Vending Machine Business PlanWhat does a stockout cost on a high-selling slot?
Value a stockout using foregone contribution, then compare it with the cost of preventing it. Lost sales revenue overstates the operating loss because the unvended item does not consume product stock or incur its sale-dependent fees.
Use the same 28-day fast-seller example as the refill guide: four slots, 12 items per slot, 98% saleable yield, 12 requests per day, $2.50 selling price and $0.80 landed item cost. Uptime is 100%. Card share is 80%, card processing is 3% plus $0.10 per transaction, and each card transaction averages 1.25 items. Location commission is 10% of net sales.
| Result / 28 days | 4 fills | 8 fills |
|---|---|---|
| Requested items | 336 | 336 |
| Saleable refill capacity | 188.16 | 376.32 |
| Dispensed items | 188.16 | 336 |
| Unmet requests | 147.84 | 0 |
| Net sales | $470.40 | $840.00 |
Translate the gap into contribution
Consumed stock cost is $0.80 / 0.98 = $0.81632653 per dispensed item. Processing per total item is $2.50 × 80% × 3% + $0.10 × 80% / 1.25 = $0.124. Commission is $0.25. Unit contribution is therefore $1.30967347.
The 147.84 unfilled requests represent $369.60 in foregone revenue but about $193.62 in foregone contribution. That contribution is the maximum total extra replenishment cost justified by this product alone under the assumptions. Four extra visits costing $20 each leave about $113.62 incremental operating benefit. If the extra route cost is $220, the same intervention reduces the result by about $26.38.
Avoid counting downtime twice
If demand is 336 requests but uptime is 95%, first separate 16.8 downtime requests from 319.2 active requests. Then cap active requests by saleable stock. Do not subtract a second stockout percentage from sales already limited by available inventory. Track failed vends and refunds separately when they create actual charges.
The model assumes no substitution and no later recapture. If customers buy another selection, the machine’s net loss may be smaller. If their next visit is lost as well, this one-period calculation omits that effect. Measure availability and substitutions before treating all empty-slot hours as permanent lost purchases.
Use Product and Slot Mix to compare entered allocations and cadence. Test the complete route in Vending Profit, because higher refill frequency affects every machine’s labor and travel costs.
