When you hear the words vending machine what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Did you answer safety gloves?

While most people still think of vending machines in relation to their traditional products like candy and soda there is a new movement taking place. As companies are looking for better and more efficient ways to manage resources and consumables they have turned to vending machines. Whether the products dispensed are keyboards and power cords like at Facebook, or drill bits and saw blades like at NASA, the boundaries of vending machines are now nearly endless.

So why would your place of business utilize a vending machine for non traditional products?

Inventory management

If your company wants to manage personal protection equipment (PPE) inventory the current options aren't very robust, nor do they provide insight into the data. With a vending machine system each employee uses a swipe card or pin to access the system. This not only helps track inventory and usage rates, it makes it harder for employees to abuse the system. Safety gloves, ear plugs and numerous other items tend to walk from supply areas quite easily.

Cost reduction

As stated above ancillary items a business provides to its employees have been hard to keep out of the employees homes. A vending machine causes an employee to only take what he or she needs to do their job and not pocket any extras. This type of system also is much more cost effective to manage than other methods of checking out supplies. These methods usually include some form of paperwork or requests to be filed with department heads.

Employee moral

At first glance you may think employees having to swipe a badge or use a code to access daily items would hurt employee moral by showing them you dont trust them. Just the opposite usually happens. The cool factor of the vending machines outweighs any of the big brother thoughts employees may have.

Do you have items that could be vended? Would you like us to evaluate your operation to determine if vending machines can improve your facility?

Fill out our needs analysis form or contact our Automation Specialist Tom Masters at 317-938-3591 to discuss vending options today.