Analysis of Supply Chain Planning and Control at Coca-Cola Company

This report examines the supply chain planning and control issues of the Coca-Cola Company, a global leader in the food and beverage industry. The analysis covers various aspects, including the company's complex supply chain processes, principles governing its operations, and strategies for maintaining a competitive edge. It highlights key processes such as customer relationship management, demand management, and product development, emphasizing their importance in meeting customer needs and optimizing supply chain efficiency. The report also delves into Coca-Cola's strengths, such as its International Council of Supply Chain and investments in automation, and discusses strategic plans for adapting to market changes. Finally, the report provides recommendations for improving supply chain planning and control to enhance sustainability and growth in the beverage market. The report underscores the significance of adapting to changing customer demands and leveraging technology for optimized performance.

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 1
SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING AND CONTROL ISSUES OF COCA-COLA COMPANY
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Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 2
Introduction
It is in public domain that Coca-Cola Company is the leading brand in the food as well as
beverage organization. The selection of Coca-Cola Company for this project is because the
company has one of the largest systems of supply chain around the international markets. The
company has been serving more than two hundred nations globally from the time of its
establishment (Wachsmuth 2017, p. 49). Moreover, Coke Company is known globally as most
valuable product. It markets 4 of international’s top 5 nonalcoholic radiant products such as
Fanta, Sprite, Diet Coke, along with wide range of other beverages. The other beverages
comprise of light and diet soft drink, juice, water, and juice drink, coffee, sports drink, tea, and
energy drink. The Company has been serving the global community since early days of 1994 as
the chief leader in soft-drink brands. The companies headquarter is based in Atlanta in Georgia.
The company has undertaken different changes in its supply chain process with the aim of
remaining as a chief leader in soft-drink and beverage industry globally (Okyay, Karaesmen, and
Özekici 2015, p. 487). The business operations of the company are entirely dependent on
demand of products and services in the marketplace and to attain the high demand of customers,
Coca-Cola Company focuses on meeting the demand by having efficient system of supply chain.
Moreover, supply chain planning of Coca-Cola Company involves series of operations that target
at improving the manner that its stakeholders fund the fresh contents vital in manufacturing
products and making services and deliver them to different targeted customers. Planning of
supply chain of Coke Company comprises of designing and controlling the flow of data together
with materials along the chain of supply to attain the needs of customers efficiently. Therefore,
primary target of this research paper is to identify and analyze supply chain planning and control
issues while offering recommendations for improvements.

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 3
Discussion and Analysis
Supply chain planning along with control concerns of Coke Company
In Coke Company, planning of supply chain continues to be the broadened management focus
that aims at combined impact of all departments involved in the production of soft-beverages. It
involves focus from suppliers to wholesalers to retailers and finally to targeted clients and
beyond to disposal together with recycling (Haraburda 2017, p. 662). Presently, supply chain
planning of Coca-Cola-Cola Company involves complex processes that keep innovating with the
intent of adding value together with superior performance. According to sediments by Lee, Yoo,
Choi, Zo, and Ciganek (2016, p. 11), supply chain planning does not work on a single process,
but it works on a collection of processes that makes up the system that works to meet
expectations of different customers around the globe. Coca-Cola Company ensures that their
capabilities or processes are performing better than their current practices in the beverage sector
with the aim of beating its chief competitors such as Pepsi Company.
All planning towards supply chain has their capabilities, competency, or development levels that
illustrate how the company performs. Supply chain and the concept can illustrate how capable
supply chains are at the point in time during operations. The company operates under different
level of competence in planning of its supply chain by implementing various practices
management (Edwards 2015, p. 298). Furthermore, Coca-Cola Company as an organization
holds the greatest share of market in soft drink need to possess a very competent and capable
supply chain plan that aims to delivering nothing less than satisfied customer. Planning of supply
chain by Coke Company concentrates on a network of various manufacturers, distributors,
suppliers, storage facilities, transporters, and retailers that perform duties such as acquisition of

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 4
materials and procurement of raw materials. The other duties performed by such network of
persons in supply chain include processing together with transformation of different materials
into intermediate and finished tangible goods (Kumar and Blair 2013, p. 135). They process and
transform such finished goods finally into physical distribution to intermediate or targeted clients
around international markets. It is clear that the planning of supply chain in this company
comprises of its upstream supplier networks as well as downstream network of distributors apart
from its departments of internal functions (Patidar, Agrawal, and Pratap 2018, p. 1). Therefore, it
is clear that plan of supply chain of Coca-Cola Company comprises of network that includes
retailers, targeted customers, distributors, supplier, together with manufacturer.
Principles that govern supply chain planning of Coca-Cola Company
Several principles are essential in governing planning of supply chain that makes Coke Company
be competitive in beverage markets. Some of these principles include the fact that supply
sequence must all moments provide clients with modified services wherever they are in every
section of global markets (Sugarman 2014, p. 103). The other principle is that firm relates the
attitude of customer-determined supply series planning. Besides, there is need for high client
care throughout fragmentation as company produces various sorts of products within its
contained production arrangement globally. Additionally, high teamwork with dealers is an
essential principle of planning as it ensures that the company focuses on superlative practices
that are accepted in processes of buying (Ghasemi, Khalili-Damghani, Hafezolkotob, and Raissi
2017, p. 3825). The corporation also has strategy of having very limited units of observing stock
in its actions as a way of improving its supply chain planning. Besides, to enable offer the Coke
Company its localized client service around entire world, the organization has worldwide major

