Assessing Potential Kiosk Manufacturers Pt. 2

In our last blog, we talked about red flags -- things to look out for when assessing a kiosk manufacturer for a project. This week, we begin discussing the different types of kiosk companies we’ve run into in the past, or heard about from our customers: the good, the bad and the ugly.

At RedyRef, the way we view the different types of kiosk companies is by breaking it down into four parts: Kiosk Pretenders; Kiosk VARs (value-added resellers); Kiosk General Contractors; and Turn-Key Kiosk Providers.

So, let’s begin at the beginning.

Kiosk Pretenders: By far, the worst of the bunch and the ones to watch out for.  They may look or even sound like a manufacturer, but they rarely have anything to do with actually making any type of product whatsoever.  Generally speaking, the only thing these kiosk companies are making is money off of people who think they are getting a good deal, because at the end of the day, Kiosk Pretenders are really just marketing firms who are out to sell an idea -- often at an unrealistically low price -- to an unsuspecting buyer.

So what do the Kiosk Pretenders get out of the deal?  That’s simple; money!  Being a Pretender means you don’t actually manufacture anything, therefore you have no real investment; no “skin in the game,” so to speak. All they need to do is advertise to bring customers in, get them to sign a contract and then wash their hands of the entire thing. They have no control over any of the manufacturing or sourcing processes that go along with actually building a kiosk; instead, they use reseller agreements to sell what are often low-quality enclosures, at prices that are cheaper than what the general public can normally buy directly themselves.

As Pretenders, they don’t have any of the value-added reseller resources that would generally define a company as a VAR, either; in fact, most of the time, they have no real capabilities at all, other than salesmanship.  In other words: no industrial designers, mechanical engineers, electronics design specialists, fabrication facilities, integration expertise or ability to design kiosk software.  

Sounds like a pretty pointless type of organization to get involved with, doesn’t it?

In our next blog, we’ll talk about the next level up from Kiosk Pretenders -- Kiosk VARs. But if you can’t wait until next week to find out more, our professionals are happy to help you now with all of your kiosk design and manufacturing needs. Simply submit a request for proposal online or call (800) 628-3603 today for more information.