Author: Marketing Marketing

Discover Coges stand at EVA Vending & Coffee Solutions Hub

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Coges announces its participation to the Vending & Coffee Solutions Hub event organized by EVA association for 27th and 28th May. It is one of the first virtual exhibition in the European vending sector, which will allow the main players of vending to meet and present their products and services and discover the main innovations in the sector. For Coges it will be an opportunity to show, even though in a virtual way, the new Hexis Change-giver Coin mechanism, Nebular Pay Credit card reader and other products of its payment systems range for the vending machines.

“One of the many changes we have had to face in this  last year, has been the suspension of the exhibitions and of most events for healthcare reasons.” – recalls Mario Majo, Coges commercial director – “Even though we’re looking forward to meet our Customers, the resellers and all our partners in person, we believe that this virtual event organized by EVA will be an interesting circumstance of discussion for vending at a European level. Meeting, networking and even confronting the competitors, even though in a digital format, are the main fuel for any industry.”

The Vending & Coffee Solutions Hub will be launched the 27th and 28th May with a rich program of meetings hosted by some experts on special subjects of the vending sector such as the future of cash, news about the consumers’ behaviour and coffee trends. After the two-day launch, EVA will organize some other different events on the platform, while the Exhibition Hall and the Lounge Room will remain open for a whole year, by offering to the visitors the opportunity to visit the virtual stands whenever they want.

To access the virtual platform, it is enough to access the web address https://vending-europe.vfairs.com/ and register. After registration, it would be possible to enter the virtual lobby which leads to the Auditorium for the conferences, to the Exhibition Hall where all the exhibitors’ stands will be present and to the Lounge Room. Starting from the 20th May it will be possible to access to arrange some appointments with Coges salesmen or organize chats or video calls with them during the open days. As an alternative, even during the event you will be able to leave a message at Coges stand to be called back quickly.

“New MyKey, cashless Dynamos system, Credit card reader and new Hexis change-giver coin mechanism: during the last year we have enriched our range of payment systems for  vending with very interesting innovations.” – states Stefano Bertoldo, Coges product manager – “These are products much appreciated by some operators, who are using them in their locations throughout Europe, but unfortunately, some other could not discover them because of the travel limitations due to the pandemic period. In such a situation we welcome a virtual event which removes the distances and permits to exchange a chat with someone who needs more information, as it occurs in all exhibitions!”

EVA desires to offer more than a virtual experience, that is a social one with authentic human relationships and Coges will take advantage of this occasion to be closer to its Customers. Register and visit us at the Vending & Coffee Solutions Hub and discover all the innovations concerning Coges smart vending.

How does the self-locking of the tube box of Hexis work?

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The tube box of Hexis Change-giver Coin mechanism is locked by an electromagnet which blocks its opening. By means of the programming menu the box can be set to unlock freely or to be locked. In this case the opening will be allowed only after the insertion of an authorized key or the entering of an opening code on the keypad of the Coin mechanism. Up to five opening codes can be set.

The box opening by key or password is registered in a special event log which cannot be changed, therefore it is possible to check during the data collection phase when the tube box was opened, with which key or code and how long.

The registration of the unlock operations of the tube box occurs automatically also with the Coin mechanism switched off. This function guarantees to the operator a high level of security as whoever goes and act on the vending machine or on the Coin mechanism, if unauthorized, cannot physically access the accumulated cash.

Take a look to Hexis page for further information.

What makes Hexis so precise?

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One of the secrets of the extraordinary precision of Hexis, which permits to recognize coins in standard conditions at first insertion, lies in its new Caesium Pro validator module.

Traditionally the coin validators measure different parameters or features of coins: one of the most important has always been the electromagnetic analysis of alloys. Another main operation is the measurement of the coin diameter, in the validators designed by Azkoyen Group, instead, another parameter which permits to contrast the different types of fraud comes from the sound analysis.

The main innovation of Caesium Pro module is the collection of information on the metallic and magnetic composition of the coins with three different depths of penetration: three different wavelengths are used at the same time in order to get a higher quantity of information. Therefore the new coin analysis sensor integrates the advantages of the multimodal technology already patented by Azkoyen, which permits to the three detection coils to work at the same time with the processing and the multifrequency stimulation.

Furthermore, Caesium Pro validator module incorporates a new faster and more powerful microcontroller which permits a higher number of readings during the coin passage and a higher precision for each of the magnetic measurement parameters.

