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Vending is the last route-based industry to utilize handhelds. As with other industries that have embraced this technology, handhelds will make drivers more productive.

Your company has decided to embrace handheld computers. This might be a little intimidating if you're not familiar with how they work. But as a route driver, you stand to gain as much as anyone.

Excluding vending, every other route-based industry has used "handhelds" for over 20 years. Companies like Anheuser-Bush, Miller Brewing, Hostess, Frito-Lay, UPS and Federal Express were the early adopters of handheld technology.

Management's decision to employ handhelds probably began with hearing of their fellow operators' positive handheld experiences. The NAMA trade shows overflow with seminars on vending technology, plus the "vending experts" and trade magazines have endorsed handhelds for nearly a decade.

The expectations of handhelds are that they improve warehouse and route efficiency with barcode scanning and information accuracy. The benefits harvested from improved machine service and product merchandising also encourages their deployment. Handhelds are being recognized by your customers as a sign of professionalism, which they perceive improves the management of their satisfaction.

You may have begun to hear about "DEX," the Direct EXchange of machine information with a handheld. DEX contains two important sets of information. First, it contains how many dollar bills are in the bill acceptor, coins in the collection box and exact coin tube activity. Second, it contains the number of vends for each column (selection).

From the cash information comes "tamper proof cash reconciliation," while the column vends allow the handheld to instantly tell you the quantity of each product necessary to restock the machine.