The world of technology is always striving to unveil the latest inventions that transform human lives. One of these inventions is the vending machine technology that is used to dispense products to customers without the involvement of staff or human assistance on a 24 hour basis.

Advantages

Using a vending machine for doing business is found to be accompanied by mixed fortunes in terms of benefits and disadvantages. There are two parties normally involved in the vending machine procedures, the user of the products and the owner of the machine. These people are said to experience varied degrees of benefits and shortfalls of the technology.

These machines have since been used to serve a wide clientele with a variety of products handling from green grocery to processed products. A typical example is a snack vending machine that can be used for buying and selling of different kinds of snacks. Drinks of all kinds can now be dispensed through this technology making the world a more convenient place in terms of item purchasing.

The whole process is automated such that one can be able to use it when the transaction is done in the correct way according to how the machine is programmed. Some accept cash in currency forms only while others accept both cash and credit cards for electronic transactions.

On the side of the customer using the machine, there is a wide range of advantages of using this service being compounded on the issue of convenience.

Vending machines give the clients a free choice to purchase products at any time of the day. One can shop for his or her intended product on a 24 hour, throughout the year.

Diversity in terms of the products that a vending machine can handle is another advantage that this technology in business has brought. A wide range of products can be sold using the machine as fruits, beverages, drinks, and cigarettes among other products. This concept is also applied to some service provision industries like air drier, play stations and other public utility practices.

Most vending machines are stationed at strategic points which make it convenient and time saving because of the surety of getting what you want.

It is a one time investment on the side of the owner who doesn't need a lot of running expenses to operate. Reduction of overhead costs by not hiring of staff only increases the profit margin for the owner making it a success bound venture.

The machine can always be moved to other areas if need arises and it will continue delivering the services as usual.

Disadvantages

There are disadvantages of using the vending machine for both the owner and the customers. One of the shortfalls is that this technology gives no provision for bargaining and therefore fixed prices apply and this may be unfriendly both to the customer and the owner.

Fraud cases are also common in this kind of business by customers who formulate means of hacking into the system of the machine to dispense products.

Vandalism of the machine by unruly groups or jealous competitors and heavy taxation levied on the sites of location may be a discouragement for this capital intensive investment. There may be huge losses to the investor who faces cases of destruction of the machine or faulty programming like a continuous dispensing of product due to technical errors.

It is therefore important to be conversant with all the characteristics of the vending machine technology for business.