Coca-Cola Talks New Ways of Collaboration

As manufacturers and retailers continue to struggle in the current economy, many will look to collaboration as a means of bringing back old customers, increasing the loyalty of new customers and better serving all of their customers.

 

On Dec. 15, 2010, during a CGT Web seminar, a panel of experts from IDC, Coca-Cola Company and SAP discussed key findings from the 2010 Shared Strategy Report, conducted in partnership with CGT, RIS News, IDC Retail Insights and IDC Manufacturing Insights. Panelists provided exclusive insight on product quality, RFID, sustainability and more. The following are some highlights from the Web event:

 

--Simon Ellis, practice director, Supply Chain Strategies at IDC Manufacturing Insights, started off the Web event by delving into topics such as new technology options (Software-as-a-Service and Cloud Computing), profitable proximity (sourcing decisions and driving more interaction), product traceability (a critical "new" capability), and forecasting and responsiveness (improving accuracy for branded and private label products). Regarding the last topic, Ellis said: "As we talk to manufacturers and retailers…I do think there is this perspective that there is not enough or not as much visibility into the quality of the inventory as they might like." In many cases, said Ellis, they’re looking for better tools to facilitate that collaborative dialogue.

 

--Russ Rodal, Supply Chain Client Engagement Program manager for Coca-Cola North America, joined the lively panel by offering his expertise on many topics, including traceability. "I think one of the challenges that most IT professionals find in the industry is trying to define a business case and justification internally for capital around this." Some very innovative approaches to justifying capital, according to Rodal, include yield improvement, cost reduction and investing in traceability technology to help reduce the overall risk to brands and the company.

 

--The Vice President, Consumer Sector for SAP Americas, E.J. Kenney, offered thought leadership on collaboration from a solution and service provider standpoint. "We're seeing more and more companies shifting to a much more responsive collaboration. It really requires shared intelligence -- around shoppers, food products, safety, supply chain capabilities -- and all of that will require companies to have the technology footprint in place to provide that visibility across multiple lines of business in their company, as well as to their trading partners," Kenney explained.

 

To listen to this event in its entirety, click here.