Case Analysis: Biddy's Bakery (BB)- Chapter 03 Biddy's Bakery was founded by Elizabeth McDoogle fifteen years ago. Nicknamed "Biddy," Elizabeth started the home- style bakery in Cincinnati, Ohio, as an alternative to commercially available baked goods. The mission of Biddy's Bakery was to produce a variety of baked goods with old-fashioned style and taste. The goods produced included a variety of pies and cakes and were sold to the public and local restaurants. The operation was initially started as a hobby by Elizabeth and a group of her friends. Many of the recipes they used had been passed down for generations in their families. The small production and sales facility was housed in a mixed commercial and residential area on the first floor of "Biddy's** home. Elizabeth ("Biddy") and three of her friends worked in the facility from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. making and selling the pies. The operation was arranged as a job shop (batch process) with workstations set up to perform a variety of tasks as needed. Most of the customers placed advanced orders, and Biddy's Bakery took pride in accepting special requests. The bakery's specialty was the McDoogle pie, a rich chocolate confection in a cookie crust. Initially sales were slow, and there were periods when the business operated at a loss. However, after a few years Biddy's Bakery began to attract a loyal customer following. Sales continued to grow slowly but steadily. Ten years after, a first-floor storage area was expanded to accommodate the growing business. However, Biddy's Bakery quickly outgrew its current capacity. After 4 years, Elizabeth decided to purchase the adjacent building and move the entire operation into the much larger facility. The new facility had considerably more capacity than needed, but the expectation was that business would continue to grow. Unfortunately, 6 months later, Elizabeth found that her sales expectations had not been met, and she was paying for a facility with unused space. Elizabeth knew that her operations methods, though traditional, were sound. A few years ago, she had called upon a team of business students from a local university for advice as part of their course project. They had offered some suggestions but were most impressed with the efficient manner with which she ran her operation. Recalling this experience, she decided to contact the same university for another team of business students to help her with her predicament. After considerable analysis, the team of business students came up with their plan: Biddy's Bakery should primarily focus on production of the McDoogle pie in large volumes, with major sales to go to a local grocery store. The team of business students discussed this option with a local grocery store chain that was pleased with the prospect. Under the agreement Biddy's Bakery would focus its production on the McDoogle pie which would be delivered in set quantities to one store location twice a week. The volume of pies required would use up all the current excess capacity and take away most of the capacity from production of other pies. Elizabeth was confused. The altemative being offered would solve her capacity problems, but it seemed that the business would be completely different, though she did not understand how or why. For the first time in managing her business she did not know what to do. QUESTIONS (5 questions, 2 marks each) Please show your answers in the file "Answers- Case2" under "Assessments". 1. When Biddy's Bakery moved its entire operations to a new facility, what was the problem with this facility? What should Elizabeth have considered before moving to the new facility? 2. What was the proposal made by the second team of the business students? What is wrong with the proposal made by this team? Why? 3. What type of operation (intermittent or repetitive process) does Biddy's Bakery currently have in place? What type of operation (process) is needed to meet the proposal made by the team of business students? Explain the differences between these two operations (processes). 4. Elizabeth senses that the business would be different if she accepts the proposal made by the team of business students, but she does not know how and why. Explain how the business would be different. 5. What would you advise Elizabeth to do