Businessmodel of Waste Management

Customer Segments

Waste Management provides specialised waste management and disposal solutions to a diverse client base. The Company’s customers can be organised broadly into the following categories:

• Residential Customers, comprising residential homeowners and renters to which the Company provides services such as curbside pickup, dumpster collection, and portable storage;
• Commercial Customers, comprising commercial operators across multiple sectors, including offices and other commercial facilities, to which the Company provides more specialist services such as electronics recycling and security;
• Industrial Customers, comprising various industrial entities, including construction firms, manufacturers, healthcare providers, and foodservice businesses, to which the Company provides specialist waste management services; and
• Municipal Customers, comprising various municipal and local government bodies and public organisations. During 2015, Waste Management’s largest customer represented 1% of the Company’s annual revenue. According to its website, the Company’s customers include Whole Foods Market, Red River College, Alcoa, and the University of Iowa.

Waste Management serves customers in the US across 17 distinct geographic areas. The Company does not appear to have any international operations.

Value Propositions

Waste Management provides value to its customers in the following ways:

• Its broad portfolio of specialist services, with the Company offering a broad range of waste management services, including specialist industrial and medical waste disposal, and electronics recycling for commercial and industrial customers;
• Its accessibility and ease of use, with the Company making its services easy to access, offering online and mobile channels that allow customers to manage and arrange waste management pickups and payments quickly and efficiently;
• Its broad network of waste management infrastructure, with the Company owning and operating a wide network of physical waste management infrastructure, including landfills, transfer stations, and material recovery facilities, that make its operations efficient and effective; and
• Its commitment to sustainability, with the Company committed to identifying and implementing processes that ensure sustainability, and making it easier to clients to access relevant recycling services. ### Channels

Waste Management operates a website at www.wm.com, through which the Company provides information on its various specialist solutions and service, facility locations, and sustainability operations. The Company’s website allows customers to check availability for services in their area and request pickups and services.

It also operates an online customer portal, through which customers can manage their account details, make payments, and view pickup schedules. Waste Management additionally offers a mobile app for iOS and Android devices, which provides similar functionality.

Customers can additionally organise various waste management services through Waste Management’s dedicated sales personnel, who can be contacted over the phone. These sales staff operate principally out of the Company’s network of offices across the US, including in Arizona, Illinois, Connecticut, and India

Waste Management’s services are provided directly through its own network of waste disposal facilities, including landfills, transfer stations, and material recovery facilities.

Customer Relationships

Waste Management provides a range of services to its customers on a self-service basis. The Company’s website and customer portal allow clients to organise waste management services, access pickup schedules, make payments, and request extra pickups without interacting directly with the Company’s sales and service personnel. The Company’s mobile app offers similar self-service tools.

Waste Management additionally offers its services through its dedicated sales force, the members of which are able to provide personalised guidance to customers and respond to questions and queries directly. The Company’s larger commercial and industrial clients are served more directly by the Clients, with the Company able to tailor its services to their more specific needs.

Waste Management provides ongoing support to its customers, who are able to contact dedicated support personnel over the phone or via an online contact form in order to receive personalised assistance. The Company additionally provides a range of online resources through its website, including FAQs and user guides.

Customers are additionally able to follow Waste Management’s activities and interact with the Company directly through its social media accounts, including with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Key Activities

Waste Management operates directly as a holding company. Through its various subsidiary companies, the Company provides a range of waste management and environmental services.

It organises its operations into two principal segments: Solid Waste, which includes the Company’s core waste management operations across its 17 geographic areas aggregated into three tiers; and Other, which includes the Company’s various other corporate activities, as well as its development and operation of landfill gas-to-energy facilities, and its recycling brokerage services.

The Company’s Solid Waste business is operated and managed locally by its subsidiaries, and comprises the provision of collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. Waste Management is a recycler of in North America of paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and metal.

Key Partners

Waste Management works in close conjunction with a broad network of partners, in order to ensure that its services are effective and reliable. These partners can be organised broadly into the following categories:

• Supplier and Vendor Partners, comprising suppliers of services, tools, technologies, and equipment that are utilised across the Company’s operating units, as well as companies to which certain functions can be outsourced;
• Social and Community Partners, comprising a range of non-profits, charitable organisations, and municipal bodies, with which the Company collaborates on various community projects across the US, with a focus on sustainability;
• Joint Venture Partners, comprising a range of industry partners with which the Company jointly provides products and services through mutually owned entities; and
• Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising a range of market leading companies across multiple sectors, with which the Company works on various joint branding, marketing, and other projects. Waste Management has agreed numerous partnerships in recent years. This includes community partnerships with Keep America Beautiful, City Livability Awards, and Wildlife Habitat Council, as well as a tie-up with SciCorp International Corp to develop and distribute an odor elimination product.

Key Resources

Waste Management’s key resources are its intellectual properties and technologies, its supply chain, its website and online portal, its IT and communications infrastructure, its physical waste management infrastructure, its equipment and fleet of waste management vehicles, its partnerships, and its personnel.

Waste Management owns and or leases a portfolio of properties across the US that are key to its operations. This notably includes its landfill facilities, transfer stations, and material recovery facilities, as well as its network of administrative and corporate offices.

Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office identified one patent application filed in Waste Management’s name: ‘Gas guzzler’. This application related to a device for directing hazardous gases away from a pipe that is emitting the gases.

Cost Structure

Waste Management incurs costs in relation to the procurement of supplies and equipment – including vehicles, the development of its website and online platform, the maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, the operation of its physical waste management facilities, the management of its partnerships, the implementation of marketing and advertising campaigns, and the retention of its personnel.

In 2015 Waste Management recorded total operating costs in the amount of $8.23 billion, and selling, general, and administrative costs in the amount of $1.34 billion.

Revenue Streams

Waste Management generates revenue through the provision of various waste management and disposal services and recycling solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal clients. The Company derives its revenue in the form of various fees associated with its service offerings.

In 2015 Waste Management generated operating revenue for the year in the amount of $12.96 billion, down on the $14.00 billion recorded by the Company in 2014. The bulk of the Company’s revenue, around $8.44 billion, was attributed to its waste collection services. The largest portion of the Company’s remaining revenue, around $2.92 billion, was generated through the provision of landfill services.