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Matthew Nicol

Rich Gusewelle

BUSN 6110 02 S1 2020

03 Feb 2020

Case Study: Kristen’s Cookie Company

Introduction:

The intention of this paper is to discuss a theoretical case study of a business plan where

two college students wish to operate a cookie manufacturing business from their on-campus

apartment. The core value of their business model is to listen to the voice of the customer and

only make cookies in the configurations exactly as requested on each customer order. Following

this model also leads to a focus on quality, since each customer is receiving made-to-order

cookies they are as fresh as possible; with the goal of no customer having to wait longer than an

hour for their order to be filled.

The best layout option for the cookie production process is the assembly line model, even

though there will be a bottleneck (to be discussed later in this paper). Also, being a make-to-order

business Kristen’s Cookie Company will need to hold adequate inventory of all ingredients so

they can produce all configurations at-will; lean disciplines such as just-in-time delivery of

inventory will not work well for this business model.

While the case information was detailed, in order to fully answer the questions I had to

make several assumptions. For question 4 (rush order) I made the assumptions that the oven

would already be pre-heated, cookie dough already mixed, and the oven would have open

capacity to accept the rush order as soon as it was ready to be baked. For question 5 (max number

of orders per shift) I made the assumptions that the oven will be at baking temperature by the

time the first batch of cookie dough is ready to go into the oven; and I also assumed each order of

cookies would consume 1-tray, and that if not enough time remains to complete a batch of

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cookies in the shift then one will not be started. For question 6 (how many food processors and

trays needed) I made the assumptions that the cookie trays could return immediately to the front

of the assembly line after the cooled-cookies were removed from them, and I also assumed that

both roommates would staff the assembly line together to keep the maximum amount of product

flowing down the assembly line. A couple additional non-question specific assumptions I made

were that all cookie configurations baked at the same temperature, and that a timer would be used

to monitor baking time duration.

Question 1: Briefly describe, and flow chart the cookie

production process.

The cookie production process is a multi-stage process by which inputs in the form of

raw materials (i.e. ingredients) are converted into an output (cookies). This is accomplished by

utilizing the necessary human resources and capital equipment to execute all phases of the cookie

production process. Additionally, the cookie production process is part of the overall business

strategy to run the organization as a “make to order” process, in that no actual raw materials will

become inputs to the production process until an actual customer order has been received. Only

after an order has been received will the production process begin, with each order custom made

to the customer’s specifications.

For a graphical representation of the cookie production process please see Figure 1. Here

is a brief written description of the process steps:

1. Turn on the oven, set temperature

2. Wash bowl, add the ingredients, mix in a food processor

3. Spoon cookie dough onto a baking tray

4. Place the tray into the oven, set timer

5. Remove the cookies from the oven when baking time is finished

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6. Let the cookies cool

7. Remove cookies from tray and pack into a box

8. Complete sale transaction and deliver cookies to the customer

Figure 1: Flowchart for the Cookie Production Process

Question 2: Describe the operations strategies for producing

cookies, not the marketing strategies.
There are many different types of strategies employed to run a business, for example

corporate strategy is the overall strategic plan to cover the entire scope of the organization with

the intention of providing direction to all employees. For the purposes of discussing this case

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question, though, only operational strategies will be covered. “Operations and supply chain

strategy is concerned with setting broad policies and plans for using the resources of a firm, and

must be integrated with the corporate strategy” (Jacobs and Chase, Pg. 25). In other words,

Operational strategies support the overall corporate strategy by ensuring the resources of the

organization are utilized in a manner that is consistent with the direction provided in the corporate

strategy.

Operational strategies for producing the cookies as depicted in this case study are focused

on goods and service design, location selection, human resources and job design, supply chain

management, but most importantly focused on the voice-of-the-customer.

For the goods and services design segment of the operational strategy the focus is to

allow the customer complete control over the design. The cookies will be made to whichever

configuration is placed on the order, by the customer. While all cookies do share some inherent

design features, they will differ from order to order as different customers order cookies with

different ingredients.

The location-selection operational strategy of cookie production is limited to the on-

campus apartment where the business owners currently live. It is likely that the business owners

did not have any other location to run their business due to resources needed; however this still

counts as an operational strategy due to their location. Being on-campus this cookie production

organization will cater to a “captive audience” of hungry students late at night. There is an

assumption that no other eating-establishments are open late at night on-campus, therefore the

location of the apartment is a sound operational strategy where their target market is easily

accessible.

This is a small enterprise, consisting of the two employee/owners. As such, human

resources are limited. Additionally, their capital equipment is also very limited (only one oven,

for example). Due to this scale of the operation, the human resource and job-design strategy has

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been tailored to allow for a maximum of two people working on the process at any given point in

time to achieve full capacity.

The cookie production process as depicted in this case adopts a specific supply-chain

management operational strategy that best suits their production needs. Since this operation is a

make-to-order process the organization must hold all needed inventory on-hand so it is readily

available to produce cookies in whatever configuration the customer requests on an order. This

eliminates other potential supply-chain strategies such as “just in time” for inventory

management.

