La Collecte Médicale improves efficiency with PTV OptiFlow

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Châteaubourg, La Collecte Médicale collects and ensures the traceability of 2,700 tonnes of waste every year, including syringes, gauze, and contaminated dressings. Serving 1,300 customers daily, the company supports a wide range of healthcare professionals and organizations, including nurses, physicians, laboratories, healthcare facilities, and patients receiving home hospitalization care (HAD). The family-owned business operates throughout France with a dedicated fleet of 50 light commercial vehicles, all of which comply with the strict regulations governing the transport of hazardous materials. It collects healthcare waste from medical professionals and transports it to approved treatment facilities, where it is processed and recovered. Collection frequencies are dictated by DASRI regulations, requiring highly rigorous planning as well as precise management of vehicle capacities, driver working hours, and traffic constraints, particularly in densely populated urban areas. “Our business is entirely driven by regulatory compliance and safety requirements. We must guarantee full traceability and consistently compliant collection services for our customers. This demands flawless logistics organization,” explains Guylain de La Théardière, Managing Director of La Collecte Médicale. “We needed a robust, reliable solution capable of accommodating the specific requirements of our business.”

Complex Operational Constraints

The company therefore sought a solution capable of managing variable collection frequencies, highly diverse load capacities (50-litre boxes, polypropylene drums, 1-litre sharps containers), overnight stays, driver working time constraints, and ad hoc requests related to Home Hospitalization (HAD). Accounting for real-time traffic conditions was also a key requirement.

Efficiency gains and improved working conditions

Since July 2025, regional planners have been using PTV OptiFlow, integrated with their ERP system, to plan weekly routes and manage day-to-day adjustments. Since going live, La Collecte Médicale has reported significant operational improvements. Routes are now more consistent, better balanced, and much faster to plan. Previously, route zoning was only semi-automated, creating operational constraints and consuming valuable planning time. The integration of historical traffic data also enables more accurate travel time forecasting, particularly in major metropolitan areas. Overnight stays have been significantly reduced, from two to three nights on average to just one. Planning teams now benefit from a reliable, automated solution that streamlines their work while still allowing planners to manually adjust route optimizations whenever necessary. “Our routes are now fully optimized. We are improving operational efficiency, enhancing working conditions for our teams, and delivering a higher level of service to our customers. This partnership is already delivering tangible results,” says Guillaume Louvel, Head of Logistics and Customer Relations at La Collecte Médicale.

“Despite the strict requirements of DASRI regulations, which impose fixed collection frequencies and make flow optimization particularly challenging, we successfully deployed the optimization solution in just three months, quickly delivering tangible benefits for La Collecte Médicale. In particular, it enabled the reorganization of routes to reduce overnight stays and significantly improve the overall efficiency of operations,” highlights Clara Pommarel, Project Manager at PTV Logistics, who oversaw the project.

Using AI to take logistics optimization even further

Following the deployment of PTV OptiFlow, La Collecte Médicale has also been using PTV Mira, the artificial intelligence solution launched by PTV Logistics earlier this year. Currently in the testing phase, the solution is designed to help the company take its logistics management to the next level. In practical terms, PTV Mira analyzes existing collection operations to refine workforce allocation and resource planning. When new contracts are awarded, the solution can also integrate additional routes into existing schedules and optimize their organization accordingly. Complementing the operational optimization capabilities of PTV OptiFlow, PTV Mira serves as a decision-support tool, helping La Collecte Médicale evolve its logistics network and continuously align its resources with the changing needs of its business.