IoB spends five minutes with Marcel Peters, CEO and founder of Dutch start-up Bundles, talking IoT laundry services, reducing waste in the supply chain, and subscription-based revenue models.
What does Bundles do?
Bundles is a software and service company that enables home appliance suppliers to offer their products as-a-service. We setup these subscription businesses together with our customers/partners to create more value for the end-user and less waste in the supply chain. This way the use of sustainable appliances and consumables becomes more economical than the use of ‘disposable’ ones. We do this by connecting appliances and their users to the internet and use the data to design awesome subscriptions, activate sales channels, do effective fulfillment and manage the lifetime value of the material resources and consumer relationships.
Who are you targeting?
We’re targeting manufacturers and service providers in search of renewing their business model towards a consumer oriented, circular one. Miele is the first launching customer with whom we setup a laundry subscription business converting consumer segments with higher service need, higher flexibility need or limited budgets.
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How does your subscriptions program work?
We have a fleet of 650 appliance (washers, dryers and dishwashers) that are stationed in the homes of the users. The user pays a minimum fixed monthly tariff and an additional fee per usage cycle. In addition to the appliance ‘rental’ that includes maintenance and service costs we offer an app that coaches the user on reducing the use of the appliance and per cycle use of energy, water and detergent. The app will also include easy access to other services like auto replenishment of detergent, optimal use of time-of-use energy tariffs, moving the appliance, fabric specific advice, dry cleaning services etc. It’s a one-stop shop laundry service.
How do your devices/appliances communicate to reduce waste and improve sustainability?
The current appliance base is connected to a smart energy meter (plug). The data is sent through the consumer broadband to the data-analytics engine where the behavior of the appliance and the behavior of the consumer are analyzed and translated into actions for the user or supply chain.
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If you don’t manufacture the machines, how is your technology installed?
At installation of the appliance the plug is installed between the wall-socket at the appliances plug.
How are you funded?
The Laundry Bundles business is partly funded by Miele and almost cash-flow positive. The appliances are funded through crowdfunding and peer2peer lending. The Bundles platform business is funded by the founders, an impact investment fund and some informal investors. We’re searching for a second seed-investment of £300,000 ($375,000) to further develop our software and replicate the Laundry business towards other categories and countries.
What are your future ambitions?
By the end of 2018 the Bundles software and services should be used in three cash flow positive businesses. By the end of 2020 Bundles will be the leading platform for subscriptions (from a consumer perspective) and the leading software provider for appliance subscription businesses.
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