Chapter I

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Today’s modernization flow of the world has witnessed tremendous change in lifestyle of
society.
Computerized system in managing laundry has been well accepted especially in developing
countries. This service is well accepted because it gives flexibility in terms of time for
laundry management team to use it and this really helps them with their time management.
The concept of computerized laundry management system in higher institution is being
developed by Yobe State Laundry companies. Yobe state has a very large number of laundry
shops and Companies. Before this, the management of this company is constructing by using
manual business process. All the information about the customer and staff are kept separately
by using file system. It will cause the process of searching information take more time and
quite difficult.

Laundry management system (LMS) is new system that replaced the file system which most
of laundry shop used. LMS is developed in order to ease the management in the laundry shop
and to change the manual business process to the systematic business process. The LMS is
developed for the managers and staffs that rolled onto the Laundry business. (Zalilawati,
2008)

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The use of manual system also creates an additional workload for staff to keep and obtain the
customer and staff information because this information is kept in a different file.

1. Time Consumption: Manual systems are time consuming, as the business owner
must keep track of laundry sales on a daily basis, while updating the system manually
at the end of the day.
2. Poor Communication: A manual laundry system requires employees and managers
to write down each time services been processed in the Laundry. If one employee
forgets to mention that the last cloths has been brought to the Laundry, a manager
expects there is not cloths brought to the Laundry. Compared with a technical laundry
system, a manual laundry system does not help the communication in the workplace.
 3. Physical Counts: A manual laundry system does not provide any number, as all
numbers from the Laundry are gained through physical laundry counts. One of the
difficulties of running a manual laundry system is that physical laundry counts must
be performed frequently to control the services in the Laundry. This is time
consuming and can cost the business money, if employees must come in to help out
outside of business hours.
1.3 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this project is to develop a system that can handle and manage the activities
involved in a laundry in an efficient and reliable way.
The objectives for this project are:

I. Computerized System

II. The proposed system will implement the computerized system which can perform a
better managing process for the laundry. The data of the laundry service and the
customer will be kept in the manner without the problem of losing the data.

III. System and User Privileges

System and user privileges will be implemented in the proposed system to setting up
the user level for each system user. This function is to provide the limitation of system
accessing.

IV. Increase time performance

The time management is very important for the laundry management to ensure the
service performs in better condition and on time. In addition, by using the
computerized system, the business process will be more effective and faster.

V. Maintain accurate records of inventory, including cleaning supplies, linens, and customer
items.
VI. Reporting and Analytics: Generate reports on operational efficiency, customer
preferences, and financial performance.
VII. User-Friendly Interface: Develop an intuitive interface for both staff and customers to
enhance user experience.
VIII. Scalability: Design the system to be scalable for future growth and additional services.
1.4 Justification of the Study
The new system is design to solve problem affecting the manual system in use. It design to
computerized information of the laundry thereby relieving both customer and services from
much stress as experienced from the manual system.
This will do the analyzing and storing of information either automatically or interactively, it
will make use of computerized system to access the information.
The proposed system will also have some features like.

• This system provides auto calculation of the payment.

• There is one important function provided where the information about the staff can be
maintained.

• The system Provide functions of editing customer details.

• Its Provide functions of editing services details.
1.5 Scope
1.5.1 User
The target users for this system are laundry staffs, managers and system

administrator.

i. Staff

Staff of Laundry has privileges to insert, view, update and delete customer records.
Beside managing service and launder details, staff also has a privilege to calculate
payment for each transaction made.

ii. Manager
Owner or manager of Laundry shop or company is a person who has privileges to
view staff information and update their information.
 iii. Administrator
Administrator is a person who has responsibility to maintain the system.
Administrator has all privileges to this system and may grant the privileges to another
system User.

