This Without That in the Laundromat Business

Pick-up and delivery (PUD) is often just an additional service for a laundromat, but as Saichelle McNeill shared at the Laundry CEO Forum, PUD can succeed as a standalone business.

How She Does It

Saichelle manages six delivery vans and employs full-time drivers, but she outsources the washing and folding to third-party vendors (soon to be in-house with the dedicated facility she is building). She also relies on technology, like customer booking platforms and route optimization software, to manage deliveries and communicate with clients.

Pros

Lower costs: You don’t have to pay for utilities, equipment maintenance, insurance, or staff for a physical location.

Ability to scale: Without the demands of managing a laundromat, you can focus on growing your customer base.

Better Customer Experience: With fewer tasks to manage, you can focus on becoming more efficient and providing a better customer experience.

No landlords: No explanation needed (depending on how you handle distribution).

Of course, running a PUD without a laundromat isn’t as easy as it sounds. Any time a business relies on outsourcing, there are going to be challenges.

Thinking about, the thinking of laundry:
Do you really need everything you are being told you need to build a successful laundry business?

Cons:

Difficulty finding and maintaining reliable third-party vendors: The keyword here is “reliable.” There are tons of potential vendors, but it’s not easy finding ones who consistently meet your standards and expectations.

Limited control: Your client trusts you with their laundry. If your vendor drops the ball, it’s your business’s reputation on the line.

Vendor unpredictability: Vendors can experience equipment breakdowns, take random vacations, or decide to stop working with you without warning.

These aren’t small challenges. In fact, they can be detrimental to your PUD business. Fortunately, these can all be addressed by having solid agreements and contingency plans in place.

That's all I got for you today.
Waleed
🏴‍☠️ ✌️

p.s. Are you going to be anywhere near the Nashville area on October 24th? If so, let's talk laundry at National Laundry Equipment, JD Dixon's meet-and-greet laundry event (details below). See you there!