The aim of electricity management is to intelligently plan the available resources. To achieve this, the private waste management company REMONDIS turned to gts for IT support.
gts's specially developed software optimises the processes on the basis of intelligent algorithms and leads to planning results in just a few minutes.
REMONDIS is one of the leading international service providers for recycling, service and water with around 800 locations in over 30 countries. The private waste management company collects, recycles and markets around 30 million tonnes of recyclable materials each year. As part of its material flow management, REMONDIS collects waste from industrial and commercial customers and transport it to its own or external facilities for further processing and recycling. However, the supply and collection chain in the southern region has become increasingly complex over the last few years: Instead of six locations, five plants and a few materials, there are now around 50 operational branches as well as numerous recycling plants and waste types to be recycled.
Meeting organisational challenges
As a result of this growth, the allocation of waste streams became associated with a considerably increased amount of work and scheduling. Instead of manual allocation, digital support was needed to meet the organisational challenges. This included the establishment, expansion and maintenance of logistics and plant networks. Within the framework of delivery and acceptance partnerships with various processing and recycling plants, quotas have been agreed to regarding the material qualities and quantities to be delivered and the prices associated with recycling. REMONDIS aims to find the most cost-optimal management option during the planning phase. The aim is to transport the material flows from the branches to the plants as cost-effectively as possible and with accordance to the quotas.
Intelligent algorithms for optimal distribution of waste streams
In its search for IT support, REMONDIS found what it was looking for at gts: Together, the private waste management company and the software provider developed a web-based software that has been in use since autumn 2020. The data on waste management requirements is automatically imported into gts's software from REMONDIS'S ERP system. Based on intelligent algorithms, the software then calculates the optimal planning and allocation of material flows. Important parameters include the level of disposal costs, the nature and quantity of the material to be disposed of, and the seasonal variation in the amount of waste generated. On this basis, the system calculates the optimal recycling plant for the respective type of waste, taking into account the available capacities and the costs. In addition the costs for external hauling companies and the utilisation of the company's own vehicle fleet are compared.
Day-by-day planning for efficient utilisation of resources
REMONDIS can see the current status of costs and quota fulfilment at a glance via the reporting system. In order to ensure that the agreed quotas are fulfilled, gts's software calculates the expected waste quantities from the branches, the distance from the respective branch to the recycling plant and the costs for transport and disposal. Calculated down to the respective planning period, weekly plans are produced that are accurate to the day and provide information on how many trucks should travel from which branch to which disposal facility with which type of waste on which day.
"Our goal was to make material flow management processes more efficient with the available resources. Now we have a tool that works quickly and reliably provides cost-optimal distribution. The biggest benefit for us is that we are able to process the masses of data," summed up Jochen Schulz, head of Material Flow Management in the southern region. Other REMONDIS regions are also already interested: The Eastern Region will be the next to implement the gts solution in its material flow management.