This innovative technology, covered by two new patents, involves a better quality of coin identification by Hexis Change-giver Coin mechanism, whose result is a better acceptance and, moreover, a better counterfeit discrimination and the fraud attempts.

Hexis, from Coges experience arrives the new generation of Change-giver coin mechanisms

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Coges presents new Hexis Change-giver coin mechanism, outcome of Coges experience in payment systems for vending machines: an integrated solution for coins and cashless which stands out for its precision in coin validation, flexibility in configuration and possibility of remote connectivity.

Hexis Change-giver coin mechanism comes up beside Unica and Aeterna in Coges range of payment systems for vending; it offers an integrated solution for payment by coin, key or MIFARE in only one product. For those wishing to add the possibility of payment by smartphone, which is increasingly requested also for safety and hygiene reasons, Hexis includes a standard Bluetooth module designed for connection to the appreciated Pay4Vend App.

“Hexis is a new generation cashless Coin mechanism” – states Mario Majo, Coges Commercial Director – “In this product we put together the best of our Change-giver coin mechanisms for vending with a cashless payment system such as Coges Engine, to offer our Customers a solution with performance, reliability and price ratio at the top of the category.”

Hexis’ strength is the new validator group: thanks to its multi-frequency sensors, the Coin mechanism can offer an acceptance level higher than 96% for all coins in standard conditions. Today Hexis is one of the fastest Coin mechanisms in the vending market, reaching up to 3 coins per second in acceptance and up to 2 coins per second in change delivery.

Hexis tube group can be easily configured by the Operator to meet the specific needs of each location and of the different currencies, by guaranteeing wide autonomy of operation thanks to the 5 extraordinarily long tubes: they can contain up to 97 coins from 0,05 € and are the most capacious tubes in vending. The security of the tube box, according to the tradition of Coges coin mechanisms, is guaranteed by an electromagnetic lock: the box can be configured in order to open only by an authorized key or by entering an opening code. The box opening is registered by a proper log which cannot be changed, even with Coin mechanism switched off.

Like Coges Engine System and Unica Coin mechanism, Hexis is prepared for an optional 2G/4G or LAN-WIFI connectivity module, in order to connect the Coin mechanism to Coges Nebular platform. Nebular brings Hexis control dashboard directly on management system, on web portal or on smartphone in real time, allowing a constant monitoring of the performance of the payment system and huge savings on maintenance and update time and costs. Among the Nebular functions, available 24 hours a day, Coges highlights the possibility of remote update of the coin database, firmware and parameter programming, credit refund on vending machine or directly on user MyKey, organization of product stock, management of single cash and key transactions and diagnostic alarms. Furthermore Hexis Coin mechanism connected to Nebular is compatible with PMT Nebular Pay Credit card reader, to offer to offer an even more complete range of payment options.

Moreover Hexis internal unit permits a complete control of the accounting data.  Without Nebular it is possible to update the system and read the accounting data by means of the USB port or integrated IrDA.

Precise, flexible and ready for the network connection: Hexis is the ideal Change-giver coin mechanism for who desires to integrate all the cash versatility with the effectiveness and security of cashless in his vending machine.

Hexis is already available for purchase by Coges and the authorized resellers. Contact us to discover all the advantages of smart vending!

Coges is certified with the new standard for health and safety at work

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Coges announces with great satisfaction the achievement of the UNI ISO 45001 certification, an international standard that specifies the requirements for a management system for health and safety at work.

The UNI ISO 45001 standard “Management systems for health and safety at work – Requirements and user guide” was developed in 2018 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) with the contribution of experts from over 70 countries around the world and has been adopted at national level by the Italian Standardization Association/Institution (UNI). UNI ISO 45001 is the first international standard to define the minimum standards of good practices for the protection of workers; therefore it defines a context for improving safety, reducing risks in the workplace and improving the health and well-being of workers.

“Employee safety management has always been a priority for Coges“- asserts Marco Corato, Coges Quality and Safety System Manager – “Since 2006 we have been certified according to the BS OHSAS 18001 standard, now replaced and improved by UNI ISO 45001 one. The company management has shown the utmost attention to this issue over the years and the workers have been trained and made aware of this subject. This further recognition represents, of course, an appreciated goal but at the same time a commitment which is constantly renewing. ”

The ISO 45001 standard requires the organizations which decide to implement a Management System for Workers’ Health and Safety to look beyond short-term issues and to consider what society in general expects from the organization in terms of responsibility. Created to ensure uniformity between the various ISO standards on management systems, UNI ISO 45001 adopts the spirit and the main innovations, including attention to risks, analysis of the context, involvement of company leadership and workers and the particular approach towards suppliers and contractors, since it is precisely in these categories that injuries very often occur.

