Coca-Cola improves product distribution

Drinks giant bolsters planning capacity and improves sales through better retail data management

Coca-Cola has improved product allocation with a new integrated system

Coca-Cola Enterprises has implemented space and category management systems to improve productivity and increase sales by better use of retail customer data.

The systems enable planning and analysis with integration to retailers' point-of-sale data. The firm said that use of the new software has improved product allocation and allowed better management of store and merchandise information.

"We were looking for a system that would allow us to deliver merchandising solutions that reflect the differences across stores to effectively bring the right products to consumers at the right locations," said Luisa Eichman, director of space planning services at Coca-Cola Enterprises.

"We also needed to create a business process to ensure quality checks on store-level planograms, while at the same time increasing the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of the planogram process."

Coca-Cola has also deployed new systems to support an initiative aimed at optimising sales and improving customer service.

"Given the expanded variety in beverage consumption and shopper demographics, determining the right beverages to carry for consumers needs to be done at the store level to improve sales and shopper satisfaction," said Eichman.

The systems were supplied by JDA Software.