The primary aim of textile-service providers is to supply customers with clean laundry. Behind this succinct summary, however, lies a vast amount of logistical expertise. This encompasses the collection of soiled laundry, the precise management of textiles through operational processes, customer-specific sorting, and the scheduled delivery and distribution of clean laundry to the customer. However, although the textile-services industry is highly technology-driven, its service-oriented nature necessarily incorporates a deeply human element, which enters the picture in the form of service drivers: they act as the link between the laundry and its customers, whose premises they visit regularly. As direct points of contact, they transmit feedback, reports and messages to the company, where the customer service team then deals with the various matters arising. Cutting off this channel of communication would soon lead to a breakdown in communication between the customer and the service provider. Hence, any textile-service provider hoping to gain an economic advantage by outsourcing its fleet of vehicles must be prepared for this consequence, with any advantages from outsourcing quickly being eroded by growing customer dissatisfaction and an increase in cancelled contracts.
