ANALYSIS

 ANALYSIS PART I: SUSTAINABILITY

       Sustainability has become one of the fast growing trends in the world of business today.  Sustainability refers to sustaining the planet, people, and profit without causing any dreadful harm to it. Within the environmental discussions, however, when addressing business practices, sustainability takes on a much broader meaning.

        The concept behind creating a more sustainable business is simple. For any business to maintain a competitive advantage and achieve long-term success in today's global economy, it must focus and excel in all three areas mentioned above.

People or Social Responsibility: This aspect deals with how businesses treat all individuals such as employees, customers, and the community with fairness. At Spotless, they provide space on their lot, which is a prime real estate location, for small business vendors. If the vendor is a local from the community, the space is free of charge for them to set up a stand and sell products. This is to encourage and help small businesses render their services to the community as well. In addition, Spotless Car Wash is active in sponsorship of local youth organizations.  Mr. Ali Abdalle (Owner) and Spotless' management are always on the lookout for members of local youth sports teams to support.  Mrs. Freitez, office manager and the owner's sister, will often approach a parent with their a son or daughter in sport uniform to gather information on the team and connect with the team's coach/manager.  

Planet or the Environment:  Doing or conducting business in an environmentally responsible manner.  With the growing concerns for the environment, attaining true sustainability should be a goal for all businesses.  How is Spotless addressing this environmental challenge?  They have a water preservation system installed in their facility to recycle the water being used in the tunnel in increments of every seven days.  This option keeps harmful chemicals from flowing down the street and into storm drains.

Vehicle waste, including some of the used oil, air and oil filters, antifreeze, and used tires are not disposed into storm drains, septic systems, or thrown into trash cans but are recycled.  In fact, it costs them nothing to recycle these items through a third part company.  During their first few years in operation, they paid a fee to a third party company to remove their waste.  Since then, they have found a third party that removes vehicle waste from businesses like Spotless Car Wash, recycles it for a profit, and thus can remove it from the consumer business at no cost.

 Profits – This is where businesses strive to achieve an acceptable return on investment and a healthy bottom line.  At Spotless, they follow strict maintenance programs to prolong the life of their equipment.  As these routine repairs keep the equipment in premium condition, it also has financial benefits through cost savings and increase in productivity.

Spotless Car Wash's water preservation system reduces water consumption by 93% each year compared to our competitors who do not recycle their water. Not only are they contributing to the planet by using less water, but they are increasing profits by using less water.  The majority of the used oil from the oil change section of their business is recycled in house by using it in their oil burning furnace, thus heating the facility all winter for nothing.  Again, they contribute to their profits by not paying for a commodity needed to heat their facility.

Spotless also adds to their profits by selling gently used tires, not just new ones.  For example, an average cost of a new tire is approximately $50 and it is re-sold for approximately $80.  Whereas, a gently used tire costs Spotless around $20 and can be sold at $50 or $60 each.  Nearly 300% profit is being made on the sale of a gently used tires against 80% on the sale of new tires.  That is a notable profit margin that is also contributing to the planet as well.  And they receive payment for their old tires that are no longer usable.  They have a recycling center that will pick up their old tires and pay Spotless Car Wash $1 per tire.

ANALYSIS PART II: FORECASTING

                For any business learning to forecast the incoming demand of your product or service is crucial.  There are different techniques used to predict and quantify the level of demand to be expected during different times and seasons.  First, there are two general types of forecasting techniques: judgment methods and quantitative methods.  Judgment methods translate experience, gathered consumer information, and acquired knowledge into quantitative data to help predict trends in demand.  Quantitative methods are broken down into three sub methods: Causal methods, which is based on historical data of external influences; Time-Series Analysis, which is statistics based on trends and seasonal patterns; and Trend Projection Using Regression, which is a hybrid of both Causal and Time-S Analysis.

Spotless Car Wash predicts its demand based on the seasons of year, the days of the week, and weather patterns.  This has lead them to a Trend Projection Using Regression approach to estimate their demand levels.  Due to the constant flux in weather patterns in the NJ area, they benefit from large peaks in demand throughout the year.

Winter is their busiest season because of the salt applied to roads during snowy conditions.  The salt acts as an adhesive for dirt, turning a clean car into an excessively dirty one in a matter of hours.  Spotless Car Wash uses the causal method at this time to predict spikes in demand for car washes.  All year-round, they monitor the upcoming weather patterns for one week.  At any time they see a full day of sun during the winter, they prepare for an overwhelming spike in demand for car washes.  After the spike, if the weather predictions do not call for sun, then they expect minimal demand regardless of what day of the week it is.

Spring is a close second to winter with large spikes in demand.  These spikes in springtime tend to be a little smaller than those during the winter but occur more frequently.  Due to the constant spreading of pollen primarily in May and June, spikes in demand revolve around the latter part of the week: Thursday – Sunday.  Severe weather is the only influence that will disrupt the demand for relief from pollen.  This is when they must rely on a causal method to predict their demand levels.

Summer is one of their slower seasons due to long periods of sunlight.  Time-Series Analysis shows that most people either do not wash their car as often, wash their car at home, or are away for periods of time in the summer.  This causes Summer to be a steady demand for Spotless Car Wash without many high or low levels of demand.

Fall is another slower season with constant demand relying on weather and days of the week.  Trends tend to stay constant without many high or low levels of demand.