Waters waste goes paperless, improving cashflow and reducing costs

Realising profitable growth and expansion is every business owner’s dream. But achieving this isn’t always easy. If systems are ineffective, increased order volumes can be a mixed blessing and put pressure on the resources of any business. Particularly in the waste management sector where margins are tight and services operate around the clock.

“Manual systems were holding us back”

For Tom Waters, Operations Director at Waters Waste and his management team, putting in more hours and working longer days seemed to be the way ahead to ensure things were done. As the company expanded it soon become apparent that its manual systems simply weren’t up to the job – indeed, they were holding things back.

“Time was the main problem,” said Tom. “We were spending a lot of time moving recurring jobs onwards and re-writing them out which meant it was easy to miss jobs. As we got busier and the business expanded we knew we couldn’t continue in the same vein, a new system had to be found.”

When the directors of Waters Waste came across Mandata, they liked their approach to developing integrated software.

Systems give room for growth

A key requirement was to have a cost effective system in place to save time and simplify working procedures. “Initially we looked for a bespoke system to cope with our unique needs. We’re not the same as general haulage companies; we have collections, rather than deliveries,” explains Tom.

“We discovered Mandata’s software had features to support the idiosyncrasies of the waste tanker haulage sector that would suit our needs perfectly.”

Since implementing Mandata’s TMS Waters Waste has grown. With further depots in Doncaster, Newcastle and Milton Keynes, the company is expanding its geographic reach with the ability to offer an improved level of service to a growing customer base.

“Our new systems are saving us time and have given us scope to grow. We’ve added four new tankers to the fleet since February 2013 with more to come on board,” says Tom.

“Thinking back, we were at bursting point – if things had got any busier, it would have put the company under enormous strain. Now, Mandata’s TMS is enabling staff to use their time far more productively and effectively than previously, freeing them to do other important jobs that they need to do.”

“Mandata is such a major asset to our business; we would struggle to be where we are now without it,” enthuses Neal Waters, Managing Director. “It’s brought real added value, helping us to make positive progress in delivering tangible benefits, saving time across critical functions: planning, invoicing and accounts.

Return on investment

Quantifying the return on investment, he estimates the software is saving the company £12,000 per year in administration time alone – savings that are being re-invested in the business. It’s also delivering advantages to customers who have seen a difference since Mandata came on line in 2013. Now everything can be done at a press of a button and information sent by email including waste transfer notes, which means customers can be sent information immediately.

Elongated manual processes are also a thing of the past. Invoices which used to be manually typed are now completed by Mandata. Once a fortnightly activity, invoicing is now a daily routine and as customers pay quicker, debtor days have almost halved from 60 – 90 days to 40 days.

“Mandata TMS has helped in saving a lot of money this year, and the more we grow, the more money we will save with Mandata,” said Neal. “Time wise, the system has already paid for itself.