IoT drops the carbon footprint of Vending Machines

In the past five years we have seen some amazing vending machines. From fresh vegetables and fruits to live lobsters, hot noodle soup and even gold bars (only in Dubai). Vending machines for things we need in an emergency – guitar strings, umbrellas, make-up, diapers, phones chargers, socks and even flip-flops. Where was that flip-flop vending machine when I had to hobble around in my broken slippers for 3 hours this past month? New uses are cropping up every day, like this recent news of a car vending machine in San Francisco. Of course my favorites are the dessert vending machines – skittles, jellybeans, cupcakes, ice cream, and even pecan pies – yum!

But there is another side to this story - the cost of bringing this convenience to people. I am talking about the economic cost and also the carbon footprint cost of managing and maintaining these machines. This is where #IoT comes to the rescue.

 IoT isn’t just about connecting things – it’s about delivering services to increase efficiency & productivity. Cantaloupe Systems is one such company that is leveraging IoT to provide solutions to vending operators to automate the monitoring of machines. This real-time info enables vending companies to stock what is needed, when it’s needed and instantly know when a machine is down. Now service trucks no longer have to make frequent trips to check stock levels and they don't have to carry every item stocked in the vending machine. The result - reduced costs and reduced carbon footprint.

 That’s the power of #IoTNow http://snip.ly/J1TP #IoTSuccessFriday 

 Ok, all this food talk is making me hungry, I am heading to the nearest cheesecake vending machine.