From March 2021, at the end of a three-year transition period from publication, the UNI ISO 45001 standard becomes the only reference for the certification of management systems for health and safety at work. This scenario is undergoing a deep transformation and another challenge for companies is the synergy of management systems, to which UNI ISO 45001 can significantly contribute thanks to its structure, integrated with that of quality management standards (UNI EN ISO 9001) and of the environment ones (UNI EN ISO 14001), for which Coges is already qualified.

Coges believes that Health and Safety shall be managed with specific improvement systems in the daily activities and operations. Excellence and sustainability, intended as the ability to combine business needs and the expectations of all interested parties, are the basis of competitiveness and ongoing improvement of the business processes.

Remote programming of your payment systems with Nebular

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Coges carries on the update of Nebular connectivity platform, the complete solution for a remote control and management of your vending machine. For all Nebular customers now it’s available the new function for parameter remote programming: Online VisualProgrammer. This function brings the functions of the appreciated programming software of Coges payment systems online, without the need for programming accessories such as the E.C.S. Programmer, the K4U Analyzer Terminal and the Program-Key service keys above all without the need to physically switch on the machine in the location. Online VisualProgrammer permits to read and change the programming parameters of the payment system on the Nebular portal – price settings included – and to send them later to the system by remote. It is also possible to read the parameters from a system connected to Nebular, to change and then send them to one or more connected systems. Finally it is possible to decide to apply the price changes immediately or to wait that a data recording is carried out: in this case, the changes will be automatically applied after the recording.

The remote programming of the operation parameters of the payment system meets the needs of the vending Operators, especially in a moment when each intervention of the personnel by a location shall be planned and agreed upon with the customer because of the anti-COVID-19 security and prevention rules. Online VisualProgrammer permits not only to save on the cost of programming accessories, but also to optimize time and as a consequence costs for update intervention: thanks to Nebular the technician will be able to intervene on many systems in different locations directly from his workplace, without unnecessary transfers.

Online VisualProgrammer further enhances the range of functions offered by Coges Nebular platform: from the data recording, which includes alarms, temperatures and real-time information on sales and recharges, to the management of the product stock, from the possibility to update the coin and bill database to the firmware update, from the refunds of the MyKey credit to the management of the transactions on the single keys.  All our technologies are realized to make your locations more reliable and flexible and they develop constantly with this aim.  Nebular is no exception and represents an open payment platform which, at the same time, permits the preparation for payment by credit cards, Coges apps and apps belonging to third party.

Nebular is integrated with the main European software management systems and can be accessed 24h/7d where a control dashboard for your payment systems is available whenever you need.

Creos: a Bill Validator ready for the most difficult locations

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Coges desires to inform his Customers that some important technical changes have been implemented in Creos Bill Validator during the last months, with the aim to further improve its performances and reliability. These changes come from the analysis of the product life and have already been implemented in all the Validator’s models which are currently manufactured.

“By observing the Bill Validators installed in locations with serious environmental conditions, such as very dusty workplaces or production areas of heavy industry, we  found out that some Operators increase the frequency of their maintenance interventions.” – reports Giovanni Riva, Coges Customer Service Manager – “Generally they are limited to short stops finalized to the Validator cleaning, which in normal locations are not necessary; but we decided to intervene to further reduce this possibility.”

Creos Validator was designed to offer a bill acceptance at the maximum reliability levels for the vending market and to allow a high degree of use of the Validator even in stressed and enduring conditions. The attention of Coges R&D Dept. mainly focused  on the strengthening of the anti-fishing device, on the optics and on the dragging mechanisms.

“Taken one by one, the new mechanical and electronical changes can slip out in the daily use of the product. ” –  highlights Matteo Pegoraro, Coges R&D Manager – “On the whole, however, they contribute to decrease more than 50% of cleaning internal interventions of the Bill Validator, also in the more extreme locations. It is a significant result, which for our Customers translates into less operative stops and lower management costs, which are particularly important in this period, when every exit to the Customer’s location shall be valued carefully.”

The current changes are a result of a specific attention to the Customer’s needs, which go beyond the product sale. The strengthening of the anti-fishing device permits a reduction of the maintenance needs thanks to the minor impact to the environmental conditions on the Validator’s operation and on the possibility of dust and dirt accumulation.  The dragging flow reduces the effort of the motor and increases the bill grip, thanks to the increase of the motor couple which optimise the performances and guarantee some constant operative conditions.

