The textile rental industry is no stranger to challenges. Inflation, supply chain disruptions, and rising manufacturer costs have all put pressure on operators. And if your business is growing, those costs grow with it. One of the biggest expenses for any textile rental company is merchandise—the uniforms, mats, and linens that keep businesses running.
At Alliant Systems, we believe that while costs may be rising, technology offers a way to fight back. The right tools—when paired with smart strategies—can help textile rental operators track, manage, and bill for merchandise more efficiently. Let’s explore how modern inventory control methods, including RFID and barcoding, are revolutionizing the industry
Managing Your Stockroom: The Key to Cutting Costs
It’s an old saying, but a true one: You can’t control what you don’t measure. If you’re not actively managing your stockroom, it’s easy for costs to spiral. Just like a cluttered closet at home, stockrooms can quickly become disorganized, leading to unnecessary purchases and lost inventory.
Here’s a simple example: If your company avoids just $38 in unnecessary merchandise purchases per day, that adds up to $10,000 in savings per year. Those savings start with good stockroom management.
Best Practices for Manual Inventory Control
Before adding technology, the best operators establish solid manual processes. Companies that already have structured procedures tend to see the most success when implementing barcodes or RFID.
Some key manual best practices include:
If your business already follows these principles, adopting tracking technology will be much smoother. If not, getting these processes in place is the first step.
From Barcodes to RFID: The Evolution of Textile Tracking
Technology has revolutionized inventory control in many industries, and textile rental is no exception. The first retail barcode scan happened in 1974 (on a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum, in case you were wondering). Since then, barcode technology has become a staple in inventory management.
But in textile rental, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) has taken over as the dominant tracking method—and for good reason:
No Line-of-Sight Required – Unlike barcodes, RFID doesn’t require direct scanning, making the process faster and more efficient.
Bulk Scanning – Operators can read multiple items at once, drastically reducing handling time.
Industries outside of textile rental have been using RFID for years—one produce distributor even tracks individual cases of iceberg lettuce with RFID tags. If they can track lettuce, we can certainly track a uniform that costs exponentially more!
The Role of a Textile Conservation Manager
Back in 1985, TRSA published a book called Textile Control, which suggested that when a company grows to about 10 routes, it should consider hiring a Textile Conservation Manager. While that job title isn’t common today, the concept is more relevant than ever.
With the right software and tracking technology, a stockroom manager can play the role of a Textile Conservation Manager—helping to control merchandise costs and reduce unnecessary spending.
The Bottom Line: Technology as a Profit Driver
Adopting modern tracking tools isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about survival. Good merchandise control practices don’t just improve profitability; they can make the difference between a thriving business and one that struggles.
With the combination of smart manual processes and the latest technology, textile rental operators can reduce waste, improve tracking, and boost the bottom line.
What steps is your company taking to modernize inventory management? Let’s start the conversation.