In 2018, Rent the Runway managed the largest dry cleaning facility in the U.S. from Secaucus, NJ, where I spent a summer as an Operations Analyst. My main challenge was to optimise processes for the thousands of garments arriving daily from all over the country. Some items simply needed a wash and dry, while others demanded extra care—whether it was stain removal, ironing, or repair.
Working across several departments meant coordinating manual tasks and predicting the right number of staff based on fluctuating volumes. If you’ve ever struggled with scheduling in a busy setting, you’ll appreciate how complex it was to balance regular cleaning with special treatments. I built an optimisation model that not only forecasted inbound loads but also highlighted items needing extra attention and identified potential bottlenecks between teams. This hands-on experience solidified my belief in using clear, data-driven insights to make operations smoother and more efficient.
