MGMT Bakehouse Inc supplies bread, cakes and other specialty products, to a large percentage of the country; to the following customer types. Retailers e.g. supermarkets, who sell baked goods to the public, and MGMT Bakehouse Inc delivers to the retailers. Wholesalers also sell to the public, but come to MGMT Bakehouse Inc directly to collect their baked goods. Finally institutions like hotels and hospitals, to whom MGMT Bakehouse Inc delivers directly, buy baked goods to incorporate into offering for their clients e.g. guests menus and patient meal plans.

From the ordering of flour and other ingredients to the processing of cash, receivables and payables, the company uses an integrate ERP with a common database for all of its business processes. Internally MGMT Bakehouse Inc is organized into the following departments: Production which bakes the bread; Distribution that delivers the bread; Sales Department where customer orders and wholesale pickups are managed; Marketing that promotes and manage the companys branded products; Finance and Accounting that manages the customer accounts; and HR which manages staffing and other related matters.

Returns management is all about the details. In a market where the customer can return stale bread for up to a 100% refund, having Returns is like burning paper money. Supermarkets and wholesalers can return bread but not institutions like hotels and hospitals. All baked goods have a shelf life of one week. That is, bread that is sold on Monday is returned the following Monday. Most customers place orders in advance but wholesalers and hotels are sometimes ad-hoc and the company has to project/predict their orders.

Recently there have been complaints that some product lines and/or customers are experiencing high returns. At the same time there is a very specific set of customers consistently experiencing short deliveries.

The company wishes to maximize sales while minimizing returns. This requires them to anticipate the true demand but also to know which products and which locations are having problems on a timely basis. As a new manager with the company, you are tasked with analysing the provided information and reporting your findings and possible recommendations at the upcoming meeting.

1. From the perspective of your department and management level, discuss the problem of high returns. (Accounting and Finance department and tactical level management)

• Suggest ONE contributing factor that may be upsetting the business process(es) you have chosen and ONE contributing factor for those customers experiencing short deliveries.