A STUDY OF THE ROLES OI= PACKAGING AS SEEN BY MANAGERS OF INDUSTRIAL LAUNDRY BUSINESSES Thesis for the Degree of M. S. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Neé S. Neeiy I965 I‘ I“ IIIIII m \w u. .....- 3 1293 1032)! 2)qu LIBRARY Mghlgan Stato mversl'ty 5....) 132011 TNZ6/L‘i‘il OVERDUE FINES: 25¢ per day per item RETURNING LIBRARY HATERIRL§5 Place In book return to remove charge from circulation records A STUDY OF Til: ROLLS OF PASKAGIPIG A3 Swill BY "-I,‘.I'~E.-’\(‘1;.{5 OF INDUSTRIAL LAUNDRY BU311333;3 by Med 3. Neely A THESIS Submitted to Hichigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of I-‘L'ISTER OF SCIENCE Department.of Forest Products School of Packaging 1965 I A B 3 TEL“: C A bTu'UY 0F Trig. ROLLS ()F HIJIZAGIL‘IG A5 dash BY ruthl'aGLfiL)’ OF INDUiTELIAL LAUNDRY BUSIEIQLSJL‘AS by Ned S. Neely Body of Abstract This thesis represents the first phase of a research project being conducted for the Institute of Industrial Launderers by the School of Packaging at fiichigan State University. The goal of the overall project is to define packaging so as to determine the roles of product protection, distribution convenience and psychological impact in packaging in the industrial laundry. The first phase of the study, included in this paper, was a study of the roles of packaging as viewed by industrial laundry managers. A questionnaire was written and mailed to the entire membership to find out how different laundries package and to get the managers' opinions of the functions performed by'packaging in the industrial laundry. The results showed that product protection was ranked as the most important.package function by the majority of managers. This function was accomplished by the wrapping or bagging of a majority of garments. The tying of these packages afforded a certain amount of distribution convenience. Psychological impact seemed to be the least understood function, and the author questions the laundry practices in trying to accomplish it. AC :35 3131513032213 The author would like to thank Dr. J. H. Goff and Mr. Charles Humphrey for allowing the research results from the study for the Institute of Industrial Launderers to be used for this thesis. The author would further like to thank Dr. H. J. Raphael for his assistance throughout this research study and Dr. E. w. Smykay for his assistance with the questionnaire construction. ii TA BLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements cocoooooooooooeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooeeoeo Table Of Contents oooooooooooooooooeooooooooooooooooooooooooeoooeoo List of Tables .................................................... INTRODUCTION o..................................................... CHAPTER I. EXPERIEENTAL PROCEDURE ........................................ Exploratory Research oooooooooooooeoooeoooeoooooooooooeoeoco Questionnaire Objectives 00.00.000.00000000000000000.0000... Questionnaire ConstruCtiOn BDd MBthOd ooooooooooooooooooooeo Sample oooeococooooooooooooooooooooeooooooeooeooeooooeoooooo Tabulation Plan oooooooooooooooooeoeoooeooeooooooooooooooooo II. QUESTIOHKAIRE RETURN SUHKARY RED TABULATION ................... Return Summary ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Categorization Of Returns ooooooooooeoooooooeooooooooooooooc Tabulation oooooooooooooooeoooooooonooooooooooooooooooooeooo Questionnaire Evaluation ooooooooooooooooooooeoooooooooooooo III. QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS oooooooeooooooooooooooeooooeoooeooooooooo Question One Summary oeooooooooooeooeeooooooeeoooooeooooooeo Question TWO Summary ooooooeoooooooeoeoeooooocoooooeeooooooo Question Three Summary ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooeoooooooe Question Four’Summary OOOOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOO00.000000000000000 QUBStiOn Five Summary ooeooooooooooooooooooooeooeooooooooooo QUBStion 311 Summary oooooooooooooooooooooeoooooooooooooooo. Question Seven Summary ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooeooeeoo Question Eight Summary oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooeoooooeo QUEStiOHS Nine and Ten Summary oooeoooooeeooooooooeooooooooe Question Eleven Summary ooooooooeoeooooooooooooeooooooooocoo Question TWBIVG Summary coo-ooooooooooooooooooooeooooooooooo Question Thirteen Summary ooooooooooooooooooooooooooeooooooo Question Fourteen Summary ooooeeoooooooeooooeooooooooooooooo Question Fifteen Summary ooooooooooooooooooeoooooooooooocoo. Question Sixteen Summary oooooooooooOoooooooeoooooooooooeooo Summary Of Results oooooooooooooooooeooooooooooooooooooooooo iii Page ii iii iv TABLE OF coma-5T3 (cormrmm) A IV. CO}ICLU3IO}ID .0...0000......00000000000000OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOO... General .IOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOC market orientation oooooooooeeooooooooooooooeoeoooooooooeoooo The 30168 or Packaging ooooooooooooooooooooooooococo-00000000 BIBLImRAPEIY .0...0.000......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOCCIOOC0.0DOO0.0....0. Page 66 66 68 71 75 1. 3. h. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12 . 13. 1h. 16. 17. 18. 19. LIST OF TABLES Institute of Industrial Launderers packaging questionnaire ..... Letter used to introduce questionnaire ......................... Confidence limits for geographical area of the sample .......... Categorization of open-end questions ........................... Question 1 - Approximately how many people do you employ at your home plant and branches, including routemen? .............. Question 1 cross tabulated with packaging functions ............ Question 1 cross tabulated with type of packaging .............. Question 2 - What geographical area do you service? ............ Question 2 cross tabulated with packaging functions ............ Question 2 cross tabulated with type of packaging .............. Question 3 - Approximately how long has the laundry been handling induatrial prOGUCtS? 00000.000.000000000000000...00.00. Question 3 OMB tabulated With packaging functions oooooooooooo Question 3 cross tabulated With type or packaging oeooeooooooeoe Question h.- Please list the three types of businesses that provide you with your largestrdollar volume.for industrial laundry producta. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooeoeooooooooooooo Question h cross tabulated with package functions .............. Question Ii 61‘088 “131118th "11211va or packaging ooooeoooooooooo Question 5 c‘Who actually makes ayment for industrial garment services? Rank (1, 2, 3 the following according to the most frequent OCCWCO. ooooooooooeoooooooooeoooeeoooooooo Question 5 cross tabulated.with package functions .............. Question 5 cross tabulated with type of packaging .............. Page 11 1h 17 21 22 23 25 25 27 28 29 31 31 33 33 35 20. 21. 22. 23. 2h. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 33. 3h. 35. 3?. vi LIST OF TABLLS (COflTINUED) Question 6 - What are the most common complaints you receive.from your customers? oeoooooooooooooooooooooeoooooooooo Question 6 cross tabulated with package functions ............. QUBStiOR 6 cross tabulated with type Of packaging'............. Question 7, Part 1 - If as part of your normal service, you package any industrial garments, please check the appropriate box for those garments packaged with reapect to their type or packaging. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooeooeoooo Question 7, Part 1, cross tabulated with package functions .... Question 7, Part 2 - If as part of your normal service, you package any industrial garments, please check the appropriate box for those garments packaged with respect to their type or packaging. oooooooooeoooooooooooooooooooooooo mastion 7, Part 2, cross tabulated with package mnctions .... Question 7, Part 2A, cross tabulated with package functions ... Question 7, Part 23, cross tabulated with package functions ... Question 8 - Please check the following for the packaging or SIECKS. ooooooooeoooooeooooooeooooooooooooooooooooeoeoeoooo QDBBtion 8 cross tabulated 31th package fUnctiona oeoooooooooee Question 9 - Do you normally tie, wrap, or bag, separately the individual user's garments? ooooooooooooeoo.oooeoooeoeooooo Question 10 - If the answer to number nine above was no, do you match uniform pants and ShirtS? oooooooooooooooooooooooeoeo Questions 9 and 10 cross tabulated with package functions ..... Questions 9 and 10 cross tabulated with type of packaging ,.... Question 11 - Are industrial laundry garments of the quality to Justify special packaging considerations? "......" Question 11 continued - If YES, WhiCh garments? ooooooooooooooo Question 11 cross tabulated with package mnctions ............ Page 37 38 39 h3 1:? h? 148 149 So So 51 38. 39. U0. h2. vii LIST or news (COPETII‘IUL’D) Question 11 cross tabulated with type Of packaging oooooooooooo Question 12 - Please check the appropriate box for the industrial items that you handle according to the type or packaging they'receive. eooooooooooooooooooooooeoooeooooocoo Question 12 OPOSS tabulated.with.package functions oooooooooooo Question 13 - How are your packages identified for sorting to proper route EHd customer delivery? oooooooooooooooooooooooo Question 1h - Please rank (1, 2. 3) the following functions that can be performed by packaging, according to your Opinion of their importance in the packaging of industrial laundry'prOduCtso oooooooooooooeooooooeoooooooooeoooooooeooooo Breakdown 01 DEGREES function rankings oooeooooeooooooooooooooo Question 15 - Please mark the reasons for the last change YO“ made in your peekaging. eo-ooeoocoo.oooooooooooeoooooooeoo Question 15 cross tabulated with package functions ............ Question 16 - If you think your packaging could be improved, please explain improvements you might make and reasons for them. .................................................... Question 16 continued ......................................... Question 16 cross tabulated with package functions ............ Question 16 cross tabulated with type of packaging ............ Cross tabulation of suggestions for changes in packaging “1th r3830n8.f0r changes ..ooooooooooooooooooooooeooooeeoooeoo. Page 5h 55 S6 57 58 S9 61 61 62 63 INTRLUUCTIUN This thesis represents one phase of a research project being conducted.for the Institute of Industrial Launderers by the School of Packaging at Eichigan State University. The research was conducted under the multi-sponsor research progran conducted by the School of Packaging. The author was employed by Dr. J. w. Goff, Professor Of the School Of Packaging, to conduct the research study for the Institute. The Institute of Industrial Launderers is a national institute organized by laundry businesses engaged in the renting and cleaning of industrial work uniforms and coveralls. One committee of the Institute, the Research and DevelOpment committee, is reaponsible for conducting research into cleaning methods, garment materials, equipment, production techniques, and various other aspects of the industrial laundry business. Packaging is also included in the research scOpe. The goal of the total investigation as established by Dr. Goff and the Institute representative, Mr. Charles Humphrey, Has to determine the advantages or disadvantages of various types and levels of packaging in the industrial laundry. The first phase Of the research study was to be a definition Of packaging for the industrial laundry. This phase of the study consisted of: (1) trips to plants to faniliarize the School of Packaging researchers with industrial laundry Operations and packaging, (2) a survey of industrial laundry managers to determine reasons for packaging as they did, and (3) a survey of users of industrial laundry rental garments to get their Opinions of packaging. The first two parts Of this research study have been completed to date by the author and the 2 following thesis is an analysis of the data gathered. In trying to define packaging in industrial laundry Operations it was necessary to study the roles of product protection, distribution convenience, and psychological impact or sales appeal afforded by the actual package. Consideration of psychological sepects of packaging in the industrial laundry business is a fairly recent develOpment as compared to the use of psychologically appealing packages in the domestic laundry business. In domestic laundries, men's dress shirts, for example, have been folded, handed, and bagged or boxed in fairly eye appealing packages for quite some time. On the other hand, industrial laundry work uniforms, until recently, were only folded and bound with twine. A number of industrial laundry businesses do not handle rental uniforms exclusively. Some are also in the domestic laundry and dry cleaning business, and sons are in the linen supply business. Nevertheless, they all rent similar industrial laundry items. Among these items are colored and white work uniforms (pants and shirts), coveralls, jackets, lab coats, slacks, and white dress shirts. They also rent some items that are not clothing, such as, entrance rugs, wiping cloths, and dust control cloths and mops. All items handled by the laundry are rental items which the laundry periodically distributes and picks up from customers. The laundry washes these items, and in the case of clothing, they are pressed, folded, packaged, marked for distribution to the prOper customer, and delivered. Industrial laundry rental products are used by many types of businesses. Various industrial, retail, wholesale, and service businesses use their products. The rental charges for garments are either paid by business management, the employee, or shared by management and the employee. 3 There are three hundred and ninetyatwo industrial laundry businesses belonging to the Institute of Industrial Launderers in the United States and in a few foreign countries. Packaging is by no means standardized. The packaging for garments runs from folded garments with no packaging to folded garments in paper or plastic bags. Plastic films are fairly new to industrial laundry packaging, but are used extensively in some laundry Operations. The following research paper discusses the development of the questionnaire used in the study, and the results and conclusions from the analysis of the data. CWAPTLR I EXI’flIZfiENTAL PRCXJEDURE ExPloratory Research The first phase of the research investigation included trips to various industrial laundry plants. These trips were taken to acquaint the author with the operation of an industrial laundry and to gain first-hand information on packaging to aid in the construction of a questionnaire which was sent at a later date to the membership. Three plants were visited, two in fichigan and one in Ohio. In one laundry, bundles of folded colored uniforms were tied with twins only, while in the other laundries they were partially wrapped with paper and then tied. In all three laundries the folded white uniforms were completely wrapped in paper and then tied with twine. white dress shirts in all three laundries were packaged similar to domestic laundry packaging'with collar supports and plastic bags. The following is a summary of some of the laundry manager's comments on their packaging: l. Product'protection a. White garments are completely wrapped in paper to protect them.from getting soiled, whereas other products (colored garments) do not need this type of protection. b. Protection from wrinkles due to handling is not.a concern for’most laundry items because of the market serviced. The customers do not care about garment.condition. 2. Distribution convenience a. This is the more important function provided by packaging with respect to grouping and identification of products. 3. Psychological impact or sales appeal a. This is not necessary for the type of product being offered. Industrial laundry products, except for white dress shirts, are not of the quality to be packaged for psychological reasons. All of the managers interviewed stated that packaging in the .‘fichigan area was similar. The conclusion might be drawn that the other laundries in the area package for much the same reasons as those laundries interviewed. The author knew in advance that other states package differently. For example, some plants in Oklahoma use plastics for all garments. It was important to the research study that these other states he sawpled to find out their reason for packaging as they did. Since it was prohibitive to visit even a sample of the widespread membership, the School of Packaging recommended that a questionnaire be sent to all Insti mte members. Questionnaire Objectives The objectives of the questionnaire were: (1) to sample the members to get their Opinions Of packaging functions performed in the industrial laundry and to find out how they package, and (2) to use this information to study relationships between package function opinions and type of packaging; and to stucb' relationships between such things as company size and location, type of packaging, and package function Opinions. 6 Questionnaire Construction and L-Iethod The questionnaire was constructed by the author in collaboration with Dr. H. J. Raphael and Dr. E. w‘. anykay, both of «Lichigan State University, and :1‘. Charles Humphrey of the Institute of Industrial Launderers. The questionnaire was to be mailed to the Institute membership, so it was designed to be short and to have responses which would require a minimum amount of time in answering. Most questions were of the multiple choice type, but a few were open-end and dichotomous questions. Some of the questions were left open-end due to lack of information. Others were designed this way so that the reapondents could have freedom in expression of their opinions. The questionnaire was organized into three basic parts according to the objectives. The first part included questions for classification purposes as well as questions pertaining to methods of operation. The second part was designed to find out how the laundries packaged garments and other industrial laundry products such as wiping cloths and mops. The third part was set up to determine how laundry managers rank packaging functions in their role in industrial laundry packaging. A sample of the questionnaire is included in Table 1. To introduce the questionnaire and to inform the membership about the purpose of the study, the chairman of the Research and Development Committee, fir. Amold Knapp, composed a letter on Institute letterhead that accompanied the questionnaire. A sample of this letter is included in Table 2. Sample The questionnaire was distributed to the total Institute membership 7 of 392. host of these members are located throughout the United States. There are a few in Canada, Australia, and hngland TABLE 1 - Institute of Industrial Launderers packaging questionnaire Please answer the following questions as they pertain to industrial laundry products and Operations only. Packaging, as used in this questionnaire, includes the banding of shirts, the tying, wrapping and tying, or bagging of industrial laundry products. 1. Approximately how many people do you employ at your home plant and branches, including routemen? 2. What geographical area do you service? States Principal Cities 3. Approximately how long has the laundry been handling industrial products? years h. Please list the three types of businesses that provide you with your largest dollar volume for industrial laundry products (i.e. manu- facturing, retail, utilities, etc.). 5. Who actually makes payment for industrial garment service? Please rank (1, 2, 3,) the following according to the most frequent occurence. management employee shared by management and employee 6. What are the most common complaints you receive from your customers (i.e. regarding quality, service, etc.)? 7. If, as part of your normal service, you package any industrial garments, please check the appropriate box for those garments 8 TABLE 1 - continued packaged with respect to their type of packaging. Products Collar or back inserts in shirt Paper band around shirt Plastic bag Paper bag Paper wrap 8c tied with twins Tied with twine Others (please list) Colored industrial uniforms Whi te inch atrial uniforms Covers 113 , coats & jackets White uniform shirts White dress shirts 8. Please check the following for packaging of slacks (dry cleaned). hanger plastic or paper bag over hanger and slacks slacks folded and placed in a paper or plastic bag other (please list) 9. Do yous/normally tie, wrap, or bag separately the individual user's slacks folded and wrapped with paper and tied with twine ga m en'ts ‘2 Yes 1% O 10. If the answer to number nine above was 39, do you match uniform pants and shirts? __________ Yes he ll. Are industrial laundry garments of the quality to Justify special packaging considerations? Yes No If Yes, which garments 9 TABLE 1 - continued 12. Phase check the appropriate box for the industrial items that you handle according to the type of packaging they receive. Item Tied V Other with Plastic Plastic No (plane. was as %m___fl.110 Entnnee rugs or Wiping cloths or towels Treated dust gloths Treated mops 13. How are your packages identified for sorting to proper route and customer delivery? lb. Please rank (1, 2, 3) the following functions that can be performed by packaging, according to your Opinion of their importance in the packaging of industrial laundry products. protection of items from damage caused by dirt and/Or wrinkles, or protecuon of chemical treat- ment for treated mops and dust cloths provides a grouping function, and facilitates identification, handling and/or distribution provides a :;:eti;od for improving sales appeal through advertising on the package or providing an attractive package 15. 