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VENDING MACHINE
Introduction
My idea is to introduce a stationary vending machine. In todays developing world innovation is required at all parts of life. Vending machines that i have witnessed are for some drinks or food items. To bring about a change and innovation we can introduce a vending machine that can vend stationary items. To start with first we should know what exactly a vending machine is. The term vending machine refers to a machine that accepts payments, and dispenses a product or service. The item dispensed by the machine may be a beverage, a snack, a ticket, a receipt for a payment, or simply change for a larger denomination of currency. As an entrepreneur I thought of introducing it initially with some big brands (classmate, cello, add gel, uniball and Neelgagan etc.). I mean to be clear vending machine will have an individual brand name and initially the products in it will be of aforesaid brands. According to my business plan the products would be taken in lots from the aforesaid companies So that the products be cheaper to me. Vending machine being small thing can be a big business if we think bigger with it. Further we can tie up with universities so as to place vending machines within the premises of the university. Say for example Amity University. I being a student have experienced so many people around me moving without stationary into the class. If a vending machine is placed outside the class obviously students will buy. My plan also include a long term goal of making a brand of the products that will vend from the machine i.e. will try to follow backward integration strategy and will start producing the products on our own.
The term vending machine refers to a machine that accepts payments, and dispenses a product or service. The item dispensed by the machine may be a beverage, a snack, a ticket, a receipt for a payment, or simply change for a larger denomination of currency. 2
Such machines are common in Western countries and Japan; however, they are yet to gain a major presence in India.
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE IN VENDING MACHINE Pen A4 sheets Eraser Sharpener Pencil Copy Stapler Stapler pin Punching machine Pen drive
India has a much greater diversity of currency, both coins and notes, compared to most Western countries. As a result, the same coin and note recognition techniques that are used for currencies such as the dollar and the yen do not extend themselves to Indian currency. For this reason, vending machines deployed in India are unable to accept more than one particular kind of coin (such as a five rupee coin or a 1 rupee coin). This is a major hassle both for the customer, who must have the right kind of change, as well as for the vendor whose products are being sold, because he is forever locked to one particular price for his product. This is one of the main reasons that vending machines have not picked up in India.
India has one of the cheapest labor forces in the world for unspecialized jobs such as vending of products or selling of tickets, which are functionalities typically performed by a vending machine. In countries abroad, vending machines that dispense beverages like coffee are ubiquitous because it is expensive to employ a person to fulfill such a role; in India, however, it would be nave to expect people to start using vending machines when they can get cheap coffee, tea, cigarettes from roadside vendors. For a vending machine to displace an equivalent human vendor, it must not only be capable of performing all the duties that a vendor would perform, but must also be substantially cheaper to install and maintain than employing labor.
In countries abroad, vending machines are typically present in environments where the temperature and humidity are controlled, and where security and vandalism are not particular issues. In India, the operating environment for such machines is substantially more demanding, and the machine must be well protected from would-be vandals.
A related concern in any vending machine is security, which takes on three aspects. First, the currency that is stored within a vending machine must be secured, and the machine itself must be resistant to theft. This aspect of security is important to the vendor who has invested in the machine. Second, the contents of the machine must be tamper-proof for example, no one must be able to contaminate the beverage that a soft drink vending machine may dispense. This aspect of security is important both to the vendor and the customer of the product. Thirdly, the machine must guarantee that a product will be dispensed when a customer puts money into it, and must not steal customers money through malfunction in any circumstances. This refers to a customers feeling of security when dealing with a machine instead of a shopkeeper. All of these concerns are very inadequately addressed in vending machines in India today.
Current vending solutions do not offer the same convenience as from a shopkeeper.
Indians are accustomed to personalized service in shops in India, and expect the same level of convenience from a vending machine also. For example, a vending machine must be able to make change and offer a variety of purchasing choices, just as a shopkeeper would. A vending machine must also require minimum maintenance, and guarantee maximum uptime, in order to gain widespread public use. Vending machines in India are technologically far from satisfying these conditions today.
For several products in India, such as coffee, vegetables, beverages etc., there exists a relationship between the customer and the shop-keeper today. It is unlikely that a customer will switch over to purchasing from a machine when such a relationship exists.
The fundamental issues of trust, redressal of grievances, assurance of quality etc. are social issues that impede the adoption of vending machines in India.
a)
That vending machines may be deployed widely in India only for certain products
and services and not others; and b) That the main stumbling block for vending machines in India appears to be the
Primary activities
Inbound logistics: Refers to goods being obtained from the organizations suppliers ready to be used for producing the end product. Outbound logistics: Once the products have been manufactured they are ready to be distributed to distribution centers, wholesalers, retailers or customers. Marketing and Sales: Marketing must make sure that the product is targeted towards the correct customer group. The marketing mix is used to establish an effective strategy; any competitive advantage is clearly communicated to the target group by the use of the promotional mix. Services: After the product/service has been sold what support services does the organization have to offer. This may come in the form of after sales training, guarantees and warranties. With the above activities, any or a combination of them, maybe essential for the firm to develop the competitive advantage.