All of these operational strategies revolve around the voice of the customer. At the core of

this organization’s plan is the strategy to only make cookies to order, they will only produce

exactly what the customer requests and in any configuration the customer requests that is within

the scope of the organization’s abilities.

Question 3: What type of production layout will be best for

Kristen's Cookie Company, and why?

There are many different types of production layouts that can be used to organize a

manufacturing process. According to chapter eight of our textbook the four most common types

are; Work center (or job-shop), Assembly line, Manufacturing cell, and Project layout. Of these

four types the most applicable for cookie production would be the assembly line layout. This is

because the assembly line layout most closely matches the process-description of how the cookie

production process operates.

For example, the textbook definition of the assembly line is “A setup in which an item is

produced through a fixed series of workstations, designed to achieve a specific production rate”

(Jacobs and Chase, Pg. 170). When analyzing the cookie production process planned for Kristen’s

Cookie Company we see this model allows for all parameters. The cookies are prepared in a

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sequential order based on precedence of some steps having to be complete prior to others, also the

cookies themselves are moved through each station (the equipment and workstations do not

move). Additionally, the cookie production process for this case does have a planned rate; it is

given that the desired maximum time interval for the customers to wait for their orders is one

hour. This matches the textbook definition of an assembly line very well.

While a work center layout could be arguable as a good fit for this process it is not as

applicable as an assembly line; the entire scope of work for making the cookies start-to-finish all

take place within the boundaries of the same “department”, the apartment kitchen. Since there is

not a transfer of the cookies being produced from department to department the work center

layout is sub-optimal for cookie production as compared to the assembly line model.

Question 4: How long will it take to fill a rush order? Present

your answer in a time line.

For this question I will make the following assumptions:

 The oven is already pre-heated

 There is already enough dough pre-mixed to make the rush-order batch

 There is not a batch currently baking in the oven

The conclusion is that a rush-order will take 20 minutes to complete based on these

assumptions. The logic behind the assumptions is as follows; a rush order is most likely to come

in the middle of a normal shift where dough will have already been mixed and the oven already

up to baking temperature from baking other batches. This omits the process-steps of washing the

bowl, adding ingredients, and mixing everything in the food processor. For a breakdown of the

time per step for a rush order reference figure 2.

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Figure 2: Timeline to Complete a Rush Order

Question 5: How many orders can you fill in a night, assuming

Kristen's Cookie Company is open four hours each night?

The bottleneck in this cookie production process is the oven. A bottleneck is a “resource

that limits the capacity or maximum output of the process” (Jacobs and Chase, Pg. 628). In this

process all of the cookies must be baked in an oven; since there is only one oven available to

Kristen’s Cookie Company this becomes a bottleneck because this work-station on the assembly

line take the longest amount of time per batch of cookies. Optimally, Kristen’s Cookie Company

could remove this bottleneck by acquiring an additional oven; however this is most likely not

feasible due to the limitations placed upon the organization by the size of their kitchen, available

resources to purchase another oven, and any lease-agreements with the owners of the apartment

complex. The best way for Kristen’s Cookie Company to deal with the bottleneck is to make sure

that there is never a shortage of cookies ready to go into the oven and never a blockage of cookies

waiting to be boxed on the output side of the oven. In other words, have an inventory-buffer in

front of the oven at all times and always have room for a batch of baked cookies on the output

side of the oven.

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It is given that total baking time is 10 minutes (1 minute to load the cookies and set the

over parameters, plus 9 more minutes to finish baking). 4 hours computes out to 240 minutes;

which would lead many to believe that 24 batches of cookies are the maximum possible in this

time (240/10 = 24). However, this is not completely correct. At time-zero there is not a batch of

cookies in the oven being baked. If this method of computing capacity is going to rely on pacing

the bottleneck speed, this time prior to the first batch of cookies being loaded into the oven must

be counted. Based on given information, a minimum of 8 minutes will pass before the first batch

of cookies will be ready to load into the oven, see Figure 3. At a minimum this will reduce our

total possible output by 1-batch of cookies; this is also assuming that if not enough time remains

in the 4-hour shift to complete a batch then one will not be started (i.e. no partial batches left to

waste)

Figure 3: Time Required Before First Batch of Cookies is Ready for the Oven

Total
Wash bowl, add ingredients, mix in Spoon Dough
Process Steps food processor onto Tray
Time in
Minutes

Time required in
6 2 8
minutes

The amount of time required for the oven to heat up to baking temperature is not given in

the problem; the baking temperature itself is also not given in this problem. Without this

information we cannot accurately predict when the oven will be ready for the first batch. For the

purpose of answering this question it is assumed that the oven will heat up to baking temperature

by the time the first batch is ready to be loaded into the oven; provided the oven is turned on at

the very start of the process and is warming up during the process steps listed in Figure 3.

Another assumption that is needed to be made to answer this question is that each order

takes an entire tray; in other words; only one order at a time can be in the oven. This is a sound

assumption considering there is only one food processor, we cannot mix more than one type of

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cookie batter at a time. Even though each bowl can hold 3-tray’s worth of cookie dough, it would

all be of the same configuration, and since we cannot predict what configuration the customer is

going to order it is not advisable to mix dough ahead of time that may end up not being used.

