Up to eight metric tons of workwear a day: at Wäscherei Heim, every move has to be right. In Berlin and Bad Liebenwerda, head of business unit Cindy Schmidt is responsible for 185 employees in production, the vehicle fleet, administration and sales. Every shift has to be perfectly staffed so that every order reaches the customer on time. “We used to have a jigsaw of Excel lists and notices. Today, everything is digital,” says the master textile cleaner. “Our staff scheduling and payroll are faster, more transparent and more reliable as a result. And thanks to Dyflexis, with a high level of data security.”
Up to 10,000 items a day, and no time for paperwork
W. Heim is on a growth path: what started in 1938 as a small laundry for private customers in Berlin is now a mid-sized textile services company with 1,000 customers. Every day, 10,000 items are washed, sorted, folded and delivered: workwear for trades, industry, the food sector and healthcare.
Most customers no longer own their protective clothing, overalls, aprons or coats themselves, but lease them through mietwäsche, a network that W. Heim belongs to as an independent company. The large-scale laundry handles cleaning and logistics for customers in all eastern German states, in Schleswig-Holstein and in North Rhine-Westphalia. For that to run smoothly, you need first-class workforce management.
“At some point, Excel was just too error-prone”
Before digital staff scheduling was introduced, a lot at W. Heim was done by hand: schedules in Excel, leave lists in separate files, notices on five bulletin boards. “Our shifts are fairly constant, but vacation periods were hard to keep track of,” Schmidt recalls. “We had to compare several files for that.” Time-consuming and error-prone.
On top of that, each shift needs trained first aiders and fire safety officers. But in the past, only a few people knew who on the team had the right qualifications. Today, this information is stored directly in the system. “All shift leaders can see at a glance whether the legal requirements are met,” says Schmidt. That saves working time and nerves.
Fleet, student jobs, break times: all under control
Scheduling the vehicle fleet used to be particularly demanding: drivers don’t work in one place, but cover large areas in eastern Germany, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia. “With Dyflexis, they can now clock in directly on their phone, with no paperwork at all,” says Berlin-born Schmidt. A bonus: “Cheating is no longer possible, because the system only works within a set radius. That makes things fairer.”
Seasonal workers under 18 can now also be scheduled easily with reduced hours and limited annual availability. And Dyflexis now distinguishes between paid and unpaid breaks. “There used to be no clean solution for that. Now there is,” says Cindy Schmidt. The software was even tailored to the laundry’s needs. “The Dyflexis IT team was very open to our suggestions. That’s rare in the industry.”
Data security as another must
Besides smooth scheduling, Cindy Schmidt puts great emphasis on IT security. More and more customers want to know exactly where and how their employees’ data is processed. Understandable, because workwear often carries the wearer’s name. “IT security is a big issue,” she says. “And we are a potential gateway, even if it’s only about names.” That’s why W. Heim only uses software that is legally compliant and hosted in Europe, including for time tracking and payroll.
Implementation with a workshop and a personal connection
Getting started with Dyflexis was quick: a test run in May 2024 and a full roll-out by September. A key success factor was a full-day workshop at W. Heim, led by three Dyflexis employees. “Our most important people could test the software straight away and get to know their contacts,” says Cindy Schmidt. “That built trust.”
That made it easy later on to ask questions or sort out problems, without hotlines or long waiting times. “Especially colleagues without much IT experience are then more willing to work with the system,” says the head of business unit.
Reporting instead of guesswork: data that really helps
Cindy Schmidt now also uses Dyflexis strategically: with the reporting function, she can analyze staff costs, output and revenue daily, instead of only once a month as before.
An eye-opener: “On hot days, our production output drops at 26 to 27 degrees, not just at 30. With that knowledge, we can plan heat protection measures more precisely and earlier.” Investments in new air-conditioning can also be assessed better this way.
Something else Schmidt spotted in the Dyflexis data: “When production slows down, we notice it in the fleet three days later. So we now adjust the schedule ahead of time and save money.” A win-win.
Payroll with DATEV? Sorted.
Another advantage: the payroll connection to DATEV is built in. W. Heim can prepare payroll in Dyflexis and pass the data to DATEV automatically. That saves admin time and increases team satisfaction. “We get far fewer questions about payroll,” says Cindy Schmidt. “Everyone sees their hours in the app, reports discrepancies straight away and requests leave right there. That saves both sides a lot of paperwork.”
“I would recommend Dyflexis any time”
As an experienced master textile cleaner with a clear eye for processes and people, Cindy Schmidt knows what matters when digitalizing a laundry: transparent processes, clear communication and a system that thinks along. The 48-year-old, who loves extreme hikes of up to 65 kilometers, would recommend Dyflexis any time. “The software is well thought out, easy to use and continuously developed,” Cindy Schmidt says. “We save time, avoid mistakes and finally have a real overview. And the team? Much happier. That’s exactly how it should be.”
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