THE VENDING MACHINE AT THE SERVICE OF INDUSTRY 4.0

distributor automation, optimisation and cost reduction The smart Industrial automatic (and digital) distributors are indeed smart machines They are available 24/7 and are perfect for storing PPE, small parts, tools and machines, even those that are sensitive. At last it’s time to forget tracking logs and other imprecise and unreliable Excel spreadsheets. Now, it’s time for rationality, traceability and, above all, simplicity. By managing its stock in the same way as it can manage its machines, an organisation gains in flexibility and can work faster.

The emphasis placed on employee safety has led to automated industrial distributors being put in place to store this equipment. This is a highly competitive market. The entry of new players is difficult owing to the high levels of investment required for the manufacturing infrastructures. It’s no easy thing to play the right cards in a market such as this. You have to go even further with the support proposed, by ensuring maintenance on the interfaces, by supporting the customers all along the production line: a sort of connected, optimised all-in-one solution.

These industrial vending machines help to keep a record of stock utilisation by monitoring the time and the user’s identification details. Furthermore, that makes it possible to cut freight and stock out costs, thus allowing companies to avoid unnecessary restocking operations and save on repeated purchasing-related expenses. They are very useful for knowing the operational status of products, making it possible to avoid any production disruptions and ensure the quality of the service. Other types of equipment require made to-measure lockers designed according to the end-use, this is the case for MRO * (maintenance, repair and operating supplies) for spare parts, sealing products, coatings, toolkits, etc. which are required during production downtimes. It is therefore essential to monitor these MROs for many industries in the oil, gas and aviation sectors for example. The personal protection equipment segment (PPE) has seen remarkable growth, notably in view of the tightening of the regulations in this area.

Sales department: Thibault MALLET and Yann REYMOND

Maintenance, Repair and Operations

White Paper - May 2023 The vending machine at the service of Industry 4.0: how to combine productivity and innovation

13