Category: office vending machine

Schools and Fitness Centers Offer More Healthy Food & Non Food Related Items More Than Ever Before

Posted on by John Van Horn

First Lady Michelle Obama and students from across the country who participate in the ten “Let’s Move!” sub-initiative programs, eat the food they have prepared during a White House Kitchen Garden harvest event in the East Room of the White House, June 3, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Childhood obesity rates have leveled off and among some populations are starting to decline. This is good news after decades of steadily rising rates of obesity among children and teens in the United States.

Popular campaigns like the Alliance for a Healthier Generation sponsored by the Clinton Foundation and American Heart Foundation, Let’s Move sponsored by First Lady Michelle Obama, and the NFL’s Play 60, are working to help parents, children, and schools to make better decisions regarding food choices and activity.

Prior to these campaigns, school cafeterias served fried foods, high carbohydrate sides, and sugary desserts. If that weren’t enough, students in the 1990’s could easily find a vending machine loaded with sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks. Students had difficulty making good choices simply because healthy foods weren’t being offered.

Thankfully, these campaigns are making a difference. School cafeterias offer more fresh fruits and vegetables to the students at lunch. Some have transformed grass into thriving school gardens where students learn to cultivate the Earth, grow fresh produce and consume what they grow.

In addition, the traditional vending machine has been replaced. Companies like Intelligent Dispensing Solutions have created school vending machines that dispense healthy fare such as low-fat milk, bottled water, and fresh vegetable and fruit solutions. For schools, machines like this are a win-win combination. Students have easy access to quality foods and the machines automate inventory and IDS’ IQ software technology syncs the machine with the requirements of the Federal Free and Reduced Meal program.

No campaign can create widespread change overnight; however, as these initiatives have continued to pick up steam, long-term change seems to be happening. Finally, we have some good news about childhood obesity.

Visit Intelligent Dispensing Solutions for unique solutions for school and fitness center healthy snack vending machines. Whether the machines are vending healthy foods or material goods such as towels or earbuds, IDS’s IQ technology keeps your sales records secure and up to date, while the machine prevents theft and automates the sale process freeing your employees to attend to other tasks.

Good Items to Embrace, and Bad Items to Avoid in Your Gym Vending Machine

Posted on by John Van Horn

main-get-fit-work-dont-fear-the-vending-machine_0Many people still picture vending machines as units filled with snacks, sodas or other unhealthy items. Not only is this an antiquated idea at this point, but in today’s modern society it actually couldn’t be farther from the truth. Many healthcare facilities are using vending machines to dispense medical supplies and other items, for example. Even gyms are getting in on the fun, with vending machines filled with the types of healthy items necessary to compliment a great workout. If you’re looking to add a vending machine to your gym, however, it’s just as important to know what you should NOT stock as it is knowing what you should.

Items to Avoid

Out of all the items that you should avoid in your gym vending machine, honey buns, cinnamon rolls and more may be the worst. While they make make sense, especially if you’re trying to consider those early morning fitness gurus in search of a good breakfast, some of them have as many calories as you would get in an entire meal.

Doritos and other types of flavored snacks should also likely be avoided, but not necessarily for the reason you might think. While these snacks don’t necessarily have a huge amount of calories, they are also low in fiber and high in salt – a combination that people working out absolutely do not need.

Items to Embrace

Dry fruit is a great option for putting in your gym vending machine for a very simple reason: they’re high in the types of fiber and vitamins that people working out need at that period of time. Microwave popcorn is also a great option to put in these nutritional vending machines as it is high in fiber and antioxidants.

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions

If you’re looking for the perfect nutritional item vending machine to compliment your gym, Intelligent Dispensing Solutions has a wide range of options, such as vending machines and smart secure lockers, that are up to the challenge. Not only can you install vending machines to dispense everything from sports drinks to weight gloves, but these solutions also allow you to cut back on the amount of staff that is required to work in your gym overnight. Not only will your patrons be happy, but you can save a significant amount of money at the same time.

