RSA Management Group How John Murn Is Leveling The Playing Field for Blind Vendors

John Murn

"RSA is here to help bring blind vending operators into the 21st century," Murn said. "It's my mission for it no longer to be 'the blind vendor,' but rather 'the vendor who is blind,' with all the same opportunities."

Murn joined his brother Tom at Answer Vending in 1997 as the company's president. Over two decades, the Murns, by embracing leading-edge technology and adapting swiftly to consumer trends, grew Answer Vending's annual sales to more than $40 million. The Farmingdale, NY, company holds the coveted snack vending contract for the New York City Department of Education and serves more than 100 private and public schools and universities in New York and New Jersey, along with many of the city's top financial firms.

Drawing on his decades of vending know-how and industry relationships, John left Answer Vending in 2013 to launch RSA Buying Group. He recently renamed the concern RSA Management Group to better reflect that it's more than a purchasing cooperative for Randolph-Sheppard vendors -- it offers every resource to support the blind vending community, as well as American war veterans. The 1936 Randolph-Sheppard Act gives priority to blind entrepreneurs to operate vending machines and foodservice facilities on government property.

Murn was inspired to establish RSA Management Group when he met Nicholas (Nicky) Gacos of Colorado Associates LLC (Metuchen, NJ), in a New Jersey post office, where Gacos runs machines as a Randolph-Sheppard operator. Gacos told Murn that there was a need for a buying group that would help vendors who are blind by improving the availability of products and providing expert guidance on micromarkets, planogramming, nutrition and coffee service.

BREAKING BARRIERS:One of the first blind vendors to enlist John Murn's merchandising expertise as a member of RSA Management Group was Harold Wenning (r.), who operates 29 machines at New York City's Morgan Annex post office, where he has held the contract for 23 years.

As a result, beginning in April 2013, Murn worked closely with Arlington Heights, IL-based purchasing cooperative Unified Strategies Group to develop a program to meet the unserved needs of blind vendors. In just three years, RSA's ranks have grown to more than 1,400 vendors.

Murn observed that, historically, many sighted venders have regarded blind vendors as adversaries, but RSA is working hard to change that. "Under the Randolph-Sheppard Act, many government locations are not available to sighted vendors, many of whom have not understood the law and resented it," Murn said. "RSA Management is helping to bring the two groups together for the benefit of all. It's all about communication and educating the industry that Randolph-Sheppard has always been the business of the blind operator. We're also working with the National Automatic Merchandising Association and all of the blind organizations to create awareness that allows everyone to have a voice."

RSA Management Group has a 20-person advisory board that has members from Mars, Hershey Co. and PepsiCo, along with blind vendors, among other vending trade leaders. It held its first annual meeting at last year's NAMA OneShow to discuss ways to make blind vendors more successful and to keep them focused on adopting vending technology.

State Of The Art

One of RSA's most significant accomplishments since then is a first-of-its-kind wireless network, Murn is proud to report. Working with Jeff Whitacre of USConnect, a Greensboro, NC-based network of vending and foodservice operators, Murn created RSA Connect, which serves as a one-stop shop to meet the needs of all blind vendors across the country who want to get on board with the latest in cashless payment technology.

RSA Management Group and members of its advisory board also collaborated with First Data Corp. (Atlanta) to establish a new voice-accessible point-of-sale payment system. USA Technologies provided the hardware and worked with RSA to create the technology. John Hickey of New York City-based Tech 2 Success was also instrumental in the development process.

The reader on the vending machine "speaks aloud" the functions a blind operator needs to access. RSA Connect's software provides speech access to text through JAWS, a screen reader commonly used by visually impaired people, or through a smartphone app.

Additionally, Murn enlisted Washington, DC-based Vagabond to develop what he says is the first cloud-based, full-suite vending management system that is voice-accessible to blind vendors.

"The goal is to have a system across the country that allows any blind vendor to order the reader and tie in to the point-of-sale system and a rewards program developed collectively with Vagabond, USA Technologies and suppliers," Murn explained. "A lot of people didn't think we could get everyone on board as a cohesive unit. But Hershey, Mars, PepsiCo, USG and others took a leap of faith in us, and we keep evolving the program to make it better."

He credited USG's Brian Faley and Ed Cunningham for their efforts to help RSA establish more programs and better opportunities for its members.

To retool its vending management program for 100% voice accessibility to blind vendors, Vagabond worked with RSA member Dennis Horn, Blindster (Orlando, FL), who provides vending services at the Orange County courthouse. USA Technologies supplied its payment hardware and machine manufacturers Crane Co., U-Select It and Vendors Exchange International Inc. provided him with equipment to help facilitate development of the technology and RSA's wireless network.

Murn plans for Horn's operation to serve as an RSA Management Group training center for other blind individuals providing vending, micromarkets and office coffee services.

Coming soon to RSA members will be a proprietary technology for micromarkets that uses RFID technology to track inventory. Murn said a prototype is in operation in New York City and the first 300 units have already been sold.

