How is a distribution planning system important for waste management?

The distribution planning for a company that handles waste management might be more important than what you think. Multiple segments inside the management cycle take intensive planning, not to mention having immense space for improvement. Wonder how does a distribution planning system work with waste management? Let’s take a look.

What is a distribution planning system?

A Distribution Planning System is software automation that takes over the planning, routing, and management of a company that is looking to optimize its distribution cycle. It offers the company management tools, essential data, and analytics that can be used in making important decisions.

Distribution planning for waste-management

Distribution planning for a company that works with waste management is relevant in almost every aspect. Waste management is a complex task to begin with. With government regulations in place and have set standards in the field, waste management not only needs pre-planning but also needs a flow of information to cut off possible difficulties that might occur en route.
Waste management companies have to maintain routes and times that are set by the government, with also a long list of regulations that they have to maintain at all times. There are set collection times, distribution periods, Weight limits, Implicated geofencing, etc. Accumulated, all these make manual planning one of the more tedious tasks to deal with.

How a distribution planning system benefits waste-management

Luckily, waste management planning does not need to be manual. With a distribution planning system, the tasks like analytical planning, mapping, routing, and notifying are all more or less a sleeper.

One of the most important features offered by a distribution planning system is data-driven, automated planning. With plans made and kept track of by software, everything is sure to stay in place. This takes away the possibilities of human error that are more or less inevitable in manual planning. Daily or weekly waste bucket replacement tasks are kept track of at all times with automated alerts along with schedules set in the software. The historical data from the plans is put into analytics and statistics that can optimize future decision-making.

As per set regulations, waste management companies have to follow strict mappings to operate. While it is a task that might look simple at a glance, it is tough to maintain when it comes to automated scheduling for an entire fleet. With a distribution planning system, all the areas that can be assigned to each of the vehicles in the fleet are kept track of automatically. Waste pick up and drop-off times are sensitive and usually done in the morning hours. Through automated scheduling with set maps in place, there is a higher chance that these times will be met by the driver.

Knowing and seeing actively where your fleet operates is something that is very tough manually. Routing solutions take care of that for the company very easily. Each vehicle knows exactly which route to operate on, with dedicated maps and GPS data transferred on multiple points. This way, routing can be accurate and flexible at the same time. Departed waste-carrying vehicles can be monitored while they’re operating and routes can be changed or modified according to multiple circumstances on the road. Benefiting both the company and the personnel operating the fleet, this increases time efficiency and chances of route mishaps.

Creating a flow of informative and statistical alerts is one of the most empowering features of a distribution planning system. Alerts are given based on data that the system receives from the fleet, about multiple factors that are prevalent in the cycle. Alerts are given both ways, to the system managers and fleet personnel. Alerts range widely- from simple route updates that a vehicle has crossed a certain point of the route, to updates that might set off a chain of alternative actions such as increased traffic or a natural disaster. More important updates relevant to waste management consists of the weight of vehicles dispatched, the number of vehicles en route, the fuel statuses of the vehicles, etc. Any emergency drawbacks can also be immediately forwarded to fleet personnel so that they can act accordingly. Alerts consist of all the peak use of the data that is derived from the entire operational cycle.

This segment also houses one more very important feature — delivery completion alerts. This specific part also provides the company with a digital receipt that acts as proof of task completion of the waste to the designated location. This is then ticked off in the planning and stored in the database for future task optimization of the company.

A distribution planning system is not only relevant for waste management but also essential when it comes to optimizing the waste management cycle. It optimizes and automates the planning system and makes sure the time frame of operations is used to its full potential. With software automation at work, the margin of error is also reduced. If integrating a distribution planning system is potentially the next step you want to take for your company to move forward, then providing you everything you need to get started, comes Nuport.

​Nuport takes control of the entire regional map of your waste management planning. Nuport ensures peak optimization of time management, as it makes sure every task input meets the time limitations. Automatic mapping and routing being its strong suits, it also ensures all your fleet notifications are sent to you on time and are synced with all the plans that are running. Nuport makes the best use of the data that flows through the waste management cycle. Schedule a demo today!