This document discusses Build-A-Bear Workshop, including its origins, process for making stuffed animals, and analysis of its production process. It was founded by Maxine Clark and her friend Katie after they couldn't find a stuffed toy Katie wanted. The process involves choosing a bear, adding a voice, stuffing it, stitching, fluffing, dressing, and naming. The bottleneck is the fluffing station, which has only two hoses. Suggestions are made to improve it and reduce costs by adding workstations as production increases.

1. Case study
Build A Bear Workshop

2. About Build a Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop is
where your child grabs your
hand and your heart and
together you're inspired to
create. Here, everyone is
empowered to imagine, and
every bear begins a story. Bring
your loved ones, and see how
building a furry friend is
building so much more.

3. Let A Child Inspire you!
Build-A-Bear Workshop was
born from an idea founder,
Maxine Clark and her friend
Katie - who was 10 years old
at the time - had when they
were out shopping for
stuffed toys. When they
couldn't find the stuffed toy
Katie wanted, she said,
"These are so easy, we could
make them."

4. Question NO 1
Service Blueprint

5. Stages in Process
Consider the variety of bears and furry friends
Grab an un-stuffed animal from the bin below
Put stuffing in your bear
Put sound in your bear
Fluff your stuffed animal
Choose furniture, clothing, and/or accessories for your bear
Fill out the bear’s information on the Computer
Purchase a bear

6. Directional flow of the Process
Choose your Bear
Create a voice for your Bear
Stuff the Bear
Stitch the Bear
Fluff the Bear
Dress the Bear
Name the Bear
Then go home with a nice big bear house box

7. Labor Cost for each stage in the process
Labor Cost per hour $10 and labor cost per sec =10/3600 = 0.0028
Choose me = 180*0.0028 = 0.504
Hear me = 60*0.0028 = 0.168
Stuff me = 90*0.0028 = 0.252
Stich me = 60*0.0028 = 0.168
Fluff me = 120*0.0028 = 0.336
Name me = 120*0.0028 = 0.336
Dress me = 240*0.0028 = 0.672
Total average cost per bear = 930*0.0028 = $2.604

8. Question NO 2
The number of customers that can complete
the bear making process in an hour
For making single furry animals.
The total time required after
completing all the activities from
each stations is (930) seconds, or
means (15.5) minutes. It means
approax four customers can
complete their furry animal within
an hour.
Calculation:-
930 seconds /60 mins = 15.5 mins
15.5 x 4 = 62 mins or an hour
approax.

9. The average service cost per bear
The starting cost of a bear
is $10 till $30 and others
accessories like clothes and
sound are not included.
The more customized you
make your furry animal the
more cost will increases.
Minimum price of bear is $10
Minimum price of accessories is $3
Maximum price of bear is $30
Maximum price of accessories is $15
Average for bear =10+30/2 = $20.
Average for accessories = 3+15/2 = $9

10. Identify the bottleneck in the current process
Our group had a Bear Guide, an employee that helped each of the
girls through each step. At step 1, there was no bottleneck because
there were several bins where the girls could pick out their bear. At
Step 2, we chose to skip this one because it was an upsell. At Step 3,
there was a fluff machine with 2 available hoses to fluff the bears
with. This was the bottleneck in the process and with 13 girls at a
birthday party, you wouldn’t want them to wait. Our Bear Guide was
great — during this step, she had the girls play a game while she
stuffed the bears and stitched them. Little do the girls know, that our
guide was employing a tactic in Queueing Psychology —
The waiting feels less of a burden if you’re engaged in something
interesting or entertaining, while you’re waiting for the real reason for
being at the point of service. This was a great demonostration of an
effective use of Queueing Psychology.

11. Question NO 3
Suggestion to improve the bottleneck
Implementing your solution
Service Cost per bear

12. Question NO 4
Adding workstation
Number of bears increases
Cost per unit decreases