Gerard van de Donk, who became part of ABS in 1991, has played a pivotal role in guiding the company’s growth and accomplishing significant milestones over the years.

“It has been an honor to work with such a dedicated team and to see the company evolve. I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished,” says van de Donk. “This transition is part of a thoughtful and deliberate succession plan. I am confident that Marien van Bezooijen, with his extensive experience and vision, will guide ABS to continued success.”

Van Bezooijen, who serves as the Chief Commercial Officer at ABS, brings a wealth of expertise and a strong background developed through years of dedication within the industry and organization. He has been recognized for his alignment with the company’s values and long-term goals. Van Bezooijen is committed to advancing the work of delivering high standards of service and innovation that ABS is known for.

“We have a talented Management Team and dedicated employees, and I am thrilled to lead ABS as we work closely together to achieve our objectives.” says van Bezooijen. “Together, we will continue to innovate, embrace change to remain competitive and uphold the high level of quality that our customers expect. I look forward to building on the strong foundation laid by Gerard and driving the company towards new heights.”

Gerard van de Donk will remain with the company as a Senior Advisor to ensure a smooth transition. He expresses his commitment to supporting the company’s mission and future endeavors.

“I look forward to watching ABS grow under Marien’s leadership,” he concludes.

Introducing ABSSolute Infinity: The Next Generation of Laundry ERP Software

We are thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of ABSSolute Infinity, our most powerful and versatile application yet, which will make its debut at Texcare 2024. Built with modern laundry operations in mind, ABSSolute Infinity combines the features you know and love with a strong new visual user centric interface, offering users enhanced workflows, intuitive logic, and unmatched functionality.

ABSSolute Infinity harnesses the full power of your web browser, making it accessible from both workstations and tablets, allowing teams to operate on-the-go, no matter the time, place or location. This breakthrough in mobility means users can harness the full power of Infinity’s capabilities anywhere, turning it into a true game-changer in laundry technology.

Designed with a streamlined interface and improved user workflows, ABSSolute Infinity is not only easier to navigate but also more efficient, helping users maximize productivity and achieve operational excellence. With cutting-edge features and advancements, Infinity is built to push the boundaries of what modern laundry ERP software can do.

Contact us to find out more or join us at Texcare 2024 to experience ABSSolute Infinity and see how it can revolutionize your laundry business.

Next week, ABS Laundry Business Solutions will showcase the latest in laundry management innovations.

Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll see at our booth:

• ABSSolute Infinity: Dive into the benefits of our fully web-based client, with a fresh design and enhanced UX.
• ABSSolute Meridian: New dedicated integration platform for connecting third-party software and automation, including CRM, CPaaS, financial systems, HR, route optimization, and garment dispensing solutions, etc.
• New Features: Truck Load & Route Management – advanced logistics tools with real-time tracking, proof of delivery, and more.
• Linen & Garment Services: Experience innovations in batch tracking, UHF RFID and Robotic integration.
• ABS Academy: Comprehensive library of online courses, 24/7 access to elevate your expertise. ABS Service Management: Discover our customer-first approach with dedicated support.
• AI Vision: Get a glimpse of our future AI strategies for smarter laundry solutions.
• We’re also excited to share sustainable options like RA Cargo Bike Routes, plus our latest advancements in Oracle, cybersecurity, and business intelligence.

Book a Texcare appointment using the button below, or drop by booth C30 Hall 8.0 to discuss how ABSSolute can assist your laundry operations

***BOOK A TEXCARE APPOINTMENT***

Introducing ABS Academy: Elevate Your ABSSolute Skills Anytime, Anywhere

We’re excited to announce the upcoming launch of ABS Academy, our new online service-learning platform, set to go live in the coming days! Designed to help you master ABSSolute and advance your skills, ABS Academy offers personalized learning experiences to elevate your expertise and boost efficiency.

With ABS Academy, you’ll have 24/7 access to a rich library of interactive courses, videos, and practical exercises. Learn at your own pace, revisit topics as needed, and apply new techniques directly to your work. Covering everything from foundational knowledge to advanced functionalities, ABS Academy has something for everyone.

Stay tuned for the launch, and get ready to unlock the full potential of ABSSolute with ABS Academy!

