VendHook | Intelligent Vending - Blog

Our Journey: From Traditional Vending Supplier to Innovative Solution Provider

Our story begins back in 2005. We started as a traditional vending equipment supplier, quickly gaining visibility through a website that ranked highly on search engines, attracting major clients seeking to leverage automation. But these weren’t requests for standard machines; blue-chip companies sought advanced, connected solutions to automate complex processes.

Initially, we worked with off-the-shelf machines and third-party components available in the standard vending marketplace. The limitations quickly became apparent. Industry protocols like MDB and Exec were never designed for deep integration or altering core process flows. This was starkly highlighted during a project for one of the top 3 global software companies at the time. We delivered what was then a state-of-the-art solution using the best available machines and bolt-ons from the industry. While appreciative, a Director candidly shared their view: as an innovative software company, they couldn’t believe how “Boring, Dull and Outdated” (his exact words!) the underlying technology of the vending industry was.

That blunt feedback reinforced the need to push beyond standard limitations. This led to our next phase: developing complex, bespoke electronics and software ‘bolted on’ to meet specific client needs. As a lean, agile team, we delivered some fantastic, targeted projects this way, often operating effectively under the radar within specific industry niches. However, this approach inherently lacked scalability and flexibility. Each solution was specific, making upgrades complex and costly – PCBs designed for one purpose couldn’t easily evolve.

The Turning Point: A Lost Opportunity Sparks Enduring Innovation

A pivotal moment came after working with a major overseas client on a potentially market-leading product concept, a strong relationship that had been established over a couple of years. The project ultimately failed when last-minute regulation changes, mandated by the local government for unattended equipment, introduced requirements that were technically impossible to implement using a bolt-on or ‘fudge-based’ control approach. This significant setback forced a fundamental rethink. Relying on patching existing, limited technology was clearly not a sustainable path forward.

The Birth of Quros®: Designing for Control, Flexibility, and the Future

We went back to the drawing board, deciding to invest strategically in designing our own core control platform from the ground up. We envisioned an IoT-based architecture, developing our own robotics controller to remove the reliance on restrictive industry VMCs (Vending Machine Controllers), paired with a software platform deployable locally but controllable bi-directionally, in real-time, from either the device or the cloud.

This vision, born from necessity and validated by real-world client challenges, has been sustainably developed from our base in the UK and meticulously refined over 15 years into what Quros® is today: A powerful, adaptable control platform built with core goals in mind:

• Rapid Development: Quickly configure and deploy complex solutions.
• Integration Ready: Architecture built to seamlessly connect with diverse systems and hardware.
• Future Expansion: Easily evolve and add capabilities over time.

While we are deeply involved with hardware – we appreciate the engineering, but we are not strictly manufacturers! Nevertheless, we are happy to handle CAD design, optimisation, and implementing improvements, and we thrive on deep technical engagement with dispense, robotics, and automated equipment. We realised early on (when pitching raw controllers, cables, PCs, and touch screens was met with blank stares in the traditional vending world) that we needed to demonstrate our platform’s power within a tangible solution.

Through various iterations over the years, our solutions have evolved, and this is where products like our latest Titan™ machine come in. Titan™ is a prime example of a hardware and software solution, built to our exacting specifications, showcasing the capabilities of the Quros® platform. It allows us to deliver a complete, advanced solution quickly.

Hardware is just a vehicle for Quros®, not our identity.

Quros®: The Platform Powering Your Next Innovation

At its heart, Quros® is the intelligent engine. It is a foundation that can power various types of self-service equipment – kiosks, vending machines, cabinets, and bespoke automated self-service solutions. It manages complex processes and enables real-time control and data insights far beyond traditional limitations.

We are not sheet metalworkers or traditional manufacturers. We are technology partners, focused purely on providing the core control intelligence that enables next-generation automation and engaging UX. Whether this is through hardware & software turnkey solutions, or OEM software solutions, we can assist.

An Invitation to Manufacturers and Innovators

If you are a hardware manufacturer looking to:

• Accelerate your R&D cycle with software
• Reduce development costs for advanced control systems
• Integrate cutting-edge IoT capabilities into your equipment
• Offer more flexible, powerful, and future-proof solutions to your clients

…then let’s talk. By integrating the Quros® platform, you can leverage our focused expertise and leapfrog significant development hurdles, bringing sophisticated, connected products to market faster and cheaper. We provide the proven control platform; you provide the specialised hardware. As a dedicated technology partner, we bring agility and deep system knowledge to the table.

