Reviewing Beta's benchmarking data, we find from Figure 1-3 that Beta's Beaver Creek plant has been operating at an uptime of 63%, relatively poor, and likely leading to a position of no better than what could be characterized as mid-range a low-end Company B. Because Beta believes that it can sell every unit of product it can make at Beaver Creek, for purposes of this discussion, uptime is defined as that percent of product a plant is making compared to that which it could make under ideal conditions running 8,760 hours per year at 100% of peak demonstrated sustainable rate, making 100% quality product. However, it is believed that Beaver Creek could increase uptime from 63% to 77% in one year by taking the appropriate steps, and the marketing department has said that all the product could be sold at current market price. They grudgingly note that they are currently buying product from a competitor to meet customer delivery schedules. The value of this increased output translates into an increase in RoNA from just under 15% to 22% at a market price of $10/unit. After this analysis, the marketing department has also noted that even if market pressures forced the price down to $9/unit to sell additional product, or to construct a long-term alliance with key customers, RoNA still increases to over 18%. Note that Beta does not want to start a price war with its pricing, just improve its financial and marketing position, and its...