Zuply and Vendo integration for smart vending machines

Project overview

For this project, FreshConnected worked on integrating a new Vendo vending machine into existing vending software and the broader Zuply platform. The machine needed to do more than dispense products. It also had to support smart vending functionality such as analytics, remote management, and embedded marketing tools around the vending experience.

The main focus was connecting the vending UI software to the new Vendo hardware so machine events, error messages, and stock updates could flow correctly into the software layer and the dashboard behind it.

Collaboration

This project brought together multiple parties: Quiosk as the client, Zuply on the hardware side, and Innovend on the software side. FreshConnected worked across developers and stakeholders while building the connection between the Vendo controller, the Raspberry Pi, and the existing software environment.

That made the project more than a technical integration. The solution had to fit an existing product setup without making day-to-day machine behaviour or supplier collaboration unnecessarily complex.

The business challenge behind the project

The practical challenge was clear: how do you add a new type of vending hardware to existing vending software without rebuilding the whole product? For machine owners, that meant a broader hardware choice. For customers using the machine, the experience still had to feel clear, reliable, and familiar.

So the value was not only in connecting one machine. It was in expanding the platform with a wider hardware range that could still operate inside the same software and management structure.

What was delivered

• Integration of the Vendo machine with the existing vending UI software.
• Connections between machine events, stock, error codes, and the cloud platform.
• Alignment between hardware behaviour, the user interface, and the backend.
• Coordination across the involved parties to keep the integration practical to deliver.

Technical implementation

• Python microservice on the Raspberry Pi to pass machine-controller signals into the software layer.
• PHP backend for transactions, error handling, and synchronization with VendingWeb.
• Vue, JavaScript, and TypeScript for the vending interface used by customers and operators.
• Cypress tests for key UI flows and error handling.
• Buddy CI/CD with controlled rollout per machine.

Challenges

• Limited documentation around the Vendo integration, so protocol behaviour had to be confirmed through testing and direct contact.
• The new machine had to fit existing hardware and software flows without disrupting other parts of the product.
• Coordination across multiple parties and suppliers during development and rollout.

Result

• Support for Vendo machines within the existing platform.
• Real-time visibility into dispensing events, stock, and errors.
• Smoother integration with the existing vending software.
• Easier remote monitoring and management for machine owners.
• A production-ready base for rolling out this hardware type further.

Reflection

This case shows that hardware integration is not only about the technical connection itself. It also depends on coordination across parties, predictable machine behaviour, and the way new hardware fits into existing software flows. In an established platform, new hardware has to add value without reducing reliability or ease of use.

That is what makes this approach strong. The Vendo integration was treated as part of a broader product ecosystem rather than as an isolated connection, which made the hardware usable within the same management and user structure as the rest of the platform.