As the country braces for a massive snowstorm tonight, companies in the Ann Arbor region are assessing the storm's immediate impact on their operations - and making decisions about their operations that will affect employees, customers and revenue after the storm hits.

Even as the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office sends out a message this afternoon encouraging businesses to close, some say they either can't - or need to take extreme measures to stay open.

Major global companies like Domino's Pizza and Con-way Freight could incur a loss in revenue if they have to stop delivering pizzas and shipping products, respectively.

A Con-way Freight truck, in sunnier times.

File photo | AnnArbor.com

On the other hand, the snow might also present opportunity for some companies -- including Domino's.

Here's a look at how some key local companies expect to deal with the storm:

Domino's Pizza: Snow brings opportunity and challenges

The Ann Arbor Township-based international chain may actually get a boost from the snow tonight as people place orders for delivery instead of venturing out to restaurants.

"We realize that these kinds of things are a boon to delivery businesses because people want to stay home," said Tim McIntyre, vice president of corporate communications for Domino's.

The snow turns from business opportunity into a logistical problem when the roads slow delivery times or simply become too dangerous.

"Generally speaking, we approach every event with the goal of being the last to close and the first to open, keeping in mind that nothing is more important than the safety of our team members," McIntyre said. "If the roads are treacherous, we may suspend delivery but stay open to feed people."

Some 90 percent of Domino's stores are owned by franchisees, who make their own decisions about whether to stay open or suspend delivery.

"Our guiding philosophy is be open when you can as long as you can be open safely and there are no curfews and there are no states of emergency," McIntyre said.

Meanwhile, the company's ingredient supply chain will remain operational as long as roads are open, he said.

Con-way Freight: Shipping products unless the roads become impassible

The Ann Arbor Township-based less-than-truckload shipping company, a division of Con-way Inc., is bracing for the blizzard with the expectation that it won't be able to reach all of its destinations throughout the country. With 8,600 tractors, 25,000 trailers and 365 bases throughout the country, Con-way truckers make 120,000 stops for delivery or pickup on an average day.

"There will be places in the system where, just because of weather and road conditions, we're not able to get to them" right away, Con-way Freight spokesman Gary Frantz said.

Frantz said Con-way takes necessary precautions for the safety of its drivers.

"We’ll put plans in place where we’ll hold freight in certain locations until the roads clear up and allow us to continue moving again," he said.

Frantz said the company doesn't have a specific threshold of snowfall at which it pulls its drivers off the road. But Con-way truckers will brave the roads if at all possible, he said.

"Where the roads are open and we can get to the customer we’ll make the effort to get there," he said.

Willow Run Airport: Pace of snowfall makes a difference

The cargo traffic destination is prepared to handle a steady pace of snowfall, said Scott Wintner, spokesman for the Wayne County Airport Authority.

The airport could easily clear runways at a pace of one inch an hour for 20 consecutive hours, he said. But an intense pace of a few inches an hour "can cripple us," Wintner said.

Wintner said "some sort of delay" may be inevitable with tonight's blizzard. He said one concern is that incoming cargo traffic won't be able to reach its destination after arriving at the airport, due to poor road conditions.

"It's part of the larger supply chain issue," he said.

Ironically, though, air cargo traffic often reports a brief spike after a major snowstorm as manufacturers such as auto companies need to expedite shipping to compensate for cargo that can't get to its destination by ground.

"There’s a likelihood that we’ll see a momentary uptick in traffic," Wintner said.

Holiday Inn North Campus: Ann Arbor area hotels filling up

Anyone looking for a room on the city's north side won't have much luck.

"We are sold out," said Joe Sefcovic, manager of the 225-room Holiday Inn on Plymouth Road.

The situation is the same at other local hotels, he said their respective managers told him this afternoon.

While all rooms are booked, not all guests have checked in. So now he and his staff are waiting to see who actually shows up. At least 100 arrivals were expected by the dinner hour, but he's also seeing reports of various U.S. airports either shutting down or limiting flights.

Many of the room bookings reflect local employees who want to spend the night in Ann Arbor so that they'll be able to get to their jobs on Wednesday. Others are patients at the University of Michigan Hospitals who need access to that facility in the morning, he said.

About 7 rooms will be used by hotel staff. He's issued an emergency weather rate for some of the key staff who need to be on-hand in the morning: Front desk staff, housekeepers and the shuttle driver.

He had to turn down some staff requests, due to the sell-out. Aside from that, he's expecting everything else to run smoothly, no matter how much snow falls overnight.

This afternoon, he's stocked and ready.

"It's the calm before the storm," Sefcovic said.

Busch's: Generators provide assurance

Ann Arbor-based grocery store chain Busch’s plans to maintain its normal operating hours, said Kim Brown, director of marketing.

But the company, which has four stores in Washtenaw County, did bring in generators to ensure continuous operation, Brown said.

“We make it work,” she said.

On Monday night, as residents stocked up for the storm, business surged at local grocery stores.

"There were five of us from the corporate office helping bagging because it was so busy," Brown said.

Bank of Ann Arbor: Closing would impact many systems

Deciding to close a bank due to weather comes with many implications, said Patti Judson, first vice president at Bank of Ann Arbor.

“This is a very challenging decision,” she said, explaining that it won’t be made until Wednesday morning when the storm’s impact can be weighed.

Besides the retail services at the bank’s downtown office and regional branches, the bank also processes payroll and accommodates electronic transactions from across the U.S., Judson said.

Closing the bank would affect all of those functions, in addition to customers who depend on access to their accounts through in-person services.

But also at issue is employee safety, Judson said.

“Making our determination for our business needs also has to be appropriate for the safety of our employees,” she said.

A team is considering various options, which may include opening a limited number of facilities on Wednesday, Judson said.

She plans on getting up very early to figure it out: “My guess is sometime between 4 and 5 a.m., so we can tell employees by 6 a.m.”

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.