1. Capacity and sales calculation

Graphic 1: Capacity and sales calculation

• The applicant must make realistic assumptions for calculating the future number of customers and the number of cups that can be served during opening hours (the applicant must independently make an assumption about the service time per cup)
• A bottleneck situationarises due to the opening and service times of the coffee place. There are 525 potential coffee place customers, but a maximum of 300 cups can be served per day, limited by the opening hours, the service time per cup and the number of service staff.

2. Cost calculation

2.1 Cost calculation of fixed costs

Graphic 2: Cost calculation fixed costs

2.2 Cost calculation of variable costs

Graphic 3: Cost calculation of variable costs

The need for optimization approaches arises from the following factors, among others: bottleneck situation (more demand than resources can provide), competitive situation (alternative use of coffee machines in the offices possible), insufficient contribution margins, etc.

• The sale of to-go coffee could be offered to avoid a possible bottleneck in room capacity
• The opening hours of the coffee place could be extended to also serve visitors during breakfast and/or coffee breaks (higher personnel costs must be taken into account here)
• Hiring additional employees for cashiering or serving in order to reduce service time and sell more cups
• Additional purchase of another coffee machine to avoid the bottleneck and to be able to serve more cups. Once the bottleneck has been overcome, an attempt can be made to increase the number of visitors. This could include looking into the possibility of opening the coffee place to visitors from outside the company. In view of the existing competitive situation (coffee machines in the offices), the following measures can also be taken to attract additional customers:
  • Advertising campaigns within the company and in the immediate vicinity
  • Coupon and discount offers for customer acquisition (points booklets, etc.)
  • Make the coffee place more stylish by purchasing decorations, plants, etc.
  • Expansion of the product range to include special products such as lactose-free milk, almond milk, syrup, etc. in order to cater to the individual needs of the target group and thus increase the customer base. However, it must be taken into account that special products could increase service time and material costs. To avoid negative effects on service time, these products could be made available at the counter as a self-service offer