Author: SaravanaKumar@wittern.com

Attention IT & Admin Teams – Are you Wasting Budget On Unnecessary Expenses?

Question: What is the impact of lack of trackable access to necessary office supplies?

Answer: Dollars that could have been put in your pocket!

IT support teams are always trying to manage “Just-In-Time” inventory to ensure that the right supplies are available to the employees who need them. This helps them to operate on a lean budget without sacrificing productivity. However, there is seldom a situation where all employees use the resources fairly and equally. The result is unavailability of the necessary office supplies for those who are in desperate need.

Allowing such disproportionate consumption of supplies is avoidable with the help of iVendTech. Not doing so will encourage hoarding of resources or irresponsible usage. This can be expensive for the business and frustrating for those who are denied these supplies.

Tangible Costs: When Trackable Assets Turn into Liabilities.

An office environment that cannot provide sufficient supplies and prevent waste of resources faces measurable burdens on cost. They drag down profits and performance. In some cases, they can also have an impact on revenue. Let us explore how.

Cost of inventory

It is a no-brainer that overuse of supplies results in increased costs. It means businesses have to buy more, store more and, in the process, waste more. The cost of procurement increases and so does the cost of moving, holding and distributing inventory.

• Buy More: Consider a scenario where a policy change cascades on to the organization. It suddenly renders all the inventory obsolete or useless while forcing administrators to purchase additional inventory. 
• Store More: If the benefits of volume, coupled with the perennial need to cut costs, result in stocking up on office envelopes, mouse pads and letter heads while the company changes its branding, it suddenly makes the stash useless. Not to mention the waste of additional overhead expenses (storage, disposal, mandatory compliances etc.). 
• Waste More: For example, if the user mishandles computer mice or keyboards frequently, then the cost of warranty and replacement shoots up.

Cost of downtime

The cost of a computer peripheral may be a few dollars, but not being able to use the computer for a day can cost a few hundred dollars for the company. Now imagine an entire office full of professionals having limited or no access to necessary supplies on a given day. It can be a nightmare for floor managers. From the shopfloor to the top-floor, lack of timely availability of resources can be the spoke in the wheel that creates unscheduled downtime.

Cost of inefficiency

Unavailability of timely access to necessary supplies has an even bigger problem. Not having that whiteboard marker could make a big difference in presenting a compelling proposition. A faulty pointer in an online conference can bring down audience engagement and attention. A diligent employee without access to stationery can feel very frustrated. All of these are examples of how the often ignored or taken for granted supplies can have a very real impact on production and productivity. Inefficiencies in the office environment are a serious drag on revenue and profitability.

Intangible Costs – The Unknown Cost of Lost Opportunities:

Like Lord Kelvin would say, “That you cannot measure, you cannot improve”. That is precisely what makes the intangible costs of “resource unavailability” scary. Factors like employee dissatisfaction and frustration due to unplanned downtime can reduce motivation levels. This can also decrease the reputation of the employer resulting in poorer employer branding. IT support teams, administration teams and procurement teams face the brunt of this often. 

All of the above add up to the scarier scenario – cost of lost opportunity. A situation wherein businesses do not realize what they may have lost and are not even in the position to ascertain the scale of these losses.

Eliminating Losses From the Cost of Inventory

Yes, eliminating losses is possible. How exactly, you ask?

• IDS is equipped with the technology and configurable product features that deliver secure office inventory management and control to organizations.
• IT and Admin teams are further equipped with real-time reporting about inventory consumption data that could help in terms of both qualitative (demand vs consumption, availability to productivity mapping) and quantitative parameters (time-to-replenish, etc.). 
• Supplemented with a guaranteed delivery mechanism that closes the loop on each resource request. 

All of the above gives complete visibility and control to the organization over inventory flow and quality of inventory utilization.

iVendTech equipped machines are an asset for inventory management in the modern office environment. It helps reduce shrink in the form of wastage or hoarding. It helps improve productivity and drive employee experience. If you would like to understand how we can help your business make significant cost savings on your inventory and enhanced employee experience, call us at 1-877-771-4446.

