The Hidden Cost of Cheap Machines

 

You may be tempted to buy an inexpensive dispensing machine as a way to cut costs and bulk up your bottom line, but you’ll probably want to rethink this. Though they are tempting, cheap vending machines come with many hidden costs.

Most of these dispensing machines have extremely limited capabilities and limited  upgrade options making them cost more than they are actually worth. Helix machines (traditional candy bar-type dispensers with a coil screw holding the product) are designed for low-SKU count, high-turnover applications. These machines work well in applications where the facility is using a high-volume of few products but won’t work well for most other applications such as manufacturing floors or EMS facilities that generally require high SKU and low volume machines. Cost-per-bin of helix machines is significantly higher than industry leading machines due to low-SKU count capabilities. In short, if you are looking for a machine that will help you  distribute a variety of product, this isn’t it.

Additionally,  low cost machines have some generally unknown fees and costs. Most maintenance, repair and operations supplies have to be repackaged in order to work in a low cost machine. This can only be done manually and can be incredibly labor intensive!

Most importantly, these machines are typically seriously lacking from a software standpoint.

Technological capabilities helix machines are missing include:

  • First-In, First-Out technology
  • Inventory algorithms for their replenishment systems
  • Easy integration into suppliers’ backend ERP systems
  • Managing both consigned inventory and end user owner inventory
  • They rely on remotely hosted web servers and so have limited onboard memory as well as potential to crash when internet connection is lost

The distributors selling these cheap dispensing machines don’t inform customers about these high costs. Instead, they just pass buyers along to their price per unit for their tools and supplies.

On the other hand, industry leaders in distribution are moving rapidly to more intelligent supply vending machines in order to keep their total costs globally competitive.

When you automate inventory management with an intelligent dispensing solution, you can replicate best practices and standardize business processes across your entire organization. The flexibility of our equipment along with iQ Technology offers an ideal asset management solution across almost any industry or application.  Equip your organization with the most seamless, technologically advanced inventory tracking system in the world.

Automated dispensing will lower your inventory costs and improve productivity while ultimately improving your organization’s bottom line.

For more information about our vending machines, visit www.idsvending.com .

Every Moment Matters

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Getting What You Need When You Need It

Every moment matters in the medical field. The medical industry is growing and evolving and it’s now easier than ever for healthcare workers to get the medical supplies they need, when they need them.ESM and pharmaceutical vending machines are a game-changer for healthcare workers requiring access to care critical narcotics and EMS supplies.. Being both cost and time-saving solutions, these machines allow healthcare workers to access EMS and narcotics in compliance with access dual verification access protocol 24/7 which can be critical for the timeliness of patient care.

Solving Inventory Management Issues One Machine At A Time

One of the greatest challenges that today’s EMS professionals and pharmaceutical managers face is medical product management and security. IDS is putting the control back into your hands by providing a safer, smarter, and more secure way to accurately assess and track your employee’s usage.

The best way to reduce medical supply costs has little to do with the actual supplies themselves, but rather how they are managed. Through iQ Technology, our supply dispensers and supply lockers maintain controlled access to pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, meticulously track inventory, and allow instant access to all records.

Isn’t it time to take control of your EMS and narcotics inventory while improving the level of care you provide to your patients?  Let IDS help you with your medical product management by controlling, tracking, and dispensing narcotics and medical supplies with an EMS and Pharmaceutical vending machine.

For more information about our pharmaceutical and EMS vending machines, visit www.idsvending.com .

Customer Spotlight: Hunt Regional Healthcare rolls out IDS’ ScrubTrak system to curb scrub loss

 

Before 2017, Hunt Regional Healthcare relied on a manual system for checking out and returning surgical scrubs. The system was simple. Scrubs were kept in a cabinet. Physicians, nurses, and techs checked them out when needed.

But recently, leadership at the Greenville, Texas-based health system, which includes Hunt Regional Medical Center and several ancillary facilities, noticed an alarming trend with their approach.

“Human error is inevitable,” says Ryan Madewell, director of environmental services for Hunt Regional Healthcare. “We were losing scrubs faster than we should have been.”

Scrubs can be easily misplaced, and — with no way to keep track of the inventory — simple errors add up quickly for hospitals. Over time, lost scrubs contribute to higher costs and lost productivity.

Leaders at Hunt Regional Healthcare were ready to make a change. After a smooth installation, including a quick email to staff,  IDS’ ScrubTrak system was implemented. Just a few months later, Hunt was enjoying cost savings, and happier employees – who are now able to find the sizes they need when they need them, and prevent infection and cross contamination by having disposal machines across the property

With an easy transition process and obvious benefits, Madewell looks to expand IDS’ scrub machines throughout the hospitals and into more departments.

