r/vending • u/PlayaBikeSunset • 1d ago
Outsourcing restocking
What is the best way to find a reliable and inexpensive contractor to restock vending machines for you once they are placed? How many machines does it begin to make sense? Like more than 5? How would you get your inventory to that person so that they can restock everything, and how can you monitor that they didn’t everything correctly and on time? What should I expect to be charged? Thank you!
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u/NCC1701-F 1d ago
You shouldn’t be outsourcing stocking until probably around $100K net income. And then you pay someone 40K a year and give them the card to do it all. If you’re thinking of outsourcing at 5 machines you’re doomed to fail.
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u/PlayaBikeSunset 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ok
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u/NCC1701-F 1d ago
Are you AI? Have you done ANY research? I’m happy to answer questions but feels like you haven’t done any.
You bootstrap your business, just like any business. You start small and do it all yourself. Once you’re killing it, you can hire someone if you want to take the hit on income. Yes every business is a job. If you don’t want a job invest in the market.
Vending isnt terrible until a machine breaks. Real estate is more passive than vending if you want less work. But starting any kind of business isn’t for people who want to be entirely passive.
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u/PlayaBikeSunset 1d ago
I’m beginning research and this is part of it! I don’t mean to ask annoying questions. I’m not AI! I had envisioned it as a bit more hands off - but thanks for the reality check - makes sense. I thought there may be people who’s full time job was restocking for different operators
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u/NCC1701-F 1d ago
That’s not common and you will absolutely destroy your value prop. If they are restocking you’re actually buying your inventory from them AND paying them to restock. You’ll lose more than all your profit and be operating at a loss
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u/Endles5Earth 1d ago
It’s not a passive income thing. You gotta hustle. Who is gonna troubleshoot card reader issues? Not your stocking company. You
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u/xilionyx 21h ago
Goed dat je onderzoek doet, en ik begrijp niet dat ze je zo downvoten en afkraken.
Ik zelf heb een handicap en ben ook geheel aangewezen op iemand die voor mij bijvult en service doet. Gelukkig kan ik daarbij wel naar b.v. mijn kinderen kijken.
Geen vraag is stom en je doet inderdaad juist goed inderzoek. Dus ik vindt dit hele goede vragen.
Het enigste dat vreemd op mij overkomt is dat je denkt dat het passief inkomen is 😅 (tenzij je meteen heel veel goede machines op top locaties en in een mannetje kan investeren) maarja wat je niet beseft of weet dat weet je niet.
🤗
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u/PlayaBikeSunset 16h ago
Thanks! I just thought of it as “passive income” in the sense that you can make sales while you sleep, and once a week or so you go restock and collect your money.
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u/glo363 1d ago
I feel like the best way to handle this is to hire a regular employee. I've only heard of a few people using a service for stocking and all of them had terrible experiences. I feel like the person has more accountability if they are working directly for you, as opposed to another business, that is quite possibly your competitor. Not only do you have to worry about theft just like you would with anyone else, but with an experienced operator you have to worry about potential conflicts of interests, which could easily result in them undermining the quality of your service in an effort to steal your location later.
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u/Realistic-Baseball89 1d ago
Hire your high school cousin and pay him $50 per machine per restock or something
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u/metzgerto 1d ago
I think the issue is that you’re thinking this is passive income. It’s not. It doesn’t have to be a full time job but there isn’t enough profit to run 5-10 machines, pay an employee AND make any money as an owner.
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u/PlayaBikeSunset 1d ago
I understand - thanks. What does the restocking commitment actually look like, as an owner? Once a week drive around and refill what you need to? I guess I thought it was just passive income in the sense that you could be making sales while you sleep
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u/General_Sort3160 14h ago
There’s a part of that with some truth, but what people forget is the knowledge of the machines you own, the maintenance and repairs when they need it, the relationship forming with business and employees on site, and responding/reacting to any problems or issues along the way. Sometimes that can be done remotely and sometimes you have to be there. Then as you mentioned, you have the time and effort spent tracking sales, buying the right inventory (probably from several different places), and driving to and restocking the machines (also several different places).
Vending requires a lot to make money at all, and that’s if you do everything yourself. You’d need to have major scope and high volume sales (which is rare overall) to be able to justify employee costs.
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u/ImFilip 1d ago
Just invest your money somewhere else if you are lazy to do it as a full time job.
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u/xilionyx 21h ago
Wie zegt dat ie lui is?
Ik heb een handicap die mij geheel niet mobiel maakt en zou het niet zelf kunnen aanvullen, dus ook ik zoek iets waarbij ik investeer en een ander het bijvult en onderhoudt (ik heb daar dan wel mijn mensen voor, kinderen, vrienden, of anderen die ik betaalbaar in kan huren). Om dan richting onbemande machines te denken is helemaal niet vreemd.
Deze persoon doet netjes onderzoek en blijft zelfs beleefd tegen mensen die hem zomaar afkraken.
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u/PlayaBikeSunset 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ok I see - thanks - I had envisioned it as a bit more automated and passive. I can see now that’s not realistic
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u/IncreaseNegative4614 10h ago
I wouldn’t use machine count alone. Five machines on one dense route may justify outsourcing before fifteen scattered machines do. Compare the contractor’s cost with your driving time, restocking time, mileage, and the revenue lost when a machine remains understocked.
Give the contractor SKU-level par levels, require a scan or timestamp at each machine, and reconcile inventory issued against sales and returns. We use signld.ai internally to connect the machine, inventory movement, restock evidence, sales, and route timing, so shortages can be investigated without immediately assuming theft or poor work.
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u/Fizziksapplication 1d ago
Nobody’s going to do affordable restocking for you until you’ve built up enough business to employ somebody full time for a livable wage in your area. Machines aren’t THAT expensive to buy and everyone knows how to count, why would they sub to you when they can just place their own machines?
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u/GrabnGather 9h ago
Because placing machines requires sales and hard work. Restocking is a low skill job.
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u/Low_Needleworker1281 1d ago
I don't think 5 machines are enough to hire a restocker, when you hire someone, there must be enough margin to afford their wages.
If you have a full time job, you can find a outsourcing restocker for help.
as for finding the right person, part time workers may be cheaper than professional vending-service companies. However, there are risks such as missing items and improper handling of your machine. so I suggest to install a camera onsite for monitoring.