Meet the GBPAP18’s outstanding PTC showcases: Dobbi (The Netherlands)

For the coming period, we will present you week by week, the most outstanding PTC showcases that were officially nominated for The Global Best Practices Awards Program 2018. The profiles of these companies are also present in the WOPCOM platform, which you can access here.

Dobbi (The Netherlands) – Special Awards for Extraordinary Business Development at GBPAP18 – Retail Textile Cleaning.

Synonymous with excellent quality, extensive expertise and flexibility

In this modern age household tasks are being outsourced more and more. Another trend is a growing demand for ‘ultimate convenience’ (like Uber and takeaway). Combine the two and you see why the founders of Dobbi thought it would be a good idea to develop an alternative to both the dry cleaner and the domestic washing machine. Place an order in the Dobbi app, hand your clothes over to the driver, wait a maximum of 48 hours and open your front door one more time. That is how Dobbi makes professional textile cleaning available for everyone in the Netherlands without having to leave the house. But that is not all; it is all organized with a strong focus on quality and the environment.

Network of textile cleaning companies

Every partner in the network undergoes an intensive audit by an external independent agency. Different measurements and examinations are performed. The textile cleaner has to meet strict environmental and quality demands. In addition, the workplace and installations are also assessed for correct use and layout. The dry cleaner has to meet all the standards for both the Quality Guarantee Certificate and the Environmental Certificate of the Dutch Textile Cleaning Association (NETEX). This way Dobbi encourages its partners to run the business in a professional and sustainable manner, e.g. through optimization of operational procedures, good housekeeping and recycling.

The process, how it works

Dobbi offers a simple step-by-step process: 1. Place an order in the app, 2. The first time, you receive a starter kit with a personalized laundry bag in your mailbox the next working day, 3. The driver picks up the laundry within your chosen 2-hour time slot, 4. The order is processed the next working day and you receive an email with an overview of items and pricing and a payment link, 5. Complete the payment of your order, 6. The driver will deliver your cleaned laundry on a weekday of your choosing, within a 2-hour time slot, 7. Your order is delivered in your personal high quality ‘Dry cleaning bag’ or ‘Wash&Fold’ bag.

Quality comes first

Dobbi works with a philosophy that is embedded in everything they do: quality comes first. Whether it is the cleaning of a garment or the delivery service, high quality has to be guaranteed at all times. One way to achieve this is the earlier mentioned certification of partners; another is the use of advanced software. For pick up and delivery, Dobbi has partnered up with Netherland’s biggest logistical company: PostNL.

Place your order in the app

Dobbi’s software module is innovatively integrated with the logistical software of PostNL. First time orders that are placed before 9:00 pm trigger a robot picker to pick and label a starter kit. Also, an order can be tracked and traced from the customer’s doorstep all the way through the cleaning process. Every piece of clothing is inventoried with a small barcode and pictures. In every step of the process, quality checks take place. The software allows for the adding of specific cleaning instructions to each item. These instructions can even be accessed when the customer has the item cleaned another time. Customers can also add requests or notes when they place an order. During inventory, these show up and have to be marked as read by the employee that is handling it.

The partners ensure education and training of employees in line with the NETEX, the Dutch Professional Textile Cleaning Association. certification requirements. Dobbi’s Operations Manager, who is in possession of NETEX’s Master Certificate (highest competence level in PTC), assists them in this. Furthermore, Dobbi’s own team members attend quarterly training days and receive professional coaching.

Conscious choices 

The demanded environmental certificate and its corresponding requirements are not the only manner in which Dobbi meets its environmental responsibility. The personalized laundry bags are reusable and the carbon footprint of the delivery is low as the package is vacuumed for minimal volume and fits in the mailbox.

PostNL (also a shareholder in the company) is on the forefront of sustainable logistics and is constantly investing in reducing its carbon footprint. Currently, they are expanding their electric wheel network as well as e-bike pick ups. From 2007 to 2017, PostNL has reduced its CO2 emissions by 57.1%.

Unique position

Dobbi has a unique position in the world of Laundry on Demand. It is a start-up with support of 2 listed investors as strategic partners and is powered by a well-known household brand in the Netherlands. This has allowed the company to work with big guns in the marketing industry. With unique marketing campaigns that revolve around skipping it (laundry, dry cleaner, sorting, ironing etc.), Dobbi tries to change the way people look at laundry and dry cleaning. Promotion is done through: youtube, influence marketing, affiliate marketing, several social media platforms and more.