Issues assigned to a person
Identification by badge or password. The item comes off the stock level at the moment of withdrawal, not at the next stocktake.
Industrial vending
Who took it, what they took, when they returned it
The machine issues tools, workwear and consumables around the clock. Every withdrawal is assigned to a person and recorded. Stock levels go into the system, not into a logbook by the entrance.
Sounds familiar
Issuing by logbook and on trust
Today
- You take a tool from the shelf and write it in the logbook — or you don’t.
- The storekeeper issues during working hours. The night shift waits until morning.
- Glove consumption only shows up on the invoice at the end of the month.
- The stocktake shows a discrepancy and nobody can say where it came from.
With a machine
- The withdrawal records itself, together with the person, the item and the time.
- The machine issues at two in the morning just as it does at ten in the morning.
- Consumption is visible in real time, with a name against every withdrawal.
- The discrepancy has a date and a name, so there is something to talk about.
What it changes
Eight things that start working on their own
A vending machine is not a cabinet with a lock. It is the place where an issue becomes an event in the system.
A return is an event too
The tool goes back into the machine and the system knows it is back. Returnable equipment stops going missing between shifts.
Permissions instead of trust
Everyone gets only what is assigned to their job. The switchroom key will not be issued to just anyone with a badge.
Equipment goes back where it belongs
A power tool or a laptop has its own compartment. Every opening and closing has a person and a time, so you can see straight away who has not returned something.
Stock levels without a stocktake
The machine knows what is in its own compartments. Ordering is based on data, not on “I think it’s running out”.
Data in the ERP, not in a logbook
SmartBox handles the issues; SmartSync connects them to the system you already use.
Allowances per item and period
One pair of gloves per shift or one disc per week — the rule enforces itself, with no reminders.
Expiry and calibration dates
Once the date has passed, withdrawal is blocked and the people responsible get a message. Nobody will take an expired mask.
Machines
Four machines and three programs
They differ in what you keep in them. Tools in drawers at the workstation, consumables in the drum, returnable equipment in compartments. SmartBox handles the issues, SmartSync moves local databases to the cloud, and SmartConf looks after the controllers.
- Drum dispenserDynaBoxPPE and small parts. The drum brings the compartment to the window.
- Locker dispenserLockerBoxEquipment that has to come back. One compartment per item.
- Return machineCycleBoxThe used item comes back before a new one goes out.
- Workshop drawer cabinetDrawerBoxTools at the workstation, under control.
- SoftwareSmartBoxRuns all the machines from one panel.
- SoftwareSmartSyncThe machine’s local database works in the cloud.
- SoftwareSmartConfControllers, error codes and remote service.
Who it’s for
Each department gets something different
The machine stands on the shop floor, but the benefit spreads across the whole company. This is how it looks to the people who decide on it.
Purchasing
They order based on consumption over the last few weeks, not after a phone call saying “it’s running out”.
OHS
They know who has which PPE, since when, and whether it is past its expiry date.
Production
The tool is at the machine at any hour. The night shift does not stand idle because the stores are closed.
Maintenance
Keys, power tools and measuring instruments come back to their place, and calibration does not slip through the cracks.
Stores
Stops issuing at the counter and deals with what needs decisions: goods receipts and replenishment.
Management
Sees how much material consumption costs, broken down by department, rather than one amount on an invoice.
Where it works
Three places where a machine pays for itself fastest
Wherever the same things are issued every day, over several shifts, to many people.
Production
PPE and consumables by the lines, tools by the machines. A drum dispenser at the entrance to the shop floor, a drawer cabinet at the workstation.
Logistics and warehousing
Scanners, terminals, radios and gloves for shifts that take over from each other. The compartments charge the equipment between shifts.
Maintenance
Switchroom keys, measuring instruments, power tools. Access only for authorised people, and a trail of every issue.
How we roll it out
From audit to first issue
AuditWe look at what you actually issue and where time slips away. That gives us a list of items that should go into the machine — usually shorter than it seems at the start.
Choosing the machineSmall, expensive items go into drawers, consumables into the drum, returnable equipment into compartments. We set up the configuration for your list, not for a catalogue.
IntegrationSmartBox handles the issues, SmartSync connects them to the ERP or WMS. We agree the scope of integration at the audit, because it depends on what you already have.
Start-up and growthWe start with one location and one group of items. You add more machines and more categories once the first one has proved itself.
Vending as a service
A subscription instead of buying a machine
Not every plant wants to buy a machine. In the service model you buy control and data: hardware, software, servicing and support come in one monthly fee.
No upfront investment
A new, used or rented machine, matched to the plant. A fixed monthly fee instead of buying hardware and an IT rollout.
Hardware, software and service in one
Recording of every withdrawal, consumption reports, ERP integration, remote diagnostics and service notifications included in the price.
Starting with a consumption analysis
Audit first: what disappears from the stores and where the points of loss are. The machine goes where issuing has no owner today.
Data for management
Who withdrew what and when, in real time. Consumption per person, shift and department, to compare against the norms.
Questions we hear
Before you ask
Do we have to buy the machine outright?
You don’t have to. We work in two models: purchase, or vending as a service, where the machine stays ours and you pay for using it. Which works out better depends on the scale and on whether it is to be one station or a dozen or so — we calculate that at the audit.
What can you keep in it?
Items issued repeatedly: tools and power tools, measuring equipment, workwear and OHS supplies, consumables, keys. The rule is simple — if you issue something more than once a week and want to know to whom, it qualifies.
Will it work with our system?
Integration is handled by the SmartSync module. We agree the scope at the audit, because it depends on which ERP or WMS you use and what exactly should go into it — just stock levels, or also issues per person.
We already have machines with different software. What happens to them?
They stay. SmartSync synchronises the machine’s local SQL database with the cloud and works with SupplyPoint Systems (SPS) software, G-STOCK and SmartBox. A program that only worked at the machine starts working in the cloud — without replacing the hardware.
Does the machine replace the storekeeper?
No, and that is not how we sell it. The machine takes over repetitive issues and their records — what used to happen at the counter anyway. The storekeeper stays for the things that need decisions: goods receipts, complaints, kitting, equipment issued as an exception.
Who restocks the machine?
Your stores team, or us in the service model. The program shows what is missing before the machine runs empty, so replenishment is planned rather than an emergency.
Who makes sure the machine keeps working?
SmartConf. An agent on the machine’s computer talks to the controller, and a cloud panel shows the machine status, error codes and operation history. A fault opens a service ticket by itself, and the service team checks and configures the machine remotely, without a VPN. Today it supports DynaBox, LockerBox and RotoPoint machines.
What if the power goes out?
It depends on the machine. We agree the method of emergency access to items when choosing the machine and write it into the proposal.
See the machine before we quote for it
The demo takes a quarter of an hour and ends with a list of items that make sense in a machine at your site. The quote is based on that list.