“What has given particular satisfaction from these changes is that they have all been achieved almost without our customers being aware,” says Simon Graham, the European Production Director. “Right from the start of each program we set ourselves this target, MEI has always prided itself in putting our customers first.”

A year on from the change of ownership MEI is established as an independent force in the payments system market with a clear and dedicated focus as it moves forward. As European Marketing Director Richard Gibson says: “I believe we are a stronger company today, with the ability to be more flexible and more responsive to the changing needs of our customers.”

The acquisition of Japanese manufacturer Conlux in 2003 gave the company a truly global presence. Today as well as sales activity in virtually every country in the world, MEI has development centres in Westchester USA, Geneva, and Tokyo, in addition to the new offices near Reading.

At the same time the company has continued to expand the MEI brand in Europe, rolling out the MEI CASHFLOW™ 7000 to emerging markets in Eastern Europe such as Romania, the Czech Republic and the VN2000™ banknote reader in Russia.

In the more established European markets the concentration has been increasingly on the MEI CASHFLOW™ 7900i, a product which is typical of MEI’s approach. The changegiver itself provides huge advantages over its predecessors including the detailed audit information available due to the onboard sonar system and its management software. However, some operators were finding the download process inefficient using traditional ‘plug-in’ units. The solution was the addition of an easy-to-use wireless infra-red port.

Moving forward MEI is continuing to keep an eye on the requirements of its customers and responding to them. Richard Gibson says: “As the market matures MEI is evolving to meet its needs. We understand that there is still a need for payment systems to help improve consumer satisfaction, which in turn will drive up sales at the machine. In order to achieve this we are delivering better acceptance rates and greater change flexibility than our competitors. However, we also realise that there is an increasing focus among vending operators to drive down costs in order to stay profitable in an increasingly competitive environment. An example of this is in the area of cash shrinkage.”

At AVEX 2007 MEI will be focusing on the tools that can give operators a greater degree of control over the cash in their businesses. The MEI CASHFLOW™ 7900 provides the best monitoring and audit information of any changegiver. Its unique sonar system checks the actual level of coins in each tube whenever a transaction takes place, and whenever the tubes are taken out and replaced. Onboard monitoring software means it is possible to download detailed information about what has happened in the machine.

This in itself gives operators a degree of assurance with regard to the amount of money that should be collected, and that is stored in the machine. However, MEI’s EASITRAX™ Cash Management module offers a comprehensive solution to the problem. It integrates with the changegiver to monitor cash throughout the process. As Richard points out, breaking the MEI EASITRAX™ vending management system down into discrete modules is helping to making it more accessible for all vending operators.

“Companies that have taken on the MEI EASITRAX™ vending management system have been very pleased with it, but we realise that adopting the total system is a big investment,” he says. “As a result of feedback we received we are now offering EASITRAX™ in a modular form, the first part of which is the Cash Management module. This is a powerful tool to help operators tackle a recurrent problem in this industry, and ensure all the money from their machines is accounted for and banked. What’s more it is accessible to everyone from the smallest company to a pan European operator.”

At the same time visitors to the MEI stand at AVEX will be able to find out more about the overall MEI EASITRAX™ vending management system as well as the comprehensive range of bank note and coin handling solutions.

Richard says: “We are looking forward to our first AVEX since the change of ownership, welcoming old friends and talking to potential new customers. Whatever may have changed at MEI, innovation to meet the needs of our customers, and the highest levels of service remain very much at the centre of what we offer. We will demonstrate to everyone that we have a range of products to help them to increase profitability within their businesses.”

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