1.5.2 Module
Some of the modules in Laundry Management System (LMS) are:

i. Login Module
This module allows user to the system by entering a valid username and password.

ii. Customer Module

This allows staff to add, update, delete and retrieve customer record.

iii. Service Module

This module is used to record service details which are available for staff of the
Laundry to use it.

iv. Service Application Module

This module is used to record laundry services to the customers which refers to staff
to handle it. The module is specialize to calculate the total amount of payment for
services.
Furthermore, this module will keep in LMS database.

v. Users Module
This module allow manager to add, update, delete and retrieve staff information, such
as giving them Username and Password to access the database.

vi. Logout
This module allows the user to Logout the application. Further operations cannot be
performed after user exits.

1.6 Limitation of the Study

Time factor was the greatest barrier to the successful completion of this exercise since it had
to be done within the semester. I also had financial constraints since all the activities involved
were selfsponsored.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Modules: This can be described a search of a set of standardized parts or independent units
that can be used to construct a more complex structure, such as an item.
Admin: This is the administration of a business, organization,
Username: This is an identification used by a person with access to a computer, network, or
online service.
Password: This is a secret word or phrase that must be used to gain admission to a place.
Table: A basic unit of data storage in an Oracle Database. Data is stored in rows and columns.
Microsoft Access: Microsoft Access, also known as Microsoft Office Access, is a database
management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database
Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tool.
 Chapter II
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction to Laundry
Laundry is the washing of clothing and linens (according to Free Dictionary). Laundry
processes are often done in a room reserved for that purpose; in an individual home this is
referred to as a laundry room or utility room. An apartment building or student hall of
residence may have a shared laundry facility such as a tvättstuga. A stand-alone business is
referred to as a laundrette (laundromat). The material that is being washed, or has been
laundered, is also generally referred to as laundry.

Laundry was first done in watercourses, letting the water carry away the materials which
could cause stains and smells. Laundry is still done this way in some less industrialized areas
and rural regions. Agitation helps remove the dirt, so the laundry is often rubbed, twisted, or
slapped against flat rocks. Wooden bats or clubs could be used to help with beating the dirt
out. These were often called washing beetles or bats and could be used by the waterside on a
rock (a beetling-stone), on a block (battling-block), or on a washboard. They were once
common across Europe and were also used by settlers in North America. Similar techniques
have also been identified in Japan. Wooden or stone scrubbing surfaces set up near a water
supply or portable washboards, including factory made corrugated glass or metal ones,
gradually replaced rocks as a surface for loosening soil. Once clean, the clothes were wrung
out — twisted to remove most of the water. Then they were hung up on poles or clotheslines
to air dry, or sometimes just spread out on clean grass.

Before the advent of the washing machine, laundry was often done in a communal setting. In
poor parts of the world today, laundry is still done beside a river or lake. Villages across
Europe that could afford it built a wash-house. Water was channeled from a stream or spring
and fed into a building, possibly just a roof with no walls. This wash-house usually contained
two basins - one for washing and the other for rinsing - through which the water was
constantly flowing, as well as a stone lip inclined towards the water against which the
washers could beat the clothes. Such facilities were much more comfortable than washing in
a watercourse because the launderers could work standing up instead of on their knees, and
were protected from inclement weather. Also, they didn't have to go far, as the facilities were
usually at hand in the village or at the edge of a town. Sometimes large metal cauldrons, often
termed "coppers", even when not made of that metal, (according to Oxford English
Dictionary) were filled with fresh water and heated over a fire; hot or boiling water being
more effective than cold in removing dirt. A poser could be used to agitate clothes in a tub
(according to Old and Interesting). These facilities were public and available to all families,
and usually used by the entire village. Many of these village wash-houses are still standing,
historic structures with no obvious modern purpose. This job was reserved for women, who
washed all their family's laundry. Washerwomen took in the laundry of others, charging by
the piece. As such, wash-houses were an obligatory stop in many women's weekly lives and
became a sort of institution or meeting place. It was a women-only space where they could
discuss issues or simply chat (cf the concept of the village pump). Indeed, this tradition is
reflected in the Catalan idiom "fer safareig" (literally, "to do the laundry"), which means to
gossip.

