Practice · 1.8 Supply Chains

Bean & Brew canned cold brew

Bean & Brew makes drinks by hand in its café. Mina is considering selling canned cold brew in grocery stores, where shoppers compare prices and six other brands already sit on the shelf. Two roasters can supply beans: Roaster X is 15% cheaper but sits in a flood zone and has missed two deliveries this year; Roaster Y has never missed a delivery. A contract bottler could fill 10,000 cans an hour.

1. For the grocery-store cold brew, which production process best fits the customer priorities and competitive landscape described?

AMass production through the contract bottler, because shoppers compare on price and many rivals already competeBNo production, because cold brew is a serviceCArtisan production, because it is cheaper per canDArtisan production, because Bean & Brew's café drinks are hand-made

2. Using a contract bottler rather than building her own canning line is also consistent with

AMina's core competency in café service, not factory operationsBa barrier to entryCartisan productionDa service supply chain

3. Which supplier consideration from the framework most strongly favors Roaster Y over Roaster X?

ACostBRisk — a flood zone and missed deliveries may delay delivery and threaten Bean & Brew's reliabilityCConvenienceDQuality of packaging

4. Roaster X's 15% lower price represents which supplier consideration?

ACostBQualityCRiskDEfficiency

5. In Bean & Brew's café, the study space is a service. Its supply chain consists of

Aa distribution centerBa contract bottlerCgreen beans, a roaster, and a warehouseDtrained staff, chairs and outlets, and the room itself

6. The journey of Mina's beans from a farm abroad to the roaster is best described as

Aa global supply chain for raw materialsBa service supply chainCa distribution centerDa local supply chain