Would you like to save thousands of dollars by reducing shrinkage of scrubs or other linens and textiles while improving productivity in your organization? If so,  a supply dispenser from IDS may be the answer.

 

Find out more about how you can save thousands of dollars annually!

Provide the ultimate customer service experience with the ultimate leisure and hospitality vending machines.

At IDS, we get convenience. It’s what you want and it’s what your customers want. The authenticity, professionalism, and genuine concern for the happiness and well-being of customers and employees is a clear competitive advantage in the leisure and hospitality industry. Provide the ultimate, most convenient service experience for your customers with our leisure and hospitality vending machines.

Today, more than ever, the future of organizations within the leisure and hospitality space, such as hotels, airlines, and restaurants, will be defined with key infrastructure and technology investments.

To remain competitive, organizations can benefit from thinking outside of the box, and finding ways to be more relevant to their customers across their travel journeys to drive revenue, while being innovative in its internal operations to drive bottom-line growth.

For many leisure and hospitality organizations, this means looking outside their core competencies like flights and hotels, and exploring the power of adjacent spaces to drive top-line growth and implementing new technologies such as automated dispensing for employee uniform and linen inventory management to drive efficiencies and bottom-line growth.  

In leisure and hospitality specifically, it’s the little things that count. Something as simple as a smart hospitality vending machine can make a world of difference with your employees and customers.

SOLUTIONS

We have a variety of supply dispensing solutions  for leisure and hospitality organizations for your customers, your employees and YOUR convenience.

Our TM Dispenser provides the option of choosing the size of an item, unlike other textile dispensing solutions. For example, an individual may choose a medium-sized top and large-sized bottom. The TM Dispenser allows up to eight (8) different SKU selections per unit, and can accommodate up to two satellite units allowing for organizations with significant textile volume to serve their staff effectively.

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The SL11 is a multi-functional supply locker that provides secure dispensing of large, bulky consumable and returnable supplies, tools, and rechargeable handheld assets.   The SL11 can also be used for secure asset management in the form of will-call, redemption and storage of high-dollar items or user-specific items that contain sensitive data such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

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The most advanced of our Supply Dispensers, the SD5000-TS provides secure access to a wide variety of consumables, while offering an experience that engages users through a dynamic user experience featuring a 10.1” touchscreen positioned at a 10° ergonomic tilt. The sophisticated exterior styling of the SD5000 smart hospitality vending machine is a seamless addition to almost any office building, airport, educational institution, hospital, or other type of modern hospitality facility. Plus, its innovative UI delivers a familiar, yet exceptional user experience.

DOWNLOAD PRODUCT GUIDE

Differentiate yourself from the rest with IDS’ vending solutions.

Posted in IDS

How iQ Technology Keeps Your Inventory Safe

 

Discover the power of iQ Technology, the innovative inventory and tracking software system used by all IDS equipment!

The world as we know it is changing every day. Machines are being equipped with technologies our own parents could have only dreamed of – and controlled dispensing equipment is is no exception. Very few platforms can combine all of the operations of a supply room from secure, self-service access to supplies for employees to real-time inventory visibility and full accountability for management, like like iQ technology does. This inventory software system offers countless benefits both to company management and its employees. Managers have access to the information they need at their fingertips and customers customers enjoy a more convenient, personalized experience.

iQ Technology has the potential to transform your organization one supply at a time. You inventories are now secure and easily monitored, as our software effortlessly accounts for all goods dispensed with up-to-the-minute accuracy. Say goodbye to the overwhelming, time intensive task of manual inventory counts from your supply closet: iQ Technology has arrived to optimize and streamline your inventory management process.

How do these inventory tracking vending machines and lockers work, you ask? By combining these key features into one, easy-to-use system:

  1. Cloud-Based Brain:   iQ Technology is a web-based software system, so you can manage your dispensing machines from any operating system and/or mobile device! You now have 24/7 access to your data: all you need is an internet connection.
  2. Multi-Machine Management: With iQ Technology, you can now track and manage as many machines as you’d like! No matter where your machines may be located, you can now pull reports, see real-time inventory, generate pick lists and more.
  3. Secure Transactions: All information and transactions are 100% encrypted: no credit card data is stored at any time in the machine, ensuring your customer’s safety and removing your liability
  4. Real-Time inventory Views: Real-time dispensing info would be impressive enough, but iQ Technology takes it a step further: you can also track inventory in your supply rooms and delivery trucks! That means your complete product chain can be tracked for reordering and, in the case of perishable products, expiration status. iQ Technology is truly a 360 degree solution!
  5. Alerts: Notifications about machine info can be send via email, pager, or mobile device to let you know about expiring products, power loss, and more.
  6. Powerful Reporting: iQ Technology’s impressive reporting abilities are diverse and easy to use. Usage reports, re-stock lists, inventory position and additional management reports can be generated and printed online.

 

Want to learn more about iQ Technology and how it can transform the way YOU do business? Contact IDS today.

What Machines Do We Offer for the Modern Office?

From technology to services to subscriptions, the modern office of every industry is far more streamlined than those of generations past. Ask any office worker what their workspace consists of: usually just  a computer, some drawers, and a great pair of headphones. What does this mean for YOU, the Director of  Purchasing, Office Manager, or Building Manager? Well, the supplies you offer your tenants and employees will not just consist of the typical staplers, pens, and notebooks anymore. Your employees’ needs are different, and it’s up to you to accommodate those needs with modern office machines.

This is where IDS enters the picture. Our unique office supply vending machines are a quintessential part of the modern office, particularly for the tech industry. In these environments, tech hardware must be in perfect working order at any given moment of the day. Without these supplies, employees are simply unable to perform what you are paying them to do. Our modern office lockers and vending machines provide an easy, secure, and efficient way to keep efficiency at 100%.

Here’s a small sampling of the modern office lockers and vending machines we offer.Inquire with our helpful, talented customer support team if you have additional questions or quote requests for these machines.

Host Machines: A host or standalone workplace vending machine simply means it is a single machine that contains a Tech Controller. These machines vend various sizes and varieties of hardware that are carefully vended when the appropriate code is entered. All host machines include a Numeric Pin Code that allows customers to identify individual usage.

Satellite Machines: Satellite machines sit side-by-side to a host machine and do not contain a designated Tech Controller, as satellite machines operate off of the Tech Controller of the host machine. Satellite machines are configurable for office supplies and IT peripherals of various sizes.

11 and 12-door Host  Lockers: The Smart Secure Locker 11-Door Host provides the ability for on-demand dispensing of larger office supplies and IT peripherals that are unable to be dispensed from the IT5000 with Tech Controller Machine and allows users to access and return high cost items or items that contain sensitive data (i.e. laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.) through a will-call application.

Want to learn more about any of these innovative office supply vending machines? Visit the IDS website today. We’re glad to answer any and all of your questions! Contact us here.

Posted in IDS

What Can You Store in an IDS 12-Door Locker?

The IDS 12-door Locker is a unique dispensing apparatus, conceptually similar to a vending machine while providing the next level of service: dispensing larger inventory like laptops, backpacks, and kits. This system is a more efficient way of tracking inventory usage, and provides another level of security for these items.

Some additional features of the locker include optional LED lighting to illuminate your offerings, optional re-charging adaptors for stored tech items, and personalization options (i.e. choose a single color for your machine, or customize the locker with your logo and colors! Speak to a representative about this option).

This machine is incredibly versatile! Here are some of the ways to use this supply locker and the types of items that you can store that could benefit your company.

 

HOTELS:

  • Blankets
  • Games
  • Breast pumps
  • Blenders / Small Kitchen Appliances
  • Books

SCHOOLS:

  • Laptops
  • Notebooks
  • Tablets
  • Projectors
  • Textbooks
  • Uniforms

HOSPITALS:

  • Med Kits
  • AEDs
  • BioHazard suits
  • Blankets
  • Pillows
  • Bedpans
OFFICES:

  • Laptops
  • Equipment
  • Medical Kits
  • Kitchen Appliances
  • Recreational gear (games, video game equipment, ping-pong rackets)

RESTAURANTS:

  • Flatware sets
  • Medical Kits
  • AEDs
  • Centerpieces
  • Coloring books / Crayons

BEAUTY PARLORS:

  • Nail drying kits
  • Waxing kits
  • Spa gear
  • Bathing suits
  • Robes
  • Haircut capes

The possibilities are truly endless! Speak to a representative today to learn how a IDS 12-door Locker can benefit your business today. We offer financing options as well as leasing opportunities, so please be in touch with us to make this a reality for your employees and customers. Strongly considering the IDS 12-door Locker? Check out the technical specs this locker requires onthis page.

How UCapIt Can Help EMS Providers Save Money

Today more than ever hospitals, EMS providers and other healthcare organizations are challenged to provide a higher quality of patient care while reducing operating costs and facing increased regulatory requirements and patient volume. UCapIt provides an innovative, yet simple, solution to a persistent problem. Through cloud-based technology and an intuitive, easy-to-use software platform, UCapIt increases employee productivity and provides management with real-time analytics in order to make data-driven executive-level decisions.

