Author: John Van Horn

Case Study: San Diego State University

Posted on by John Van Horn

 

Serving over 36,000 students, San Diego State University (SDSU) is known for providing students with opportunities to prepare them for the future. What happens, however, when a global pandemic ravages the United States? The leader in public research has to come up with a way to keep students safe while providing them with a quality educational experience.

So, what are some of the pandemic safety challenges that were dealt with on the SDSU campus?

  1. The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed the way SDSU keeps students and staff members safe.
  2. Slowing the spread of COVID-19 was a challenge at SDSU. While students are not required to get tested, SDSU is working hard to limit the spread by providing COVID-19 Test Kit Dispensing Machines across campus.
  3. Single Point of Use testing centers was unrealistic as SDSU, as it has over 36,000 students.

SDSU is requiring all staff members and students to be vaccinated against COVID-19, however, it is still possible for breakthrough COVID-19 cases. SDSU is doing what it can to ensure it can control the spread.

“If you’re worried that you have symptoms, it just makes it very easy to pop on over and grab one, as opposed to just hoping you’re okay,” said Heidi Nguyen, Senior Admissions Counselor at SDSU.

In order to help control the spread of COVID-19, SDSU implemented COVID-19 Test Kit Dispensing Machines across campus, providing testing for students and staff members. Students are tested prior to the semester and regularly throughout. Tests can be accessed for free, once students sign up online.

While students are not required to be tested, they are expected to test if they start feeling any symptoms of COVID-19.

Through iQ Technology, UCapIt’s software solution, SDSU has real-time usage data that is useful for staff planning, budgeting, reporting and compliance purposes.

UC San Diego utilizes the passcode function of iQ Technology for the COVID-19 testing machines. Through iQ Technology, the passcode feature allows system administrators to provide one-time use codes assigned to individual users. An expiration date and time, as well as specific product access, is able to be assigned to each unique passcode.

Due to testing and COVID-19 protocols across campus, including mask wearing, social distancing and required vaccinations, SDSU has been able to quickly test students for COVID-19. Within the first few weeks of the 2021 fall semester, almost 800 tests had been accessed by students.

Through UCapIt’s COVID-19 Test Kit Dispensing Machines, users can access test kits at their convenience 24/7, without staff needing to be on-site. In addition, the machines can be equipped with patent-pending UVC light sanitization technology, UVend Technology. UVend sanitizes the high-touch surfaces on the machine quickly and safely by killing or inactivating up to 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, including the virus that causes COVID-19.

COVID-19 Test Kit Dispensing Machines are located across campus and can be found using the campus’ interactive map. Additionally, with the help of the Test Kit Dispensing Machines, SDSU has been able to:

  1. Reduce wait times for COVID-19 testing
  2. Help control the speak of COVID-19 across SDSU’s campus
  3. Keep track of students and staff members who have been tested. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt everyday life, campuses across the country are in need of solutions to control the spread, SDSU has stayed on top by providing a safer educational experience for students and staff members.

Does your educational institution need an efficient, convenient way to provide a COVID-19 test kit and other public health supplies to students and staff? If so, contact UCapIt to schedule a live, personalized demo to see how our iQ Technology can help your organization.

How Does Real Time Inventory Management Help In Pharmaceutical Dispensing

Posted on by John Van Horn

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This post is for all organizations and stakeholders that deal with medical services and medicine inventory. IDS has end-to-end medical supplies storage and management solutions for emergency response teams, hospitals, universities, and more. Please check out what our customers have to say here.

The factors that impact medical supplies dispensing are related to the following stakeholders,

  1. Medical service providers: from first responders to medical professionals on the roster, medical supplies must be accessible quickly and only to the appropriate professional. 
  2. Service users and consumers: the supplies need to be available in pristine condition to the end-user.
  3. Organizations and institutions: entities that deploy storage and management dispensing solutions need help with their expense optimization.

