Keep Your Employees Happy, Healthy & Productive with an Office Vending Machine

There is nothing worse than running out of office supplies when needed most, such as post-it notes, pens, or discovering that the letter “T” on your keyboard sticks; these things make for a frustrating and unproductive work day. An office inventory tracking vending machine filled with supplies will certainly make the majority of office workers satisfied with having access to what they need, leading to greater productivity.

Save on Shrinkage & Costs

Statistics show that by using state-of-the-art iQ technology by Intelligent Dispensing Solutions, vending machines in an office environment can cut down on inventory loss by more than 25%. Employees will swipe their ID badge to retrieve the supplies that they need, this allows you to keep control over the inventory and to know who is taking out what, and how much or many.

Better Customer Service

By having an office supply vending machine nearby, employees won’t have to run to the supply cabinet/closet each time that they need something. You would be surprised how often an office employee runs out of supplies each day. If the employee is also responsible for answering the phones or greeting customers, it may take them away from their desk, which could lead to a loss in business.

What Supplies Could go in the Office Vending Machine?

Start with the basics – pens, post-it notes, paper clips, staplers/staples/staple remover, tape, envelopes in an assortment of sizes, pads of paper, and items your office employees use on a frequent basis. You may also consider putting in office equipment such as keyboards, flash drives, and ether cords. It’s time consuming to fill out a requisition sheet for equipment and supplies. It is even more time consuming and less productive to have an employee run to an office supply store to purchase a new keyboard or a box of envelopes.

Another important aspect of having an office vending machine is to keep it stocked at all times. Otherwise, time will be wasted and productivity lost while someone treks to the supply room to search for the missing item(s) to restock the office vending machine. Remember it’s supposed to make your employees happier, healthier and more productive.

If an office vending machine sounds like something your office could use, then you should call Intelligent Dispensing Solutions at 877-771-4446 and speak with one of our specialists to order your office vending machine. An office supply vending machine will keep your office running smoothly and productively all day, every day.  

Redefining The Retail Experience

The very nature of the retail experience has been changing dramatically over the last several years. Even as recently as 15 years ago, you essentially had one option if you wanted a particular item – you left your house, got in your car and drove to the nearest appropriate store. The Internet changed all that and made it easier than ever to get items delivered right to your home with no car trip necessary. Now, a new type of vending machine solution is poised to take things one step farther by offering a huge range of different items that you wouldn’t normally find in these machines.

When you think about vending machines and the products inside them, you probably call to mind images of potato chips, soft drinks and candy. Items like designer handbags, cupcakes and children’s toys probably don’t fit your mental image of what a vending machine is capable of. The city of Toronto is working hard to challenge your perception, however, by installing a wide range of high tech machines around the city.

Deluxe vending machines are already popping up all over the Toronto area stocked with items like novels, beauty products, clothing and more. These items are strategically located in some of the busiest areas of the city, making them ideal for both tourists and residents alike.

These types of innovative retail vending machine solutions are truly taking the automated retail experience to the next level. In addition to the fact that they’re already starting to sell the types of items that you wouldn’t normally expect to find in a vending machine, they’re also playing music and even the latest Hollywood blockbuster in an attempt to attract the attention of everyone who passes by.

The retail experience is one that is in a constant state of flux that started with the advent of the Internet. Now that innovative vending machine solutions are automating the retail experience even further, it will be truly interesting to see what consumer shopping looks like five, ten or even fifteen years from now. Intelligent Dispensing Solutions will be there inventing and reinventing along the entire process.

Source: http://www.thestar.com/business/2015/05/08/how-a-new-breed-of-vending-machine-is-poised-to-take-on-retail.html

Office Supply Vending Machines Introduced to Libraries

you walk up to a traditional vending machine, you expect to drop in a few coins and receive a snack, a cup of coffee, or even a cold soda. How about a pen?  A notebook? A computer keyboard? Or even a new set of scrubs?

Vending machines are moving far beyond the traditional snack foods and drinks. The Penn State library recently installed two vending machines that dispense office supplies and necessary items for their student population including blue books, writing utensils, headphones and calculators. Students do not need to have cash on hand to use the machines; they simply swipe their university card and the purchase is deducted from their balance.

When it comes to this new generation of vending machines, the sky’s the limit. Conventional office vending machines provide that 3 PM snack, but instead of chocolate, chips, and mints, IDS machines can replace the standard office supply cabinet. Inventory control is provided by having employees scan their ID or entering their employee number to receive necessary supplies.

The most interesting aspect of an office supply vending machine is that they can vend almost any type of supply your employees or customers require. Custom vending machines allow businesses to sell their product automatically at any time of day or night by automating the transaction. Any type of medical supply that is subject to inventory control, from pharmaceuticals to equipment, can be easily tracked. Even IT equipment like a keyboard or a mouse, that would have been a hassle to replace in a corporate environment requiring tracking paperwork, can be dispensed via vending machine automatically.

