Sustainability as the common thread in the collaboration between Galloo Recycling and i.deeds

When the West Flemish company Galloo Recycling was looking for a way to optimize its ERP system eight years ago, it turned to i.deeds. That request resulted in a long-lasting and successful partnership, as i.deeds still provides support to Galloo in terms of Business Intelligence today. We delve deeper into past and ongoing projects with CIO Steve Decroubele and BI Consultant Jonathan Naert.

Galloo and i.deeds go way back. In 2015, the West Flemish recycling company called on i.deeds to review its then ERP system. "In itself, that system was still very good for doing what was necessary within the context of its own site or work environment, but collecting, combining, and comparing cross-site data was not allowed by the structure of the ERP," explains Steve Decroubele, CIO at Galloo. That's why the company searched for an efficient way to collect that data at group level, so that it could switch faster in the future, and enlisted the help of i.deeds.

The starting point of a project full of potential

"We contacted i.deeds because the company has the necessary technical baggage, and on the other hand, also has people on board who have sufficient business knowledge to understand our question and quickly translate it into a technical solution. In addition, i.deeds does not position itself as a solution seller or problem solver, and that is one of the reasons why we chose to work with the company," Decroubele continues. "Our question was captured, after which i.deeds went to work in an open way, and not just offered one, but several solutions." After we did that comparative study between a number of technologies, it was up to Galloo to make a choice. Tableau emerged as the best solution for the company, after which the project started.

i.deeds sent a team of three consultants to the company in Menen: one consultant took the lead in the discussion with the business, his two colleagues began extracting data from the then ERP and modeling it in the data warehouse. After two years, the original question was completely answered and the answer was available to the entire business. Galloo then took the next step: making sure that the new Tableau environment could be used as much as possible by the group. In addition, new business domains were added and an extension was built so that the combination between real-time reporting and the data warehouse could be made.

Sustainable collaboration

Today, i.deeds is still strengthening Galloo's IT team. "We are currently in the process of transitioning to SAP, and part of that transition is supported by an expansion of the current solution," explains the CIO. Business Intelligence Consultant Jonathan has been working on that project for just over a year: "I'm responsible for Tableau reporting and also a large part of the migration to SAP. A lot of master data needs to be transferred from the old to the new system for that. Additionally, I also provide general support for the data warehouse and work on the analysis of the new reporting environment," he explains about his job.

"It's a very versatile project in an innovative and progressive company that values sustainability. It's nice that I can contribute to that myself. Being part of a fun team where I can always turn to someone with my questions makes the project even more enjoyable," says Jonathan. Decroubele also notes that there is a click between Galloo and i.deeds, both in terms of the consultants and the way of working. "Although i.deeds' consultants are external, they take ownership on behalf of Galloo. They think in terms of our company, can work independently, and really contribute to the organization and the team. That culture is a real added value, and partly why we have been working together for over eight years and can really call this long-term project a success."

About Galloo

Galloo is a Belgian company specialized in the recycling of metals and electronic waste. The company was founded in 1939 and has since built a strong reputation as one of the major players in the recycling sector in Western Europe. It has several recycling facilities in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The company processes over 1.5 million tons of waste annually, including metals such as copper, aluminum, and steel, as well as electronic waste such as computers, phones, and televisions.

Galloo attaches great importance to innovation and continuously invests in new technologies to optimize recycling processes and increase efficiency. The company's goal is to convert waste into raw materials that can be reused, thereby reducing the ecological footprint of businesses and society as a whole.

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