Running out of waffles

Kellogg's, the producer of Eggo waffles was hit by flooding in September at one of its four Eggo waffle plants.  They had to shut that plant down.  There are three other plants that make Eggo waffles, but the largest shut down several lines for needed repairs.  The articles don't say, but I assume those are planned maintenance / upgrades.  Still, now there are stockouts around the country on freezer shelves.  Kellogg's says they won't restore full inventory on the shelves until midway through next year.

Not sure how much commentary I can add to this story.  My first reaction is wow, midway next year?  Interestingly they've announced that they are dealing with shortages by allocating percentages based on prior sales.  No gaming in order volumes to get a disproportionate share.  Presumably, this outcome suggests that Kellogg's is running a lagging capacity strategy.  In other words, rather than having additional capacity available to support growth (or deal with disruptions) they wait until demand grows to build another plant.  Here we see the potential danger of a lagging strategy.  If demand increases, or in this case a disruption occurs, then there is no slack in the system.  It will be interesting to see what happens to Eggo's market share going forward.  Clearly they'll take a hit over the next six months, but will consumers find they actually prefer other products and not switch back when they have the opportunity?

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120546896