Avoiding the cost of inaccessible office supplies

There are tangible and intangible costs due to inefficient inventory management, which we covered in our last post, Save Money with an Inventory Management System.  In the same vein, inaccessible office supplies are an unnecessary and avoidable drain on business profitability and performance. But thanks to a cutting-edge dispensing solution like iVendTech from IDS Vending Solutions, this can be avoided. 

Why is an efficient inventory reporting system important? Ensuring the continuous supply of necessary assets to those who need them in a secure manner has never been this easy. It allows IT support teams to spend their time addressing strategic IT needs of the business instead of store-keeping. Self-service does not only reduce effort but also gives the consumer the experience of instant resolution.

IDS’ office IT vending machine is proof that we help businesses keep their employees happy (and productive). A completely integrated self-service solution that employees can access and operate 24/7. The office supplies solution helps IT and office management departments to ensure availability of all assets, prioritization of procurement, and easier access for employees with a seamless record-keeping system for consumption, procurement, and demand data, among others. 

There are two major types of dispensing for IT and office supplies.  On-Demand Dispensing caters to small and medium products and merchandise. It is best suited for applications like collecting broken items and providing basic consumables. The other type is the Will-Call lockers, which addresses the demand for higher dollar or sensitive data office supplies. This is suited for items like mobile phones, tablets, laptops, etc. Essentially, iVendTech’s portfolio of machines are configurable to dispense products of different sizes and shapes. So, businesses must invest in fewer machines that cater to diverse needs while maintaining a single source of truth that gives controlled access to analytics and intelligence.

Secure Inventory Management and Control

iVendTech uses a combination of onboarding and cloud software to track, manage and monitor inventory consumption. The machine communicates with the back-end iQ Technology software, a secure encrypted channel. This gives 24/7 visibility and control to not just the machine but also the inventory. This also helps evolve from a centralized asset storage and distribution framework that could become unwieldy to multiple points of storage with the same if not better tracking and accountability measures and systems in place. 

Combined with alert systems, these range of dispensing solutions can trigger reorder level notifications amongst a host of other possibilities. Last but not least, the reverse dispensing mechanism can track returns and provide accountability data.

Comprehensive Real Time Reporting

Continuous availability of resources is necessary to ensure uptime. Meaningful insights like low stock warning, notifications for a particular type of product/resource, alerts about product abuse or hoarding and restock lists can help deploy a solution that solves your inventory challenges. This data can be accessed on any device with the necessary access privileges. It helps different stakeholders gain actionable intelligence and make informed decisions.

Guaranteed Delivery

iVendTech’s machines use the proprietary Guaranteed Vend Technology, iVend. This ensures that every time an employee accesses the machine, they get the product or merchandise they need. The IR-based drop sensors make sure that either every completed transaction is tracked, and every incomplete transaction is reversed. This, combined with the alert system, can also enable a closed loop feedback mechanism for every failed transaction so that no need goes unaddressed.

Impact of controlled dispensing

Such features of iVendTech’s portfolio of machines help optimize cost of inventory and deliver a host of benefits. Some benefits are discussed below.

Cost savings

iVendTech’s controlled dispensing can bring in savings at various levels. Having access to the right supplies at the optimum levels for the right folks who need them can optimize inventory. This means businesses will need to buy less, hold less, maintain less, repair less, retire less, recycle less and waste less. There are savings across the entire asset lifecycle for different functions like IT, administration, facilities, procurement and finance. The cost savings from uptime, fewer unplanned outages and better productivity are just the icing on the cake.

Productivity improvement

Availability of the necessary tools to get the job done is a critical part of employee efficiency. iVendTech’s dispensing solutions ensure that your employees are never short of critical supplies. In the case of breakdown or repairs, iQ Technology can collect and track assets while giving real time visibility to asset lists. Its configurability allows handling multiple varieties of merchandise and caters to a huge spectrum of needs across the business.

