Kinsip: From Spirits to Sanitizer

In March 2020, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains. The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus affected the entire world, including the scenic Prince Edward County in Eastern Ontario. Three co-owners of the boutique distillery Kinsip House of Fine Spirits (Kinsip) were inspired to contribute to their community’s efforts to limit further spread of the virus. As a distillery, Kinsip was aptly able to produce the principal ingredient of hand sanitizer—ethanol. The other two main ingredients—glycerol and hydrogen peroxide—were generally procured on the open market from North American suppliers. Obtaining the right packaging for the sanitizer as quickly as possible, including both the bottle and the cap, was one of the key challenges the three partners were facing. Another challenge was navigating Health Canada’s approval process. In addition, the partners needed to determine Kinsip’s capacity to supply hand sanitizer to the local region and the production schedule on which it could deliver the product.

This case was conceived for a course in operations management at either the undergraduate or MBA levels. However, the case may also be used in a supply chain management course. More specifically, it is best situated within class discussion of capacity analysis, particularly within batch operations. Production scheduling and supply chain management are also influential topics for the discussion of this case, although they do not require specific subject matter knowledge from students. This case introduces students to the challenges of relatively sudden operational changes due to market disruption, particularly within small batch-production operations. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Identify production challenges, the production bottleneck, and operational capacity within the context of batch operations.</li><li>Recommend non-traditional solutions to enable a small-batch producer to meet packaging and distribution challenges within the context of urgent demand.</li></ul>

• crisis management
• supply chain management
• batch processes
• capacity management