Introduction

Ages ago, baking is considered as a luxury few are able to enjoy. Those

who can afford a wood-burning stove were the only ones who can enjoy the

fulfilling taste of breads. The better quality stove you have, the higher up the social

order you are. However, economic growth induced an emerging middle class that

resulted to the imitation of the upper-class diet. In return, baking became more

accessible through growing wealth and social change.

Cake grew in popularity. Cake making took off during the development of

technology. Originally, it was done by women at home for the family’s consumption

then afterwards, men started to work in bakeries as well as restaurants for local

consumption. As time passed by, technologies changed, huge machineries came

into existence and production was industrialized thus, making the large

machineries do the job of baking inside the factories. This point of industrial

revolution mark the beginning of baking cakes which were available not only for

those higher ups but also for everyone belonging in the lower social order.

A cake will not be a cake without taking into consideration the essential

ingredients. Many ingredients that were once rare and expensive are now easily

and readily available in the market. Moreover, they are now reasonably priced

through the help of preservation techniques. The preparation and processing of

cake ingredients became more convenient. With the raising health issues

addressed by the consumers, slowly, some of the baking techniques and

ingredient preservations are moving out of the common scenario. People are now
moving into lighter fats and healthy flour thus making the future baking into a more

innovative process.

A good rise for the Philippine baking industry are now visible as the country

embraces new technology slowly but surely. Recipes that were transferred from

baker to baker by word of mouth and memory are now written and serve as guide

to ensure quality. Even small bakeshops begun to offer a wider variety of breads.

Bakeries located in the provinces where you’ll see traditional baking methods are

still existing and preserved. It is believed that bakeshops in the neighborhood has

a big part in the Philippine tradition. Its importance is really undeniable. There is

no quintessential answer how baking begun in the Philippines in spite of all the

foreign influences that made their mark in how baking was developed.

One of the prominent bakeshop located in Tayabas City, Quezon Province

is the “Monica and Jett Bakeshop.” It is well known for its irresistable, mouth-

watering yema cake which is a product of a perpetual “trial-and-error affair.” Its

popularity reached not only the neighboring city but also the far-flung provinces in

the Philippines. With the rise of great demand in baked goods, Monica and Jett

Bakeshop tried to offer a wider array of bread choices. However, having the yema

cake as a solo product, the bakeshop experienced an uncontrollable rise in

demand resulting the need to step up. They invested in product creation that help

improve the quality of their products and keep the production times short and costs

low.

The challenge of ensuring that Monica and Jett bakeshop’s legacy will

continue is shifted to their heirs. Moreover, a professionally-run bakery that can

produce products at par with what international bakery has to offer is another

challenge that needed more attention. The bakeshop’s never ending hunger for

improvement led them to invest in product development. The quality of their

products and the satisfaction of the customers are the most important factors why

they reach the success they never anticipate.

 Process Strategy

Objectives:

 To build a production process that meets customer requirements and

product specification within cost

 To have a long-term effect on efficiency and flexibility of production as well

as on cost and quality of the goods produced

 To meet the requirements of a changing environment that have a great

impact to production

 To have a long-term competitive advantage among its competitors

Process strategy is an organization’s approach to transforming resources

into goods and services. It is a pattern of decisions made in managing processes

so that they will achieve their competitive priorities. Process strategy is made to

make the best out of a business using currently-available resources rather than

outsourcing and having to spend more. It also entails higher quality assurance and

better management. Process involves the use of organization’s resources to

provide something of value.

In understanding Process strategy there are three principles that are

particularly important:

1.) The key to successful process decisions is to make choices that fit the

situation. They should not work at cross-purposes, with one process

 optimized at the expense of other processes. A more effective process is

one that matches key process characteristics and has a close strategic fit.

2.) Individual processes are the building blocks that eventually create the

firm’s whole supply chain.

3.) Management must pay close attention to all interfaces

between processes in the supply chain, whether they are performed

internally or externally.

It can be utilized to guide a variety of process decisions, operations

strategy, and your business’ ability to obtain the resources necessary to support

them.

Process Strategy at Monica and Jett Bakeshop

Major processes:

1.) Process structure

Process structure determines how processes are designed relative to the

kinds of resources needed, how resources are partitioned between them and their

key characteristics.

In Monica and Jett Bakeshop, they are implementing the batch process

structuring. The process differs from the job process with respect to volume, variety

and quantity. Since Monica and Jett Bakeshop is using the JIT inventory system,
they administer the “assemble-to-order” strategy. This is a strategy for producing

a wide variety of products from relatively few assemblies and components after the

customer orders are received.

The icing produced by the owners are made into batches and this will be

proportioned according to the orders received from different outlets located in

Tayabas. However, problem arises when there are fluctuations in demand of the

products. Those walk-in customers are not included in the number of orders

processed. As a result, Monica and Jett bakeshop decided to make few additions

to every orders received in case of rise in demand so that all customers will be

served.

2.) Customer involvement

It refers to the ways in which customers become part of the process and the

extent of their participation. It is manager’s job to assess whether the advantages

outweigh disadvantages, judging them in terms of the competitive priorities and

customer satisfaction. Customer involvement is not always the best option as there

are advantages commonly associated with it. Allowing customers to play an active

role is a service process can be disruptive thereby making the process less

efficient.

In case of Monica and Jett Bakeshop, customers are not involved in tailoring

the process to meet special needs or in how the process is performed. There is a

passive contact at Monica and Jett Bakeshop. However, the managers always see
to it that they consider the customers opinions to make them feel that they are

belong.

3.) Resource flexibility

Resource flexibility refers to the ease with which employees and equipment

can handle a wide variety of products, output levels, duties and functions.

a) Workforce

Flexible workforce means employees are capable of doing many tasks.

Monica and Jett Bakeshop implements employee rotations, that is, employees are

not staying in only one work floor, they are assigned to different departments from

time to time and as a result, all employees are knowledgeable to different process

inside the factory. Their knowledge are not limited to only one process. This implies

work force flexibility because employees in Monica and Jett bakeshop are capable

of doing many tasks.

The type of workforce in Monica and Jett Bakeshop includes regular

employees. However, during peak seasons, they are also hiring part-time workers

to meet the customer’s demand.

 b) Equipment

Monica and Jett Bakeshop’s product has a short life cycle. Since it is in the

baking industry, every process requires different machines. Flexible equipment are

needed when producing low volume products.

4.) Capital intensity

It refers to the mix of equipment and human skills in the process. The

greater the relative cost of equipment, the greater is the capital intensity.

Monica and Jett Bakeshop has a lower capital intensity. It is more of a labor

intensive rather than capital intensive because workers are the ones who baked

the breads and cakes while the owners are the only ones who knows the icing

formula and the only ones who make the icing.