mxer518 Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 As i continue to grow my business I am always looking for new ways of improving my efficiency, I have heard very little about the DEX systems and how it works but if there is anybody on here that has any experience I would appreciate it very much. Where would I buy a hand held from, whats involved in getting it all up and running, and what would it cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technivend Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 The DEX information is available out of most newer machines and can be easily retrieved with a laptop, older palm etc. The key is what are you going to do with the information. A raw DEX file is jibberish to the untrained eye. That is where the software guys come in. Most DEX systems are sold with the complete DEX/Financial package which makes it no so viable for a small vendor. I have heard of some people that are computer savvy writing their own DEX database to use this info. Your DEX info would look like this ID101 147154798, ID102 3053, VA101 3031.25, VA102 789, VA103 232.25 Here is a link to some DEX fields and then you can decode it. http://technivend.com/graphics/dex.pdf Does this make any sense?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 I has the understanding that it would give you some very useful information such as total sales since last service, total vends per column, total vends, and any service issues such as low change dollar bill jams....etc. I was talking to a friend of mine who works for a big national vendor and he said the they plug in every single machine and sometimes they will not even bother opening it up to check it if there is not need to based on the data they downloaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVEND11 Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 I have been dexing every thing for about 9 years and it was one thing every vendor need to have when your not the one working every thing. I have fired employees because of dex. Once you get it up and going you just walk up dex the machine and walk out. And the order is on the handheld. you can keep up with every thing that is what is great for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 can you give me some info on the hand-held you are using and the software that you are pairing it with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 I've looked into the systems a little and probably the first thing you need to look at is if your equipment is DEX enabled or can be retrofitted for a DEX system. The problem with retrofits is that depending on the machine you may not be able to capture all the information that you can get from a machines that was made to incorporate DEX systems. For example, you might not be able to get sales by column information. For me I'm going to spend this next year focusing on upgrading my equipment to handle DEX so I can implement it over the whole route and not just a part of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 I have been making list of the locations that I currently carry that have DEX on-board. It was surprising that so many of my machines have it already ready to go. I love how 100% of the 3rd party machines that I currently operate have the DEX system on-board. I am in the process of taking over a full service coke route from my local bottler so with that expansion of 56 locations/units the DEX system is looking more and more appealing to me. I would like to roll up to a location especially an outdoor vendor and plug it in and take the reading without even having to open the machine to know if service is needed or not. I am just getting lost with the hand-held and the software that would make them do what I need done....I am hoping there is some vendor on this site that can give me some inside info on the best system to get started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVEND11 Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 I use symbol handheld and mei easytrax and love them. Crane has software like mei I have never used it but have heard good things. What I like about mei is I do a lot of ocs and I have a handheld for just that make a bill print it from the truck. The big thing about dex is you know every thing I have fired 2 for stealing from me 3 for skiping stops and I did all that from my desk. Inone makes dex boxes for machines that will not dex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 What kind of price range am I looking at to get something like this off the ground with the software and a hand-held? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 Just wondering if any of the larger operators out there are using the DEX system and using anything besides the MEI or CRANE software packages? I am looking to implement the DEX item level tracking system into my business but not really looking to spend 30K in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcretin Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 I highly recomend InOne remote monitoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technivend Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 I believe USA Tech offers DEX telemetry as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 Thanks for the info, really trying to get this off the ground by the end of the month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 From talking to ALL the different company's that offer software that have the capability to DEX you will not be able to touch the most beginner package for a penny less than 10K, and that is the bare minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesjmcgough Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Definitely out of our range. Let them show us something that actually MAKES us money. Probably not for the operator who does less than $200,000 per year. Unless, you are an absentee owner who does not pay attention to his business and wants a 'magic wand' to check in every once in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technivend Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 From talking to ALL the different company's that offer software that have the capability to DEX you will not be able to touch the most beginner package for a penny less than 10K, and that is the bare minimum. and that price won't include any hardware upgrades of your equipment to make it happen (that can add up quickly). I believe most of these companies recommend 5 routes or more to make the jump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 Yea, I am currently operating about 3 routes full time between me and the the people that work for me. It is just hard to make a jump for that kind of money when only about 25% of the cost is actually the hardware. For a software package to cost that kind of money I really need to be in a position where my business is about double the current size so that I can utilize all of the features that it has bundled with it. If they would allow be to buy my own hand-held I would jump at it but I refuse to pay inflated prices on the hardware. The same hand-held they want 4000$ for can be purchased on eBay new for 1500$ or used for about 500$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVEND11 Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Sorry for not replying we spent around 30k on mei. The thing about doing this now is with mei we pay a one time fee for each machine in are system. Now when you get larger the price goes up just to get started. I would tell anyone that has someone that's not family working for them to spend the money for this. Just think about this say you have one guy that takes 2 dollars from every machine that he works he works 50 machines a week that's 5200 dollars a year that's a lot of money and don't say my guys I can trust them because you never know what can happen I have trusted my workers and I have great guys but some of the great guys I have fired for stealing if you do this it will make your company better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 FINDing an employee that is 100% honest is rare.I would never trust anyy employees with my cash either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 As one of our greatest Presidents, Ronald Reagan, said about the Russians and the SALT treaty..... trust but verify. For accountability purposes I use meter readings, it's more work but its important that they know that they are being watched. A simple excel spreadsheet makes it pretty easy, it's just inputting numbers and if the numbers calculated on the spreadsheet don't match the counts then we have a problem. I also watch my COG sold very closely, if there is a sudden change then inventory, not cash, is disappearing. It worked well a few years back when I had a partner and several employees, should work just fine this go around as well. Happy New Year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 As one of our greatest Presidents, Ronald Reagan, said about the Russians and the SALT treaty..... trust but verify. For accountability purposes I use meter readings, it's more work but its important that they know that they are being watched. A simple excel spreadsheet makes it pretty easy, it's just inputting numbers and if the numbers calculated on the spreadsheet don't match the counts then we have a problem. I also watch my COG sold very closely, if there is a sudden change then inventory, not cash, is disappearing. It worked well a few years back when I had a partner and several employees, should work just fine this go around as well. Happy New Year trust but verify....I use this prase often and live by it almost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 I am looking into these systems for both the cash accountability as will as the time saving and streamlining the efficiency's through the routes. I plan on picking up some additional staff this year in the next few months as we close on a huge deal that has been in the works for another aspect to the vending that I do outside of Full Line. I feel that this is the best time to try and work some technology into the business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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