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That being the case, don't vending operators have ready access to the industrial supply dispensing market? According to the Rockville, Md.-based American Machine Tool Distributors' Association, American companies spend more than $300 million on industrial tools annually.

Automated industrial supply systems have historically been managed by specialists such as Atlanta, Ga.-based Winware Inc., which owns the Cribmaster® system. These systems evolved from attended tool cribs, which were also managed by outside specialists. Companies such as Winware simply adopted vending machines to point-of-use dispensers.

"It (the vending machine) relocates our software and distribution methods," said Robert Holmes, marketing director for Winware.

Winware and a handful of competitors - such as DispenSourceÂ?, AutoCrib Inc. and Supply Pro Inc. - specialize in the control of industrial tools for large customers. According to Holmes, tool distribution is a specialty that requires a lot of expertise. It's not as simple as taking a snack machine and filling it with tools instead of bagged chips.

Manufacturers refurbish and reuse many of their tools. "There are lot of things that happen; the tooling goes through a lot of transactions," Holmes said; hence, the software is highly specialized.

Winware and its competitors focus on the needs of large industrial customers, such as aerospace and automotive manufacturers. Such customers have been able to reduce supply costs by several thousand dollars per year.

But what about the hundreds of thousands of smaller job shops out there? Is there not a place for simpler tool dispensing systems?

"Can small shops benefit from what we do? Absolutely," Holmes answered. The question is if it can be cost-justified.