Strategic Analysis of the Coca-Cola Company: Current Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive strategic analysis of the Coca-Cola Company, examining its current market position and strategic actions. It delves into Coca-Cola's five key strategic areas: profit growth, brand marketing, efficiency, simplification, and core business focus. The analysis explores the company's tactics for revenue growth, including market segmentation, employee incentives, and expansion into emerging markets, as well as its investments in branding, product diversification, and strategic alliances. The report also highlights Coca-Cola's efforts to improve efficiency through cost reduction and supply chain optimization, and its responses to challenges such as health concerns, competition, water scarcity, and changing consumer preferences. Furthermore, the report suggests strategies for the company to overcome these challenges, including increased research and development, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and the use of renewable energy and digital platforms. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of employee satisfaction and a culture of accountability to ensure the company's continued success.

Running Head: STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 1
Current Strategic Situation of Coca-Cola Company
Name
Institution

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 2
Current Strategic Situation of Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola is a multinational company that was established in 1886. Since then, the
company has been of the major seller of non-alcoholic beverage drinks, carbonated in
particular. The company has long-standing history of using pricing strategies, extensive
advertisements, and franchising model to sustain competition and improve its sales revenue
(Fioleni, 2015). This critically analyses the current strategic actions that Coca-Cola has been
utilizing to gain competitive edge over its rivals. The paper also provides overview on the
challenges the company has been facing as well as the alternative strategy to improve
performance.
Currently, Coca Cola strategic actions sit on a five-legged stool of increasing profit
growth, increasing brand marketing, enhancing efficiency, simplifying the company, and
refocusing on the core business models (Coca-Cola Company, 2016). With markets in over
200 countries, the company play a significant role in growth plans. In order to drive revenue
and profit growth, Coca Cola has adopted a number of tactics. First, the company employs
segmented revenue growth strategies based on the market type. The company also aligns
employee incentives adequately in order to improve employee satisfaction. In addition, the
company has recently been focusing on the emerging markets by increasing volumes,
keeping their products affordable, and building strong foundation for future success. In
developed countries, the company relies price/mix and manufacturing of “small and more
premium packages” like aluminium and glass bottles (Coca-Cola Company, 2016). The
Company’s strategy to segment markets is an ideal approach since it has the efficacy to drive
revenue growth. Statistics show that the company recorded a 4-percent increment of revenue
in 2015 and overall increase in value share due increased price/mix strategy (Coca-Cola
Company, 2016).

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 3
Additionally, Coca-Cola Company has invested substantial amount in branding and
business. According to Rieger et al (2016, p.62), healthy business growth necessitates
continuous investment. Coca-Cola has ostensibly maximized media advertisement, in terms
of quality and quantity. In 2016, the company spent at “more than $250 million” in media
advertisement— in pursuit of developing impactful ads (Coca-Cola Company, 2016).
Besides, Coca-Cola has invested substantial amount in expanding beverage portfolio. The
company has also forged alliance with Monster Beverage Corporation as a way of improve its
position in energy drinks category (Coca-Cola Company, 2016). According to Ferrarese
(2017, p.21), multinational companies form strategic alliances in order to sustain competition,
expand their market share, and penetrate new markets. To improve its brand, Coca-Cola has
also increased manufacture of other products like premium organic cold-pressed juices and
ultra-filtered milk. The company has also acquired other beverage companies, for instance,
“China Green Culiangwang— a plant-based protein beverage brand” (Coca-Cola Company,
2016). Fitzroy et al (2011, p.153) observe that well-established companies can acquire other
companies in the same industry to diversify its products, reduce competition from, and
impose barrier to new entrants. From 2015, Coca-Cola has intensified global marketing of the
Coke Trademark, Coke Zero, and Diet Coke. Since the launching of “Taste the Feeling” in
2016, the company has improved customer experience in refreshments and personal
connections (Coca-Cola, 2016).
On efficiency, Coca-Cola has been rebuilding growth momentum by increasing
investment, marketing, and financial flexibility. The company has launched “zero-based
work” criterion as a strategy to reduce cost (Coca-Cola, 2016). Zero-based work involves
envisaging the business based on the notion that the organizational budget starts at zero and
that it must be justified annually instead of carrying over the levels established in the
previous year. The company has also reduced expenditure in non-media advertisements like

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 4
in-store promotions. Currently, the company is focusing its resources on supply chain across
the globe. In 2015, Coca-Cola realized “$600 million productivity improvement,” which was
invested in branding and partly rewarded to shareholders (Coca-Cola, 2016). The company
should increase productivity and continue with savings techniques to enhance efficiency.
According to Reddy (2014, p.287), productivity should not be perceived as “an event or a
series of events,” but as a continuous process that enables the business to grow stronger and
better.
Coca-Cola Company has also been simplified by taking deliberate steps to reshape the
business. Ryan (2014, p.43) observes that consumer’s tastes and preferences has become
more dynamic, coupled with proliferation of in supply chain and retail landscapes, which
have spawned an ambience where precision, speed, and employee satisfactions determine the
winner in the market place (Statista Portal, 2018). To adjust to the external dynamics, Coca-
Cola has worked on its operating structure by identifying areas that they could be smarter and
more efficient. The company has gotten rid of a layer of functional management hence
connecting its regional business units directly to headquarters. In addition, Coca-Cola has
been working on streamlining critical internal processes and removing impediments that
could inhibit its effectiveness and responsiveness. Considerably, the company has been
seeking to enhance employee satisfaction to create most productive, exciting, and fulfilling
career development– by nourishing innovation, learning, and growth. The company should
strengthen its strategy in improving employee satisfaction to enhance their commitment and
passion.
Currently, Coca-Cola is refocusing on its core business model. In order to refresh
beverage brands, the company has established expansive portfolio that includes more than
500 brands. Top on the list of its brands are juice drinks, juice coffee, tea, sports drinks,
sparkling drinks, enhanced dehydration drinks, and value-added dairy. These retail sales

