WashApp is redefining the way we do our laundry

It all started with  the problem faced by Dheeraj who used to work for 6 days  a week at Maruti suzuki as Logistics Manager and hardly had time for washing the clothes. About three hours of that week off he used to spent in this chore and ended up with undesirable results. That gave him the idea of starting a business that handles this regular chore . He came and and pitched the idea to me and wanted me as co-founder with a Bachelor’s degree of Computer science from BITS Pilani thought that we have complementary skills in operations and technology which suits best for this Industry. 

With that idea in mind, we have resigned our jobs and incubated at T-Hub,Hyderabad to work on  the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and launched WashApp in May 2016 with a pilot in the Manikonda suburb of Hyderabad and started operations across IT corridor  in Jan 18 with a team of 6 people.

WashApp App is so simple, all you have to do is schedule  a pick-up via using our  app or website or through a phone call. Based on the time slot, our rider will arrive at your place and  picks your soiled  clothes and drops at our Warehouse Hub.

At the hub, clothes are separately tagged with coded labels and photographed for traceability. All the clothes are then sent to the washing facility where they are sorted based on colour and fabric, and washed in industrial laundry machines with superior chemicals which really protects the fabric. The clothes are then steam ironed, beautifully packed and delivered to customers during the chosen time slot.

We kept our core principles to be simple  which are quality, convenience and reliability.

And with busy lifestyles, people hardly find time for laundry. We operate early in the morning 7:30 am till 10 pm which enables customers to give their clothes based on their convenience. We have also built robust technology for our operations which enables us to reduce all the operational issues and maintain consistency in service.

Laundry is very different when compared to other services in the on-demand economy. Maintaining quality is a big issue. As every laundromat operates on its own rules, there are no standards that are set to be followed which brings inefficiency into the system. As the ticket size is low and in an Uber kind of model 40% of your cost goes towards pick-up and delivery which makes it difficult to even sustain, adding that we have learnt a lot from the failed startups and have met some founders personally to avoid the same mistakes.

We started with an aggregator Model but we failed and took a pivot and spent around 6 months to work on our own 5000 sq ft semi automated laundry facility .We have built strong SOP’s to ensure the entire supply chain process  to operate in smooth manner through which we have achieved consistency.  Being tech savvy we built multiple solutions  which are Atom – which is a perfect CRM and ERP solution for doing Laundry operations and Locus – logistics engine which optimises the route and enables delivery boys to save time and fuel.

WashApp now follows a hub-and-spoke model with a smart scheduling technology  which is recently launched to utilise the manpower optimally. It is also looking to set up laundry kiosks or a pick-up and delivery store where people can drop off clothes and update the details in the app.

The on-demand laundry service market in India is expected to grow to $46.5 billion by next year, according to Euromonitor International. Cashing in on this, several startups have forayed into this space. However, many of them following the Uber (aggregator) model have failed due to excessive costs.We have understood the challenges specifically faced by this industry and had worked for more than 6 months to address the industry problems  rather than acquiring customers.

Our Idea to scale is to establish similar semi automated laundry units which can serve 5000 pcs per day using FOCO Model (Franchise owned Company operated) Currently we  are looking for strategic investors to raise funds and scale our operations across Hyderabad.

At present, WashApp has operations in Gachibowli, Madhapur, Kondapur, KPHB, Pragathi Nagar, Nizampet ,Kukatpally and Jubilee Hills. It has processed more than 2  lakh clothes over 14,000 orders, managed by 10 member team. 

we have around 12,000+ app downloads and have also tied up with some hostels and PGs to provide subscription-based service.

we recently launched Monthly plans  which are customisable according to customer specific needs and customers can  save upto 30% when compared to regular prices.

Checkout our website www.getwashapp.in

Here are links to download Washapp iOS and Washapp Android Apps

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