1. A method for managing a plurality of vending machines that are geographically dispersed, comprising the steps of: receiving data transmitted via cellular communication from transceivers that each monitors a respective vending machine in the plurality of vending machines; storing the received data in a database; and with an analytics module that subjects the stored data to computer processing: outputting an operational recommendation for one or more vending machines in the plurality of vending machines by comparing the stored data of at least one vending machine in the plurality of vending machines to the stored data of at least one other vending machine in the plurality of vending machines; and identifying vending machines in the plurality of vending machines that outperform other vending machines in the plurality of vending machines.