Tag: inventory control

Inventory Management vs. Warehouse Management

Posted on by John Van Horn

Inventory Management vs. Warehouse Management - Idsveding.com

The terms ‘inventory management’ and ‘warehouse management’ are mistakenly used interchangeably since they both deal with products and operations within organizations in the distribution and manufacturing industry. Despite their similarities, many factors differentiate them. 

 Business owners and warehouse managers should understand the differences between the two terms because the management system utilized to track inventory depends on several factors that can impact your company’s efficiency and profitability. In this article, you will learn the similarities and differences between warehouse and inventory management. This article also compares warehouse and inventory management and explains how they function together. 

What is Warehouse Management? 

Warehouse management is the process of controlling and maintaining the operations in a warehouse. The process includes receiving the inventory from the seller, moving the goods inside the warehouse, and allocating storage space for the products in the warehouse. It involves all the activities that take place inside a warehouse.  

Warehouse management includes the following: 

  • Managing equipment and inventory effectively
  • Educating and training employees at the warehouse
  • Demand forecasting
  • Scaling warehouse operations from a business growth perspective
  • Maintaining relationships with courier companies to deliver items to customers on time
  • Obtaining licenses and certifications from concerned authorities
  • Keeping track of everyday outbound and inbound shipments and other activities

Businesses opt for a WMS or Warehouse Management System in their warehouse to make their warehouse operations easier. A WMS helps maintain the inventory levels and avoids stock out situations to allow you to get the best ROI (Return on Investment). It also enables you to forecast demand accurately by giving you information on which products are selling the most and which are not moving from the shelves.

What is Inventory Management? 

An inventory management system is how a company keeps track of its stocked inventory. It helps channel the inventory accordingly and deliver to the customers without delay. The process also monitors the dimensions, weight, and amounts of the inventory in stock.  

Having a good inventory management system helps eCommerce businesses prevent time lags in processing orders to the final delivery, as it will accurately track the goods in the storage. In today’s competitive world, you must always have your inventory levels data on hand because only then will you be able to provide your customers with a spectacular shopping experience. The process effectively performs your business’s inventory checks without losing potential sales. 

What Do Warehouse Management and Inventory Management Have in Common? 

Inventory management and warehouse management are similar activities, as both aids in moving inventory from the supplier to the consumer efficiently. Each involves shipping, storing, and reordering stock. They have the following features in common: 

Offer visibility into all stock for one warehouse or the whole company. 

Use barcode tools, software, and radio frequency identification (RFID) to enhance accuracy and efficiency. 

IDS is here to assist you in optimizing your supply chain with manufacturing inventory control, productivity and tracking.

Differences between Warehouse Management and Inventory Management 

Inventory Management System Warehouse Management System
Tracks inventory across all locations Tracks locations and stock movement within a warehouse
Focuses on maintaining inventory levels to fulfill orders Focuses on packing, picking, and shipping stock
Provides information about all inventory Generates reports on the status of stocks

 

Other Differences

Complexity 

Inventory Management system is a simpler process than a warehouse management system. Inventory management provides you with a record of the total inventory in a particular storage location. Warehouse management is the process that businesses perform to manage storage systems inside a warehouse. For example, if a warehouse has multiple storage bins for the same product, warehouse management helps you manage your items. In contrast, inventory management can only inform you about how many items you have. 

Integration 

Typically, inventory management is the first activity in a holistic warehouse management strategy. Warehouse management strategy includes several processes, including, but not limited to, order fulfillment, such as sales, distribution, product supply, and so on. In other words, warehouse management is more essential to everyday operations in the order fulfillment process when compared to inventory management. 

 Control  

Inventory management will only provide information about the quantity of a specific item in your stocked goods. Managing that inventory in a warehouse is done with warehouse management, which enables you to dedicate particular locations for the inventory. Warehouse management gives an organization more control over its operations since it gives them more information than inventory management to complete other tasks in the order fulfillment process. 

