Patrick Pasengco – Philippine Vending Corporation

Patrick Pasengco and his cousin Herwin See wanted a convenience store, but because 7- eleven was already there, they and four of their friends set up Philippine Vending Corporation and Philippine Food Service Group instead to offer customers the convenience of quick service. They spent around P7 million to import 30 vending machines, buy a truck, and rent a small warehouse with office space. They started with five employees. Early on they decided that they would not franchise the business because they intended Philippine Vending to be a full service vending operator. They would take care of product replenishment, coin collection, service and maintenance of the machines, logistics and warehousing. All a prospective operator needed to do was provide them with the site.

Today they have 135 dedicated employees going around daily to refill, maintain, repair and clean 3,200 vending machines nationwide with it’s satellite offices in Cebu and Laguna. They also have a vending business in China in partnership with Nestle China. Their business attracted approximately a thousand customers a day initially, but now they serve about more than 100,000 consumers using the largest food service systems and offering vending at its most convenient. Operating their own vending machines allows them to build long-term relationships with customers and to introduce new systems and products. And by establishing economies of scale with more and better machines and importing technology from vending operators in Malaysia, Italy and the UK, they’ve made the business profitable and world-class.

They’ve also succeeded in offering a wide array of products from cold to hot beverages to snacks and frozen goodies and also have partnered with leading companies like Nestle, Coca Cola, Dole, Hidden Spring, Universal Robina, LMC, Goldilocks, Benby and Nissin Monde.

They share their blessings by donating to charitable institutions and providing college scholarships. They also keep their people motivated through profit sharing and by leading by example. They do planning every year and make sure they have a clear plan, that everyone is on the same page. It’s easier to empower people when you know that they know what you’re doing. They try to be consistent with their policies and stick to their word and give them what they promise. If they can’t, they are honest enough to tell them why.