European cities also had public wash-houses. The city authorities wanted to give the poorer
population, who would otherwise not have access to laundry facilities, the opportunity to
wash their clothes. Sometimes these facilities were combined with baths. The aim was to
foster hygiene and thus reduce outbreaks of epidemics. (Wikipedia, 2017).

The mangle (or "wringer"in American English) was developed in the 19th century — two
long rollers in a frame and a crank to revolve them. A laundry-worker took sopping wet
clothing and cranked it through the mangle, compressing the cloth and expelling the excess
water. The mangle was much quicker than hand twisting. It was a variation on the box mangle
used primarily for pressing and smoothing cloth. Meanwhile, 19th century inventors further
mechanized the laundry process with various hand-operated washing machines. Most
involved turning a handle to move paddles inside a tub. Then some early 20th century
machines used an electrically powered agitator to replace tedious hand rubbing against a
washboard. Many of these were simply a tub on legs, with a hand-operated mangle on top.
Later the mangle too was electrically powered, then replaced by a perforated double tub,
which spun out the excess water in a spin cycle. Laundry drying was also mechanized, with
clothes dryers. Dryers were also spinning perforated tubs, but they blew heated air rather than
water (according to Wikipedia).
2.2 Types of Laundry
Laundry is categorized into different type due to their size, scale, products offered, Store Format
and TrendsWhile people use the terms "Industrial", ”Commercial” and "Residential"
interchangeably to refer to laundry services, industry watchers offer more specific guidelines
about different types of Laundry. "Industrial type" is on the larger end of this spectrum and
carry a diverse mix of machines and general merchandise. Nomenclature is not always
uniform Financial Institutions Fund places Wal-Mart in the same category as supermarkets
and as well running laundry services. (Yung et,el.., 2006)
Industrial Laundry: This type is for the big guys. Usually utilizes the use of a tunnel washer
and/or a heavy duty front load washer with big capacity, about 50kgs up per machine. It
would require big investment. Clients to look for if you have this type of laundry would be
institutional like hospital, hotel, and motel. Spa and etc. (Yung et,el.., 2006)

Operating a Commercial Laundry

There are two kinds:

1. Stand-alone - this means all your machines are within your business premises. In
Asia, the lead time would be 1- 3 days to do the laundry. Other countries would be
hours only if the units are coin operated.
2. Pick-up Station - if you are still uncertain if you want to go full time and let go of
your hard earned money. You might want to be a partner of a stand-alone shop owner.
The commission will have to be agreed upon by the two parties. By doing this kind,
you are actually building up your own market. If you feel you have already enough
market, then that would be the time to go Stand Alone.

Commercial Laundry: This makes use, of course. They are commonly found machine in the
market. In Asia, the way the use it, people though they may be wrong, the built of the units
are other than plastic. Mostly is aluminum with metal base. In countries other than Asia, the
common brands are whirlpool, Maytag, Samsung etc. The target clients are mostly walk-ins.
Residential Laundry: As implied, the operation uses an ordinary unit which is usually made
of plastic. Not durable for a 24/7 operation. Though if you are in a start-up and would like to
test market, then fine and go. However, it’s not recommend the use of residential machines in
a laundry business. Basically the type of Laundry is determined by the machines to be used
and targeted clients. (Yung et,el.., 2006)

2.3 Introduction to Online Marketing (E-Commerce)

The internet marketing has been active for a long time now, the cumulative events occurring
in online marketing is leading up to where we are now it have impacted the entire globe faster
than any marketing revolution in history.

Over the past decade or so, supermarkets, laundries and other grocery retailers have continued
to invest significantly into broadening their Internet presence and expanding the number of
channels through which their goods or services are sold/made. Key Note estimates that sales
of groceries transacted via online channels observed double-digit growth between 2007 and
2011, increasing by 127% overall.

One of the major trends to have driven growth within the Internet grocery market is m-
commerce that is sales made via mobile channels, i.e. smart phones and tablet computers. The
increasing popularity of smart phones and tablets among customers has resulted in a whole
host of retailers investing significant sums of money into mobile sales platforms, as well as
downloadable applications (apps'), which offer a more interactive and personalized shopping
and Services experience.

