Fastenal, Winona, MN, has grown its penetration in the vending market quickly, in part by giving vending machines to customers for free in exchange for a contract, which may include committing for a number of years or to a minimum amount of business.

But Cari Palmer, the chief relationship officer for vending machine and software supplier SupplyPro, says that distributors need to take care when giving away machines, which has become the norm in the market. In the first part of MDM’s new special report on industrial vending, she advises distributors to have as much transparency as possible with customers over the terms of their vending agreements.

When customers are hit with unexpected restocking fees or surcharges, or products are swapped without the customer’s knowledge, it can cause conflict that could be avoided with clearer terms.

Learn more about the recent industrial vending boom in the article in Industrial Vending: “A Runway for Growth” featured in the latest issue of MDM Premium.