b'Coca-Cola Yakima Tri-Cities Integrates Vendingand Technology for Market SuccessCoca-Cola Yakima Tri-Cities has always supported vending as a strategic complement to its Coca-Cola franchise, and DC Vending & Distributing, also owned by The Dolsen Companies, fulfills that role. The Bottler, currently riding the Pacific Northwests wave of economic growth, is able to reach consumers at work with over 250 Micro-Markets and approximately 1500 vending machines filled with the right Coke product at the right place, at the right time! This success can be attributed to industry growth, investment in new technology,a supportive owner and a culture of excellence! Micro-Markets & Pico Coolers have changed the wayCoca-Cola Yakima Tri-Cities and DC Vending get products into the handsof consumers. Micro-Markets are small, self-service retail spaces that offer a wide variety of snacks, drinks and food items not typically found in traditional vending. Micro-Markets are perfect for offices because they let employees get what they need without leaving the break room. And, with employees returning from working remotely, employers are also learning that they need to provide more conveniences that enhance their employees experiences. PicoCoolers complete this self-service experience through their smart cooler technology which opens only when payment is provided by the customer. Both Coca-Cola Yakima Tri-Cities and DC Vending strive for continuous improvement every day. Providing the tools and resources their teams need to excel is at the top of their list. In vending, the team found an advantage in investing heavilyin customer-facing technology with Micro-Markets and PicoCoolers. As these new technologies grew the business, the team quickly implemented tools to support operations. They run Lightspeed, an automated pick system, a Warehouse Management System called Level, and fully utilize automated reporting provided through SWIPE. Since DC Vending uses SWIPE for their credit card processing, they have the ability to collect DEX data from the machines, which shows what items and quantities have sold from a machine since an account reps last visit.The adoption and implementation of Pre-kitting also created incredible efficiency. Each day, sales information is collected electronically from each point of sale. That data enters the system and is pushed to picklists. Those picklists are pushed to Lightspeed, and the product for each point of sale is loaded into totes and tagged. Left: Josh Long, DC Vending Pasco Division Manager; Right: Jose Santana, DC Vending Yakima Division Manager.*Micro markets are driving the growth of convenience services in the Pacific Northwest,as in other parts of the country.**Photos: DC Vending & Distributing.7'