Actually, a much more important distinction is the ability to scale up the technology. What works on a small scale, or in a limited market, doesn't necessarily work with higher volume or in more diverse markets. The chef d'oeuvre of big business is its technique for making more than one loaf of bread at a time, each loaf having the same texture and taste.
Biofoam was in the grain business. But instead of bread, it made a 100-percent-biodegradable packaging material--a substitute for Styrofoam peanuts. The raw material was heated, expanded, and then extruded into Chee-tos-like tubes. It didn't taste like Chee-tos., but it was edible and quite tasty with salsa. Like a bakery, Biofoam had an exclusive, closely guarded recipe for its "cuisine." A bag of this, a cup of that, heated to the right temperature and extruded at the correct speed, and--voila! Weight is a key attribute of packaging material, and the Biofoam product's low density made it ideal. Minor variations in the formula rendered a heavy product or one that "flaked." As with the powdery crumbs at the bottom of a cereal box, "dusting" is an undesirable quality in packaging material.
Successful on a small scale, Biofoam had difficulty scaling up the operation and moving into other markets. The process fell apart and things started to crumble. First, the company found that a real craftsman was needed to operate the machine. For optimum performance, the recipe and equipment required constant fine-tuning. Production in the northeastern U.S. was difficult in winter-the dry indoor air exacerbated the flaking problem. The dust made a mess in the warehouse and no one wanted Biofoam "crumbs" clinging to their shipments. The company tried to overcome these and other obstacles until time and money ran out and bankruptcy was unavoidable.
How do you bake 100 loaves of bread?
The key to scaling up a technology, assuming it can be scaled up, is standardization ... of the raw material; the equipment selection, calibration, and operation; and the environment. Depending on the technology's sensitivity, small variations in the manufacturing process can create problems. Some technologies are so robust that discrepancies in the formula or the process have little effect, while others may be highly sensitive to even minor fluctuations anywhere in the system.How sensitive is your technology?
Not only was the Biofoam process very sensitive, the raw material was highly variable ... a recipe for failure. The moisture content of the grain, which determined how hot and how fast to run the extruder, depended on where it had been grown and how it had been stored since harvest. Standardizing the raw material input would have curtailed the adjustments needed downstream.McDonald's restaurants thrive on the chain's ability to standardize its raw materials and process. McDonald's exercises tight control over all the variables that can affect its production. It buys only russet Burbank potatoes descended from seed potatoes grown in the high country of the northwestern U.S. and Canada. Even overseas, these potatoes are used as seed stock. Throughout the world, the famous french fries have the same moisture and sugar content and are crisped in computer-controlled vats at 255 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly four minutes. If you're thinking of scaling up your operation, you need to follow McDonald's lead--identify the variables that affect your product or service and find ways to control them.
How do you bake a 100-pound loaf of bread?
When scaling up technology, "bigger" doesn't always equate to larger quantities of "smaller." Simply using more of the same technology you used before might not suffice. Standardization of the technology for one loaf of bread at a time might do for 100 loaves of bread as well, but it might require an entirely different technology to make a 100-pound loaf of bread. In some cases, you could be stymied by physics. However great your determination, your resources, and your opportunities, the laws of nature might stand in the way of any growth predicated on your current processes and technologies.If a loaf of bread won't rise, there isn't much you can do except discard the dough and try again with fresh ingredients. The same might be true of your own expansion plans. Start from scratch. Think outside the box. Scrap your current approach, take a fresh look at the challenge, add imagination, leaven with experience, mix with choice advice and seasoned wisdom, and allow to simmer. Avoid undercooking. Serve warm with Chee-tos.