Points To Watch Out For In A Medical Supply Dispensing Solution

The principal objective of a pharmaceutical dispensing solution is ensuring optimum access to medicine and medical resources while eliminating wastage and thereby optimizing procurement. The following aspects are critical in ensuring a successful pharmaceutical inventory management solution:

  1. Technology and features: there are numerous methods for tracking the supply’s flow and status. From embedded sensors to cellular internet, stakeholders need to choose the appropriate machine that ticks all the boxes.
  2. Storage and procurement: medical resources come with a host of regulatory compliances to meet, and they differ based on the governmental agency or entity. The ideal solution needs to be flexible enough to factor in multiple considerations while assisting strict compliance.
  3. Operations and reporting: in medical resources dispensing a penny saved is a penny better spent in saving more lives. The ideal dispensing solution needs to be equipped to reduce wastage and procurement expenses.
  4. Maintenance: Medical domain needs tried and tested solutions that are reliable over long periods.

Technology & Features: 

  1. 3rd Party Tool Integration: Inventory management data helps departments like admin, HR, finance, operations, etc. IDS’s solution integrates with a wide range of 3rd party systems and software.
  2. Credentials Based Access: Credentials capture improves accountability and resource utilization. IDS solutions offer a host of credential vetting tools like magnetic cards, mobile-based barcode scanners, etc, including biometrics-based access. Biometrics are more difficult to manipulate and can be carried over from the previous machines.
  3. Stakeholder Communication:  IDS UCapIt helps automate transactional and usage-based communication based on pre-determined and ad-hoc triggers to the appropriate stakeholders.

B. Storage & Procurement: 

  1. Supply Room: Multiple statutory regulations and compliance requirements must be met when storing and dispensing pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. With IDS dispensing solutions, the entire supply room is accessible at the click of a button. This is especially beneficial for audits, risk reduction, and product expiration management.
  2. Custom Notifications/Alerts For Critical Resources: Some SKUs need more attention than others. These could be anything from scrubs to controlled medication. IDS  solutions come equipped with full data tracking and insights capture capabilities to design custom alerts through notifications and actions like procurement requests.

C. Operations & Reporting

  1. Automated Returns Management: returns are a pain, and the ideal dispensing solution would make it pain-free. Like how the Virtual Tracker updates stock levels after returns. 
  2. Improved Inventory Workflows: Efficiency is all about the workflows that determine how the inventory flows. UCapIt’s simple and effective workflows optimize how inventory is distributed and made accessible. 
  3. Scheduled Maintenance of Dispensed Assets & Resources: Our solutions help in improving asset life and quality by helping in their timely recalibration, repairs, or maintenance during check-in.
  4. Enhanced Auditing: Reconciling stock records to actuals is a breeze with Virtual Tracker. Our easy-to-use interfaces, including mobile-based bar code scanners, ensure stocks = actuals.
  5. Lot Tracking: supply tracking from procurement to dispensing and future procurements. Chain of custody

D. Maintenance

  1. Optimizing Efficiency: Solutions need to be monitored and maintained to ensure they are able to give full value for their investment. Using iQ Technology helps understand how the deployed solution is working for you. 
  2. Optimizing Efficiency: Solutions need to be monitored and maintained to ensure they are able to give full value for their investment. Using iQ Technology helps understand how the deployed solution is working for you. 

The Benefits Of Using A Single-Source Inventory Management Solution

In addition to the points covered above, IDS’s single-source all-in-one solutions pack great adaptability. For instance, we pack the following,

  1. Custom Checklist: The ability to build digital checklists for anything. Could be workflows, notifications, or inventory tracking. 
  2. API / Pre-Authorization: The backend of the software is secure but comes with the ability to connect with other business processes. Ensuring inventory which is a critical aspect of the organization does not end up being a silo.
  3. Customizable Locker Dispensing: Our physical lockers and hardware themselves are versatile. Customizable as single, standalone machines or satellites connected to a dispenser or smart locker.

