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Phoning It In: Metal Management Automates Its Workforce Management
Leading metals recycler strikes gold with phone-based fleet automation system
Mountain View, CA March 3, 2006 Metal Management Inc. is one of the largest full-service metal recyclers in the United States, with net sales approaching two billion dollars annually. The company has 40 facilities in 13 states and, for its fiscal year 2005, Metal Management processed more than five million tons of scrap metal.
The core of the company's operations is its pick-up and delivery business. Metal Management drivers collect scrap metal from customer sites and deliver the product to recycling facilities. A time-consuming and labor-intensive process, it would not be a stretch to say that the company's success hinges to a considerable degree on the efficient operation of this activity.
As part of its commitment to customers, Metal Management has agreed to complete scrap pick-up requests within 24 hours from the time an order is placed, and customers require that Metal Management provide an audit trail that tracks scrap pick-up from the point of order to payment on the load.
Phoning It In
In an effort to optimize office and field resources, and in conjunction with a corporate initiative to implement a paperless payroll system, the Chicago branch of Metal Management deployed in 2004 an automated mobile workforce management solution from Xora Inc.
The Xora service enables drivers to record timesheet and job status information on GPS-enabled cell phones, while office employees have access to Web-based maps and reports that show the status of drivers throughout the day. Metal Management in Chicago handles fleet operations for nine area collection facilities, its drivers completing in excess of 1,400 pick-ups and deliveries each week.
To further assist its fleet management program, Metal Management has integrated Xora with route optimization software as well as bar code scanners that can be attached to a phone. According to Metal Management executives, the result has been a system that provides dispatchers with a comprehensive, real-time view of fleet operations.
The Old Way
Before Xora, customer orders were processed manually and data collected by drivers was recorded by hand, then passed to a desk clerk for entry into the company computer system. Drivers were also required to hand-deliver bills of lading, or receipts, to customer contacts at job sites, indicating completion of an order. If a driver was unable to easily locate the customer contact at the job site, tracking him down meant it would take the driver that much longer to get to his next assignment.
Mountain View, CA March 3, 2006 Metal Management Inc. is one of the largest full-service metal recyclers in the United States, with net sales approaching two billion dollars annually. The company has 40 facilities in 13 states and, for its fiscal year 2005, Metal Management processed more than five million tons of scrap metal.
The core of the company's operations is its pick-up and delivery business. Metal Management drivers collect scrap metal from customer sites and deliver the product to recycling facilities. A time-consuming and labor-intensive process, it would not be a stretch to say that the company's success hinges to a considerable degree on the efficient operation of this activity.
As part of its commitment to customers, Metal Management has agreed to complete scrap pick-up requests within 24 hours from the time an order is placed, and customers require that Metal Management provide an audit trail that tracks scrap pick-up from the point of order to payment on the load.
Phoning It In
In an effort to optimize office and field resources, and in conjunction with a corporate initiative to implement a paperless payroll system, the Chicago branch of Metal Management deployed in 2004 an automated mobile workforce management solution from Xora Inc.
The Xora service enables drivers to record timesheet and job status information on GPS-enabled cell phones, while office employees have access to Web-based maps and reports that show the status of drivers throughout the day. Metal Management in Chicago handles fleet operations for nine area collection facilities, its drivers completing in excess of 1,400 pick-ups and deliveries each week.
To further assist its fleet management program, Metal Management has integrated Xora with route optimization software as well as bar code scanners that can be attached to a phone. According to Metal Management executives, the result has been a system that provides dispatchers with a comprehensive, real-time view of fleet operations.
The Old Way
Before Xora, customer orders were processed manually and data collected by drivers was recorded by hand, then passed to a desk clerk for entry into the company computer system. Drivers were also required to hand-deliver bills of lading, or receipts, to customer contacts at job sites, indicating completion of an order. If a driver was unable to easily locate the customer contact at the job site, tracking him down meant it would take the driver that much longer to get to his next assignment.
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