Coca-Cola is working with SAP to develop software to
improve efficiency in the drinks firm's supply chain. Technology
produced by the collaboration could be used across the beverage
industry, analysts have predicted.
The aim of the implementation is to give Coca-Cola more information
at the store and account level to improve its retail customer
relationships.
Margaret Carton, Coca-Cola's chief information officer, said the
new software should cut paperwork, ensure cash settlements are made
properly and reduce wasted space in delivery lorries.
Coca-Cola already runs various ERP and supply chain management
applications, including SAP's R/3 material and production planning
applications. However, these systems do not connect store
deliveries with back-end systems, Carton said.
Tony Hart, managing analyst at research firm Datamonitor, said the
agreement reflected the desire of manufacturers and retailers to
improve supply chain visibility, allowing for improved planning and
reducing the potential for unwanted deliveries.
"The agreement between Coca-Cola and SAP will try to eliminate
inefficiencies and automate more of the extended processes from
manufacturer to retailer," Hart said.
"There will be time and cost savings and the opportunity to drive
revenues, for example, replacing sold-out stock faster.
"Mobile integration in a project of this size will have its
problems, but as Coca-Cola is head-to-toe SAP, there is less
potential for difficulties."
The data integration issues the project will tackle include
providing functionality to the mobile worker so that the data
entered into the mobile device is either automatically transferred
or synchronised to back-end applications, said Hart.
The new application should help improve vending machine management,
with support for direct upload and download of sales information
using a handheld device. This could be improved further with the
use of electronic tracking technologies, such as radio frequency
identification tagging, Hart said.