Method and system for refining vending operations based on wireless data

• US 20050043011A1
• Filed: 10/06/2004
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Numerex Corporation (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Numerex Corporation (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jansson, Edward R., Nicolaides, Alexander, Comer, Edward Irby, Peralta, Juan Manuel Garcia, Murray, Tomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,783,508 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/405
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/025 Indirect paging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A system coupled to one or more vending machines, such as soft drink vending machines, via a wireless data link can acquire operational vending data, for example sales data, hardware status, and product temperature. The system can compile data from multiple vending machines dispersed across a geographic area such as a city or state. The system can include software that refines the vending operations of one or more such vending machines based on analysis of acquired data, taking into consideration other information such as market, business, seasonal, or environmental factors. Refining vending operations can include adjusting product offerings, relocating vending machines, replicating favorable conditions, and addressing unexpected sales variations.

Claims

1. A computer-based method for adjusting operations of one vending machine in a plurality of geographically dispersed vending machines linked to a central data processing center via cellular radio communication, comprising the steps of:

receiving operational data from each vending machine in the plurality of vending machines at the central data processing center via a control channel of the cellular radio communication;

storing the received operational data from each vending machine in the plurality of vending machines in a database;

processing the stored operational data to identify an operational deviation between the one vending machine and at least one other vending machine in the plurality of vending machines and to determine at least one condition contributing to the operational deviation; and

adjusting the operational deviation by varying the at least one condition.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

determining the at least one condition contributing to the operational deviation comprises identifying a first condition and a second condition, each contributing to the operational deviation; and

the adjusting step comprises varying a select one of the first condition and the second condition based on managerial input.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of inputting the managerial input at a remote interface and transmitting the managerial input via the Internet to the central data processing center.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

determining the at least one condition contributing to the operational deviation comprises identifying an imposed condition and a variable condition, each contributing to the operational deviation; and

the adjusting step comprises varying the variable condition.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the imposed condition comprises a market experiment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the operational deviation comprises the at least one other vending machine generating a higher profit than the one vending machine;

the at least one condition comprises an environmental condition of the at least one vending machine; and

the adjusting step comprises relocating the one vending machine to a location providing at least some aspect of the environmental condition.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

processing the stored operational data comprises statistically analyzing historical data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the operational deviation comprises a change in performance;

determining the at least one condition comprises identifying a cause of the change in performance; and

the adjusting step comprises subjecting the one vending machine to the identified cause.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of sending a page, comprising a request for the operational data, to each vending machine in the plurality of vending machines.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vending machines are operative to vend soft drinks.

11. A method for operating a vending machine comprising the steps of:

stocking the vending machine with a plurality of product offerings;

monitoring sales of each of the product offerings by receiving sales information from the vending machine transmitted via a wireless network;

analyzing the received sales information with a computer program and identifying an underperforming product offering in the plurality of product offerings; and

responsive to the analyzing step, replacing the underperforming product offering with another product offering.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the sales information comprises receiving data transmitted in a control channel of a cellular communication system.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein:

analyzing the received sales information comprises forecasting sales for each product offering in the plurality of product offerings based on the received sales information; and

the identifying step comprises identifying an underperforming product offering based on the forecast sales.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein:

analyzing the received sales information comprises performing statistical analysis; and

the replacing step comprises replacing the underperforming product offering with the another product offering if the statistical analysis indicates that the underperforming product offering exhibits a statistically significant level of underperformance.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein:

another vending machine is linked to the data processing system via the wireless network;

the method further comprises the steps of;

analyzing product offerings in the another vending machine based on received sales information transmitted from the another vending machine via the wireless network; and

identifying a product offering providing desirable sales performance in the another vending machine; and

the replacing step comprises replacing the underperforming product offering with the identified product offering providing desirable sales performance in the another vending machine.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein identifying the underperforming product offering comprises determining if any product offering in the plurality of product offerings is in a marketing test.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein identifying the underperforming product offering comprises determining if sales performance of at least one product offering in the plurality of product offerings is expected to improve.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

defining a stocking level for one product offering in the plurality of product offerings; and

adjusting the stocking level based on analyzing the received sales information.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein adjusting the stocking level comprises increasing the stocking level if the one product offering exhibits higher inventory depletion than at least one other product offering in the plurality of product offerings.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the vending machine comprises a soft drink vending machine.

21. A system for managing of a plurality of vending machines comprising:

a plurality of monitors, each coupled to a respective vending machine in the plurality of vending machines;

a plurality of transceivers, each coupled to a respective one of the monitors;

a communication gateway coupled to the plurality of transceivers via a cellular telephone system; and

an electrical data link between the communication gateway and a data processing system, comprising;

a database that stores data from the plurality of monitors;

a computer coupled to the database; and

software, executable by said computer, comprising;

a gateway communications program that manages data transfer between the communication gateway and the data processing system; and

an analytics module that processes the stored data and outputs an operational recommendation for at least one vending machine in the plurality of vending machines.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer comprises a first computer and a second computer, the first computer executing the gateway communications program, the second computer executing the analytics module and displaying the operational recommendation on a web-based interface.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the web-based interface comprises a graphical user interface, is linked to the first computer via the Internet, and is operative to receive user queries and display query responses from the analytics module on the graphical user interface.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the analytics module is operative to troubleshoot vending machine hardware problems.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the operational recommendation comprises an inventory change for the at least one vending machine in the plurality of vending machines.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the operational recommendation comprises a new product offering for the least one vending machine in the plurality of vending machines.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the analytics module is operative to identify a condition associated with a sales increase of the at least one vending machine in the plurality of vending machines.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein the analytics module defines a restocking threshold for the at least one vending machine in the plurality of vending machines.

