This is a question we hear often. But even more often, we hear…
1. HOW CAN YOU ACHIEVE SAVINGS WITHOUT COMPROMISING QUALITY?
Laundry services are rarely at the top of the list of strategic purchases for a hospital or care facility. Yet just a few problems with collection, laundry quality or delivery times can quickly demonstrate how important – and how cost-intensive – this area actually is.
In most cases, laundry services are outsourced and the facility selects an external provider.
Smaller care facilities may still handle part of their laundry in-house, provided they have the appropriate staff and technical infrastructure.
So where should you start?
First, you need to answer a basic question: what exactly are we washing?
In the laundry industry, the term flat linen is commonly used. This primarily includes sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, protective pads and towels.
For larger facilities, the volume of this type of linen is often analysed in tonnes per month. As an indication, an average hospital with 150-250 beds may generate approximately 15-35 tonnes of linen per month, while a care facility for 50–100 residents may generate around 3-8 tonnes.
These figures are indicative only. The actual volume depends, among other things, on occupancy levels, the type of facility and how frequently linen is changed.
Fitted and garment linen, such as gowns, patient clothing or workwear, may instead be charged by weight or per item.
That is why a simple request sent to the market: “We need a quote for laundry services. Please provide your price” – should not be the starting point of the process.
You are not buying laundry. You are buying an entire process – a comprehensive service.
The linen needs to be collected from the facility, properly prepared, sorted, washed, dried, folded, protected and returned.
On time. In the right quantity. At the required quality.
Therefore, before preparing a request for quotation, it is worth defining:
– the type and volume of linen on a monthly and annual basis,
– the split between flat linen and garment linen,
– the frequency of collections and deliveries,
– the required turnaround time,
– the billing method,
– the scope of transportation,
– textile identification and labelling requirements,
– responsibility for lost, mixed-up or damaged items,
– the planned contract duration.
Only then can you prepare a well-structured request for quotation and start the supplier selection process.
2. LAUNDRY PROCESS SAFETY MATTERS
In a hospital or care facility, a laundry service cannot be assessed solely on whether the provider “washes well”.
It is important to verify whether the laundry has and consistently follows procedures covering the entire linen handling process – from the collection and transportation of soiled linen, through sorting in the dirty area and the handling of potentially biologically contaminated linen, to washing and disinfection.
Clear separation between dirty and clean areas is also essential, as is the proper organisation of subsequent stages, including drying, ironing, folding and packaging.
Procedures should also cover the regular cleaning and disinfection of rooms and equipment, the safe transportation of clean linen, quality control and documentation of the process.
Simply stating that the service is performed well – supported by a few references from several years ago – is not enough.
It is worth understanding how linen flows through the facility, how the clean and dirty areas are separated, how the process is controlled and what happens when a non-conformity occurs.
3. WHAT ABOUT TRANSPORTATION?
Transportation matters.
You can have excellent washing quality, but if clean linen does not return to the facility when it is needed, the problem remains.
This became particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when contaminated linen had to be properly secured and handled.
That is why, when evaluating a laundry provider, you should ask not only about the price, but also:
– How often is linen collected?
– What is the standard service turnaround time?
– What happens in the event of an urgent requirement?
– Are collections and deliveries possible at weekends and on public holidays?
– What happens in the event of a laundry breakdown, and does the supplier have a contingency solution?
– Who is responsible for the cost of repairing damaged linen?
These are questions worth asking before a problem occurs, not when the facility is already running out of clean bed linen.
4. THE LOWEST PRICE DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN THE LOWEST COST
When purchasing laundry services, it is easy to focus on one number: the price per kilogram.
But not every kilogram is the same.
That is why, when selecting a laundry provider, it is worth looking at the service from a TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) perspective.
Instead of asking only: “How much does the laundry cost?”ask: “How much will the entire service actually cost us?”
So, how can you compare offers effectively?
A good offer is one that can genuinely be compared with another offer.
If one supplier quotes a price per kilogram, another per item, and a third proposes a fixed monthly fee, it is difficult to make a meaningful comparison.
You need not only the same units of measurement, but also the same evaluation criteria for every supplier.
Only then can you truly compare offers “apples to apples”.
5 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE SELECTING A LAUNDRY PROVIDER
1. What will the entire service process look like for our facility?
2. What exactly is included in the quoted price?
3. How will dirty and clean linen be separated and handled?
4. How are emergency situations managed?
5. What collection and delivery times are guaranteed?
A good laundry provider should take the problem off your hands
For a hospital or care facility, the laundry provider should be one of those suppliers the staff do not have to think about every day.
The linen should be collected. It should come back on time. In the right quantity and at the required quality.
And when something unexpected happens, the supplier should have or find a solution, rather than simply provide an explanation.
THE BEST CHOICE OF LAUNDRY PROVIDER?
It is not necessarily the lowest price.
It is a provider that understands the facility’s needs, ensures quality and continuity of service, and when a problem arises, responds instead of making excuses.
Only then can we talk about a true partnership – rather than simply a supplier and a purchased service.