A vending machine no longer has to be just for chips, candy, soda and other unhealthy items. Gyms all over the world are proving that they’re also a great way to make sure that your customers have access to all of the items that they need after a terrific workout. By understanding which items you should be avoiding in your gym vending machine, you’ll go a long way towards making sure that you’re always giving your customers exactly what they’re looking for at all times.

The University of California, Santa Barbara Offers Students Broad Range of Materials in Vending Machine

Posted on by John Van Horn

Seeing vending machines on campus is nothing new for college students. Coffee, soft drinks, water, snacks, and even pre-made sandwiches are just a few push buttons away. A new resolution before the University of California Santa Barbara student Senate would re-establish school supply vending machines on campus.

The proposed bill, A Resolution to Re-Establish the School Supply Vending Machines Group Projects, was authored by student Senators Isabelle Ninh and Lacy Wright. The proposed legislation before the campus’ 2015-2016 student government would place test supply vending machines in the campus’ Pardall Center. Initially, the school supply vending machine would dispense test supplies such as blue books, Parscores, and other testing materials.

Senator Matthew Santos first pitched the idea to the 2014-2015 student Senate. He, along with Senators Ninh and Wright will be responsible for monitoring the machine inventory, making changes to meet student needs, and determining what should be done with the revenue. According to Santos, Students would benefit from the machine in more than just having handy blue books. He would like to see the revenue to toward offsetting student fees. In particular, Santos proposed, “…we want the money to go to the AS Innovation Fund, which has the purpose of offsetting student fees through the generated interest.”

If the resolution is successful, UC Santa Barbara will join other universities, such as Penn State, in making life for their students a little easier by offering school supplies to their students around the clock. These automated machines dispense a wide variety of school supplies and can be linked to student debit accounts or can accept traditional credit cards and/or cash.

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions specializes in these unique types of vending machines. Our office and school vending machines can be customized to meet any need that you have. With our iQ Technology, you will rest easy in the assurance that your customer data is safe while receiving up to the minute sales data that will help you make important decisions about inventory and generate additional income.

Photo Credit: Photo by Mathew Burciaga, Layout Editor

Secure Dispensers for Office Supply Vending Machines

Posted on by John Van Horn

Vending machines have long been one of the best ways to get a wide range of different products to consumers in a quick and efficient manner. Because of the automated nature of these solutions, however, security was always a primary concern. A vending machine representative or service technician isn’t necessarily going to check a particular unit every day, so it could be quite awhile before anyone even realizes that theft has occurred. Now, one industry leader is taking things to the next level by offering vending machine solutions with a focus on security above all else.

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions, a leading vending machine manufacturer and provider for both operators and businesses around the world, has released a new line of automated office supply vending machines into the marketplace with a major emphasis on security. These machines track office supplies by letting customers log in with their own user IDs and passwords to make a purchase. This adds a bold new level of accountability to the equation, as each purchase is always tied to a specific person. Management can then view these detailed records to help see who is participating in what types of activity at a moment’s notice. Keeping track of inventory and making sure that a machine stays secure has truly never been easier.

IQ Technology leverages the power of the cloud with inventory tracking to help provide an efficient solution that is intently focused on security at the same time.

IQ is an Internet-based software system, which means that business owners and vendors can access important diagnostic information about a particular vending machine from any device on the planet with an active Web connection. Business leaders can track current inventory levels, see who is checking out certain items, see when (or if) they’re being promptly returned and more. It’s a system that can be used to manage as many machines as necessary given the needs of a business, so long as each machine is connected to the Internet.

In addition to preventing theft, IQ-enabled solutions are also adept at preventing fraud. All transactions are 100% encrypted, so both consumers and business owners don’t have to worry about things like credit card fraud or identity theft when using these machines.

Thanks to the engineers and designers at Intelligent Dispensing Solutions and similar companies all over the world, security concerns are now a thing of the past. Businesses can depend on vending machines to help with everything from inventory control to efficiency and productivity management, all without having to worry about theft and similar issues that were prominent in an era not too long passed.

