2024 is done. After countless interviews, 36 podcasts and multiple webinars, podcast host Bob Tullio has six observations about the convenience services industry to point out to his listeners. Do you agree with his perspective as we head into 2025? Tune in - find out - leave a comment.

In addition to those six observations, in today’s episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, we’ll peek back at 2024 and hear some solid content from many operators who were featured on the show.

Enjoy "The Best of 2024 - Six industry observations plus notable insights, opinions and advice from operators." You will hear from Matthew Marsh, Jennifer Fox, Louis Baresh, Nakia White-Hazel, Al Hernandez, Mike Jamison, Linda Saldana, Jim Evans and more...

Next episode - January 21st - More operators with great stories and insights - Part II - Best of 2024 - Operators with something to say...

Kim Miros of DAC Total Refreshments in Florida, Dean Prather from Quality Vending & Coffee in Kansas City, Jon Holden from All Star Services in Michigan, Jon Corto from Buffalo Strive, Dan Welch from World Cup Coffee in Portland, Arthur Siller from Evergreen Refreshments in Seattle  and more…

And of course, some additional secret sauce recipes you won’t want to miss…

The 2024 NAMA Coffee, Tea and Water event (CTW) has come and gone. For those who attended, takeaways varied, but everyone agreed that the CTW was focused on collaboration, engagement, networking and education - always a strong combination of features.

On this edition of Automatic Merchandiser's Vending & OCS Nation podcast, host Bob Tullio expressed his regret for missing the event, but especially the po' boys, gumbo, beignets, jambalaya, oysters, clams and shrimp, which were enjoyed by many.

He sat down with Linda Becker, Editor in Chief of Automatic Merchandiser and Vending Market Watch to get her impressions of the CTW and added some interviews done by Linda plus some of his own, to offer listeners a broad perspective on the CTW event and what it will take for OCS operators to succeed in 2025. 

You will hear comments from Linda Becker, Tom Steuber, Linda Saldana, Joe Simonovich and Mike Jamison.

No industry topics are off limits when Automatic Merchandiser's Vending & OCS Nation podcast host Bob Tullio interviews Matthew Marsh for the second installment with the founder of First Class Vending and Coffee.

Much like the first installment of the Matthew Marsh interview, listeners can expect a fast pace, no shortage of opinions and a fair a fair amount of banter with podcast host Bob Tullio, including a final question from Marsh, "Does anyone even listen to this podcast?"

In fact, Part I of Matthew Marsh was the most listened to Vending & OCS Nation podcast in the initial five-day period after release. According to Tullio, he was contacted by more than one listener who asked, "Why do we have to wait two weeks for the next one?" 

Apparently, Matthew Marsh has star power.

Listen and find out why, as Marsh discusses everything from smart markets, his frictionless market experiment, his take on the future of vending and the suppliers/people who have helped his company succeed.

His blood pressure elevates when he talks about his legal battle to level the playing field on beverage pricing, his disdain for newcomers who are inspired by Tik Tok videos, some advice/a warning for newcomers as well as existing operators who want to do it right. You will also hear his take on the importance of giving back to the community.

Plus - a secret sauce recipe that may surprise you - or maybe not!

According to Matthew Marsh, success is all about your work ethic. “It's about when you go to work and what you do when you get there,” he said.

His strong work ethic explains the company’s emergence as a leader in the convenience services industry. In 30 years, First Class Vending has grown from two employees to more than 300 employees, from one location and warehouse to nine warehouses across three states, from soda only vending machines to full-service vending, micro markets, OCS, and frictionless stores at the airport.

Bob Tullio, the host of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation podcast, competed directly with First Class Vending and recalls that that Marsh was a tough competitor who loves the industry, is always innovating and has some definite opinions on what it takes to succeed in this business. In this episode, Tullio sits down with Marsh and asks questions designed to get Marsh talking about some exciting highlights of his journey as an operator, including his growth strategies.

While his operation is quite large today, a force in California, Nevada and Arizona, listeners who are new to convenience services will appreciate the way he started his company, and he is happy to share some of the lessons he has learned along the way. This interview is a great listen for both industry veterans and newcomers, offering plenty of insights that will stand up to the test of time in our fast changing industry.

As an account executive, have you ever had a situation where you were so excited after the initial appointment, after a proposal meeting – that you were 100% sure it was a done deal? Then suddenly, as we like to say in the quiet of a Midwest evening, you hear nothing but crickets. For people in sales, it can be a recurring nightmare.

Why does it happen? How can deals be salvaged when the prospect goes to radio silence mode?

In this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation podcast, host Bob Tullio talks about follow up with Matthew Marsh of First Class Vending, sales guru Gil Cargil and his former business partner for over 25 years, Jon Fishman. Tullio believes that Fishman belongs in the hall of fame for OCS sales.

After years of selling convenience services together and leading a very successful sales force, Tullio and Fishman pulled some of their best follow up techniques out of the vault and shared them with Vending & OCS Nation listeners – reflecting on how to use those strategies and why they work so well.

As a sales rep, when you hear nothing but silence in December, a month when deals are known to fizzle due to holiday distraction – put these techniques to work. Be creative – maybe a little annoying – and use these specific techniques to close some stalled deals and finish strong in 2024.

Back in May of 2024 – at the NAMA Show in Dallas – the host of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, Bob Tullio, was covering education sessions when he came across one session that had the audience overflowing into the hallway. The speaker, Gil Cargill, was talking about AI for business development. 

