Tag: office vending machines

Introducing Scrubtrak!

Posted on by John Van Horn

custom vending machinesWhen most people think of office vending machines, they usually think of drink or snack machines. However, at Intelligent Vending Solutions, they move beyond snacks and drinks and enter into the practical world of everyday office supplies. For example, one of their newest machines, the ScrubTrak hospital scrub vending machine is made especially for medical facilities and the professionals they employ.

The ScrubTrak machine will do the following:

  • Help medical professionals keep up with their scrub supply, freeing up time and energy for other more important matters.
  • Help reduce unauthorized inventory usage.
  • Ensure scrubs will always be available to techs, nurses, doctors and other medical professionals when they are needed.

Why medical facilities should utilize custom vending machines:
In the past, medical facilities have relied on a variety of resources and methods to ensure their employees are properly clothed in scrubs. The custom vending machine ScrubTrak, which is described above, proves invaluable in this task as it streamlines and organizes the process. No longer will new employees have to wait for scrubs to come in and no longer will there be a worry that unauthorized personal are partaking of an facility’s scrubs.

How these custom vending machines operate:
The intelligent dispensing solution is the technology that makes these vending machines different from others on the market. They keep track of inventory and give employees easy access to needed supplies. These machines also cut down on waste and help employers oversee their employee’s supply usage. In fact, these vending machines can help reduce inventory shrinkage by at least 25 percent.

Track Inventory Remotely with Custom Vending Machines

Posted on by John Van Horn

One of the cost-effective advantages of a remote vending machine is that they don’t require an attendant. Unlike a snack bar that needs to have at least one person overseeing it during hours of operation, a vending machine is ready to dispense food, drinks of other items at any hour of the day without the need for a cashier or server, saving you unnecessary costs while making you money. However, that same advantage can also become a concern to vending machine owners or lessees: Left unattended, stock can run low, making the machine less profitable. What’s more, it can be difficult to keep track of the revenue the machine is generating, or to make changes in the types of stock it dispenses based on use levels and customer preferences.

The good news is that custom vending machines with iQ technology let you track your inventory and your revenue remotely from any device that has an Internet connection–including your smartphone. You can even track usage levels so you can tailor the products you offer to the changing needs of the customers you’re serving and even identify when machines may be underperforming. And that means you can be responsive to changes that have a big impact on your machines’ profits and your own bottom line.

Free Your Office Manager from the Drudgery of Managing Office Supplies

Posted on by John Van Horn

In many businesses, one person (often the office manager or an assistant) is in charge of controlling access to the office supplies. If this is how your organization allocates resources, you should know that a vending machine is an ideal solution for keeping track of office supplies.

The office vending machines provided by Intelligent Dispensing Solutions will free up your manager from having to keep track of who is getting notebooks, pens, staples, USB drives and other items that workers need on a daily basis.

This is a waste of your employees’ valuable time. Why make a person keep track of supplies when an intelligent vending machine is a quick and efficient office supply management solution?

Employees only need to swipe their ID badge in the vending machine’s card-reading slot, enabling you to effectively keep track of who is obtaining office supplies, the types of items they are getting, and how often  they use the device.

What’s more, with the vending machine connected to the Internet, it’s easy to manage your office supply inventory remotely with this office inventory system, which is especially useful when you are managing multiple office locations. You can quickly get reports about which items are running low and need to be replenished. The result is easier office supply inventory management and greater accountability, while cutting down on employees pilfering office supplies for private use at home.

Staying Informed on Office Supplies

Posted on by John Van Horn

With the information available to businesses of all sizes through software that measures everything from specific sales figures to website visits and even employee productivity, businesses are steadily becoming more efficient than ever. Some things are easier to track than others and things that happen electronically are much easier to track than things that require a piece of hardware to track each event or things that need to be manually counted and recorded before they can be recorded electronically.

Office supplies are a notorious culprit for things that are difficult to track. Especially if you have a larger office or rely heavily on expensive office supplies for your facility to operate effectively, keeping track of physical inventory that can be accessed by anyone is a daunting task.

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions has made this process easier by developing an office supply system that not only tracks the office supplies and products that are dispensed, but safely and securely stores them. By not having to restrict access to employees and being able to measure and track office supply usage, these office vending machines give you the information you need to run a business efficiently and your employees the ease of access to supplies they need to do their work.

Custom Vending Machine Solutions

Posted on by John Van Horn

Custom vending machines in Japan are a constant source of interesting photos and videos on the internet, but a recent story about Slovenia attracted our attention here at Intelligent Dispensing Solutions.

According to an article by National Geographic, supermarkets in Slovenia used their monopoly to make prices of milk so low that farmers were not making a profit. To fight back, dairy farmers organized and took the distribution of their milk into their own hands by using specialized vending machines to vend their milk. By circumventing the need for retailers, the dairy farmers are now able to control more of the distribution of their milk and the profit margins they receive. The machines dispense milk by the ounce into bottles for sale in the machine or into any container that customers bring to the machine.

At IDS, we work with businesses to find new and creative solutions with custom vending technology. From inventory management for office and medical supplies, to retail kiosks and more, constantly evolving vending technology and a good idea can transform the way your company does business.

