importantly, what needs replenishing.
Not only does this provide a tailored service that meets the clients’ needs, but it also means we don’t carry items on company vehicles that aren’t required on a particular route or visit.
Of course, less weight means greater fuel efficiency, which is something else we consider when cherry picking the vehicles our field-based employees use to drive our service from the front line.

One of our route operators making sure her vehicle is well-stocked with the correct products to go into vending machines.
A vending and refreshment service that nails what matters to you.
Customer service drives everything we do here at Coinadrink Limited, which is why we’ve led the way for over six decades since day one in 1962.
We also know that as the respected vending and refreshment operator that we are, it is our duty to promote sustainability through our day-to-day operations. Bespoke technologies such as our route planning and replenishment procedures help combine both these values that we consider hugely important.
If your organisation prefers to work with businesses whose environmental initiatives are parallel to your own, give Coinadrink a call about how our vending and refreshment service can work for your requirements. Or contact us, here!
01922 640777
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