Summary:
A leading player in the transportation and warehousing industry, with nearly 2,000 employees across the United States, was hindered by persistent challenges in work uniform management. Issues with worn-out garments, inventory bloat, and unpredictable costs disrupted operations and created inefficiencies. By switching to UniFirst’s uniform rental program, the company standardized processes, improved their team’s professional appearance and reduced its annual program costs by $110,000.
The Challenge:
- WORN-OUT, LOW QUALITY UNIFORMS
Uniforms and workwear were not durable enough to withstand the work required for this company. Work shirts and pants, along with outerwear, wore out quickly, due to the poor quality coupled with the lack of ongoing uniform maintenance. This affected the company’s professional image with customers, and increased costs because of the frequent need for uniform replacements. - POOR INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Without proper centralized oversight from their provider, garment inventories ballooned at various branches, tying up resources and adding confusion to uniform management. The company struggled with managing this overabundance of work uniforms, leading to inefficiencies and wasted resources. - BILLING INCONSISTENCIES
The company dealt with variable invoices from location to location, making cost control and budgeting difficult and unreliable to track and manage costs effectively. This eroded trust in the relationships with their provider.
The Solution:
High-quality, durable uniforms and workwear
Employees received high-performance work apparel built for rugged use, projecting a consistent brand image and reducing the frequency of uniform replacements. Our uniform experts also recommended outfitting teams with high visibility garments for employees working in dimly lit conditions. This included Spotlite LX® high visibility work shirts and work pants.
Streamlined inventory management
UniFirst introduced a centralized system to optimize inventory levels, ensuring the right amount of work uniforms were available without excess. With our 24/7 UniFirst Portal, the company has access to real-time oversight of uniform quantities by site, preventing overstock and ensuring proper workwear was always available across all locations.
Consistent billing
The Impact:
Annual cost savings
By eliminating excess inventory, optimizing uniform lifespan, and providing predictable billing, UniFirst enabled the company to save $110,000 annually.
Unified professional image
With properly fitted, clean, and durable work uniforms, employees look professional on job, while boosting morale and inspiring customer trust. With the addition of high visibility garments, employees feel confident and comfortable on the job, leading to increased productivity.
Streamlined Operations
Improved inventory management and consistent billing freed up management’s time, allowing the business to focus on core logistics operations and scalable growth and less time spent worrying about their uniforms.
The Impact:
The switch to UniFirst yielded measurable business advantages:
Annual cost savings
By eliminating excess inventory, optimizing uniform lifespan, and providing predictable billing, UniFirst enabled the company to save $110,000 annually.
Unified professional image
With properly fitted, clean, and durable work uniforms, employees look professional on job, while boosting morale and inspiring customer trust. With the addition of high visibility garments, employees feel confident and comfortable on the job, leading to increased productivity.
Streamlined Operations
Improved inventory management and consistent billing freed up management’s time, allowing the business to focus on core logistics operations and scalable growth and less time spent worrying about their uniforms.
