3 Ways Cashless Integration Boosts Vending Efficiency

Cashless and telemetry technology isn’t new—but its impact on vending operations keeps growing. As more customers expect card, contactless, and mobile options, the opportunity for operators goes beyond just payment.

When combined with a smart vending management system like Vendmanager, cashless and telemetry data unlock powerful efficiencies. You can stock faster, service smarter, and run leaner—with real-time visibility driving every decision.

Here are three proven ways that integration with cashless data makes vending more efficient.

Single Walk: cut down site visits

Picture this: A route operator pulls up to a large manufacturing site with nine vending machines spread across three buildings. Without telemetry, they need to walk into each building, check the stock manually, walk back to the van to pick the stock, and return to fill the machines. That’s at least six trips per site.

Now with Vendmanager and telemetry integration, it’s different. The operator syncs their mobile app on arrival, and within minutes, Vendmanager Mobile has real-time sales data from all machines. The system calculates what’s needed—down to each spiral—and builds a picking list instantly.

They take the right stock on the first walk, go straight to the machines, fill, and move on. In many cases, they complete the job in just one or two trips.

We call this “Single Walk.” And it’s not a new idea—our clients have been using it for over eight years to save time, reduce fatigue, and boost productivity.

For any operator serving multi-building sites like hospitals, universities, or campuses, this change adds up fast. Fewer steps. Faster fills. More machines serviced per shift.

Visit on Demand: stop wasting trips

Traditional vending routes are often based on fixed schedules—weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly. But what if a machine doesn’t need a visit? Or worse, what if it runs out before the scheduled check?

Vendmanager’s Visit on Demand feature uses real-time telemetry to fix that. Instead of following a rigid plan, operators are dispatched when it makes sense—based on actual machine activity.

You set the thresholds: maybe a machine should be visited when stock falls below a certain level, or if it hasn’t been serviced in a set number of days. Vendmanager monitors these triggers constantly, then flags machines using a simple traffic-light system.

Machines marked red need immediate attention. Green means you can skip the stop.

The result: fewer unnecessary trips, lower fuel costs, and better use of operator time. Our customers have even eliminated entire route days thanks to smarter scheduling.

And this level of automation isn’t possible without telemetry data—or Datakey.

Pre-packing: streamline the warehouse

Pre-packing stock based on real-time machine needs is one of the most overlooked advantages of telemetry integration.

Here’s how it works: Before an operator even arrives at the warehouse, Vendmanager has already pulled data from each machine on their route. The warehouse team uses that data to pack individual crates for each machine—snacks, bottles, and all—labelled and sorted by location.

When the operator arrives, they load the pre-packed stock into their van, organised by stop. At the site, Vendmanager Mobile matches each crate to the machine, auto-populating fill levels and speeding up service.

This cuts time spent picking stock at the machine, reduces van space needs, and allows operators to handle more machines per day. In some cases, it’s even helped companies switch to smaller vans.

And because less stock rides around unused, overall shrinkage and spoilage drop, too.