How To Avoid The 3pm Office Lull

Posted on by John Van Horn

custom vending machinesWe’ve all been there. It’s 3pm, you just ate a nice lunch at 12pm. But now the tiredness is creeping in and you are in need of a pick-me-up because even though you are tired, you still have that deadline to hit.

Somehow, the entire day just catches up with you and it’s a struggle to keep your eyes open and to not have your head smash into the keyboard. Taking a quick stroll around the office does nothing. If anything, it’ll make you even more sleepy.

The solution (besides a 4th cup of coffee)? Food. Food, especially anything with caffeine and sugar, will push you through the next two hours of work. Office vending machines are a simple solution to the food problem. Workers don’t have to waste time during the day to head to a store for refreshments. Instead, they can find the perfect snack in the break room. Of course, not all office snack machines have to be loaded with just candy bars and soda. You can choose a mix of healthy items and treats to keep you and the rest of the office happy and, most importantly, awake.

Visit Intelligent Dispensing Solutions to learn more about office vending machines and don’t let the “3 pm sleepies” keep you from getting your work done and hitting that deadline.

IDS Will Attend The 2015 CleanShow | ScrubTrak

Posted on by John Van Horn

IDS has recently announced that it will be attending the 2015 CleanShow event, taking place from April 16 to April 19, to exhibit its new ScrubTrak line of medical vending machines. The ScrubTrak is powered by a state of the art inventory control software that is designed to put managers back in control of the disbursement of necessary resources across a medical facility.

CleanShow 2015 is taking place at the beautiful Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The show has recently expanded its format to allow for additional days over previous years, which was a move made in part to give people in attendance more time to take in new exhibits, attend educational sessions and network with other people in the industry that they work in. The ScrubTrak scrubs vending machine is just one of the many technological advancements that will be on display all throughout the show.

CleanShow 2015 is an event designed for people in the laundering, dry cleaning and textile services industry. People come from all over the country to take in live demonstrations, educational sessions and engage in bold networking opportunities that they are unlikely to find anywhere else. During the 2013 show alone, 422 different companies traveled to New Orleans and utilized almost 200,000 square feet of booth space to show off their latest innovations to the industry.

IDS’ ScrubTrak machines have a large range of technological advancements that can’t be ignored. They operating system that powers these machines is cloud-based, for example, meaning that they are always connected to an active Internet connection at all times. This means that all ScrubTrak machines that are in use by the same company are always connected to one another and sharing information, regardless of where in a building they’re located or if they’re spread across multiple facilities.

Each time scrubs are dispensed or returned to the machine, its operating system is updated to reflect this information. A camera can be added onto the unit to record video of each transaction, making sure both that only authorized individuals are using the machine and to help track down lost resources whenever possible.

The same easy to use, sleek graphical user interface also allows facility managers to manage “pick lists” for warehouse distribution, employ dynamic routing to get scrubs where they’re needed the most and more. All of this comes in a machine with a relatively small footprint, allowing ScrubTrak to fit in effortlessly in any sized facility. IDS will be giving live demonstrations of the latest models at the show for all four days.

Office Supply Vending Machines Introduced to Libraries

Posted on by John Van Horn

you walk up to a traditional vending machine, you expect to drop in a few coins and receive a snack, a cup of coffee, or even a cold soda. How about a pen?  A notebook? A computer keyboard? Or even a new set of scrubs?

Vending machines are moving far beyond the traditional snack foods and drinks. The Penn State library recently installed two vending machines that dispense office supplies and necessary items for their student population including blue books, writing utensils, headphones and calculators. Students do not need to have cash on hand to use the machines; they simply swipe their university card and the purchase is deducted from their balance.

When it comes to this new generation of vending machines, the sky’s the limit. Conventional office vending machines provide that 3 PM snack, but instead of chocolate, chips, and mints, IDS machines can replace the standard office supply cabinet. Inventory control is provided by having employees scan their ID or entering their employee number to receive necessary supplies.

