The first part of the operations and management section of your car wash business plan takes your reader onto the floor workspace. There you walk them through the day to day business of how your shop floor delivers its services to your customers. The three areas you will touch upon are the processes, the equipment, and the people.

The management or second part then goes into the “who”, the “what” and the “how” behind the management of the entire operations.

Operations – The Processes

Under processes, you would include details such as your operational hours. Also, how your business will be run on a daily basis. Then, how and who will do the various activities. How will your customers be attended to from when you first meet them to when their vehicles are detailed? Further, how long will it take to deliver each of your service lines? What are the measures in place to ensure the consistent delivery of high quality customer service?

You will also discuss:

• The physical workspace. Such as, the building, its layouts, and associated engineering drawings and leases;

• The special zoning bylaws and environmental regulations it has to comply with;

• Special requirements specific to your car wash business that are operational in nature, such as safety, ventilation or parking;

• The rules, regulations and organizations that are in place to monitor your industry. Talk about how you stay updated and if you are a member of any one of them.

Operations – The Equipment

As the name suggests, the equipment sub-topic of your operations plan requires you to discuss about the equipment, tools and supplies needed to facilitate the delivery of your services. This should include items you already have as well as those which you will need to buy. As this is basically a description of your inventory plans, you should disclose how much it will all cost.

Operations – The People

This section is where you explain about the various groups of people directly and indirectly involved in your business. They include your customers, staff and suppliers.

Who are your customers? How will you deliver your services to them, will you include detailing and mobile services? What are your relationships with them? How will you communicate and engage with them?

Describe who your employees are; how you will hire, motivate and retain them. Moreover, how will you manage their schedules. Also, how will you balance your manpower needs for the peak periods as well as for the lulls. What performance reviews do you have in place to ensure quality of service from your staff? Provide your projected requirements for full-time/part-time personnel and the costs involved.

Who are your suppliers? How do you receive products and services from them? How long does delivery take? What are the costs? Do you have a plan B in case of emergencies?

Management

For the management section of your business plan, you need to let your readers know who and how the entire operations will be managed. Begin by clarifying what is the management philosophy, management requirements. Moreover, who are the founders, directors and other key people. What are management’s objectives, goals and strategies? Also talk about what management procedures and controls are in place to deal with complaint and disputes.

Conclusion

Your goals for writing the operation plan in a business plan is threefold. First, to provide a detailed operational plan to demonstrate the delivery process for your services. Then the capital and operational expenses involved as well as how the operations are then held together and conducted by the management team.

Enjoyed this post? Sign up for our newsletter to receive more valuable business and franchise info, ideas, and extras!