10 TABLE 1 - continued Please mark the reasons for the last change you made in your packaging. (mark more than one item, if applicable) to reduce unit costs of packaging to increase quality of products to increase sales appeal of the product - to facilitate handling, distribution, identification, or grouping forced to because competition made a change other (please 11 st.) If you think your packaging could be improved, please explain i-aprovements you might make and reasons for then. 11 TABLE 2 - Letter used to introduce questionnaire Dear Member: Your Research and Development Committee has sponsored a project at the School of Packaging at dichigan State University, the only such school in the United States. The purpose of this project is to define the functions performed by packaging in the industrial laundry industry and how packaging practices can serve to improve the industry's marketing practices. The School has assigned a graduate engineer exclusively to this study. The School indicates the need for a survey of present practices in the industry to develop the kind of information necessary to make sound judgments on behalf of our industry and individual members like yourself. Two cOpies of a questionnaire, deveIOped by the School, are enclosed with this letter. we urgently need your help to complete the questionnaire to get the complete value from this study. One copy of the questionnaire must be returned to the School in the self-addressed stamped enve10pe which is supplied for your convenience. The other copy may be kept for your files. In addition, the School requests your help in supplying them with any packaging materials you presently use which contain any type of advertising COPY. If you use printed Kraft or poly bags or sheets, shirt hands, etc., performing a double function of advertising and packaging, please forward samples to the following address: Mr. N. S. Neely Michigan State University School of Packaging East Lansing, Michigan h8823 Please return the completed questionnaire KO LATER THAN JANUARY’25, 1965. This would allow the School to meet certain time commitments. We believe thatithis questionnaire will help every member of the Institute to improve the industry‘s marketing practices. The complete results of this project will be reported to you. I would like to thank you in advance for your c00peration and help, and to emphasize to you that your answers to the questionnaire will be kept in strictest.confidence by the University. Cordially yours, Arnold R. Knapp, Chairman Research a Development Committee 12 Tabulation Plan Due to the extensive cross tabulations desired of the question- naire responses, the author5 Colored unifoms: Plastic bag 5 275 6 1111‘; S 111:!) Paper bag h 13 l 2 2 6 Paper wrap 6 2O 13 30 7 2O Tied 6 2O 21 119 15 113 otter .9. .29 .2. .9 .9 .12 Total 29 100-1, 1,; 199,1 _3_s_ 3921 White uniforms: Plastic bag 11 37 10 23 8 23 Paper bar. 5 17 3 7 5 11: Paper wrap 7 23 2l 119 13 3b Tied 2 6 h 9 h 11 Other ..5. .17. .5. .12.. .5. .111 Total 19 19.95 11 199 11 1.992 Coveralls and jackets: Plastic bag; 7 23 7 l6 5 111 Paper bag 1 3 - f 1 3 Paper wrap 9 3O 12 2b 6 17 Tied a 27 17 no 17 119 Otter .1 .11 .1 .19 .9 .11 Total .2 19.91 .19. 1.99:3 1.5. 1992*5 'w‘hite uniform shirts: Plastic bag 11 37 12 28 12 31: Paper bag it 13 3 7 3 8 Paper wrap 11 37 20 117 11 31 Tied - - ll 9 2 7 Other .1 .11 .1 .2 .1 .29 Total 19 19.9911 19.9912 199?» White dress shirts: Plastic bag 9 30 1h 33 15 113 Paper bag is 13 2 3 l 3 Paper wrap 5 l7 5 12 h 11 Plastic bag and box - - 6 1h 6 17 Box 1 3 6 1h 5 1h Plastic bag and hanger S 17 S 12 l 3 Other ..(2. .522 .5. .13 .3 ...9. Total 19 199:1 11 199 11 1991 31 Question Four Summary The types of businesses'providing the reapondents with their largest dollar volume are well distributed over all types of businesses as shown in Table 111. Some of the specific types of businesses within each category are as follows: industrial - manufacturing and construction; retail and wholesale - dairies, bakeries, automotive agencies, gasoline service stations, and petroleum bulk stations; service and utilities - hotels, automotive repair services, and telephone, electric and gas utilities. ABLE 1h - question 11 - Please list the three types of businesses that provide you with your largest dollar volume for industrial laundry products. LAL A ‘15P. of Business Number of Responses Percent of Total Industrial 92 82% Retail and wholesale 99 88 Service and utilities 67 60 No answer __1, __y b Total 262' 2311 ' multiple answers 3’based on 112 reaponses The cross tabulations for businesses serviced with packaging functions and type of packaging, Tables 15 and 16, show dmilar preferences for all businesses serviced. TABLE 15 - Question ’4 cross tabulated with package functions Packagfiunctions Product Dis tribution Sales Business Protection Convenience A eal Total Total No Serviced No. 3 No. ? o. No. )1 Answer Industrial 52 5873 22 251 16 171 90 100 2 Retail 55 56 eh 25 18 19 97 100 2 Service 110 62 15 22 11 16 66 100 1 TABLE 16 - ';uestion h cross tabulated with type of packaging 32 wt; Type of Business Serviced Garment and Thdustrial Retail Service Type of Packaging No. % No,‘ b he. a! Colored.Uniforms: Plastic bag It 15% 15 15,75 12 192 Paper bag 7 b 7 7 5 7 Pspcrtwmp 22 2h 2b 2b 3 h Tied 37 L0 39 hO 2? ho other 2.2. 13 22 .2. 2o. .32 Tota1 2 2.2-"6 22 2.02% .62 2.22.3 White uniforms: Plastic bag 21 23 2h 2).; 17 25 Paper bag 12 13 l3 13 ll 16 Paper wrap 39 12 1:1 L2 22 33 Tied 9 10 8 b 7 10 Other 22 .22. 22 .22 22 .22 Total 22_ 2393 ‘22 1003 ‘él ‘gggfi Coveralls and jackets: Plastic bag 15 16 15 15 l2 19 Paper bag 2 2 2 2 2 3 Paper wrap 21 23 23 23 13 19 Tied 37 LO LO bl 26 39 Other 2.1 .22 22 .22 .12 .22 Total 22. 2.02"Z 22 2.2% 21 222T White uniform shirts: Plastic bag 26 27 30 30 2O 30 Paper bag 10 ll 10 10 8 12 Paper wrap 3? ho hl h2 22 33 Tied 6 7 5 S h 6 other 22 1 22. .12. 22 .22 Total 22 .1223 2. 2.02% 21 232% White dress shirts: Plastic bag 32 35 32 33 23 3h Paper bag 7 b 7 7 3 h Paper wrap 13 1h 13 13 9 13 Plastic bag and box b 9 13 13 9 13 Box 13 11: 12 12 8 12 Plastic bag and hanger b 9 ll 11 b 13 Other 22 .22 2.1. .22 .1 .22 Total .92. 222/T 2.2 222% 21 2.02T 33 Question Five Summary Table 17 shows the resultsof the ranking of who makes payment for the garment service. The averagesof the rankings show that payments shared by management and employees are ranked highest in occurence, and payments by'manafiement are ranked second in occurence. This particular item was included in the questionnaire because of the possibility that the type of packaging could vary according to who made the rental payments. This item will become more important in the cross tabulations discussed below. TABLE 17 - Question 5 - Who actually makes payment for industrial garment services? Rank (1, 2, 3) the following according to the most frequent occurence. Average of Rankings Payments made by management Payments made by employee Payments shared by management and employee 1.9h 2.20 1.6h. For purposes of cross tabulation only the mosttimportant (ranked number one) responses to this question were tabulated. the cross tabulation with packaging functions. Table 18 shows Product protection is ranked as most important for those respondents being paid by'management and the employee. When the cost is shared the responses are distributed over all functions. TABLE 18 - Question 5 cross tabulated with package functions Package functions Product Distribution sales Protection Convenience Appeal Total Total Who‘psys No.» _§' 10. if to. a to, 2 Answer management 31 67% 6 13% 9 20% hé l00% 1 Employee 17 6 3 6 3O 2 7 2 7 100 - Shared 15 In 12 32 10 27 37 100 - 3h A look at the other percentages shows an interesting result. Sales appeal is more important where management is paying, while distribution convenience is more important where the anployee is paying. then the cost is shared, both sales appeal and distribution convenience are important. This right point out that a sales appealing package is important to get management to rent uniforms, but distribution convenience or package convenience features are important for the employee because he is handling the package. Table 19 for type of packaging cross tabulated with who pays, shows that when the employee pays or when the costs are shared, plastic bags are used the majority of tires. This might point out that the use of plastic is somewhat related to protection as well as to distribution convenience. On the other hand, when management pays, the majority of garments are either tied or wrapped in paper. A package wrapped in paper provides more protectior than tying, but is it more sales appealing: than a plastic bag? It could be to the laundry. A look ahead to Table 26 shows that for those respondents favoring sales appeal, the responses from those using paper wraps are greater than from those using plastic bags. TABLE 19 - Question 5 cross 35 tabulated with type of packaging Z.‘no Pays for service Cement and TiEnssemen}: haployee iiilareci Type of Packasing to. i No. >3 350. ,2 Colored uniforms: Plastic bag 11 3.6 8 . 301. 9 21:3, Paper bag 5 11 2 7 - - Paper wrap 15 2 5 18 6 16 Tied 18 38 b 30 17 1&6 other .5. .12 .2 .. .2 .22 Total _1-._Z 120;, 21 __1_o_c_)_:2 3; loge Khite uniforms: Plastic bag 5 ll 10 38 16 L3 Paper bag 6 13 S 15 2 5 Paper wrap 23 L6 7 26 12 33 Tied 6 13 2 7 2 5 Other .7. .22 .2 .22 .2 .12 Totol 21 2.02% .22 2.0.2 21 2.3 Coveralls and jackets: Plastic bag I: 8 6 22 10 27 Paper bag 1 2 1 h a - Paper wrap 16 3h 5 18 5 ll: Tied 20 b3 8 3o 16 is Other .6. .12 .1 .22 .2 .22 Total 22. 252'»T 21 222T 27. 