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 5
brands generate at least one billion annually. The company has been able to “lead the world’s
most sophisticated system of independent bottling partners” and create value for its retail and
restaurant customers (C0ca-Cola, 2016). Coca-Cola has acquired a number of bottling
partners in order to optimize manufacturing, improve performance, enhance distributing
systems, and refranchise bottling territories in their previous independent status. The
company has strategic plans to improve its bottling systems in East and South Africa as well
as China.
Coca-Cola Company has been facing a number challenges, both from with and
external environment. One of the most threating challenge to the company is the increasing
health awareness on the carbonated drinks (Thusyanthy, 2018, p.192). Most of Coca-Cola
revenue is generated from sale of carbonated beverage drinks across the world. However, the
overall increase in sales revenue of the carbonated drinks has slowed down for past five years
due to increasing health concerns and publicised reports that consumption of carbonated
drinks is detrimental to health. Another challenge has been increased competition.
Thusyanthy (2018, p. 189) attests that non-alcoholic beverage industry is one of the most
competitive industry. Coca-Cola has been experiencing stiff competition from its long-term
fierce rival Pepsi and other bottled water and juice-selling companies.
Besides, the company has been facing water scarcity in some parts of the world.
Water is a key ingredient of Coca-Cola products and therefore its scarcity may hitch the
company’s operations (Statista Portal, 2018). Moreover, the non-alcoholic beverage has
become more dynamic. The business has been changing due to emerging concerns on health,
changes in consumer lifestyle, pricing, and increased similar products. Another challenge is
increasing cost of energy. Bottling partners operate in large number of trucks as well as
electricity and other energy sources to facilitate bottling process. Inflation of energy prices is
inimical to the company’s profitability (Statista Portal, 2018). On internal environment, the

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 6
company has been experiencing difficulties in distribution field due to poor internal
communication, customer loyalty problem, and high cost of distribution process.
Although Coca Cola Company has responded to negative health publicity by
manufacturing Coke Zero and Diet Coke, the response is still adequate. Therefore, the
company should intensify research on how to manufacture drinks that have no health side
effects (Carpenter and Sanders, 2014, p.120). In addition, the company should increase its
engagement in corporate social responsibilities (CSR) particularly in the emerging markets.
CSR activities increase the company’s relationship with public, which opens windows for the
business to increase its sales (Chandler, 2017, p.241). Most Coca Cola competitors are not
actively involved in CSR activities and therefore the company should identify the gap and
maximize the opportunity. To overcome issues of energy scarcity, the company should adopt
renewable energy sources to underscore efficiency in its operation (Carpenter and Sanders,
2014, p.146)
The proliferation of the new technology into businesses has reshaped marketing
strategies across the globe. Coca-Cola should strategize on how to utilize digital platforms to
increase sales revenue. Recent study shows that the number of consumers purchasing online
has been steadily increasing and there are high chances that the rate will still move on upward
trajectory (Aguilo-Aguayo and Plaza, 2017, p.108). The company should also integrate
technology in making decisions, supply chain management, and modernization of internal
systems to enhance efficiency. In addition, the company should foster efficiency by creating a
culture of accountability, ownership, and performance.

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 7
References
Aguilo-Aguayo, I., & Plaza, L. (2017). Innovative Technologies in Beverage Processing (1st
ed.). Wiley.
Carpenter, M., & Sanders, G. (2014). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. Harlow:
Pearson Education.
Chandler, D. (2017). Strategic corporate social responsibility: Sustainable value creation
(4th ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.
Coca-Cola. (2016, April 27). Five Strategic Actions. Retrieved from https://www.coca-
colacompany.com/stories/five-strategic-actions (Accessed on 2018 June 10)
Feloni, R. (2015, June 12). 7 brilliant strategies Coca-Cola used to become one of the world's
most recognizable brands. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/strategies-coca-
cola-used-to-become-a-famous-brand-2015-6?IR=T (Accessed on 2018 June 10)
Ferrarese, W. (2017). Endogenous Mergers and Leadership Acquisition in Cournot
Oligopolies. SSRN Electronic Journal. Retrieved from
https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php? (Accessed on 2018 June 10)
Fitzroy, P. T., Hulbert, J., & Ghobadian, A. (2011). Strategic Management: The Challenge of
Creating Value. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis.
Reddy, A. C. (2014). An Experiment in Self and Product Concept Congruity: Self-Coke-
Pepsi. Marketing Horizons: A 1980's Perspective. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-10966-4_84
Rieger, F., Benadé, J., Van, N. P., & Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (South Africa).
(2016). Corporate strategy. Cape Town, South Africa: Edge Learning Media.

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 8
Ryan, D. (2014). Understanding digital marketing: Marketing strategies for engaging the
digital generation (4th ed.). Kogan Page.
Statista Portal. (2018). Topic: Non-alcoholic Beverages and Soft Drinks. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/topics/1662/non-alcoholic-beverages-and-soft-drinks-in-the-us/
(Accessed on 2018 June 10)
Thusyanthy, V. (2018). ‘Health Consciousness and Brand Equity in the Carbonated Soft
Drink Industry in Sri Lanka.’International Journal of Business and Management, Vol.13.
no.3, pp.188-211. doi:10.5539/ijbm.v13n3p188