Services Fulfillment: HighOrbit Helps Green Demolitions with Donation Intake Process
The Client
Green Demolitions sells commercial surplus and donated kitchens, appliances, bathroom fixtures and home décor, from houses being demolished and renovated in Greenwich and New Canaan, CT, Scarsdale and Bedford, NY, and beyond. Donation proceeds benefit Recovery Unlimited, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization expanding the outreach programs of All Addicts Anonymous, a highly effective addiction recovery program established in 1964. For more information on Green Demolitions and related operations, refer to www.greendemolitions.com; for details related to Recovery Unlimited, access www.greendemolitions.org/7.html.
The Client's Need
As a recycler of luxury kitchens, estates and surplus items at 50-75% off retail, Green Demolitions uses HighOrbit's workflow automation solution to streamline processes for collecting and reviewing donor information and facilitating the collection of home décor products. According to Lisa Feldman, donations manager, the company uses business process management to inspect donated items and schedule process flow related to tear-down and pick-up aspects. "Our business continues to burgeon," said Feldman, "and we had an immediate need to support our exponential growth by having the proper infrastructure in place. Our tracking process ranges from the time we receive an initial call from a donor to the time the product is inspected. We were in a need of a customized approach in order to keep up with the sheer volume."
How HighOrbit Helped
HighOrbit recommended options for Green Demolitions to ensure multiple departments were in the loop on the donation intake process, which includes the following staff and peripheral entities:
- Donations Coordinator - takes the initial donor call
- President - reviews each donation opportunity to ensure a good, quality fit
- Scheduling - develops the timetable for item removal and pick up
- Contractor Crew - performs the actual product removal
- Trucking Arm - completes the cycle by picking up donated items
"Since each donor inquiry is time sensitive and unique," said HighOrbit's Brian Dwyer, "Green Demolitions needed a customized workflow solution to track potential lag times of three to six months between the time they receive a call and the time a product is ready for pick up. Our web-based technology enabled them to simplify a process that was formerly managed manually."
The Results
Green Demolitions continues to benefit from the implementation of the HighOrbit workflow solution in three critical ways:
- Time Savings: The new donor intake process now operates on a tighter, more streamlined timeline because everyone is aware of each documented step, when it is to occur and its related status to the overall process flow.
- Cost Savings: HighOrbit offered an efficient solution for automating an approach to a process that today is managed by one person - a process that would have formerly required the support of three to four people if using a manual spreadsheet approach.
- Accountability: Now, if any part of the donation process hits a roadblock, key individuals along the path are able to identify the hold up and address the issue. Responsible individuals or groups are reminded automatically that their task needs to be completed for the project to move forward, which is imperative given long lead times.
"In addition," concluded Feldman, "we've been impressed that HighOrbit has been able to tailor its approach based on the needs and skill levels of our staff members. We selected them in the first place due to their immediate responsiveness to our initial inquiry. Today we continue to be pleased with the product given that HighOrbit has readily offered educational support enabling us to make process changes on our own. We like the fact that the product is user-friendly and allows us to be self-sufficient in our day-to-day operations." |