Coca-Cola on Operations Management free essay sample

These top five beverages are known worldwide and are sold in more than 200 countries. Competitors The Coca-Cola Company competes in the nonalcoholic beverage segment of the commercial beverage industry. The nonalcoholic beverage segment of the commercial beverage industry is highly competitive, consisting of numerous companies. These include companies competing in multiple geographic areas, as well as businesses that are primarily regional or local in operation. Competing products include numerous nonalcoholic sparkling beverages; various water products, including packaged flavored and enhanced waters; juices and nectars; fruit drinks and dilutables (including syrups and powdered drinks); coffees and teas; energy and sports and other performance-enhancing drinks; dairy-based drinks; functional beverages; and various other nonalcoholic beverages. These competitive beverages are sold to consumers in both ready-to-drink and other than ready-to-drink form. In many of the countries in which they do business, including the United States, PepsiCo, Inc. is one of their primary competitors. Other significant competitors include, but are not limited to, Nestle, DPS, Groupe Danone, Kraft Foods Group, Inc. , and Unilever. In certain markets, their competition includes beer companies. They also compete against numerous regional and local companies and, in some markets, against retailers that have developed their own store or private label beverage brands. Bottling Process The bottling process is a complex process, it is amazing how they make every bottle of coke taste exactly the same. The bottling factory is basically a room full of robotic arms with giant machines etc. First the bottles are taken to a cleaning unit, here the bottles get cleaned, steamed and sanitizied, this is done with jet streams and water only. The bottles are then picked up by a conveyer belt and the individual clamps pick up a bottle, and they are then transported from station to station above the room. Once the bottling process is done, the Coke needs to be put into the bottles, the mixing process is actually longer than it used to be. Before they would just put the syrup in first and the carbonated water would go on top. Now the first step is pure water gets put into the bottle by a machine and then refined sugar is added to it. Then Coke’s secret formula mixture and some caramel coloring are put into the mix. Next, a machine shakes the bottles up to mix everything together. After this step carbon dioxide is added to the mix to make the drink fizz. Next, the full bottles are sent to quality check,where the quality of each individual Coke is checked. After this the bottled quality checked bottles are sent to the consumers. Quality Assurance Coca Cola, being the biggest and most recognized brand in the world, is forced to focus on quality assurance and management more than most companies would have to. They need to maintain their reputation and produce the same quality products to every retail store that sells coca cola in the world. Quality assurance is how Coca Cola guarantees that it will keep its’ customer base. Coca Cola assures quality by making sure to focus on the four key consumer related components of their product; coca cola’s Ingredients, materials, the bottling process, and the manufacturing process. This way they can regulate every step of the process to keep the people, materials, machines, and ingredients safe while meeting their level of required quality. Coca Cola is a global brand and as such, needs to meet the same standards throughout every manufacturer and supplier. Consistency is one of the brands key strengths and that means Coca Cola needs to be the same product in every bottle, no matter where it’s from. To manage their quality Coca Cola put the KORE system into place. This system holds all operations to the same quality standards and protocols. Coca Cola also installed new managers in three of their divisions to ensure successful direction of the company. Strategies The company’s main strategy is expansion of geography. They plan on acquiring through strategic acquisitions including bottled water companies and springs. In addition they will expand their presence by broadening their geographic footprint through strategic acquisitions. They are dedicated to creating a multi-cultural team. Coca Cola is also dedicated to increasing their demand by updating packaging strategies. They also are continuously researching new products and product lines. Another focus is their go-to-market strategies to increase their capabilities of moving product. Coco Colas main focus is consistency, making sure their product is available and is the same world famous quality, anywhere. In Africa, Coca Cola proved its dedication to consistency by staying present in the market through wartimes. The people saw this and now support the brand and are proven to be very loyal customers to Coca Cola. Training and development for employees Coca-Cola focuses on treating their employees in a way that would help them develop a rewarding working life. Built on a successful belief that employee satisfaction is closely linked to both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, they focus their human resources on creating an environment where employees can: ? Excel in their performance ? Develop skills for improvement ? Move towards their career goals They provide training, on-the-job learning, and coaching and feedback; they make sure every employee that works under Coca-Cola has the resources they need to learn more about their careers while adding a great deal of fun, flexibility and entertainment to the job. This allows the employees to greatly excel in their field of work and feel motivated to contribute to the company. In turn allowing the company to excel in every aspect. Employee engagement Coca-Cola’s success depends on motivated employees, therefore, they excel in finding the most suitable ways to motivate each employee in their own individual unique way. Measuring the employees level of engagement with the business operations is one of the ways they weigh the motivation of each employee; they also focus on employee surveys. Allowing their employees to give feedback on what needs to be imporoved. This makes the employees feel like they have a voice and that their concerns are being heard. Training and Development Coca-Cola’s business operations depend on their impeccable human resources techniques where they choose to invest in people before anything else. Once they invest in an employee, they invest more on retaining him or her; consequently, they attract the best employes. They spend huge sums on talent recognition and management, leadership development for managers, and employee performance management. This allows employees to excel not only in their individual fields of work but it allows them to also learn new skills and techniques making the job run more efficiently. Pay and Reward Being aware of their competitors in the industry, Coca-Cola exerts substantial energy and resources to focus on building a competitive advantage by using motivating benefits for both attracting and retaining the most talented employees to drive their business forward. They consider a number of different elements, such as: pension plans, health care, additional holidays, and total compensation and benefits packages. Their reward programs are regularly benchmarked against a select peer group of their major competitors and key players in the market. Coca Cola makes sure to excel in the industry as a company that focuses on the employee. Coca Cola employees are the most motivated and in turn are more effective and work to their full potential. References: www. coca-colacompany. com www. coca-colacompany. com/press-center/press-releases/the -coca-cola-company-announces-leadership-appointments-to-support-new-operating-structure http://en. coca-colahellenic. rs/Aboutus/Production/Experiencetheproduct/