Page 55 - CIJ Sept 2025- Digital Edition

LAUNDRY

very day, commercial Price-Game
laundries process Dilemma
immense volumes of
textiles. Hospital bed Competition in the
Esheets, hotel towels commercial laundry business
and industrial uniforms brings another set of
consume thousands of litres of challenges. Clients frequently
water and large quantities of switch vendors for small
chemicals in each wash cycle. price advantages, even when
Water treatment plants help the existing service provider
reduce some of the burden, delivers quality work. Securing
but the disposal of chemical and retaining large contracts
effluents continues to pose such as those with hospitals,
a serious environmental hotels or railways often
challenge. involves complex negotiations Competing only
Although sustainable and highly competitive on price is a short-
pressures. This constant price-
detergents and eco-friendly driven churn affects stability term game. To
chemicals are available, many and profitability for many
businesses remain hesitant operators. win long-term,
to adopt them. The global we need to offer
laundry industry is moving Technology Pros quality, reliability
towards greener practices, & Cons
yet Indian operators often and hygiene
prioritise immediate cost Technology promised standards that
savings over long-term to simplify operations, but clients value over
environmental responsibility, the reality has been mixed.
creating the risk of falling The arrival of laundry apps cost savings.
behind international standards. created convenience for
customers while introducing — SN Ramkumar Raja
Workforce operational headaches for
service providers. Deliveries
Puzzle now require dedicated staff
The human resource to collect soiled linen and
challenge is equally pressing. return cleaned garments, yet
Finding skilled labour and almost half of all customers
keeping them is an uphill task. are unavailable during delivery
Many facilities recruit freshers attempts. Drivers often leave
and invest heavily in training consignments with security SCAN / CLICK HERE TO
programmes only to face high personnel or neighbours or must ASK THE EXPERT
attrition rates soon after. As revisit the address later, wasting
employees leave, businesses valuable time & resources.
are forced to maintain a larger This delivery inefficiency
workforce than required impacts more than schedules.
simply to ensure operations It complicates payment
continue without interruption collections, particularly for Automation to the
when absenteeism occurs. cash-on-delivery orders. Rescue
When customers are absent,
This dependence on manual payments get delayed, The path forward lies in embracing
labour slows progress towards disrupting cash flow and modern systems. Investing in advanced
modernisation. Introducing creating administrative water treatment facilities, eco-friendly
advanced machinery that can overheads. Instead of detergents and high-capacity machinery
handle greater volumes with streamlining operations, last- may require significant capital initially
fewer workers would ease mile delivery problems add but promises measurable returns through
the pressure, yet adoption has new layers of complexity to an reduced water consumption, lower
been slow across much of the already demanding business chemical usage and compliance with
country’s laundry sector. environment. environmental norms.

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