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 stocked with gloves, lanyards and safety glasses are popping up at several of the Utilities Service Alliance (USA) fleet members as part of an initiative to help drive down the cost of supplies.

The Fastenal Company of Winona, MN, reported the results of the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Except for per share information, or as otherwise noted below, dollar amounts are stated in thousands.

Fastenal (Nasdaq: FAST), which passed its 2012 goal of signing contracts for 10,000 new industrial vending machines within the first seven months of that year, has tripled its vending goals for 2013.

An estimated 90,000 vending machines are in use in plants across the U.S., with the industry expected to continue to explode during the coming years, according to Ansell Protective Products.

Americans have used vending machines for years to purchase soft drinks, snacks, lottery tickets and a range of consumer products.