VENDING ASSOCIATIONS


European Vending & Coffee Service Association (EVA)


EVA SmartLink – What is it & how it can help your business?


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s you may know, the EVA recently presented the new EVA SmartLink specification to the wider industry. EVA SmartLink is a new open and secure interoperability architecture designed to modernise communication between unattended retail solutions, such as vending machines, professional coffee machines, payment systems and management software. With the industry currently


fragmented and using multiple legacy protocols – such as MDB, Executive


and others – there is a general lack of interoperability between machines and peripherals. Suppliers sometimes also place their own customisations on top of these protocols, increasing intregration complexity further and ultimately raising costs for machine operators. Combined with new market expectations for connectivity, a seamless user experience and regulatory pressure with regards to cybersecurity, data access and fiscalisation, a working group of EVA members has been working intensively over the last two years to write and develop the new SmartLink specification. This development work follows several years of detailed research to fully document the limitations of the current situation as well as capturing industry needs and requests. EVA SmartLink, built on OPC Unified Architecture (UA), is designed to be an open and freely accessible specification, so that all industry companies can access and implement it without restrictions. The EVA hopes that this strategy will encourage industry adoption both in Europe and worldwide and with its ability to reduce complexity, promote faster innovation and ultimately a reduced time to market for new products, it should certainly prove attractive to operators and manufacturers. Over the coming months and as part of a communication campaign, the EVA will be presenting the specification at a range of national vending association events and discussing the benefits with many industry players.


Upcoming opportunities this month to find out more about SmartLink and ask questions include: 11 June: AVA online webinar 17 June: Azkoyen Group webinar 17 June: NAVSA (French Vending Association) event in Lille


Contact us today for more information about these events and/or to receive your copy of the release candidate of EVA SmartLink: vending@vending-europe.eu


The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) AVA 2026 Christmas Luncheon


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e are delighted to announce that bookings for the AVA 2026 Christmas Luncheon - our most anticipated social event of the year - are now open!


This year, we will be holding our flagship event on Thursday 10 December at the historic Lincoln’s Inn, London for a day of festive celebration. We will be kicking off the event with welcome drinks from 11.30am, which will be followed by a three-course meal including unlimited wine, beer & soft drinks. Plus, there will be our famous after-party, which will be held at the stylish and iconic ‘Last Judgment’, making it the perfect way to catch up with friends, new and old, and industry colleagues.


Tickets are now available:


• Tickets: £210 (+VAT) • Tables seat 10 guests So, whether you are looking to treat your team for a fantastic


year, entertain clients or simply enjoy the festivities, the AVA Christmas Luncheon is not to be missed.


Last year’s event was a sell-out, and, with limited places available and likely to sell out quickly, we recommend you secure your place as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.


A number of our sponsorship opportunities have already been taken up, however, there are still a few available, including our After Party, Raffle and Entertainment packages. If you would like to reserve a place or table or find out more about the sponsorship opportunities, please contact paul.fitzjohn@the-ava.com.


David Llewellyn, AVA chief executive said: “The Christmas


Luncheon is our biggest event of the year and we can’t wait to welcome everyone this time to the magnificent Lincoln’s Inn. We had some fantastic feedback rom last year’s event, so we look forward as we celebrate another successful year for our members.


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