Improve productivity with industrial vending

Make essential supplies more accessible without losing control of stock with industrial vending machines

While novel challenges often garner the most attention, there are also perennial issues that procurement professionals have to deal with on an ongoing basis. One of the most common is reduced operational budgets. How can those responsible for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) purchasing do more with less?

Save time, save money
One option is to introduce industrial vending, which makes commonly used items more accessible. Time is money and nothing wastes time more than taking people off the line to search for essential supplies. Quite apart from the time taken to get to the stores, engineers can be tempted to take more than they need to guard against future requirements.

They may, for example, take three of a particular product because they don’t want to run the risk of it not being available next time. They put it in their locker and no-one else knows where it is. If an emergency arises when that person is off shift, the company typically ends up buying more.

This so-called phantom stock wreaks havoc with inventory control. It also pushes up costs, both in terms of purchasing price and the indirect procurement costs, which can be twice as much as the product itself.

Inventory solutions
One solution is to bring the supplies closer to where people need them by using industrial vending machines such as RS VendStock®. Put it in the right place, fill it full of essentials and you’ll improve productivity. How? Because you’re ensuring that the people who need to be fixing or building things are spending more time fixing and building rather than walking around trying to find parts.

These essentials can be anything from personal protective equipment (PPE) to tools such as screwdrivers and spanners. Each employee has a unique log in that they use to access items, which RS VendStock® automatically monitors. This means users get quick and easy access to crucial kit while the organisation retains oversight and control of stock. It eliminates over-consumption because all transactions are visible on the machine, holding users accountable.

Furthermore, industrial vending machines such as RS VendStock® make inventory replenishment far more efficient because it tracks every item to a cost centre and automatically reorders it, linking directly to a company’s accounting systems.

Adding value in every industry
Industrial vending machines are suitable for all types of industry, irrespective of whether a business overhauls trains or makes pies and pasties. While it might be that a spanner has to be food-safe in one environment and rail-recommended in another, there is typically quite a narrow range of products that are used in each industry and if you have a high footfall of people consuming these items, you can put the machine anywhere it’s needed.

RS recently installed an RS VendStock® inventory solution at a company in the aggregates industry. The machines were positioned at access points that employees pass as they head out into the operational area and the installation was tailored to their needs, including traditional vending machines and lockers for larger items or those that are returnable such as calibration equipment and power tools.

RS VendStock® provides a big step forward, saving time, money and improving transparency in MRO supplies. The industrial vending machines are also part of an ecosystem of strategic solutions that includes RS ScanStock®, a vendor-managed inventory solution, and RS PurchasingManager®, a procurement solution, which can bring benefits to organisations in any situation. Rather than creating each of these as a discrete, standalone solution, RS has built them in such a way that they can all talk to each other, complement each other and enhance each other.

For more information about our inventory solutions, click here