What can operators expect from the partnership between Cantaloupe and SB Software?
In a LinkedIn Live on Wednesday, 18th September, Cantaloupe CEO Ravi Venkatesan; SB Software COO Dan Varney; Cantaloupe Managing Director, EMEA, Shaun Burger; and Sales Director, U.K., Robin Turver came together to discuss why Cantaloupe and SB Software will work better together for the benefit of our mutual customers. Here are the highlights from that conversation.
Customers will now get an end-to-end solution from a “single” partner.
Initial conversations between the Cantaloupe and SB Software teams focused around integration of Cantaloupe’s cashless payment devices and telemetry solutions with Vendmanager and Coffeemanager. But as Ravi Venkatesan said, “we realized that, from our customers’ lens, it would make sense if this was one company that they were dealing with, where we could provide this end-to-end solution in a very seamless manner.”
Dan Varney concurred. “We felt like we were having conversations as part of the same team because our focuses were so aligned, in terms of customer success, and how we focus on using more systems efficiency.”
Customer service will continue to be top priority.
“We want to provide the best product we can,” says Dan. “When we started, it was all about the product. Then, when we started bringing in the technical account managers, we wanted to do that in the best way. How do we get the best support for that? The core principle has always been about being the best we can be, and also continuing to improve on that.
“When Robin Turver joined SB Software, he was opening doors to potential customers built on a system that was a great product, that had real, tangible benefits we could drive to clients, and it had the best support in the market. For example, if your operator is stuck at 6AM, they are speaking to a real person that is trying to help them get to the right point.”
Shaun Burger affirmed that customer service is the core of SB Software’s success.
“[SB Software] has clearly done an excellent job of building those relationships and sustaining those relationships, and paving the way for how things should be done from a service delivery point of view and a quality product perspective. That is certainly the way Cantaloupe wants to adopt their processes and move forward in the marketplace.”
Innovation will be a key theme moving forward.
The ability to knowledge share between both companies and how that sharing of learnings will positively impact customers is another key driver that is at the top of Dan Varney’s mind.
“That leveraging of skillsets, that leveraging of learnings, is probably one of the most exciting things that is going to drive so much conversation, that we’ll then be able to drive the products, the software, the developments that we’re planning and working on.”
Ravi agreed. “Our focus from day one is going to be on optimising customer experience, all the way from when you want to buy something or subscribe to software to onboarding to billing to deposit returns and more.”
Cantaloupe and SB Software’s combined solutions will be available to more operators in the U.K. and beyond.
Robin makes it clear that if customers are looking for a one-stop shop, the integration of SB Software’s vending management systems with any Cantaloupe device will provide customers with full end-to-end solutions — especially for operators who may not know they need them.
“We certainly are going to focus very heavily on European expansion and providing customers with solution sets that, quite frankly, do not actually have access to the end-to-end offerings that could be on the table,” says Shaun. “Cantaloupe has some of the best product sets when it comes to payment technology. We are certified and operational across forty-four different countries in Europe today. We have a seamless process with which we can help onboard customers across the board. And with the addition of SB Software, we can also provide the backend support software that’s actually going to help streamline those operators generally out in the marketplace.”
Customer feedback will be an important aspect of the partnership.
Ravi emphasises that, like all transitions, getting settled into this new partnership will take time.
“I would like – and I’m sure our customers would like this – for everything to work perfectly from day one. It doesn’t happen that way; it will take us a little bit of time to integrate processes, integrate operations, integrate the experience. Our ask of customers and partners and everybody in the ecosystem is: Give us your feedback,” says Venkatesan. Give us your constructive feedback, give us your thoughts, give us your inputs, and we will learn and improve rapidly to serve you better. Ultimately, that’s our mission: to serve you better and make your businesses more efficient.”
Come see the Cantaloupe and SB Software teams together at upcoming industry events, including EVEX 2024 in Cannes, France the 16th – 18th of October, and Vendex North the 6th of November.