The waste management landscape for large companies is riddled with complexities, especially when they operate across 100 or more locations. As these organizations grapple with significant operational and reporting complexity from self-managing, many turn to waste brokers or national accounts teams inside a hauler to manage their waste and recycling needs. A few even choose to self-manage.
Which way is best?
We believe that there is no “right answer.” The best answer for your Big Company is likely found by understanding the tradeoffs that each opportunity presents.
This article explores the tradeoffs Big Companies face in managing their waste and the options available to them.
Before we dive deeper, it’s essential to understand that the waste management sector has evolved significantly in recent years. Companies are now focusing on sustainability, cost efficiency, regulatory compliance, and operational transparency, leading to a reevaluation of how they approach waste management.
By the end of this article, you will gain insights into the challenges big companies face in waste management and the innovative solutions available through each avenue available to them.
What Are the Common Trade-Offs for Big Companies in Managing Waste & Recycling?
Large companies face several challenges when managing waste and recycling across multiple locations. Here are some common tradeoffs and pain points:
1. Complexity of Operations
Managing waste across 100+ locations means dealing with myriad different regulations, local providers, and service standards. Each region may have its waste disposal regulations, making compliance a complex endeavor no matter which path is chosen.
Pushing this to an external control mechanism, a broker or national accounts, can simplify this greatly. Now the Big Company has one area to direct all its issues instead of 100+ vendors.
2. Cost Management
Waste disposal costs and headaches can quickly add up, especially if contracts are not coordinated with the reality locations and/or compared against every invoice in a time-sensitive manner. Newly added fees and varying rates can lead to unexpected expenses if not audited, no matter which path is chosen. Invoice processing automation is necessary to quickly & accurately get approved invoices through to the AP side of things, so that vendors don’t enact the dreaded “service shut off for non-payment”! .
No matter the path, this part of managing waste & recycling is often a challenge for even the largest companies. See how a large hauler even instituted restrictions on how it is willing to receive payments.
3. Data Visibility and Reporting
Without a centralized platform or a single source of truth for waste and recycling data, everyone (brokers, haulers, and companies) can struggle to collect and analyze data on their waste and recycling production. This lack of visibility and accuracy can hinder efforts to reduce waste, costs, improve sustainability practices, and can become especially troublesome when producing sustainability reports. (Please don’t key these out manually!)
4. Sustainability Goals
Many large companies have set ambitious sustainability goals. However, achieving these targets becomes challenging without effective data management. Regardless of which path is chosen, the data needs to be reliable, timely, and trusted. If the data is only available 1x per year…is that really helping anyone decide how to improve in a fast-changing world? Knowing that your chosen partner has the most accurate software for waste and recycling data can play a crucial role in tracking and optimizing sustainability efforts.
Why Do Big Companies Rely on Waste Brokers or National Accounts?
Many large companies work with waste brokers or national accounts teams for several reasons:
1. Convenience
Waste brokers and national accounts teams simplify the process for Big Companies by serving as intermediaries between the operating business locations and the many waste haulers necessary to support large networks of properties, providing a single point of contact for waste management needs.
Convenience is the opposite side of the coin from complexity.
2. Negotiation Power
Waste brokers and national accounts approach negotiations from different angles, but with similar outcomes.
Waste brokers often have established relationships with multiple waste haulers, especially smaller regional and local haulers (their strength), allowing waste brokers to negotiate good rates and quality services on behalf of their clients.
National Accounts teams often rely on their branded local operations as their primary service provider. Interestingly, that can lead to some internal arm wrestling if the National Accounts sold a location at $1,000/month, maybe the local operations would have priced it at $1,200.
So while waste brokers and national accounts teams are using different angles for the same resulting solution, both are ultimately solving a procurement puzzle based on their relative strengths.
3. Expertise & Knowledge
Experienced third-party managers have in-depth knowledge of the waste management industry, including regulations and best practices, which can benefit companies lacking internal expertise.
Few large companies want to do “in-house” what waste brokers or national accounts teams can do for the large companies.
Why?
Because then the responsibility is entirely on the internal team at the large company. There is a certain amount of responsibility shifting if there is a third party involved. Someone to point at and say, “It’s their fault, let’s fire them and get a new third party in here”.
Trying to stand up an internal team of knowledgeable people with the expertise and the systems, that’s not easy to do even in today’s software + remote work era, which is why only the most committed large companies do it.