UCapIt and IDS provide EMS and Medical inventory control by allowing administrators to set limits on the number of items a user may take out at a time. Once the user hits that limit the user must return an item(s) before access is returned. Restrictions on usage can be adjusted on a departmental level by authorized administrators and multiple alert options are available via e-mail to multiple individuals based upon client-established criteria. Reports include, but are not limited to:

  • Usage Summary
  • Inventory Consumption
  • Comparative Usage by Time
  • Transactions
  • Restock Summary
  • Par Optimization
  • Item Turnover Rate
  • Inventory Totals
  • Discrepancy Report

Here is a direct quote from Capt Beth Hines of Jacksonville NC (Onslow County EMS) about our drug expiration tracking feature:

“The report tells me what I need to know, how many are expiring, where they are located and the name of the medication. I really like that I can run the report for 90 or more days because I order replacement medications 3-4 months in advance, plus my regular stock… so I know I won’t run out. Now instead of having to do a count by hand at the end of the month or so I check them in when I receive them and simply run the reports I need.”

The Controlled Access Pharmacy (CAP) allows many medical professionals, including EMS, Pharmaceutical, Veterinary the ability to restock their units 24/7 and have real-time usage and inventory tracking. The CAP can check multiple forms of ID and will prompt for station or dispatch specific data.

All withdrawals are cataloged, time-stamped and regulated by tech clearance/training level. A unique solution to today’s challenge of controlling access, tracking inventory and dispensing of products according to access protocol. Contact Us Today!

 

Posted in IDS

Large Item Dispensing Revolutionized

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Emergency medical professionals regularly need access to large costly items that an entire team shares. Oxygen tanks, medical toolkits, and emergency medical devices are all very costly, and improper storage of these items can wreak havoc on already financially strapped organizations.

The UCapIt 12-door supply locker and dispensing system handles large or bulky items that need to be check out and checked back in. We’ve heard from emergency medical professionals from across the nation, the need to have a central access point for all critical medical devices is unanimous across the board. That’s why we developed the locker dispensing system to help medical professionals keep track of expensive tools and equipment, that is easily accessed by those who are trained and qualified to use such devices.

Our CAP 12-Door Equipment Locker Features:

Adjustable Back Panels – Size to fit each compartment for varying product depths.

LED Lighting – High visibility and high efficiency LED lighting option for dimly lighted locations.

Recharging Adapters – Charge and check out radios and other powered equipment.

Ideal for Large Single-Item Vending and Asset Management

There are several other ways that UCapIt CAP 12-Door large item supply locker can help emergency medical professionals. Be sure to look into this company and their unique large item vending machines to see how they can help you.

Scrubs May Be Contaminating More Than Expected

A wake-up call has been rung for healthcare personnel around the world. A Duke Health study reports on the “transmission triangle” in a healthcare setting, between patients, the environment where care is administered, and the health care provider.

The study states that the germs in hospital rooms that come in contact with healthcare personnel can be spread far more than originally discovered.

“Any type of patient care, or even just entry into a room where care is provided, truly should be considered a chance for interacting with organisms that can cause disease.” said Deverick Anderson, M.D., the study’s lead author and associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine.

During the study, researchers collected cultures from the scrubs of intensive care unit nurses at Duke University Hospital. The samples were collected from new scrubs at the start of their shift, before interacting with a patient, and at the end of each shift.  

Analysis of the cultures found organisms on the nurse’s scrubs that were not present at the beginning of a shift, but were present at the end. The researchers then looked for those same organisms in the samples collected from patients and their rooms.

During the shifts considered, the researchers confirmed 12 instances when at least one of the five pathogens was transmitted from the patient or the room to the scrubs. Six incidents each involved transmission from patient to nurse and room to nurse. An additional ten transmissions were from the patient to the room.

Analysis of the study found the scrubs, particularly the pockets and sleeves, from the nurses were most likely contaminated, and had the ability to pass on bacteria beyond the healthcare setting. Following prevention strategies has to be a top priority for all healthcare personnel.

Contaminated linen, including scrubs and coats, have been identified as a source of large numbers of pathogenic microorganisms. ScrubTrak helps keep scrubs clean and control this risk in healthcare organizations by providing return units in key locations throughout the campus. Having multiple return unit locations ensures that employees do not have to travel far distances in contaminated uniforms.

Hospital grade laundering services provides a thorough, cleaning process that cannot be replicated in home washing machines and ensures scrubs are rid of infectious germs. Through automating the scrub management process for receiving and returning scrubs, ScrubTrak assists hospitals in complying with AORN’s recommendation for surgical attire to be laundered by a healthcare laundry facility to avoid the spread of infectious bacteria on scrubs of medical personnel who have patient interaction. By offering dispensing and return units for scrubs, and monitoring compliance through our real-time software system, hospital administrators can confidently comply with AORN. In addition, ScrubTrak’s return units allow for convenient and safe scrub pick-up by laundering staff.

The best way to get clean, fresh, correctly-sized scrubs, anytime? ScrubTrak, the easiest way to dispense scrubs, anywhere.