This means that the Customer will have a more reliable product also in some difficult environments and with a higher operation autonomy. Thanks to the experience on the field and to the precious feedback received from the Customers, Coges makes a constant monitoring and refinement of the performances of its products, by remaining a reliable reference for the ongoing evolution in the vending world.

Coges Pay4Vend app takes part to the UXChallenge 2021

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Coges announces its attendance to the UXChallenge venture with the Pay4Vend app, which will be held in Trento from 15th up to 19th February 2021. The UXChallenge is born with the aim to improve the user experience (UX) of digital products, selected from a small group of participating companies. The event is organized by HUB Innovazione Trentino and other European partners within the scope of the 200SMEChallenge project of the European Union, with the aim to support the innovation of the companies, particularly as regards the adoption of a product design focused on the user.

“Pay4Vend is the product Coges decided to present in this challenge, that is our app for payment on vending machines.“ – explains Fabio Brandellero, Coges Saas Consultant – “Since 2015 Pay4Vend has been one of the preferred applications in the vending world, but in the digital technology field, innovation never stops. Our aim is to get hints coming from external resources of our company in order to value the future evolution of this product, thanks to the specific skills of students and young designers. I’m sure they will surprise us.”

The new ideas concerning the selected products for the challenge will be developed by a team consisting of university students and young talented designers during an event which will last 5 days. Instead of the traditional awards for innovation, the UX Challenge permits to supply some prototype solutions to a series of real cases; some real proposals to improve the user experience which could we adopted by the companies involved.

As highlighted by the last Ipsos survey commissioned by Confida, the simple use is the main satisfactory item among the vending users. If the smartphone apps and other smart payment methods are moderately underused in the vending sector, it is truth that the interest for the new contactless payment methods is very high both on the users’ and the Operator’s sides.

“This is not the first time that Coges involves young students in the design of its products,” – remembers Matteo Pegoraro, Coges R&D Manager – “but it is the first time we take part to a public challenge context, focused on digital products. It’s essential that some young open-minded people, discuss these types of products, that are more and more important for Coges.”

 The Italian company takes part to the UXChallenge convinced that during this phase of the vending history, the technological innovation shall be oriented to the usability and the end-user experience, as regards both the vending machines and the payment systems. The design of smart vending solutions, more and more connected and careful of the consumer habits is the main way for the evolution of our sector.

Coges was chosen by SERIM for the cashless vending in Milan!

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Coges is proud to announce that SERIM chose Coges as a supplier for some vending systems for the City of Milan. The installation foresees the activation of 400 Coges Engine cashless systems equipped with a 4G connection module and a PMT Nebular Pay Credit Card Reader to be completed within the first months of 2021. The systems will be installed inside some schools, offices and public buildings of the Lombard County Seat.

“This configuration represents a unique and revolutionary event for the Italian vending, because most part of the systems will be installed without any device for the cash validation and will work only with the MyKey key and physical or virtual credit cards” observes Mario Majo, Coges Commercial Director “It will be the greatest installation of pure cashless systems in Italy in a moment of institutional thrust as regards electronic payments.”

SERIM is a top 10 company in the Italian vending sector with about 50 Euro millions of yearly revenue and it is a key member of the Coven consortium. SERIM involved Coges in this project of high strategic and symbolic value at the end of a long negotiation. It involved many company’s positions: from the Sales Dept. to R&D one, with the help of the Customer Service; the aim was to answer to the needs of SERIM in an excellent way, considering the high-profile opportunity was given to Coges.

One of the most appreciated aspects by the consumers who purchase a product from a vending machine is its easy use and the PMT Nebular Pay Credit Card Reader will guarantee to the users an immediate experience: to make the payment it is enough to move the credit card or the smartphone near to the Reader.

The payment with virtual cards doesn’t require any app download. Nebular Pay is compatible with all the credit and debit credit card circuits (Visa, Mastercard, VPay, Maestro, American Express…) and the virtual electronic wallets (Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.), which foresee a rapid cash transfer on the Customer’s bank account. In addition to the direct purchase of products from the vending machine, the Nebular Pay Reader will allow the end user to recharge the credit on his own MyKey key. Thanks to the Nebular connectivity service, the payment solution requested by SERIM will also permit to the Operator to benefit from an online technical portal with some functions: product stock management, remote firmware and database update of the payment systems, remote refund of the credit on key and much more.

