Yard management systems streamline the calculation of how a business is performing in real-time.
By Troy Webber
When it comes to technology, the push pull of staying the same because you don’t want to change, and the reality that comes with knowing you must change, faces every business in today’s fast paced world of AI, Chat GPT and cloud based software offerings. The reality is that software is niche oriented, and it saves the business owner time and money, and an investment may be required at the start.
How does technology increase the bottom line and making money for the auto recycler?
Depending on the needs of your business, there are a few tech options to choose from, such as in reporting, financials and other time management tools.
It can be as simple as scheduling when to run your reports, when to submit your financials to QuickBooks, use accounting software to do your financials, or using a software to help automate your recycling business so you can free your time to actually run the business.
Technology allows me to reduce my largest expense. In my facility, prior to creating my own yard management system, I had the same problem that a lot of other recyclers have. I would spend more time creating reports and gathering data than I would analyzing it. I would spend the first week of every month running reports and collecting metrics from all three of my locations. Then I would spend days calculating the numbers just to see how businesses performed last month. Only then could I meet with my teams and talk about a plan. By the time we figured anything out, we were already half way through the next month!
By embracing technology we were able to understand our needs first. Then, we created a cloud-based operating system that allows access to our data from anywhere in the world at any time. We designed the software in a way that presents all of our data and metrics quickly and easily so that I can check on the performance of any department in real time. Now, I can talk to a manager on the phone and know that we are literally looking at the same report and make changes to the business while sipping cocktails on beach in Hawaii. Well, not really, but you get the idea … I think it is important to have a review of the needs you face, then decide what type of technology can help your business the most, and consider the financial investment.
What technology can use as auto recyclers to help manage our business better?
Just to name a few:
- CHAT GPT is a helpful tool in writing copy for any purpose. You can use it to write brochures, catalogs, websites, etc. It does it quickly and accurately depending on the style you choose.
- AI can help you develop various protocols or standard operating procedures without the time investment by you and/or staff. Choose a program and input details for it to consider and you will be given a result. Tweaking is optional if you are not happy with your results.
- FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING TOOLS like QuickBooks, Zoho, Netsuite, Vareto and others can all be downloaded from online sources. These tools help businesses be more efficient with time by connecting directly to your existing data to produce more accurate and timely results for decision making and metrics.
With anything that is an investment of time, money and other resources, it is always wise to talk to your colleagues, staff and advisors to make the best decisions for your auto recycling business. Please feel free to reach to me with any type of questions if you think I can be of assistance.
Troy Webber, founder/CEO of YardSmart, created a new paradigm for the auto recycling industry, stemming from his desire to use predictive data to ensure his auto recycling business would thrive. With his background as a third generation auto recycler and owner at Chesterfield Auto Parts in Richmond, VA, he designed YardSmart as a custom yard management software that is the only cloud-based software of its kind worldwide. It was beta tested with his competitors for two years and is now available to the industry. He hopes to see a fourth generation run the recycling business his grandfather started 75 years ago.
