State-of-the-art automatic vending technologies are declined in customized products and appliances for the various requirements of manufacturers and customers, with modular, smart and highly versatile solutions.
From the service of dispensing and sale of products to a broader interaction with both suppliers and final customers. Due to innovative technological equipment and components rooted into digitalization, the world of Vending technologies evolves according to the market’s requirements, with the production of flexible, modular and customized appliances for different product typologies, with a user-friendly approach.
For fresh products and not only
An automatic collection point, in operation 24 hours a day, suitable for goods and containers, of even medium-big sizes. From agricultural products to the veterinary sector. This is the profile of the Locker Multibox by Mistral Service, the automatic smart, modular and versatile vending machine that addresses corporate realities to satisfy customers’ and employees’ requirements. Devised for the creation of Corner Points or shops with availability of 24-hour in-store and window-line collection of goods, depending on the product merchandise, they can be refrigerated or at environmental temperature, Locker Multiboxes are made with a structure of stainless steel painted with epoxy powders and they have a modular structure with cells of various sizes that can be adapted to products’ sizes. The different combinations start from the Master module where payment systems are placed; they are joined by Slave modules for the product dispensing.
«The use fields of Locker Multiboxes are among the most disparate – Renato Ghislandi, founder and owner of Mistral Service, underlines –. The need was born from the agricultural farms that were looking for a solution to sell their fresh products such as fresh eggs, fruits and vegetables in boxes, extra-virgin olive oil and wine, with a continuative service for customers. The product, anyway, raises the interest of the sector of coffee pods and capsules, the supplies of products for the veterinary sector and pet shops, pharmacies, stores of cosmetics, electromedical, flowers, pellet and hardware, individual protection devices such as gloves, glass, bonnets and clothes. Up to products like sushi and poke».
Once issued the order through digital channels, buyers can collect the product by using a pin code or a QR code, using a touchscreen that supplies all useful information about selected products and payment modalities. The core is the management and control software, which enables manager and shopkeeper to know at any time what products have been sold and with what takings. Moreover, it allows generating sale statistics that improve the production performances and the warehouse management according to the real needs expressed by the demand.
«Technologically, the Locker Multibox expresses a fully different concept versus the traditional spiral operation of Vending machines. Lockers can deliver products with much bigger sizes, even particularly fragile, without making the package fall. After the payment, the compartment opens and allows the access to the product for the withdrawal. The strong customization of our products provides that, according to users’ requirements, also a lift can be installed in the Locker for the handling of products».
The configuration of the Locker Multibox, based on modules, small cells and boxes, depends on the packaging of the products to be delivered and on the space where the machine will be positioned. Customization is one of the primary elements for the finished product implementation. «We are a craft reality and we can custom-made a product according to the customer’s specific requirements. As we are doing for a farm that, in Mantua, will install the Locker Multiboxes on board of a van for the itinerant sale of eggs».
Smart canteen
The innovation in the sector of Vending technologies paves the way to the concept of automated canteen for enterprises, universities and schools, able to serve ready dishes at different hours by exploiting the potentialities offered by digitalization.
Food24 System by Fas is the automatic vending machine of ready meals that can be booked through app by whatever device that interacts with the various payment channels. The booking display allows reserving the meal and knowing the nutritional characteristics, calories and allergens contained.
Meals, prepared with Cook&Chill process, are chill-blasted and sealed in protected environment and loaded inside the automatic distributor, up to 64 meals. The user-friendliness and the intuitive use address both operators and final customers: during the loading phase by the operator, the system will provide for opening the compartments, indicating on the display the specific product to be inserted. End users will just have to present the Qr Code generated by the Web App, to collect the order and to regenerate it, warming it in the microwave oven. «Food24 System is based on an automatic dispenser with revolving trays equipped with automatic doors, with software and connection to a dedicated web app through which users can book the meal for the following day – explains a Gianmarco Rossato, Marketing & Communication Manager of Fas –. The order is sent to the cooking centre, which is our affiliate partner, which processes it and the following morning loads the required dishes on the machine. The reservation is the real innovative leap forward that we have taken, because it allows obtaining an efficacious management of both food quantities, decreasing wastes, since precisely what is ordered is consumed, and of the processing hygiene inside the cold chain». The internal temperature of the cabinet is 3°; the efficiency of the refrigerating system is the second aspect attentively assessed. «The refrigerating unit operates at CO2, gas with low impact. The inverter board adjusts its power by reducing energy consumptions when the internal temperature of the machine has reached the operation temperature».
Connectivity is the cornerstone of Food24 System performances. «In its interior, the machine has a real minicomputer that can process all orders loaded and efficaciously interact with all typologies of users through the different channels and profiles». Machines are connected to the Internet net through Wi-Fi net or net cable. With remote control through cloud «it is possible to control in real time the situation of all appliances and their operation, as well as to intervene in case of problems or maintenance requirements».