“The elimination of cash will not be a problem for the end user” – adds Majo – “Italy is moving rapidly as regards cashless payment and this year there will be an additional acceleration of this trend thanks to the demand of more hygienic and sure payment methods, due to the Coronavirus. Surely this is a challenge for us and we are proud that SERIM made this choice; we believe that Milan is the ideal lab-territory for this innovation.”

With this solution Coges and SERIM intend to be pioneers in the development of digital applications for vending; a partnership based on a mutual trust which will be an important step for the evolution of our sector.

Conjugate the advantages of a mobile solution with the practicality of the physical key

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During the last years the mobile payment solutions have found an increasing success in the vending world as well: there are many applications which permit to purchase some products on the vending machine by paying with the smartphone. The advantages of this technology are many, starting from the possibility of transforming the smartphone that the user has in his pocket in a support for payment. Furthermore, by means of the apps for payment the Operator can build a bidirectional communication channel with the user, make himself know, receive or send messages. Finally the payment apps,  go generally  with the tools of the  Backoffice which offer to the Operator the possibility of monitoring the purchases and the credit recharges, of planning some promotions or discounts and in general of collecting information on the purchase habits of the users, to feed the marketing experts in order to improve the sale performances.

The applications for smartphone, however, have some limits which cannot always be overcome. In many locations it is not allowed to take the smartphone during the coffee break or it is not practical: just think about the school or to the manufacturing departments of the industry. Some apps can need a phone coverage in order to function (this is not the case of Pay4Vend) and this is not available everywhere. The apps themselves, as much as they are well-designed, can be unavailable for all the models and the versions of the operating systems for smartphone and offer a user experience less immediate compared to the traditional supports. In all these cases both the user and the Operator will find themselves to regret the simple use of the classic rechargeable key, even if they don’t want to renounce to the advantages of the digital technology.

Nevertheless there is a system to get the best of the two worlds: the practicality of a cashless key and the connectivity of an application. As a matter of fact Coges has designed a new generation of MyKey keys as a contact point between the physical support and the digital experience, thanks to the original possibility of accessing a web showcase (product waiting for a patent). This service extends to the key the typical advantages of the mobile solutions, exploiting at the same time the versatility and the simple use of a support which is present in a widespread way on the market as is MyKey key. In which way?

The web showcase of the new MyKey keys is a page dedicated to the Operator, where the user can enter with his smartphone by means of a QR code and register as he would do on an app. By opening a web showcase, the user could display a digital version of the label normally present on the vending machine, with the phone number and the e-mail address for contact, always updated and available for the Customer. Each web showcase is a different page from the others, with the logo and the colours chosen by the Operator: the brand and the trademark of the business management are highlighted also thanks to the parallel laser etching of the Operator’s logo on the MyKey keys.

The maximum potential of the web showcase reveals in the integration with Nebular, Coges platform to connect the payment system of the vending machine to the Internet network. Nebular permits to the Operator to make a firmware remote update of its systems and the coin and bill database, to detect some alarms and accounting data, to program the operating parameters and to manage the product stock with a simple planogram.

In the locations where the vending machines are connected to the Nebular platform, the access to the web showcase will offer to the registered user the same functions which he could find on the app: display its own credit on the key, send a feedback on the products, on the vending machine or the service, look up the log of the consumptions or send directly a message to the Operator. In case of the web showcase these functions can be accessed not only by smartphone, but also by a desktop computer or tablet; furthermore, as this is a web-based service, they are available for any model of phone and don’t need for complex updates on the Operator’s side.

Even in this case, as it happens for the apps, all the transactions carried out by the user with his MyKey key are registered on the web portal: in this way the Operator can access an updated registration of his users and can see the amount of purchases and recharges, analyze his sale data and plan some marketing strategies  and focused promotions. If an Operator intends to exploit the big data in order to survey the consumption of his customers, analyze the behaviours and implement some more  effective marketing strategies to increase the sales, he will find on Nebular all the data he needs. In the daily operation, the Operator has access to all the messages received by the users to intervene in a fast and precise way where it is necessary a maintenance or a restore of the product stock and can answer to the requests of the single user also by sending the refund or a bonus to a specific MyKey key.

For the customers who use the Nebular platform, the web showcase requires only an activation contribution for the etching of the logo on the keys, without additional monthly fee or update costs.  If you don’t want to renounce to the practicality of the key, but you desire to improve the service offered to the users with an interactive application which is always connected, contact your Coges area manager and find out how to customize the new MyKey key and activate the web showcase.

Do you need more info?