222% White uniform shirts: Plastic bag 10 21 10 37 17 146 Paper bag 5 11 h 15 l 3 Paper wrap 22 117 7 26 1h 37 Tied 3 6 3 11 - - Other .7. .22 .2 .22 .2 .22 Total 22 2222 21 392:4 .31 2.02:3 Emits dress shirts: Plastic bag 18 39 12 116 9 23 Paper bag 14 O 2 7 l 3 Paper wrap 11 2h - - 1: ll Plastic bag and box ’2 6 2 7 7 19 Box 2 5 S 18 S 11; Plastic bag and hanger h 8 l h 6 16 other .2 .2 .2 .12: .5. .12 total 21 292% 21 2.2% 22 222% 36 Question 511 Summary The listing of customer complaints is fairly evenly distributed between all three complaint categories as shown in Table 20. As would be expected, the complaints cover‘all sepects of the garaent rental service. The category most important to packaging is the third category on press quality and wrinkles. These two items were included in the same category since a customer might have some difficulty distinguishing between the two. As will be seen later, the type of packaging being used does not protect the product from wrinkles if the package is roughly handled. Test of the packaging materials used are of the flexible variety (eg. plastic film and wrapping paper), except for some boxes used for white dress shirts. A package handling test should probably be conducted in the future to better evaluate this particular problem. TABLE 20 - Juostion 6 - What are the most common complaints you receive from your customers? Number of Percent Complaints Res>onses 6f Total Poor garment quality (shrinkage, dirt, itc.) 72 622322 Poor service (shortages, price, etc.) 62 55 Poor press quality and wrinkles due to handling h? Lb No answer __2 b Total 192“ 17175b a multiple responses 3b based on 112 responses The cross tabulation of complaints with package functions in Table 21 shows that the percentage of complaints is similar no matter what the preference for packare functions. Also, the type of packaging in Table 22 shows no effect on the type of complaints. For all types of packaging the complaints for wrinkles is still listed. This is one sepect of product protection not beiny achieved by laundry packaging. 37 TABLE 21 - Question 6 cross tabulated with package functions ii Package Functions Product Distribution Sales m I eggplainta Pigtectign ngtcn encgp 'fiégggéifi‘ ngal .ogal Angger Poor garment quality DB 604 16 235 12 17% 71 100 1 Poor service 36 60 17 25 7 12 60 100 2 Poor press or wrinkles 3o 61 8 16 11 23 h9 loo TABLE 22 - inestion 6 cross tabulated with type of packaging 0014.18 nts Press or Garnent and Service "wrinkles have of Packaging Ego. T Ifo. “if Colored uniforms: Plastic bag 9 1556 t 161 Paper bag 6 10 2 1; Paper wrap 17 26 12 2S Tied 22 36 20 111 our... .2 .29 ..z .12 Total fig lggs 142 _1_o_g,é shite unifoms: _;“l- :tic bag 15 2h 15 31 Paper bag 10 16 5 10 Paper wrap 25 1:1 19 39 Tied 10 16 10 20 Other _2_ ___2 _: __: Total 2.2. .1292 22 229 Coveralls and jackets: Plastic bag 1h 10 16 8 16 Paper bag 1 2 3 l 2 Paper wrap 17 18 29 15 31 Tied 27 21 31.. 19 30 Other 2 .1}. ....2 .2 .2. Total 12 22. 229' ..2 1.20% White uniform shirts: Plastic bag 26 18 29 15 31 Paper bag ‘3 8 13 h 6 Paper wrap 27 25 111 20 bl Tied h 3 h h 8 Other .12 .2 ..12 .2 .22. Total .9 2.2. 22.3 '9 2.9 White dress shirts: Plastic bag 21 27 141 15 32 Paper bag 10 2 3 6 12 Paper wrap 11 6 10 S 10 Plastic bag and box 9 h 6 6 12 Box 9 7 ll 7 1).; Plastic bag and hanger 9 6 10 7 11; Other .2 22. .29. .2 ...9 Total 12 1: pg 100% $3 329,5 39 Question Seven Summary Question seven on type of packaging for garments is divided into two parts. The first part covers the use of shirt collar supports and paper shirt bands, while the second part covers the actual packaging before shipment. Table 23 shows that paper bands are used alone for colored and white uniform shirts in the majority of cases, while for white dress shirts both collar supports and paper bands are used. The reason for this could be that white dress shirts are packaged similar to domestic white shirts for competitive reasons, or that the industrial laundry also handles domestic white shirts and packages both on the same production line. Both of these packaging items are used for product protection reasons. The paper bands keep the shirts folded in place, and the collar supports protect the collar. TABLE 23 - Question 7, Part 1 - If as part of your normal service, you package any industrial garments, please check the appropriate box for those garments packaged with reapect to their type of packaging. Collar or Back Inserts Paper Bands in Shirt Around Shirt Neither Type Garment 59.. if No. .21 No. ' Colored industrial uniforms 18 16% 73 65% 37 333 White industrial uniforms 19 17 69 62 39 35 Coveralls, costs, and jackets - - 9 8 102 91 White uniform shirts 2? 2h 7h 66 30 27 White dress shirts 57 51 62 55 27 2h Note: The percentage figures run horizontally. Also multiple answers were allowed so the percentages are based on 112 responses. ho Table 2h is a cross tabulation of paper bands and collar supports with the package functions. As shown in the table, there appears to be little relationship for the use of paper bands and collar supports with Opinions of package functions. The non-users have the same opinions of the functions as the users. TABLE,2h - Question 7, part 1, cross tabulated with package functions Packa e Functions Gament 0 08 e and TYpe Protection Convenience Appeal Total Total No of Packaging No., £~ ho. t» No. $7 No. % Answer Colored uniforms: Collar supports 11 61% 2 11% S 28% 18 100 - Paper band b2 57 18 25 13 15 73 100 - Neither l9 56 8 2h 7 20 3b 100 3 White uniforms: Collar supports 11 58 3 16 S 26 19 100 - Paper band 3:: SS 19 28 12 17 69 100 - Neither 23 62 7 l9 7 19 37 100 2 Coveralls: Paper band 5 56 h hh - - 9 100 - Neither S7 57 2 2 22 2 1 2 1 100 100 2 White uniform shirts: Collar supports 17 63 h 15 6 22 27 100 - Paper band U St: 19 26 12 16 7b 100 - Neither 15 5b 6 21 7 25 26 100 2 White dress shirts: Collar supports 29 S 3 15 27 11 20 SS 100 2 Ppper band 36 60 1h 23 10 17 60 100 2 Neither 1h 52 8 30 5 18 27 100 - In Table 25 shows a breakdown of type of packaging for each category of garments. The majority of colored uniforms are tied only or wrapped in paper. Almost the same percentages of coveralls are tied only or wrapped in paper. On the other hand, the majority of white uniforms are packaged with paper wraps or plastic bass. The same is true of white uniform shirts. This result shows that white garments are packaged.more for protection than colored garments. This result is expected, since the white garments would show dirt more easily than colored garments. It is interesting to note, however, that h9i Of the respondents package colored uniforms with a protective cover (plastic bags - 195, paper bags - 6%, tied paper wrap - 2hg), whereas hbz use no protective cover (tied only - 38%, partial wrap - 6;, no packaging - 2;). So, even though colored uniforms are not packaged for protection as much as white uniforms, the results show that reaponses are split sbout.fiftybfifty for covering colored uniforms and not covering colored uniforms. This same comparison could be made for coveralls and the result would be similar. white dress shirts are packaged for protection by all respondents handling this garment. The largest percentawe use plastic bars alone or in combination with boxes and hansers. Here arain, as with collar supports, the reason for the extensive use of plastics could be to remain corpetitive with domestic laundries who use a lot of plastic, or that the laundry also handles domestic white shirts and packages both on the same production line. Table 26 shows the cross tabulation of the types of packaging with the opinions of the package functions. For all types of packaging, product protection is rated as most important. Those respondents using plastic bags generally rated distribution convenience second to protection, while those using paper wraps generally rated sales appeal second to protection. woo." «3 mm 3 3 a we“ 5 mm.“ 2.. mma ma mm m... me n wmn on {Eu 80.6 333 IIIIIIIIIP . .. e .t e duh. d e U lounf e e or m oz M oz m 02 oz M oz M oz oz a oz «2ng H38. H38. .3322 .350 he sum Wade Hem Mom one 0:2 mm mam Me 092. oz use mum mom 5? bonsai. efiuflm 0.333 efieufi «.03 use Q83 honed gfianmmeuwaamsmmfimoammen Sean 50.33 3.3;. Saunasfinaamsuamfifizwmfiom 380 one 383% one 33.350 02 «S«mammmmemamngfiflwmfiafioeafi some.” mooa NS ma H 3 a mu m me p Sn 3 EN pm me b m3 Hm 85035 3.330 N __ .02 m Item M «on . m Jam” M .0m .0 uo egg-o Haas H58 .365 .345 Mama”: can as. 8 as... "am; mam «no.5 on :xoem e33 soda. 5 «I hoe-m 0.334....— oa hes-m 5? .85 and acute.— ued. any: hunch é 1! 3.3.3er as 2R» .323 3 voodoo." 5n— vomnxo-s 335mm 893 you Hon canvassed- 05 3030 8.0.3 .Bgm disses.“ has onions so» again. also: use» no an!» on HH : u fuse J. .3335 I ma mama 143 TABLE 26 - Question 7, part 3, cross tabulated with package functions _: J .__:. ____. t LPackage Functions 1’ Cement Product Distribution sales and Type Protection Convenience Appeal Total Total No of Packaging Tie. 95 No. I No. W No. a 1 Answer Colored uniforms: Plastic bag 12 576 7 33% 2 10% 21 100 - Paper bag 5 72 2 28 - - 7 100 - Paper wrap 17 6S 3 12 6 23 26 100 1 Partial paper wrap h 57 2 29 1 111 7 100 .- Tied 22 52 10 2h 10 2h 12 100 1 White uniforms: Plastic bag 17 55 10 32 h 13 31 100 - Paper bag 6 62 h 31 1 7 13 100 - Paper wrap 21: 59 7 17 10 21.: 1:1 100 2 Partial paper wrap 3 SO 2 33 l 17 6 100 - Tied 6 60 2 2O 2 2O 10 100 - Coveralls and Jackets: Plastic bag it 70 5 2S 1 5 20 100 - Paper bag 2 100 - - - - 2 100 - Paper wrap 17 65 h 15 5 20 26 100 1 Partial paper wrap 3 60 1 2O 1 2O 5 100 - Tied 21 119 12 25 10 23 is 100 1 White uniform shrts: Plastic bag 19 51 12 33 6 16 37 100 - Paper bag 7 7O 2 2O 1 10 10 100 - Paper wrap 21: S7 7 17 11 26 1,1 100 2 Tied h 67 l 17 1 l6 6 100 - Partial paper wrap 2 SO 2 5O - - h 100 - White dress shirts: Plastic bag 21 5h 12 31 6 15’ 39 100 - Paper bag 6 86 1 1h - - 7 100 - Paper wrap 8 57 2 ll: 1: 29 1}. 100 1 Plastic bag and box 6 1:6 3 23 h 31 13 100 - Box 7 58 3 2S 2 l7 12 100 1 Plastic bag and hanger 5 1:6 3 27 3 27 11 100 «- Table 27 shows the percentages running vertically which sheds more light on packaging as it relates to the functions. For colored uniforms and coveralls the largest percentage of reapondents tie for all functions, 1:1: and for white dress shirts, plastic bags are used by the largest per- centage. A difference appears, however, for white uniforms and white uniform shirts. Here a large percentar'e of respondents favoring protection and sales appeal use paper wraps, while a large percent favoring distribu- tion convenience use plastic bags. TABLE 27 - meetion 7, part 2A, cross tabulated with package functions Package Functions Product Distribution Sales Cement and Protection Convenience Appeal Type of Packaging to. ,5— Lo. ‘1: No, “i: Colored uniforms: Plastic bag 12 19.35 7 27% 2 10% Paper bag 5 8 2 8 - - Paper wrap 17 27 3 12 6 29 Partial paper wrap h 6 2 8 1 S Tied 22 35 10 35 10 [:8 Other .2 .2 ..2. .1 .2 .2 Total .22 1225 12 122 21 122.2% White uniforms: Plastic bag 17 27 10 38 l: 19 Paper bag 8 13 h 15 l 5 Paper wrap 25 38 7 27 10 1:8 Partial paper wrap 3 5 2 8 l S Tied 6 10 2 8 2 10 Other 1: ____Z 1 ___l_i ’53 13 Total 23. 