A comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of various vending machine aisles

Writer： Zhongda vending machines Time：2022-07-04 16:45 Browse：℃

As the economy develops and technology advances, more and more vending machines are appearing in schools, factories, subways, hospitals and other major venues. Intelligent self-service is the trend in all industries, and the retail industry is certainly no exception.

There are many different types of vending machines on the market, including beverage vending machines, snack vending machines, fruit and vegetable vending machines, dairy vending machines, general merchandise vending machines and many more. Although vending machines have been around for many years, it is only in the last few years that the technology and market have matured.
Modern vending machines can be described as intelligent vending machines, supporting not only cash payments such as notes and coins, but also mobile payments, and even various card payments such as bank cards, company cards, student cards, etc. In addition to this, they can be monitored remotely, so that the operator does not need to be physically present to know the vending machine’s operational data. All of these features not only make it easier for people to buy things from the vending machine, but also for businesses to operate their vending machines.

Although there are many types of vending machines and a full range of functions, they use a handful of cargo lanes, from the most common spring-loaded spiral and tracked lanes, to highly sophisticated S-shaped stacking lanes and clustered lattice cabinets. Below I will briefly explain the advantages and disadvantages of these aisles and how to choose the right aisle for your vending machine operation.

1, Spring spiral aisle
The spring spiral aisle is also a relatively early appearance in the vending machine aisle, this aisle has a simple structure, can sell a variety of goods such as a variety of characteristics, can sell common snacks, daily necessities and other small goods, but also can sell bottled drinks. This is also our main type of vending machine and is the most common type on the market.
Advantages: low cost, a wide range of goods can be sold, including snacks, beverages and various small items, and the ability to switch between locations or times to better capture the current market mainstream.
Disadvantages: If the design is not appropriate, it is easy to get stuck in the goods, and it is troublesome to replenish the goods, you need to pull out the aisle and then place the goods carefully one by one.

2, Tracked aisle
The tracked aisle is an extension of the spring aisle and is more restrictive, suitable for goods with fixed packaging and not easy to pour.
Advantages: you can sell short cans of drinks, short boxes of snacks, boxed lunches and many other items that can stand up well.
Disadvantages: you can’t sell any goods that can’t stand still (if one product falls over, the whole aisle will fall over like dominoes), and it’s troublesome to replenish the goods, so you need to pull out the aisle and put them up carefully one by one, which takes time.

3, S-shaped stacking aisle (also called snake aisle)
The S-shaped stacking aisle is a special aisle developed specifically for beverage vending machines, which can sell a variety of bottled and canned beverages (other canned foods are also available, but not glass).
Advantages: high utilisation of space for stacking of drinks in layers; large capacity, many types of drinks can be sold; the shipping method determines that it is not easy to jam the goods; durable and long life; simple replenishment, just throw the drinks in horizontally, fast replenishment and low operating costs.
Disadvantages: complex structure, design and processing difficulties, high requirements, general enterprises are not capable of production, high manufacturing costs, purchase costs are also high, if the failure may require a lot of time to repair.

4, Multi-door lattice cabinet
Multi-door lattice cabinet is a cluster of lattice cabinets, each lattice has a separate door and control mechanism, each lattice can be placed inside a commodity can also be placed a set of goods.
Advantages: a wide range of products can be sold (unpackaged, irregularly shaped, larger sizes, sets of packages, etc.), simple construction and low manufacturing costs.
Disadvantages: small number of items and low space utilisation.

There are several types of vending machine lanes, each with its own disadvantages and advantages, so we have to choose the appropriate lane according to the goods we sell and the funds we have at hand. If you are selling beverages, you must choose a beverage machine with an S-shaped stacking aisle; if you are selling snacks, you must choose a snack vending machine with a spring-loaded spiral aisle or a tracked aisle; if you are selling complex shapes or certain packages, then a lattice cabinet is the best choice. Generally speaking, spring-loaded vending machines are perfectly suited to most people’s needs.