Important Update: ABSSolute Backend Transition from SOAP to REST

We are excited to announce a significant backend update in ABSSolute V9.8 with the introduction of the new REST (Representational State Transfer) protocol for data exchange. REST will completely replace SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) from ABSSolute V9.9
As applications rely on various programming languages and platforms, seamless data sharing becomes crucial. While both SOAP and REST were designed to address this challenge, SOAP’s rigid structure has increasingly become restrictive and complex. REST, on the other hand, offers greater flexibility, speed, and simplicity.

Key advantages of REST include:

– Improved performance
– Faster development and deployment
– Easier integration with modern platforms and technologies

Impact on Existing Installations

With the release of ABSSolute V9.8, both SOAP and REST are supported. However, REST is highly recommended for better performance. Starting with ABSSolute V9.9, SOAP will be phased out completely.

To ensure a smooth transition for customers upgrading to V9.9 or higher, each mobile device running an ABSSolute App will need to be updated individually. A new setting, ‘Mobile REST Services’, must be activated in the app’s system settings under ‘Communication Settings’.

***Click here: SOAP to REST Explained***

Join us as we explore how ABS Laundry Business Solutions can revolutionize your operations and take your business to new heights.

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you require more information after reading the items below or meet us at the 14th TRSA Annual Legislative Conference & Industry Awards Dinner (10th & 11th of April, Washington, DC) or at CleanEx, Ascot (28th and 29th of April)!

Robotics integration with ABSSolute

Through some solid partnerships, we’ve introduced robotics integration with ABSSolute.
At Rentex’ (Bolsward, NL) Linen Packing department, the Movexx AGV is pulling containers and stops at all packing spots as defined in ABSSolute.
At the garment services side, ABSSolute is seamlessly feeding data to the Metricon/JENSEN system for sorting followed by automatic container loading.

A custom-made robot from DBM International is taking care of all the repetitive container loading tasks. Based on ABSSolute Product/Volume information the unique identified containers are being filled.
Once that’s done, delivery documents are generated, printed and attached and the AGV whisks the filled containers over to the expedition area.

***CLICK HERE and Check out the video.***

And as milestone, RENTEX has been working with ABS solutions for almost 30 years now, covering everything from Linen, Garments and Residential Services.

ABS OCI hosting / ABS to the Cloud

We’re thrilled to announce that we’re about to hit a major milestone: 100 plants using ABSSolute on our ABS OCI hosted environments!
Our ABS OCI hosting solutions and technical service level agreements have been getting impressive reviews, making life easier for multiple laundry organizations.
They’re cost saving and getting to concentrate more on what our valued customers do best – their core business!
Ready to join the ABS Cloud? Don’t miss out – could you be next?

Container / Transportation Services

At ABS we’re constantly striving to improve our software solutions to meet your needs efficiently and effectively.
In our ongoing efforts to optimize laundry operations, we have integrated advanced technologies such as RFID and unique coding into our systems.

These innovations have revolutionized the way we manage containers/boxes, making them an indispensable component of our service provision.

With RFID and unique coding, you will gain invaluable insights into usage patterns, allowing you to track and trace containers with unprecedented accuracy.
This enhanced visibility has shed light on instances of misuse, non-returned containers, and even complete loss.

We’re excited to inform you that our ABSSolute system offers comprehensive tracking capabilities, including delivery and pickup at your customer locations.

Moreover, this all is supported with extensive new billing options in case of container (mis)use and loss.

Our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction drives us to continually seek ways to enhance our services.

The UHF RFID traceability at the service of the laundry requires to perfectly control the raw data read by the equipment installed within your industrial process, without slowing down the production flow.

To ensure that 100% of the articles identified by a UHF RFID tag are read, there is only one serious approach: multiply the opportunities for reading articles through high-performance equipment, while finely managing the rules of data management and sharing.

Our ABSSolute ERP natively integrates UHF RFID traceability management and includes many dedicated features to ensure maximum performance and reliability.

The control of traceability is also based on a flawless management of data, its processing, and its transparency. Your customers have access to traceability data that supports your day-to-day operations, thanks to specialized reports and dashboards from our Business Intelligence.

Thus, ending endless discussions and contradictions, ABSSolute puts at the disposal of each, complete, reliable, and fair data!

