Mobile Business in the Vending Industry

Heinkele, Christian and Pousttchi, Key (2004): Mobile Business in the Vending Industry. Published in: The Third International Conference on Mobile Business (ICMB) (2004): pp. 1-9.

Abstract

The business of operating vending machines substantially changes by the use of telemetry via wireless technologies. This technology enables operators to change their business processes from a fixed periodical to a needs-based operating and maintenance, generating efficiency and effectiveness added values. In addition, significant advantages can be achieved by real-time error reports, by analyzing and optimizing the product range and the profitability. The paper provides a general introduction in the vending market and the operating process. Based on this, drawbacks and opportunities of the use of mobile communication techniques in vending machines for a business process reengineering are discussed and criteria for the choice of telemetry-equipped vending machines’ locations are developed. The feasibility of the proposed concepts is examined with regard to the current technical state-of-the-art. Finally, conclusions are drawn and an outlook on the future of mobile vending is given.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Institution: University of Augsburg
• Language: English
• Keywords: mobile business; mobile business processes; mobile BPR; vending industry; telemetry
• Subjects: M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M2 - Business Economics > M21 - Business Economics