Suur-Savo cooperative store and Encore Environmental Services – intelligent waste management with SMART technology

Osuuskauppa Suur-Savo is a Finnish cooperative store that operates in 12 municipalities in the South Savo region and a pioneer in the digitalisation of waste management. Suur-Savo’s environmentally responsible operations provided the perfect starting point for further improving waste management services at all its locations. Europress met Suur-Savo’s demands and needs by supplying a SMART digital service package that enables the intelligent management of its entire waste management equipment fleet.

Suur-Savo has a total of 71 waste management devices at its locations, all of which have now been fitted with the Europress SMART remote service. The service enables waste management equipment to be optimised for different types of waste at each location. By operating in a sustainable way and investing in the most technologically advance waste management equipment, Suur-Savo is doing its part to look after the environment.

Suur-Savo also demands responsible environmental deeds from its partners. Encore Environmental Services offers customers in the retail sector effective and environmentally friendly recycling services. As with Osuuskauppa Suur-Savo, the policy of Encore Environmental Services is to serve as an innovator in the circular economy by offering smart service solutions to its customers.

Encore’s focus on quality in all operations and its digital service solutions also require advanced solutions from its waste management partners. For Encore as an innovator in the circular economy, the natural choice was to introduce the Europress SMART digital service package. This has also enabled the digitalization of the waste management equipment provided by Suur-Savo to its own customers. Technological advances and new features ensure superiority in the quality of waste management services and provide a new form of added value to customers.

The introduction of Europress SMART has generated savings in IT expenses, CO2 emissions from transports and driving arrangements. In addition, response times have dropped, and transportation planning has become more efficient.

Encore’s cooperation partner Punkaharjun Kuljetus Muhonen is a transportation company that operates in the Savonlinna area and throughout Eastern and Southeastern Finland. The company offers its customers in the industrial and the retail sectors environmentally friendly waste management services based on efficient transport planning. The solution for this was Europress SMART, which has helped Punkaharjun Kuljetus Muhonen save both time and kilometers.

Since the distances that have to be covered in Finland are long, the Europress SMART digital fleet management system has helped anticipate transports and streamline driving arrangements by efficiently utilising both outbound and return freight. Thanks to the reduction in kilometers, half a day has been saved in transport times and CO2 emissions have been reduced. In addition to environmental benefits, significant cost savings are also generated.

Following the introduction of SMART, the role of planning has become even more important, and it has been able to utilize the working time that has been freed up in customer service, for example, for other tasks. In the past, fill levels had to be monitored manually, and there were a lot of customer contacts during peak seasons. The SMARTwaste App provides advance notice of when waste compactors are expected to be full straight to a mobile device, eliminating the need to manually check fill levels. In sparsely populated areas separated by long distances, predictability is a great advantage for enabling more efficient transports.

SMART tools have been especially useful during the corona pandemic, as it provides precise information to different users remotely. The ease of use and predictability of the system provide security and confidence, allowing waste management to be handled efficiently and on time. The latest updates on SMART also provide better traceability in terms of device management.

Teaming up with Europress has allowed Suur-Savo, Encore and Punkaharju Kuljetus Muhonen to operate as innovators and offer their own customers a completely new kind of added value. SMART services enable all partners to demonstrate their responsibility!