Simply Waste Solutions operates a national waste service with more than 20,000 collections per week and manages more than 100,000 tonnes of waste per year.
The company operates a fleet of over 60 vehicles and employs a team of 100+ waste professionals.
Simply Waste is responsible for providing innovative waste and recycling solutions for leading businesses across the UK and helps many of these companies to achieve zero to landfill status.
· FAST 50 – Simply Waste have been finalists for the FAST 50 three times
· SME National Business Awards Finalist 2018 & Buckinghamshire SME Business Awards 2018 winner
· Simply Waste is listed as one of ‘1000 companies to inspire Europe’ – as part of London Stock Exchange Groups’ celebration of some of the fastest-growing and most dynamic SMEs in Europe
A system that speaks the same language!
A lack of continuity and reliability in the flow of information across different departments led Simply Waste Solutions to review its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The company was already using VWS bin weighing and onboard weighing on its vehicles, but its ERP system wasn’t able to process data coming in from collections.
Adam Weedon, Commercial Director, Simply Waste: “We weren’t happy with our existing ERP system. It wasn’t integrating well with our other business systems, including our vehicle weighing systems and as a result, our operations weren’t as efficient as they could be. We had been using VWS for our weighing equipment for years and the feedback from the market place about PurGo was very positive, so we investigated the system. We were impressed with its ability to integrate with other systems as well as the fact that it was very user-friendly.”
In May 2018 Simply Waste took the decision to switch to PurGo.
“It’s a more streamlined process now as we have one provider for our vehicle weighing and software needs. The systems are designed to talk to each other so the flow of information is quicker and more reliable, which means we can provide a more efficient service to our customers.”
Simple, intuitive and user-friendly
“A fundamental positive about PurGo is that it is simple and intuitive to use. Within a short space of time, everyone was using the system unassisted and without any problems. Everything you need is in one place and there are useful hyper-links to assist in navigating different areas. The reaction across the business has been very positive and we’ve required very little training.”
Since introducing PurGo, Simply Waste Solution has become a largely paperless operation, thanks to PDAs that are now used by drivers and remote operational staff.
PurGo uses the PDAs for work scheduling, route optimisation, exception reporting, live vehicle location and activity reporting. PurGo data is communicated from the back office to the round crew via the PDAs. It helps to join up all aspects of the operation including customer services, transport management, workshop engineering, collection crews and the finance department
Each department has a bespoke set of parameters on PurGo that are relevant to them and their business area which helps to keep everyone focused on their job area, without distractions.
PurGo is a powerful tool for managing the customer experience, with live information about collections, historical customer communications and invoicing data. Customisable, automated reporting and notification functions enable Simply Waste to be proactive and keep customers informed without the need to manually intervene.
“We carry out around 5-6k collections every day, equivalent to emptying over 100k bins each month. With PurGo, we can communicate quickly with customers about any potential issues, and how we intend to resolve them. In the same way we are able to report live to customers about the delivery of their service and the successful completion of collections.”
Continual, transparent operational data
PurGo provides an enhanced level of detail, including the individual times of collections and corresponding GPS data, so that Simply Waste has much greater visibility about its operations.
“Thanks to PurGo, everyone in the company can see how the day’s collections are going. There is a continual availability and transparency of operational data. Our team of service controllers are set targets to ensure customer expectations are met and to resolve issues quickly. There is a friendly rivalry as to who has the best service delivery!”
PurGo offers detailed financial reporting, which is compatible with Excel, and KPI measurement tools, to allow for the precise measurement of Operational Costs and Revenue Streams. This includes the live analysis of performance and profitability taking into account data such as truck costs, round efficiency and driver-related operational information, such as fuel usage. This provides an instant understanding of the profitability of different rounds and/or drivers, and the ability to produce very accurate forecasts. In turn, the company can better manage resources, costs and revenue, to drive performance.
A professional and efficient support team
“The efficiency of support offered by PurGo has been impressive. From the remote support team, always available at the end of the phone, to the internal trainers and account managers. They have addressed any issues swiftly and efficiently and offer a bespoke service, helping us to produce customised reports to meet the specific needs of our business.”
‘An amazing system’
“What I like most about the VWS Software Solutions team is that they are continually working with customers to innovate and improve their service.”
Since switching to PurGo, Simply Waste Solutions has opened two new depots..
“We have been able to open the new depots without any permanent office staff, partly due to the reliability of the PDAs and our centralised customer services team using the PurGo system.”
“The efficiency of support offered by PurGo has been impressive. From the remote support team, always available at the end of the phone, to the internal trainers and account managers. They have addressed any issues swiftly and efficiently and offer a bespoke service, helping us to produce customised reports to meet the specific needs of our business.”
The PurGo team is already working in partnership with Simply Waste Solutions to further develop the software to automate additional administrative functions and deliver increased efficiencies.
“We are confident that PurGo will comfortably support the continued growth and diversification of our business for the foreseeable future.”