SUCH optimizes hygiene, hospital trust, and resilience with Polytex automated laundry solutions

Background

Service for University Hospitals (SUCH) is a strategic partner of the National Health Service in Portugal. It handles the complex logistics of hospital linen management across the country, operating multiple industrial laundries. Being able to deliver requisite quantities of hygienic linen to hospitals on time is vital to both patient wellbeing and healthcare professionals’ performance.

Top five achievements

Polytex helped SUCH transform its industrial laundry operations from bulk weight tracking to full item-level traceability using RFID technology and automated distribution systems. Its biggest achievements are:

  1. Precision monitoring: Shifted from weight-based management to precise item-level textile control
  2. Complete traceability: Achieved full traceability from initial laundering through onsite usage
  3. Stable service delivery: Eliminated bottlenecks through real-time inventory visibility across 19 hospitals
  4. Performance transparency: Enhanced client trust by providing performance data
  5. Improved hygiene: Reduced cross-contamination risks with touch-free linen distribution

Customer Testimonials

With textile traceability, we understand what each department consumes and can easily replenish the quantities of uniforms and linens that are actually being used in each department according to their needs... With all the data we now have in real time, we can meet the needs of each healthcare provider.

Miguel Fuentes

Chief Manager, Hospital Linen Management and Treatment, SUCH

CUSTOMER NEEDS

For years, SUCH relied on weight-based laundry management, which offered no visibility into individual item status or usage. To scale effectively, they needed to move toward granular, item-based automated management. That way, SUCH would be able to verify that every piece entering the laundry is accounted for, guaranteeing that the exact same textile item returns to the linen room – supporting the hygienic laundry cycle and fast-paced operations required by Portuguese hospitals.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Full visibility: Track every individual textile item through the entire laundry cycle, from soiled item to linen room.
  • Hygienic control: Minimize cross-contamination risks.
  • Proven performance: Demonstrate service delivery and performance to hospital clients through transparent, real-time data.
  • Asset protection: Prevent loss of high-value linens.
  • Service reliability: Guarantee the right items reach the right hospital and department at the right time, around the clock.

THE SOLUTION

To bridge the visibility gap, SUCH implemented Polytex’s unified RFID-based ecosystem across 19 Portuguese hospitals. Polytex delivers a unique market advantage: it is the only solution providing integrated hardware and software for both the laundry floor and the hospital facility, all managed under a single cloud
platform. By tagging each item as a unique asset, SUCH replaced bulk approximations with precise, item-level accountability throughout the entire textile cycle. This end-to-end control is managed with the Polytex Total Care Manager, capturing every movement through dispensing units, smart cabinets, and doorway readers. Coimbra Hospital showcases this ecosystem with 32 automated units, syncing laundry and ward operations for total closed-loop transparency.

Key elements of the implementation include:

• Unified RFID ecosystem deployed across 19 hospitals, connecting textile operations from laundry processing to hospital distribution points

• Integrated hardware and software infrastructure managed through a single cloud platform, creating continuous visibility across all sites

• Item-level tracking replacing bulk inventory assumptions, enabling accurate monitoring of each garment throughout its lifecycle

• Real-time movement capture through dispensing units, smart cabinets, and doorway readers, supporting a fully closed-loop management process at Coimbra Hospital with 32 automated units

RESULTS

Hospital textiles became fully visible and manageable across the entire lifecycle, turning a fragmented process into a controlled, traceable, and data-driven operation.

100% textile traceability
All textile items are tracked from the initial laundering stage to final linen room delivery, driving better inventory management.
Optimized linen replenishment
Real-time insights into the exact consumption needs of each department facilitate reliable stocking of all requisite items around the clock.
Emergency readiness
Hospital laundries can now maintain substantial emergency stocks, ensuring a high level of operational response even during catastrophes or supply chain difficulties.
Hygienic safety and control
Automated dispensing and collection units effectively mitigate the risk of cross-contamination, preserving a hygienic cycle for all hospital textiles.
Enhanced partner standing
The ability to clearly demonstrate performance through the Polytex management software data has increased client trust and enhanced the value SUCH brings to the Portuguese National Health Service.
Future-ready operations
The implementation of the Polytex laundry management solution and RFID technology provides a foundation for further optimization, such as future integration with AI tools.