Car Wash Center Uses Datalogic’s PowerScan™ Readers and the Memor™ Mobile Computer to Track Services Performed on Vehicles
Overview
Mr. Wash is a popular car wash center with 32 locations throughout Germany. With more than 80 employees at each location, not only does Mr. Wash offer a car wash service for its customers, but employees are also available to clean and vacuum the interior of the cars as well as polish the exterior of vehicles. Additionally, an oil change service and self-serve gas pumps are available, providing a one-stop car service for its customers.
Each of the 13,000 square meter centers is capable of washing approximately 3,000 vehicles a day. With this potential traffic coming through on a daily basis, organizing the work force, tracking services performed for the customers and managing inventory is critical to the success of the Mr. Wash car centers.
The Challenge
With so much potential business available for each customer, a new process was needed to replace the outdated ‘paper trails’ which had hampered and provided unique challenges to Mr. Wash. This new process needed the capability of tracking and optimizing the services rendered to each vehicle, along with managing inventory items. Additionally, the car wash service as well as gasoline usage required the capability of controlling resources, producing receipts for services rendered and paid for, as well as keeping up with inventory of specific items used in oil changes.
With 32 locations to manage, this process needed to ensure that operations worked as efficiently as possible and that all angles of managing the resources were covered. All of these needs seemed like a monumental task which would require a unique solution. The planning of inventory replenishment was also a consideration to be worked into the process, as well as a goal to increase productivity and efficiency throughout each location.
The Solution
Considering the complexity of these needs, including possible future expansions into additional cities, Mr. Wash chose to incorporate a system that utilized automatic identification and data capture (AIDC). The owners of the Mr. Wash car centers approached Aisci Ident, a Datalogic Quality partner, who was very capable of implementing a solution to meet the needs for all of the car wash centers.
Beginning with the car wash service, the Memor™ mobile computers from Datalogic Mobile were introduced. The mobile computers are connected to a small mobile printer via Bluetooth® wireless technology, capable of generating a receipt. As a car approaches the entrance of the car wash, a Mr. Wash employee with a Memor mobile computer greets the customer. The customer has the option of choosing 6 different washing cycles available in the car wash area. The customer places their request (car wash, interior cleaning, oil change, etc.) with the employee, who keys in the order for those services into the mobile computer.
After the customer remits payment for the services requested, the order is then sent from the Memor mobile computer to the mobile printer using Bluetooth® wireless technology. The mobile printer generates a receipt which includes a bar code containing all of the information for the services purchased by that particular customer. This receipt is then placed on the dashboard of the vehicle and the car is moved to the first station in the car wash area.
Another employee meets the vehicle with a Datalogic PowerScan™ PM8300 mobile bar code reader. The employee scans the bar code on the receipt through the windshield of the car, which provides specific directions on the screen of the mobile reader for services that are needed at that particular station. The employee provides those services to the vehicle. Within seconds, a validity check is completed and the data is sent to the host using the Datalogic STAR Cordless System™ narrow band radio. At other stations, the PowerScan PD8300 corded handheld reader is used to collect the data and this process is continued until all of the services requested and paid for have been completed. A typical car wash including internal cleaning of the vehicle takes only about 10 minutes, but the added efficiency from using the bar code solution has improved tremendously.
All of the data gathered with each customer is transmitted to the Memor mobile computer and stored within its memory. At the end of each shift, all of the data collected is uploaded to the host system where it is permanently stored and easily accessed.
The Results
When all of these systems were configured to work perfectly together, the results for the employees and management of Mr. Wash were amazing! The process of car washing and the affiliated services became more efficient due to the implementation and accuracy of the entire data capture solution. With the ease of use associated with the Memor mobile computer and the PowerScan handheld readers, training efforts with employees are quick and efficient, providing another benefit to management.
The ruggedness of both the Memor mobile computer and the PowerScan handheld readers are great assets to Mr. Wash. Because of this success, Mr. Wash currently uses about 80 Memor mobile computers and 120 PowerScans throughout their 32 locations. Arndt Kaiser, Manager of IT services at Mr. Wash noted, “With our solution we solved more than one issue, including the optimization of processes for the customers and improving the procedures for employees who now can fully rely on the collected data for planning and controlling resources and purchases. The Memor mobile computer and the PowerScan readers allow us to live up to our standards: high quality, fast processes with attractive prices.”
Customer
Mr. Wash Auto-Service AG
Industry
Services
Sub-Industry
Commercial Services
Application
Track and Trace
Country
Germany
Datalogic Product
PowerScan™ PM8300
PowerScan™ PD8300
Memor™ Mobile Computer
STAR Cordless System™
Datalogic Partner
Aisci Ident