12’- 22 12 _.1. .22 Coveralls and jackets: Plastic bag 1h 22 S 19 l 5 Paper bag 2 3 - - - - Paper wrap 17 27 h 15 5 2h Partial paper wrap 3 5 1 h l S Tied 21 33 12 L6 10 118' Other 6 .12 5% .12 .1 .12 Total 5;" _1_0_q:; __ 100,: g_1_ .1991; 'w'hite uniform shirts: Plastic bag 19 30 12 116 6 27 Paper bag 7 ll 2 8 l 5 Paper wrap 211 35 7 27 11 52 Tied l: 6 1 l: 1 5 Partial paper wrap 2 3 2 8 - - Other 31 .12. 2 ..1 .2. .11 Total .2 12.2 E 10.2»‘3 21 122;: White dress shirts: Plastic bag 21 33 12 1:6 6 29 Paper bag 6 10 1 l: - - Paper wrap 8 13 2 8 I: 19 Plastic bag and box 6 10 3 12 h 19 Box 7 11 3 12 2 10 Plastic bag and hanger S 8 3 l2 3 111 Other 10 15 2 6 2 T2 Total n m s 12 n .92: 1:5 Table 28 shows package functions tabulated against the general type of packaging summarized from fable 27. The covered category includes plastic and paper bags, and paper wrap. not covered includes tying only and no packaging. As can be seen, those respondents ranking product protection as most iportant cover the majority of all garments, as might be expected. For distribution convenience and sales appeal, only the majority'of white garments are covered - the majority of colored garments are not covered. It appears that covering garments with some trpe of material is not a prerequisite for sales appeal for colored garments, while it is for white garments. TABLE 28 - Question 7, Part 23, cross tabulated with package functions General Type Product Distribution Sales of Packagng Protection Convenience Appeal Colored uniforms: Covered 5" h7i 39% Nottcovered £3 50 53 Coveralls, etc: Covered 52 3h 29 Not covered hl 5].: 63 White uniforms: Covered 78 80 72 Not covered 18 16 15 white uniform shirts: Covered 79 81 8h Not covered 9 12 S Question Eight Summary Slacks are packaged as shown in Table 29. The majority of slacks are packaged on either a hanger alone, or on a hanger covered by a plastic or paper bag. These garments are usually dress slacks and are placed on hangers to hold the press. The no answers represent those reapondents not handling slacks. b6 TABLE 29 - question 6 - Please check the following for the packaging of slacks. Number of Percent of Type of Qlacks Packaging Responses Total Hanger LO 36% Plastic or’paper bag over hanger SS h9 Slacks folded and placed in a bag 2 2 Slacks folded and wrapped 3 3 Other 1 1 No answer '_11 ‘__2 Total 112 100% Table 30 shows that protection is rated highest.for all slacks packaging. However, sales appeal is a little higher for those reSpondents using paper or plastic bags and hangers. TABLE 30 - Question 8 cross tabulated with package functions Packave Functions J. t;- s) Slacks Protection Convenienc§_ A eal Total Total No Packaging 120. ,5 Bio. j;_ Eh % 140. 1'?) Answer Hanger only' 2h. 63% 8 211 6 16% 38 100 2 Hanger and plastic bag 27 19 16 29 12 22 55 100 - Folded and bagged l 50 l 50 - - 2 100 - Folded and wrapped 2 67 - - 1 33 3 100 - Questions Nine and Ten Summary The reaponses to separate packaging for an individual customer's garment are 62% yes as shown in Table 31. This result is somewhat greater than was expected, because during the preliminary research interviews in xichiran and Ohio, the laundry managers expressed a desire not to do separate packaging. L7 TABLE 31 - Question 9 - Do you' normally tie, wrap, or bag, separately the individual user's garments? Response Number of ReSponses Percent of Total Yes 70 62% No to 36 No answer .__2 ..JE Total 112 100; Related to the above question, is the question on matching the pants and shirts of a uniform before packaging. Those respondents answering question nine negatively, were asked to answer question ten. Table 32 shuns that of the forty respondents who do not package separately, only 303 match uniform pants and shirts. TABLE 32 - Question 10 - If the answer to number nine above was no, do you match uniform pants and shirts? Response Number of Responses Percent of Total 168 12 30% rro 2.2 .22 Total to 100% The cross tabulation for separate packaging, Table 33, reveals that the opinions of the packaging functions are much the same whether or not the reaponder¢a package garments separately, although there is a slight preference for separate packaging by those favoring distribution convenience. Those respondents who match, favor distribution convenience and sales appeal more than those who don't match. 148 TABLE 33 . Question 9 and 10 cross tabulated with package functions Package chtions Product "1 Distribution Sales Protection Convenience A eal Total Total No Lo. 2‘ Responses Iio . j? to . I No . '2': Answer Separate packaging: Yes 12 60,5 18 26;: 10 114:5 70 100 - No 20 53 7 18 11 2 9 38 100 2 ha tchedx Yes 'u 36 3 2 8 h 36 11 100 - No 16 S7 5 18 7 25 2 8 100 - Type of packaging cross tabulated with separate packaging and matching, Table 314, reveals that plastic bags are used by a large number of respondents who package separately, although other types of packaging are used. This result is to be eXpected, since most plastic bags are made for only one uniform or shirt. 119 TABLE 311 9 Question 9 and 10 cross tabulated with type of packaging Separate :‘ackaging hatched Cement and :Yes No Yes ho Type of Packaging No. 3 No. is No. “0.. i. Colored uniforms: Plastic bags 20 29% 1 2:1: - - l T Paper bags 6 9 1 2 - .. 1 3 Paper wrap 17 2h 10 25 - - 10 3S Tied 18 26 211 61 10 83 1h 19 Other .2 .12. .9 .19 .2: 17 .2 .19 Total .79 19.9t 19 10.9% 12. .199t 2.2 199% White uniforms: Plastic bags 27 39 h 10 1 3 3 10 Paper bags 7 10 6 15 3 27 3 10 Paper wrap 21: 3h 19 M1 3 27 16 55 Tied 3 h 6 15 2 15 h 15 Other .2 .12 .2 .12. .2 .11 .2 ..19 total .9 1.>t 19 19.9;t .12. 1992t .22 1995 Coveralls and Jackets: Plastic bags 18 26 2 S - - 2 5 Paper bags 2 3 - - - - - - Paper wrap 18 26 9 2O 1 8 8 28 Tied 21 30 22 57 7 59 15 52 Other 11 .15. .1 .19 .9 .22 .1 .15. Total 19 199:t a 199:t .12. 10.9% 22 199st White uniform shirts: Plastic bags 29 112 7 18 2 17 S 18 Paper bags 6 9 h 10 3 25 1 3 Paper wrap 25 36 19 1.6 2 l7 1? S 9 Tied 2 3 h 10 2 l7 2 5 Other .9 .19 .9 .11 .2 .21 .9 .15. Total 19 log—I, 39 100% _1_2_ 199% _2_2 199% White dress shirts: Plastic bags 2h 35 1h 36 6 SO 9 30 Paper bags 5 7 2 5 - - 2 5 Paper wrap a 11 7 18 3 25 h 15 Plastic bag and box 9 11: h 10 - - h 15 Box 8 11 S 12 1 8 h 15 Plastic bag and hanger 8 ll 3 7 - - 3 10 Other .9 n .5. .12: .2. .11 .2 ..19 total 2.9 1995 19 99.933 12. 199% 92 1999 50 Question Eleven Sumnary The highly positive responses to the question on garment quality, Table 35, are surprising since laundry managers who were interviewed had expressed their Opinion that most industrial garments were not of the quality to be packaged. TABLE 35 - Question 11 - Are industrial laundry garments of the quality to justify special packaging considerations? w Responses Number of Respondents Percent of Total Yes 72 611% No 32 29 No answer ___§ ' ..l Total 112 100% The second part of the above question asked the respondents to list those industrial garments which they thought were of the quality to receive special packaging considerations. See Table fi. Another sur- prising result is that one—third of the reapondents listed all garments as being of the quality for packaging. TABLE 36 - Question 11 continued - If yes, which garments? Cements Number of Respondents Percent of Total All garments 2h 33% Pants and shirts 17 2!; White or dress shirts 15 21 Slacks 6 8 All whites 6 8 All synthetics _1 __19 Total 75‘ 10hb a multiple answers f6 percent based on 72 responses 51 A comparison of the yes and no answers on garment quality in Table 37 shows that there is not too much difference in the importance of the packaging functions, except that those respondents answering yes favor sales appeal more than those answering no. The preference for sales appeal also shows up under the garments listed as being of the quality to package, although the strongest preference is for protection. TABLE 37 - Question 11 cross tabulated with package mnctions Package Punctions Product Distribution Sales Protection Convenience A eal Total Total No Reopenses 1120. ,1 Lo. jg No. No. % Answer Quality: Yes 12 58% 13 18; 17 211:; 72 100 - No 15 50 12 no 3 10 30 100 2 Which items: All 114 58 h 17 6 25 2b 100 - Pants and shirts 11 6h 3 18 3 18 17 100 - White or dress shirts 9 60 l 7 5 33 15 100 - Table 38 shows that the respondents answering yes to garment quality, package with all types of materials. Those that answered no, generally'package‘by'tying and wrapping. Of the respondents answering yes and listing all garments of the quality fer packaging, the majority use plastic bags for*all uniforms. Those listing pants and shirts are about even on tying and wrapping colored uniforms, while the majority wrap white uniform pants and shirts. Those listing white shirts are consistent and wrap or use plastic bags for white uniform shirts and dress shirts. It.wou1d appear here that in the case of those respondents listing all garments of the quality to be packaged, that plastic is used for pro- tection as well as for sales appeal. Those listing pants and shirts still haven't decided whether or not colored uniforms qualify for special packaging considerations. TABLE 38 - Question 11 cross tabulated with type of packaging 52 Quality? 'which Items rants and white Garment and Yes ho All Shirts Shirts Tips of Packagingw to; 11' hoL 75 I:o._ )3 No. 33 No. % Colored uniforms: Plastic bag 11: 19.!» 3 91 12 50% l 6.1 - - Paper bag 5 7 2 6 1 1. 1 6 1 7,1 Paper wrap 18 2S 7 22 3 12 7 bl 6 ho Tied 27 38 16 So 7 30 6 35 6 to Other 131.131.113.113 Total 2102a2101a21192T11119a12102a White unifoms: Plastic bag 21 29 6 19 1h 58 2 l2 2 13 Paper bag 9 13 h 13 1 h h 23 2 13 Paper wrap 26 39 1h MT 6 C: 9 53 8 5h Tied 6 8 3 9 - - 1 6 2 13 Other 111.115.331.114 Total 1?. 199% 2 129T 11 119% .11 10.9% 15. 10.92% Coveralls and jackets: Plastic bag 1h 19 3 9 11 b6 1 6 l 7 Paper bag 2 3 - - l h - - - _ - Paper wrap 18 2S 7 2 3 13 7 bl 5 33 Tied 29 Lo 15 h? 6 33 7 hl 6 to Other 231.111.112.222 Total 11 10.9% 2.2. not 21 10.9% .11 101% 15. 199a ‘white uniform shirts: Plastic bag 25 3S 6 25 15 62 2 12 3 19 Paper bag 6 8 h 13 1 h 2 12 1 7 Paper wrap 2 6' 39 13 111 5 2 1 8 b7 9 6o Tied 2 3 b 13 - - 1 6 1 7 Other 2.111.133.1314 Total 1.2. 