Many of the largest companies in the U.S. and Globally that have been focused on attracting talent during the last economic boom must now refocus their efforts on preventing layoffs of their existing workforce.

While it is important for firms to cut major spending costs, there can also be a lot of money saved in eliminating smaller items from the budget as well. Many companies don’t realize the actual costs involved in providing seemingly small items to employees free of charge. A couple months ago, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported that Microsoft currently spends about $20 million dollars to provide its employees with free beverages. Later, Microsoft announced that it was cutting up to 5,000 jobs .

There is no indication that eliminating the free beverages would have saved any jobs at Microsoft but other firms may be faced between cutting overhead and eliminating employees. Choosing which costs to reduce can be a very divisive and time-consuming process. However, companies big and small can easily offload the costs of their drink and snack programs while still providing the convenience of having these products inside the office through use of vending machines.

In most cases, vending companies will install and fully service their vending machines free of charge. The machines support themselves from employees buying the products from the machines and the vendor collects the money and replenishes the products. In higher volume accounts vendors are also able to pay their clients a portion of the proceeds to cover any electrical costs from that machines or boost ancillary income.

While some companies choose to use an RFP to find vending companies, this can be a very costly and labor-intensive process since most firms don’t have employees with any past vending experience. Many firms elect to use vending management companies such as Vending Solutions to outsource their vending needs. Vending Solutions’ national network of providers are all full insured, comply with legal worker status, and comply with all industry standards set by the National Automatic Merchandising Association.

Managed vending programs are a truly hassle free way for companies to help trim their overhead costs while still providing the refreshments that their employees desire.

The most frequent question asked about our vending machine program is, “How much does it cost to have a vending machine placed at my business?” The truth is that the vending machine is installed, stocked with products and also serviced/maintained all free of charge.

Follow-up questions are oftentimes, “So what’s the catch?” or “How much do we pay for the products?”  First of all, there is no catch; the vending machines simply support themselves from the locations’ employees or visitors purchasing the products out of them.  The products are stocked in the machine at the cost of the operator who installs and maintains the machine.  The operator then collects the money when he/she stocks the vending machine and that is how we make our money.

However, not all businesses will necessarily qualify for the free vending program.  Soda machines and snack machines can cost the vending operator anywhere from fifteen hundred dollars to over five thousand dollars so there has to be enough people at a facility to create enough volume for a machine to be profitable.  The qualifications vary depending on what type of facility the machine is to be placed in.  The easiest way to determine if your business qualifies is to chat with us online, fill out the online form or call us at 1-800-655-7564 and we can discuss your options. 

Another good resource regarding our vending program can be found on our FAQ page