Coca-Cola Vending enablement

Turning vending machines into smart business engines.

TL;DR

Built a platform to manage, update, and analyze 10,000+ vending machines remotely.
Real-time data and reporting for smarter (remote) repairs.
Efficient restocking and smart supply routing.
Predictive sales and marketing with targeted campaigns.

About Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler, serving millions of customers and consumers across Europe and Australasia.

Services

Product strategy UX & UI Design Web platform development Systems integration Data dashboarding

Year

2017 - 2019

0

Downtime for updates

30

Minutes per machine before; now thousands in minutes.

10K

Vending machines managed remotely

The challenge

Vending Machines that miss revenue

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners had a network of vending machines that didn’t talk to each other. Repairs and updates were costly and slow, with every fix or change needing a technician on site. Without real-time data, restocking was guesswork and missed sales were common. When we were asked to design the UX/UI for new screen and internet-enabled vending machines, we saw a bigger opportunity: these machines could finally make sales and marketing campaigns targeted and localized. It was the perfect moment to rethink vending: how do you make every update instant, every machine smarter, and every campaign more targeted?

The Solution

A Data-Driven Ecosystem for Smarter Vending

We built the Vending Machine Content Management System (VCMS), letting Coca-Cola remotely manage products, pricing, and campaigns for every machine. Advanced filtering, live previews, and a media library made updates fast and targeted. Most importantly, real-time data and reporting now drive smarter repairs, efficient restocking, and predictive sales—targeted based on what’s actually happening in the field, not just assumptions. This new way of controlling vending machines significantly reduced supply chain and repair costs, while making sales and marketing campaigns far more effective.

Success drivers

Customer experience goes beyond UI
Simplicity for customers, power behind the scenes

success driver 1

Customer experience goes beyond UI

When asked to design a new interface for digital vending machines, we stepped back and looked at the full journey. Instead of just making screens, we explored how content, campaigns, and updates could be smarter and more flexible, so the solution would fit real-world needs, not just look good. True impact comes from rethinking the whole experience, not just the interface.

Success driver 2

Simplicity for customers, power behind the scenes

Through our collaboration, we introduced new ideas like happy hours (time-based discounts), multi-vend (buying several drinks in one go), and cashless payments. These features made vending smarter and more flexible, but always kept the experience as effortless for customers as putting a coin in, pressing a button, and getting a drink. Even when there’s a lot happening underneath.