Benefit today from our strong experience and the power of our turnkey solutions, we are at your side to implement the traceability of tomorrow.

Sustainability and ABSSolute 

Since many years many organizations has seen a great reduction in paper use; thru Automatic E-mailing of invoices and delivery documents, the mobile App “Packing Assistant” instead of packing notes and the use of the “Route Assistant”.  Now this has been taken to the next level:

• Load Optimizer: Less air transported: optimal loading of containers.
• Product Recycling and Re-Use:
  • Stockroom management and automated reservations
  • Re-Cycle ragged items (proper instructions)
• Route Management
  • Analysis of service- versus travel-time
  • Plotting multiple route/stops on map
  • More delivered in 1 stop (combining services)

Recycling ragged items? ABSSolute will now help the employees in charge of removing worn out textiles by offering a visual presentation of the fabric of the items – enabling quick and correct pre-sorting of the ragged items, before they are sent for recycling.

Routes to be combined: in case multiple plant locations provide services to the same customer or region, the option is added to share the same route from multiple plants.

ABS Laundry Business Solutions appoints new CEO and CCO 

July 1st, 2023, ABS Laundry Business Solutions, a worldwide leading provider of Laundry ERP Software Services & Solutions, recently announced changes to its senior leadership team.

Gerard van de Donk, the current CCO for ABS, has been appointed as the new CEO. Gerard will succeed Anne de Boer, founder of ABS, who announced his intention to retire from ABS Laundry Business Solutions by the end of 2023. 

Gerard has worked for 32 years at ABS Laundry Business Solutions in a variety of roles including strategy, leadership, marketing, and sales. Gerard was instrumental in enhancing profitability while placing a consistent focus on improving the customer experience by emphasizing best-in-class quality software and service. His laundry industry background and experience working throughout the ABS organization will help him lead the company into the future.

Gerard van de Donk: “My ambition lies in the continuation of expanding ABS Laundry Business Solutions to maximize our potential for our customers and organization worldwide. ABS Laundry Business Solutions consists of 175 team members that are all experts in their domain, with whom we focus on continuous investments in new technology and functionality, to support expanding the partnership with our customers and continued growth.  Embracing the opportunities related to our Secure Cloud Hosting Services, advancing our SaaS offering and recognizing the strength of our dedicated team, this will be a solid basis for the organic growth of our company. We see great potential here and I am very excited and honored to give direction to realize these goals.” 

Marien van Bezooijen has been appointed as the new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of ABS Laundry Business Solutions.

Marien brings over 20 years of experience in IT services with executive roles at Managed Services & ERP Solution providers, including the Managing Director position at Gotli Labs during the last 5 years. Marien’s profound expertise in the IT sector combined with commercial talent and leadership will be essential for further developing the proposition and building a versatile worldwide sales organization at ABS Laundry Business Solutions.

Marien van Bezooijen: “This is a great time to be joining ABS Laundry Business Solutions. Our market is changing rapidly, and customers’ expectations are increasing. This presents huge potential and opportunities for innovative companies like ABS. Through several Sales and Management positions I have experienced the key drivers for a successful commercial strategy and execution. The stated ambition and high level of enthusiasm at ABS provide a strong foundation for realizing the growth ambition. I am convinced that ABS offers a winning team & proposition and I look forward to expanding and leading the commercial team to continue to grow ABS Laundry Business Solutions worldwide.”

We have full confidence that these organizational changes will contribute to the long-term stability and growth of ABS Laundry Business Solutions. As a member of the stock listed Vitec Software Group AB (www.vitecsoftware.com) and the expertise of our teams, we look forward to a healthy continuation of our developments and services.

About ABS Laundry Business Solutions

ABS was founded in 1987 and is the global market leader in ERP software for the laundry industry. ABS focuses on industrial laundry and textile rental services.

ABS serves over 650 laundry facilities across 5 continents, with more than 15,000 active system users, and more than 12,000 mobile app users. ABS has service and support locations in the Netherlands, United States, Romania, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, and Japan.

For more information, visit www.abslbs.com!

ABS Laundry Business Solutions proudly announces the renewal of their ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications, granted by Dekra Certification B.V. These certifications once again prove the solidity of our commitment to quality and information security.