With iQ Technology, you get all the features, values, and benefits of an ideal dispensing solution for your medical service delivery requirements. A snapshot of what our solutions are capable of includes, single and multiple item dispense, asset and resource check-in/check-out, returns management, custom rule setting workflows like loan periods, self-service automated order pick-up/will-call, etc., and much more under a single login for a unified view on supply requests.

Click here to know more about how and what iQ Technology could do for your pharmaceutical real-time inventory management and storage.

The New and Improved iQ Technology: The Medical Package

Posted on by John Van Horn

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions assists customers to find better medical supply management solutions and improve their efficiency. One way in which this is done is with iQ Technology. This module-based software enables organizations to reduce inventory costs and increase productivity.

IDS offers five iQ Technology software packages to allow you to choose a solution that works best for your organization. The next package we will break down is the medical inventory control package. This package includes the same components of the Standard Package, plus the features you need for enterprise-wide inventory and asset management. 

In addition to all of the components that can be found in the Standard Package, the Medical Package includes vehicle management, custom checklists and biometric management. These additions make the Medical Package the most comprehensive medical supply management system that iQ Technology has to offer.

Vehicle management allows you to manage all of your dispensing equipment in one location. Instead of spending time walking around to every machine within your organization, you are able to manage your equipment and check the health of each machine from one location. Additionally, vehicle management gives you the capability to set limits on the number of products that can be accessed by a single user per day, eliminating hoarding and waste. This key feature saves you and your organization valuable time and money. 

In order to ensure all machines are being inspected according to the standards you set, the Medical Package includes a custom checklist feature. During each inspection, users are able to check off each step of the inspection in order to confirm it is fully complete and everything passes its inspection. Create a checklist based on your standards.

Finally, biometric management allows the machine to track who accessed what product, the number of products that were accessed and when the product was accessed. Additionally, biometrics can be carried over from your previous machines, so employees can jump into using it immediately, instead of setting every employee up with new credentials. 

No matter what industry you are in, iQ Technology vending machines can help you manage your medical inventory. To find out more, give us a call at 1-877-771-4446.

The System Your Manufacturing Floor is Missing

Posted on by John Van Horn

As a supervisor in a manufacturing company, it is your job to look for ways to cut overhead costs without reducing employee productivity. One of the most efficient ways to do this is by considering your inventory management system. Do your employees have to rummage through a supply closet looking for gloves? Are they spending precious minutes searching a bin in order to find safety glasses? If so, you are wasting time and money that can be easily resolved with an efficient production floor management system.

Inventory management systems, such as Vend Safety from Intelligent Dispensing Solutions, determine how and when an employee accesses an item. In order for an employee to access a safety mask, for example, they must first swipe their employee ID card. Then, their item will be dispensed to them and it will be detailed for you in a report. Additionally, it can be set up in such a way that employees must enter a PIN number or even through biometrics. This set of safety precautions saves you money through controlled production floor inventory management.

Vend Safety allows for more accurate inventory management. It eliminates the need to spend countless hours tallying the number of face masks or gloves you have on hand. Instead, administrators are able to track who accessed what item(s), when they accessed the item(s) and the quantity of the item they accessed. This chain of custody is critical when identifying and mitigating risks in a crisis situation, as well as is useful on an inventory management basis during normal operating circumstances. 

iQ Technology, Vend Safety’s proprietary software, saves you time by cutting down on inventory management. Eliminate the hours spent on counting inventory and organizing your supply closet. iQ Technology has reporting that details inventory information for you. This eliminates wasting money on unnecessary supplies and allows you to reallocate your time to something more important. 

“The integration of IDS’ iQ Technology software with our existing point-of-sale (POS) system drives the success of our 300 machines healthy vending program. Plus, the software’s real-time reporting and alerts allow us to manage the program efficiently and effectively,” states Julie Hedine, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Pasco County School District.

