Operations and Technology

Management- MSIN0145
Assignment -1
Scharffenberger
Chocolate Maker Case
Report

Word Count: 948

Group 2 | Team 7

Danila Titov: 22000016

Taiki Ichikawa: 22131015
Vishnu Kant Bhadauria: 22097955
Yuteng Zheng: 22066809
Most Important Competitive Operational Priorities for
Scharffenberger:

Sourcing:

Scharffen Berger made sure that the sourcing of beans is done from the highest possible quality
sources available from Ghana, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, and other countries,
which made them stand out in terms of the quality of nibs procured.

Bean to Bar Impact:

Unlike most of the other chocolate companies, Scharffen Berger followed an artisan way of
manufacturing chocolate, i.e., a ‘Bean to Bar’ method, instead of buying pre-mixed chocolate
from large manufacturers who had already combined the ground cacao beans, sugar, and other
ingredients.

Individual Roasting:

Keeping in mind that the time and temperature of roasting different kinds of beans vary,
Scharffen Berger ensured that each kind of bean (Ghanaian, Jamaican, etc.) is roasted
individually to maximize its true flavor while ensuring that the quality is not compromised.

Optimum Quality Control:

Scharffen Berger made sure that an operator monitors the roasting process and tastes sample
beans from each batch to determine when the roasting is complete.

Use of Melangeur:

In order to grind the nibs and release the cocoa butter, which turns dry nibs into a chocolate
paste, instead of using a conventional method, Scharffenberger used a traditional Melangeur
which consisted of a circular slab with two granite wheels that were rolled continuously around
it.

The friction from this process generates heat which enables the breakdown of the nibs and the
melting of cocoa butter.

Not to mention, Scharffenberger was the only chocolate manufacturer in the U.S which uses
this conventional method instead of artificially heating the beans which might impact the quality
of chocolates.

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Objective: To Increase the Production Capacity Without
Affecting the Product Quality

Proposals:

The addition of a ball mill can have a significant impact on the current capacity of
Scharffenberger

With the ball mill and conche combined, production time can be significantly reduced from 40-
60 hours in the conche alone to 15 hours (on average), especially for products with higher
sugar content that account for 80 % of profits.

It was predicted that the ball mill could increase capacity by at least 75%.

In addition, the ball mill might help improve the quality of the products by reducing the amount
of flavor degradation that can occur when a premium product is over-processed and excessively
manipulated, which may result in acceptable or even higher-quality products.

The case study mentions that the results of the testing and evaluation for quality were
excellent-tasting products.

Conclusions regarding the proposed Ball Mill:

In conclusion, the ball mill is highly efficient, grinding approximately 1400kg in 15 hours,
compared with the existing equipment, Conche, which can take up to 60 hours to finish.

However, it is crucial to acknowledge that the ball mill is only useful for products with high
sugar content. It is suggested that the ball mill be implemented since the current production
equipment cannot meet the company's surplus production needs.

At the moment, Scharffenberger maintains 2 months of stock in inventory, which can be

increased considering the increased production via Ball Mill, which would help them meet the
increased demand.

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As for actual implementation, the ball mill will reduce the grinding and aeration process from 60
to 15 hours. Appendix 1 shows that current Conches can process 46.6kg per hour, while the
ball mill can process 93.3kg per hour, therefore the manufacturing capacity can be increased by
approximately 50%.

Appendix:1

Key Observation from Appendix 1:

1 Conche + 1 Conche 1 Ball Mill + 1 Conche

Hourly Output
46.6 Kg/hour 93.3 Kg/hour

3
 Current Process Map (with Conche)

Proposed Process Map (with Ball Mill)

4
 Key Operational Observations from comparing both the process maps

Parameters 2 Conche (Current 1 Ball Mill+ 1 Conche

Process)

Maximum Monthly 40,000 KG 40,000 KG

Capacity

Throughput Time 65 Hours 36 Minutes 20 Hours 12 Minutes

Increase in Efficiency 3.24x

(Vs 1+1 Conche) (Approx.)