10.9% 2 1O_O.T .21 my; 11 10.9.:t 15 1.t White dress shirts: Plastic bag 25 35 11 35 9 38 h 23 7 116 Paper bag 5 7 2 6 2 8 l 6 l 7 Paper wrap 7 10 6 l9 - - 3 18 2 13 Plastic bag and box 9 l3 3 9 3 13 2 12 1 7 Box 7 10 S 16 2 8 1 6 2 13 Plastic bag and hanger 8 11 3 9 5 20 1 6 1 7 Other 11.111.13.1233214 Total zwtzfltawanfllnmt 53 :uesticn Twelve Summary Table 39 is a -.fln.ry of question twelve, pertaining to the packaging of industrial laundry items such asJ wiping cloths and rugs. About one-quarter of the entrance rugs are tied and one-quarter are not packaged. The rest are Spread over packaging with plastic bags or wraps, and.bands. Wiping cloths, on the other hand, are predominantly tied in bundles, and treated dust cloths and mops are predominantly placed in plastic bags. Treated products are packaged in plastic to protect the chemical treatment. The plastic not only maintains the chemical, but keeps it away.fnmn the person handling the packages. Table to for the cross tabulation with package functions, shows that those reapondents not packaging rugs and wiping cloths rate the packaging Inactions as high as those packaging these items. The same is true of the treated cloths and.mops. Sh .posooua haunted 93 wagons: son spacecommou 235 anemones." 98323 on can. a 8H «2 QEHH 332mm. OOH N: NH 3.. H H I I N N m." mH No 2. OH HH 8H m: me we imam m .. .. e a 2.3 mace gauche 2330 page smooch. 3033 he nfioao waded.» 8H m: ”5 2 3 1. was «A EN m« «E fi e5 3 now «N 3.... .3 as...“ 8355 a .8 m ion on» do...“ mm 1.3. o .6... on 1.61m M. .6; m. .02 teen H38. H38. essence uofio necmm mmammaowa ofimfli em SE oz tapes .2 fl 93er 5e. ho some.“ comment. pom mafia mxomm no 09%» 2530." has» genome Ho 25 .5 8 masses... Secs. .5» as: 983 23965 05 now won Squeegees 05 Moose some: .. «H 3.33.5 .. mm 3mg 55 TABLE 10 - Question 12 cross tabulated with package functions h Package "Functions Product Distribution Sales Protoction Convenience A al Total Total No Item ..0. f 350. “If? he. L No. % Answer fltrance rugs : Tied 13 621 5 214% 3 111% 21 100 1 Plastic bag 13 69 - - 6 '31 19 100 - Plastic wrap 6 35 8 h? 3 18 17 100 - Bands 7 58 h 30 1 12 12 100 - NO packaging 114 S6 6 2h 5 20 25 100 .- Wiping cloths: Tied 116 SS 19 23 18 22 83 100 1 Plastic bag 6 " - - 1 1h 7 100 «- Plastic wrap - - - - - - - - - Bands 5 112 S 112 2 16 12 100 - ho packaging 2 67 1 33 - - 3 100 .. Treated cloths: Tied 6 SS 2 18 3 27 11 100 «- Plastic bag 38 5,1: 18 27 13 19 60 100 1 Plastic wrap 11 7.21 2 13 2 13 15 100 - Treated mops: Tied 2 33 - - h 67 6 100 - Plastic bag to 56 19 27 12 17 71 100 - Plastic wrap 11 7h 2 l3 2 13 15 100 - Question Thirteen Summary The responses to the questions on package identification are shown in Table 111. A majority of packages are identified by a ticket attached to the package regardless of the type of packaging. Some respondents, either tying only or using plastic, identify the package by means of the heat sealed tape, identifying the customer, that is attached to the inside of the garment's collar. when the garment is folded and packaged, the inside of the collar faces up, and in the case of uniforms, the shirt is usually placed on tOp of the pants. However, the pants also have a heat sealed tape attached to then. 56 TABLE 111 - Question 13 - How are your packages identified for sorting to proper route and customer delivery? Number of Percent Identification Reaponses of Total Ticket on outside of package 56 5055 Clothx‘markings (tied only bundles) 8 7 Written on package (paper bundles) 6 S Cloth-{markings show through package (plastic bundles) 13 12 No reference as to identification method 28 25 No answer ___5_ __l_* Total 116“ 103:1.b M; 5 multiple reaponses percent based on 112 responses A number of reapondents misinterpreted the question and responded with an explanation of their customer coding system and did not mention the means of identifying the package. It is the author's opinion that this misinterpretation did not invalidate this question's results. Question Fourteen Summary One of the more important questions was the one that asked the respondents to rank the functions that can be perfomed by packaging according to their importance in industrial packaging. Table 12 shows the averages of the rankings. Product protection is ranked as most important, and distribution convenience and sales appeal tied for second. This result is somewhat unexpected. The author seemed that sales appeal would be ranked as least important. TABLE: 112 - Question 111 - Please rank (1, 2, 3) the following; functions that can be performed by packaging, according to your opinion of their importance in the packaging of industrial laundry products. L— 1‘ Function Average of Rankings Product protection 1.111 Distribution convenience 2.211 Psychological impact or sales appeal 2.21; 57 There is a significant difference at the one percent level between the means for product pmtection and the means for distribution convenience and sales appeal. Table h3 shows a breakdwwn of how those reapondcnts who ranked a particular function as most important, ranked the function second in importance. TABLE h3 - Breakdown of package function rankings Ranked as number One Product Distribution bales Protection Convenience Appeal Ranked as Number Two Ho., 3 ho., 56 No. _% Product.protection - - 2h. 92% 1} 62% Distribution convenience 2 3 37 :4"; - - b 36 38193 appeal .19. £2 .2. ..._§ .: ...: To tel 63 100% 26 10075 2 1 100,5 The table shows that the majority of respondents who ranked product protection as number one, ranked sales appeal number two. Also, the majority of those who ranked sales appea1.as number one, ranked product protection number two. It would appear that product protection is somewhat related to sales appeal. The majority of reapondents who ranked distribution convenience as number one, ranked product protection.number two. The relationship between sales appeal and product protection might exist because a protected garment could possibly have sales appeal also. In fact, if there was no covering around the garment there would be no place to put‘advertising copy. But a garment wrapped in plastic, for example, might not need any copy to appear sales appealing. 58 Question Fifteen Summary Table hh shows the responses to the question on the reason for the last change made. As shown in Table bk, the largest reaponse was to the change to increase product quality. A good percentage of responses were made to the reasons for changing packaging to increase sales appeal, and to increase distribution convenience. TABLE uh - Question 15 - Please mark the reasons for the last change you made in your packaging. Number of Percent Reason for Change Responses of Total To reduce unit costs of packaging 37 331 To increase quality of products 68 61 To increase sales appeal of products 50 LS To gin distribution convenience 117 1.52 Forced to because competition changed '__1 6 Total 2098 18752" a multiple answers b percents based on 112 responses The percentages for the reasons for the last change in packaging are close in ranking to the ranking of the package functions in question fourteen. Table 55 shows the results of the cross tabulation with package functions. The percentages have been run vertically because they are more meaningful. The majority of reapondents marking product protection as mostiimportantralso made changes to protect product quality. This same relationship holds for the other package functions. These relationships Show some degree of consistency between the answers for the two questions (questions lb and 15) if the respondents were not queued on how to answer question fifteen from question fourteen. The second highest percentage under protection is for changes 59 made for sales appeal reasons, and the second highest percentage under sales appeal is changes made to increase product quality. The relation- ship between protection and sales appeal shows up again. TABLL LS - Question 15 cross tabulated with package functions Package Functions “Product distribution Sales Protection Convenience Appeal Reason for Last Change ho. i No., % ‘Yo. ,E To reduce costs 17 27% 13 50% 6 283 To increasecquality h3 6§ 11 L2 13 62 To increase sales appeal 30 Lb 5 19 15 71 To increase distribution convenience 2h BC 1h Sb 8 38 Competition h 6 ..l '__: ._l ‘__: . a .7 4b Total 1188 187%b ht“ 165pb h3“ 199» a multiple answers b percents based on total number of responses for each package function: 63, 26, and 21 respectively Under distribution convenience, changes made for cost reasons is second to changes made for distribution convenience reasons. It might appear that people who prefer the distribution convenience function of packaging sacrifice the other packaging functions to get reduced packaging costs. This is not entirely true, however, since a good percentage made changes to increase product quality, which shows that product quality is not sacrificed in all cases, if at all. Question Sixteen Summary Table L6 shows the resnonses to the question on packaginn improve- ments. The category for plastics includes mention of tighter’packages (shrink wrap), non-slip plastics, and.mention of the use of plastics for various garments for better protection, sales appeal and easy product identification. 60 TABLE 136 - Question 16 - If you think your packaging could be improved, please explain improvements you might make and reasons for then. Suggested Inprovements Number of Responses Percent of Total Any mention of plastics 26 23$ Any mention of other mamrials 21 19 Faster packaging methods 6 5 Other 6 7 No answer Ch L8 To ta 1 1158 102 lb 3 rultiple sewers lb percents based on 112 reaponses The category for other materials includes most suggestions for protection or sales appeal reasons. Some suggestions in this category are use of shirt boxes, collar supports, hangers, and individual packaging. A number of suggestions included in the other category were not specific, but just made reference to cost considerations as being important with reapect to any change. Host of the faster packaging suggestions were for automatic plastic bagging and/or wrapping. Almost half of the reapondents think that their packagin: does not need any'change at present, or else they could not think of any improve- ments they could make. Table h? lists the reasons the zesgondents gave for their suggested changes. As shown, product protection received the largest number of reaponses for the package functions, although the other reasons category'received the most responses overall. Thr~c other reasons include cost considerations, faster production methods, and mention of competition. 61 TRBLE h? - Question 16 continued Iafiiir of‘ :ercent Reason for Chance desponses 0f TOth Increased product protection 2h 39$ Increased distribution convenience 1h 23 Increased sales appeal 15 25 Other A; 1:9 b Total 6L6“ 136.5 a b multiple reaponses percents based on 61 reaponses to question 16 Table LU shows prOposed chanres cross tabulated with package functions. The majority of responses for any change is made by respondents rating protection as most important. Those reapondents makina no response to this question rated the functions about the same as those making comments. TABLE hS - Question 16 cross tabulated with package functions rackage Functions Product Distribution sales Proposed Protection Convenience Total Total No Changes to, T :10; +13 to . 