Digitizing Contract and Operations Management for a National Waste Management Group

Customer Snapshot

Industry: Logistics, FinTech

Region: South Africa‍

Platform: Custom Contracts & Operations Management Platform

Engagement Model:

• Scrums.com Plan: Recommended
• Custom Software Development
• Platform Engineering
• Product Management
• Enterprise Platform Build + Delivery Recovery

The Challenge

The Waste Group operates at national scale, managing hundreds of companies, sites, services, and contracts across multiple provinces. As operational complexity grew, existing processes and fragmented systems became a bottleneck to efficiency, governance, and scalability.

Key challenges included:

Operational complexity at scale

• Manual and fragmented management of companies, sites, services, and contracts
• Complex service nesting and pricing structures (e.g. skips, tipping, ad-hoc services)
• Heavy reliance on external systems such as weighbridges, routing software, and ERP tools

Delivery misalignment

• Missed timelines and unclear scope strained the client relationship
• Limited transparency into delivery progress, risks, and remaining work
• No clear sequencing between MVP delivery, stabilisation, and scale

Data consistency & environment risk

• Deployment timing created inconsistencies between test and production data
• Difficulty validating fixes and reproducing bugs reliably
• Elevated release and handover risk

Risk & governance gaps

• No structured risk register or proactive mitigation process
• Delivery risks surfaced late rather than early
• Need for stronger delivery governance to prevent further derailment

The Goal

• Recover delivery and rebuild client confidence
• Centralise and digitise contract and operations management
• Reduce operational risk and manual handling
• Establish clear delivery structure and governance
• Build a scalable platform foundation for future growth

Scrums.com Solution

Scrums.com implemented a structured delivery recovery and platform transformation approach - combining governance, technical execution, and client realignment.

Key components included:

Delivery recovery & client realignment

• Ran a focused turnaround sprint to reset expectations and priorities
• Appointed a dedicated Client Success Lead
• Introduced clear communication cadence, accountability, and reporting
• Rebuilt trust through transparency and execution
• Introduced a Product Order Form defining: Phased delivery: MVP → Stabilisation → Scale, Clear KPIs and acceptance criteria, and Commercial and delivery clarity

Contracts Manager platform build

• Delivered a custom enterprise-grade platform to centralise operations: Company, contract, site, and service management; Centralised document handling (contracts, POs, service documentation), Digital contract creation and signing workflows

Operational scheduling

• Daily service schedules (scheduled vs completed)
• Ad-hoc “Call for Service” workflows
• Route generation and integration with routing systems

Administration & governance

• Role-based access control (RBAC)
• User and permission management
• Full audit logging with export capability

Enterprise architecture & integration

• Cloud-native platform built on Microsoft Azure
• Microservices-based design for scalability and maintainability
• Integrations with: Weighbridge systems, Routing software, and Document management and e-signature tooling

Risk management & technical discipline

• Introduced a formal Risk Register and review cadence
• Automated non-production database reset protocols
• Improved deployment sequencing and environment consistency
• Centralised documentation via a dedicated product wiki

Design & quality

• Detailed Software Requirements Specification (SRS)
• Clearly defined functional and non-functional requirements: Security, Reliability, Performance, Maintainability, Modular architecture with strong separation of concerns, and Automated testing strategy targeting 80% coverage

Results

• Delivery stabilised through clear structure and accountability
• Manual contract handling significantly reduced
• Data integrity and environment reliability restored
• Client confidence rebuilt through transparency and consistent execution
• Platform established as a core operational backbone
• Foundation laid for future expansion, including: Analytics, Mobile extensions, and Waste City initiatives

The platform now underpins The Waste Group’s long-term digital and operational strategy.

Why This Matters

For operationally complex industries, digital platforms must reduce risk—not introduce it.

The Waste Group achieved:

• Restored delivery confidence after a complex engagement
• Improved operational efficiency and governance
• Reduced risk through structured delivery and risk management
• A scalable, enterprise-ready platform aligned to real workflows
• A foundation for future innovation and expansion

Digitising operationally complex industries requires more than software

It requires structure, trust, and execution discipline. Scrums.com helps enterprise organisations stabilise, modernise, and scale mission-critical platforms - even when the path isn’t straightforward.

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