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Enjoy life . . . eat more ice cream from a DIVI™

Enjoy life . . . eat more ice cream from a DIVI Frozen. Read how Tom Costa balanced family life and increased profits with Fastcorp in Dickinson TN
DIVI Success Stories from Fastcorp Vending, the world's leader in frozen vending
Enjoy life . . . eat more ice cream from a DIVI Frozen. Read how Tom Costa balanced family life and increased profits with Fastcorp in Dickinson TN
Enjoy life . . . eat more ice cream from a DIVI Frozen. Read how Tom Costa balanced family life and increased profits with Fastcorp in Dickinson, TN

Enjoy life . . . eat more ice cream - from a DIVI™

For anyone who has ever craved premium ice cream at midnight but had no place to go and get some from, Katie’s Ice Cream had you in mind. Katie’s Ice Cream is a family business inspired by Tom Costa, his wife, and four children. To maintain family time for himself and his staff, Katie’s is closed on Sundays.

Challenge

“Family and recreational time are important for all of us, but I wanted to allow customers to come by on Sundays and after-hours and still be able to enjoy a few scoops of delicious ice cream. I began researching after-hours retail and came across Fastcorp Vending.”

Solution

“I worked directly with Fastcorp’s vice president, Colleen Morris, who assured me Fastcorp could design and manufacture a versatile, efficient machine that could vend ‘nicely frozen ice cream’. The machine’s configuration focused on 2 container sizes: a single-serving cup with a wooden spoon and lid, and a take-home pint container.”

Outcome

The DIVI offered Katie’s customers a 24-hour robotic storefront that accepts cash and cashless payments, and enables Tom and his family to enjoy their Sundays. “The DIVI sits next to our front entrance. Customer engagement has been a great added bonus in both our physical location and social media.”

Using assets provided by Tom, the Fastcorp team provided a mock-up of how the DIVI would look. Tom and Katie’s team were originally considering a theatrical-style traditional unit but ultimately decided on a programmable 24″ touchscreen menu and media player.

Customer excitement about having a vending ice cream machine has generated more traffic than we imagined.

It has exceeded my expectations, a few hundred dollars each Sunday and, even vending ice cream during our open business hours.”

Tom Costa, Owner
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DIVI Features vending view - regulated

Why do I need Vend Delay?

Fastcorp's vend delay and why do you need it?

Vending products of different weights means dealing with unique needs and situations. While other vending machines tend to offer a ‘one-size-fits-all’ vending platform, Fastcorp™ DIVI™ machines allow you to adjust parameters to ensure proper handling and delivery of your unique product.

DIVI™ can handle (almost) any product - it's in our DNA

Whether you are vending 0.5oz sponges at a car wash, or 4lb books at the mall, DIVI Vend Delay can ensure your product is delivered safely and consistently to the customer. After all, DIVI does stand for Dream It Vend It!

With Fastcorp's Vend Delay you can vend almost anything - with precision. Dream It Vend It™

The DIVI vend process

Let’s start by understanding how your product travels from storage to the customer…

  1. DIVI’s SCARA (Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm) lowers the picker tip into the storage bin and connects with the product.
  2. The product is lifted via suction and maneuvered over the delivery bin.
  3. Based on your SOFT DROP settings, (read the blog here) the picker tip lowers your product towards the delivery bin.
  4. Once at the lowest point of descent, the vacuum disengages allowing the product to land on the foam delivery pad for retrieval.

So why do I need Vend Delay™

In the case of vending a 4lb book, sufficient product weight ensures the book disengages quickly from the SCARA picker tip when the suction is disengaged.

However, if you’re vending those car wash sponges or similar light items, you may need longer vacuum disengagement (see step 4 of the vend process above) to allow the product to fall away.

Vend Delay — A standard feature in all DIVI machines — allows you to adjust the pause and suction disengagement to suit your unique product
Without an adjustable Vend Delay, you may watch your lighter product being re-lifted away from the customer! This is an embarrassing example of one-size-fits-all vending solutions NOT fitting all product needs.

Preventing accidental re-lifting – while optimizing your machine’s turnaround for efficient customer service. DIVI’s Vend Delay is your solution to pesky physics problems!