The most interesting aspect of an office supply vending machine is that they can vend almost any type of supply your employees or customers require. Custom vending machines allow businesses to sell their product automatically at any time of day or night by automating the transaction. Any type of medical supply that is subject to inventory control, from pharmaceuticals to equipment, can be easily tracked. Even IT equipment like a keyboard or a mouse, that would have been a hassle to replace in a corporate environment requiring tracking paperwork, can be dispensed via vending machine automatically.

With web-based iQ technology, inventory managers can easily track the machine’s inventory.  By simply logging in to a web based device from anywhere, supervisors can track the machine’s records and track sales or employee use. No longer will that supervisor need to check each machine individually to inventory its remaining products. With iQ technology, businesses can increase employee accountability with detailed records of materials or products requested by each person which leads to a decrease in theft and shrinkage.

The automatic vending feature appeals to any business that is working toward increasing employee autonomy and efficiency. For example, rather than having employees fill out requisition forms and wait for necessary replacements like a computer power cord, Facebook CIO Tim Campos created a series of custom vending machines to automate this process, reduce expense, and increase efficiency.

No longer just for snacks, smart supply vending machine manufacturer Intelligent Dispensing Systems creates custom machines to dispense office, medical, and IT supplies.

New Social Commerce: Vending Machines

Posted on by John Van Horn

TweetShirt-02It’s no secret that social media is more popular than ever. Twitter in particular is taking the world by storm, boasting hundreds of millions of dollars and a true billion dollar valuation to its credit. It seems that Twitter users can’t get enough of the “micro blogging” service and companies in many different industries are finding bold new ways to meet that demand. One possibility for social media interaction in the not too distant future has to do with the pairing of the vending machine manufacturer and social media-enabled vending machines.

Brands like Old Navy and Nike have zeroed in on an idea that is brilliantly simplistic. Patrons can walk by a Twitter-enabled vending machine, post a tweet about a product or service that the company offers and get some type of reward for their trouble. Old Navy has already begun rolling out these social commerce twitter vending machines in Japan to great success. After posting a tweet about Old Navy brand flip flops, users of the vending machines can actually get a pair of those flip flops to call their own.

Old Navy has had similar success with these types of campaigns in the United States. In years past, the brand had installed 28 machines in strategic locations in major cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Not only did the company get promotion via the tweets, but the media attention also funneled directly into its big summer sale.

According to Evigo.com, these types of digital media vending machines accounted for 3,500 different tweets and 12 million impressions. Though that may not necessarily sound like much for a social networking site with hundreds of millions of users, it’s important to keep in mind that these campaigns were limited in their scope to this initial roll-out. Representatives from the companies involved were very clear that driving traffic wasn’t the goal – building excitement and displaying true innovation in the realm of social media is the prize that they were after and it’s definitely a prize they seem to have obtained.

These social media vending machines are a true example of “out of home advertising” and taking marketing campaigns and word of mouth to bold new heights in a digital age. One of the major factors that brands love about Twitter is that it is a great way to get customers involved in their marketing campaigns. Tweets can be seen by millions of people all over the world, creating the type of brand awareness in an instant that most companies only dream of. If social media campaigns like the type that Old Navy, Westin Hotels and other major brands like Nike are any indication, “social commerce” isn’t an idea that always seems to be just over the horizon – it’s one that is already here.

Vending Security and Control: How Software is Revolutionizing the Industry

Posted on by John Van Horn

The vending industry is currently in a state of expansion. Spreading outward from its core of foods, beverages, and entertainment, vending machines are finding their way into a number of professions. The reason is a unique combination of inventory control and advances in technology that give vending machine management several advantages. As vending machine manufacturers adopt these security features, the potential solutions vending machines offer continue to grow. Below are several of the most promising examples and what they can offer:

Controlled Substances and Healthcare Supplies

Vending machine manufacturers are making inroads into the healthcare system for one primary reason: The importance of supply management for hospitals, clinics, and similar organizations. Healthcare organizations deal with a number of products that require tight controls, particularly drugs and similar controlled substances. Despite their best efforts, many hospitals see losses due to mismanagement and ongoing troubles with employee theft.

