Prague, 13/10/2022 – Asekol, the nationwide WEEE take-back collector operating in the Czech Republic, has undergone a full digitalization process to make its everyday operations efficient and transparent. The digital transformation has simplified and reduced the manual workload of employees, optimized transport, and logistics challenges, and prevented the occurrence of inaccuracy issues.
ASEKOL a.s. is a non-profit company that organizes a nationwide take-back system for electrical and electronic equipment in the Czech Republic. It provides collection, transport, and recycling of worn-out and obsolete EEE, including funding for the entire system. They service nearly 15.000 clients – both manufacturers and distributors utilize its services.
To fulfill their legal obligation to collect 65 percent of the EEE products put on the market in the last three years, the company manages a very complex infrastructure made of 22.000 collection points, 24 processing sites, and 40 partners who manage transport in regions. In 2021, the company collected a total of 44 580 tons of electrical equipment in the Czech Republic (the whole group that operates also in the Slovak Republic and Poland, collected 102,625 tons).
The biggest challenge of the company’s day-to-day operations is working with data over time, while the greatest dynamics happen on the level of transport. “We have carriers divided into several categories. Some of them provide regional transport, i.e., collection of electrical equipment from collection yards and other collection points based on orders entered into the system by collection points. We also cooperate with carriers or collection companies that use vehicles with hydraulic arms to collect stationary containers. And we also cooperate with carriers for so-called “ad-hoc requirements”, such as the collection of large-capacity containers,” explained Šárka Koháková.
Full-scale digitalization of the company’s operations
The high complexity of managing operations motivated Asekol to digitize and automate the processes to the maximum extent possible, and thus make its operation more efficient. With this intention, Asekol approached Sensoneo, its long-term partner in digitization. The result is an ISA solution (the adaptation of Sensoneo’s Take-back system) – an information system that works with real-time data online.
The solution includes modules for all partners of the ecosystem: Representatives of the collection points are mostly using the Ordering Module to submit their orders. On average, 3347 orders are processed per day. Carriers, transport companies, and drivers are using Transport and Dispatching Module which automatically manages allocations of the orders from collection points through the delivery until the processing centre. The Warehouse Module is focused on monitoring the receipt and delivery of material, and the Processing Centre Module accepts orders from carriers, and confirms the weight of the received material and its processing. All modules are available in the form of desktop tools or mobile applications.
The Container Management Module has a specific purpose and covers an extensive agenda linked directly to finance. Asekol manages thousands of street containers that do not need to be only emptied, but also relocated. It is necessary to know not only the current location of each bin, but also to record requests for moves, removals, or new installations. This module is linked with the Damage Event Management tool where regional representatives enter damage events.
Logistics is the biggest challenge
The automation of transport and logistics is the most complex part of the entire solution. Once the collection points create a transport order, the request is sent to all authorized carriers for that type of material. Therefore, only those carriers who are authorized for the material can see the offer. “Subsequently, the tool behaves like a “marketplace” applying the “first come first served” rule,” explained Jaroslav Galáš, CPO of the Sensoneo company, the practical functionality of the tool, and continued:
Transparency, efficiency, and real-time traceability
Thanks to the solution, all operations and processes have been significantly simplified and accelerated, while the company is now able to gather real-time data directly from the field: “Without this data, it was difficult for this information to reach us or not reach us at all. Today, we have this data immediately,” explains Šárka Koháková and continued:
