Vending machines, which got their humble start dispensing sweets and salty snacks, are now being used to vend a wide variety of products, providing automated inventory control to companies in manufacturing, mining, fleet maintenance, construction and aerospace, just to name a few.
Vending machine suppliers have also seen growing interest from dentists, veterinary offices, hospitals and other healthcare facilities. A supplier of coil and locker vending machines, 1sourcevend recently placed two new vending machines in a dental laboratory (a manufacturer of prosthetic and orthodontic dental devices).
There are good reasons why vending is catching on in the healthcare industry. Here are just a few:
Vending provides better cost control.
Medical supplies are expensive, and unfortunately, often go to waste. According to The National Academy of Medicine, the health-care system wastes around $765 billion worth of supplies each year. Vending machines, by controlling access to supplies and keeping employees accountable, reduce this waste.
Vending automates inventory management
Vending machines ensure needed supplies are always on hand. This means that the highly paid medical employees that rely on these supplies are more productive, minimizing expensive downtime and improving customer satisfaction. Automated ordering also takes the human element out of inventory management, saving time and eliminating wasteful duplicate orders.
Vending assists with regulatory compliance.
For example, medical device manufacturers and many dental laboratories must comply with the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practices. These CGMPs mandate proper organization, storage, tracking and documentation of inventory used in medical device manufacturing, all of which is made easier through vending.
The trend of vending in healthcare appears to be gaining momentum. To prevent excess consumption of opioid painkillers in Canada, health officials there have proposed using vending machines to dispense medications. In the U.S., states with legal medical marijuana are even using vending machines “to comply with the burgeoning cannabis industry’s various rules and regulations,” according to Green Rush Daily.