4. Scalability
For companies with 100+ locations, managing waste through a broker or national accounts can provide scalability, especially in managing day-to-day service issues. Trying to ensure consistent service across all sites from an internal team results in bandwidth constraints during busy times and excess capacity during slow times.
By utilizing third parties, big companies can outsource the scaling of support to a third party. The presumption is that the third party has the expertise and customer diversification to balance out the support loads without underperforming.
The Hidden Cost of Not Managing Waste Strategically
While outsourcing waste management to brokers and national accounts can be a simple and effective solution, companies have to consider the short and long-term impacts.
How important is having full visibility into and control of waste and recycling data and expenses? How important is it to be able to produce and verify ground truth sustainability numbers?
The tradeoff of convenience may be paying more for services, not capturing opportunities for equipment efficiency, and risking that sustainability numbers are harder to validate.
Many businesses misallocate the true cost of delegating waste and recycling by not understanding the tradeoffs being made. By knowing which requirements are critical to your big company goals, you can get what you need, no matter which path you choose!
How Can Software Solutions Transform Waste Management for Large Companies?
Embracing waste management software can revolutionize how large companies manage their waste, regardless of which path they choose. Here’s how:
1. Centralized Data Management
Software platforms allow companies to centralize their waste management data, providing a comprehensive view of waste generation across all locations. This transparency helps identify trends and areas for improvement, as well as provides accurate and timely answers for everyone involved.
2. Real-Time Tracking
With the right sensors in place, companies can track their waste in real-time and predict future service needs (hello Pioneer, you beautiful compactor monitor you!), allowing for immediate adjustments in waste management strategies on a site-by-site level as necessary. Waiting for the invoice to come 30 days later isn’t necessary anymore.
3. Cost Analysis
Advanced software can analyze line-item level waste management costs across locations, enabling companies to identify cost-saving opportunities due to on-the-ground issues and budget for waste disposal more effectively. Invoice automation tools further streamline financial management, reducing administrative overhead.
4. Sustainability Tracking
Some software solutions come equipped with sustainability tracking features, allowing companies to measure their progress toward waste reduction and recycling goals. This capability is essential for organizations committed to improving their environmental impact.
What Options Do Companies Have for Independent Waste Management?
It’s not very common yet, but some large companies are considering how they might manage their waste internally. Their options include a combination of:
1. In-House Waste Management Teams
Establishing an in-house team dedicated to waste management to provide greater control over operations and ensure alignment with company goals. These teams can be trained to use waste management software effectively to attempt to collaborate with third-party teams or even replicate what third-party teams do today.
2. Waste Data Management Software
It would be unwise for a large company to rely on its existing facilities operations software to handle the unique complexities of the waste world. Investing in unique-to-waste software is absolutely a must if this path is being considered. Just make sure the software you choose has a robust API so that you can integrate data feeds seamlessly with other existing systems. Don’t be that company using SFTP file uploads between systems!
3. Data Analytics Software
Utilizing data analytics tools can enhance decision-making processes. Software like Power BI is a great visualization tool, but it requires the waste and recycling data to be provided cleanly. PowerBI isn’t going to make the Mona Lisa out of data spaghetti, even though both are Italian! The better, more accurate, and timely your data, the easier it is to analyze waste generation patterns and make informed adjustments to your waste management strategies.
4. Training and Development
In an era of AI, it’s easy to forget that we humans are still heavily involved in this!
Investing in employee training on waste management best practices can give your team the confidence to take ownership of waste reduction initiatives. Supporting a culture of sustainability within the organization starts with knowledge and trust being invested in your people.
5. Partnership with Technology Providers
Large companies can partner with technology providers specializing in waste management software. These partnerships can offer access to cutting-edge technology and supportive training on how to use the software for your unique situation.
So… Waste Broker? National Account? Internal team?
Big companies face unique challenges in waste management, particularly when operating across multiple locations. We’ve seen big companies try all different ways to approach their answer to this question. And then change their minds years later and take a different path yet again.
No one is standing still!
We expect that most will choose a waste broker or national accounts team, with a few enterprising risk takers choosing to build their own mousetrap using available tools.
Regardless of which path you choose, if you’re choosing how best to manage 100+ locations because you're a waste broker, a national account team, or the one with 100+ locations, we’re here with a suite of software solutions to help you.
- Sensors for bins
- Compactor monitors
- Invoice Gathering & Auditing
- Sustainability Reporting
It’s a wild and diverse world out there. The days of one-answer-fits-all are over. Find the solution that fits your needs and goals.
Know our pricing plans and schedule a call with our sales team!
