Organizations across all sizes and industries are looking for ways to cut costs from their operations, and a large number are turning to inventory management solutions. Vending machines have gained considerable popularity among organizations looking to better control consumption of small, highly consumable, highly valuable products. Batteries, cutting inserts, drill bits and personal protective equipment (PPE) are among the most popularly vended products. Most Grainger customers choose to manage PPE and other safety items through inventory management programs; about 60 percent of all the items that go into each individual vending machine are PPE items.
Managing PPE through vending machines helps organizations maintain a clean and safe work environment to help reduce injuries and mitigate safety risks. Appropriate PPE, whether it is eye, hearing, respiratory, hand, body or foot protection is critical to almost every safety program. Vending machines make this PPE readily accessible to employees by locating the machine at point-of-use. An employee is more likely to wear gloves during the job if the walk is only three steps to get them, as opposed to 30 steps. The convenience of accessing PPE close to where the work is done increases the likelihood of employee compliance.