Read the entire National Geographic story here!

Customized and Healthy Vending

Posted on by John Van Horn

Healthy vending machines have been steadily rising in popularity over the past few years. Machines that offer snack and beverage choices that have less than 200 calories and are either chock full of whole grains or primarily contain fruits, vegetables, dairy or protein are already required in schools and this trend is trickling into the vending industry in other locations.

For vending machine operators, this increased interest in healthy vending options presents a great opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition. While customers are still having a difficult time finding nutritious snacks on the go, they will be seeking out machines that can provide what they want.

From all of our experience, Intelligent Dispensing Solutions has also seen that machines that are technologically advanced and impressive attract more business than standard machines. Custom healthy vending machines are an ideal way to create an attractive and innovative machine to vend healthier snacks and beverages and increase your sales. Especially with fresh fruits and vegetables, vending these objects efficiently can be difficult due to irregular shapes, products that can be easily damaged, or specialized storage requirements.

Set the new trend at your vending locations and start with an exciting new vending machine!

New Report Examines the Life of a Vending Machine

Posted on by John Van Horn

Intelligent Dispensing SolutionsNo matter what you do or where you live, chances are you use a vending machine multiple times a week (or even multiple times a day!). While we all love our respective vending units, chances are we don’t often think about the creation and general lifecycles or how long of these vending machines that we depend on almost daily last. With this in mind, the folks over at The Motley Fool recently posted a new report titled “The Life of a Vending Machine,” which examines the resources that go into our favorite custom vending machines.

The article is accompanied by a video interview with Coinstar CEO Scott Di Valerio, which can be seen below. For those not in the know, Coinstar is one of the biggest names in the dispensing industry, as their coin-collecting machines have given way to the Redbox and Rubi devices that are used by customers everywhere. The interview provides valuable insight on the ever-changing nature of retail, and how the initially high investment of custom vending machines can eventually give way to big profits in today’s market.

If you’re feeling inspired by Coinstar’s success, why not start your own story? Our vending machine manufacturers are ready to build a product that will take your business to new heights. Talk to us today.

Social Vending Machines: The Trend is Here to Stay

Posted on by John Van Horn

We’ve previously highlighted vending machines that incorporate the world’s ever-popular social media options, and it seems like the trend is here to stay. While vending devices have been long standing favorites when it comes to refreshment, technology has evolved to allow them to become modern, computerized products that keep up with today’s fast paced world. As such, it’s only natural that more and more custom vending machines are going to pop up that bridge the gap between social media and classic convenience.

According to Vending Times, Gigigo Mobile Services plans on unveiling their new social media vending machine platform at the CTIA trade show next week. This new technology is meant to allow machines to interact with brands via social networks, much like a previous Pepsi promotion that allowed customers to send tweets in exchange for sodas.

Social vending is just one of the many exciting trends coming to the industry. While vending machines have always thrived on convenience, they can now be considered a consumer’s best friends. Our machines are getting to know us, and can tap into the things we care deeply about.

If you’re feeling inspired and want to provide this convenience to your own customers, visit Intelligent Dispensing Solutions today. Our custom vending machines are built specifically to your needs, no matter how futuristic.

French Man Robotically “Reaches” Into Vending Machines

Posted on by John Van Horn

Intelligent Dispensing SolutionsEver wish you had a slippery, slim extra arm that could slide inside a vending machine from the bottom and grab your favorite snack for you? A creative French inventor was likely thinking along those lines when he created a robot that can sneak inside of a vending product and grab whatever it likes.

According to the Huffington Post, the man is no thief, just someone who built a very expensive robotic concept that has the potential to infiltrate the office vending machines of the world. As shown in his video below, the robot can go inside of a vending machine, invert itself, and grab a drink before coming back down. We don’t think vending machine manufacturers have anything to fear when it comes to this robot going public, but it is a nifty innovation that could serve a more productive purpose someday, such as remote machine maintenance.

Even if robots do someday take over the vending machine business, you will never have to worry about theft when working with Intelligent Dispensing Solutions. Our state-of-the-art custom vending machines are specifically designed with loss prevention in mind, so even the craftiest of would-be vending thieves will be hard pressed to take away any of your product.

Solar Vending Machines on the Horizon

Posted on by John Van Horn

As much as vending machines evolve over the years, they all have one thing in common. Whether they dispense batteries or nachos, vending machines essentially all run on electricity.  However, according to Times Free Press, a humble Cattanooga company is looking to change the way vending machines operate entirely.

The article reports that a company called VendomMax has been working on a custom vending machine that runs entirely on solar power. VendoMax co-founders Rob Creswell and Mark Hixson officially unveiled the machine today, and the product will be available at a Las Vegas vending trade show next week. The vending machine manufacturers are hoping this machine can get some quality momentum among top beverage companies.

This unique custom solar vending machine will come in two models: A moveable version on wheels and a more traditional fixed product. Solar power is still a developing trend among a variety of different industries, and we are certainly interested on seeing how it develops over the next few years. Vending machines, especially ours, eat up a ton of energy, and a truly sustainable way to keep them running could change the business for the better. If you are looking to get a head start on the innovative side of the industry, our custom vending solutions are the perfect place to start!