Make-or-buy analysis and turnkey delivery of an automated cookie production line, from tunnel oven to packaging.
A food manufacturer was buying its baked snack products from a co-packer and losing margin with every volume increase. The client needed a clear answer to a capital question: keep outsourcing, or invest in an in-house line — and if so, which one, at what cost, and with what payback.
We started with a make-or-buy analysis and a full cost model comparing co-packing against in-house production scenarios. Once the numbers supported the investment, we developed the URS, ran a vendor-neutral RFQ covering the mixing, dough forming, tunnel oven, spiral cooling and packaging sections, optimized the layout for the client's existing building, and supervised FAT, installation and commissioning.
The line started commercial production in 2021 and reached target output within the first six weeks. Unit cost came in below the co-packer price at half the projected volume, and the payback period is tracking ahead of the financial model approved by the board.