Despite the growth of online grocers in recent years, online spending still accounts for a
relatively small proportion of the overall Internet grocery market, with just 3.9% of total
grocery sales estimated to have been transacted via e-commerce and m-commerce channels.
However, the share of the total grocery market represented by online grocers has continued to
increase year-on-year since at least 2007, when their market share stood at just 2.1%.

Key Note expects the Internet grocery market to continue to go from strength to strength over
the forthcoming years and has forecast year-on-year double-digit growth for 2012 to 2016.
The rising uptake of Internet-connected mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets,
should boost services and sales transacted via m-commerce channels, while continued
Government investment in the rollout of superfast broadband, alongside the introduction of
the UK's first 4G mobile network, will also help to boost Internet activity and the use of e-
commerce services throughout the country.

Online marketing can broadly be defined as the processes or areas involved in the running
and operation of an organization that are electronic or digital in nature. These include direct
business activities such as marketing, sales and human resource management but also indirect
activities such as business process re-engineering and change management, which impact on
the improvement in efficiency and integration of business processes and activities.
In 1994, spending for internet marketing totaled nearly nothing, but increased to over $300
million in 1995. Now, little more than a decade later, marketing spending and internet
marketing business has exploded to nearly $200 billion (according to Forrester Research).
Today, it’s hard to believe in having an organization which doesn’t have some kind of online
presence.
When the internet was first introduced in the early 90s, it wasn’t considered to be an
advertising medium at all. Instead, the internet was treated as a tool for exchanging emails
and digital information, but wasn’t yet considered valuable for reaching customers. However,
it wasn’t long before marketing pioneers began to see the potential for internet marketing
business as millions of web surfers logging on each day to find valuable and relevant
information. Within just a few years, informative and educational marketing, as well as
graphically enticing banner ads began to be show up. It wasn’t long before results began to
flood in which proved the value of the internet marketplace to even the most skeptical
advertisers.

Factors that affect online marketing are as follows:

• Technological Factors
• Social Factors

• Economic Factors.
2.4 Benefits of E-Commerce to Customers
24/7 access: It enables customers to shop or conduct other transactions 24 hours a day, all
year round from almost any location. For example checking balances, making payments,
obtaining travel tickets and other information. In one case a pop star set up web cameras in
every room in his house, so that he could check the status of his home by logging onto the
Internet when he was away from home on tour.
More choices: Customers not only have a whole range of services that they can choose from
and customize, but also an international selection of staffs.

Price comparisons: Customers can select services around the world and conduct
comparisons either directly by visiting different sites, or by visiting a single site where prices
are aggregated from a number of providers and compared (for example
www.moneyextra.co.uk for financial products and services).
Improved delivery processes: This can range from the immediate delivery of digitized or
electronic goods such as software or audio-visual files by downloading via the Internet, to the
online tracking of the progress of packages being delivered by mail or courier
2.4.1 Benefits of E-Commerce to Society
It enables more flexible working practices, which enhances the quality of life for a whole host
of people in society, enabling them to work from home. Not only is this more convenient and
provides happier and less stressful working environments, it also potentially reduces
environmental pollution as fewer people have to travel to work regularly.
Enables people in developing countries and rural areas to enjoy and access products, services,
information and other people which otherwise would not be so easily available to them.
Facilitates delivery of public services. For example, health services available over the Internet
(online consultation with doctors or nurses), filing taxes over the Internet through the Inland
Revenue website.
2.4.2 Limitations of E-Commerce
There was much hype surrounding the Internet and e-commerce over the last few years of the
twentieth century. Much of it promoted the Internet and e-commerce as the panacea for all
ills, which raises the question, are there any limitations of e-commerce and the Internet? Isaac
Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction
suggests that for all the benefits there are limitations to e-commerce. These again will be dealt
with according to the three major stakeholders’ organizations, consumers and society.
This includes the following:
Rapidly evolving and changing technology, so there is always a feeling of trying to catch up
and not be left behind. Under pressure to innovate and develop business models to exploit the
new opportunities which sometimes leads to strategies detrimental to the organization. The
ease with which business models can be copied and emulated over the Internet increases that
pressure and curtails longer-term competitive advantage.

