Case Study: 23‑Year Evolution of a Global WEEE‑Tracking Platform

Client

Global electronics recycling and asset‑management company operating across the UK, Europe, and Asia‑Pacific.

Engagement Summary

We designed, built, and have continuously evolved a business‑critical line‑of‑business system used to track waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) from initial pickup through processing, recycling, and resale. The system has been in uninterrupted operation for 23 years, supporting hundreds of users across six countries and processing millions of material items annually.

Requirements

In 2003, the company needed a system capable of:

• Tracking large volumes of electronic waste through complex, multi‑stage processes
• Supporting multiple international sites with different timezones, currencies, and units of measurement
• Producing statutory, environmental, and management reports
• Integrating with their ERP system and specialist tools (e.g., Blancco disk‑wiping)
• Remaining maintainable and adaptable as the business grew globally

Off‑the‑shelf software was not available at the time, and the company needed a bespoke solution that could evolve with them.

Our Role

System Architects & Developers responsible for the full lifecycle:

• Requirements analysis
• Architecture and design
• Implementation
• Database design
• Integration with ERP and third‑party systems
• Deployment and long‑term maintenance
• Modernisation and cloud migration

This has included both hands‑on engineering and long‑term technical stewardship.

Solution Overview

We designed and delivered a modular, web‑based platform built on:

• C# / ASP.NET WebForms and MVC
• Entity Framework
• SQL Server
• Jira + Git for lifecycle management
• Later migrated to Amazon AWS for improved resilience and scalability

The system supports:

• Multi‑site/multi-instance, multi‑timezone, multi‑currency operation
• Fine‑grained, role‑based security
• High‑volume data processing
• Integration with Epicor ERP (and previously Sage)
• Integration with Blancco for certified data erasure
• Long‑term auditability and compliance reporting

A key architectural principle was web standards and portability, which has enabled the system to run across all major browsers for more than two decades.

Business Impact

Global Scale

• Hundreds of users across six countries
• Tens of thousands of pallets and millions of material line items processed annually

Longevity & Stability

• Continuous business‑critical operation for more than 2 decades
• Architecture resilient to multiple waves of technology change
• Smooth migration to AWS with negligible downtime

Operational Efficiency

• Automated workflows replacing manual spreadsheets
• Accurate, auditable tracking across the entire recycling lifecycle
• Faster reporting for environmental compliance and customer transparency

Cost Savings

• Avoided the need for expensive ERP customisation
• Specifically designed for the task, leading to team efficiency
• Long-term maintainability reduced total cost of ownership
• Cloud migration reduced hosting and operational overhead

Modernisation Work (Recent Years)

As part of ongoing stewardship, we:

• Migrated the system to Amazon AWS
• Updated major components to modern .NET Framework versions
• Improved performance of key workflows
• Introduced automated deployment and reproducible builds
• Strengthened security and auditability
• Ensured compatibility with modern browsers and devices

Outcome

The EWTS platform remains a core operational system for the company after more than two decades. It has scaled with the business, adapted to new regulatory requirements, and proven robust across multiple countries and operational models.

This project demonstrates our ability to:

• Build systems that last.
• Modernise legacy platforms without rewriting them.
• Deliver business‑critical software for complex operational environments.
• Provide long-term technical leadership and architectural direction.

To discuss a project or engagement, email us at: enquiries (at) dramatic-software (dot) co (dot) uk.