Profitability Modelling of Small Automotive Repair Enterprises Through Optimisation of Internal Operational Processes and Energy Efficiency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57125/FEL.2026.09.25.03Keywords:
cost optimisation, energy efficiency, net margin, operational processes, profitability modelling, small enterprise, transitioning economy.Abstract
Small automotive repair enterprises operating in Ukraine's transitioning economy face wartime power interruptions, the enterprise's contracted electricity price and tariff category, and cost pressure that can erode narrow margins. This study developed an integrated profitability model in which order-level operational and energy variables were estimated together with a control for power-supply interruptions. Its novelty is the joint treatment of operational efficiency, energy use and external supply conditions rather than their analysis as separate influences. Multiple linear regression and scenario analysis were applied to 847 service orders from one Kyiv enterprise over 12 months. Labour input was the most prominent operational predictor; cycle time, downtime, materials cost, energy consumption, the energy cost ratio and power-supply interruptions were also statistically significant. The integrated model explained 73.4% of within-sample variance (R² = 0.734; adjusted R² = 0.730). The Breusch-Pagan test indicated no evidence of heteroscedasticity (χ² = 12.34, p = 0.19), the Durbin-Watson test indicated no evidence of autocorrelation (d = 2.01, p = 0.45), and all VIF values were below 1.15, indicating no multicollinearity concerns. The Shapiro-Wilk test for normality of residuals was not significant (W = 0.98, p = 0.12), and the Ramsey RESET test indicated no evidence of misspecification (F = 1.23, p = 0.30). A 20% reduction in cycle time and downtime increased predicted margin by 2.40 percentage points; adding a 15% reduction in energy consumption raised the estimated gain to 3.13 percentage points. Because the observations are service orders from a single firm, the results are associational and do not represent independent enterprises. Nevertheless, the modelling and scenario framework provides a structured basis for enterprise-level decision analysis and can be tested, with sector-specific recalibration, in other service industries and transitioning economies.
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