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Growing Demand for IoT Smart Vending Machines
Growing Demand for IoT Smart Vending Machines

Oct 14, 2020

We live when the needs of people are growing asymmetrically with time and keep changing quickly. This demands a nimble-footed and flexible mindset. One such innovation is vending machines that can automatically dispense or deliver the desired products automatically without manual intervention. Vending machines aren’t new, but they’ve seen high diversification in the use cases in recent times. The global vending machine market grew at a CAGR of 13% and was expected to reach over $146.6B by 2027. [1]

Vending Electronics & Beyond

This growing demand for flexibility and social distancing norms increases the adoption of vending machines at workplaces, shopping complexes, airports, metros, and other places to deliver products automatically. Snack and beverage combination vending machines contribute approximately 88% of the vending machines market. However, with evolving technology and increasing needs, the vending machines are no more limited to only foods. Still, it’s seeing increasing adoption of selling electronics, medicines, healthcare consumables, and many other products. They’re also capable of having automatic track of the inventory to be properly restocked as needed.

Robotic Smart Vending Kiosks

These traditional machines are becoming smarter by integrating new-age technologies such as the Internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI). They’re equipped with high-definition displays with rich graphics and the ability to interact with the customer’s smartphone. These smart vending kiosks are also equipped with an integrated circuit card reader and near field communications (NFC) for non-contact data transactions. A camera and microphone are integrated to enable quick and convenient interaction with the machine. These features allow humans to have a more personalized interaction through video and voice.

It’s also assisted by laser, ultrasonic, and bump sensors in case it needs to navigate. The kiosks can take orders, help customers make selections by touch screen, accept payments, and finally receive a receipt. The global installed base of connected vending machines reached ~4.2M units in 2019 and is forecasted to reach 8.9M units by 2024. [2]

Future of Automated Retailing

The disruption in vending machines with AI & IoT technologies shows a new emerging opportunity towards automated retailing. This industry will witness significant and disruptive innovations from unmanned kiosks to fully unattended groceries. The retail automation market is expected to grow up to $23.5B by 2025. Constant innovation and technology development aligning with shifts in consumer behavior is likely to pave the way for more on-the-go solutions. [3]

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We contribute our 40 years of design and manufacturing expertise spanning multiple diverse markets. We look forward to discussing how we can deliver world-class products for OEMs across the globe. We understand our home Indian market, familiar with its vast regulatory and selling environments. We foster growth opportunities within India through our strong technology incubation ecosystem. We also assist global OEMs in entering the Indian market by leveraging the local supply chain and favorable operating environments for cost reductions.

Our flagship Chennai location opened in 2006 and lies within a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for electronics manufacturing, offering economic incentives for imports and exports. This primary facility is within 90 minutes of the Chennai seaport and 20 minutes to the international airport. Additional road and rail connectivity links to the rest of India and beyond and infrastructure advantages with faster import and export clearances. We also have labor force flexibility, both technical and manual, to scale to demand rapidly.

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