Cloud vending with Microsoft technologies

With its "Smart Vending" solution, SmartStore AG is now bringing vending machines into the cloud with the help of Microsoft technologies.

The software company for e-commerce processes offers the solution to a major problem in the industry: an overview of the inventory of the individual vending machines. Often, this only becomes visible when the vending machine is opened manually. With Smartstore’s software, the seller can see the number of all available products of all his vending machines at any time and from any place. If the available quantity of a product in a vending machine runs low, the vendor is informed directly and can thus take care of the refill in time. In this way, vacancies can be detected at an early stage and sales losses can be avoided.

The intelligent salesroom of the future offers customers a touch-free shopping experience around the clock.

The customer can select and order the desired products via touch screen, keyboard or mobile phone. By optionally setting up a customer account, benefits such as credits to the customer’s own wallet or discounts at other vending machines of the respective provider can also be offered. Through the Grab&Go principle, items can even be purchased and reserved remotely via mobile phone. After successful online payment and scanning of a QR code at the vending machine, the corresponding items are issued. This offers travellers at train stations or airports in particular easier shopping without much time pressure.

Smart Vending – a driving idea for the vending industry

With the Smart Vending concept, a wide range of products can be offered. Not only food can be stored, but also electronic devices, industrial items and textiles, among others.

"Many software companies develop past the market and lose sight of the end user. For us, the focus is on customer centricity and the mobile-first approach to make the shopping experience as user-friendly as possible. It is precisely through the partnership with Microsoft that we can reliably offer our customised solutions for companies," says Pavlos Tsulfaidis, CEO and founder of SmartStore AG. By creating customer groups in the backend of a vending machine, specific customer bases can be addressed through, for example, graduated and promotional prices and targeted marketing measures. During the checkout process, sellers can choose from over 100 payment interfaces.

From 26 to 27 September, visitors to the Vendtra Trade Festival in Munich can experience the concept live and in colour.

The trade fair is one of the most important events in Germany and Central Europe. At the joint stand with Automatenland GmbH from Düsseldorf, interested parties can get a first impression of the functionality and processes of the vending machines operated with the Smartstore software.