In this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, Tullio looks for an answer to the question - If AI for business development is clearly a game changer, why are operators resisting?

Fast forward to November. Cargill was apparently ahead of the game. As Salesforce announces they are hiring 1000 sales reps to sell AI for business development, Cargill is still finding it difficult to get convenience services operators to try what is clearly the future of b2b business development. In this podcast, Cargill invites the industry to dip their toe in the water with a free offer for listeners and a strong money back guarantee that the program will build an operator’s business.

Here is Tullio's reaction after exploring the topic and producing the podcast:

"I’ve been around for a while, so I was a skeptic myself – but the more I learn about his AI driven solution – I’m convinced – especially after you hear my conversation with his inside sales bot – an impressive virtual assistant named Jane. I would love to hear how AI worked out for any operator who takes on what appears to be some game-changing technology for both operators and suppliers.

This podcast is a great listen for anyone in sales or business development. It gives you a look at what is coming - very soon - maybe even tomorrow."

The host of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, Bob Tullio, has said it before. He loves hearing about the journey of both operators and suppliers. Robert Liva has a good story.

The owner of GTP – Graphics that Pop, is an animated, entertaining, candid and knowledgeable individual, especially when it comes to marketing and to serving clients in the convenience services industry.

He started out in 1973 fixing pinball machines at the age of 13.  When he arrived in Houston Texas in 1976, he went right to work. In the vending business, working for operators, owning a vending company, was a location finder for 10 years as he balanced work and being a single parent. He even sold siding along the way – giving him an opportunity to learn something about selling and marketing. It was an opportunity to try a few things out.

Liva says there is no greater joy in life than giving, period. Along those lines, he has launched a non-profit organization called Path to Unity – A program that he says is designed to empower communities for real change – for positive change. Several hundred thousand dollars are committed to this community improvement effort – but there is a lot more to it than that. Former Dallas Cowboy star Michael Irvin is on board – and Liva said White Bear Coffee deserves a shout out for their early support. To learn more – visit www.pathtounity.com

From the supplier area (Connection Hub) to the line-up of speakers to the education sessions, NAMA's CTW for 2024 has been reimagined to help operators thrive in today's changing OCS climate.

In this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, the podcast for the convenience services industry, presented in cooperation with NAMA -it’s all about the upcoming CTW – the Coffee Tea and Water event, scheduled for December 11th and 12th in New Orleans.

NAMA's CTW 2024 has been designed specifically for operators and suppliers to collaborate on how to elevate OCS and Pantry offerings and evolve the client relationship, moving beyond trusted service provider to essential business partner. 

Podcast host Bob Tullio sat down with two people who were very involved in the planning of the event – Linda Saldana of Seventh Wave Refreshments, the chairperson of Stakeholder Task Force that reimagined the new CTW and Tom Steuber of Associated Services, who also happens to be Chairperson of the NAMA Board of Directors.

Two things will be clear to you after listening to this podcast. Operators are excited about smart market technology and there is no end to the creative solutions/equipment being offered by smart market developers.

In this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, the podcast for the convenience services industry, host Bob Tullio takes an even deeper dive into the world of smart markets. In part one of this episode, released on September 24th, he talked to Ryan McWhirter of 365 Retail Markets, Elyssa Steiner from Cantaloupe and Yang Yu from Micromart.

In “Smart Markets Part II - Choosing a smart market is a multiple-choice question for operators,” Tullio talks to more smart market developers, creative minds who are driving the smart market movement. Mike Delazzer, founder of Redbox is now with Instant Retail Systems, Detlev Goedbloed of Structural Concepts, Fred Kahn from Kooick and Guy Moshe from Shekel, all share their product features and their vision for the future of smart markets.

Mike Jamison from New Age Vending and Jon Corto from Buffalo Strive give their take on the value of smart markets. Also mentioned in this podcast, Due North and AVS, two companies who play an important role for smart market developers.

From day one, theft has been a concern for micro market operators. Watching hours of video or taking a time consuming and perfectly executed market inventory are two ways to establish whether theft is occurring, but then what? Proving your case to the client and gaining their support is the difficult next step.

In this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation podcast, host Bob Tullio talks to three companies who use advanced technology, including AI, to identify theft as it happens and make it easier for operators to have that difficult conversation about product theft with their customer. The goal is better communication, cooperation, deterrence and in some cases, compensation.

According to the 2023 Automatic Merchandiser State of the Industry Report, there are over 42,000 active micro markets being operated in the US. Since the very first micro market was placed over a decade ago, product theft, aka “shrink” has been an active topic of conversation and an ongoing challenge for just about every operator.

In that same study, operators were asked to identify their average level of micro market theft. While 3% optimistically said they were at a 0% shrink, the vast majority fell into the 3% to 7% range.

One might conclude from the report that the shrink situation isn’t that bad and generally speaking, operators have it under control. Those three companies that are using advanced technology to monitor security and catch thieves in micro markets would beg to differ. Panoptyc, ProWatch Solutions and Theft Detective have all experienced different journeys on their way to catching a thief. Today, they can offer hard evidence that theft is an inherent issue in micro markets and unless strong deterrents are in place, along with effective communication – shrink happens in a big way.

While this podcast takes a deeper dive into the issue of micro market theft and efforts to deter it, many of the interviews were also conducted for the Automatic Merchandiser article that Tullio wrote for the magazine’s upcoming November, “Protecting your investment - A technology driven approach to mitigating micro market theft.”