• With ISO 9001, ABS ensures the consistent delivery of ABSSolute. A continuous focus on customer satisfaction, efficient processes and continuous improvement.
• The ISO 27001 certification highlights our commitment to protecting sensitive information, including processes and procedures to have the maximum security in place.

ABSSolute’s Facility Services Module

Over the last couple of years, ABS has continued to innovate and adapt to the evolving needs of the industry. As a result, we are excited to introduce our Facility Services Module, allowing organizations to unlock new revenue streams and expand their service offerings. Some aspects:

• Adding Direct Sales to each stop
• Order taking with Route Assistant
• Example of products: PPE products, Sanitizers, First Aid, Air Refresheners etc
• Truck Stock and replenishment
• Laundry Stock
• Automated Purchasing

By integrating Facility Services into your operations, you can enhance customer satisfaction, drive revenue growth, and get better customer retention. Interested? Contact us!

ABS Hosting

ABS Laundry Business Solutions has been listening to your needs and working diligently to enhance our services. As you may recall from our previous newsletters in March and May, we introduced ABS Hosting.

By choosing ABSSolute Hosting, you gain the following advantages:

• Lowering Total Cost of Ownership: ABS Hosting eliminates the need for on-premise data centers, and server maintenance, enabling you to focus on your core business.
• Enhanced Security: With our data centers and robust security measures, your valuable data is protected against unauthorized access, ensuring confidentiality and compliance.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Our hosting environment is designed to scale seamlessly with your growing business needs.
• Reliable Support: Our dedicated support team is always available to assist you.

Take advantage of ABS Hosting and position your business for the future. Explore the possibilities and reach out to our team to discuss how our hosting solution can benefit your organization! Contact us. 

In our March Newsletter we addressed the Hosting Services of ABS. This has been well received, resulting in many customers asking for ABSSolute-as-a-Service (SaaS) and for the ABS hosting of their systems. In short, again the benefits:

• Uptime and availability guaranteed via the ABS (private) Cloud
• 24/7 availability
• Maximum safety: professionals looking after security and updating the back-end
• Back-up of data & system
• Scalable to the future: your growing business seamlessly supported

Do you want a proposal for getting your ABSSolute system hosted in a private Cloud? Contact us.

Mobile App Truck Load Assistant

What does it do?

• Anyone can now prepare truck loads
• The Truck Load Assistant app does the verification of correct (container) loads per route
• Checking on the Truck Load completeness (no more forgotten carts/hampers)
• Ability to merge loads for a full delivery

This all results in lower costs of transportation and an improved customer satisfaction. In combination with the drop-off / pick-up registration of containers on the mobile app Route Assistant, you get a ‘closed loop’ of all container movements.

Are you planning on replacing or upgrading your server infrastructure? Make sure that you contact ABS first!

ABS provides Application Hosting Solutions on all continents. We guarantee that we have got hosting locations nearby your business: maximum performance is ensured!

Why hosting?

• Uptime and availability guaranteed via ABS (private) Cloud
• 24/7 availability
• Maximum safety: our professionals are looking after your security and are updating the backend of your system
• The back-up of data & systems
• Scalable to the future: your growing business seamlessly supported

ABSSolute: Software as a Service (SaaS)

When you want to learn more about ABSSolute Software as a Service (SaaS) please contact us and we will provide you with a proposal. You can convert your current maintenance & support agreement to an ABSSolute SaaS with which you will receive:

• Use of business line related modules
• Maintenance & Support
• Servers: 24/7 access to the hosted infrastructure (private cloud)
• Uptime and availability guaranteed via the ABS (private) Cloud
• Maximum safety: professionals looking after security and updating the backend
• Scalable to the future: your growing business seamlessly supported
• Back-up Services
• Updating services for ABSSolute
• Operating/Network systems monitoring and hotline
• Technical Application Support

Every B2B SaaS solution needs to fit like a glove, resulting in the lowest Total Cost of Ownership.

Please contact your account manager to get more information and recommendations.

Sustainability at ABS

Our continued effort towards reducing emissions, ABS continues to develop software which enables our customers to maximize the reusability of existing inventory. Recycling of ragged products is also an important aspect, which is supported by the ABSSolute system.

