Danish Crown Foods' Maintenance Department in Vejle has leased vending machines through Solar. With a special access key, employees can retrieve various items, which saves time, reduces costs, and makes the working day more efficient.
Danish Crown Foods' production floor manufactures canned sausages, ham and ready-made meals. The Maintenance Department comprises around 55 people whose job is to ensure that the machinery functions as it should. Warehouse Manager Erik Grønborg Sørensen is responsible for technical procurement.
In the spring of 2021, Solar put forward a service package aimed at making the working day more efficient. By using vending machines and an access key, the maintenance team can access everything from batteries to car keys instead of the warehouse manager having to find and supply the products himself.
"I have not had to supply any employees since we received the vending machines from Solar. In the past, this was the case several times a day: someone would need a spray can or a pack of batteries. Now the items are available to employees on a 24-hour basis, which frees up time and makes the working day more efficient,” he says.
"Availability is paramount for Danish Crown Foods. The vending machines mean that everyone has 24-hour access, which is ideal for a factory like this. What’s more, we have identified savings for everyone who uses this service – typically between 25-40 per cent,” says Jesper Grøning Andersen, who is head of Solar Services.
Danish Crown Foods has seen cost savings of as much as 30 per cent.
"We generated savings over the summer because items did not just disappear. Now people have to log in with their access key to get their items and many of them have to be returned to the compartments again,” explains Erik Grønborg Sørensen. The vending machines have also meant that employees only take what they need because items are always available.
Automatic restocking
Chemicals are among the many items needed by the maintenance team, but such items have to be locked away. In the past, only Erik Grønborg Sørensen had the key, which meant that he had to release the items as required. Now, however, these are also located in the vending machines, but the system allows for restricted access only. "And what’s more, we never run out of products,” says the Warehouse Manager in Vejle. The vending machines transmit a message to Solar when stocks are low so that the compartments can be replenished.
"We avoid having to keep track of items and doing any purchasing ourselves. As we save both time and effort on invoicing, we are very pleased with the results that the vending machines have delivered.”
The plan is now to fill up the last vending machines so even more products are accessible to employees on a round-the-clock basis.
This case is from our Annual Report 2021. Read it here.
Danish Crown
Danish Crown’s history began with the establishment of Denmark’s first pig slaughterhouse in Horsens in 1887. Today, it is the country’s largest slaughterhouse. Danish Crown employs approximately 8,000 employees in Denmark and 23,000 employees across the world.