 Solutions 

WMS allows businesses to analyze and change storage and inventory when needed, while inventory management does not provide this option. Communication devices used in Warehouse Management make it possible to make these changes and gain a better understanding of the inventory and product locations, which results in a more streamlined and efficient operation.

 Final Say 

Now that you have noted the differences between inventory management and warehouse management, take the next step in deciding which process is best for your business. While both methods increase efficiency and reduce manual efforts, they do so in their own unique ways. Let us know your requirements, and we will guide you in making the best choice for your business.

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.

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.

Provide Employees with Instant Access to the Supplies They Need, When They Need Them

Posted on by John Van Horn

Hardware administration and asset management can be a headache for the IT service desk.  Some organizations utilize the open supply closet approach. With this approach comes uncertainty, frustration, and wasted productivity.  For example, it could be extremely unorganized where you know it will take too long to find what you are looking for. Or even worse, perhaps it is locked and you can never seem to track down an IT service desk rep when your mouse battery has died. 

Did you know you can eliminate your supply room headaches for both your IT service desk staff and users with a Supply Dispenser or a Supply Locker from IDS?  Many companies who wish to streamline their IT processes and bring flexibility to their employees have been turning to smart vending machines to assist the IT service desk.  These IT office vending machines also track supply inventory and asset utilization on back-end systems.

IDS’ Supply Dispensers or ‘smart vending machines’ are the perfect inventory supply management solution for any office environment, whether it be finance, healthcare, professional services, or tech.  Since one organization can have multiple Supply Dispensers dispersed at various places in the office building or across the office campus, employee productivity will increase. For example, instead of having one central supply close, with Supply Dispensers at multiple locations, employees only have to travel to the Supply Dispenser closest to their work area rather than the central supply closet which may be much farther from their work area.   

Do you have larger IT and office supply items such as keyboards or laptops that may not fit into a Supply Dispenser?  Or perhaps you would like an inventory asset management solution for reusable assets. IDS Supply Lockers provide secure storage and dispensing of larger consumables and reusable assets. Our Supply Lockers keep your employees accountable by using a simple check-in and check-out system. Plus, these lockers can be used for will-call, asset management, loan periods and more. 

Using IDS’ Supply Dispensers is simple, as you just scan your ID and dispense the item you need.  There is no need to spend time tracking down an IT service desk rep to open the supply closet or digging through a messy supply closet searching for the specific item you need. With a swipe of your employee badge and the peripheral is logged against your name and tracked at the inventory end.

Decreasing wait times for IT service requests lets workers access replacement laptops to keep them working. A week-long process to get a new laptop can now be supplied in minutes leading to a rise in productivity and associated improvement on returns on investments.

With IDS’ Supply Dispensers and Lockers, office supplies and IT peripherals can be maintained instantly to better manage your stocks. IT will become more efficient, save costs, and improve employee satisfaction.  

Automated supply dispensing allows IT staff and employees to work more efficiently. It also allows companies to monitor the cost, deployment, and use of those supplies to make sure that office supplies and IT peripherals are accounted for.

Automating the distribution of necessary hardware such as keyboards, mice, headsets, cables, and other peripherals keeps employees productive and gives them the business products they want.  With IDS office and IT inventory asset management solutions, your employees will have convenient, secure access supplies they need, no matter what time of day it is. Call us today at 1-855-570-2673 to learn more.

Prescription Drug Vending Machine Brought on Campus

Posted on by John Van Horn

Over the last few years, you’ve no doubt gotten used to the fact that vending machines are no longer just a source for soft drinks and salty snacks. You’ve probably purchased at least one electronic device from a vending machine in an airport, or have at least seen someone do so. You’ve maybe even used a DVD vending machine or gotten your morning paper in much the same way. Now, providers are taking things to the next level by offering prescription dispenser units and other medical vending machine options.