Changes to consider if all the production is Semi-Sweet

(62%) Chocolate:

Key Observations:

● The current Throughput Rate at which the Tempering and Molding machines are currently
operating is 140Kg/hour respectively. However, the capacity of the Tempering machine is
200Kg/Hour, it is typically running at 140Kg/hour just in order to match up with the speed
of the molder, therefore, the molder can be upgraded.
● Since the introduction of the Ball Mill further decreases the average production time by

Current Time: 50 Hours (Average)

After the introduction of the Ball Mill: 60/15 (15=Combined time taken by Ball Mill, 60=
Average of 48-72 Hours)

= 4x Lesser Time

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 Current Time/4= 12.5 Hours will be the average production time of the
Unsweetened Chocolate after the introduction of the Ball Mill.

The problem statement, however, remains the same since even if observe a
decrease in the production time from the Ball Mill, the time taken by the next
steps, i.e the tempering and molding machine still remains the same.

Proposed Steps:
Replacing the current Melangeur:

As per the maximum throughput rate at each step, Melangeur with 92Kg/Hour (115kg/75minutes
given in the Current Process Map on Page 4) with the least efficiency could become a bottleneck
with the introduction of Ball Mill, therefore it would be ideal to replace it a used one which can
be purchased and refurbished for $50,000.

Outsourcing 100% of Packaging:

Considering the fact that currently 65% of Scharffen Berger’s packaging is outsourced to a
third-party service provider and the rest of 35% is being done manually within the Scharffen
Berger factory.

It would be ideal for Scharffen Berger to identify a third-party co-packer capable of fulfilling
both the current and future demands of customers, in order to eliminate the fixed salary/wages
paid to the people doing the job at the moment and switch to a less expensive option while
maintaining quality.

For any Queries, please feel free to reach out to:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

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Meeting Agenda:

Group 7

Team Members:
Danila Titov, Taiki Ichikawa, Vishnu Kant Bhadauria, Yuteng
Zheng
Meeting:1

Date 11th October 2022

Time 16:00-16:30

Location Level 50, Canada Square

Present All- Danila, Vishnu, Yuteng, Taiki

Key Action Items ● Introduction

Undertaken ● Read the assignment briefing and planned an approach to work on

Hometask ● Thoroughly read the case study- All

● Comprise 10-15 bullet point for each question before Thursday (13th)- All

Meeting:2

Date 13th October 2022

Time 13:00-16:15

Location Level 38, Canada Square

Present All- Danila, Vishnu, Yuteng, Taiki

Key Action Items ● Shared the individual conclusions from readings.

Undertaken ● Discussed the changes provided with the ball mill.
● Calculated the average time saved and the rates of increased production.
● Discussed possible steps to increase the output with and without further
extra purchases.
● Prepared for the extra material during the lecture.

Home Task ● Document all the individual findings and conclusions for every question on a
common document- All

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Meeting:3

Date 14th October 2022

Time 11:30-13:00

Location Level 50, Canada Square

Present All- Danila, Vishnu, Yuteng, Taiki

Key Action Items ● Tried mapping the production line flowchart and identified bottleneck
Undertaken ● Calculated the TPR with and without the changes
● Evaluated the ‘bottleneck’ issue
● Discussed the solutions, and proceeded to work on the concluding
answers to the case questions

Home Task ● Create Process Maps and identify current op. and comp. advantages: Vishnu
● Set the working framework for answer 2: Taiki
● Structure Answer for 2 a: Yuteng
● Determine post and pre-ball mill efficiency and capacity: Danila

Meeting:4

Date 16th October 2022

Time 13:00-16:15

Location Online (Zoom)

Present All- Danila, Vishnu, Yuteng, Taiki

Key Action Items ● Calculated the hourly outputs, pre and post changes
Undertaken ● Discussed proposed amendments to the production process
● Delegated the steps of creating the final draft of the report and discussed the
report structure

Home Task ● Compile all the notes and calculations, and draft a final answer report: Vishnu
● Define key pointers on the conclusion for the addition of Ball Mill: Yuteng
● Identifying potential merits and demerits of each step of production: Taiki
● Spot and write the impact of adding Ball Mill on other manufacturing
processes: Danila

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Meeting:5

Date 18th October 2022

Time 14:00-16:00

Location Level 50, Canada Square

Present All- Danila, Vishnu, Yuteng, Taiki

Key Action Items ● Went through the final report/answers and made the required changes- All
Undertaken

Thank You