Collection Route Software for the UCO collection industry

Google “route planning” or “route optimization” and you will see at least 200 million hits.  Hundreds of these software packages exist, all promising efficiency, expense reduction, less time, lower miles, less fuel, happier customers and more revenues. These packages must be important or there wouldn’t be so many of them. But the industry is not one size fits all. Finding collection route software as opposed to route optimization software can be a good start for used cooking oil collectors, but you can do even better. 

Collection route software is extremely important in the used cooking oil collection business(UCO) but few UCO collectors know that it exists, that they need it or that it can transform their business.

But will any collection route software package work for a UCO collector? The answer is No. Not only does software specific to collection routing exist, but software specific to used cooking oil collection routing—software designed just for your business—exists and can save you time, money and headaches.

What does collection route software do?

Route optimization tools optimize a set of routes according to the constraints that are characteristic of that particular industry. The delivery industry (UPS) operates with a very different set of parameters than the solid waste pickup industry (trash haulers.) Collection route software used by trash haulers won’t work for UPS and vice-versa. Once upon a time, software for trash haulers might have been the only option for used cooking oil collectors. That’s no longer the case.

Fortunately, there is a collection route software package designed specifically for UCO collectors. It is COST, by Reiter Software. What does COST do for a UCO collector?

The optimization challenge for a UCO collector is to maximize oil collected while minimizing time and resources expended (trucks and people). A UCO collector who picks up 3000 gallons in one day will grow sales and profits a lot faster than the one who picks up 3000 gallons in 2 days. 

Does Reiter’s COST collection route software maximize oil pickup by just minimizing the miles driven, providing an ‘efficient’ route? No. 

What does Reiter’s collection route software do?

The key to optimizing the amount of oil collected is to employ the knowledge of how much oil is at each location. Reiter’s COST system has a proprietary fill rate tracking module that predicts how much oil is at each location. This knowledge combined with route optimization software provides an optimal route which maximizes oil collected which in turn maximizes profit. (Picking up 15 half full tanks is a lot less profitable then picking up 15 full tanks.)

Maximized Collection Efficiency = Maximized Profit and Growth

How does Reiter’s COST collection route software do it?

Each day the COST system helps you design a set of routes given the trucks and drivers available. Each driver has a wireless device (usually a tablet) which defines his route. The integrated GPS gives him turn by turn guidance designed to simplify his route and maximize the oil collected. At each stop the driver records the pickup on his device capturing critical data.

An operations supervisor can see where his driver’s are at all times with Reiter’s collection route software. As emergencies arise the supervisor can change the driver’s route dynamically within the software to handle the emergency and then return him to the route. 

With dynamic route design, turn by turn guidance, addresses, company names and client details a new driver can be onboarded very quickly, reducing training expenses and unproductive hours.

In sum, Reiter’s collection route software for UCO collectors maximizes profits by

• Maximizing the oil collected
• Onboarding drivers more quickly
• Dynamic routing and rerouting
• Providing dynamic supervisory oversight

The data collected at each stop is critical to profits as well and will be the subject of a future blog.

Call now to learn how Reiter’s COST Software can help you grow your UCO company.