Arizona State University’s Prescription Medication Vending Machine

In 2014, Arizona State University became one of the first educational institutions in the country to install a prescription dispenser on campus. Located in the Health Services Building, this unit was designed to help both make sure that people had quick and easy access to the medical supplies that they needed and to increase efficiency within that organization at the exact same time.

The medical vending machine was designed to fill the medical prescriptions of both students and university employees at a moment’s notice. By using a voucher with identifying information that itself is tied to a very specific code, any doctor could prescribe medication to a patient that could then be picked up at the vending machine within 24 hours.

This advancement couldn’t have come at a better time, too, as the pharmacy at Arizona State University closed just a few weeks prior. Thanks to the prescription dispenser, people were able to continue getting the service they needed without transferring to other pharmacies or seeing any other type of negative impact at all.

At its launch, the prescription medication vending machine offered the 50 medications that were most commonly prescribed to students on campus. Based on the type of software that the machine was powered with, this could change on a regular basis as trends did. If a new medication were to creep into that top 50, it would be added to the list and something that was less likely to be prescribed would be removed.

UCapIt

UCapIt is just one example of a company that is offering controlled access pharmaceutical dispensing options to healthcare organizations around the world on a daily basis. UCapIt solutions are armed with state-of-the-art software that allows not only for instant recording whenever a purchase is made, but also for things like detailed reporting, the tracking of who has access to which types of supplies, advanced inventory management capabilities and more.

This is just one example of the many ways that medical vending machine technology is positively impacting the lives of people all over the world on a daily basis. For students at Arizona State University, they found the process of filling a prescription was easier than ever before. It’s easy to picture a time not too far from now where these types of medical vending solutions are rolled out beyond college campuses and are located in drug stores, pharmacies and other locations across the world.

Medical Supply Vending Machines Help EMT’s and More

Posted on by John Van Horn

When someone thinks of a trip to the vending machine, chances are, they think of sweet and salty treats and carbonated beverages. However, for many EMTs, going to the vending machine has a completely new meaning. Rather than dispensing soda and chips, there are now various types of medical vending machines that dispense medical equipment, medications and more to ensure EMT crews have all the materials they need to save lives and help civilians.

This is one of the many ways that towns are now working to minimize issues due to shortages of common supplies and drugs. There are a number of causes of the shortages, with the FDA stating that issues such as production delays and quality control issues are mainly the cause.

Also, there are a number of US pharmaceutical companies that no longer have any interest in creating the older fluids and drugs that are considered “staples of emergency care”, and now focus their time on creating products that yield a higher profit margin. There is no way for the FDA to force these companies to continue making these drugs or other products, which then leaves those in the field without the necessities for saving lives and helping people.

This has spurred a bit of creativity in the world of vending machines.

The EMT medical supply vending machine will provide alerts to paramedics when a piece of equipment or drug is getting low or close to its expiration. The items that are about to expire can be returned to the distributor for credit, and it is known that fewer should be ordered the next time around. This minimizes the number of drugs and other supplies that are being thrown away each month and in turn, saves money.

The idea of a medical vending machine has definitely caught on and allows for better control of these necessary items, while still ensuring that those in the field have what they need. Security is also not an issue, since the machines require codes and other verification techniques to distribute the items inside. This minimizes theft and still ensures EMTs can restock when necessary. The majority of these EMT vending machines are being placed at fire stations since the FDA ruled a few years back that hospitals were no longer allowed to be supply distributors for EMTs and rather were considered end-user.

For any cities or towns that are still catching on to this new trend, acquiring the EMT supply vending machine does represent a significant up-front investment, however, in the long-run, it is well worth the expense. UCaplt offers medical supply vending machines that will reduce shortages of supplies and minimize the costs experienced by these towns. Give us a call today at 877-771-4446.

EMS Supply Vending Machines | Equipment That Saves Lives

Posted on by John Van Horn

Running out of a crucial piece of life-saving equipment is not something EMS teams should have to deal with, unfortunately, it is a reality that many faces all too often.

