Julie Comins of Elchies Estates purchased LockBlox and Flex machines from Vending by JSR almost a year ago to create a community vending shop. While stocking some of their own goods, Julie has a different business model and uses her machines a little differently from the rest of our customers. Julie decided to purchase our Vending machines from us, then rent out her locker space to local producers. We were keen to interview her and find out more about this interesting business model for our Vending Technology.
We first asked Julie to tell us a little more about renting locker space out to suppliers and how she went about doing this. – “The first thing we had to do was work out how much we were going to charge per locker. As we got grant funding for our machines, we did not need to recover the capital cost of the machine. From there we just worked out the running costs (vending web fees, electricity for the building, etc) and divided that per locker. Then that gave us our price to rent out a locker per week”.
As Julie rents her lockers to a range of different suppliers, what products have ended up in her Vending Machine? – “We have ended up with a wide range of products on offer to our customers. Mainly all locally produced foods with low food miles. We have a range of Veg on offer supplied by local garden farmers to larger farm producers. We have fish, meats, coffees, teas, jams, honeys, and various deserts. Even products like knitting yard and local primary school printing bags”.
We were curious to ask how a supplier works with Julie to get stock into her machines and if the suppliers are happy with this service Julie is providing. Julie said – “They have to manage their own stock and keep their own stock topped up. If they run out of stock and it hasn’t been replenished in the store room, then I will put my own produce in the lockers. The lockers will always remain full. Thee supplier puts up a post on Facebook to announce their products will be on sale in the shop”. Julie went onto say – “Yes they are happy with the service. They can utilise the vending machines features like the click and collect service for a big order, they can get advertising from the shop. It has its benefits for each supplier. For example, the lady who supplies cakes previously had an honesty box system working from her home However, in the summer when the temperature gets warmer, the cakes would not keep well. Since my Flex machine is chilled that preserves her cakes all day, even in warmer temperatures.”
Have Elchies Estates customers enjoyed the vending shopping experience? – “We have actually done a few survey monkeys to get an idea of how the customer feel about using the vending machine and that has come back very positive which we are very happy with. They have been fond of the open 24 hours a day aspect that these vending machines provide. The local police like to come in late at night for a coffee when they are on a late shift”.
What is Julie’s favourite aspect of the Vending Web? – “I like that you can create products and assign them to a locker on your computer at home before you go to the machine. That way you can just arrive at the machine, sync it to your Vending Web and go”.
When asked how helpful Vending by JSR services have been, Julie responded – “Stuart has been really good. He was really helpful in recalibrating the pusher machine so I can sell different produce inside. He is always on the end of the phone and if you text him with a small issue, you get a quick message back”. Julie went onto say – “The service is far greater than anything we’ve received from other companies we have bought Vending technology from. Some others have never visited or even been in touch with us to check in, unlike you guys”.
So would Julie recommend Vending by JSR to anyone who is looking to Invest and set up their own fully automated retailing station? – “Absolutely. I have already done a few facetimes with others who are thinking about purchasing this technology and have recommend you guys”.
If you are interested in how Elchies Estate run their automated retail station and think you could benefit from this yourself. Just head over to our contact page to get in touch with us. You can also check out Elchies Estates on social media to get in touch with them directly.
