Use this calculator to test whether controlled tool and parts dispensing pays for itself at your site. It compares what your crib costs today with what changes once issue is automated. It runs in your browser, needs no sign-up, and nothing is sent anywhere unless you use the optional form at the end.
Your estimate
- Consumable saving
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- Labour + expediting saving
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- Gross annual saving
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- Net annual saving (after fees)
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- Upfront machine cost
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- Payback
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- 3-year net
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- Saving per 1% reduction
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How the calculation works
| Step | Formula |
|---|---|
| Consumable saving | annual tooling spend × reduction % |
| Gross annual saving | consumable saving + crib labour freed + expediting avoided |
| Net annual saving | gross annual saving − (monthly fee × 12) |
| Upfront machine cost | number of machines × cost per machine |
| Payback (months) | upfront machine cost ÷ (net annual saving ÷ 12) |
| 3-year net | (net annual saving × 3) − upfront machine cost |
| Saving per 1% reduction | annual tooling spend × 1% |
The last line is the number our tool crib modernisation guide asks you to work out first: what one percentage point off your tooling spend is worth. If that figure is small next to the machine cost, the project rests on labour and expediting rather than consumption.
The calculator leaves out freight, import duties, installation, the stock itself, and the time spent restocking, because they vary too much from site to site to default honestly. If restocking takes staff time at your site, add that cost to the monthly fee.
Where the defaults come from
- USD 200,000 a year, 30% reduction, USD 12,000 expediting, USD 37,200 labour. These are the figures in the illustrative example on our tool and parts vending page: a mid-size machine shop with 20 CNC operators. The labour figure is USD 30,000 of attendant time (a full-time attendant replaced by part-time restocking) plus USD 7,200 of reconciliation time. It is an example to show how the arithmetic works, not a measured result.
- 30% reduction. This sits inside the 25–40% band that sites moving from open cribs to controlled dispensing commonly report, as set out in the tool crib modernisation guide. That band is context, not a forecast for your site.
- Three machines at USD 3,000. The example’s configured price. A base industrial vending machine starts at USD 2,100; locker cells, trays for larger parts and the card reader you need move the price, so use your quote.
Before you rely on the result
Build the baseline from your own records, the way the tool crib modernisation guide describes:
annual crib cost = tooling and consumables purchased + (attendant and reconciliation hours × loaded hourly rate) + expediting premium
Then automate the highest-spend, fastest-moving items first and measure a quarter before you decide on a second machine. Our tool and parts vending machines page shows what the machines dispense; the PPE vending cost calculator runs the same arithmetic for safety equipment.
Frequently asked questions
How is the tool crib ROI calculated?
Consumable saving is your annual tooling and consumables spend times the reduction you expect. Gross annual saving is that consumable saving plus the crib labour cost the machines free up and the expediting premium you stop paying. Net annual saving is the gross saving minus 12 months of any software or service fee. Payback in months is the upfront machine cost divided by the net monthly saving, and the 3-year net is three years of net saving minus the upfront machine cost. If the fee is equal to or larger than the saving, the machines never pay back and the calculator says so.
What tooling reduction should I enter?
Your own, once you have measured it. Sites moving from open cribs to controlled dispensing commonly report tool and consumable reductions in the 25–40% band, and the worked example on our tool vending page uses 30%. A range measured elsewhere is context, not a forecast. If your crib already controls issue tightly, expect less. Measure one high-spend item group for a quarter and use that figure.
Does tool vending remove crib labour completely?
Not always, and the calculator does not assume it does. Somebody still restocks the machines, and an unstaffed open crib already pushes labour onto operators who walk, search and walk back. Enter only the attendant and reconciliation cost the machines actually free up. If restocking takes staff time, add it to the monthly fee. Where the attendant’s real job is advising which insert grade suits the material, keep that person; that is engineering judgement, not issuing boxes.
Do I need separate tool crib management software?
Not for issue records. Every KioskForce machine logs each dispense with the worker, item, quantity, job reference and time, and reports to a cloud dashboard built with our software partner Vending on Track. Pushing those records into an ERP, CMMS or existing tool management system is done through REST, CSV or database integration, scoped as a project. The machines need a network connection to dispense.
Is my data stored or sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser and nothing is sent unless you choose to send the estimate to our team using the optional form below.
Optional · talk to an engineer
Want a quote for these numbers?
Send this estimate to the engineers who design and build KioskForce tool and parts vending machines. Include your item list if you have one; we reply with a configuration and a price, so you can replace our defaults with real figures.
Related: Tool & parts vending machines · Tool crib modernisation guide · Industrial vending · PPE vending cost calculator
