Thanks to Fairfield's Information Technology Services (ITS) department, students now have nearly round-the-clock access to popular tech products like headphones and chargers.
This exciting partnership, along with support from Follett, has also allowed the University to stock Apple products for the first time. Students now have access to popular hardware during the hours the University Bookstore is closed.
— Fairfield University CIO Jon Carroll
This semester a new resource was introduced to campus: a vending machine to give students, faculty, and staff on-demand access to popular tech products. The idea originated within the Information Technology Services (ITS) department, as Fairfield University CIO Jon Carroll set out to find a solution to offer the University campus community convenient access to technology as a way to improve customer service.
During his research, Carroll was continually reminded of the Best Buy vending machines he had seen so many times in airports. He discovered IVM Inc., an automated supply distribution company that specializes in providing smart vending solutions. Seeking to diversify their customer base from primarily corporate settings to institutions of higher education, IVM welcomed Fairfield University into a pilot program to introduce a tech vending machine to campus.
ITS coordinated efforts with Fairfield University’s Auxiliary Services team and the campus Follett Bookstore to find the optimal location for the vending machine in the Barone Campus Center and to determine the most popular products to sell from the machine. Follett managed inventory in the machine and restocked popular items as they ran low.
Said Carroll, “This exciting partnership, along with support from Follett, has also allowed the University to stock Apple products for the first time. Students now have access to popular hardware during the hours the University Bookstore is closed.”
The vending machine has been well received on campus, primarily with students looking to purchase popular tech products like headphones and chargers for their devices. Due to its popuarity, Fairfield University will make the vending machine a permanent fixture on campus.
“The vending machine has been a great addition to campus,” said Zachary Olszewski ’23. “Spending so much time in my room this year due to the pandemic, I needed something that would keep me from getting bored, and I was able to easily purchase a Roku device from the vending machine. This transaction was way better than going online and ordering one that could take up to a week to come in.”
