Is Parlevel for me?

[matthew0582]

Im a one man show of 150 machines i service and repair. I purchanced another company local that has parlevel on all their machines. Will using this equipment really help me? I  dont and will not do prekitting. talk to me

[Cat6]

Hi Matthew, do all of your machines have card readers? Or just the recent ones? 

When I worked in grocery at a major grocery chain, we had switched to automatic ordering which needs a par level in order to know how much (or how little) of a product needs to be on hand before it is ordered. 

This all goes with totals entered of sales, ordered inventory, damages, and on hand numbers so the computer would know how much is on hand at all times for the best (least expensive, but not out of business) ordering.

A par level is, most items need to be reordered when they got down to the last 2 items, this varies depending on the items popularity and how often the item could be ordered and delivered before it ran out. So if most items usually last a week and you have 2 facings (rows) a typical par would be 4. If an item sometimes sales out in a day or two and the order only goes out once a week you’ll probably set the par for an amount that would cover the rest of the week. Like a row might hold 12, but will be empty in 3 days, you might set par at 24 for a weekly order. 

The only reason you may need it is if you are printing out sales totals as your shopping list, if the par is set, you could print out actual need totals for purchase to keep inventory down. 

Or if you do end up having another person jumping into help, it’ll be easier for them because they don’t have your vast experience to know how much to work with. 

Pre kitting is great if you have drivers doing your deliveries. I don’t pre kit because I usually end up changing something to something else, etc. and I’m a one gal show myself.

With 150 machines I really hope you have all of them with WiFi communication. So you know what their doing and what they need. I have 20 stretched out within 50 miles. I have often said that I wouldn’t be able to do this job and not hate it without those card readers. Makes it sooooo much easier.

[cblomqui]

Every operation is different, but I always think technology can help any business, especially in vending. If I were you, I would give them a call and describe your situation to them. You might find that they have tools besides prekitting that can help you, or you might not think it is worth the investment. The best why to find out is to talk to them directly.

[Southeast Treats]

I am a little smaller than you, and I use ParLevel to run my operation after starting on paper records.  You don't have to prekit to use the rest of the software.  I understand why you would like having a rolling warehouse type operation; I did for the first few years.  The software can help you with dynamic scheduling, track sales and product performance, consolidate your cashless info, and predict your truck loadout and inventory needs among other things.  You might be in a good position to try it out just keeping it going on your new route for a while to see if you want to expand to everything or switch away from it.  I did finally switch to full prekitting after getting into it, and I can't see going back now; but that's the nice thing about vending, we can all run our businesses our own way.  

[matthew0582]

Permitting seems like it would take as much time as on the location?  No?

[matthew0582]

Prekitting

[AngryChris]

I haven't done prekitting, but I can tell you that... if you compare apples to apples (which prekitting and doing on-site aren't exactly apples to apples), then they take the same amount of time.  Imagine this: you have a small warehouse with every variety of product that you carry.  From this inventory, much like your vehicle, you pull from your inventory what you need to fill the machine.  In that sense, they are the same.  However, there are some differences.  Firstly, it is much easier to prevent yourself from ever running out of product.  So, if you just ran out of lays potato chips and you need 10 bags for an account that sells a lot, you shouldn't have an issue when pre kitting because you can hold so much more inventory in a large building as compared to a van or truck.  Also, with having everything neatly organized for prekitting, and having ample space to move around, you can really stock your totes/boxes much faster because everything is where you need it and in easy reach.  Another huge benefit is that you don't have to worry about the weather conditions as you should be able to keep your prekitting location much more comfortable relative to trying to work out of a van or boxtruck while it's really hot, freezing cold, or raining.  Still, the time savings might not be gigantic but they are there.

The real benefits of prekitting are that you save time out on the route, you bring exactly what you need and no more/less, everything is neatly organized and can fit in a much smaller and more efficient vehicle which can save you a lot of money OR you can do WAY more accounts out of the same vehicle you already have, and you theoretically eliminate all stale products and busted bags on-site where things get crushed by other items in your vehicle or in your tote/boxes.  Basically, you only have to ever make one trip to the machines for most situations, so you only have to spend time actually stocking machines out of a neatly organized tote (or whatever you use) and only empty totes/cases go back into the vehicle when you are done.   So yes, much of the time is sent back to a warehouse but you can do that literally whenever you want.  If you normally did 16 machines in a day, you could probably spend one evening stocking your vehicle for almost 30 machines for the following morning and take the next day off.  Imagine using something like a ford transit-connect getting 24 MPG and having very little insurance costs compared to larger trucks.  You could easily fit the vehicle into a standard garage and park it anywhere a passenger car can park and a new one costs about $25k.  You save a lot in the long run but the upfront costs are pretty substantial if you don't already have a place to prekit and if you don't have telemetry in all of your machines.  You really need to switch entirely to prekitting for all machines to get the maximum benefit.  I'm not even sure the big companies have switched completely to be honest.