Together, we can build the next generation of intelligent automated equipment.

Reach out to sales@quros.io learn more about how Quros® can power your innovation.

Posted in: A need for change, Access Control, Automated Sector, Control Boards, Corporate Solutions, Customised Vending, Customised Vending Machines, Digital Out of Home, Intelligent Vending, Intelligent Vending Ltd, International Supply, IoT Software, IT Peripheral Distribution, IT Solution, IT Vending Machine, Juno, Legacy Technology, Marketing & Promotion, MDB protocol, Multi-Drop Bus Protocol, Next Generation Vending Machines, OEM, Payment Peripherals and Accessories, Payment Systems, PC Controlled Vending Machines, Product and consumables, Product Help & Advice, Product News, Promotional Campaigns, Public Vending, Quros.io, Quros®, Research & Development, Retail, Sampling, Sampling Vending Machines, SandenVendo, Secure Distribution, Sexual Health Vending, Smart vending machine solutions, Smart Vending Machines, Stationery Vending Machines, Technology, Titan Touch Screen Machines, touch screen vending machines, VendHive, VendHook, Vending Help & Advice, Vending History, Vending Machine Communication Protocol, Vending Machine News, Vending Overseas, Vending Service, VendMesh, VMC, Wow factor!
Tags: AgileDevelopment, Automation, ControlPlatform, EmbeddedSystems, FutureProof, HardwareIntegration, Innovation, IntelligentVending, iot, Manufacturing, OEM, Quros®, R&D, SoftwareSolutions, SustainableGrowth, VendingTechnology

Social Meta

Make sure you are following Intelligent Vending and Intelligent Wholesale with your social media apps! You can follow our tweets, blogs and Instagram stories and posts @intelvending and @intelwholesale – not to mention have an insight into our offers, discounts and any exciting, upcoming news we may have on the horizon.

By following us on social media, you’ll gain access to the latest trends in the vending industry. We regularly share articles, tips, and insights that can help you stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s new product launches, technological advancements with smart vending machines, or sustainability initiatives, our social media channels are your go-to source for all things vending.

Don’t miss out on exclusive offers and promotions available only to our social media followers! We frequently run contests, giveaways, and special discounts that reward our loyal community. Make sure to keep an eye on our posts and stories for your chance to win exciting prizes or access limited-time offers.

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Posted in: Intelligent Vending Ltd, Intelligent Wholesale, VendHive, VendHook, Vending Help & Advice, Vending Machine News, VendMesh
Tags: Intelligent Vending, Intelligent Wholesale, SiriuS, Technology Centre, Vendhive, Vendhook, Vending Service, Vendmesh

The SiriuS™ Website

Our new SiriuS™ software platform has been designed in-house by Intelligent Vending to resolve inherent issues in standard vending technology.  Using SiriuS™ opens up a number of possibilities for our clients that all add value and increase ROI and efficiency, rather than the traditional approach which concentrates purely on the cash in, product out, retail ‘vend’ aspect.

SiriuS™, with its large 46″ HD touchscreen and powerful software platform VendHook™, create a dynamic and interactive retail platform with significant potential for advertising, marketing, and raising brand awareness.  The machine’s ability to interact both physically and virtually with customers via social media further enhances its commercial potential for operators. For many IV clients, the on-board vending function will be a secondary attraction behind other more commercially significant features.

The complete platform comprising VendHook™ (our core PC control software platform), VendHive™ (our bi-directional cloud control and communication system), and Vendmesh™ (our own design next generation PCB controller), allow connectivity with a wide range of external components and peripherals.  Together, these elements add impressive versatility to a machine while offering commercial add-on value in their own right. Equally, we are confident in the sophistication, robustness and technological advantages of our system compared with any others available in the market.  While some producers have pursued a retro-fit or workaround route (the way we historically supplied non-standard machines), we have consciously developed our system from first principles.  This approach has ensured maximum flexibility in operation and a significant degree of future-proofing.

We have also designed our SiriuS™ platform to be user friendly for third party development via the comprehensive API (Application Programming Interface) and SDK (Software Development Kit).  We want to give our clients scope to extend their own commercial horizons and innovate without the need to be reliant on Intelligent Vending software development services.

For more details on our smart vending machines, please click the following link to visit our Intelligent Vending SiriuS™ website.