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 5
lean six sigma acts to allow it influence best programs together with practices that enhanced
performance along with brilliance (Kristianto and Zhu 2013, p. 1598). Having a federal setting
up of supply chain, Coke Company has visibility throughout all its facilities leading to less input
as compared to greatest profit that the company gets during its operations. The company work by
ensuring that it uses best practices available to attain highest outcomes in its operations. The use
of best principles tends to lead to higher maturity level in operations of Coke Company that
translates into higher performance of supply chain and profitability of the company’s business.
Building on strengths of operations
Apart from learning operations of supply chain planning from other companies, there are much
to learn within operations of Coca-Cola that make it dominate in beverage markets. The
organization has formed the International Council of Supply Chain with both bottlers along with
participation of company. Its subcommittees in Coke Company are developed based on the
strategy of planning for supply chain of the company. The system of planning of supply chain
operations by the company comprises of bottling partners (Askin and Fowler 2015, p. 53). The
company has over seven thousand workers making it use more leverage through its firm linked
network. Besides, Coke Company has been able to make several key investments that have been
important to the plan of strategy and initiatives of company. The company has also made strides
in automation to help in decreasing costs but also enhance agility along with speed of operations
in different departments. These types of technologies used by this company in relation to supply
chain planning consist of warehouse automation and new lines of block production (Ahmadizar
and Zeynivand 2014, p. 161). Therefore, investing in advanced technologies stays to be an

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 6
essential factor of strategic plans in supply of Coca-Cola Company in relation to the portfolio
diversification and personalization.
The presence of vast nature of operations of company and its various product lines spread
through the globe, this company always follow unique supply chain planning. It follows such
planning strategies where it only produces. The supply chain operations of this organization are
categorized into diverse levels. The ever-increasing competition around international markets has
been the major factor that has made the company to device advance techniques to stay
competitive (Linnander, Yuan, Ahmed, Cherlin, Talbert-Slagle, and Curry 2017, p. 12). Through
supply chain planning, this company as concentrated on its operations and gone beyond focusing
on reducing costs, speedy delivery, flexibility and quality in application of practices to do with
supply operations. Consequently, increase in market competition, complexity, together with
ecological range in global society have led to the broadening of scope. The enduring
improvements in potentials of individual computer have prepared idea of optimization of supply
sequence management of this company to be possible (Pröpper 2015, p. 253). Coke Company
practice supply chain planning as it had previously reported significant cost and time cycle of
reductions. In most instances, supply chain planning of this company become more complex as
goods and services flow from at least a single supplier to more than a single manufacturer and
distribution department. Strategic plan for chain supply of this company requires the
procurement to analyze as well as manage the change in such a manner that benefits operations
of company (Hafezalkotob and Ghezavati 2015, p. 806). The whole supply chain supply chain
has to be created in such a manner that corresponds to the operations of the company.
Processes involved in supply chain planning and control

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 7
There are vital processes in supply chain planning that a company must focus to take on
consideration to effectively understand and manage them during operations. These processes are
all at cooperation regardless of the kind of supply chain preparation as well as manage the
company is using. Some of these processes consist of customer relations management (CRM),
management of customer service, management of demand, development of product, and
management of supplier relationship (Haraburda 2017, p. 663). Other processes in supply
management planning consist of order fulfilment as well as management of returns. Therefore,
management of customer relations in supply management planning comes first because as the
company has to adapt everything in the supply chain to the targeted customer. Coke Company
needs tools of customer relationship management to help it in gathering information regarding
different customers for marketing and market survey in order to determine the services and
products to offer in the future (Kumar and Blair 2013, p. 135). Moreover, management of
customer service is another process of supply chain planning that ties in as it is where
management of Coke Company gathers both positive as well as negative feedback. The feedback
is essential in operations of the company as they help in process of determining the future needs
of Coke Company operations.
Management of demand is another process in supply chain planning that is closely connected
with the management of customer service and management of customer relationship. The
process takes customer interaction together with orders into account to determine the workload
all the way up the chain of supply (Okyay, Karaesmen, and Özekici 2015, p. 489). At its core,
clients that buy more products or services from Coke Company means to make more and clients
that purchases less means that the company makes less. Besides, customer forecasting stays to be
essential operation that analysts have to perform well to determine the present demand and what

