In many countries, there is no legal way to setup vending machines for tobacco products. There is question of customer age verification, limited marketing of the products and difficulties, regarding local storage of the products (including advance payments and stock update and maintenance routine).
To solve these problems, in Kenjara we invented the remote depot which belongs to a tobacco Supplier. It contains a computer for reporting the inventory to Supplier and for publishing availability of the products publicly on through web pages (visible by all the customers).
To make the "vending" box possible, we've made a number of unique technical inventions and marketing approach. The system was developed in-house, "from the scratch" in order to fulfil all the strict regulations of a tobacco product distribution.
Any cafe bar or restaurant can use The Smoking Box wall-mounted or on any flat surface. The ownership of the box is by tobacco products supplier, including the inventory inside The Box.
There are more size options - most common is with cassette containing 132 boxes of cigarettes. Bigger options are available on demand (180 boxes or 240 boxes). All the storage is for short boxes.
Customer must be identified by the personnel (e.g. waitress) for the age legibility. Upon successful verification, personnel enable single box retrieval using RF identification card.
Cafe or restaurant personnel have no access to a Box inventory. They can only enable retrieval of cigarette box and issue an invoice. Supplier takes care about simple cassette exchange.
At the end of each month, computer inside The Box send the report to the supplier - as a basis for an invoice issued to the seller (also having the same report updated in real time).
Additionally, all the selling points (cafes, restaurants) with The Smoking Boxes are advertised on the web, along with the information about tobacco inventory for the registering customers.