Three things to start with
- Assess the new customer route
- Plan transport
- Monitor total sales
Give the additional channel a purpose
Decide whether the machine serves out-of-hours purchases, a new location or reserved-bouquet collection. Each purpose calls for a different site and replenishment pattern. Attempting everything at once makes results difficult to interpret. A clear initial purpose helps define the range and the measures you will use to judge whether the channel adds value to your existing business
Shared stock accounting
Track preparation, transfers and sales across the shop and machine. Moving a bouquet between channels is not a sale, and collection should not duplicate revenue already recorded for an order. Clear stock records make channel comparisons meaningful and reduce mistakes when several people handle the same bouquets. They also reveal whether extra machine stock is increasing unsold inventory elsewhere
Identifying additional demand
Compare total business sales before and after introducing the channel, allowing for weekdays and occasions. Examine purchase times and product mix. If the machine mainly shifts customers from the shop, the benefit may be operational convenience rather than additional turnover. Assess these outcomes separately so success is measured against the purpose you set instead of relying only on sales recorded at the machine