[Lake Cities Vending]

I switched to Parlevel a few months ago. it takes some getting use to but I am happy so far. It does a lot of things so you can use the ones you want at first and gradually learn the rest of it. I do like being able to see whats in machines and what is selling before I get to locations. Just started to use the Prekitting and I do like that feature. I would rather pull product here at home than at location. In and out of location fast.

[Cat6]

It does have many advantages. I tried doing it at first and it didn’t exactly work to the T for me, so I have a somewhat modified version that I use. All my product gets transferred to snap lid containers when purchased for organization, to save space,n and protect it from the elements and each other. I also have a couple empty totes I work with during deliveries. 

But because I pull product that doesn’t move and move it to other machines, I always carry a few extra items to swap it out with. If the dates are so close that I know it won’t last till my next visit, I either bust it open and hand out samples (depending where I am and how busy it is when I’m there) or I’ll donate it to my kids Cub Scout/AHGirl Scout meetings which is twice a week, or I’ll donate it to the kids school (depending on whether they have an event that week or not.)  

I have a record book I keep in my mobile (passenger seat) desk so that I can keep track of what it was, how much, who, where, and why it went to avoid a total loss. So I also carry extra on hand to cover pulling it if it isn’t going to another machine.

I have also had few locations catch me and ask if I have a certain item I could put in place of another. A couple times I did actually have it, most other times I have had to tell them I will switch it out next visit.

So I do tend to take longer out on deliveries, but I have gotten more done and have been better able to make some locations happier with my service. Plus, to add to that, if an item isn’t moving, doing a “demo” of it tends to spark interest in it and you’ll find it does pick up sales the next time it’s in it. Or if you give out samples of a new item going in when you put it in. 

I have heard many stick with the same items because of them being the “tried and true”,  people usually to stick with what they know and don’t tend to take to many chances, for fear of being disappointed. However, people do get sick of the same old thing all the time. Giving out free samples when something new is being introduced alleviates a lot of that apprehension. Even if the item isn’t a “new” item and has been sold in stores for years, it sparks new interest back into it.

And with all, having the ability to know what you need to bring... Also has the ability to go back and forth with sales totals. Meaning, you can find out that Snickers was most popular thru say the last three months of the year then died, but Kit Kat was most popular the first 3 moths of the follow year, yada yada. Which might show the progression of some locations getting tired of one and switching to another, so you can be somewhat prepared and know a change is coming, maybe even influence a change about the same time with samples of another.

Just thought I’d throw all that out there, 16yrs in grocery, I have seen a lot sales fluctuations. That’s why grocery stores do demo’s. 😉😉

[Southeast Treats]

Lots of good points covered already.  But your issue right now is to go with parlevel systems vs whatever methods you use now.  I think that you can never have enough information about your business, and a good VMS like parlevel gives you the ability to capture a lot of info.  How to use it is up to you.  You don't say if you are using route cards or some other system now, but I cannot imagine 150+ machines on manual management - yes, I know it can be done, it has been done by many for decades; but now that VMS is affordable and available for small operators, there is no reason to work harder when you can work smarter.  Once you get past the initial input of data, it starts giving you a lot of good info about your business.  If you are not already doing cashless with your machines, adding that alone is likely enough reason to switch, at least for your best accounts.

Since everyone else is talking about prekitting, here is my story.  Like Cat and others, I liked being able to make changes on the fly out of my van.  What I did not like was trying to squeeze enough product in for a full day and still running out of 6 or 7 items before I was done, and really did not like picking orders in a Florida parking lot in July and August (or most of the rest of the year for that matter).   Also did not like having to restock the van every single day, either with a daily shopping trip to sams or from my warehouse, which I also had to keep stocked. 

I had always prekitted my glass front drink machines, as they were bottle machines with large assortments and telemetry, and I don't drive a large truck for service.  Other machines that were online were done hybrid style, using the pick list at my truck when I arrived.  It takes some time and planning to go to full prekitting, plus you need the data in place to support your order packing.  I finally added extra shelving to my snack and candy storage room, and organized it to allow packing the totes without having to cover too much territory.  I also had to be sure I had enough historical data on my offline machines to get good prekitting estimates out of the program. 

Yes, some of the work time is just transferred from the street to the warehouse, but it is much more organized time, so picking the order goes faster.  Plus, AIR CONDITIONING and no wind, no rain, no stress of climbing around the truck.   Parlevel lets you make changes as you pack, so if you need to change a product you can enter it right there, or in several other ways.  I pick the drinks in a different room, bottles get picked by unit and 12 oz cans get picked by 12 pack.  The whole space is larger than the truck and I can buy enough inventory for the week, instead of daily dealing with those issues.

At the location, you get the most time saving, first because you normally only have to go inside once with all the prekitted product.   You don't need to spend time counting and planning what you need from the truck, then going back to find it all; you already have it.  You still pull expired product, talk to customers, you can still do product demos or whatever you want.  Parlevel gives you choices of pick order, I use the reverse of the machine, so when I open up at a snack machine the first row of the machine has all it's product on top, and in order right down thru the machine.   Loading the machine goes quickly and neatly.   I have a lot of offline machines still, so I also enter data as I go (started with an android tablet, now using my iPhone).  Collect, stock, clean and go. 

