Commentary

Supply dispensing equipment: More than just an asset management initiative

Dispensing technology delivers value to all enterprise stakeholders by ensuring the availability of resources and acting as a single source for inventory-related information.

Picture provided by Intelligent Dispensing Solutions.

September 19, 2022 | by John Van Horn, Intelligent Dispensing Solutions

Timely availability of necessary office supplies is essential for a business to maximize productivity. Sometimes missing a $40 computer mouse can ruin everything when deadlines are tight. Not having the necessary IT and office supplies can also lead to unplanned downtime, a.k.a., waiting.

The Ponemon Institute's annual report concludes that the average cost of downtime could be anywhere between $137 a minute for small businesses to $17,244 a minute for large corporations.

The cost of lost productivity is just one of the impacts of unavailable office resources. Approximately one out of every eight employees who participated in a Paychex survey claimed to be very dissatisfied when they felt they had too much downtime. Safety-related supplies and materials can impact the well-being and morale of the workforce, too.

Addressing these and other potential challenges due to inadequate supply of resources can be easily overcome using controlled dispensing solutions. Supply dispensers and lockers can help improve the modern office environment.

Controlled dispensing improves resource availability

Controlled dispensing solutions can provide access to necessary resources by validating the user based on proximity cards, barcodes, keypads and mag stripes. This ensures timely access to supplies for employees instead of waiting at a help desk or for IT to respond to their request. This also allows the business to track the consumption of supplies by employee, department, branch or any other level of designated personnel.

A comprehensive dispensing solution has two essential components — hardware and software. The hardware consists of supply lockers and supply dispensers that hold the supplies. The software layer is the backend brain behind the hardware. Software can set access workflows and product restrictions as well as alerts and reporting.

There are several applications for controlled dispensing in an office environment. These include the following:

Service desks. IT support professionals are busy fending off external attacks, evaluating device performance, asset monitoring, network connectivity and other essential tasks for business continuity. Providing IT supplies to employees who need them is important, yet does not require the skills of a trained IT expert. Controlled dispensing can help eliminate service desks and free up valuable IT bandwidth.

Procurement systems. Efficient businesses are always in the pursuit of maintaining the right level of inventory. Purchase departments are tasked with ensuring the availability of necessary materials while keeping the cost of inventory as minimal as possible. Inventory management modules of controlled dispensing solutions help maintain an optimum amount of supplies in stock. The solution can provide real-time information about reorder levels that help maintain the best amount of inventory.

Benefits of controlled dispensing

Controlled dispensing solutions deliver direct benefits to IT support desks, procurement departments and employees. Factors like business continuity, operational efficiency and real-time insights create value for large organizations. This translates to business benefits like:

Profitability. Businesses can enjoy cost savings and operational efficiency by using controlled dispensing technology. Lockers enabled with inventory management software can track and optimize the usage of assets. Shrinkage due to hoarding, loss and expiration can be avoided by implementing controlled dispensing technology.

Accountability. Software can make sure only designated individuals can access certain supplies. Administrators can track who is taking what items, when and how many. The system establishes a transparent chain of custody for valuable assets and drives accountability at all levels.

Reliability. Supply lockers dispensers can improve resource availability. This creates a reliable process and eliminates resource-related uncertainties. Automated alerts about par levels can preempt purchases to avoid unplanned downtime.

Efficiency. Controlled dispensing minimizes downtime and keeps employees on task. It also reduces human effort, freeing up bandwidth for more important activities. By minimizing downtime, the inventory management component of the dispensing solutions improves the efficiency of capital utilization. The availability of real-time information about resources allows for better workload planning.

Safety. Controlled dispensing results in fewer touchpoints, decreasing the likelihood of transmitting viruses and bacteria. This will translate to a safer workplace in the age of fast-spreading contagions.

User experience. Employees can now avoid the need to line up to collect essential supplies. Frustration that arises due to the unavailability of the necessary tools and supplies for day-to-day operations can be avoided with dispensing equipment. Employees can plan better with the help of real-time visibility and inventory alerts to keep on hand the tools and resources that are essential for executing their responsibilities.

All stakeholders benefit

Controlled dispensing solutions can deliver value across the entire organization. Different stakeholders like production employees, IT support teams, procurement divisions, administrations and maintenance departments participate in the flow of inventory and the value creation process.

Dispensing technology delivers value to all these stakeholders by ensuring the availability of resources and acting as a single source for all inventory related information.

Implementing the proper hardware and software is the key to realizing these benefits. Controlled dispensing solutions have helped large Fortune 100 businesses and small enterprises harness the power of this technology to achieve business benefits.

John Van Horn is vice president of Intelligent Dispensing Solutions, a manufacturer of automated dispensing machines and supply lockers. Based in Des Moines, Iowa, IDS offers single source, integrated inventory management solutions.

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