Industry
Municipal economy
Challenge
Bremen's municipal cleaning service was working with an outdated, non-networked system landscape without an app, self-service portal, or modern intranet, which led to media discontinuity, high printing costs, and limited citizen services.
The positive result
With an integrated Pimcore platform comprising a website, app, customer portal, and intranet, Blackbit was able to automate processes, improve service quality, save around €100,000 annually, and modernize citizen communication in a sustainable manner.
KEY Products
UX/UI Design, Mobile App, Intranet, Pimcore-Development, Connection to third-party systems, System architecture, Customer Portal
"With the new digital platform, we have taken a major step toward modern citizen services. Our collaboration with Blackbit was characterized by transparency, expertise, and a genuine understanding of the requirements of local government. We were particularly impressed by how technical complexity was translated into user-friendly, practical solutions—both for citizens and for our internal processes."
"Our close collaboration with Die Bremer Stadtreinigung and our agile approach have demonstrated how well-planned digitalization can have a real impact. By seamlessly digitalizing processes and focusing on user needs, we were able to not only improve citizen services but also achieve significant savings—a successful example of sustainable digital transformation in the public sector."
About Bremen City Cleaning Services
Bremer Stadtreinigung (DBS) is the municipal waste disposal company of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. With around 1,000 employees, DBS ensures a clean, livable city – from waste disposal and winter services to the maintenance of public spaces. In addition to its operational work, DBS attaches great importance to citizen proximity, environmental and climate protection, and the continuous expansion of digital services in order to offer the people of Bremen modern, efficient, and sustainable solutions.The Initial Situation
Before the project began, Bremer Stadtreinigung was working with an outdated and rigid digital infrastructure that no longer met the increased demands for user-friendliness and service quality. The existing website was based on an outdated CMS that offered little flexibility and did not allow for complex functions such as an interactive waste collection calendar or valid online forms. Processes were often paper-based or ran via email and telephone, which led to media breaks and high manual effort. For example, changes of ownership or bulky waste requests had to be transferred manually to the SAP system.
In addition, there was no mobile app, so citizens could neither view collection dates on their mobile devices nor receive short-term changes. Printed waste collection calendars incurred high annual costs of around €100,000 and did not meet the company's sustainability goals. There was also a need for optimization internally: the intranet was rudimentary, did not offer individual user accounts, and was hardly usable on mobile devices. Events, internal communications, and department-specific information could not be communicated in a targeted manner.
Objective
Bremen's municipal waste management company wanted a central, future-proof platform that integrated its website, app, customer portal, and intranet. It needed to enable process automation, modernize citizen services, avoid media discontinuity, reduce printing costs, and establish targeted internal communication.
Implementation by Blackbit
Blackbit digital Commerce GmbH developed an integrated digital platform based on Pimcore that links all of Die Bremer Stadtreinigung's digital offerings. Implementation was carried out in an agile manner using Scrum and growth-driven design in close coordination with DBS and the lead agency.
1. Mobile App
A key component was the development of a mobile app that provides a digital, address-based waste collection calendar and allows users to receive push notifications reminding them of collection dates. It also offers services such as a waste ABC with disposal instructions, reporting illegal dumping or malfunctions, requesting bulky waste collection, and an interactive location map showing all recycling stations, public toilets, and waste bins.
2. Website
The new website was designed to allow editors to create content flexibly using modular content elements. Numerous online forms with validation and logic functions—such as for requesting bulky waste collection—enable error-free applications that are automatically transferred to the SAP system. Matomo tracking provides valuable insights for optimizing the user experience.
3. Customer Portal
The customer portal, scheduled to launch in early 2026, will offer self-service functions to owners and property managers. In the future, they will be able to independently report changes in ownership and tenants, manage bins, and access documents. All requests will be fed into the SAP system's worklist without media discontinuity, with logic and cross-references between services directly integrated.
4. Team Blog/Intranet
The internal team blog has also been completely redesigned. All employees now have personal access, ensuring data protection and password security. When registering, employees are asked to specify which department they belong to, so that content can be tailored to specific groups. The mobile-optimized event calendar allows internal and external events to be organized centrally.
Technical Highlights
The solution uses Pimcore as a central system with connected interfaces to SAP and external data sources such as c-trace and USU. Forms were developed with Vue.js to ensure scalability and reusability. Push notifications are implemented via Firebase. The Pimcore Members Bundle is used for login and registration processes. Hosting is provided by Kommunale Datenverarbeitung Oldenburg (KDO).
Results & Added Value
The new platform has enabled Bremer Stadtreinigung to significantly improve its service quality while conserving resources. The digital waste collection calendar replaces the previous paper editions and saves around €100,000 annually. Automated processes and valid online forms significantly reduce the workload for customer service, while citizens benefit from user-friendly, accessible, and mobile services. Communication channels have also been improved internally and information flows optimized.
Outlook
With the planned launch of the customer portal and the introduction of a chatbot, as well as the expansion of the website, app, and career pages, Die Bremer Stadtreinigung's digital service offering will be further expanded in the coming months. The close cooperation between DBS and Blackbit ensures that both citizens and employees will benefit from a modern, future-proof digital platform in the long term.
Are you planning digital services for your city or municipality? Let's work together to develop modern, citizen-oriented solutions.
