Coca-Cola Company: Supply Chain Analysis and Recommendations

Running head: COCA-COLA COMPANY 1
Coca-Cola Company
Name
Institution

COCA-COLA COMPANY 2
Part One –Group Work (10%)
a) Show the $ cost for each part of the supply chain and include the weekly record kept
during the playing of the game. [5marks]
b) Comment on what went wrong, and what went right for the whole supply chain
represented in the game.[5 marks]
Firstly, the system we applied to the process was out of control, and we unknowingly slid
into a push framework. Every part of the supply chain behaved independently and focused
distinctly on immediate short term requirements rather than collaborating to comprehend the
demand.The information flow from all fragments of the supply chain was not deliberated and
put into a planning matrix but reacted to safekeeping.
As the customer demand is unpredictable, production and overstocking were not under
control.In the event, the retailer reduces its order; all parts of the supply chain gets affected.
The factory reacted immediately to reduce production.The after-effects of immediate reaction
surfaced at a later stage of the supply chain, creating an imbalance in the system either over-
accumulation of goods or shortage of supply.
Problems increased when the members of the team independently preempted the demand.
We observed two outcomes in the distribution centre,
1.The backlog which was higher than the customer demand.
2.The delays due to non-availability of stock when the demand increased.
At times, we realised the warehouse had stock out of proportion and running out of place.

COCA-COLA COMPANY 3
We are leading to increasing in the cost of additional warehousing.Here we realised
the importance of forecasting.Analysig the problems which surfaced, we tried to forecast the
demand by observing the overload and the unavailability of goods pattern and tried to work
on the goods available at the distribution centre to satisfy the demands, This helped to reduce
the backlog and to reduce overstock to a certain extent
In the process, we observed that the production was trying to be safe to supply for the
demand. Hence, we started producing and kept the inventory always high, leading to
overproduction. In the process cycle, the chain was imbalanced due to at any point of time,
one of the areas was under severe pressure due to non-availability of stock. These were the
clear signs that the supply chain was not able to envisage the demand and transform into
production.
Overall, we observed that information flow and forecasting is the key in the supply
chain to strike a balance in all the areas of the cycle.It is important to understand consumer
behaviour and demand highs and lows to translate into production.
Part Two–Group Report(30%)
a) In the case of Coca Cola’s factory, discuss how it can overcome the large variation in
weekly demand.[10marks]
Coca Cola's inventory network fundamentally has production and bottling capabilities
across many countries with a capacity of approximately 742 Production facilities and 650
distribution centres. The thumb rule of coordinated interest and supply works on demand,