Conceived for the collective catering, Food24 System appears as a versatile retail-oriented tool.
In the case of a butcher’s shop where the system is already used, «with the automatic vending machine in front of the street, users walk and look through a tablet what is available inside the machine and eventually they can buy the wished product, or issue an order directly via app, booking a product comfortably from home or office, then collecting their order when possible. In this way, fresh products are always available even when the shop is closed».
Smart dispensing for water
The dispensing of drinking water in public environments – such as gyms, hospitals, executive offices and stores opened 24 hours a day – finds in the technological innovation the key to improve the Vending service performance, from the operational payment management to the improvement of use performances. This is the way undertaken by Zerica, manufacturing company specialized in the production of refrigerating systems for the dispensing of water and of drinks and it markets refrigerators, dispensers and vendors of cold and sparkling water. «We had the possibility of supplying a safe, sustainable and practical water dispensing, mainly addressing the Vending market – Antonio Zerilli, Managing Director of Zerica, explains –. Given the need of a reliable payment system and considering that coin machines and other methods are expensive, the integration of a payment system into the appliance proved to be essential. Therefore, the only solution for this sector was the bottle system but this technology requires high maintenance and cannot be on par in terms of quality versus water mains systems. Therefore, with Futura Tap2Drink appliance, we are presenting a system that allows entering this sector in practical and functional way». The smart approach makes the difference and is summarized in the functions of Tap2Drink system, the technology that allows dispensing water through the interaction with bracelets, key rings, water bottles and cards. «Tap2Drink exploits NFC sensors, it is system fully in-house developed by our company and it permits to manage the product practically and quickly, without too many complications». This system enables the programming of machines according to three scenarios: VIP (reserved to a strict range of users), Loyal (it fidelizes users by recharging the “virtual purse”) and Vending (based on standard payment systems), to satisfy the requirements of different customer categories. Innovation is at the base of Zerica’s mission, summarized – Zerilli underlines – in the corporate payoff “Thirsty for innovations”. «We introduced the IoT system about eight years ago, when it was not known, yet, and currently our range of dispensers makes use of touchscreens interconnected with the dedicated Auxilia website, in-house developed by Zerica. Hand in hand with this course, we try offering the same uniqueness and quality features also to the public more acquainted to the use of smart technologies: behind a simple pushbutton, we succeed in hiding some more technology that allows us to astonish always our users».
Intuitive for self-service
Professional by performances, but accessible and intuitive also for the self-service use. Egro MoDe super-automatic coffee machine has compact sizes and it is intended for places with average consumptions for the preparation of coffee-, fresh milk- and soluble products-based drinks. MoDe is available in 3 versions – Pure Coffee, Quick Milk, Pro Milk – with two different milk systems, external refrigerators, add-on, payment systems and optional. All MoDe versions can be configured with 1 or 2 coffee grinders and 1 or 2 integrated hoppers for soluble products containing 2 litres each.
«The touchscreen with HD 7” screen is developed to simplify the operator’s work and to favour the interaction with customers in self-service modality – states Simona Sordelli, Marketing & Communication manager of Rancilio Group –. It is easy to choose the drink to be dispensed and few gestures are sufficient to surf in setup menus. Through the Multi-Drink function, with Egro MoDe it is possible to save reference recipes for coffee, milk and soluble products, and use them as a base to create simply endless drinks and make them always available in different formats».
Egro MoDe is equipped with stainless steel dispensing unit, with 18- or 22-grams (optional) dispensing chambers and stainless steel 64-mm grinders, and it is equipped with independent heaters to manage the coffee preparation and the steam delivery separately.
In addition to the Pure Coffee version, designed for the preparation of coffee– and soluble products-based drinks, Egro MoDe is available also in the Quick Milk and Pro Milk versions, ideal for the automatic preparation of fresh milk-based drinks, too. The Quick Milk version is the right choice for those who must not manage an intense workflow (up to 150 cups a day) and intend to offer a menu with the great coffeeshop classics to their customers. The Quick Milk system can be equipped with MK4 refrigerator (4.5 litres) or FUM refrigerator (4 litres). The Pro Milk version is instead suggested for places with average consumptions (up to 180 cups a day) that wish to offer a more variegated coffeeshop menu. Pro Milk gives the possibility of varying the milk temperature by adjusting the pressure of the touchscreen pump, customizing the whipping levels and the cream consistency for each drink. The Pro Milk system can operate with the MK4 (4.5 litre) refrigerator or with the MK6 refrigerator (6 litres). The attention to components is essential to integrate drinks’ quality and appliance’s efficiency. «Egro MoDe inaugurates a new era concerning serviceability. All internal components of MoDe are organized in modules according to their function and they can be easily reached and disassembled to facilitate ordinary maintenance operations and to speed up technical service interventions».
