Running Head: DRYCO CLEANERS REDESIGN REPORT

DryCo Cleaners Redesign

In reviewing our current operations at DryCo Cleaners, we have determined there is a need for redesigning our operating processes at all three of our location in order to become more competitive, profitable and sustainable. By implementing this change it will attract new customers, build customers loyalty and allows for all the locations to become integrated with one another into one main operating system as opposed to the three separate systems we are currently using.
DryCo Cleaners was established in 1990 by Frank DeRosa, a local resident of Everett, Massachusetts and a retired Financial Planner, who decided to go into business for himself after retiring from the corporate world. The first store was purchased in Everett, Massachusetts and it provided dry cleaning services to the entire city of Everett, at a time when there were no other dry cleaners in the city. The company was highly profitable in the first few years, since there were no other dry cleaners in the area, there was no competition. After being successful within the first few years of opening, two more establishments were purchased in Newton and Woburn. DryCo Cleaners provides dry cleaning services, clothing restorations and storage facilities.
Since opening the Everett location, other dry cleaners have come into the area. I do not feel that the new dry cleaners in the area have had any impact on the overall profitability for the Everett location due to the fact we have built a good rapport with our customers and the community. The Newton and Woburn locations are in close proximity to the office parks in the area where we receive most of our clientele, there are only four other dry cleaners (two at each location) but they do not offer the extended hours nor do they offer express cleaning services, which both cater to our business customers in the area.
The current operating process that is in place is out dated. In order to get customers in and out quickly the process needs to be revamped. We also need to integrate the three locations in order to cut down on the amount of time to compile the financial aspects of the entire company. The software we have now does not support any financial reporting or location integration. We currently have a part-time bookkeeper to compile the financial data for all three locations. The position will be phased out in the months following implementation of the new computer system. By alleviating the bookkeeper position, we can redistribute that money to the marketing budget.
We will need to take complete inventory of our storage area since there are quite a few articles that either need to be disposed of or monies need to be collected for the storage fees. This process will allow for reorganization of the storage space. The supply closet will also need to be cleaned, inventoried and organized. We will be replacing the cleaning solutions with better biodegradable and organic solutions that are less harmful to the environment as well as implementing a recycling service to handle the empty solution containers.
The main focus of the redesign project is the new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software program, CleanMax. The software is user friendly (compatible to Microsoft Office Suite) and can be integrated with QuickBooks, which will now allow us to combine the accounting aspect of the business with our customer database. The CleanMax software package is designed for dry cleaning services. CleanMax is the only system that produces tickets with garment type, color and patterns (up to 24 colors and 8 patterns), up charges and discounts, press only and alteration options that can be simultaneously processed and issued on the same screen without going back and forth between several screens (Arbelsoft, 2008). The software supports automatic tag assignments and uses RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. The automatic tag assignment has a built in missing ticket search feature and missing items feature that can compile a list of missing tickets and items immediately after scanning, in order to track the garments down and minimize risk. The RFID tagging system will be a great addition to use for our in house storage. We will be able to track down a customer’s storage items quicker with the RFID tagging system (Arbelsoft, 2008).
The CleanMax software offers safe inventory controls and total inventory traceability to prevent losses, cash control to prevent theft, and the ability to diagnose when, where and under whose supervision the cash deficits occurred. All of the security functions will increase employee productivity while creating an environment of transparent and efficient operations. The software provides accurate and secure cash control, produces closing statements, tracks sales statistics and cash flows between every employee shift as well as tailoring security access rights for each employee. The system also provides employee attendance and payroll features. The system has an internal “time-clock” feature which allows each employee to “clock in and out” for their scheduled shift, providing each employee with a unique three digit code security code to access the “time-clock” (Arbelsoft, 2008).
The wonderful addition of marketing tools that the software offers in remarkable. The software offers various types of coupons for any occasion. The coupons can be applied or printed out while processing a customer’s transaction. It also has a customer revenue tracking feature which allows you to rank each customers spending. The software can produce customized notifications, coupons, letters, and such that can be sent to customers via email. The marketing tools that CleanMax offers will save us time and money (Arbelsoft, 2008).

As you can see, I have done an extensive research on selecting a software package that can handle our needs efficiently and effectively by improving the overall quality of our operating process and procedures while integrating all of our locations together. By overhauling the storage area, reorganizing our inventory and revamping our ticket processing, we can achieve successful sustainability.
The next step in the process would be to have a representative from CleanMax come to headquarters for an overall evaluation of our dry cleaning process so we can select the correct level of the software package. Once we have selected the correct package the implementation process will begin. I would like to have a staff meeting this Monday to inform everyone on the upcoming changes and to delegate the reorganization process.
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the redesign, please feel do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at (781) 475-2893.

References
Arbelsoft. (2008). CleanMax. Retrieved June 23, 2011 from http://www.arbelsoft.com