Artificial intelligence (AI) is all the rage in industry circles, not unlike the rise of the internet 30 years ago. And while laundry operators today are intrigued by AI and how it could benefit their operations, many are unsure where to begin.

“One thing is for sure,” says Ernest Addington, COO of Halifax Linen Service Inc., Roanoke Rapids, NC. “AI is here, and we’ll have to embrace it or be left behind.” But Addington, whose company pioneered the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) in textiles, adds that, “It comes down to ‘What’s the how’?”

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