Support Activities
The support activities assist the primary activities in helping the organization achieve its competitive advantage. They include: Procurement: This department must source raw materials for the organization and obtain the best price for doing so. For the price they must obtain the best possible quality
Technology development: The use of technology to obtain a competitive advantage within the organization. This is very important in todays technological driven environment. Technology can be used in production to reduce cost thus add value, or in research and development to develop new products, or via the use of the internet so customers have access to online facilities. Human resource management: The organization will have to recruit, train and develop the correct people for the organization if they are to succeed in their objectives. Staff will have to be motivated and paid the market rate if they are to stay with the organization and add value to it over their duration of employment. Within the service sector e.g. airlines it is the staff who may offer the competitive advantage that is needed within the field. Firm infrastructure: Every organization needs to ensure that their finances, legal structure and management structure works efficiently and helps drive the organization forward. As you can see the value chain encompasses the whole organization and looks at how primary and support activities can work together effectively and efficiently to help gain the organization a superior competitive advantage.
WRITE IN TIME
WRITE IN TIME provides Stationary at the click of a Button. This marketing plan illustrates our market segments and the strategies we will be employing to get customers and create a good revenue stream. We are not just any penpaper provider. Our unique focus of creating Pen Register Vending Machines gives us
an advantage over our competitors by giving customers a new outlet to avail their desired product anywhere and in seconds. We shall fulfill the needs of not just traditional pen paper buyers but expand our reach to people who would normally not go out and shop for such items.
We shall purchase and put to use readymade Vending Machines. Then we shall establish relationships with companies who are interested in embedding their brand and offers inside our machines.
VISION
Be a leader in providing best quality writing instruments in time. Our marketing challenge is to attract visibility quickly and we intend to accomplish this by leveraging a multi-pronged approach that involves social media, email marketing and search engine optimization strategies to gain market share. As we gain traction in the marketplace, word of mouth will lift our product sales.
TARGET MARKET
Our ideal customer is the ages of 13 and 25. They often a need pen at the last moment, maybe before the start of classes, lectures, or even exams. Our Vending Machines will provide a creative promotional method to different brands, their products and services.
1. Students
There are two types of customers that define the demographic of Write in time users: teens (including pre-teens) and young adults, which for the purposes of this marketing plan will include teenagers age 18 and above as they are considered young adults by the general population as well as by the law. Our strategy focuses upon launching the first set of Write in Time machines we will stay in regular contact with our customers via numerous online methods, including social media and email marketing; and later allowing the brands to promote their brand via our Machines.
DIFFERENTIATORS
1. Cater to specific needs 2. Consistent Supply
PROMOTION
We will leverage social media and word of mouth for the vast majority of our marketing using platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Orkut and MySpace. We will make announcements via regular tweets and updates to our fan page on Facebook.
SEGMENTATION
Segmentation is the process of grouping people or organizations within a market according to similar needs, characteristics, or behaviors .
Segmentation is the process of placing together consumers into groups such that consumer heterogeneity on specified characteristics is minimized within groups and maximized across groups e.g. value for money buyers as distinct from economy buyers.
Segmentation can also be thought of as taking a market and dividing them into groups based on some common characteristic e.g. diet-colas, regular colas.
Dividing the market into groups An entire market rarely has the same tastes and preferences It is difficult to handle all preferences too Mercedes Benz, for example (only high-end)
Targeting
Is the actual selection of the segment you want to serve the target market is the group of people or organizations whose needs a product is specifically designed to satisfy.
Positioning
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Is the use of marketing to enable people to form a mental image of your product in their minds (relative to other products).
- BASES OF SEGMENTATION
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Geographic- by location (same area share some similar needs & wants)-region,
2.
3.
4.
Buying behavior
A. Geographic Segmentation The following are some examples of geographic variables often used in segmentation.
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Region: by continent, country, state, or even neighborhood Size of metropolitan area: segmented according to size of population Population density: often classified as urban, suburban, or rural Climate: according to weather patterns common to certain geographic regions
Age Gender Family size Family lifecycle Generation: baby-boomers, Generation X, etc. Income Occupation Education Ethnicity Nationality Religion Social class
Many of these variables have standard categories for their values. For example, family lifecycle often is expressed as bachelor, married with no children (DINKS: Double Income, No Kids), full-nest, empty-nest, or solitary survivor. Some of these categories have several stages, for example, full-nest I, II, or III depending on the age of the children.
C. Psychographic Segmentation Psychographic segmentation groups customers according to their lifestyle. Activities, interests, and opinions (AIO) surveys are one tool for measuring lifestyle. Some psychographic variables include:
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D. Behavioralistic Segmentation Behavioral segmentation is based on actual customer behavior toward products. Some behavioralistic variables include:
Benefits sought Usage rate Brand loyalty User status: potential, first-time, regular, etc. Readiness to buy Occasions: holidays and events that stimulate purchases
Behavioral segmentation has the advantage of using variables that are closely related to the product itself. It is a fairly direct starting point for market segmentation.
stationary on time.
POSITIONING
The key elements of positioning of Write in Time will be:
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1. Save of time and distance (being installed on campus). 2. Good quality at reasonable prices.
Target Market: Organizations Who Want to Reach Youth and Young Adults Stationery users are everywhere. Since the youth and young adult demographic is so large, it is also very lucrative. There are countless products targeting this demographic, from soda manufacturers to clothing designers to hair product companies. This segment can also consist of recruiters, which can be for military service or other jobs. Companies who already spend millions of dollars on marketing to this group are regularly looking for newer, more creative ways to reach this market to reinforce their brand and sell products.
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USP
Quality product within seconds.
CONCLUSION
Huge amount of investment in advertising required to grab hold of a greater market share. Technological innovation is the future. Distribution is the Crux.
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