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Getting back on track with the EVA general assembly
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Getting back on track with the EVA general assembly

Last week, I attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the European Vending Association. Of course, due to the current international circumstances, the assembly was held digitally. Despite the current crisis, the meeting attracted quite a lot of people as around 140 attendees joined the online event. The gathering was actually an opportunity for members to attend two events in one: the AGM and a conference entitled ”Getting you back on track”. 

Obviously, as in any general assembly of the sort, we had to go through some classic formal and legal presentations. But thankfully those part were not too boring. Next to those items, the EVA presented an overview of their activities in the past year, their plans for the coming months, and some insights about the markets based on recently published reports (I mentioned some of them in previous posts). Some sponsors and members also had the opportunity to present different solutions during breakout sessions. From all these various presentations, allow me to share some of the most interesting insights: 

  • Trade associations are still useful, and in today’s context it is even more true: 
    • One can tell that in the current crisis, the work of the association is necessary and helpful for the players of the industry. The EVA provides many insights, reports and market data. With that important information, players can act quickly and base their decisions on true information. 
    • Also, the association had an important role to play (and still has today) in fighting mistrust towards vending machines. Many of their work helps to communicate about the fact that vending machines are safe to use. 
  • A lot of players are cautious for the upcoming year, and some are even a bit pessimistic. However, there are numerous opportunities to develop and restart the activities:
    • Cashless and touchless payments are definitely trending ,and will develop further in the coming year
    • A lot of vending operators can see growth and opportunities in being alternative to canteens

Finally, the event was also inspirational as Dhiraj Mukherjee, founder of Shazam, was invited as keynote speaker. His input was in line with the theme of the day, “Getting you back on track”.  He took us through his own experiences and eventually gave the message that the vending industry should continue to believe and work for the future. 

Eva European Vending AssociationVendingDistribution Automatique