Tool Inventory Where You Need It

2 July 2025

Inventory management has become significantly more flexible with the arrival of the TM Minibox from Guhring. Unlike other vending solution providers, Birmingham-based Guhring is elevating accessibility to the next level with the desktop TM Minibox, which is compact enough to fit on any workstation on the shop floor.

As a leading UK cutting tool manufacturer, Guhring produces both standard and special product lines in the UK, maintaining over £5m of stock on-site for next-day delivery. However, for manufacturers wanting to ensure they always have the correct tool on hand, particularly where space is limited, the TM Minibox is the ideal solution.

The compact new TM Minibox enhances the cabinet portfolio and makes tool management more versatile than ever. With this compact box, tools are always at hand whenever needed. The TM Minibox features four drawers with front heights of 60, 90, and 120cm, but what's even more impressive are its dimensions. Measuring 630 by 700 by 880mm (WxDxH) and weighing less than 95kg, the TM Minibox fits seamlessly into any machine shop. In fact, manufacturers with large workshops can reduce downtime by installing multiple localised desktop TM Miniboxes instead of one centralised vending machine.

When manufacturers invest in a TM Minibox, the GTMS Basic logistics software module is included as standard. This pre-installed logistics software digitises the most important inventory processes on the manufacturing shop floor. The software assists manufacturers in managing master data, creating evaluations, and handling intralogistical processes efficiently. This includes parameters such as user data, cost units, partners and suppliers, and article data. Furthermore, manufacturers can better manage and control inventory, achieving complete visibility and traceability that identify tool movements and automatically handle the ordering process to ensure they never run out of tools.

Like the larger variants in the Guhring tool vending family, the drawers of the TM Minibox can be electronically locked and unlocked. The electronically locked drawers provide controlled dispensing, with the GTMS suite incorporating a function to book removals and returns directly from the TM Minibox. This ensures that tool movements and storage locations are fully tracked, allowing customers to monitor tool stocks and automatically reorder as needed.

Fortunately, as a manufacturer with one of the largest stock inventories of any UK cutting tool manufacturer, Guhring guarantees that cutting tool levels will never deplete. Additionally, the sleek and user-friendly interface simplifies the evaluation of logistics data, including booking data, inventory overview, the number of individual reports, and data export.

Offering complete autonomy on the shop floor, the GTMS suite is an efficient system that has proven successful in both small-scale machine shops and large-scale manufacturing, where GTMS manages numerous machine lines. For large manufacturing facilities, a centralised warehouse with a large TM cabinet controls and maintains all data, with tools managed on a decentralised basis—at the machine. Having the tools precisely where they are needed is a key differentiator between the new TM Minibox and rival systems.

For smaller manufacturing enterprises, the entry-level TM Minibox model offers a straightforward and effective way to start using digital tool management. The flexibility of the GTMS Basic located on the cabinet system allows for individual setup and expansion with additional modules to meet business needs.