ABOUT VMI

The Vend Marketing Institute (VMI) was established in October 2003 by a group of regional vending companies. Today, VMI is incorporated as an LLC in the State of Missouri and consists of seventeen affiliate companies.

The current affiliates of VMI generate about $500 million in annual sales, primarily from nearly 75,000 vending machines located in over 16,000 business and industry locations. VMI also provides manual food service at over 225 locations and operates several hundred mobile catering trucks. The VMI team consists of over 4,000 associates working from 73 facilities. VMI services client locations ranging from the East Coast to California and from Minnesota to Florida.

VMI was founded to create an organization that will benefit the affiliates, their customers and suppliers. Initially, through the development of joint marketing and purchasing programs the affiliates achieved benefits through the supply chain that led to cutting edge initiatives designed to benefit the clients of the affiliates. The marketing and purchasing programs are administered through a partnership agreement between major vend product manufacturers and VMI. It is the goal of VMI to have limited, but very strong and sound, partnerships.

A board of directors, consisting of a representative from each affiliate, manages VMI. The VMI board meets five times annually and has open dialogue with representatives of companies seeking new partnership agreements, and with representatives of companies that currently have agreements in place to discuss marketing and promotional opportunities.

During 2007 VMI began the implementation of a major nutrition initiative. “The Right Choice... for a Healthier You!” program establishes nutrition guidelines for vending and foodservice products and clearly promotes those products in our retail venues.

In 2008 VMI introduced their corporate sustainability initiative “The Right Choice... for Earth.” This is a comprehensive program based on the premise to reduce, reuse and recycle. Quarterly monitoring of energy usage and integration of the program into the business model of the affiliates should result in the targeted carbon footprint reduction of the group by 40% over the next three years!

During 2009 the affiliates are beginning a large scale roll-out of wireless technology with the intention of building a wireless network that will connect all vending machines operated by the VMI affiliates. The wireless network will serve as the backbone to support cashless vending and allow a transformation of vending to become a true retail business model. VMI affiliates will lead the industry in the developmentand implementation of a new vending model that creates an entirely new and improved client value proposition.

The affiliates of VMI look to the organization as a vehicle to help focus on customer needs, maintain their independence in the vending industry, as well as provide programs that will create opportunities for sustainable growth. The attainment of VMI ideals will create a business model that will support a secure future for our customers, suppliers, affiliates and their employees.