Joshua Carroll
9/12/14
BA 2020

Case Study: Biddy Bakery

1. Explain the challenge Elizabeth faced in meeting her capacity needs and what she should have considered before moving into the larger facility.
The challenge that Elizabeth faced in meeting her capacity needs was that she purchased considerably more capacity space than needed and as a result, was paying for unused space. There are several things that she should have considered and planned for before moving into the larger facility. First of all, she should have calculated what the customer demand was for her product. She should have determined what the market need was in the community in order to calculate the customer demand. By determining the amount of baked goods that would be sold, she would have had an understanding of the space needed for purchase.

2. Determine what is wrong with the proposal made by the team of the business students and why.
The issue with the proposal made by the team of the business students is that they plan on making the production of the McDoogle pies in large volumes the primary focus of Biddy’s Bakery. It is not smart to focus on just one product when Biddy’s Bakery sells many other products that could help boost Biddy’s business. Granted, the McDoogle pie is the best-selling good at Biddy’s, there are several other baked goods that could help to increase sales and help fill the extra space that she has. Unless she stopped making her other baked goods, Elizabeth would find herself in even deeper trouble because she would have excess ingredients laying around due to not making those products anymore. This would result in a loss in profits because she is losing ingredients that she had already purchased and would probably end up adding more extra space than she already has.

3. Explain how the business would be different if Elizabeth accepts the proposal made by the students.
The business would be much different if Elizabeth accepts the proposal made by the students. First of all, her main income will come from the McDoogle pies and the other products will probably end up not being made all together. It would change the entire direction of the company. The company would go from a bakery with many different items, to specializing in one main product. Elizabeth’s