Employee motivation

Timely access to resources, a safe and secure support mechanism that helps collect and repair faulty devices while ensuring trackability can remove a lot of frustration associated with the day-to-day operations. It reduces wait times, brings in transparency and enhances accessibility to the required supplies easily. This can help drive productivity, success and eventually the motivation of the office workforce.

Employer brand boost

Custom branded iVendTech machines can remind your employees how their employer invests in creating an easy-to-work environment. It helps build the right kind of reputation for a business that values its employees and their time.

iVendTech machines are an asset for inventory reporting systems in the modern office environment. It helps reduce shrink in the form of wastage or hoarding. It helps improve productivity and drive employee experience. If you would like to understand how we can help your business make significant cost savings on your inventory and enhanced employee experience, call us at 1-877-771-4446.

Intelligent Dispensing Solutions is a pioneer in the field of smart lockers and dispensing systems worldwide. Our innovative solutions include controlled and intelligent dispensing solutions for the healthcare industry and emergency services (including sanitizers, PPE equipment, controlled pharmaceuticals and narcotics, clean syringes and needles, and so on), IT industry (IT accessories and equipment), and for construction and manufacturing (tools and personal protective equipment).

The Virtual Tracker from IDS is powered by a smart software platform called iQ Technology. It is a combination of a web or mobile interface and features rich back-end software that allows users to track and manage resources that the employee of a business may need. iQ Technology powers the gathering of data from the machines to the communication with the cloud and other third-party applications. Together, they create an efficient and quick process for checking supplies in or out, speedy auditing, real-time reporting about stock levels, and integrated alert systems. It provides valuable insights into items checked out, items returned, order pickups, usage of supplies, and more, delivering visibility into essential aspects in real time. It allows full-cycle asset management across different organizations as it is easily configurable to meet the needs of any business. Additionally, iQ Technology integrates with the enterprise IT systems of a business to provide a 360-degree view into your organization’s inventory.

Key Features:

The Virtual Tracker is a complete package that places the power of inventory management at your fingertips.  Its web browser version and mobile app make it usable on any device that your organization or employees already have.

Interoperability with your existing supply chain systems, label leaders, bar code scanners and other data acquisition systems make Virtual Tracker easy to deploy.

Web notifications and mobile push notifications can help in calling attention to incidents or unusual usage. This, combined with customizable reports, make the availability of intelligence on inventory to the right audience easy.

Using the virtual tracker is a simple three step process. Users no longer need to fill out long forms or walk to IT support and wait in a queue.

You can remotely track your assets on a wide range of devices – the virtual tracker is that simple to use. So, whether you’re an Apple or Android fan, and whether you prefer working at your desktop  or on your mobile on the go, you can keep track of your inventory. Thanks to iQ Technology, you and your team can stay mobile and connected, and stay on top of inventory and asset activity, and follow them wherever they go.

Benefits of the Virtual Tracker

The software is a comprehensive inventory management platform that enables visibility and control into your inventory supply chain. Managers can use the interface to allocate resource ownership and manage consumption. The trackability and traceability enables hassle free audit. Users can not only collect equipment at their convenience, but also be constantly informed about when the product is ready for collection. Insightful reports and business analytics features of the tool can help business leaders make better business decisions.

Customer Reports and Automated Alerts

The Virtual Tracker will become the central source of all resource and inventory-related data. This places the responsibility for providing actionable insights in a timely manner on this platform. The Virtual Tracker executes this by a combination of standard and custom reports that can be then pushed as alerts through the different communication integrations of iQ Technology.

The smart technology sends you different types of alerts, and it can be set up to be sent to several people or just one. It can also be configured for automated workflows and escalation. The standard out-of-box alerts are:

• Inventory level alerts
• Expiring product alerts
• Offline or downtime alerts
• Machine door open alerts
• Dispensed notifications

You can easily keep track of your asset inventory with these alerts, ordering products at the precise time that you need to. This eliminates downtime due to unavailability of resources or shrink due to overconsumption.

To implement this smart technology in your organization, manage your inventory efficiently, and save money, call us now at 1-877-771-4446.