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 8
it will be in the future operation so as to prevent cases of waste in supply chain planning and
control. Furthermore, product development is the essential section of the supply chain planning
that is informed by demand of consumer (Wachsmuth 2017, p. 56). The company, therefore, has
the responsibility of working with management of customer relationship along with customer
service information to determine what they need, what affects new Coke’s products, product line
extensions, and also what to stop making during supply chain planning. Coke Company
management has the responsibility of integrating supplier in the process of product development
because it influences cost, delivery time, and quality of produced products.
Recommendations
Recommendation for improvements of supply series planning together with control issues
of Coke Company
Coca-Cola Company management has to focus on reforming its supply chain planning in order to
attain higher sustainability in different markets. Some of the recommendations that the company
has to follow to help in boosting growth of its supply chain include idea of implementing lean
formula for production and differentiating its supply chains (Martinez, Rodriguez, Mercurio,
Bragg, and Elbel 2018, p. 11). The company also needs to enhance its supply chain planning
through the use of ERP system and implementing effective system of inventory management.
There is a need to call for improvement or either to completely change style of planning in order
to achieve the state-of-art processes of supply chain.
Implementing lean production method
The management of the company can focus on lean production formula that is production
technique where the company can focus on making products in according to the specifications

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 9
together with requirements as requested by customers. According to this type of recommendation
on supply chain planning and control, then Coke Company can make products that are in
accordance with the needs of customers’ global ly. Since Coke organization has various
wholesalers in more than two hundred nations globally, it is appropriate if the organization and
management can make the production based on the requests of different agencies together with
wholesalers (McKeon 2017, p. 384). Therefore, by implementing lean production technique,
Coke Company would be capable of eliminating the need to posse’s huge stock along with
reducing levels of dangers in supply chain planning.
Differentiating chains of supply by management
There is the want for Coke Company to focus on having a differentiated supply chains planning
and control of its operations. The differentiated planning together with control of supply chain is
case where provision getting in operations of organization is cared for as varied units from
dealings involving sale of products to different products in international and domestic markets
(Krapp, Nebel, and Sahamie 2013, p. 985). Through this recommendation, Coke Company can
then track the records of its operations in an appropriate and proper manner.
Implementing ERP system in supply chain planning
The Coke Company needs to focus on enhancing planning of its supply chain through ERP
system. The use of modern ERP system can help this company to facilitate visualization of
network models that consist of entire cycle of production of soft-drinks and other byproducts of
Coke. System of ERP in supply chain planning is essential in offering control as well as ability to
make the vital decision from the evaluation and analysis provided (Gonzalez, Nachtmann, and
Pohl 2017, p. 169). Moreover, through system of ERP, Coke Company can strengthen its supply

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 10
chain connections with different distributors, suppliers, producers, and targeted end users of
Coke products. Furthermore, this recommendation will enable the bottler's company to be
capable of downloading different products to their portfolio while generating consistent data in a
simpler approach. On top of that, Coke Company can easily be capable of accessing real-time
sales together with real-time purchases around the markets that it operates on an entire globe
(Broz, D. Durand, Rossit, Tohmé, and Frutos 2017, p. 302). The ERP will improve the mode of
payment as it ensures that the payments to different services are approved at the same moment
when the invoices are being produced by the management of the company.
Implementation of effective and efficient system of inventory management
The effective management of inventory in Coke Company can help in ensuring appropriate
accounting of the inventory during operations of the company. All the materials that go into
waste in addition to the waste on production can then be effectively be accounted for when the
appropriate system of supply chain planning is implemented by the management (Ahmadizar and
Zeynivand 2014, p. 162). The demand together with supply of inventory can be appropriately
attributed to the system that deals with company’s supply chain planning.
Conclusion
Supply chain planning is the major determinant of the success of Coke Company’s business
operations. If the company decides to implement the appropriate practices characterized by
modern technological usage, then there is a high probability of business success. The company
that implements best practices is always able to ensure sustainability to its clients thereby
remaining on positive side of winning the trust of different targeted clients. The process involved
in planning of supply sequence involves majorly on resources getting out as well as within an

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 11
association owing to the operation triumph. Most corporations have recognized different tools
along with practices of supply sequence planning and Coke Corporation is not exceptional in
such cases. The organization needs to ensure efficient inventory practices of management and
integration of modern systems of ERP. Besides, it is clear on above discussion that supply chain
planning of Coke Company encompasses the preemptive managing of the progression of
services, goods, data, and money amid the stage of raw materials to the targeted client. The
successful planning of supply chain by an organization resorts to thinking outside the box by
focusing at the complete strategic picture of business.

Supply chain planning and control issues of Coca-Cola Company 12
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