Supply Chain Management - the Coco Cola Company

Module Code: BST561

Student number: C1664007

Word Count:2162

Supply Chain Management: The Coco Cola company

Introduction

With the expansion of international markets across the geographical boundaries, the management of demand and supply of goods and services gets re-defined in some manner. The organisations are required to set up production and distribution centres to keep the cost of procurement and storage of material at minimum. The procurement of raw material and the supply of finished product to the distributors in right quantity with right quality and at the right price is a part of the procurement strategy across the globe (Arndt, 2004). The organisations procure the raw materials from different suppliers of distinct parts. The raw material then processed into finished goods and supplied to different locations through the distribution chain network which includes warehouse, local market place, wholesalers, retailers, and the end users. These are all inter-related within a network of supply chain. As a whole, supply chain management is a process which manages these operations to maintain the demand and supply of goods and services within an organisation on a large scale. Supply Chain Management is the combined efforts of all the individuals who want to have minimum costs and maximum output during the process of supply chain. It is therefore, ascertained that the efficiency can only be achieved if the organisation has better management for the process of supply chain (Mentzer et. al., 2001).

The aim of the essay is to analyse the sustainability, and buyer and supplier relationship within the supply chain management of Coca Cola which is appropriately managed by the Coca Cola Company. The Coca Cola Company is a publicly owned organisation in the sector of beverages which has global operations. The organisation was established in the year 1892 in the city of Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. It has a franchisee based distribution system where the company produces the drink itself and then distributes to the bottlers across the globe (Blanchard, 2007). The organisation has its own bottler as well in the name of ‘Coca Cola Refreshments’ in North America.

Literature Review

According to the opinion of Lambert & Cooper, (2000) in the context of supply chain management; integration and coordination in the flow of demand and supply ensures the creation and addition of value within the business operations and activities. As a result, the proper management of supply chain network ensures maximum satisfaction to the potential buyers of the goods and services and organisational efficiency as a whole. It is highly evident from many of the researches that an effective supply chain and its proper management results in maximum profitability and provides competitive position to the organisation in the market place. In the influence of the above-mentioned reason, it has been observed that these days many organisations that are showing their preference towards the application of supply chain management within a business enterprise. It is a global operative concept which has been applied by most of the organisations across the national boundaries to ensure effective management of the processes within a supply chain. An organisation might get recognised for its design and innovation or product development but this would not be possible for an organisation without the successful implementation of supply chain management. When many organisations have distinct supply chains across the countries, then the competition among the organisations rely upon the mechanism of supply chain management. A successful management of supply chain signifies the satisfaction to buyer and other KPIs which provides the status of an organisation. These are very important for a business as these help in assessing funds and potential investment opportunities.        

Sustainability within Supply chain

Sustainable supply chain management can be defined as the managing of the socio-cultural, economical, and environmental influence over an organisation and society by the processes within a supply chain. The supply chain processes are required to be managed throughout the operations from procurement to distribution of goods and services (Christopher, 2016). The main purpose of achieving sustainability within supply chain management is to protect the individuals or the stakeholders who are engaged in the process of distribution of goods and services in the market, and to provide them a safe and healthy environment to sustain their market practices for a longer term. Therefore, the concept of sustainability within a supply chain management has been continuously growing and considered important by most of the organisations.