GEISLINGEN/STEIGE, Germany – With its new set of Self-Payment Solutions, premium manufacturer WMF Professional Coffee Machines is presenting the next phase of its digital solutions roadmap. The function package for mobile payment solutions and system integration opens up an entirely new range of cutting-edge interaction options for WMF customers, helping them boost the efficiency and profitability of their coffee business even further. Alongside innovative customer touchpoints for the smartphone generation, the WMF CoffeeConnect telemetry solution offers additional digital services. Among the highlights is the new Service Monitor, an analysis and evaluation tool for trend-based, predictive machine maintenance and care.
WMF’s digital strategy is the central foundation on which its holistic and – above all – sustainable solutions packages are built. These packages based on networking and on data-based optimisation of all value-added areas of a coffee business – from machines, functions and use concepts to technical and commercial processes and service packages.
WMF Professional Self-Payment Solutions
One of the hallmarks of shopping experiences in the digital age is the buyer being made self-sufficient – petrol stations, bakeries, convenience stores and innovative, unmanned coffee stations such as MyAppCafé are just some examples of outlets that provide this option. Nowadays, it is perfectly natural for tech-savvy coffee lovers to buy their favourite beverage at a self-service machine without any assistance, and to use cashless payment options via an app or terminal.
Now, the new WMF Self-Payment Solutions provide a comprehensive range of options for forward-thinking companies that want innovative customer touchpoints to be a feature of their coffee businesses. “Thanks to our framework, customers can set up solutions like self-service tills where consumers pay for their beverages without the need for additional staff,” explains Naomi Dietrich, Marketing Manager Digital Solutions in the WMF Group’s Professional Coffee Machines division. The platform accommodates the preferred payment method as well as a range of accompanying functions (such as personalised beverage options) in order to adapt fully to the customer’s wishes. The flexible framework makes it easy to incorporate both widely known payment provider concepts such as Alipay or WeChat Pay and customer-specific solutions or apps. Not only that, but it can also be used to scan vouchers and incorporate loyalty schemes by creating dynamic QR codes.
Another key aspect of digital retail concepts is their focus on networking the communication of all the parties involved in transactions. Approaches that businesses can take advantage of now revolve around closed information loops in which buyers, products, machines (including coffee machines) and accompanying IT solutions (such as payment apps, till systems and business management software) operate together in a network – like unmanned coffee box systems with or without a robotic arm. WMF coffee machines can play the role of fully integrated participants in these autonomous scenarios thanks to the open interface concept behind the framework that WMF recently launched. This ensures that every aspect of the machines can be operated and monitored reliably – from beverage dispensing control, beverage changes and other functions through to transmitting details of the machine status.
Business intelligence
Beyond networked machine technology, WMF is using the possibilities offered by digitalisation to optimise and develop businesses. The digital services supported by WMF CoffeeConnect are an important factor in this entrepreneurial vision. Continuous bundled monitoring of machine processes produces networked knowledge that plays a vital role in all operational and strategic business decisions. This added commercial value is benefiting a community that is growing in number all the time – at both national and international level. The variety of applications makes it possible to configure the analysis and evaluation tools for use in line with individual needs. They include the new Service Monitor, which is supplementing the standard tools provided with all WMF machine models by adding a report function that is designed to increase efficiency.
Based on detailed machine data that is relevant to service (such as the number of brewing cycles or grinding cycles), a new algorithm is able to provide trend-based recommendations for the next service date or filter change. This foresight will offer customers and WMF service technicians alike an improved basis for planning upcoming maintenance tasks in the future. The Service Monitor also provides information about recent cleaning procedures. As well as indicating whether a machine is being cleaned correctly, this overview provides specific insights into the status of the machine and any training provision that might be necessary.
“By offering end-to-end expertise in machines, processes, service and business, we are able to provide our customers with a central solutions platform for both existing and new business models which exploit the commercial potential of digital change to the fullest possible extent,” explains Renaud Gey, Vice President Strategic Marketing GBU Professional Coffee Machines der WMF Group.
