IVAGO

IVAGO brought waste information, a location-based collection calendar and a personal online service portal together in one Drupal environment for residents and businesses.

The Case

Challenge

A full digital transformation, with a brand-new online platform and service portal built around three core goals: accessible information for residents and businesses, better self-service to ease the workload on customer service, and a stronger IVAGO brand.

Solution

A brand-new Drupal website with an integrated service portal. Key features include insights into each user’s own waste production, a location-based collection calendar and a user-friendly self-service portal.

Result

A new digital platform that’s easy to access on any device, loads faster than ever and offers tailored information to every user. Behind the scenes, it also eases the workload: new information is easy to share everywhere, thanks to the create once, publish everywhere principle.

A waste policy focused on the future

A future-oriented waste policy runs through everything in IVAGO’s mission. To reach that goal in a sustainable way, streamlining internal processes and better informing residents proved to be the best approach. A full digital transformation, with a brand-new online platform and service portal, was the logical next step. The IVAGO team had set out three core goals in advance:

Make information faster and more accessible to residents and businesses, with personalised information for every visitor. The end goal? Inform residents more accurately, help businesses sort their waste better and work towards producing less waste overall.
Increase internal efficiency through better self-service for citizens and a lighter workload for customer service.
Strengthen the IVAGO brand among residents, businesses and potential new employees.

Drupal for future-oriented development

To achieve these goals, IVAGO needed a partner that could untangle technical knots while guiding its own team through the digital transformation. Choosing Drupal as the technical framework was a logical first step. Driven by the in-house editorial team, the platform needed strong content management, so marketers and copywriters could publish their content from one place to multiple channels.

With its proven Drupal expertise and previous experience with intermunicipal organisations and complex government projects, Dropsolid quickly appeared on the radar as a digital partner.

Thanks to a preliminary track with Ordina Clockwork, a customer-centric digital blueprint was already on the table, including customer journeys, the required user experience and wireframes. Dropsolid’s analysts developed these into a functional analysis, followed by the design and implementation of a brand-new Drupal 8 website with an integrated service portal.

In practice

Translating the customer journeys into a working platform led to a wide range of concrete features:

1. Collection calendar
An integrated, personalised collection calendar.

2. Information and awareness
A strong focus on information and encouraging responsibility throughout the website, leading to fewer questions for customer service and better waste sorting by residents.

3. Personalised online environment
A personalised online environment with individual usage data, and a separate digital experience for residents and for businesses.

We’re very proud of the result of our collaboration with Clockwork and Dropsolid.

Having the courage to launch a new website on the first day of the coronavirus measures, 15 March, shows real confidence. Digitalisation has already proven its value during this period, and we’re convinced it will help us further optimise our processes. That benefits both us and our customers. And customer satisfaction is at the heart of everything we do!

-Sandra Deneef, Manager Customer Relations and Communication

Mapping waste streams to raise environmental awareness

For the first time, IVAGO’s new digital platform gives residents and businesses detailed insights into their own waste production. Every citizen and organisation has a private environment in My IVAGO, with direct insight into their own waste. These statistics are linked to reference figures, so users can immediately see how they compare to an average household. This nudging has a strongly positive effect, making residents and businesses more aware of the waste they produce. The website also offers relevant, tailored recycling tips to encourage responsible behaviour.

A self-service portal

The personal My IVAGO environment gives access to almost all commonly requested information. Answers to many routine questions are shown prominently, so residents need to call IVAGO’s service number less often. That also frees up time for the customer service team.

Businesses also have an extensive online portal, with a dedicated contact person available for extra support.

On the technical side, the portal is connected to the Diftar database, SAP and SAP CRM.

A personal approach in practice: the collection calendar

“Which bin do I need to put out again, and when?” It’s a familiar question. So it’s no surprise that the collection calendar is by far the most searched-for item on the IVAGO website. Dropsolid’s strategists decided to integrate the interactive online calendar at several points along the customer journeys on the IVAGO website and in the app. The calendar is also location-based, so residents immediately see the collection schedule for their street.

Behind the scenes, the calendar module is managed centrally, and updates, for example about collection rounds during public holidays or strikes, can be made in a single click.

From traditional intermunicipal organisation to environmental partner

The improved ease of use didn’t just increase efficiency, both internally and for customers. It also brought a breath of fresh air that improved IVAGO’s image among citizens and businesses. That’s no small feat for an intermunicipal organisation. This refreshed image in turn helps with recruiting new employees.

Technical overview

Drupal 8 as a flexible, future-oriented foundation for the service portal and website.
Full integration with the existing ERP for data exchange (contracts, invoices, balances and more).
Integration with eID and itsme for easy login to My IVAGO. Doccle integration for viewing invoices.
Integration with Mailchimp for newsletters.

The result?

Going from first idea to go-live took less than a year. That’s exceptionally fast for a full digital transformation of this scale. The new digital platform is easy to access on any device, loads faster than ever and offers tailored information to every user. Behind the scenes, the workload for internal staff is lighter too: new information is easy to share everywhere, thanks to the create once, publish everywhere principle. IVAGO now has all the tools it needs to raise even more awareness among citizens and businesses, and to lead the way in its mission to reduce waste even further.

The platform was also named runner-up for best website in the “Non-profit & Government” category at the Dutch Splash Awards 2020.

Visit the website

About IVAGO

IVAGO is responsible for collecting and processing household and commercial waste in the Ghent region. The intermunicipal organisation also manages six recycling centres where residents can bring their waste, and it takes care of street cleaning for the City of Ghent.