Problems faced by consumers

One of the foremost problems in waste management discussed today (like it is in most supply chains) is trust, accountability and good governance. As a buyer/consumer you have zero access to a company’s supply chain, particularly that of a company that is managing your waste: either collecting, segregating, recycling or processing it.

Problems faced by a waste management company

Each person that is a part of the waste management supply chain will agree that the complexities that go into the waste supply chain are unlike that of any other industry. Proper management/ tracking of waste through a software requires close coordination  and collaboration with all the stakeholders involved at every touch point in the supply chain- collection facilities, segregation facilities, transporters, recyclers, processors and brands/ companies whose waste is collected. The absence of this kind of close collaboration results softwares that ignore the core requirements of the participants, giving a generic supply chain software that barely scratches the surface- and doesn’t give true traceability.

What have we done about it?

Lucro Plastecycle has been using Satma CE- a blockchain based software focussed on waste supply chain management and for the various participants in the waste value chain. We have been tracking the movement of our waste from the time waste is deposited in a waste collection centre by either a waste-picker, an aggregator, material collected through our work with municipalities and as waste moves through the waste value chain: to our segregation facilities, our washing plant, our recycling and processing plant to the final manufacture of packaging made from the recycled waste- thereby tracking the circularity of the waste.

How Satma CE has helped our internal systems

Helping us with governance
This has helped us offer clarity in the waste touchpoints to our internal teams, our buyers, regulatory authorities and our wider stakeholders. It has also helped us give summary reports with proof of material used, quantity of waste used in the final packaging, where the waste used was sourced from and the environmental benefits achieved through the use of the specified material. Satma CE has also helped us give seamless, real time chain of custody proof to regulatory authorities.

Tracking our social impact
A lot of our social impact stems from the way we conduct business, the people we work with, how we work with our communities & the people that work with us. Therefore, it was imperative for us, when tracking this impact, to use something that becomes an integral part of each touch point of our supply chain; something that would add value and not take away from the real work by doing too much and separate number crunching.

Real time Quality checks and payments
We take great pride in being one of the few waste management entities that does not buy waste material on credit. Most Waste management supply chains can end up taking numerous days to complete payments, resulting in the maximum load of credit on the first mile waste-pickers and other entities engaged in waste collection activities. Satma has enabled us to conduct real time quality checks, approvals and payments within a few minutes of the material being dropped at our collection facilities.

Managing our inventory
Tracking our stock- at collection, recycling and processing has never been more personalized and easy with Satma’s inventory module made specifically for waste management. This has helped focus purchase of waste based on material requirement, meaning no dead inventory and avoid over inventory to avoid working capital shortages.

Vendor rating through profitability analysis
Going beyond real time material quality check, our facilities that carry out segregation are able to generate reports on segregation and successfully compute the profitability/loss we get from each truck/load of waste that is brought into our facilities.

With the increasing price pressures in the supply chain, we have invested in doing business in a sustainable way. Not only has this rewarded us benefits in the short term, we foresee quantifiable benefits financially in the long run as well.