INDUSTRY TERMINOLOGY

Account Executive: A representative of the food service company who deals with the liaison designate of the client.

Account Supervisor: A representative of the food service company involved in the day to day operation of several accounts.

Accounts Payable: Amounts due to a vendor for the delivery of inventory products.

Accounts Receivable: Amounts due and charged for the delivery of product to non vending locations.

Administration Fee: A fee paid to the food service company by the client to cover a portion of the food service company’s overhead relating to supervision, accounting provided by the food service for the location.

AMHIC: Organization plan and procedure of automatic health – industry council (AMHIC) outlines AMHIC purposes and operations.

Bank:

1) Two or more vending machines in a row.
2) Amount of money stored in a coin/dollar mechanism; also refers to a routeman’s change fund.

Bar Code: A combination of parallel lines of bars and spaces that communicate data about the product or shipping container to which it is affixed. (e.g. U.P.C code). Bar code allows for tracking, management and control of physical product flow.

Bulk Operator: Specializes in vending machines offering gum balls, trinkets and charms, usually at one cent or five cents with larger offerings at ten and twenty five cents.

Bulk Vending: Sale of unwrapped or unsorted merchandise through coin operated vending machines.

CFC: Chlorofluorocarbon - compound used as a refrigerant, cleaning solvent or propellant.

Charge Out: Requisition form to record merchandise received.

Class Of Trade: (also referred to as location) the classification of the site where the machine is placed by sector (e.g. schools, factories etc.)

Contract vending: The installation and operation of vending machines by a private contractor who retain title to his vending equipment while performing his services.

Distributor (product): A representative for the manufacturer who sells the product to various vend operators.

Distributor (equipment): A representative for the equipment manufacturer who sells the equipment.

FDA Model Code 1978: “The Vending And Beverages” model ordinance code developed specifically for vending in 1957 and revised in 1978.

Free Standing: A single machine installation, distinguished from the bank.

Free Vend: A machine adjusted to vend product at no charge.

Installation: Placing a vending machine(s) for operation at a particular location.

Inventory: A physical count of product and/or equipment.

Joint Replenishment: Ability to buy two or more items from the same supplier on the single purchase order.

Location: Specific place within the site where the machine is. (I.e. Cafeteria, Breakroom).

Machine Maintenance: Routine work completed by a mechanic to ensure the machine is working properly.

Machine Re-Fits: To configure shelves inside the machine to fit a given product.

Mixed Route: A route which is planned to handle several types of products.

Money Room: Location from where revenue from vending and non vending sales is counted.

NAMA: National Automatic Merchandising Association is the national associate of vending and food service management industry found in 1936.

Operator: An established company set up with trained personnel to service and maintains vending machines.

Par Out:
1) The process by which the routeman collects sales, fill the coin mechanism with change and loads the vending machines with products.
2) The process by which the merchandise and sales in a vending at any point of time are reconciled to the par or the fixed level of the machine to determine if any excess or shortage exists.

Prepaid Card: A card for a set amount of money, which is then debited for each purchase.

Resident Vend: A vending operation at a client location that has one or more resident routemen or hostesses. It is thus distinguished from a route or street vend location, which is serviced by traveling route personnel.

Rotate Product: Because many vend products have a short shelf life, companies want a regular rotation of products. Older products will be brought forward and loaded to the route trucks, allowing for reordering of new product.

Route: A sequence of locations services by a traveling routeman.

Routeman: The person who services one or more vending locations.

Route Driver: The person trained to fill, clean and balance various vending equipment.

Route Manager: The route manager is usually responsible for seeing the vending machines at customer sites are clean, full and working. Many times the route manager also maintains contact with customers on a regular basis and gives route person.

Route Vend: A group of vending locations serviced by a routeman (also referred to as jump route or street vend).

Slotting: A fee charged by a Vend operator to a product supplier for machine real-estate to guarantee placement/distribution agreed upon number of machines.

Stops: A term used for different locations, accounts (stops).

Supplementary Vending: Small banks or individual pieces of vending machines scattered throughout a location to provide back up service for a more complete centralized manual or automatic food service operation.

Vending Cafeteria: A location where all food and beverages are dispensed through vending machines.