Will this have a knock on effect on the vending market and our consumer base?

From a personal point of view, I believe that all aspects of the industry will be affected in some form or other - many negative but also some positive. Those of us working in the City of London with many of the financial institutions will already have been called in, to be told that significant cost-cutting was required, with some even asking for up-front cash payments in order to extend contract terms.

Those businesses who were due to replace their vending equipment have put this on hold until at least the middle of the year, with others asking operators to look to fund new equipment on their balance sheet and entirely at their risk. As we move towards an even more competitive arena, it will be those vending businesses that have a strong balance sheet that will be able to compromise and provide alternative funding for their clients equipment and services.

Clearly with the downturn in machine sales, our manufacturing colleagues will have to make some tough decisions, not only on their current day to day trading but also looking to perhaps cut back on research and development for the foreseeable future. I support our big three UK manufacturers totally and believe that they are trading as lean as they can, but regrettably the downturn may now give overseas manufacturers, particularly from China, the chance to come into the UK with very cheap offers.

However on a positive note, there is now the opportunity for vending to really start to compete with the high street coffee shops. When times are good, consumers don't worry about spending upwards of £3 for a coffee at Starbucks but when you consider that taking two a day will set you back £30 a week or a staggering £1500 a year you may well look to buy your coffee from the office vending machine! Operators have to ensure that their machines are scrupulously clean and inviting and are delivering exceptional quality beverages that are of similar taste to the coffee shops. We now have the technology with the machine brewer and whipping systems, high quality real milk powders, bio-degradable paper cups and fully sustainable tea, coffee and chocolate ingredients to really deliver that very high quality drink.

We also need to look at our snack and bottle offering and to look more at consumer buying habits. Could now finally be the opportunity of putting up our beverage charges from the current low levels to perhaps the dizzy heights of 30p or even more?

I believe that it will be tough for the next few months - not quite as it was in the 70's or even in the 90's, but the vending industry - and in particular machine manufacturers and operators - will have to think very clearly outside the box in order to survive.

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