Telecom Lead Europe: U.K. mobile service provider
Everything Everywhere has tied up with Nokia Siemens Networks to offer remote
stock monitoring, customer interaction and multiple payment methods to vending
machine owners.
Leveraging Nokia Siemens’ solutions, vending machine
owners will have the opportunity to increase revenue and reduce costs.
Vending machines will be linked to Nokia Siemens’ VendMe
application and installed with Everything Everywhere SIM cards, connecting them
to both the UK’s largest 3G network and France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom’s
international footprint.
This connectivity will allow vendors to monitor stock
levels remotely and plan efficient replenishing of machines without the need to
make site visits.
Vending machine owners can cut costs as they will travel
less contributing to green. Their fleet management teams will also benefit.
Vending is just one of many areas where we are offering
innovative services outside the traditional telecoms remit. There is great
potential for M2M technologies to provide companies operating internationally
in all sectors with instant access to data, making businesses run better and
improving the customer experience,” said Marc Overton, vice president Wholesale
and M2M at Everything Everywhere.
Nokia Siemens is committed to driving the benefits of
M2M applications into different industries by developing solutions that address
a wide variety of requirements seamlessly and cost-efficiently,” said Bernd
Gross, head of the M2M business line at Nokia Siemens Networks.
Through the partnership with Everything Everywhere, Nokia
Siemens customers will benefit from a reduced time to market of up to 60
percent.
Vendors will have access to new ways to engage potential
customers, through sending targeted messages to those people in the vicinity of
a smart vending machine, and even interacting with customers and their contacts
through their social networks of choice.
Once customers are at a smart vending machine, they will
not need cash to make a purchase, but can take advantage of NFC technology,
through Orange Quick Tap from Everything Everywhere, or NFC-enabled
cards. Contactless payments are also possible through Reverse SMS and Chip
& Pin, meaning the risk of leaving cash in machines is reduced, while the
convenience to customers is increased.
