While it is well-known that the circular economy conserves natural resources, its everyday business does, in fact, involve a great deal of red tape and paperwork. “Processing orders is often a lengthy procedure and prone to errors,” explained Helen Backhaus, a project manager at REMONDIS IT Services. “It makes no difference whether an order comes in by email, fax or telephone.” The fundamental problem remains the same.
Sectors such as the waste management industry are, for good reason, regulated and monitored, which means that the business generates many different documents. “Waste transfer notes, weight notes etc – all of this data has to be checked manually and, in many cases, entered into the ERP systems by hand,” Backhaus continued, describing the work that must be carried out every day by waste management firms across Germany. These manual processes are also the reason why, depending on the service provider, it can take up to eight weeks before the customers receive their invoice.
A standardised digital language called AvaL
As far as REMONDIS IT’s AvaL team is concerned, this working practice should become a thing of the past and preferably sooner rather than later. The AvaL project has, like no other, the potential to replace this mass of documents, forms and Excel spreadsheets with a smart system dedicated to transferring data and documents. At the heart of this system is an interface called ‘AvaL’, a German abbreviation for ‘Austausch von auftragsbezogenen Leistungsdaten’, translated literally as ‘exchange of order-related service data’.
Despite its cumbersome name, this interface is more than simply an abstract IT solution for computer nerds: AvaL has what it takes to become a program that can truly remove red tape from the sector.
“This interface enables automated, digital communication between the various systems used in the waste management sector,” explained Backhaus. Thanks to AvaL, data can be automatically exchanged between the ERP systems operated by the companies using the interface. “This means that an order that is created in one system is automatically transferred to the partner’s system.” The data can then be checked and further processed there without it having to be entered manually into the system again. This saves time and reduces the error rate. An invoice that took weeks to draw up in the past could be created within just a few hours or even minutes.
AvaL works using clearly defined data fields that are the same for all of the system users. “The interface can be linked up to the companies’ individual systems,” Backhaus said. And, in most cases, bespoke connections are necessary. “A company’s IT system is something that has grown and developed over many years. Having to make adjustments is the rule rather than the exception here,” Backhaus concluded. “Which is why we are taking it step by step, i.e. one ERP system after the other.”
AvaL creates the following benefits for REMONDIS’ customers
REMONDIS’ partners and customers will benefit in a whole host of ways once it has been implemented. Automating the processes means that orders, service data and documents (such as delivery notes and weight notes) can be processed much faster. Customers will, for example, receive information about their waste collections and the volumes collected far more quickly.
Furthermore, it will reduce the error rate. As the data is automatically exchanged between the systems, it no longer has to be entered by hand – something that often leads to errors. This increases the level of accuracy of the information transferred. Customers, in turn, will spend less time having to try and get hold of information and sort out problems.
AvaL also means more transparency for REMONDIS’ customers. They can already use the company’s customer portal whenever they wish to check on the status of their orders and access their documents. “As a rule, though, AvaL will mean that they can see their documents more quickly.”
AvaL is currently being used to exchange data with a number of operators involved in Germany’s Dual System packaging recycling scheme. “Several partners have already joined; other are still in the project phase,” Backhaus remarked. Plans for the future include using AvaL to exchange data with large industrial customers. What’s more, AvaL should also be used in-house to exchange data and documents within the REMONDIS Group. “Not all of our companies are linked up to AvaL yet,” Backhaus commented.
It is also clear that this system is voluntary and that each partner is free to choose whether they wish to integrate the AvaL interface into their business or not. “We will, of course, continue to accept printed data and documents as well as data and documents by email,” Backhaus pointed out. “The only thing that we don’t have any more are fax machines.”
Image credits: image 1: Adobe Stock: Budi; image 2: Adobe Stock: epitavi; image 3: Freepik: originalmockup, avalstandard.de
