Vending machines have come a long way over the past 20 years, from dispensing candy and food in schools and hospitals to dispensing industrial supplies and equipment in manufacturing, fleet maintenance, mining and many other environments.
One of the most impactful technical advancements in vending has been the rise of the cloud, which, coupled with inventory control software, provides several key customer benefits:
- A company-wide view of inventory. Cloud technology allows data from several machines to be aggregated and reported in real time, giving distributors and their customers a company-wide view of inventory levels and trends that they can segment and analyze by department or employee.
- Improved accountability for inventory use. Thanks to connected machines, managers can compare item usage among employees to find out which are the most frequent users of certain items. This holds employees accountable and gives managers the tools to correct usage problems.
- Timely, automated ordering. When the number of items in a machine hits a designated minimum, it will automatically trigger a PO in the system. This system precludes the need for reps to visit and manually take inventory and generate new quotes, saving time and reducing or eliminating out-of-stocks.
Learn more about how vending has evolved in recent years in this report from Industrial Distribution, Industrial Vending Opportunities: Overcoming Barriers to Entry.