Coke Digital Vending, Now with AI

Long time follower here of the Coke Freestyle experience, saw prototypes of it with suggestions of how it could be adapted to supply chain and user experiences, as far back as 2008.  Also have seen Pepsi Spire systems in the same vein.  Are these all drink user vending and now experience centers?

How Coca-Cola's AI Approach To Customer Experience Can Boost Its Performance    Trefis Team , Contributor, in Forbes.

As reported in recent months, The Coca-Cola Company is working on a smart digital vending machine powered by artificial intelligence which is likely to be launched in New Zealand soon, followed by a planned launch in the U.S. The company is looking to connect its vending machines to the cloud, giving it an ability to control them digitally. This technology upgrade will allow Coca-Cola to remotely adjust the prices of products sold via these machines (digitally) making it easier to introduce discounts and promotions at a specific location. Further, customers will be able to buy their drinks from this vending machine via smartphones even before reaching the machine. This feature gives customers the ability to buy drinks for their family or friends in any location including another country.

This technology will also allow the company to send personalized messages to its customers and provide a chat platform. Users can opt for conversations with the vending bot via Facebook Messenger and, based on the customer’s data collected via Facebook, the bot will customize its response. As companies increasingly look to make the retail experience more convenient and digitally engage customers, this vending machine upgrade can help Coca-Cola understand customer behavior better and modify its products/services accordingly. We expect that this will ultimately have an impact beyond vending machines. .... " 

Big Data Results from Coke Freestyle

Now about eight years ago, we saw an early demonstration of Coke 'Free Style', a machine that would allow you to construct your own flavors.   Among millions of possibilities.  Late stage differentiation possibilities.  This kind of 'big data' could lead you to understand trends and directions, as well as pointers to supply chain needs driven directly by consumer choice. The machines are now fairly common, and their trove of data is being used.  But is this better than using the insight of human flavor research?   Focus groups?  Here some early, perhaps for now trivial, results:

Coke Let People Make Any Flavor They Want, The People Demanded Cherry Sprite  ... 
Thanks to new machines that let customers flavor their drinks however they want, Coca-Cola discovered that what people really wanted was Cherry Sprite. ....  "
by Venessa Wong in Buzzfeed

Coke Freestyle Machine as IOT

We were early examiners of late stage differentiation in the Coke Freestyle machine.  Now its common to see,  Thought of it as a way to understand how consumers tastes change by location, and to deliver those tastes.    But never saw it as an IOT idea.  Time to change our thoughts on that.  This piece also gives a short history its development and how it is evolving.   In Fastcompany. 

" .... "The Freestyle content bundle is the combination of work from 10 different groups within Coke," Steve Hilton, the global IT director for Freestyle, told the Summit audience. "It touches everything, from the content running through the machines all the way to taste-testing the recipes.

"It makes sure the right drinks are going over the air to the right restaurants."

Today, Coke Freestyle machines do 12 million user transactions a day around the world. Users can not only create custom mixtures, but they can also store them on a smartphone and then call them up on the Freestyle screen—even though the machine was designed before the first iPhone came out. ... " 

Coke Vending Goes Apple Pay

Have been seeing Apple Pay being used quite a bit lately, and now adding the Watch?  Vending is an obvious next step.  And the new possibilities for point of sale interaction.    Advice for trying new beverages, new blends?  Promotional loyalty?

In Foodbev: 
 Consumers will be able to use Apple Pay to purchase Coca-Cola products from more than 100,000 vending machines in North America by the end of the year. The roll-out will make Coca-Cola one of the largest retailers to use the technology, which allows users to make payments using their iPhone or Apple Watch. ... " 

Coke Freestyle Gets Personal

Saw some early ideas for delivering this.  Makes a lot of sense to personalize the sometimes complex interaction.  Plan to test. 

" ... Building on its legacy as a game-changing innovation, 
Coca-Cola Freestyle® is set to make the consumer experience even more personal. An enhanced “Create Your Own Mix” feature on the popular Coca-Cola Freestyle app launching in January 2015 allows users to choose from 100+ drink options to create a custom mix of their own and then, for the first time, connect their smartphones to dispensers at participating outlets and pour it on the spot. It works in just a few easy steps – simply download, mix, pour, enjoy and share .. "  

Pepsi Spire: Late Stage, on Shelf Customization

We saw early versions of Coke's Freestyle machine, an example of fashionable late stage drink differentiation that is now common in the marketplace.  An example of good engagement, provided by on site customization, but how profitable is it?  Now Pepsi is to follow with a similar idea, previewed in AdAge.  There is a claim that the Pepsi machine will let you invent your own beverage, but won't let you create a terrible beverage.  A hint at selection intelligence? Can selective product development intelligence be delivered to the consumer at point of purchase?  The ultimate end-stage differentiation.  And how can this be demonstrated to the purchaser?

More from Pepsi.  @Pepsispire

Pepsi's Touch Tower

Touch Tower, which  appears to be Pepsi's response to Coke's Freestyle machines, which now seem to be common but not universal.  Coke says there are about 7000 of these in place and are meant to drive demand. We saw the Coke version in its early forms.    From a supply chain perspective, this introduces the concept of  late stage differentiation.  It also has the potential for gathering new kinds of point of sale information about consumer choice.   More in AdAge.  It is unclear if the images shown are final designs.   And in WSJ.

Coca Cola and Innovation

Note the Innovation beyond just product.  End to end innovation is important.   " ... Mel Landis, chief customer officer for Coca-Cola Refreshments, said the company will continue introducing new concepts to boost convenience store purchases. “In some cases, it may even be different forms than it is today," he said. "It may be aluminum or glass. It could be a Freestyle [fountain] machine. It could be anything, but you’ll continue to see us diversify, whether in form or function or package." ... '

Smarter Vending

Ever since several trips to Japan and their wonderfully complete universal vending capabilities. I have researched the use of vending machines and their integration with data streams.  Which can be used to indicate demand and supply requirements. Even communicate back to headquarters.  Here is a recent outline, incomplete, but an interesting overview of interesting vending ideas.  The hugging machine is interesting.  On the right is the Coke Freestyle machine, a great example of late stage product differentiation, now fairly common in the US.  I see there is a good technical description here.

A Critical View of Coke Freestyle

A critical look at Coke Freestyle. We saw and followed this from the beginning. The criticism is premature. The acquired data will be the proof of its value.

Coke Freeestyle Launches

The Coke Freestyle machine is coming to Firehouse Subs.  An advance in vending.   The link includes a location map.There are several of these in our area and will take a look at in in context.  The touchscreen devices, which we examined in prototype form, offers over 120 separate products.   An example of late stage differentiation and integration of payment and a novel interface.  Are they simple enough for the average person to use?  Just scanning the options could take considerable time.