Ostol - Fleet Management That Works for You

How Ostol Revolutionized Fleet Management for MSL Group: A Case Study in Waste Management

Managing a fleet of vehicles across multiple cities can be a logistical challenge for any business, especially in the waste management sector. MSL Group, which operates throughout the south of France, including Marseille, faced significant challenges with managing their fleet of waste collection trucks and ensuring efficient operations. With vehicles operating in diverse areas and a high volume of waste to manage, the company's operations were often bogged down by inefficiencies, manual processes, and lack of real-time insights.

To address these challenges, MSL Group turned to Ostol, a flexible and customizable fleet management solution that helped the company streamline operations, reduce costs, and gain greater visibility over its entire fleet. This case study highlights how Ostol empowered MSL Group to digitalize their processes, eliminate paperwork, and optimize their fleet's performance.

The Challenge: Dispersed Operations, Paperwork Overload, and Lack of Real-Time Data

MSL Group, with its fleet of waste collection trucks spread across multiple regions, faced several operational bottlenecks:

Geographically Dispersed Operations: With trucks operating in various cities, including Marseille and surrounding areas in the south of France, it was difficult for the management team to get a unified view of their fleet's status in real-time.
Manual Paperwork: The company still relied on paper logs and Excel sheets to track vehicle mileage, expenses, and maintenance schedules. This not only caused delays but also led to inconsistencies and errors in tracking crucial data.
Lack of Fleet Visibility: The logistics manager often had to rely on phone calls to check the availability of vehicles and drivers, leading to confusion and inefficiencies when it came to scheduling waste collection routes.
Maintenance and Document Management: Keeping track of vehicle maintenance, especially for the trucks used in waste collection, was a significant challenge. The company had no centralized system for monitoring maintenance schedules, insurance renewals, and other crucial paperwork.
High Operational Costs: Without real-time tracking and optimization tools, MSL Group struggled to control fuel consumption, maintenance costs, and driver-related expenses, resulting in higher-than-necessary operational costs.

The Solution: Tailored Fleet Management by Ostol

To address these challenges, MSL Group partnered with Ostol to implement a customized fleet management solution that would centralize all fleet-related data and processes. Ostol’s flexibility and deep understanding of logistics made it the ideal partner for MSL Group’s needs.

1. Centralized Information for Real-Time Visibility

Ostol’s platform provided MSL Group with a centralized dashboard, giving them an instant, real-time view of their entire fleet. This allowed the logistics manager to easily track:

Vehicle location and status across various cities and regions.
Driver assignments and the duration of each job or route.
Fuel consumption and maintenance costs associated with each truck.

This real-time visibility eliminated the need for constant communication with regional managers or drivers to track vehicle status, which used to take hours. The logistics team could now make data-driven decisions with ease, ensuring smooth operations across all regions.

2. Paperwork Digitalization and Process Automation

One of the major benefits of implementing Ostol was the elimination of manual paperwork. The logistics manager no longer had to spend hours on the phone or sorting through paper logs. Instead:

Mileage logs, expenses, and maintenance records were all recorded digitally in the Ostol system.
Drivers could log their daily inspections, fuel usage, and any maintenance issues directly through the Ostol mobile app.
Invoices, receipts, and documents were uploaded and attached to each trip or vehicle record, making financial tracking and compliance much more streamlined.

This system removed the risk of human error in handwriting and manual data entry, improving both accuracy and efficiency.

3. Custom Modules for Waste Collection Fleet

Waste management vehicles, such as compactor trucks and dump trucks, require specialized maintenance schedules and operational tracking. Ostol’s team worked closely with MSL Group to develop custom modules designed for their waste management fleet:

Vehicle Logbook: Each vehicle’s trips were logged in the system, detailing the start and end locations, the type of waste collected, and the distance traveled. This helped MSL Group optimize routes and monitor vehicle usage to avoid overworking certain vehicles.
Maintenance Scheduling: Custom maintenance schedules were created for each vehicle, ensuring that all trucks underwent routine checks and repairs to prevent breakdowns and extend their lifespan.

These custom modules ensured that MSL Group’s fleet was managed according to industry-specific requirements, reducing downtime and increasing vehicle longevity.

4. Real-Time Maintenance Tracking and Notifications

With Ostol, MSL Group could now manage vehicle maintenance more effectively:

Maintenance schedules were automatically generated and tracked, ensuring that no vehicle missed an important service or inspection.
The system sent notifications when key documents (like insurance or technical inspections) were about to expire, reducing the risk of non-compliance.
Drivers could now request repairs directly via the mobile app, attaching photos of any issues, which helped the maintenance team address problems quickly.

