Ferbruary 2020
One tiny chip provides the answers to important questions in milliseconds. What kind of item is it? How should it be laundered? What type of customer is it for? Maximise efficiency and minimise losses: Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology offers solutions for the optimisation and partial automation of the textiles rental and laundering sector. An RFID system comprises three parts: a tag, a reader device and a computer. The reader device connects with the tag or transponder attached to the textile using a radio signal. The data on the integrated chip is transmitted to the computer system, which verifies, analyses and manages it.
The Swiss company Datamars currently has more than 10,000 RFID installations active in 40 countries and more than 250 million tags[1]. The market leader and pioneer of textile identification solutions laid the foundation for industrial laundry processes 30 years ago with the invention of the first laundry chip. According to Datamars, the traceability along the entire process chain means that storage capacities can be reduced by 30 per cent and losses are significantly minimised. The customer always knows the location of their garments, which creates a whole new level of trust. The saved instructions for care and treatment can always be updated in the relevant internet protocol. This guarantees high standards. Automating processes and reducing labour costs: In 2019 Datamars introduced an RFID cabin in which a laundry container containing 1,000 items can be analysed in 3.5 seconds.[2]
New business models at Texcare International
Simple, convenient, mobile: The future of successful textile care is built on digitalisation and automation. From the RFID transponder to reader devices and software: At Texcare International (20–24 June 2020), Datamars and many other exhibitors will show how digitalisation is enabling new business models and revolutionising the industry. "Digitalisation is opening up enormous cost-saving potentials," says Stefan Düchting, CEO of Düchting Software & Consulting GmbH. The German company's latest innovation is the My Cleaning app. Store search, digital loyalty card, order management – the app simplifies the working day for textile care companies, encourages regular customer loyalty and ensures trouble-free, efficient processes all the way to pick-up and payment.
‘SoCom Informationssysteme GmbH’ also responding to the growing trend towards more mobility and flexibility. The German software service provider is offering five apps for digital process management. With the texOrder App, hospitals, retirement homes and hotels can place orders and make inventories digitally where they arise. The newest app, texEasyPick, enables paperless commissioning. Zero container losses and complete traceability: The texRoute App is precisely designed to meet the logistical requirements of laundries and saves time and money in the field of mobile route management. Live tracking enables the efficient planning, management and processing of all routes and drivers. Customers can sign for deliveries on smartphones or tablets. The texScan App ensures that laundry quantities can be analysed in seconds, even on the go, using RFID scanners linked with a smartphone via Bluetooth. Chips can therefore be read anywhere, whether on-site with the customer or in the laundry setting. Finally, the universally applicable texUniScan can be adapted to meet a customer's individual requirements. "We aim to optimise the management of processes and the associated logistics using the latest software products so that, ultimately, customers receive individualised, needs-based and prompt services," said Wolfgang Faist, CEO of SoCom, in an interview with the Swiss trade magazine Teps.
Say goodbye to paperwork: The Service Driver app from Advantex Software GmbH & Co. KG also makes life easier for delivery drivers. Containers are scanned on loading to confirm their entry into the system. The app directs the driver from customer to customer and provides important information, e.g. addresses, opening times and contact partners. On arrival, notification is given if new containers of dirty laundry need picking up, and the delivery can be signed off on the driver's device. Automatic updates: The data gathered on the go is immediately uploaded to the central database, the collected signatures are forwarded to the customer as proof of delivery, and container statistics are updated.
A clean shirt via Whatsapp
Digitalisation means that private customers too can be offered new services. Taxis, food, books – by now it is possible to order almost anything online. E-commerce is also gaining ground in the retail sector. In 2018, global online sales totalled USD 2.8 billion. This figure is expected to grow by more than 70 per cent[3] by 2021. Worldwide, nearly a third of all consumers (31 per cent) order something online once a month, and one in five even once a week.[4] The steady growth in the market for online laundry and dry-cleaning services as well as the rise in the number of providers is therefore logical. The newest services provided by e.g. Jonny Fresh, Wasch mal, Waschhelden, Textilkurier, Shirtrunner, Cleanly and Laundrapp, are primarily based in big cities or focus on door-to-door deliveries. 24-hour services, ordering via Whatsapp: These business models prioritise simplicity and flexibility. Long working hours and frequent work trips mean that office deliveries or pick-ups as and when required provide a distinct competitive advantage. Digitalisation also offers solutions here by attracting the younger generations and thus securing business for the future. Andreas Schumacher, Managing Director of the Deutscher Textilreinigungsverband in Berlin, gets to the heart of the current development in the industry: "Our industry has made significant advances internally with RFID, robotics and apps for process management. By developing innovative technologies, the textile industry especially can manage work processes more effectively, optimise resources and work in a more sustainable way. This development currently not only informs the internal processes of laundry and dry-cleaning businesses, but also results in more services, convenience and transparency for the customer."
#Texcare International #Frankfurt am Main #Germany #Textiles #Textile industry #Automation #Innovation #App #Digitalisation #RFID #Datamars #Socom #Advantex #Düchting
Find out more here:
Press release: Automation progresses along the laundry sector
Photo: NordWood Themes
[1] Datamars (2020): https://datamars.com/about-us/our-business/textile-identification/
[2] Datamars (2018): https://www.textile-id.com/2018/07/26/datamars-drastically-improved-uhf-cabin-reading-speed/
[3] Statista (2019): https://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/
[4] Statista (2019): https://www.statista.com/statistics/664770/online-shopping-frequency-worldwide/
Tags
- Trade Show
- Innovations