Facing increased competition from both national and international competitors often leads to
price wars and subsequent unsustainable losses for the organization.
There are problems where older business systems cannot communicate with web based and
Internet infrastructures, leading to some organizations running almost two independent
systems where data cannot be shared. This often leads to having to invest in new systems or
an infrastructure, which bridges the different systems. In both cases this is both financially
costly as well as disruptive to the efficient running of organizations.
2.4.3 Limitations of E-Commerce to Customers
Computing equipment is needed for individuals to participate in the new ‘digital’ economy,
which means an initial capital cost to customers.
A basic technical knowledge is required of both computing equipment and navigation of the
Internet and the World Wide Web.
Cost of access to the Internet, whether dial-up or broadband tariffs.
Cost of computing equipment. Not just the initial cost of buying equipment but making sure
that the technology is updated regularly to be compatible with the changing requirement of
the Internet, websites and applications.
Lack of security and privacy of personal data. There is no real control of data that is collected
over the Web or Internet. Data protection laws are not universal and so websites hosted in
different countries may or may not have laws which protect privacy of personal data.
Physical contact and relationships are replaced by electronic processes. Customers are unable
to touch and feel goods being sold on-line or gauge voices and reactions of human beings.
2.4.4 Limitations of E-Commerce to Society
Breakdown in human interaction: As people become more used to interacting
electronically there could be an erosion of personal and social skills which might eventually
be detrimental to the world we live in where people are more comfortable interacting with a
screen than face to face. Social division: There is a potential danger that there will be an
increase in the social divide between technical haves and have-nots – so people who do not
have technical skills become unable to secure better-paid jobs and could form an underclass
with potentially dangerous implications for social stability.

2.5 Introduction to Management

The Term management is the organization and coordination of the activities of a business in
order To achieve defined objectives. Management is often included as a factor of production
Along with machines, materials, and money. According to the management guru Peter
Drucker (1909-2005), the basic task of management includes both marketing and innovation.
Practice of modern management originates from the 16th century study of low-efficiency and
failures of certain enterprises, conducted by the English statesman Sir Thomas More
(14781535). Management consists of the interlocking functions of creating corporate policy
and organizing, planning, controlling, and directing an organization's resources in order to
achieve the objectives of that policy.
The size of management can range from one person in a small organization to hundreds or
thousands of managers in multinational companies. In large organizations, the board of
directors defines the policy which is then carried out by the chief executive officer, or CEO.
Some people agree that in order to evaluate a company's current and future worth, the most
important factors are the quality and experience of the managers.

Management involves the manipulation of the human capital of an enterprise to contribute to

the success of the enterprise. This implies effective communication: an enterprise
environment (as opposed to a physical or mechanical mechanism), implies human motivation
and implies some sort of successful progress or system outcome. As such, management is not
the manipulation of a mechanism (machine or automated program), not the herding of
animals, and can occur in both a legal as well as illegal enterprise and environment. Based on
this, management must have humans, communication, and a positive enterprise endeavor.
Plans, measurements, motivational psychological tools, goals, and economic measures (profit,
etc.) may or may not be necessary components for there to be management. At first, one
views management functionally, such as measuring quantity, adjusting plans, meeting goals.
This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective,
Henri Fayol (1841–1925) considers management to consist of six functions:
 1. Forecasting

2. Planning

3. Organizing
4. Commanding

5. Coordinating

6. Controlling

2.6 Introduction to System

The word system in its meaning here, has a long history which can be traced back to Plato
(Philebus), Aristotle (Politics) and Euclid (Elements). It had meant "total", "crowd" or
"union" in even more ancient times, as it derives from the verb sunìstemi, uniting, putting
together.

"System" means "something to look at". You must have a very high visual gradient to have
systematization. In philosophy, before Descartes, there was no "system". Plato had no
"system". Aristotle had no "system".

