Factors That Influence Each Location’s Profits

To succeed in your Antares vending business, you must stay on top of numerous factors at the locations that spell the difference between profit and loss. Professional managers understand that both parties in a business relationship must receive a benefit, or the relationship will not survive. Although the principle sounds easy, it is difficult to design effective win-win relationships because by definition, business relationships are adversarial in nature.

Unfortunately, in service industries like vending, deals get struck that contemplate long term relationships. And over time, it is likely that the needs of one or both parties will change. Antares vending operators should understand that every location agreement, verbal or written, is or should be subject to renegotiation, at any time.

Consider what happens in a typical account

Consider the changes that could take place in the typical operator/location relationship over time. The cost of some snack or soft drink can go up unexpectedly, which means that the operator would need to increase prices. The location will then add a second shift and thus would require additional service hours or more equipment. The location would then cancel the existing second shift and unless changes are made in service hours, selling prices, commissions or equipment on location, the account is no longer profitable. A competitor then comes along and offers lower prices, higher commissions or additional services. This kind of thing happens quite often, so if the Antares operator wants to remain profitable, these problems must be identified and dealt with as they arise.

Many operators never solve the original problem. That is, building a realistic profit and return on investment into the terms of the original contract. In a haste to book the location and build the top line, the average Antares operator seems wiling to give away the store, with no thought at all given to the bottom line. A professional would understand that every location deserves a careful pro-forma analysis to determine the terms that can be offered in order to maintain the bottom line because location profits margins tend to deteriorate over time.