Mark K. Email and Phone Number

As owner of Automated Retail Associates (ARA), we provide project and consulting services to the Vending, OCS, MicroMarket, and Manual Food Service industries. Our goal is to help you complete those projects that keep getting bumped to the bottom of the list or where you need experience to help with the implementation and completion of those projects.Project Examples• Gain better control ~ over warehouse, truck & machine inventories ~ over inventory movement procedures ~ over product costs ~ over assets• Resolve cash shortage issues• Identify unprofitable locations and recommend solutions• Make better use of your Vending, OCS & MicroMarket systems • Help introduce and manage your implementation of new technologies• Maximize merchandising management of machines and micromarkets• Make the right decisions for your cashless, remote monitoring and DEX• Determine if Prekitting and Dynamic Scheduling are the right solutions for you

In November 2017 Cantaloupe Systems was acquired by USA Technologies. After the acquisition I continued in the same role while also educating USA Technologies SMB group on the features and methods to successfully sell Cashless Plus in order to transition the sales responsibilities.I moved to the Product Management group where I worked with the design of new system features, identification of new markets and the determination of their business value, and continued to provide assistance to the enterprise sales team. Initially upon moving to this group I was asked to take on some larger customers who were frustrated and whose needs were not being met. I successfully resolved the issues and established a positive relationship with the customers.As part of CompuVend Systems, Cantaloupe Systems and USA Technologies I was responsible for the New Orleans office. USA Technologies' management decided to expand the New Orleans office into a regional hub in order to support customers in the southeast as well as provide an alternative to our offices in Malvern PA or San Francisco for company and client meetings. I assisted in the location, build out, and move into the new offices.

My role at Cantaloupe was to work with the development staff to create a more limited version of their full system which included the core functions needed to successfully manage a vending company. It also included identifying features that did not exist in Cantaloupe's system, which were found in the CompuVend system, and adding these to create a comprehensive system needed to successfully run a Vending, OCS, and Food Service company.Upon completion of the product my responsibilities were to develop the sales, training, and support teams needed to successfully manage this product.We developed the marketing and sales, training and support plans for Cashless Plus. Cashless Plus took the cashless features of the system that allowed a customer to add credit/debit card and mobile payment capabilities to their vending machines as well as some of the other management tools of the main system. I managed this group as well as doing sales, training and support.Provided assistance to the enterprise sales team in conversations and demos as to some of the more technical aspects of the application as well as "can it do this" type questions.In November 2017 the company was acquired by USA Technologies. After the acquisition I continued in the same role while educating USA Technologies SMB group on the features and methods to successfully sell Cashless Plus.

As the Owner/President I was responsible for the overall operation of the company. Responsibilities include Sales, Marketing, Product Development, and Customer Service and Support.In April 2014 CompuVend Systems was acquired by Cantaloupe Systems. We discontinued sales of the CompuVend system but I continued in the same role with Cantaloupe as well as taking on additional duties.CompuVend began from applications I developed for its sister company Food Management Corporation. Food Management Corp provided Vending, OCS, Food Service and Catering services to industrial companies.

Food Management Corporation provided Vending, Office Coffee, Food Service, and Catering to industrial companies. It was a family business and I was involved in the daily operations from a young age. In 1978 I created software applications for the company and was approached by other companies to sell the applications. In 1982 we formed CompuVend Systems to develop, sell and support these applications. We ran both of these companies as sister companies providing experience and benefits for each.