In a busy, high-demand sector like waste management, timely maintenance and compliance are crucial for keeping operations running smoothly. Ostol's system ensured that these tasks were handled efficiently, without relying on outdated methods like paper logs or phone calls.

5. Data-Driven Insights for Cost Control and Decision Making

Ostol’s system provided key performance indicators (KPIs) that helped MSL Group manage their fleet more cost-effectively:

Cost per Kilometer: This metric allowed the logistics manager to evaluate the true cost of each vehicle’s trips and optimize routes to reduce fuel consumption.
Maintenance Costs: The system tracked how much MSL Group was spending on each vehicle's maintenance, helping to identify any outliers or vehicles that were becoming too expensive to maintain.
Total Cost of Ownership: MSL Group could calculate the total cost of owning each vehicle, including purchase price, fuel, maintenance, and repairs, which gave them a clear picture of which vehicles were most cost-effective.
Expenses by Category: The system automatically categorized expenses such as fuel, maintenance, and fines (e.g., traffic violations), allowing MSL Group to identify where money was being spent and adjust operations accordingly.

These KPIs helped MSL Group’s management team make more informed decisions about fleet optimization, budgeting, and even contract pricing.

6. Streamlined Communication Between HQ and Regional Managers

Before Ostol, MSL Group’s logistics team faced significant communication hurdles, especially when it came to coordinating between the headquarters in Marseille and regional managers in the south of France. With Ostol:

Regional managers could input fuel logs, maintenance reports, and expense data into the system directly, making it easy for HQ to access up-to-date information.
Expense logs were tied to invoices and receipts, which allowed for quicker and more accurate accounting.
Communication was centralized within the platform, so managers no longer needed to waste time on lengthy phone calls to get the status of trucks or reports.

This shift to real-time communication and digital reporting made operations significantly more efficient and reduced the administrative burden on the logistics team.

7. Preventive Maintenance and Custom Consultations

Beyond just providing software, Ostol’s team also provided valuable consultation on preventive maintenance. Thanks to their expertise in logistics and engineering, Ostol helped MSL Group develop a preventive maintenance plan that would reduce the likelihood of unexpected repairs or vehicle downtime.

They also worked closely with MSL Group’s operations team to suggest customized KPIs and dashboards that helped them monitor key aspects of their fleet performance, ensuring that all trucks were operating at peak efficiency.

Results: Operational Efficiency, Cost Savings, and Better Decision-Making

Since implementing Ostol’s fleet management system, MSL Group has seen significant improvements in operational efficiency and cost management:

Cost reductions: The company saved on fuel, maintenance, and administrative costs by optimizing routes, tracking expenses in real-time, and reducing manual processes.
Improved fleet utilization: By better understanding vehicle usage, MSL Group was able to ensure that trucks were used efficiently, reducing wear and tear on high-mileage vehicles.
Faster decision-making: The logistics manager can now access real-time data on vehicle availability, expenses, and maintenance schedules in seconds, making it easier to make quick decisions.
Better service: MSL Group can now respond to service requests faster, ensuring that waste collection runs smoothly and that trucks are always available for scheduled routes.

Conclusion: A Competitive Edge in Waste Management

In the competitive and fast-paced waste management industry, real-time data and efficient fleet management are essential. With Ostol, MSL Group was able to:

Streamline operations.
Improve fleet performance.
Reduce costs and enhance service delivery.

The digital transformation of their fleet management has provided MSL Group with a **clear competitive advantage

** in the industry, enabling them to serve clients more efficiently while keeping costs under control.

How Waste Management Companies Can Benefit from Ostol Fleet Management

Just like MSL Group, other waste management companies can benefit from Ostol’s flexible fleet management solution. By adopting Ostol, these companies can:

Centralize fleet data, making it easier to track truck performance, fuel usage, and maintenance.
Digitize paperwork, eliminating the inefficiencies and errors associated with manual logging.
Monitor KPIs like Cost per Route, Maintenance Costs, and Total Cost of Ownership, helping companies make data-driven decisions to optimize fleet operations and reduce costs.
Improve communication between HQ and regional teams, ensuring faster decision-making and better service delivery.

Ostol can be a game-changer for waste management businesses looking to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and provide better service.

Ready to Get Started?

If you're tired of the chaos and ready for clarity, book a demo with us. We'll show you exactly how Ostol can transform your fleet operations in just 30 minutes.

Fleet Digitalization in Waste Management: A Success Story from MSL Group in Southern France