Posted in: Automated Sector, Control Boards, Customised Vending, Intelligent Vending, Intelligent Vending Ltd, International Supply, IoT Software, IT Peripheral Distribution, Next Generation Vending Machines, PC Controlled Vending Machines, PPE and Industrial Vending, Product Help & Advice, Product News, Public Vending, SiriuS, Technology, touch screen vending machines, VendHive, VendHook, Vending Help & Advice, Vending Machine News, Vending Service, VendMesh

Intelligent Vending & SiriuS™ at AVEX 2015…

SiriuS™, the latest ‘all-in-one’ smart vending machine solution from Intelligent Vending Ltd, was given its first public outing in the vending arena at AVEX 2015, in Manchester. Partnering with Ingenico the international leader in provision of cashless payment systems, IV offered its new advanced SiriuS™ vending machine to show off their cashless hardware while providing attendees with a glimpse of what it believes is the future for the unattended automated retail market.

As an industry, vending has been stagnant or in decline throughout most of Europe for the past few years and it is desperate, Intelligent Vending believes, for a fresh impetus that will lead to reversal of this trend. While degrees of innovation are undoubtedly evident across the board in vending, this has been mostly small scale and incremental, and there has been no major development with the explosive energy to bring about the much needed revolution of the industry. Put simply, vending has made virtually little use of the advances in technology that are now standard across all sectors of retail, advertising, and social media. SiriuS™ incorporates the power and imagination to change all that!

The bespoke UI (User Interface) designed for Ingenico offered visitors of the show the ability to enter a competition to win prizes from triggering the vend process in three different ways:

1) Via the Ingenico card payment terminals (Contactless and NFC, plus Chip & PIN)
2) Via our in-house Twitter promo VendHook™ plugin
3) Via email address entry and a virtual keyboard

An Ingenico corporate video and other promotional information was also displayed on the machine’s different vend process screens, carrying a key underlying message to promote the new iUC280 payment terminals that are aimed primarily for the standard vending ‘mainstream’ market.

Also, on show was a premium vinyl wrap designed to showcase Intelligent Vending’s commitment to push visual branding boundaries. Using a newly unveiled printable and wrap conformable reflective material, all the visible panels of the machine were fully SiriuS™ branded. The three elements that define SiriuS™; VendHook™, VendHive™, and VendMesh™, were highlighted in the design. The revolutionary material used for the wrap gives an added, almost 3D effect, that is dramatically revealed across a range of different lighting conditions and changes based on the installation environment (see photos below).

As the first in a next generation of automated retail options by Intelligent Vending Ltd, this new self-service SiriuS™ solution offers a core software platform called VendHook™ designed from first principles, and eliminating the drawbacks experienced with traditional vending machine systems and protocols. The machines are fully modular and packed with functionality. Just a few of the features include large 46” touch screen and HD display, advanced product management, digital signage, social media integration, telemetry and the facility to remotely manage all machine functions & diagnostics in real time via Intelligent Vending’s fully bi-directional VendHive™ ‘Internet of Things‘ cloud platform.

A key strategy underpinning the design process of Intelligent Vending’s new products was the need to provide a payment option that supported the high value transactions specified by many Intelligent Vending clients. While some card payment systems are available for the ‘mainstream’ sector, they have some limitations in terms of transaction value, and they do not provide VAT receipts, another feature often requested by customers. For its new system, Intelligent Vending has been able to incorporate a full Chip & PIN, Contactless and NFC solution into its machines, fully accredited to the latest Visa and Mastercard standards in the UK and with no cap on transaction values.  Our VendHook™ in-house receipt printer design suite also enables our clients’ to customise this ‘print-out’ experience for consumers with a few simple clicks (or touches!) including dynamic QR codes for cross selling or promotions where applicable.

Sam Roe, Managing Director at Intelligent Vending, said: “Projects such as this highlight the versatility of the SiriuS™ system, which is ideally suited to a range of challenging environments. We are looking forward to bringing our powerful Intelligent Vending technology to the widest range of clients, whether in high-end retail or the mainstream ‘plus’ market and increasing their ROI in the smart vending unattended space. Our vision is for all sectors to benefit from the sophisticated functionality we now provide as standard – Intelligent Vending by Intelligent Vending.”

Posted in: Automated Sector, AVEX 2015, Control Boards, Customised Vending, Intelligent Vending, Intelligent Vending Ltd, Intelligent Wholesale, International Supply, IoT Software, Next Generation Vending Machines, PC Controlled Vending Machines, Product Help & Advice, Product News, SiriuS, Technology, Uncategorized, VendHive, VendHook, Vending Machine News, Vending Service, VendMesh