Adjusting your Vend Delay timing

As we’ve already mentioned, it all depends on your product’s weight.

All DIVIs come with a 5 second standard Vend Delay, BUT you can drop this to zero for quicker vend turnarounds of heavier products or increase it up to 9 seconds to ensure light products have fully disengaged.

Confused? Don’t be… Start with these parameters and dial in the Vend Delay to your needs. And because this is Fastcorp – you know there is always a customer service rep here to help you with any questions.

In Summary

Vend Delay will allow you to fine-tune your vending experience for your customers, and give them a properly handled product, in the shortest time possible!

OK - I'm Ready - Let's Get Started!
To learn more about DIVI and its capabilities, download the DIVI brochure here…

Arrange a free consultation today

Complete the form to connect with one of our experienced sales team for a free consultation about your products and vending needs.

Find out more about regulated vending

Looking to enhance your retail solutions for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or other regulated products?
Find Out More

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DIVI Features vending view - regulated

Precision delivery to vend delicate products

Precision delivery to vend delicate products

We start with a sad story

It’s been a long scorching hot day at the ballpark, and you’re thirsty, but there’s a crazy line at concessions…

You spy a vending machine off to the side and eagerly approach. It’s not a Fastcorp™ machine, but that’s ok. You just need a drink! 

You press a few buttons and select an ice-cold bottle of beer. Yup you read that correct… a beer! Regulated products are becoming more popular in vending machines thanks to new technology. More on that in another post…back to the story.

Snack vending machines

You’re imagining that first refreshing sip when Bang! You awake from your reverie to the sound of your beer tumbling down a product chute and crashing into the delivery door like – like that home base runner you just watched on the field, completely out of control.

Your beer has been bumped, banged, tumbled, and tossed. You’re so darn parched, but you know your refreshment is now ready to spray at the first twist of the cap. 

Worse still, you realize it has broken INSIDE the delivery bin! Your lovely cold beverage is spilling everywhere. Now some yellow jackets have gathered to partake and are buzzing round the vending machine. You are certainly not making another purchase now, and someone will have to call the operator to clean it all up!

What’ya do?… Read on to learn how Fastcorp’s precision product handling makes this frustrating situation a thing of the past.

Fastcorp's robotics to the rescue

Fastcorp has a unique solution for dealing with carbonated, glass, or otherwise delicate products. Unlike traditional vending machines that rely on spiral delivery or product chute, Fastcorp’s DIVI™ implements a Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm.

We’ll call it SCARA for short.

Commonly used in the automotive and manufacturing industry, the SCARA robot excels at “pick and place” operations. This means it functions like a human arm; utilizing its jointed two-link design, the SCARA will lift the product from its bin and move it directly to the delivery pad for retrieval. With a full range of motion on its X-axis, while bolted into place on the Y-axis, SCARA can deftly handle and deliver products to the delivery bin without the rough ride of a product chute.

SCARA’s robotic vacuum delivery system is customizable to different product needs. Choose from three diameters of picker tips (1.5-inch, 2-inch, or 2.77-inch) based on your product’s shape, weight, and bulk. The larger the picker tip, the larger the surface area exposed to suction and the more stable the vend process.

Did you know DIVI and SCARA can handle products up to 4lbs!

Fastcorp's soft drop technology

To further ensure a safe journey for all your products, Fastcorp has developed its leading-edge Soft Drop technology.

Standard on all DIVI machines, Soft Drop allows you to customize the distance the SCARA vacuum hose and picker tip descend before releasing your product into the delivery bin.

Release from full height for fast vend turnaround on durable products, or set your hose to lower directly inside the delivery bin before releasing delicate items.

All product is delivered onto 4.5 inches of soft foam to ensure a gentle landing.

Grow your business - keep 'em coming back

Gone are the days of shaken beverages or banged-up products!

Fastcorp’s Precision Product Delivery System gives you full control over the movement and release of your valuable products onto a soft delivery pad. Set your parameters to best suit your products and vending style.

If you want to keep customers coming back and want to keep delivering products in their top form, make sure all your vending processes incorporate Fastcorp’s Soft Drop and Vend Delay Feature!

