Companies know when employees have to wait for supplies, it negatively impacts productivity and profitability. A great example is when a new employee gets a computer. They have to take it to IT and wait for the applications to get loaded. In the meantime, they sit around idle, which is not the job they signed up for.
Many companies have implemented Smart Lockers or Smart Stations™ to eliminate the frustrating wait and downtime. With a Smart Locker, employees can pick up a new computer 24/7, have it loaded with apps and personalized within an hour. Smart Lockers also make it easier to get a computer upgraded, repaired or replaced, which has been a major stumbling block for companies in the past. Smart Lockers are best for larger, more valuable items, while Smart Stations hold everyday supplies that can be dispensed in vending-machine fashion.
The accessibility of Smart Lockers and Smart Stations gives companies newfound freedom and convenience. Couple that with a simple setup process and cloud-based services and you’ve drastically cut down on the time and cost to get a new employee’s computer up and running. Companies using Smart Lockers to distribute PCs have cut their PC delivery costs by as much as 30 percent. Similarly, Smart Stations also has a dramatic impact on reducing labor cost and boosting profits.
When employees can’t get what they need quickly, they often resort to a trip to Best Buy or purchasing something on Amazon. Expensing those items back to a company is another time drain. With an IVM Smart Station, they swipe and get what they need right away. All of the reconciliation on the backend is automated too.
Restocking is a snap
Smart Stations and lockers come fully loaded with reporting tools that help office supply managers make faster and easier decisions about how much to reorder. That’s different depending on the item. For PCs, you can use an algorithm that calculates PC failure to predict how many PCs to stock. For coffee, you can run a report over several months and see how seasonality affects the amount of coffee people consume. Typically, consumption goes up in the winter months. Having this type of information saves from overstocking or understocking.
The name of the game is automation
Businesses have found by reducing the time it takes to complete a task, they also reduce cost. That’s why automation is so appealing. It’s essentially the thinking behind AI, or more specifically robot process automation. By reducing the mundane tasks that people don’t want to do anyway, it frees up resources for more creative thinking — the kind of big ideas that move companies ahead.
How’s that strategy working out? The ISC Automation Index reports the application of robotic process automation has enabled enterprises to execute business processes five to 10 times faster, with an average of 37 percent fewer resources.
Reducing mundane tasks is one of the jobs of IVM Smart Lockers and Smart Stations. Smart vending empowers people, streamlines process and provides the tools that enable companies to innovate like never before.
What big competitive leaps would your company make with the productivity boosting power of IVM Smart Stations or Smart Lockers?