29. The system of claim 21, wherein each transceiver is operative to transmit data via a control channel of the cellular telephone system and receive a command transmitted in a page from the communication gateway.

30. The system of claim 21, wherein each vending machine in the plurality of vending machines is operative to vend a bottled or canned beverage.

31. The system of claim 21, wherein the software further comprises a reports generator program that tabulates the stored data;

32. A method for managing a vending machine, comprising the steps of:

stocking the vending machine with a plurality of products, each product having a stocking level;

setting a restocking threshold for each stocked product;

monitoring inventory for each stocked product via transmission of wireless data from the vending machine to a remote location;

comparing the monitored inventory to the restocking threshold for each stocked product using a computer program; and

responsive to the comparison, restocking the vending machine when the monitored inventory of a stocked product becomes less than the restocking threshold of that stocked product.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of using the computer program to track occurrences of each stocked product'"'"'s monitored inventory becoming less than the corresponding restocking threshold.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

identifying a stocked product exhibiting more of the occurrences than at least one other stocked product in the plurality of products; and

responsive to the identification, increasing the stocking level of the identified product.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein each stocking level defines a fraction of assigned vending machine capacity.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein at least one of the stocked products is a cola.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein the restocking step further comprises sending a restocking notification from the remote location to a second remote location via the Internet.

38. The method of claim 32, wherein the transmission of wireless data comprises transmitting data in a control channel of a cellular communication system.

39. A method for managing vending sales comprising:

sending a request for vending data;

receiving the vending data via a wireless network radio communication network;

processing the vending data to identify a deviation at a vending machine; and

generating a message in response to identifying the deviation.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein processing the vending data comprises comparing the vending data to product offering data.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein the message comprises a recommendation concerning a product.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein the deviation comprises a change in sales of at least one product stocked in the vending machine.

43. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of sending the message to the vending machine.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the message comprises an instruction intended to change the deviation.

45. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of sending the message in a page.

46. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of sending the message in an e-mail.

47. The method of claim 39, wherein:

the sending step comprises sending the request for vending data to each vending machine in a system of geographically dispersed vending machines via a control channel of the wireless network radio communication network;

the receiving step comprises receiving product specific sales data from each vending machine in the system of geographically dispersed vending machines; and

the method further comprises the step of displaying the product specific sales data from each vending machine in the system of geographically dispersed vending machines in a table format.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the table format categorizes the product specific sales data according to each vending machine.

49. The method of claim 39, wherein:

the sending step comprises paging each vending machine in a plurality of vending machines;

the receiving step further comprises receiving sales data from each vending in the plurality of vending machines; and

the processing step comprises cataloging the received sales data from each vending machine in the plurality of vending machines.

50. A method for managing operations of a vending machine comprising:

sending a request for vending data to the vending machine;

receiving the vending data;

processing the vending data to identify an operational deviation; and

transmitting a control command to the vending machine in response to identifying the operational deviation.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein transmitting the control command comprises transmitting the control command to the vending machine using a control channel associated with a cellular network.

52. The method of claim 50, wherein transmitting the control command comprises sending a page.

53. The method of claim 50, wherein the operational deviation comprises a change in sales.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein the control command comprises a command to acquire data from the vending machine.

55. The method of claim 50, wherein the control command comprises an instruction to reset an apparatus of the vending machine.

56. The method of claim 50, wherein the control command comprises an instruction to initialize a microprocessor mounted at the vending machine.

57. The method of claim 50, wherein the control command initializes software executing at the vending machine.

58. The method of claim 50, wherein:

managing operations of the vending machine comprises managing operations of a plurality of vending machines;

the sending step comprises;

generating the request for vending data;

replicating the request for each vending machine in the plurality of vending machines;

addressing each replicated request to a respective vending machine in the plurality of vending machines;

placing each addressed request in a queue; and

sending each of the queued requests over a cellular network to each respective vending machine in the plurality of vending machines in an order based on queue position;

the receiving step comprises receiving the requested vending data from each respective vending machine in the plurality of vending machines;

the processing step comprises comparing the received vending data between each respective vending machine in the plurality of vending machines to identify the operation deviation, occurring between a first and a second vending machine; and

the transmitting step comprises transmitting the control command to the first vending machine.

59. The method of claim 50, wherein the control command comprises a software patch.

60. A method for communicating with a controller device coupled to a vending machine comprising the steps of:

monitoring a control channel of a cellular mobile radio telephone system for a first page identifying the control device;

receiving the first page;

responsive to receiving the first page, monitoring the control channel for a second page;

receiving the second page; and

sending an acknowledgment of receiving the second page via the control channel.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the second page comprises a control command addressing an operational deviation associated with the vending machine.

62. The method of claim 60, further comprising the step of responsive to receiving the second page, transmitting vending data.

63. The method of claim 60, wherein the second page comprises a request to transmit operational data from the vending machine to a processing center for processing with a computer to output an operational recommendation for the vending machine.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the operational data comprises a state indication and an accounting of transactions occurring at the vending machine during a time frame.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the state indication comprises notification of a coin jam or a card reader malfunction.

66. The method of claim 64, wherein the accounting of transactions comprises an amount of sales, monies dispensed, and monies received during the time frame.

67. The method of claim 63, wherein processing the operational data with the computer comprises attributing a deviation in product sales to an equipment malfunction.