Vending machines are slowly ceasing to be associated only with the sale of hot and cold drinks and snacks. Nowadays, they are technologically advanced machines found in public facilities and companies – plants, office buildings. How do modern vending machines work? What can you find in them? How do they make life easier?

How do modern vending machines work?

At ASD Systems , we design and create issuing machines for enterprises – self-service employee warehouses tailored to the needs of a specific company. 

Due to the function they perform, our devices operate quite specifically – they lack a payment solution, but are equipped with modern systems for user identification, extensive software and an application for warehouse management and process optimization.

• User identification . The employee uses the card and indicates the place where the cost is generated (project, department), selects and collects the product. The system manager creates groups of employees and gives them access to articles.
• Download Limits . To reduce the consumption of products (up to 50%), the system administrator can restrict employees’ access to only those items that they need, and additionally set a limit of item downloads at a given time.
• Simplified procurement . The procurement manager can also set up alerts for a minimum quantity of products to keep them always available. The machines themselves, through the drum scanning system, facilitate their loading. 
• Distribution records . In the application, the system administrator can check (in real time) inventory levels and data about products, downloads and employees. The products do not need to be counted, which reduces mistakes. 
• Warehouse optimization . With ASD Systems machines, the warehouse space itself is reduced, and thanks to the limitation of downloads, also the consumption of products – thanks to this, you can save up to 50% of resources on supply. 
• Simplified management . In the IDS application, you can generate statements and reports useful for optimizing warehouse management. Due to the determination of cost centers, settlements in the company are quick and simple.

What do vending machines spend, what can you find in them?

Vending machines selling food products (e.g. healthy snacks, sweets, hot drinks, cold drinks) are more and more often found in shopping centers and public facilities (schools, hospitals, offices) – they function as self-service stores. However, this is only a fraction of the scale of application of the dispensing machines!

Maseczomats and hygieniomats

Both in public space (e.g. in shopping malls) and in workplaces there are more and more hygienic machines or face masks with personal protective equipment (masks, gloves and antibacterial preparations in various capacities). Quickly and safely – because without contact with third parties – you can download a product that protects your health during an epidemic or an infection season.

Nowadays, you can often get basic medical supplies (gauze, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, thermometer, painkillers) – and even tests for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus .

Vending machines for health and safety articles, tools, consumables

In large workplaces, especially industrial and logistic, vending machines take over the function of employee warehouses – relieving the supply workers . They facilitate distribution, save time and money, and allow for a more conscious and economic warehouse policy. 

ASD Systems vending machine can deliver various types of products: 

• from health and safety articles (such as masks, gloves, helmets, glasses), 
• through work clothes and equipment (such as harnesses, ropes),
• for tools, consumables and auxiliary materials 

– that is, everything that generates costs and should be strictly controlled.

Vending machines for office equipment

Hundreds of small products can be distributed in vending machines – that is why the vending machine is increasingly becoming the equipment of a large office. 

All of the items that office workers need can fit into one compact device and be self-service downloaded as and when they are needed. Various models of vending machines for offices can spend, among others:

• stationery (paper, toners, notebooks, calendars),
• stationery (pens, markers, pencils),
• office accessories (staplers, T-shirts, folders, paper clips),
• computer equipment (disks, pads, headphones, mice).

Non-obvious use of vending machines

Vending machines take over the work of sellers or supply workers, but more and more often we encounter quite unusual use of them. Example? A company that produces banknote counters can use a vending machine to store money in a variety of denominations and currencies .

Nowadays, vending machines for specific types of products, such as pet food, electronic devices, books, are also beginning to function in the public space . Machines issuing tickets to means of transport, museums and cinemas, as well as parking meters are commonly used.

What’s the future for vending machines?

It is not difficult to predict the future of vending machines – we will meet them more and more often and use them in almost any way. 

Self-service and 24/7 access are convenient for the users of vending machines, but the automatic sale, distribution and accounting also save time and money for people who will make vending a business .

Vending machines in public places and workplaces will soon become an integral part of the space – serving the whole society!

FAQ:

What are the types of vending machines?

The types of vending machines are not easy to distinguish. Usually, dispensing machines are designed for a specific type of product – e.g. equipped with a cooling unit (for cold drinks) and payment solutions or software that allows the distribution of products to employees in a given company or institution.

What products can be dispensed in vending machines?

Food products (including hot and cold drinks), hygiene and protective articles, office supplies, electronics, books, dog food, health and safety products, tools, as well as auxiliary and consumables – almost all items that are not large and small must be stored under special conditions.

What are the advantages of dispensing machines?

The main advantages of vending machines are: 24/7 availability and self-service, as well as automatic records of downloads, i.e. saving on work, time and money.