How XPO IT Services slashed processing time and eliminated human error – thanks to bespoke software by Cloud Construct
Bespoke Software
Case Study
Client:
XPO IT Services
Cloud Construct service:
Bespoke software development.
AWS cloud hosting.
XPO IT Services (XPO) is an IT asset disposal (ITAD) business. They safely remove data from their customers’ end-of-life IT products, then repurpose the equipment or recycle it in the correct manner.
They comply with WEEE regulations and are ADISA Distinction accredited. They hold ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO IEC 27001.
XPO has been working with Cloud Construct for 3 years.
“Our new bespoke software has made everything massively simpler for us. Processes are much slicker and easier. That all translates to the bottom line.”
Highlights
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Challenges
- XPO’s off-the-shelf software – Aiken – didn’t integrate with its old system
- Team members had to manually input data – a time intensive activity which was prone to human error
- Inconsistencies between certificates and equipment had the potential to damage XPO’s finances and reputation
- XPO couldn’t track productivity through the system, meaning it was difficult to standardise processes in the team
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Solutions
- Cloud Construct’s collaborative process ensured XPO’s bespoke software is tailored absolutely to their needs
- The bespoke software “pulls” data through from Aiken to populate certificate and reports, saving time and minimising errors
- AWS tools offer scalability and cost efficiencies, as XPO IT Services works with customers and job lots of different sizes
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Results
- The bespoke software has made everything simpler and more cost efficient
- XPO IT Services can offer a better customer experience, thanks to a seamless system
- Their improved processes are helping them to gain more industry accreditations
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- Aiken is an industry-leading IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) and compliance management platform used to track, certify, and securely dispose of IT equipment.
- The bespoke XPO system is now fully integrated with Aiken, allowing seamless data exchange between the two platforms.
- Data can be exported directly via the bespoke software to generate certificates, reports, and printouts, helping XPO maintain full compliance and traceability.
The Portal
The Details
XPO handles hundreds of thousands items of IT equipment every year.
Job lots come from small businesses, and large public sector organisations like the NHS and councils. Hundreds of pallets can arrive at once.
Each item is plugged into Aiken, an off the shelf software, to securely erase its data. When the job lot is complete, a report is generated. But there was a problem.
Aiken had limitations and didn’t do everything XPO needed it to
Steve Ball explains: “Before we collect equipment from customers, we have to generate a job description and collection note. Once the equipment is processed and erased, we need to generate a certificate.
Aiken doesn’t do that.
We had an old database which could generate notes and certificates, but the systems didn’t talk to each other. We had to take the report from Aiken and manually input the information into the database.”
The old system was prone to human error, in more ways than one
Steve explains: “The database had text entry fields, so spelling and terminology could be an issue. We had 10 guys in the office and you wouldn’t believe the different ways they entered ‘gigabyte’!
It was very time intensive. Some of the lots had hundreds of items, and the team had to input them all. There could be 100 Macbooks, but they’d have to check each entry to make sure each serial number and model were correct.
Inconsistencies had to be avoided. Part of the business is to resell and export refurbished IT equipment. If the information on the certificates didn’t match the equipment, e.g. weight or country of origin, Customs could seize and destroy the goods. The customer wouldn’t get the equipment. We wouldn’t get paid. Our reputation would be damaged.”
As the two systems weren’t linked, it was also difficult to track productivity
Steve explains: “We could have multiple members of staff completing tasks across the systems, but we had no way of effectively tracking workflows. We didn’t know which ways were the most productive. It meant we weren’t able to standardise processes, and this impacted business efficiency.”
Solutions
Cloud Construct’s collaborative approach delivers what XPO really needs.
Steve explains: “The Cloud Construct team do a great job. They deliver.
They do what we agree rather than what we ask. It’s because their proposals are much better than our initial ideas.
We go to them with a concept. They don’t just say ‘yes’ like some developers do, who then keep adding zeros to the final bill. They don’t try out new technology just for the sake of it either.
The Cloud Construct team asks us questions on why we want to do a specific thing. Then they start making suggestions on how it could be slicker, more robust and more cost efficient.
That sharing of knowledge makes me feel comfortable. I know we’re not going to be taken advantage of.”
Bespoke “wrap around” software developed to work with off-the-shelf Aiken
Cloud Construct built and developed bespoke software which “wraps around” and works with XPO’s existing Aiken software. It’s used to generate waste collection notes.
The software “pulls” data from Aiken to automatically populate certificates and reports. This effectively eliminates human error and drastically reduces admin input time.
Cost savings and scalability thanks to AWS
The software was built using Lavarel framework and AWS cloud-based tools. The software is highly resilient and available as it’s set up in a containerised environment, load balanced with AWS ELB, and is hosted across two AWS Availability Zones.
AWS Aurora is the serverless database, meaning it will automatically scale up when there’s a big job lot and scale down when less resources are needed. AWS Lambda is used for certificate (PDF) generation. It keeps compute resources to a minimum, which also keeps costs to a minimum. AWS S3 is then used to store many Gb’s of PDFs as a long term archive and retrieval.
With all of AWS services, XPO only pays for the resources they use, maximising cost efficiencies.
Results
“The new software has made everything massively simpler for us. Our processes are much slicker and easier. That all translates to the bottom line.
It’s improved the customer experience too. While it’s actually two systems, it looks like one seamless system from a client point of view, thanks to Cloud Construct.”
Steve Ball, Head of Technical Operations, XPO IT Services
The bespoke software has also helped with business development and gaining industry accreditations.
Steve explains: “Our customers come to us because they need their IT assets disposed of and data erased securely. If they don’t process them in the correct way, they can run into fines of hundreds and thousands of pounds.
So they look for ITAD companies with industry accreditations and processes.
Our new software ties into this. It’s proof that we’re doing what we say we’re doing. It also helps us track productivity and set up standardised processes, which will help us to gain more ISO numbers and higher level ADISA accreditation.”
Future Plans
Cloud Construct and XPO are already planning the next version of the software – a portal where customers can log in, see their results and download their own certificates.