Secure medical vending machines offer a solution to these issues by allowing medical professionals to access exactly what goods they need without worrying about theft or mistakes. The system uses a mix of timestamps, access protocols, and unit tracking to control exactly who has access to drugs and valuable medical supplies, while keeping them safe. As a bonus, medical vending machines also provide solutions for dealing with scrubs using software like ScrubTrak to pick up new scrubs and return soiled versions.

Office Management and Accountability

In some respects, office supplies face the same losses that medical supplies do thanks to mismanagement, theft and miscommunication. A vending machine tracking software system for appropriate office supplies can solve corporate problems with these losses.

Office vending machines can be customized to offer everything from simple pens and notes to flash drives and electronics. Items are provided to employees who scan their IDs, helping to create more accurate accountability and removing human error from the process – as well as getting employees their solutions without requiring a lengthy request process.

Kitchens and Similar Workplaces

Busy kitchens found in large-scale restaurants and hospitality industries may seem like an odd choice for vending solutions, but the right kind of machine can provide a help to managers dealing with a balance of inventory control and workplace safety requirements.

Knives and other cutlery or expensive preparation supplies, vending machines can offer simple control answers to environments that are inherently different to closely regulate because of high turnover or sudden changes in volume and activity.

Law Enforcement Controls

While law enforcement may not suffer from the same turnover rates as the hospitality industry, these organizations do have plenty of sensitive products to monitor. Vending machines can help these agencies track ammunition, weapons, and similar products to increase safety and prevent deadly mistakes.

There is no better time to join the vending industry. With strict monitoring and inventory control, vending machine owners can rest assured that the technology is on their side.

See the Cap5 Medical Office Vending Machine from IDS at the 2014 Texas EMS Conference

Posted on by John Van Horn

The EMS Conference in Texas is coming up from November 23-26, allowing EMS workers to see the latest tools and equipment in action. During the conference, attendees can experience workshops and hands-on sessions, lectures, and pre-conference classes. Some of the perks of this event, besides the large amounts of information offered, is the fact that attendees will receive free coffee, free lunch, and be able to attend an awards ceremony where EMS workers are honored for their contributions.

This year, Intelligent Dispensing Solutions will be in attendance showcasing two exciting medical office vending machines; the Cap 5 and the Cap 5 Refrigerated.

IDS VedingIn the realm of custom vending machines, staying updated on the latest technology is essential, which is exactly what IDS does. When it comes to vending machine manufacturers, IDS understands the industry like no other. Below is more information about the two medical office supply vending machines on display by IDS at this year’s Texas EMS Conference.

CAP 5

The CAP 5 provides users with full control over a large number of medical packages and products. This vending machine offers secure storage for all items that are necessary to perform in the EMS field. It offers an electronic display and an intelligent control system to ensure that all transactions are monitored.

CAP 5 Refrigerated

The CAP 5 Refrigerated vending machine allows full control over a large variety of medical packages and products in a refrigerated environment. This provides maximum longevity for essential products that are needed on a daily basis. This machine offers a number of exciting features, including an intelligent control system, which allows for a 24-7 real-time reporting of any transactions. It also offers durable shelves, a high-security lock, and an extra-large delivery port.

Who can the CAP 5 help?

The CAP 5 technology is a type of innovative service that has been created by Intelligent Dispensing Solutions to help ensure that pharmaceutical products and other medical products are available in an easy and efficient manner for EMS, Veterinary, and other medical professionals. No more digging through unorganized cabinets for the right item. With the CAP 5 and an ID badge, EMS and other medical workers can easily and quickly access the product they need. Managers can also easily keep track of the materials being used and by whom with built-in tracking.

When it comes to medical vending machines, having efficient and effective equipment is essential. The CAP 5 and The Cap 5 Refrigerated provide any medical organization an effective way to dispense pharmaceuticals and other medical products, even in high-pressure situations. For anyone who wants to see the CAP 5 in action, attending this year’s Texas EMS Conference is a must.
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