WaG! 2

Well, will you look at that? It's already time for another WaG! (What a Gem!) installment. I'll keep this vague and generic, and again place it in the context of the food industry. Suppose your chef is looking through the fridge and he sees a container full of Morel mushrooms, and then proclaims "I'm going to make a new entree using these Morels and add it to the menu!" Some would think that would be a good idea. Some would argue that it would be a good idea to make it a special for the day (to use up that extra stock), but not adding it permanently to the menu.

I would be one to argue against adding it to the daily menu. The problem with creating new products (new entree) with the sole purpose of consuming excess inventory (the Morels) is two fold. 1) You are only concerned about using the inventory, and are not giving any thought to continued sources of supply or quality specifications. 2) If you build and sell something, a customer is going to want more of them sooner or later, see Point 1. Let's suppose our chef creates an entree based off a similar entree, and only replaces Truffles with the Morels. The taste is different, and customers like it a lot. Suppose the inventory of the Morels lasts the chef several days, enough for buzz of the new entree to spread far and wide. The chef is now happy that the Morels are out of the fridge and he has more room for other ingredients, and is unaware of the popularity of his new entree.

The following week, huge parties (new customers) make reservations with the hopes of trying the new entree they have heard so much about. The orders begin to make their way into the kitchen, and now the chef is screwed because he no longer has the Morels on hand. He could try to substitute Truffles, but the customers might not like that. He could jump on the phone and call someone to get more Morels in the kitchen, but he'd only put himself in a bigger bind because he has no idea of the quality that will be delivered, or how soon they could arrive.