HERE Technologies

Yes, location intelligence can help you take out the trash

If we're to build a glossy, streamlined digital future, the waste management industry has to be a part of the picture.

It's a messy subject. People around the world are increasingly aware of how environmental sustainability impacts quality of life. Simultaneously, the world's populations are using up more resources and producing more waste than ever. While people work through their issues of cognitive dissonance, waste management companies will have to continue to pick up the slack.

Keeping up with trillions of pounds of garbage means those companies have to raise their efficiency game. In regard to increasing that efficiency, driving profitability, and lowering costs, these companies are like any other business in the world – they need to innovate. So how are they doing?

The Digital Transformation Barometer

A recent study conducted by Advanced Manufacturing Control Systems (AMCS) surveyed a range of both municipal and private companies in the waste management and recycling sector. Their top-line findings reveal a clear problem:

More than 80% of companies surveyed believe that digital innovation is a key element of their future success. Meanwhile, 60% of those same companies rated their digital transformation progress as 'unsatisfactory'.

Perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise. A long-established industry using widely accepted legacy applications and processes presents a formidable barrier to fully implementing digital transformation within a single company.

To overcome that barrier, companies need to look at direct means of applying data and technology to solve problems in ways that render tangible results. That applied tech can be as simple as GPS trackers in vehicles, as advanced as ERP planning suites, and everything in between.

The AMCS study ranked companies on a scale of 1 to 5, where a grade of 5 represents the most digitally advanced, 'Best in Class' companies. Those businesses that earned the top rank were consistently invested in a set of 4 innovations: business analytics, self-service web portals, route optimization, and fleet tracking.