Case: Royal Bread Store: A Curious Case of Demand and Supply Planning (No. IIMR-C13-04/2020)

Abstract

The Royal Bread Store was started in 1989 by Mr. Sanjay Dhal, at Ghaziabad, to supply bakery products to nearby retailers. Over the years Mr. Dhal, with his business acumen and networking skills, established a healthy relationship with the retailers and captured a significant share of the city’s market. In 2010, the store faced a major setback when Mr. Dhal died due to cancer. After his demise his wife, Mrs. Janak Dhal, took charge of the store. At that time, their shop got sold; market share went down, and the store was facing various challenges. This case highlights one of the problems faced by Mrs. Dhal, which relates to the demand for bread crates. Through this case practitioners will understand the basics of demand forecasting, aggregate planning, and the bullwhip effect. The discussion includes a hands-on exercise for analyzing a large and complex data set with the help of RStudio.

Keywords: Supply chain management, Data analytics, Demand forecasting, Aggregate planning, Bull whip effect.