5 Answer To plastic 16 6M5 6 2L5 3 12a 25 100 1 Other'materials 13 62 5 2h 3 1h 21 100 - Faster packaging 3 SO 3 SO - - 6 100 - Other h 50 1 12 3 Sb 8 100 - he reaponse 27 9h 11 22 12 2h SC 100 h A more meaningful breakdown is in Table h? for the cross tabulation with type of packaying. A good percentage of reapondents packaging colored uni?orms and coveralls, and mentioninr the use of plastics or other materials, are presrntly tyin". n"or white uniforms and uniform shirts a good percents e of those mentioning plastics or other materials are prescntly using paper wraps. 62 T."BL:‘:. h9 - Question 16 cross tabulated with type of packaging untreated Changes Itter Faster To Cement and Plastic ”a torials Packagijg Other Answer ifpe of Packa~ine To. Afi To. 4 to. 7 7'o. ‘*7 To. .5 Colored uniforms: Plastic bag 3 12773 S 2L0; h 66.5 _ - 10 1933 Paper bag: 3 17 2 10 - - - - 2 3 Paper wrap h 15 h 19 1 17 h 50 15 28 Tied 12 L6 8 37 1 17 3 8 2O 37 Other 2.22.22.24.222222 Total _2_§ loo __; 33;: __(_» 3297a ___i_2 loci; fig 13cc uhi te uniforms: Plastic has 7 2 6 29 h 66 1 12 112 26 Paper baa 5 19 h 19 - - - - h 6 Paper wrap 9 3'5 7 32 2 3b 5 6h 22 L2 Tied - - 2 10 - - 1 12 7 13 mar 2.222.244.2313 total 22 .. 22 2.2. .2 2:2 .2 222 .. 2226 Coveralls and jackets: Plastic bag 1: 15 2 10 5 b3 - - 9 17 taper has 1 b - - - - - ~ 1 1 Paper wrap 14 15 5 2h - - 3 3C 15 ' t Tied 12 h? 10 12b 1 17 3 3t 19 35 mm .2 .22 .2 .22 _: ...: .2 21: 2.2 19 Total 2.6. 22:21 2.1. 2:26- ..2 2223.2 2:225 2:2 .1212 white unifom shirts: Plastic bag 8 31 6 29 h 66 1 13 19 35 Paper has, 12 15 3 1h - - - - 3 6 Paper wra ) 10 39 7 3h 2 3’4 6 7h 21 39 Tied - - 1 S - - - - S 9 other 222.122.222.222 Total 22 222% 22 2.20. .2 2.0.23- ..2 2.22% 22. .226 '.-.'hite dress shirts: flastic bag 7 26 6 3O 2 33 - - 25 .‘26 Paper best 3 11‘ 1 S 1 17 - - 2 5 laser wrap 5 l9 1 S - - 3 30 t 11 Plastic bag and box 3 1? h 18 - - - - 6 11 Box 1 L. 1: lb - - 1 12 o 15 Plastic bag and hanger 3 l2 3 1h 1 17 1 l2 3 6 Other 2.22.222.2°°_2_22_2_2 total 22 222 22 22-22: .2 222 .2. 2.222 52 .22.: 63 For all uniforms and coveralls, the respondents suggesting faster packaging are presently using plastic bags. Most of the reapondents making suggestions in the other category are presently using paper wrap for all garments. These are the people who would change to plastic if the cost was within reason. It is interesting to note that those reapondents not answering this question are packaging the majority of their garments in paper or are just tying them. The percentages are about the same as for those respondents who mentioned going to plastic or some other material. Since the responses to the importance of the package functions and type of packaging were similar for those respondents making suggestions and for those not.making suggestions, it would be helpful to know just what is motivating those respondents making suggestions. Table 50 below is a cross tabulation of the reasons respondents gave for the changes with the suggested changes. Increased protection is rated highest as a reason for changing with about.evcn percentages for increases in distri- bution convenience and sales appeal. 30, even though those respondents making suggestions for changes rank the package functions similar to those not suggestinc changes, they feel that packaging can gain them further improvements in the performance of the package functions. TABLE 50 - Cross tabulation of suggestions for changes in packaging with reasons for changes T’iessons for Chances To IncreasejTo Increase To Increase Product Distribution Sales Suggested Protection Convenience Appeal Other Tot. Tot. Changes "Eb. ‘1 No. 2* No. 2 No. ‘1 No.3 %b Plastics 12 L65 9 35% 8 31% 8 31% 37 lh3t Other'materials 12 S7 6 29 6 29 2 10 26 125 Faster packaging l 17 1 l7 1 17 5 83 8 13h a multiple answers 2b percents based on total responses to question 16 6h Summary of Results Overall, product protection is rated as most important. Even for the cross tabulations of the three package functions with number of employees, part of the country, years handling industrial laundry products, businesses serviced, etc.. and all types of packaging, product protection was rated as most important. There are some variations, however, for the functions rated as second in inportance. sales appeal or psychological impact is rated second in importance as follows: by companies with.a smaller number of employees, by companies in the west and northeast, when management pays the rental charges, by managers who think industrial launchryr products are of the quality to receive special packaging considerations, by managers who rank product protection as most.important, by'managers who made their last change to increase the quality of their products, and by laundries 'who package the majority of their garments in paper wrap. Distribution convenience, on the other hand, is rated second in importance as follows: by companies in the south, by companies over 175 employees, when the employees pay all or part of the rental charges, by managers who think industrial laundry products are not of the quality to receive special packaging considerations, by'managers who made their last change to reduce packaging costs , and by laundries using plastic bags for a majority of their products. An overview of packaging in the industrial laundry shows that almost half of the laundries do cover colored garments, while a large majority cover all white garments. Ityalso shows the following: that present packages do not protect garments from wrinkles due to rough handling, that the majority of laundries package an individual users 65 garments separately, that a majority of managers do feel that industrial laundry products are of the quality to receive Special packaging consider- ations, that plastics appear in use for product protection or distribution convenience, that paper wraps are used for protection or sales appeal, and that plastic is mentioned as the material that could most improve packaging in a number of laundries. As for the garments, white dress shirts in all laundries receive the most extensive packaging of all industrial laundry garments. The reason appears to be that this garment is considered of higher quality. Colored garments appear to be considered lower quality by most laundries and are packaged accordingly with about half of the laundries covering them, except for the laundries in the south and west who cover all their garments. shite garments other than white dress shirts, are generally considered higher quality than colored garments and therefore receive more extensive packaging. CEtiPTBR IV GOEICLUSIONS General The results show that laundry managers can distinguish between the three functions provided by packaging. The cross tabulations have very good consistency between answers to various questions. The author questions, however, if laundry managers are really packaging to accomplish the functions that they think the package should perform. Sales appeal, for example, does not seem to be a vague notion to them since a number of them made changes in their packaging to accomplish this and a few have put advertising copy on their packages. But, the packaging methods used to accomplish sales appeal leave a question as to just how, and to what garments, this function applies. The question- naire results show that for those respondents favoring sales appeal, white garments are packaged more extensively than colored garments. Also, while a large percentage of these reapondents said that industrial garments are of the quality to be packaged, they are split as to whether or not to include colored garments. The conclusion from this is that sales appeal seems important for white garments but not for colored garments. This could be a result of the type of market serviced for white and colored garments. Colored garments usually are used in an industrial business whereas white garments are usually used more in retail businesses. The market study planned for the fumre could help to clear this up. 66 67 The author chose the sales appeal function of packaging for the above example because in his estimation the laundries are servicing consumers who are influenced by sales appealing packages in the drug and grocery stores. They should therefore be packaging to accomplish this function in industrial laundry packaging. Tore will be said later on this subject in the discussion of marketing in the industrial laundry. But, before that, the following paragraphs discuss some packaging materials used and their relationship to sales appeal as questioned in the above discussion. Throughout the cross tabulation analysis, paper wrap was used more when a reference to sales appeal was made than plastic bags. Plastic was mentioned more for distribution convenience. Could it be that paper wrap is more sales appealing in the industrial laundry than plastic bags? If this is true, then the consumer study to be conducted in the future will bring this out. However, in the soft goods industry and in domestic laundries, plastic is used for sales appeal reasons. The "see-through" quality of plastic is used here to aid in customer identification of the item packaged, while at the same time the plastic carries an advertising message, or brand or company identification. Although a paper wrap could carry advertising copy, the twine used to hold the wrap in place would no doubt distract from the copy. One advantage of plastic is that it is heat scalable, thus tying can be eliminated. There is one disadvantage, however, to the use of plastic in the industrial laundry and it was mentioned by most laundries using plastic. Most plastics are slippery unless specially treated. This property causes problems in distribution. The packaged garments are stacked in a laundry truck for delivery to customers and the plastic bags do not stay stacked during transit without supports. However, this is one problem that could 68 easily be solved if laundries decided that plastic was the answer to gain sales appeal in packaging. Earket Orientation The industrial laundry appears not to be marketing oriented. This could be due partly to their somewhat captive market. The package and product does not have to compete in the open market like consumer goods on grocery store shelves, for*example. The laundry salesman who gets to the business establishment first,and does a good selling job will probably get the business for his company regardless of garment.quality or sales appeal of his package. Of course, the garment has to reach a certain minimum