Waste management is hard, heavy work with a significant customer relationship component. As a manager, you have probably wondered if there is a smarter and more efficient way to handle your day-to-day tasks while maintaining full control (of course).
On this page, we will explain how Recoambiente not only managed to increase the efficiency of waste collection but also saved several hours each day by managing paperwork, WhatsApp messages, and avoiding conflicts with customers over proper waste separation (and if not, charging for that work).
If you can relate to this, keep reading, and we will explain how you too can achieve it (faster than you might think).
“As of today, SmartMonkey is an essential tool for work.”
A operational necessity
Andrea started by collecting scrap, and shortly afterward, she ventured into establishing her own waste collection company. She thought, “This business can be improved significantly.”
At that moment (2016), Recoambiente was born. Beginnings are always challenging, and by 2019, she had a functioning company, but she felt that it had not improved as much as expected.
Many hours, a lot of effort, and numerous challenges to grow both operationally and in business.
Waste collection is a highly regulated sector. Traceability of waste is critical, as well as documenting every collection and delivery to the final waste handler.
Up until that point, everything was done with notebooks, papers, and a lot of WhatsApp communication.
Then the pandemic arrived, slowing down the company’s day-to-day operations. This provided an opportunity to rethink all the processes they were carrying out.
With one goal in mind: finding more efficient operational and management solutions to make the company grow.
Waste collection is a job performed by workers at night, but all planning and operational management take place during the day. Coordinating between teams is a key logistical challenge. Andrea was clear that they couldn’t continue with notebooks and WhatsApp if she wanted her business to grow.
Handling customer incidents such as improperly separated waste, scattered bags, additional time spent by the operator to make the place habitable, and many more were common problems for Andrea, and it’s likely a common scenario in your company too.
Without tools to efficiently manage that communication, operational and management costs soared, affecting the profitability of each customer and ultimately the business.
The first step Andrea took was acknowledging that her company couldn’t continue with those manual processes and that she was willing to invest time and a few resources in wanting to improve.
These are the main objectives that Recoambiente set to achieve an efficient, effective, and profitable waste management operation:
Customer Objectives
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Efficient handling of existing resources
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Easy and fast implementation of the tool
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Fuel savings and reduction of carbon emissions
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Standardization of the operational process
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Monitoring of service times
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Increased customer satisfaction
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Improved internal communication between managers and operators
The Result of Successful Implementation
Andrea chose SmartMonkey simply because we were straightforward, quick to implement, and allowed her to digitize all the processes that generated so much management work.
It took her just 6 months from the start of the idea until the tool became essential in her daily routine. The more experienced operators (and with more habits) took a few months to accept that they had to change their usual way of working (and surely yours also resist any change), but for the new operators, everything was easy and intuitive. They could arrive and start working.
In Andrea’s words, the key to the project’s success was the agility and ease with which the operations team could communicate with the operators without being present.
Being able to manage all types of incidents, document each and every service effortlessly has been a game-changer for us. Now, there is no one on standby 24/7. All information is accessible anywhere at any time.
Having traceability of the service, with images before and after, the exact time of the operation, the operator’s comment, and waste classification has allowed us to penalize and apply surcharges to customers who did not comply with the agreed-upon terms.
All this information has helped us educate customers on proper waste separation with the aim of improving collection efficiency and reducing the irresponsibility of some…
These are the results obtained:
The Reality of Production Deployment
SmartMonkey, a Small Yet Significant Investment
After 3 years of working with SmartMonkey, I can say it has been a great success. The solution has been increasingly adapting to the needs of the selective waste collection business.
Every day, we optimize each and every logistical and field documentation process. It’s easy, fast, and effective. We don’t look for anything more.
Before
- High time investment in daily route planning
- Slow training process for new operators (weeks, and even months)
- Communication difficulties between operators and managers
- Incident management with papers and WhatsApp
- Difficulty in measuring customer satisfaction
- Operational risks due to dependence on experienced personnel
After
- Quick and automated route planning
- Standardized process for planning and controlling services
- Asynchronous communication between manager and operator
- Direct communication with customers
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Increased pickups per hour
- Reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions
- Anticipation and forecasting capability
“With all the bureaucracy involved in waste management, being able to document and facilitate the work for the entire team is a tremendous cost savings. It also helps us predict, and that is crucial for decision-making.”
With SmartMonkey, optimize your waste collection in seconds
Streamline the routing process in a single step. Unify your procedure and make your operations more efficient. So flexible that you can change the entire plan at any time. You will have peace of mind knowing that your planning is under control with a level of detail you have never experienced before. Additionally, it reduces your operational carbon footprint by up to 30%.
Incorporate all the constraints of your business.
Include all the constraints you need for the optimal functioning of operations. With Planner, you can take into account the maximum number of stops to be made per route, the autonomy of your electric vehicle, the maximum volume to be reached, or even the time windows in which to perform the service. Easy to define, modify, or change in 1 click.
Notify customers when you will arrive
Avoid issues with failed deliveries by notifying the customer when their stop is approaching. You can also provide the customer with the option to track the route in real-time.
Measure customer satisfaction (without filters)
Receive scores and comments from visits to your customers directly, without filters. You can also gather feedback from teams, thereby reducing staff turnover. Receive metric and KPI reports for monitoring and controlling operations.
The simplest software to plan your waste management operations.
Plan your routes with our platform for a 10-day free trial