In conclusion; the most amount of cookie-orders that can be fully produced in a 4-

hour shift would be 23-orders of cookies. Lastly, this question asks how many cookies can be

produced, it does not specify cookies sold; for this reason there has not been any discussion for

time spent on cooling, packaging, or selling the cookies (any post-oven activities).

Question 6: How many food processors and baking trays will be

needed at full production capacity?

To answer this question I will need to make a few more assumptions, such as; the trays do

not need to be cleaned after each batch of cookies is removed from them before returning to

service at the front of the assembly line. I will also use the assumption that at full production both

employees (roommates) will be staffing the production line at the same time working different

tasks as needed based on product flow. Additionally, I will assume that each time a batch of

ingredients are mixed the food processor will only be used to mix enough dough for 1-batch,

unless a specific order for more than 1-batch of the same ingredients is ordered; this would allow

for the processor to be at the ready for any specific order customization that may be received.

Finally, I also am going to assume the baking temperature is the same for all different

configurations of cookies that are to be produced (no changes need be made to the thermostat)

Using these additional assumptions the answer is that only 3 baking trays and 1 food

processor will be needed to run at full production. The reason so few trays and processors are

needed is due to the bottleneck at the oven. The cookies will spend more time in the over per

batch than all of the preceding stations on the assembly line combined; the same holds true for all

stations on the assembly line that take place after the cookies are complete with baking in the

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oven. If the assembly line is staffed properly, 2 people should be able to keep cookies moving

down the assembly line with only 3 trays and 1 processor.

Here is an explanation of how this can function with only 3 trays and 1 processor:

 The first roommate turns on the oven, washes the bowl, adds and mixes ingredients (6

minutes elapses)

 Once mixed, this roommate then spoons the first batch onto the first tray (2 minutes)

 Assuming the oven is at baking temperature, this first tray of cookies is loaded into the

oven and takes a grand total of 10-minutes to bake (once the oven reaches baking

temperature it will not be shut off for the duration of the shift)

o While the first batch is baking all steps in the first two bullets on this list are

performed again, and the second batch of cookies is spooned onto the second tray

 This will take only 8 minutes and can thus be completed before the first

batch of cookies is complete with baking on the first tray

 When the first batch reaches 10-minutes in the oven, the second roommate takes them out

of the oven and sets them down to cool; and also loads the second tray of cookies into the

oven at this time

o Next, the wash/mix/spoon process occurs for the 3rd batch of cookies while the 1st

batch is cooling and the 2nd batch is baking (3rd batch spooned onto the 3rd tray)

 Cooling, boxing, and accepting payment for the completed 1st batch of

cookies takes a total of 8-minutes; this is 2-minutes less than the time

needed for the 2nd batch of cookies to bake, therefore the second

roommate should have time to complete all post-oven tasks and return

the emptied tray used for the first batch to the first roommate before the

2nd batch of cookies is complete baking (making space for the 2 nd batch to

have a place to cool when complete with baking)

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 The tray used for the first batch of cookies having been returned to the front of the

assembly line before the 2nd batch of cookies is complete with baking will be available in

time to accept the spooned out dough for the 4th batch of cookies before the 3rd batch of

cookies is complete in the oven; thus, there will not be any gaps in the production line

feeding the oven trays full of cookie-dough

o As long as both roommates work together this series of events can repeat over

and over again to achieve full production rate with the bare minimum of 3 trays

and 1 processor

Question 7: What future changes can be made to the production

process that will allow Kristen's Cookie Company to produce
more cookies in less time.

The most effective change to make to allow for more cookies to be produced in less time

would be to increase the capacity of the oven. It is unlikely that baking times could be shortened

without sacrificing product-quality, as higher heat might burn the cookies. Since the cycle-time of

the oven cannot be shortened, the only way to realize more product through the oven would be to

increase the amount of cookies that can be baked in each cycle.

For Kristen’s Cookie Company I would recommend replacing their current oven with a

larger unit, capable of accepting at least 2 or 3 trays at a time. This may be the most feasible due

to the size constraints of their kitchen and available utility-company service (gas/electric).

However, if there is available room and utilities for a second-oven this would be preferred as

throughput in the baking cycle would increase while also maintaining their flexibility to bake

custom-orders in any configuration as requested by the customer.

If they were able to add baking capacity to the process, there will be a need for more

trays. Without knowing exactly how much more baking capacity they would gain it is not

possible to forecast how many additional trays are needed. However, since 3 trays is the bare

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minimum to be full production at the current oven’s capacity level, any increase in oven-

production would necessitate a need for more trays. Also, in order to run at full rate with the

increased oven capacity, Kristen’s Cookie Company would likely need to recruit one of their

neighbors as an additional employee as just the two of them would not be able to keep the line

running at full capacity by themselves.

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Works Cited

Jacobs, F. Robert., and Richard B. Chase. Operations and Supply Chain Management.
15th ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2018.

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