To learn more about DIVI and its capabilities, download the DIVI brochure here…

Arrange a free consultation today

Complete the form to connect with one of our experienced sales team for a free consultation about your products and vending needs.

Find out more about regulated vending

Looking to enhance your retail solutions for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or other regulated products?
Find Out More

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Categories
success stories - regulated vending vending view - regulated

Getting started in regulated vending

All you need to know about unattended retail for regulated products using the DIVI from Fastcorp Vending

Getting Started with Regulated Vending

All you need to know about unattended retail for regulated products using the DIVI from Fastcorp Vending

The Need

There is a new trend rising in the vending industry that is a game changer for operators and customers alike.

As more states legalize regulated products, such as alcohol, CBD, and THC, retailers are searching for safe and effective channels to sell these high-value and age restricted goods while protecting the business owner and the business’s reputation.

Enter vending! Unattended retail units that electronically verify age and identity have become a smart and cost-effective option for operators and sellers.

Keep reading to learn more about getting started with regulated vending and how Fastcorp’s DIVI-Regulated™ can support your growing business.

The shift to unattended retail

Gone are the heydays of brick-and-mortar stores. While browsing a shop brings a sense of community and touch of nostalgia, it also brings to its owners the need for employees and the other expensive overheads that go with that.

Modern vending machines, like Fastcorp’s DIVI Regulated, are equipped with cutting edge ID scan and ID verification technology. This fast and reliable technology doesn’t just facilitate the sales of unique products but verifies buyers’ credentials with high accuracy, removing concerns about the human error when checking IDs.

Sellers can feel safe in their business process while the product remains secure and available!

What are age-restricted and regulated products?

According to LawInsider.com, regulated products are “any goods whose procurement, receipt, storage, transfer, distribution, return, destruction or disposition is regulated by any federal or provincial government entity”.

These products are commonly capable of being misused in some way and come with minimum age restrictions on purchasing. Availability varies from state to state, but some common regulated products include:

  1. Aerosol paint
  2. Alcohol
  3. Alcohol confectionery
  4. Botox and cosmetic fillers
  5. Certain over-the-counter medication
  6. Cannabis and THC
  7. Corrosive substances
  8. Fireworks and sparklers
  9. Knives / blades
  10. Lighter refills
  11. Nicotine vapor products
  12. Tobacco
  13. Movies (NC17, R, M, Etc.)
  14. Video games (M, AO, Etc.)

Fastcorp's technologies

When you are dealing with regulated products, a lot can be at risk! You need to follow state and federal regulations while protecting yourself and your business’s reputation. It really is a balancing act between a positive customer experience, and an operator/seller’s due diligence.

Identity verification

Fastcorp DIVI Regulated machines have an embedded ID scanner that can perform the highest level of identity-authentication.

More than 90% of suspicious IDs are identified using this system! Even without an attendant you can be certain that the ID is legitimate, and the purchaser is of legal age to complete the transaction.

The cutting-edge ID scan and ID verification technology from IDscan.net authenticates the ID and then uses real-time three-position facial matching to confirm the ID photo.

While other vending software can require buyers and sellers to download or install apps, making for a complicated buying experience, Fastcorp’s DIVI-Regulated and its ID-Scan.net® technology process IDs in in less than 15 seconds.

Vend Block

To increase your control over your product, Fastcorp’s DIVI Regulated also offers VEND BLOCK technology. This allows the vendor to block vending up to four times a day, seven days a week. When VEND BLOCK is on, products cannot be purchased – complete control for regulated products.

There's so much more!

You now should have a solid grasp on what regulated vending is and how Fastcorp’s DIVI-Regulated machines can help sellers/operators distribute their unique products with safety and security.

Watch out for more articles from Fastcorp and our partners about regulated vending – compliance, payments systems, security, and more.

Of course, if you have more question, we are just a click away!

To learn more about DIVI-Regulated™ and its capabilities, download the brochure here…

Arrange a free consultation today

Complete the form to connect with one of our experienced sales team for a free consultation about your products and vending needs.

Find out more about regulated vending

Looking to enhance your retail solutions for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or other regulated products?
Find Out More

Share the news:

You may also be interested in:

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