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Simulation supports improvement and expansion of auto detailing service

• Edward J. Williams
• Virali Shah
• Shiven Bhardwaj
• Mingchen Kao
• Joshua Willet

(2023). ECMS 2023, 37th Proceedings
Edited by: Enrico Vicario, Romeo Bandinelli, Virginia Fani, Michele Mastroianni, European Council for Modelling and Simulation.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.7148/2023
ISSN: 2522-2422 (ONLINE)
ISSN: 2522-2414 (PRINT)
ISSN: 2522-2430 (CD-ROM)
ISBN: 978-3-937436-80-7
ISBN: 978-3-937436-79-1 (CD) Communications of the ECMS Volume 37, Issue 1, June 2023, Florence, Italy June 20th – June 23rd, 2023

https://doi.org/10.7148/2023-0019

Edward j. williams, Virali shah, Shiven bhardwaj, Mingchen kao, Joshua willet (2023). Simulation Supports Improvement and Expansion of Auto Detailing Service, ECMS 2023, Proceedings Edited by: Enrico Vicario, Romeo Bandinelli, Virginia Fani, Michele Mastroianni, European Council for Modelling and Simulation. doi:10.7148/2023-0019

When, some decades ago now, discrete-event process simulation first expanded from academic research into the commercial arena, its first and very enthusiastic users were manufacturing enterprises.  From there, simulation has deservedly expanded into other realms:  Health care, warehousing, supply chain and transshipment improvement, public transport (improvements to airports, highway networks, and railroad operations), and service industries.

We provide here an example of simulation applied to a service industry – the detailing of privately owned vehicles.  Such detailing, properly and thoroughly done, can make a vehicle “like new” – shining headlights, restored upholstery, “squeaky clean” inside and out, and all surfaces vigorously polished.  In the simulation analysis examined in this paper, a recently established (2021) auto detailing service in the United Arab Emirates, experienced significant increase in customer demand.  The entrepreneur, having established an excellent reputation for service quality, sought the most cost-effective ways to accommodate the increased demand with no degradation of (indeed, even improvement to) its service:  Short waiting times and “delivery when promised.”