Are You Ready to Be a Full Line Operator?

Like any business, most vending operators start small, then grow. For a Coca-Cola^® vendor, that may include growth to a full line operation, the expansion of products offered across a variety of locations: office and professional, industrial and manufacturing, and health care and hospitals. Coca-Cola machines are usually coupled with snack machines and/or refrigerated machines. More and more, full line operators are exploring the micro market world, allowing for continual interplay (and deals) between food and beverage.

Are you thinking of expanding your vending business? Here's what you need to know.

Getting Your Ducks in a Row
Once you've decided to become a full line operator, there are a host of recommended questions regarding your machines.

• Do you have the right brand order? With an expansion of products, it's important to make sure that each machine adheres to the stipulated Coca-Cola guidelines.
• Do you have the right beverage mix for your location? The drink mix varies from office and professional, to industrial and manufacturing, then finally to health care and hospitals. In the last category, for instance, products like Honest Tea®, vitaminwater^® and DASANI^® are prioritized over POWERADE^® and Minute Maid^® juices. The mix, for all channels, should be 50% sparkling, 45% still, and 5% percent energy.
• Do you have the right snack mix for your location? The typical micro market carries easily portable options for breakfast (sandwiches, cereals, pastries) and lunch (sandwiches, soups, salads); as well as popular snacks (fruit, ice cream, candy, gum) and some over-the-counter medicine and sundries.
• Is your service sticker in a clear, visible location? If customers have a problem, they need to know how they can remedy the situation.
• Do your machines have the proper graphics? Stickers need to be up to date and easy to read. The priority graphics include: "do not tip or rock" stickers, "clever and cool" stickers and calorie-count stickers. Secondary panel options offer the ability to customize each machine.

Your Comprehensive Resource
A new portal on CokeSolutions.com, FLO.CokeSolutions.com, provides ideas and information to the full line operator and is dedicated to helping you grow your business in smart, consistent ways, with proven tactics and proprietary research. There you will find merchandising and staging advice, recommendations for priority brands, demographic breakdowns of all Coca-Cola products and more.

"Our goal is to provide operators with the information they need to grow their businesses. With more than 128 years of experience, we can offer unique insights, tools, proven best practices and more," Scott Corley ,Coca-Cola's vice president of Foodservice On-Premise and Vending, told the National Automatic Merchandising Association in April. "For the first time, full line operators have direct access to this expertise in one convenient location."

To access the full line operator portal, go to the CokeSolutions.com Full Line Operator page and scroll down to the How to Register section to gain access. Enter your email address when prompted. You will receive an email from Coca-Cola Service Now with a registration link. Complete the registration form and submit it. You will be notified within 48 hours of the status of your request. For assistance, contact the CBS Service Desk at 1-866-265-3638, Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. EST, or email cokesolutions@coca-cola.com.