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DoveCorp Enterprises
Processing System for Laundry and Dry Cleaning
Innovation in a Dry Cleaning Business? One Visionary Company Made It Possible
Challenge
Five years ago, Dove Cleaners was a small, downtown Toronto business, with two wholly owned retail outlets and one franchised store. Today, DoveCorp Enterprises is the largest dry cleaning and laundry company in Canada, with 98 retail locations, all in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It has 230 full-time employees. Its 2005 revenue was $6.2 million.
In 2001, Dove Cleaners became the first retail dry cleaner to ever receive ISO 9001 certification. It meant that the company could offer customers a guaranteed level of quality. As for the dry-cleaning business as a whole, DoveCorp's 2003 business plan summed it up this way:
"There are 3,300 dry cleaners in Ontario, the majority of whom are independents. Statistics Canada estimates that 70 per cent of dry cleaning businesses have less than $200,000 in sales. Even in the GTA, Canada's largest urban market, there are no city-wide chains and few multi-unit participants. There is no clear industry leader or primary brand.
"There are virtually no quality-control platforms, ISO standards or processes, POS/MIS or CRM systems. The micro size of most enterprises has precluded firms from employing professional management skills."
Moreover, the industry was facing substantial new capital costs to comply with provincial environmental legislation regarding the use of cleaning solvents. In short, many enterprises would be open to takeover offers, and technology was the cornerstone of DoveCorp's expansion plans. As the business plan put it:
"Technology is the key to cash control, asset utilization and the efficient management of the business. As part of the consolidation, we will own the most advanced system developed for this industry."
Solution
In essence, starting with a new processing plant, DoveCorp introduced a suite of technologies into a sector where they had been seldom used.
The new two-storey conveyor system can sort and assemble items for up to 150 retail outlets. The patented two-tier garment-tracking system, which runs on a Microsoft .Net platform, captures the colour and manufacturer of a garment, the time it enters the plant and the time when it is due back at the store. Another system monitors the boilers' temperatures and automatically switches them on and off as required. The plant and the 98 stores are linked by an intranet.
Management information is provided by a point-of-sale system in the stores, a routing system for vehicles and a decision support system, which links all elements of the business to financial reporting. In addition, DoveCorp has reason to believe it was the first dry cleaning and laundry company in North America to implement an online ordering system and the first Canadian firm to use bar-coding in this sector.
Results
In traditional dry cleaning establishments, much of the employees' time is spent sorting garments rather than cleaning them. At DoveCorp, each garment is now identifiable down to the fabric, manufacturer and number of cleanings. Its single-plant processing system has increased throughput to 180 pieces an hour for each workstation from 90, resulting in substantially lower labour costs. The system has also greatly reduced the number of lost items.
Automated boiler monitoring has lowered fuel costs, and strict control of solvents has improved workplace safety and conditions.
Innovative Use of Technology
DoveCorp was the first company in its market to use such a suite of technology. Its competitors are now following its lead.
A 2006 CIPA Winner!
For its exceptional application of information technology to solve real-world business problems and advance its industry, DoveCorp Enterprises has been awarded a 2006 CIPA Gold Award of Excellence in the Efficiency and Operational Improvements, For Profit category.
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