Case: Kristen’s Cookie Company

(Group Assignment)
Submission checklist:
1. ______ The case report must be a Word or PDF document, and it must be self-contained,
i.e., it must cover all questions.
2. ______ Create a cover page
3. ______ Include your group number on the cover page; you can find your group number
in “view grades” on Blackboard
4. ______ List names of group members in alphabetical order of last name
5. ______ The filename of your case report should be Gx_KCC, where “x” is to be replaced
with your group number. For example, group 5’s filename should be G5_KCC
6. ______ Supplemental materials (e.g., Excel spreadsheets containing Gantt charts), if any,
should be named in the same fashion
7. ______ Remember to complete the peer evaluation for the case report before the deadline
(an email containing the link to peer evaluation will be sent from Teammates App right
after the due date of the case report.)
8. ______ Only one submission from each group. One member makes the submission on
Blackboard on behalf of the group

Grading Criteria
1. 20%: format and writing
• Follow rules in the above checklist
• The case report (Word of PDF document) must be self-contained; it must contain
ALL answers (supplemental materials, e.g., Excel spreadsheets, only serve to
provide additional details)
• Organize your content in a clear and easy-to-read format
• Clarity in writing: present your ideas in a precise and concise manner; proper
sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling
2. 80%: quality of content
• Completely address the concepts, theories, and material in a cohesive manner
• Points are logical and well-supported by evidence and facts
• Best and most applicable points are presented while unnecessary content is left
out

Page 1 of 3
Instructions
1. The following two changes are made to the production process described in the case:
1) The second paragraph on page 2 of the case says “This order processing step takes
your roommate one minute.”

Change it to: “The order processing step is fully automated, thus can be ignored in
further analysis.”

2) The 4th paragraph on page 2: “The next step, performed by your roommate, is to put
the cookies in the oven and set the timer. The time to do this is negligible, and will be
ignored in this analysis. The cookies bake for 10 minutes.”

Change it to: “The next step, performed by your roommate, is to put the cookies in the
oven and set the timer, which takes one minute. The cookies bake for the next nine
minutes. So total baking time is 10 minutes, during the first minute of which your
roommate is busy setting the oven.” The rest of this paragraph remains unchanged.

All questions are based on the altered process.

2. Observe the following assumptions:

1) The mixing step requires the attention of Kristen (she can’t be doing other tasks
concurrently with mixing).
2) The following steps require the use of a cookie tray: spooning, baking, cooling, packing.
3) The baking and cooling stages do NOT require any labor.
4) Kristen and her roommate are co-owners of the company.

3. Assume one-dozen order size unless otherwise specified. In other words, you only need to
consider multi-dozen orders in question 5 below, where you are asked to examine the impact
of multi-dozen orders. For all other questions, assume each order is one dozen.

4. All questions are independent of each other. The process may be modified in a question, but
for all subsequent questions, go back to the original setting.

5. Show details of your analysis. Make educated assumptions when necessary (provide
justifications if necessary).

Answer the following questions

2. [5 points] How long will it take you to fill a rush order?

3. [5 points] How many orders can you fill in a night, assuming you are open for 4 hours each
night? (The whole production line is empty, i.e., there is no WIP, when you start the night. In
other words, the process is not in a steady state when you start the night.)

Page 2 of 3
4. [5 points] How much of your own and your roommate’s valuable time will it take to fill each
order? Define valuable time as the productive time, i.e., it is the time when Kristen or her
roommate is working on something.

5. [15 points] Because your baking trays can hold exactly one dozen cookies, you will produce
and sell cookies by the dozen. Let us now explore the impact of multi-dozen orders.
a. Do multi-dozen orders change the cycle time of the whole process?
b. Compared with two one-dozen orders, can a two-dozen order (same flavor) reduce
the valuable time? If so, how much is the reduction (in minutes)?
c. If a customer orders a dozen chocolate cookies and a dozen peanut cookies, would
this two-dozen order affect the cycle time of the whole process? Is there any reduction
in valuable time? If so, how much?

6. [5 points] How many mixers and baking trays will you need? (Hint: you can use your Gantt
chart to verify your answer.)

7. [15 points] What is the capacity of the process if another oven is added? Draw a Gantt chart
to show what the new cycle time of the whole process is. Also identify the MLT based on the
Gantt chart you draw. (Hint: the roommate can only do one activity at a time – she cannot be
packing and setting the timer concurrently. Also, make sure the CT and MLT based on your
chart are consistent with your conclusions. For instance, you cannot claim CT is x in your
report while your Gantt chart shows a CT of y.)

8. [20 points] If you are trying to do this by yourself without a roommate, what is the impact on
the capacity and MLT? Draw a Gantt chart to illustrate the new process cycle time, and identify
the bottleneck of the process. (Hint: when drawing the Gantt chart, keep in mind that Kristen
can only do one activity at a time)

9. [10 points] Define “crash priority” orders as those that must be completed as soon as possible
(no waiting is allowed). Will a crash priority order cause disruption to current order(s) that
is/are already being processed in the following cases? (Disruption means the progress of
current orders is affected.)
a. The only current order is in the cooling stage;
b. The only current order has been baked for 4 minutes;
c. The only current order just entered the oven;
d. The only current order is in the mixing stage.

10. [15 points] Define pending orders as all orders you have received but not finished yet (some
could be in the process already, while others are waiting to enter the process). Suppose the
number of pending orders is the only information you have (i.e., you do not know the status
of any of the pending orders) when someone calls in to place an order.
a. Assume that the process is in a steady state. Given that you know the number of
pending orders and the CT of the process, what is a VERY SIMPLE way for you to
quickly estimate the time to complete the caller’s order?
b. Is this estimate always sufficient for you to complete his order? If not, how much more
time should you add to the estimate so that you can certainly finish his order within
this augmented estimate? (Hint: the process may not be in a steady state when you
receive the new order. Consider the worst-case scenario. Keep it simple, do NOT
consider any possible disruptions.)

Page 3 of 3