You still manage customer requests, rotate product selections, try new products, etc; but you get more organized and intentional.  If you want to see individual product performance that info is there for you rather than relying on memory.  You can plan your product placement to maximize your sales and keep customers interested in finding out what's new. 

Parlevel keeps expanding and improving the software.  My current project is building up the warehouse module for my business.  I am using it to plan orders from a couple suppliers now, and I am seeing improvements in keeping enough on hand without over ordering.  I have been using parlevel for 3 years now and can't imagine running my business manually again.   

[Cat6]

Ya Florida summers make it lots of fun! 🤯 Another reason I prefer locations with 24/7 or close to it availability. For now I make my runs out of my Tahoe, so my hotels, Ballet, Ice rink, and ambulance locations I’ll run to at night. The other locations that close at 5pm, I’ll run to early or afternoon.

I hate leaving my suv running in the parking lot to keep chocolate from melting. It’s another reason I transfer all product to snap lid containers, it adds a layer of protection from the heat. I have put ice packs in plastic baggies in the containers with the more sensitive items like candy bars etc.

[AngryChris]

You should use a cooler for your chocolate

[Joe101us]

Cat6 what part of fl are you in 

[Southeast Treats]

When I ran out of the van I had a huge candy cooler, coleman's largest unit, with 2 layers of plastic bins and ice packs underneath.  It would probably take half the room in your Tahoe all by itself :).  Still use coolers in the prekit op, candy goes into a gallon size ziploc bag for each location and stack into a normal size cooler. 

[BlindVending]

I absolutely love parlevels ocs portion. It does everything I want it to do, saves me time by creating invoices even for monthly rental equipment. Customers use the portal and order directly from me online.

I am struggling to brave it out and figure out the vending portion of it. I am stuck doing really nothing but paying for that side right now. 

[Anacapa Vending]

If you use USA technology for your cc readers then cantaloupe might be a better choice since USA acquired them.

 

As far as "never prekitting" I think that is very short sighted.  Right now you have a job. If you want to be a business owner you need to create a system that your future employees will follow. As you scale up you will need to keep track of every aspect of your business. That which is accounted for can grow. My 2 cents. Best of luck. 

[AngryChris]

48 minutes ago, Anacapa Vending said:

If you use USA technology for your cc readers then cantaloupe might be a better choice since USA acquired them.

 

As far as "never prekitting" I think that is very short sighted.  Right now you have a job. If you want to be a business owner you need to create a system that your future employees will follow. As you scale up you will need to keep track of every aspect of your business. That which is accounted for can grow. My 2 cents. Best of luck. 

Nothing wrong with pre kitting, but it is expensive if you want to use telemetry.  Say you have 100 machines and ALL are MDB.  You pay $30,000 for card readers and $800/month for wireless fees.  That's a very big investment.

[Anacapa Vending]

Slower accounts don't require credit card readers. These VMS companies consider those offline machines. They predict your pick list for prekitting based off your prior services at those location.  Not as accurate but still better then just winging it.

 

 

P.s. we don't pay anywhere near $300 / ea. For our cc readers. 

[AngryChris]

How much do you pay?

[Anacapa Vending]

Sent you a PM

[Cat6]

On 11/17/2017 at 12:51 PM, Joe101us said:

Cat6 what part of fl are you in 

Southwest FL, (Ellenton to Port Charlotte)

[Cat6]

On 11/17/2017 at 10:04 AM, AngryChris said:

You should use a cooler for your chocolate

I have tried a couple different coolers, but they didn’t work out so great. Either to big/bulky and/or bars didn’t fit right inside it. I’m still looking for the “right one”.  But until then, so far, the snap lid containers with an ice pack has been working pretty well. 

I seen a styrofoam box once at a medical facility that I thought would work great, but I haven’t found out where they got them yet. 

[QuikVend]

There is someone here on the forum that sells a cooler designed just for vendors. He sells it on ebay, but gives a discount to Vendiscuss members. 

[Cat6]

On 11/17/2017 at 10:20 PM, Southeast Treats said:

When I ran out of the van I had a huge candy cooler, coleman's largest unit, with 2 layers of plastic bins and ice packs underneath.  It would probably take half the room in your Tahoe all by itself :).  Still use coolers in the prekit op, candy goes into a gallon size ziploc bag for each location and stack into a normal size cooler. 

I have several huge coolers, 3 of them, yes, would take up the whole section of my 3rd row seating area. 2 of them, 1 huge cube with wheels, and the other a medium rectangle with wheels, but they don’t pack well because of the wheel indentions on the inside.

I try to keep light on the chocolate bars and only carry what I know will be stocked in the machines. Now that the weather is cooling down, I’ll have more freedom, but I’m still looking for that “perfect” cooler lol.

 

 

[Cat6]

16 minutes ago, QuikVend said:

There is someone here on the forum that sells a cooler designed just for vendors. He sells it on ebay, but gives a discount to Vendiscuss members. 

I would love to check those out!