Recycling software allows companies to optimize the management of their inventory, recycling plans, and processes, as well as business operations. Whether you’re seeking a cloud-based solution free from having to keep local file servers or prefer the comfort of having your data on-premises, each of these ISRI members offers a different vision for their corner of the industry.
Anaheim, Calif.-based ScrapCATapp’s management team consists of catalytic converter professionals with over 50 cumulative years of converter buying and selling. Founders Scott Vollero and Christopher Gaines estimate they bought 15–18 million units over time, representing almost $1 billion in value. A ticker on the company’s website shows the value of transactions through the app since 2017 at nearly $119 million.
Vollero notes that there are 5,000 different types of converter codes. “It’s almost like evaluating precious stones or numismatic coins or something like that,” he says. “The yards didn’t have the time or the opportunity to learn all of that.” ScrapCATapp gives businesses a tablet loaded with its software that allows them to load their converters into the ScrapCATapp system, where the company can track their inventory; when a yard decides to sell, it posts its inventory into the ScrapCATapp auction/marketplace. Buyers review, bid, and purchase the units online.
“One of the things our system does is it provides a chain of custody from the beginning to the end. With every converter that comes through our system, we have a photo. We can find out who the seller was, the date, the time, everything,” Vollero says.
New in 2022: a buyer inventory app. “The only way to get a handle on converter theft is to (1) stop cash transactions, and (2) be able to identify the buyers and sellers of the converters,” Gaines says. ScrapCATapp does not buy, sell, or negotiate terms for converters because doing so could compromise the independent appraisal.
After 32 years in business, Rockville, Md.-based ScrapWare has learned a thing or two about staying ahead of the competition. The company continuously releases new features at a very fast pace, provides customer support on multiple channels, and runs on Oracle’s database.
How do you help customers measure and prove return on investment of your technology? For ScrapWare President Joseph Floam, it’s reduction or elimination for workforce needed to perform routine transactions, month-end tasks, and anti-theft compliance. “It is improved visibility and understanding of the business that is running our product,” he says. “The ability to decide unprofitable transactions or vendors and to eliminate or reduce these transactions. Elimination or reduction of failure points for internal theft.”
The company has plans for new things in 2022 but is not ready to discuss them publicly.
Inventory processing and management is a very common issue Holland, Ohio-based Shared Logic continues to expand on. “One thing we have learned in our almost 40 years of being in business is that each and every recycling company is unique in their own regard,” states Clint Matthews, Sales Manager. “We use customized system defaults and settings to allow our customers to handle these transactions and processes the best way they see fit for their business.”
For the last few years, Shared Logic has been expanding and enhancing its RIMAS (Recycling Industry Management and Accounting System) Mobile app for customers to process transactions as well as container management through their dispatching capabilities. Outside of the mobile application, the company is expanding RIMAS reporting capabilities. “We have been adding ‘Grid-View’ reporting for our customers to view and drill down into their real-time data without the reports being in a static format,” Matthews says. “This allows the end user to trace payables, receivables, and even inventory to the original transaction, without leaving an open report.”
The continued development of its mobile app is a high priority for 2022. Shared Logic also is looking to add in some Microsoft Power BI tools, but this project is still in its infancy. The company is expanding its workforce to enhance its documentation, database tools, and web portal.
Keeping clients in the know
From traditional wide-ranging announcements to direct user communication (emails, updates, etc.), to onboarding and training, vendors ensure customers stay informed. The companies collaborate closely with customers to make sure they’re getting the most out of their programs.
Materials management, environmental health and safety, and bookkeeping are just a few of the areas in which software can help run a business. Cameras, scanners, and data collection processes have joined inventory tracking and correct valuation in software priorities for ISRI members. Expect to hear more from members in the software space at ISRI2022, the industry’s largest convention and exposition, March 21-24 in Las Vegas.
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