Cloud-based technologies for addressing long vehicle turnaround times at recycling mills

Transportation costs for road transport companies may be intensified by rising fuel prices, levies, traffic congestion, etc. Of particular concern to the Mpact group of companies is the long waiting times in the queues at loading and offloading points at three processing mills in the KZN (KwaZulu-Natal) province in South Africa. Following a survey among the drivers who regularly deliver at these sites, recommendations for alleviating the lengthy waiting times are put forward. On the strength of one of these recommendations, namely the innovative use of ICTs, suggestions on how cloud-based technologies may be embraced by the company are explored. In the process, the value added by a cloud-based supply chain, enterprise systems, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and knowledge management is examined.