Case Study Catches Fire - 1605 Words

Kristen and her roommate have decided to embark on a business venture and open an on-demand bakery from their dorm room kitchen. The girls have marketed their cookies as completely customizable with a variety of ingredients, fresh, and available within an hour of submitting the order via email. The cookies are made to order and guaranteed to be warm when picked up. The girls believe the timely turnaround of the cookies and the variety of ingredients offered differentiates them from typical in-store competitors. The current challenge lies in determining the production process for a batch of cookies. Kristen and her roommate have determined the individual batch steps, and are looking for ways to improve their process. If the dorm room†¦show more content†¦3.0 Case Analysis To properly analyze the case, we first had to understand the process involved with baking cookies, in the given conditions. We discovered that this process, from start to finish, can be broken down into six interdependent tasks. Some of these tasks have been grouped together in an effort to simplify the process into defined phases. Exhibit 1 contains a process flow diagram that reflects the tasks involved during the cookie making process. 3.1 Assumptions In order to assess the batch process for timing and capacity, the below assumptions were made to perform the necessary calculations: †¢ Orders are only taken through roommate, regardless of order. †¢ Necessary capital equipment is already owned †¢ Electricity costs are covered by the landlord †¢ Variable costs are set at $0.70 per unit (includes ingredients and packaging) †¢ Email system carries no cost †¢ Ingredients were readily available and shopping is not factored into the process †¢ Water and other utilities are insignificant costs, and have not been calculated †¢ That we have enough mixing bowls so that we don’t have to account for time to wash in between batches. 3.2 Throughput time Throughput time refers to the time it takes for a unit to be produced. We have made the assumption that in this case, a unit is considered to be a batch of one dozen cookies, and that there is no