With web-based iQ technology, inventory managers can easily track the machine’s inventory.  By simply logging in to a web based device from anywhere, supervisors can track the machine’s records and track sales or employee use. No longer will that supervisor need to check each machine individually to inventory its remaining products. With iQ technology, businesses can increase employee accountability with detailed records of materials or products requested by each person which leads to a decrease in theft and shrinkage.

The automatic vending feature appeals to any business that is working toward increasing employee autonomy and efficiency. For example, rather than having employees fill out requisition forms and wait for necessary replacements like a computer power cord, Facebook CIO Tim Campos created a series of custom vending machines to automate this process, reduce expense, and increase efficiency.

No longer just for snacks, smart supply vending machine manufacturer Intelligent Dispensing Systems creates custom machines to dispense office, medical, and IT supplies.

Cashless Vending is Safe, Secure, and Smart

In our ever-increasing cashless society, wouldn’t it make sense to create a cashless vending machine?  According to the Bloomberg BusinessWeek, however, “…most of the 5 million vending machines in the U.S. still accept only coins or bills, even as prices rise.”  And when many people don’t even carry cash any longer, that means those vending machine operators are losing sales and profits.

To fix this problem, vending machine manufacturers are designing and installing vending machines that accept credit and debit cards, the most common way for Americans to pay today.  Some of these machines, called “smart vending machines” can even accept payment with a smart phone and then allow the customer to charge their smart phone at its very own smart phone charging station.

This new method sure brings convenience but what about security?  According to Vending Times, the vending industry’s leaders held a seminar during the 2014 Atlantic Coast Exposition to discuss just that.  For example, Lauren Miller, whose credit card vending machines appeal to customers who don’t carry cash, says that his vending machines operation “doesn’t touch your card, and doesn’t store your data.”  This means fraud, which is reportedly low at $1 for every $1,000 spent at vending machines, is minimal.

While security for the consumer who engages with a cashless vending machine is safe, the same can be said for the vending machine owner.  For example, at Intelligent Dispensing Solutions, they never track customer’s information, but they do use a system that tracks the inventory data for any vending machine anywhere and makes that data available to their customers at any time. This means inventory control just got easier and smoother than ever.

Instead of having to visit every office vending machine to check on inventory levels, you can check your inventory remotely from anywhere there is Internet service.  Furthermore, operators can also access data that helps them choose the right items to stock their vending machines by knowing what is and isn’t selling according to stocks.  On top of that, vending machine operators get more sales with cashless vending offered by Intelligent Dispensing Solutions who never store payment information, keeping your customers safe and secure.

The future of cashless intelligent supply vending machines is gaining ground because it is easier for consumers to pay with debit cards, credit cards, or their smart phones. Smart cashless vending machines are where vending operators need to grow their business in order to survive. Using cash to pay for a candy bar or a can of soda is becoming less and less convenient in our modern cashless age.

Cashless vending machines accept credit cards and mobile payments. And you can charge your phone at the same time.

IDS | Twitter Activated Retail Vending Machine by Eddie Bauer

Eddie Bauer NYC Store OpeningTwitter is the second most popular social networking site on the planet, behind only the Internet behemoth Facebook. With hundreds of millions of users all over the world, it is also seen as a bold new source of both resources and innovation in terms of retailers. Eddie Bauer is just one example of a retailer that is using the social networking site to its fullest extent by installing Twitter-activated retail vending machine solutions in certain locations.

The Twitter-activated vending machine will be on display when Eddie Bauer opens a new store in New York City in the spring of 2015. The Eddie Bauer vending machine will be available for customers to interact with for the first two weeks after the store is opened. Not only will the machine be specifically designed to dispense the brand’s famous line of outdoor adventure products, but it will also offer discounts, gift cards and other promotions for people who Tweet using the @liveyouradventure hashtag and @eddiebauer Twitter handle.

For those who don’t want to wait that long to interact with a social media twitter enabled vending machine, Eddie Bauer is also opening a holiday “pop up” store in New York City that will feature the hardware throughout Christmas and New Years.

One of the major benefits of retail vending through IDS has to do with security. All IDS automated vending machine solutions are physically secured in such a way that puts bank vaults to shame. Not only is the frame of the vending machine itself secured with high grade steel, but it also uses high grade security glass. Customers will be able to clearly see the products on display but will never be able to gain unauthorized access. Regardless of the location in which these machines are placed, the vending machine manufacturer has gone to great lengths to make sure that all merchandise stays as safe as possible.

Retail vending through IDS is also secure in terms of digital security. Customers will still be able to access merchandise using all of the means that they have become accustomed to – fingerprint readers, credit cards and even traditional cash. Advanced technology called iQ Technology, however, makes sure that all customer information that is entered into the machine is secure at all times. Retailers won’t have to worry about hacking and other types of digital theft, as no credit card or other sensitive information is stored on the servers in the first place.

Twitter-activated retail vending machines are just one of the many ways that retailers are engaging with customers on their own terms – namely, in the digital realm. It is a true example of innovation at its finest and can be seen as an inspiration for retail businesses of all types to see the Internet not as a threat, but as a bold new frontier.