In addition to offering automatic dispensing solutions, many companies are looking into offering personal protective equipment to supply to companies to stock their equipment. Offering both dispensing equipment and the PPE supplies to stock them moves the responsibility of maintaining your equipment and supplies from you, back to us. It reduces the time you spend with PPE replenishment. 

Inventory management solutions can come in the form of an automatic supply dispenser or a supply locker. Supply dispensers allow employees to increase productivity and reduce employee downtime by spreading out your storage to your point of use. They ensure your team has exactly what they need, when and where they need it. Supply lockers provide secure accountability for reusable assets and consumable products. Single and multiple item dispense, check-in/check-out, loan periods and asset management are all possible with supply lockers. 

Supply dispensers are useful for products of varying shapes and sizes. They are especially useful for one-time-use products or products that should not be shared amongst employees, such as safety glasses and face masks. Trays within the dispenser can be configured to provide employees with large items, such as boxes of alcohol wipes, to something small, such as earplugs.

For items of various shapes and sizes that need to be returned for others to use, such as tools, you may find a supply locker to be more useful. Supply lockers are adjustable and can be made to have anywhere from 3 compartments to up to 22 compartments. Additionally, select supply lockers include interior lighting and chargers within each compartment. This allows your employees to recharge tools, if necessary before someone else needs to use them. Both supply dispensers and supply lockers can be attached, with the help of a satellite supply locker.

“Our vending machines are great and perform like they’re brand new,” says Daniel Bolens, Desktop Services Specialist at JAMF Software. “IDS is the perfect solution and working with them is a very positive experience. We evaluated other suppliers and IDS had the best technological solution. The machines are embraced by the team and popular in the office.” 

Implementing an inventory management system in your manufacturing company allows you to cut back on time and money spent organizing supply closets and ensuring your employees are not hoarding supplies. Whether you are on the lookout for supply dispensers, supply lockers or a combination of both, Intelligent Dispensing Solutions has an inventory management solution to help cut overhead costs within your manufacturing company.

For more information about Vend Safety, or any other IDS products, give us a call at 1-877-771-4446.

Offer safer self-service access to supplies and tools 24/7 with UVC Light Sanitizing Technology

Posted on by John Van Horn

Employers are looking for innovative ways to make workplaces safer while reducing lost productivity due to employee absenteeism. As part of this effort, many employers are exploring the use of ultraviolet sanitizer to help reduce the spread of viruses and bacteria. Intelligent Dispensing Solutions’ patent-pending UVend Technology makes the high-touch surfaces of dispensing machines and lockers safer by quickly killing or inactivating some of the most common viruses and bacteria, including influenza and the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2).

UVend Technology has been independently tested by accredited third-party testing labs to generate UV light within the germicidal frequencies and with enough power to be effective in sanitizing surfaces. The UVC light used in UVend Technology is the same UVC technology that is in use by healthcare organizations, schools, prisons, retailers and the transportation and hospitality industries. 

UVend Technology features an automated motion sensor and visible blue light. The motion sensor ensures no presence is detected in front of the machine before activating and the blue light indicates quick sanitization is in process, allowing the machine’s keypad and delivery door to be sanitized after almost every use.

Additionally, UVend Light Sanitizing Technology can be added within locker compartments to sanitize products in between uses. For example, in addition to manually disinfecting reusable hard hats after each use, UVend Technology can be placed inside a Supply Locker compartment to kill or inactivate viruses on the surface of the product. Employees can rest assured that the products they are using are safe to use with little to no viruses and bacteria.

Employees within organizations want to know that the products they are touching are clean, especially if it has been handled by other people. Many offices utilize lockers for IT equipment, such as laptops. When an employee from the IT department goes to grab a laptop to be worked on, they should not have to worry about how clean it is. This is where our ultraviolet sanitizer technology comes into play.