In the 19th century the first to develop the concept of a "system" in the natural sciences was
the French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot who studied thermodynamics. In 1824 he
studied the system which he called the working substance, i.e. typically a body of water
vapor, in steam engines, in regards to the system's ability to do work when heat is applied to
it. The working substance could be put in contact with either a boiler, a cold reservoir (a
stream of cold water), or a piston (to which the working body could do work by pushing on
it). In 1850, the German physicist Rudolf Clausius generalized this picture to include the
concept of the surroundings and began to use the term "working body" when referring to the
system.

One of the pioneers of the general systems theory was the biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy.
In 1945 he introduced models, principles, and laws that apply to generalized systems or their
subclasses, irrespective of their particular kind, the nature of their component elements, and
the relation or 'forces' between them.

Significant development to the concept of a system was done by Norbert Wiener and Ross
Ashby who pioneered the use of mathematics to study systems.
In the 1980s the term complex adaptive system was coined at the interdisciplinary Santa Fe
Institute by John H. Holland, Murray Gell-Mann and others.

System is therefore an organized, purposeful structure that consists of interrelated and

interdependent elements (components, entities, factors, members, parts etc.). These elements
continually influence one another (directly or indirectly) to maintain their activity and the
existence of the system, in order to achieve the goal of the system.
All systems have inputs, outputs and feedback mechanisms, maintain an internal steadystate
(called homeostasis) despite a changing external environment, display properties that are
different than the whole (called emergent properties) but are not possessed by any of the
individual elements, and have boundaries that are usually defined by the system observer.
Systems underlie every phenomenon and all are part of a larger system. Systems stop
functioning when an element is removed or changed significantly. Together, they allow
understanding and interpretation of the universe as a meta-system of interlinked wholes, and
organize our thoughts about the world.
2.7 Laundry Management Using Yobe State as Case Study
Yobe is the leading retailer across Nigeria and is the brand of choice for many consumers
across the African continent. Yobe's large following of loyal customers can be attributed to
their ability to offer the widest range of products and the highest standards of goods and
services which is a necessary factor in building a formidable laundry services. Yobe works
hand in hand with many local Nigerian laundries, processing services in bulk in order to pass
the cost savings onto you as the customer. So this way, you can continue to enjoy a world
class laundry services experience whilst saving money. There are series of comparison
between the prices of Yobe and some other local government laundries which shows the huge
standard created by the Laundry.
2.7.1 Proposed System
The Laundry Management System is designed for any Laundry firm to replace their existing
manual, paper based system. The new system is in form of a computerized system to control
the following; customer information, products, services, users, carts and receipt. These
services are to be provided in an efficient, cost effective manner, with the goal of reducing
the delay and resources currently required for such tasks as clothes details are bounded to a
particular customer with a given id. Since the existing system makes use of tedious
administrative tasks, lots paper work and time, in which full information cannot be gotten
from busy customers. (Shoewu, et,el.., 2016).

2.7.2 Existing System over Proposed System

The proposed system seeks to simplify the users operation. The stages involved in the
registration process must be reduced to nearest minimum if it is to be faster and more
convenient. The crude way of registration using paper based processes of registration are time
consuming and expensive. The customers are rest assured security and availability of their
clothing as at when due, as information are protected using a specific Id.
An increase in the number of customer will obviously mean more paper work and less
efficiency of the existing system. Hence, many Laundry firms are finding the proposed
system a better and more effective way of catering for the inconvenience and inefficiency of
the existing system of registration. The proposed system for laundry firms plays a vital role in
the transition and if effectively implemented, it should be able to:
Reduce paper work and redundancy thereby improving productivity and lowering cost of printing
and purchasing registration materials annually. It aids the administrative in data management of
customers, by allowing the user to search for any customer with ease. (Shoewu, et,el.., 2016).

Proxy Laundry: is a laundry shop that use the mechanical way in rolling their business.
Mechanical system is the use of electronic equipment’s such as calculator and other electronic
device that ease work.