TalkingRetail reports that Sielaff, a leading European manufacturer of vending machines and glass-fronted merchandisers, has announced the launch of the Barista Uno, an automatic self-service coffee bar suitable for places like the convenience store, petrol pumps or motor service centres.

The bean-to-cup coffee machine can dispense several fresh-milk based drinks such as espresso, cappuccino, lattè, hot chocolate. The vending machine comes with a 20-litre fresh milk cooler, cup holders that can hold two cup sizes, a mechanism to insert coins and in-built telemetry and PC software. Other optional accessories such as hot water tap or product storage module are available.

The news report states that the machine boasts several advanced features such as "Sielaff's own grinder and brewing mechanism and hospital grade hoses". Vending machine operators will be excited by the extremely small footprint of this machine.

For businesses that are contemplating the use of food and drink vending machines in their premises, or those that are reluctant to do so, might be interested to know that these machines can serve another important purpose, besides serving food and drinks. It might seem a bit unlikely, but as Martin Atkinson writes in the HRZone, " Installing vending machines will improve productivity by reducing the amount of people leaving the building for lunch and taking extended lunch breaks."

Sure, there is case for a valid opposing argument as well---it is likely that a vending machine may see more people take more breaks more often and thus affecting productivity. However, if we were to take a more optimistic view of things and repose greater faith in employees, the counter-argument could be that the time spent near the vending machine will be productive with informal interaction between team members leading to a stimulation of ideas on addressing key challenges when they return to their desks. Also remember that vending machines are not dispensing drinks for free--- so that in itself can act as a deterrent to employees who are likely to misuse the freedom they get from having a vending machine in their premises.

So, the tip of the day for businesses striving hard to push up their productivity levels- get a vending machine installed!