Whether your employees need IT equipment, electronic devices or personal protective equipment (PPE) to perform their jobs efficiently and effectively, we recognize they can’t take a break from being safe when securing those critical supplies. Give the employees within your organization peace of mind that the products they are accessing are safe and that your equipment features UVend Technology.

To find out more about UVend Technology, click HERE.

The New and Improved iQ Technology: The Standard Package

Posted on by John Van Horn

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions assists customers in their mission to find better ways to manage inventory and improve their efficiency. One way in which this is done is with iQ Technology sales control tool. This module-based software enables organizations to reduce inventory costs and increase productivity by processing real-time data captured from IDS’ hardware.

IDS offers five iQ Technology software packages to allow you to choose a solution that works best for your organization. The next package we will break down is our vending machine inventory management package, which includes all of the components of the Basic Package, plus the features you need for an enterprise-wide inventory and asset management solution that includes dispensing larger items via IDS’ Supply Lockers.

One of the key features included in the Standard Package is the Supply Room. This feature allows you to save time and money by managing inventory that you have on hand anytime and anywhere. You will no longer have to spend hours in your supply room taking inventory of products. Instead, simply access your entire supply room with the click of a button.

Another feature is API/Pre-Authorization. We understand that security is important to our customers. That is why our API/Pre-Authorization feature allows customers to connect directly to their existing employee management system. Under this, information remains confidential by ensuring sensitive employee information is not stored within the iQ Technology platform.

Like the Basic Package, the Standard Package offers extensive reporting that features real-time, comprehensive sales control tools for managers. These reports eliminate the need for timely manual inventory audits, reduce shrinkage and waste and increase employee productivity.

No matter what industry you are in, iQ Technology can help you manage your inventory. To find out more about our vending machine packages with iQ technology, give us a call at 1-877-771-4446.

The New and Improved iQ Technology: The Basic Package

Posted on by John Van Horn

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions assists customers in their mission to find better ways to control inventory levels and improve their efficiency. One smart inventory management solution is with iQ Technology vending machine package. This module-based software enables organizations to reduce inventory costs and increase productivity by processing real-time data captured from IDS’ hardware.

IDS offers five iQ Technology vending machine packages to allow you to choose a solution that works best for your organization. The first package we will break down is the Basic Package, which includes the essential capabilities to streamline inventory and asset management within your organization.

iQ Technology offers a reporting system that features real-time, comprehensive insights for managers. These reports eliminate the need for timely manual inventory audits, reduce shrinkage and waste and increase employee productivity. Additionally, reports reduce the risk of keeping expired products within machines. 

The Basic package gives you the ability to put restrictions on certain products. For example, restrictions can be put in place for employees, departments or job functions to access the products they need to perform their job. You can also ensure employees are not wasting products by only allowing a certain number of products to be accessed by employees. This feature helps employers cut down on product waste and improve their inventory level control.

IDS machines with iQ Technology feature alerts that will allow managers to be in the know about the health of their hardware. These inventory alerts, which can be sent to multiple people, include:

  • Low stock in the machine
  • A product that will be expiring soon
  • Lack of internet connection
  • Open door on the machine
  • Item-specific dispenses

Keep track of your asset inventory through iQ Technology smart inventory management solution.

No matter what industry you are in, iQ Technology can help you manage your inventory. To find out more about this iQ technology vending machine package, give us a call at 1-877-771-4446.

The Time-Saving EMS Technology You Can’t Afford to Skip

Posted on by John Van Horn

When it comes to pharmaceuticals and EMS equipment, you can never be too careful. It is essential that you have the ability to track products and expiration dates, in order to avoid overordering and shrinkage. UCapIt has the ability to do this, and more, in order to help organizations stay on top of their supplies, without breaking the bank.

Cost-Saving Capabilities

UCapIt’s Supply Room feature saves you time and money by eliminating the need to manually take inventory on the products in your supply room. Instead, your supply room can be accessed anytime and anywhere with just a click of a button. You are also able to see what products are close to expiring, which is beneficial for audits and risk reduction.