In the past few years, the Food and Drug Administration passed a law that stated that hospitals were end-users of medical equipment and medication, rather than distributors for EMS crews. This meant that after dropping off a patient for care, the crews could no longer restock their vehicles if needed.

In addition to the reduction in the manufacturing of certain drugs and medical products that don’t bring in a hefty profit from manufacturers, many EMS crews are finding it more and more difficult to get the supplies they need to save lives.

An Innovative New Approach to Stocking Supplies For EMS Crews

Due to the potential of shortages and the inability to restock a vehicle at hospitals, a creative solution was needed and the EMS supply vending machine emerged. Found at local fire stations, medical clinics and hospitals these unique EMS equipment and supply vending machines provide EMS personnel with the medical equipment and supplies that they need on a daily basis to save lives.

Stock EMS Personnel – Minimize Waste

Another issue is a large amount of waste at the end of the month due to certain drugs or equipment not being used by its expiration date, costing hospital inventory management thousands of dollars. Medical supply vending machines make it possible to know when something is nearing expiration and reduce what is stocked to avoid unnecessary costs. This ensures that workers have what they need, without the excessive waste that often follows.

What About Security?

One of the biggest concerns that were introduced with the concept of a pharmaceutical vending machine was security. What would stop an average person from taking what they wanted – even narcotics – from these machines?

The solution is superior security that minimizes the potential for theft. This was achieved with high endurance security glass, fingerprint recognition, and code verification. All potential scenarios were thought through to make this a safe and viable option to get EMS workers the supplies they need.

While EMS equipment and supply vending machines are still a relatively new idea, the popularity of the machines is growing steadily. They offer a viable solution to a problem that is seen across the country. Ensuring that EMS workers have the tools they need to save lives is essential and this is exactly the benefit offered by these first aid vending machines.

UCapIt offers medical supply vending machines and secured locker systems that will meet the standards and security of EMS personnel. Contact UCapIt today to learn more at 877-771-4446.

Control Your Hospital Inventory with UCapIt’s Locker Systems

Posted on by John Van Horn

For healthcare professionals around the world, inventory control is always a top priority. Not only do you have to make sure beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have the integral supplies on hand to provide top-notch patient care and other services at all times, but you also need to curb things like theft and loss in any way that you can. A new series of hospital inventory control vending machines from UCapIt have already begin to enable medical, pharmaceutical and EMS professionals to accomplish exactly that.

Controlled Access Pharmaceutical Dispensers

UCapIt’s Controlled Access Pharmacy vending machines, also commonly referred to as CAP systems, bring with them a huge variety of different benefits that are hard to ignore. Each one of these machines is powered by a revolutionary inventory and tracking system, for example, that makes sure that only authorized users to have access to the important supplies and other contents contained inside.

Hospitals can use a number of different pieces of identification in order to authorize the machine before it dispenses a product. These can include things like PIN numbers, proximity card readers, fingerprint readers, bar code ID scanners and more. These protocols are designed to make sure that the people who actually need supplies have easy access to them, all the while keeping out people who may wish to abuse or even steal the important supplies contained inside the machine.

Actionable Information

The major benefit of UCapIt’s hospital locker systems, however, is one of reporting. Alerts can be sent to key individuals within an organization automatically via e-mail to warn them that stock on a particular product is running low, for example. This same warning can extend to other “need to know” situations like when a product is about to expire when the machine itself has become disconnected from the Internet for whatever reason when the machine has suffered a power outage and more.

The UCapIt machines can also be configured to control the temperature in any given zone down to the degree, allowing you to store temperature-sensitive supplies without worrying about product loss due to things like user error. All of this can also be accomplished remotely using a smartphone or tablet thanks to the cloud.

These are just a few of the many ways that UCapIt’s locker systems are revolutionizing inventory control in the medical profession for the better. Not only is preventing issues like theft or misuse easier than ever, but now these hardworking individuals finally have access to the information that they need to provide the best quality care to patients at all times.