quality level to be accepted. The majority of laundry managers answering the questionnaire state that industrial laundry garments are of the quality to receive special packaging considerations. But.although the majority of these people state that all garments, or'pants and shirts are the ones to receive the special packaging consideration, they are split,as to the including of colored garments. In the consumer market, a company with a quality product usually packages that product in a protective, easy to use, and sales appealing package. In the industrial laundry, on the other hand, a large percentage of white garments are packaged.for protection with some consideration to distribution convenience and.sa1es appeal, while a large percentage of colored garments are packaged for distribution convenience only. Industrial laundry packaging is not consistent. While those laundries in the west and south cover all garments with a packaging material, those in the rest of the country do not. However, there is one variable that.could set this difference straight. Overall, the largest 69 percentage of businesses serviced are industrial and retail, but the packaging and rating of the package functions do not vary according to type of business serviced. One might expect that sales appeal in the packaging and in the garment condition would be more important at the retail level than at the industrial level. At the retail level, people wearing garments meet the public so garment condition is important, and one might eXpect the package to be more eye appealing to help sell this higher quality item. On the other hand, at the industrial level, these garments are usually worn to protect the wearer from dirt of some kind. In this situation the garment condition and therefore the package might not need to be of as high a quality. A breakdown of the part of the country against businesses serviced might show that the west and south service more retail establishments, and therefore use more plastic and paper wrap. Since most industry is located in the middle west and east rather than in the west and south, they probably do service more retail establishments than other parts of the country. Even if the above is true, sales appeal is not connected with the more extensive packaging for the west and south. Product protection is still rated as number one in importance. Thus, it appears that with the captive market that industrial laundries have, sales appeal is not considered as important by laundry managers as product protection. But, it might be enlightening to consider some other businesses or companies who also have captive markets to see how they package. Fuller Brush Company, the doorbto-doa' brush and cosmetics people, have a somewhat captive market but they package extensively to gain repeat sales. 70 On the industrial side, Hobart Brothers, manufacturers of arc welding equipment, package their welding rods in packages that provide easy rod use, and are somewhat attractive for'an industrial product. Laundry managers might argue, though, that since the majority of business managements' pay for part or'all of the garment service, that their'market is more captive than those mentioned above, and that sales appeal is not important for the employees using the garments. But, consider for one moment that it is the purchasing agent in an industrial situation who purchases and authorizes payment for the welding rods, and that these items are then used by the plant employees. One problen of course, at this point in the total research project for the Institute, is that the consumer end of the project has not been done as yet. This survey should point out if sales appeal is important in the rental of industrial garments. Then the question of the importance of sales appeal in industrial laundry packaging could be better answered. Another item to consider that points out that industrial laundry 'managers are not marketing oriented is the item of packaging costs, A number of respondents made changes to reduce packaging costs, and a number mentioned that they would change their packaging, but that changes considered (eg. going to plastics) would increase their packaging costs. This writer realizes that low cost is important to the running of a profitable business, but a number of changes are made every year in con- —sumer packaging that increase package costs. These changes are usually made to increase the convenience features or sales appeal of the package. With the increase in sales appeal, the company hopes to, and usually does, increase its sales and therefore more than covers its increased packaging costs. The industrial laundry could do the same thing. 71 One final observation of marketing orientation for the industrial laundry is in order. Of those reapondents who suggested changes in their packaging, the largest percentage suggested changes to gain increased product protection. A small percentage suggested changes for sales appeal reasons. This shows the continued orientation to the physical aspects of packaging and not to the psychological, although a few launderers are now or are becoming psychologically oriented. The Roles of Packaging In conclusion the writer would like to summarise the roles of packaging as viewed by industrial laundry managers and make recommendations for future research. Product protection provided by packaging is the major concern of the managers. They rank this as most important in the=majority'of all market regions and in the majority of all companies. Many made their last change to preserve or increase product protection and many'want to irprove their present packaging to obtain product protection. Product protection is achieved through the use of plastic bags or paper wraps for a large percentage of laundries handling colored garments and for’most laundries handling white garments. The protection provided is protection from dirt. The flexible packaging materials used, however, do notiprotect»the garments from wrinkles due to handling. For treated dust control items, protection is achieved through the use of plastics to keep the chemica1.away'from the man handling the item in transit. Although product protection is ranked.most.important by the majority of laundries throughout the United States, the full extent of its achieve- ment is not realized by all laundries. The most noticeable differences are in the different.market.regions of the United States. The west and 72 south practice product protection almost to its fullest extent by packaging all garments with a protective wrap. Other parts of the country only practice product protection for white garments, not colored garments. The reason for this difference as eXplained previously is probably due to differences in market demands. Distribution convenience is tied with sales appeal for second in importance, although distribution convenience seems to be the better under- stood of the mo. Distribution convenience as practiced in its simplest state provides a grouping and handling function by the tying together of groups of uniforms with twine. A more SOphistocated state is the bagging of an individual's garments for ease of sorting and possibly tying of a group of these garments to facilitate handling. Identification is achieved by attaching a ticket to the package or simply identifying the garment with its clothns‘markings in the collar. is practiced, all types of packaging are used to achieve this fimction and tickets are the main means of identification. Also, the majority of laundries do separate packaging and matching of garments. In this writer's Opinion distribution convenience along with product protection are practiced to the greatest extent by the laundries in the south where plastic is used for garment packaging. Protection is achieved, but distribution convenience is best achieved because of the individual bagging and the ”see-through" properties of plastic bags for identification. Although most laundries in the south still identify with tickets, they are not necessary. Sales appeal or psychological impact seems to be the least under- stood and practiced function. For the majority of reapondents, this function applies to white garments only. It is practiced for white 73 garments by the use of some plastic, but mostly paper wrap. Some material samples received with the questionnaires show that little advertising copy is used by most laundries in garment packaging. Closely related to a sales appealing package is garment quality, and while the majority of launderers feel that laundry garments are of the quality to package, only a few consider colored uniforms in this category. As an earlier analysis showed, sales appeal and product protection are somewhat,related. It could very we11.be that a garment which is wrapped or bagged in some way has sales appeal also. This conclusion seems to follow packaging logic, except that a majority of the laundries still view the function of the wrap or bag as a means of providing product protection and not sales appeal. Garment.quality or condition is a prerequisite to sales appeal, and a package that preserves this quality is important. But, assuming this prerequisite of the package is necessary, then sales appeal.should be the foremost packaging consideration. Sales appeal is difficult to evaluate without some knowledge of consumer opinions, and although laundry managers think they know what their market needs are , it was expressed to this writer by the Institute representative that this type of information had never been collected. This is the reason that sales appeal is the least.understood and practiced function of packaging. The difficulty in trying to evaluate the role of sales appeal points out the need for further research in industrial laundry packaging before the roles of packaging can be completely defined. This laundry’managers' survey is only a first step in the attempt to define the roles of packaging in the industrial laundry. This writer is confident that the information found in this survey will be a valuable 7h aid in conducting the consumer survey. The consumer survey should also throw some light on the motivations of the laundry managers to package as they do. BI BLI OGRAPHY Books Blankenship, Albert. Consumer and Opinion Research: The Questionnaire Technigue. New York: harper and Brothers, 19h3. Boyd, Harper and westfall, Ralph. marketing Research. Illinois: Richard Irwin, 1956. Periodicals Hargulies, Walter. "Focal Point for Communications". Printers Ink (May 29, 19614), 175. Bruce, halter. "How It Batters Down Barriers". Printers Ink (Hay 29, 1965), 18h. 7S MIC CQN STQTE UNIV. LIBRQRIES 1*111:21111111'1111H1191 3129310357515