The machine that’s quietly costing you money

Insights from Vendon Cloud Live Session II with Tereze Konopecka, Global IoT Project Manager at Vendon

Most operators know which machine in their fleet breaks down the most.

What they often don’t know is which machine costs them the most money.

Those aren’t always the same thing.

The machine that creates the biggest financial burden is often not the one sitting out of order with a service ticket attached to it. More often, it’s the machine that keeps generating small problems. The one that requires an extra visit here, a replacement part there, and just enough attention to drain technician time without ever becoming an obvious priority.

During Vendon Cloud Live Session II, Global IoT Project Manager Tereze Konopecka focused on a topic that affects every vending and office coffee operator: maintenance.

Not maintenance as a technical function, but maintenance as a business issue.

Because every unnecessary service visit, every preventable breakdown, and every hour spent troubleshooting the wrong machine eventually shows up in the bottom line.

As Konopecka explained during the session, the challenge for many operators is that maintenance decisions are often reactive. Machines fail, technicians respond, and the cycle repeats itself.

The question is whether operators can identify problems before they become expensive.

When one machine consumes more resources than it should

One operator managing more than 200 vending machines believed service issues were spread fairly evenly across the fleet.

That assumption seemed reasonable.

Until the data told a different story.

When technical events were reviewed in Vendon Cloud, one machine stood out immediately. Although it represented less than 1% of the fleet, it generated more than 20% of all service-related events.

The machine wasn’t completely failing. It was still selling products and generating revenue. From a distance, it appeared to be performing adequately.

But technicians kept returning to the same location.

A small issue here. Another issue a few weeks later. Then another.

Individually, none of the problems seemed serious enough to justify replacing the machine. Together, they represented a significant operational cost.

The machine wasn’t causing one expensive breakdown.

It was creating dozens of small expenses.

Once the operator identified the pattern and replaced the machine, service visits dropped significantly and technician time could be redirected to higher-value activities.

This is one of the key advantages of event monitoring. It helps operators understand not only which machines are failing, but which machines are quietly consuming resources.

Why maintenance schedules don’t always make sense

The same principle applies in office coffee service.

Many operators still schedule maintenance based on dates. Water filters are changed every six months. Cleaning tasks follow fixed schedules. Components are replaced according to the calendar.

It’s simple and easy to manage.

Unfortunately, machines don’t care what month it is.

During the session, Tereze demonstrated how usage-based maintenance can provide a much more accurate picture of machine needs.

One coffee operator replaced filters every six months across the entire fleet. However, machine data revealed that some locations reached their replacement threshold after approximately 4,000 liters of water, while others had not reached even half that volume during the same period.

Some machines were being serviced too late, creating potential quality issues.

Others were being serviced too early, creating unnecessary labor and parts costs.

The problem wasn’t the maintenance team.

The problem was the assumption that every machine experiences the same level of usage.

By switching to maintenance schedules based on actual consumption rather than calendar dates, the operator reduced unnecessary visits while maintaining consistent beverage quality.

Managing maintenance as a business process

One of the strongest themes throughout the session was that maintenance should not operate in isolation.

Technicians, route drivers, service managers, and operations teams all make decisions that affect profitability.

That is why Vendon Cloud combines technical events, machine status, maintenance history, cleaning schedules, and component consumption in a single platform.

The goal is not simply to generate more service information.

The goal is to help operators make better decisions.

Can maintenance be combined with an existing route visit?

Which machines require immediate attention?

Which machines can wait until the next scheduled stop?

Which recurring events indicate a larger issue?

Questions like these have a direct impact on labor costs, route efficiency, and machine uptime.

The most expensive breakdown is often the one you didn’t see coming

For many operators, maintenance is viewed primarily as a cost center.

But the discussion during the session suggested a different perspective.

Effective maintenance protects revenue.

A machine that remains operational during peak demand continues generating sales. A coffee machine that consistently delivers quality beverages strengthens customer relationships. A technician who avoids unnecessary visits can spend more time on activities that add value.

The goal is not to perform more maintenance.

The goal is to perform the right maintenance at the right time.

Because in today’s vending and office coffee businesses, profit isn’t only determined by how much you sell.

It’s also determined by how efficiently you keep the business running.

About Vendon

Vendon is Europe’s leading connectivity platform for mixed vending and coffee machine fleets of any size, working globally with a presence in over 110 countries. Our platform is focused on usability, achieving your business goals, and growing your profit.