DuBOIS, Penn – Dave Stern, CEO of Paris Companies, recently presented as a session leader at TRSA’s annual healthcare conference. The conference brought executives from across the nation together to share experiences and knowledge pertinent to laundering and linen management services for the healthcare industry.
Stern spoke about the benefits and ongoing implementation of a radio frequency identification (RFID) laundry tracking system across his multi-plant laundering and textile rental company. The company services more than four thousand customers in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia with an expanding service area in the mid-Atlantic region.
“The customer service logistics of my company are daunting: tens of millions of textile pieces are laundered yearly and delivered on customized schedules to thousands of customers across four states by a fleet of more than fifty trucks,” Stern said.
To keep track of goods that pass through Paris Companies, garments and linens are inconspicuously “tagged” with a radio transmitter “chip”. Each chip stores precise garment, user/customer and location information, including a wash history. A system of scanners automatically tracks the progress of each garment through the plant and uploads relevant data to a central management system.
Although improving the operational efficiency of his plants, Stern feels that the most important gains are in customer service and satisfaction.
“My goal is to become so dependable that each individual customer considers Paris to be its own personal laundry. RFID is a big boost toward our goals of 100% accountability and 100% customer satisfaction,” he said.
Paris Companies provides textile and linen management services to hospitals and other healthcare organizations in addition to custom uniform rental programs and laundering services to industrial and commercial markets.
