Home-Style Cookies Essay

In this case study, the focus revolves around the Lew Mark Baking Company. The Lew-Mark Baking Company according to the case study is from a small town in western New York. Lew-mark Baking company operates in New York and New Jersey. It employs around 200 workers in a mainly blue collar, informal atmosphere. In my paper, I will answer several questions about operations for this company The Cookie Production Process When describing the cookie production process for Lew-mark baking, it is best described as using the batch processing system. The batch processing system can best be described as the execution of a series of programs (â€Å"jobs†) on a computer without human interaction. â€Å"Batch Processing is used when a moderate value of goods or services is desired, and it can handle a moderate variety of products and services† (Stevenson 2009, P 239). This method helps with quantity management because Lew mark only makes cookies according to demand. What are two ways that the company has increased productivity? Why did increasing the length of the ovens result in a faster output? One obvious way the company is increasing productivity is that it only makes cookies according to the demand. What ever order it receives from its distributor is what is made in the factory. This ensures that productivity is centered on the demand and time is not wasted baking products that might or might not sell. This is return, makes productivity quicker and more efficient. As mentioned above, the Batch processing system is a huge contributor to increasing productivity. Having two ovens also helps in speeding up productivity. Lengthen the ovens by 25 feet, increased the rate of production by allowing more cookies to be baked at the same time. Automating the Packing Although automating the packing of the cookies in normally a quicker and more efficient way of doing business, it is my opinion the Lew-mark baking Company is doing the right thing by employing local workers to do this job. It is vitally important to create good relationship within the community. This allows a company to have a stake in the community and thus foster good relationships with the local government, political officials and members of the community. Fostering these types of relationships can also be beneficial when it comes to future plans or expansions. Plus, the company has an obligation to the workers once they are employed with the company. As longs as profits and the bottom line are healthy, it should keep its commitment to the community. This would hold true in a small or large community. It is the obligation of industry to keep workforce engagement in tact. As long as industry is alive, some sort of human engagement is needed. What factors cause Lew-mark to carry minimal amounts of certain inventories? What benefits results from this policy? Obviously, the shelf life of perishables (cookies) keeps companies like Lew-Mark from storing big quantities of cookies in the warehouse. The longer these cookies stay in the warehouse, the lower the possibility of being sold. In reading the text, Stevenson’s goes into great detail about the Single Period Model of Inventory Management. This Model is used for ordering perishables and other items with limited useful life. It is interesting how Lew mark keeps a smaller inventory of labels. Their rationale is that the FDA label requirements change frequently and they do not wan to get stuck with labels they cannot use. Most of their inventory is ordered in small silos two or three times a week to save on ordering cost. This type of inventory control favors smaller businesses as long as they can forecast their production with accuracy. This allows Lew-mark to only buy what they use and use what they buy. If production decreases, they buy less. If production increases, they buy more. In the case of Lew-Mark Baking Company, this type of inventory control makes sense. Quality There are advantageous and disadvantages in using a non additive and non preservative approach to selling products. The advantage is that you can target a more health conscious audience to your product. With all the health disparities facing the country, you can carve out a specific audience for these types of products. On the flip side, you have to race against the clock because these non additives and non preservative shorten the life of these perishable items. In other words, your selling approach needs to be more progressive in its nature Conclusion In conclusion, the Lew-Mark Baking Company has an excellent product available to its consumers. Its pitch to sell non additive non preservative cookies targets and audience that is looking for this type of product. Because of its size, Lew-mark capitalizes in efficiency by using very tight inventory controls and production processes that keeps the company financially conscious and fiscally responsible. Its sensitivity to the community also brings morale responsibility that is noted by many members of the community and abroad. The Companies Strategy is to create a product that is desirable to the consumer and delivering that product in a way that makes the best business sense to its owners. As a consumer, I prefer quality in the form of a soft cookie. Understanding that the cookie has non and non preservatives is a plus.