In the past several years, ABS has continued our focus on clean energy:

• Company cars are now hybrid or fully electric powered
• The corporate headquarters using LED lighting for 5 years
• And now, the ABS headquarters is completely on green energy (no gas anymore)

ABS was founded in 1987 and is the global market leader in software for the laundry industry. ABS focuses primarily on multi-plant industrial launderers active in various industries, predominantly healthcare, hospitality, and industrial verticals such as construction and manufacturing.

ABS serves over 650 laundry facilities across 5 continents, with more than 15,000 active users. With offices in the Netherlands, United States, Romania, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Japan.

“ABS has 35 years of experience, and the company is the leading independent provider of software for the global laundry and textile rental industry. The advanced functionality sets the company ahead of its competition and installations of ABSSolute, in some cases with over 1.000 concurrent users, are business critical for customers worldwide. ABS is a profitable and well-managed company with an operation that is a good fit with our business model and corporate culture. We are pleased to welcome 140 new employees to us today,” says Olle Backman, CEO, Vitec Software Group.

“Vitec has a strong position and holds broad expertise in vertical software. For us, it is crucial to have a long-term owner who is committed to the continued development of the company. I am convinced that together we will continue to develop ABS for the benefit of our customers and staff today and in the future,” says Anne de Boer, CEO, ABS Laundry Business Solution.

For more information, please contact
Olle Backman, CEO, Vitec Software Group AB (publ),
olle.backman@vitecsoftware.com, +46 70 632 89 93

Patrik Fransson, Investor Relations, Vitec Software Group AB (publ),
patrik.fransson@vitecsoftware.com, +46 76 942 85 97

About Vitec

Vitec is market leader for Vertical Market Software in the Nordic region. We develop and deliver standard niche software. Vitec grows through acquisitions of well-managed and well-established software companies. The Group’s overall processes together with the employees’ in-depth knowledge of the customer’s local market enables continuous improvement and innovation. Vitec has 1,050 employees, is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, and had net sales of SEK 1,571 million in 2021. Find more at www.vitecsoftware.com.

We are really excited to announce the release 9.06.00. This release contains many new features as well as system security enhancements. As you know, ABS provides you with all news with our Release Notes that you can expect within the next weeks. In this News Letter we like to highlight:

• Container Billing
• Sustainability features
• Facility Services (new module)
• Card Connect Credit Card transactions
• Route Assistant including Payment in Advance

Version 9.06.00 will be bringing you:

Container Billing (extended options)
Protect your property and avoid misuse of containers & carts. Additional contract agreements will avoid losing containers and avoid improper use. Allow your customers to have sufficient transportation material for the laundry services but apply additional charges to compensate any other use and loss.

Sustainability and ABSSolute
Since many years many organizations has seen a great reduction in paper use; thru Automatic E-mailing of invoices and delivery documents, the mobile App “Packing Assistant” instead of packing notes and the use of the “Route Assistant”.  Now this has been taken to the next level:

• Recycling ragged items? ABSSolute will now help the employees in charge of removing worn out textiles by offering a visual presentation of the fabric of the items – enabling a quick and correct pre-sorting of the ragged items, before they are sent for recycling.
• Routes to be combined: in case multiple plant locations provide services to the same customer or region, the option is added to share the same route from multiple plants.
• Adding services to existing stops… see next subject “Facility Services

Facility Services module
During Covid multiple organizations have introduced additional services to their existing accounts, combined with the existing linen- or garment delivery. This Facility Services module is allowing direct sales items to be added to a stop. Orders can be taken at the customer location on the Route Assistant. The delivery can be done during a next day/week stop or immediately from the available Truck Stock. Practical examples are PPE products, First Aid exchange/replenishment, sanitizers and re-fills.

Card Connect
ABSSolute now has the full integration with Card Connect available. This enables invoices to be automatically charged via Card Connect including an interface with data returning payments into your Accounts Receivable system. Card Connect requires a subscription.

Route Assistant with Payment In Advance
In case accounts are services with Direct Invoices and Cash On Delivery, the Route Assistant now supports the handling of pre-paid amounts. This option now avoids additional manual notes to be made.

And there is more! Please check the release notes of ABSSolute 9.06.00.