The Coca-Cola Company has this week completed the refranchising of its bottling operations in the US, representing 60 transitions, the company’s largest refranchising initiative.
Nearly 70 independent Coca-Cola bottlers across the US are now running their trucks and bottling operations as a fully refranchised system.
The new system is made up of a array of independent bottlers, from multinational owners to decades-old, family-held operations.
Coca-Cola said that the system is working to reinvent the future of the business, ‘especially in key areas such as portfolio diversification, packaging innovation, production, procurement, technology and pricing’.
Most new or expanding bottlers are hiring more people and investing in plants and equipment. They will also be able to benefit from a new IT platform that aims to enhance efforts to digitise the Coca-Cola system.
As part of the refranchising, 60 transitions have taken place, which include 350 distribution centres, more than 50 production facilities, over 55,000 employees and more than 1.3 billion physical cases of volume.
Swire Coca-Cola yesterday closed on an additional production facility in Colorado, adding to its existing bottling operations across six western states.
Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, a new bottler, began operations this week in New York, New Jersey and the metro Philadelphia area.
Finally, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling took on new bottling territories in California and Nevada. Reyes added to its existing operations in parts of six midwestern states, including the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis and Milwaukee.
President of Coca-Cola North America Sandy Douglas said the refranchising policy is part of the company’s efforts to become a ‘total beverage company’.
Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America
“Our system is built to respond to consumers’ needs in a fast-moving and highly competitive environment,” he said.
“Returning the local part of our business to where it really belongs and will best perform – in the hands of local companies – is a key enabler of the exciting transformation and growth of our business.”
Coca-Cola North America vice president of system transformation Bruce Karinshak added: “Bottlers bring a personal and local touch to their relationships, which is critical to the success of our newly transformed system and the competitive advantage to our business.
“A tremendous amount of time and effort was required over the years for the transition to our 21st Century Beverage Partnership Model, and with the collective teamwork and passion between the company, CCR and bottling partners, the transitions have been impressively seamless.”
Coca-Cola North America’s refranchising plan will conclude with the completion of transactions in Canada and the US Virgin Islands, which are anticipated in the first half of 2018.
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