To convert information on RSA's website into audible data, Murn enlisted the help of Tech 2 Success's Hickey and USG, as well as Blue World Web Solutions, a developer of online marketing solutions for niche industries. "It is continually evolving, and I encourage companies to link to our site and work with our Web designers to make more available to our members," Murn said. "It's all about communication and involving everyone, and all blind vendors have a say in RSA."

Another initiative spearheaded by Murn and Gacos, who is now president of the National Association of Blind Merchants division of the National Federation of the Blind, is a public/private partnership program that has opened new locations for blind vendors beyond government sites.

"With government downsizing, especially, we want to expand opportunity for blind vendors in the private sector," Murn said. "We're encouraging business and industry to give blind operators the opportunity to prove they can do a great job."

Florida's Horn is the first RSA member to serve the private sector and prove the program's viability. In Orlando, Murn partnered with Aramark, with the approval of its clients JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin and Wyndham Resorts, to allow the blind operator to service machines at the accounts.

"We're breaking ground by developing a program for people who are legally blind to prove they can be as good if not better than other vendors," Murn said. "Because of what they've proven they can accomplish in the government sector, in military locations, post offices and government buildings, we want to provide them with new opportunities to establish businesses. Kudos to Aramark for looking at Dennis as a partner and not as a competitor, and to the locations for allowing a blind vendor to come in and prove himself."

Further expanding the opportunities for RSA members, Corona, CA-based AVT Inc., an automated retail systems integrator, which has a nationwide vending contract with LA Fitness centers, has awarded RSA rights to operate its vending machines, and Horn is servicing 10 of the gyms in the Orlando area.

"This partnership creates a new opportunity not only for blind operators who will have first priority, but also potentially for sighted venders to help develop a great program," Murn said.

Membership Boost

More than 100 RSA members attended the National Automatic Merchandising Association's OneShow last spring, and Murn expects an even stronger showing this April in Chicago.

"RSA's members are some of the most brilliant people I've met," said Murn. Among them is Harold Wenning (Long Beach, NY), who takes a train to the New York City post office he serves every day. "He doesn't miss a day. He fills the machines and runs the business inside and out," Murn reported.

Wenning was one of the first blind vendors who asked Murn to assess the way he merchandises his machines on location and provide guidance. Wenning's venders had six rows of Clark bars, Murn recalled, because the product cost was lower than other brands. Murn helped him modify his planogram to better represent top-selling brands, and reported that the business markedly improved.

Murn explained that a stumbling block for blind operators appeared after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on lower Manhattan, when security became of paramount concern -- especially in government buildings. This made it difficult (or impossible) for brokers to visit and advise blind vendors onsite in the secure locations that they served.

"RSA was built to bridge that gap and open the lines of communication to everyone's benefit," Murn said.

He hailed PepsiCo as a key supplier for its involvement in and support of RSA. "I had contact information for a blind vendor and gave it to PepsiCo," Murn told VT. "They got in front of him and helped, and he saw an increase in sales by bringing in 'new age' drinks." RSA is helping to roll out PepsiCo's new "Hello Goodness" machines merchandised with better-for-you selections across the country, further solidifying their partnership.

Professional Development

Training is a vital component of the services RSA provides. The organization recently worked with Chicago's Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired to produce a webinar on healthy vending, presented by Vistar and better-for-you snack maker Back to Nature.

Murn said RSA Management is committed to being a resource to its members, with answers to any questions they may have. He works closely with Business Enterprise Programs across the U.S. to oversee training initiatives and to help run and promote state and national shows.

In Washington, Murn has met, and worked cooperatively with, the General Services Administration to develop "healthy" vending programs to meet the needs of both customers and operators.

Murn will speak at the National Association of Blind Merchants' Business Leadership and Superior Training (BLAST) conference in Chicago in May to update blind vendors on the resources RSA offers. | SEE STORY

"Since I became involved with the blind community over three years ago, there's been a new awareness in the vending industry; great things have happened, and so many more are in store," Murn said.

Among them is the historic appointment of Gacos as the first blind vendor to sit on NAMA's board of directors, which Murn said will go a long way to bridge the gap between sighted and blind operators.

"I've never had people call and thank me for working with them before my work with blind operators. It's been the most satisfying, self-rewarding time in my life in business. They've helped me as much as I've helped them," Murn said. "I encourage every supplier and manufacturer to spend time with blind vendors and help them become more successful. They will the get the satisfaction I have, and learn something new from some of the brightest, most hard-working people I've ever met."

Actively demonstrating the drive and commitment to raise the bar and set an example for their fellow blind vendors to follow are members of the National Association of Blind Merchants' rising generation. Under Gacos's leadership as president of the organization, and with RSA's support, Murn singled out Alan Curry, Michael Talley, Zach Snow, Harold Wilson and Melisa Smith among those who are embracing cutting-edge technology and who he's certain will be leading innovators in the workplace refreshment services industry.