Outsourcing of business functions seems to have replaced re-engineering or downsizing as the business management trend of 1997, particularly as a way to cut costs. To measure its effects specifically on the packaging function, Packaging World surveyed its readers this summer.
Responding to a mail survey, more than 120 readers from a randomly selected list detailed the types of functions their companies were contracting for with outside vendors. Overall, about two-thirds of respondents indicated that their companies were outsourcing one or more of 15 packaging responsibilities identified in the questionnaire; some respondents checked as many as 12 of these. The survey was conducted with the assistance of Market Research Support Services (Roselle, IL).
