Automatic Merchandiser - 34

Foong said. " Coffee was an area we
neglected to focus on, and we only
have a single route, but we aim to
grow it as a top area of focus in 2021
as offices reopen - and with more
touchless solutions available. "
MICRO MARKETS ARE THE WAVE
OF THE FUTURE

The company has 19 hybrid vending/
micro market routes. It installed its
first micro market eight years ago
and believes this unattended retail
format will continue to be the wave
of the future.
" Without the barrier between
consumer and product, employees
can view nutrition information and
product details before making their
purchase, and micro markets offer so
much more variety, " said Foong. " We
encourage every customer - where
it's possible - to consider micro
markets, and we've been adding them
at a steady clip. Conversions from
vending to micro markets that we had
planned have been delayed but will
come back in three to six months, and
others have expressed interest. Sales
revenue increases by double digits
when we convert from vending to a
micro market, and no one ever wants
to go backwards. "
Pee Dee currently has 44 of Troy,
Mich.-based 365 Retail Markets' selfcheckout stores in operation with six
more already lined up for installation
- and more expected close behind.
" Our clients are happy if their
employees are happy. Because it is a
business-to-consumer interaction with
micro markets, the host company is
not paying us for the product. Due
to its format, we can provide a more
satisfying, enjoyable experience for the
consumer, " Foong commented.
USA Technologies' ePort cashless readers are installed on 90% of
Pee Dee's vending machines, but cash
is still king to most of its customers,
which are almost exclusively manufac-

Automatic Merchandiser * December 2020

Warehouse supervisor Ryan Hill works
at the company's LightSpeed computer
terminal.

O P E R AT I O N P R O F I L E

Pee Dee Food
Service
Headquarters: Florence, S.C.
Owner(s): Carolina Canners,
Inc.
Date founded: 1989
Number of employees: 51
Number of Micro Markets: 44
Number of Vending Machines:
2,400
Equipment Providers: Crane,
SandenVendo, National
Technology Providers: USA
Technologies/Cantaloupe,
LightSpeed, 365 Retail Markets
Number of Routes:
20 hybrid Vending/Market,
1 OCS

turing-based and spread out across a
rural geography.
" They like to use cash and feed
dollars into the machine and get
change, even in micro markets. We're
a little further behind in terms of
technology adoption, " Foong commented. " We have not yet had one
new request for touchless purchases,
but it's already available using Apple
Pay at our machines and kiosks.
The 365Pay app is available on their

phones so we can activate that feature
on a moment's notice. Our next frontier will be spending some energy on
identifying touchless solutions because
the pandemic won't be 100% gone
anytime soon. "
OPTIMIZING OPERATIONS

Pee Dee serves its accounts from
its main headquarters in Florence,
and by shuttling product to satellites in Andrews, S.C., to the south
and Cheraw, S.C., to the north daily
in a refrigerated box van, including
freshly made food that is stored in
walk-in coolers.
Pee Dee dynamically schedules
all its routes, delivering to the item
level when it is needed, facilitated by
remote monitoring through Cantaloupe's Seed Pro vending management system. In the warehouse, the
company leverages Duluth, GA-based
LightSpeed's pick-to-light technology to facilitate picking of snacks,
drinks and fresh food for its vending
machines and micro markets.
" It originates with Seed and sends
information on to LightSpeed, which
sends it to iPads for the picking crew, "
Foong explained. " Drivers get their
daily routes sent to their iPads. "
Further streamlining operations is
a strong in-house service department
shared by Pee Dee Food Service and
Pepsi Cola of Florence, with an expert
team that is highly efficient and skilled
at installs, repairs and refurbishing.
" Vending machines and coolers can
have a long life like vehicles, and our

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