spdydre Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Ok so I was wondering what methods do most vendors in here use to track inventory in their snack machines? Before I get any bigger I need to put some sort of inventory system in place because now I just have everything memorized but every machine has different chips/candies geared towards the consumers. I know how much each location does and how much to fill each time and when. I started out just filling the machine then counting how many items have sold each week when I service and then just get an average over the course of a month or so. If you get up 50+ snack machines how do you keep track of each item? Is it better to run the same chips/candies in every machine to make things simple? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDERSONVENDING Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Ok so I was wondering what methods do most vendors in here use to track inventory in their snack machines? Before I get any bigger I need to put some sort of inventory system in place because now I just have everything memorized but every machine has different chips/candies geared towards the consumers. I know how much each location does and how much to fill each time and when. I started out just filling the machine then counting how many items have sold each week when I service and then just get an average over the course of a month or so. If you get up 50+ snack machines how do you keep track of each item? Is it better to run the same chips/candies in every machine to make things simple? I use a spreadsheet to keep track of what I carry in one column in the next column I write down what I put in at each service with the date at the top of the column and I write the total collected at the bottom.I can go back 2 years ant tell what was selling, so I can track what sells and what don't. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 I use a spreadsheet to keep track of what I carry in one column in the next column I write down what I put in at each service with the date at the top of the column and I write the total collected at the bottom.I can go back 2 years ant tell what was selling, so I can track what sells and what don't. John Do you have the same products in every machine? Im trying to see if it would be better to group by price or each product individually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amc-vending Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Do you have the same products in every machine? Im trying to see if it would be better to group by price or each product individually I group by price - I have chips in a couple of rows, then danish, candy and last crackers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDERSONVENDING Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Do you have the same products in every machine? Im trying to see if it would be better to group by price or each product individually No I load by location preference with pastries at the bottom of the machine and 1 premium shelf. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 My method is a little unorthodox. I use a laminated plan o gram in the bottom of each machine. I use a dry erase marker to mark what is in each column and the number of units. When I'm placing my order I have a par level of products that I keep in the warehouse and order up to the level, if I'm at the level then that item is not ordered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 My method is a little unorthodox. I use a laminated plan o gram in the bottom of each machine. I use a dry erase marker to mark what is in each column and the number of units. When I'm placing my order I have a par level of products that I keep in the warehouse and order up to the level, if I'm at the level then that item is not ordered. I use a similar method. I dont run a planogram all the time at accounts but it is a way to help learn a new account and what sells and what dosent. I have a digram of the machine showing each column. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 above is a pic of the spreadsheet i use. i have one for each location, the empty line indicates a new shelf and the items are the columns from left to right when i go to fill the machine i print off a copy of the sheet with everything hidden except item,price,par,added,removed and i use it to jot down the activity at that account and note any changes in selection or pricing. only downside is the sheet gets pretty long so its easiest to hide a lot of columns and when changing selections i have to make a new copy of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Bum Vending Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I would like to set spread sheet up like this for myself. But I don't know how to really use it. I have tried playing around with it just get frustrated. How did you all learn to do spread sheets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I would like to set spread sheet up like this for myself. But I don't know how to really use it. I have tried playing around with it just get frustrated. How did you all learn to do spread sheets? i learned excel mainly from messing around with it over the years. the sheet above has very little "excel magic" in it basically the columns on the sheet above are indicated as A-J so i'll enter the prices in column B and the unit costs in column C manually , and col. D value will read '=Cx/Bx' (with x replaced as the appropriate line number for example line 2 would be =C2/B2 ) and the column formatting is set to percentage so it automatically converts the result to a percentage. hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEREMYTINA Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I prefer Vend-Trak and my HTC phone personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Bum Vending Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Dogcow no man you lost me. I have no clue what you just tried explaining and the formula and programming. It's confusing to me still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Dogcow no man you lost me. I have no clue what you just tried explaining and the formula and programming. It's confusing to me still. let me know if that clarifies things you may have to expand it to full screen mode to see the detail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedk Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 spdydre: If you want to figure out Excel, Barnes & Noble sell a product called Quamut charts. They have one for Excel that is pretty easy to follow. It is the equivalent of 6 pages and costs about $6.00. It will help you set up charts and show you how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Bum Vending Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 let me know if that clarifies things you may have to expand it to full screen mode to see the detail Dogcow yes that cleared it up. Wow your awesome thank you thank you thank you so much. You really out did your self man to make video help newbie out. I hope didn't take to long to do that. The only thing that is still a little fuzzy is the Gross formula but wrote it down. So I just enter same codes your did starting with F2. Thanks so much, SN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Dogcow yes that cleared it up. Wow your awesome thank you thank you thank you so much. You really out did your self man to make video help newbie out. I hope didn't take to long to do that. The only thing that is still a little fuzzy is the Gross formula but wrote it down. So I just enter same codes your did starting with F2. Thanks so much, SN you can just click on the cell excel will fill in the correct cell name automatically for you once you are in formula mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 let me know if that clarifies things you may have to expand it to full screen mode to see the detail Thanks for the video. That is pretty simple and what I was thinking of doing. The only thing is I havent been keeping a steady track of stales which I need to start doing but I have not had many. I wrote down all the inventory in the machines on the 18th to put into a excel sheet. On my next service I will count how many have sold/been added to start inputting the info onto excel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I prefer Vend-Trak and my HTC phone personally. How do you like using vend-trax? I am still thinking about it more now that you say you use your HTC phone. -Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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