In considering today’s business environment, about the only thing you can count on is uncertainty. Granted, life in business inevitably includes a few surprises. But several laundry operators and consultants we contacted say that they expect an unusually high degree of unpredictability this year—on issues ranging from inflation to automation, labor availability/quality, supply-chain issues and more.

To thrive in this environment, operators must lay out and execute their business plans, while poised to pivot when conditions require it. That was the consensus view among the industry leaders we contacted. For example, Brandon Rosenblatt, CEO of Commercial Laundry Corp., a hospitality ...