The issue of hoarding products can also be eliminated with UCapIt. Thanks to UCapIt’s tracking capabilities, managers are able to track who accesses each product. This cuts down on hoarding products and reduces shrink wastage. 

Product Tracking

Nothing is more frustrating than reaching for Ativan, only to find that it expired two weeks ago. This means that more product has to be thrown out, without even being opened. This is not only frustrating but also a waste of money. By being able to track the expiration dates and lot numbers of products, you save time and money. You avoid over-ordering products and medications. Instead, UCapIt simply tracks products to ensure they are used by their expiration dates.

In addition to tracking expiration dates and lot numbers, UCapIt allows managers to track the medication and medical disposables’ chain of custody. Doing this gives managers the ability to tie the dispense to a specific EMS incident, as well as the placement on a particular med unit.

Interface Options

It is crucial that access to pharmaceuticals and narcotics is limited. That is why UCapIt gives managers the ability to set up multiple interface options to access products. They are even able to set up two-form factor validation, in order to ensure that products are being accessed by the right people. Interface options include biometrics, prox card, bar code, magstripe and/or pinstripe. Knowing who accessed what keeps your employees accountable. It ensures that people are only accessing what is needed, as opposed to hoarding products, saving your organization money. 

Every moment counts in the world of EMS and pharmaceuticals. That is why UCapIt is here to help you track products and save you time and money. To find out more about the benefits of UCapIt and how it can assist your organization, call 1-877-771-4446.

The New and Improved iQ Technology: The Basic Package

Posted on by John Van Horn

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions assists customers in their mission to find better ways to manage inventory and improve their efficiency. One way in which this is done is by the iQ Technology smart inventory solution. This module-based software enables organizations to reduce inventory costs and increase productivity by processing real-time data captured from IDS’ hardware.

IDS offers five iQ Technology vending and distribution software packages to allow you to choose a solution that works best for your organization. The first package we will break down is the Basic Package, which includes the essential capabilities to streamline inventory and asset management within your organization.

iQ Technology offers a reporting system that features real-time, comprehensive insights for managers. iQ vending and distribution reports eliminate the need for timely manual inventory audits, reduce shrinkage and waste and increase employee productivity. Additionally, reports reduce the risk of keeping expired products within machines. 

The Basic package gives you the ability to put restrictions on certain products. For example, restrictions can be put in place for employees, departments or job functions to access the products they need to perform their job. You can also ensure employees are not wasting products by only allowing a certain number of products to be accessed by employees. This feature helps employers cut down on product waste. 

IDS machines with iQ Technology feature alerts that will allow managers to be in the know about the health of their hardware. These inventory alerts, which can be sent to multiple people, include:

  • Low stock in the machine
  • A product that will be expiring soon
  • Lack of internet connection
  • Open door on the machine
  • Item-specific dispenses

Keep track of your asset inventory through iQ Technology.

No matter what industry you are in, iQ Technology can help you manage your inventory. To find out more about our iQ technology vending and distribution, give us a call at 1-877-771-4446.

Make Shopping a Breeze for Your Customers

Posted on by John Van Horn

The retail industry is constantly changing and evolving in order to make shopping a pleasant experience for customers. This includes assisting your customers in picking up exactly what they need when they need it. Intelligent Dispensing Solutions offers a solution that meets your customers’ retail demands with the BOPIS + Click and Collect retail locker.

Nearly 60% of shoppers utilize some sort of buy online pick-up in-store for their shopping needs. If you are not currently making this option available for your customers, you could be losing out on sales you would have otherwise gotten. Additionally, by implementing this system, you will save on operational costs, solves last-mile delivery and offers convenience to customers through secure 24/7 availability.

How exactly does BOPIS + Click & Collect work? Watch the video below to find out.


No matter what solution you are looking for, Intelligent Dispensing Solutions can help you. Contact us by filling out our contact form or call us at (877) 771-4446.