From its partnerships to its employees, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated remains focused on consistently meeting customer and consumer needs for another 115 years and beyond.
By Bianca Herron
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated has been committed to the consumers, customers and communities it serves for more than a century. Today, Coke Consolidated is the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States and makes, sells and distributes Coca-Cola, Monster and Dr. Pepper products.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Coca-Cola Consolidated carries more than 300 brands and flavors across 14 states and the District of Columbia to more than 65 million people. Additionally, the 115-year-old company has 13 manufacturing facilities and 80 distribution and sales centers.
Read more ...
Chemours’ supply chain team streamlined processes and eliminated redundant systems to help stabilize the young chemical manufacturer.
By Tim O’Connor
When Chemours spun off from DuPont in July 2015, it found itself it a situation where it had to quickly become more efficient. Chemours was a much smaller company than the chemical conglomerate that had spawned it, and what worked for DuPont wasn’t necessarily the quickest path to stability and success for Chemours.
Chemours needed to become quicker and more nimble, especially its supply chain. “When you’re in this huge company like DuPont you’re not always material to the entire portfolio,” Global Supply Chain Manager Michele van Krieken says. In smaller companies, inefficiencies become more visible and financially impactful to the company.
Read more ...
AMES sets tolerances in its supply chain to provide motivation and increase communication and collaboration.
By Janice Hoppe-Spiers
AMES claims to be the third-oldest corporation in America, tracing its history back to 1774 when Captain John Ames began producing the country’s first factory-made shovels. “We’ve been building America ever since, through wartime and peacetime, boom and bust,” the company says. “And we’ve had our share of adventure along the way. We’ve dug for gold, gone on expeditions to Antarctica and built at least two of the Seven Wonders of the modern world.”
Ames kept an account book of the AMES company from 1773 through 1804. In 1784 he completed the first metal shovel, which the company says is the oldest in the country. AMES shovels were used in 1886 to build the Statue of Liberty, the New York subways in 1899 and the Empire State Building from 1929 to 1931. In the West, AMES shovels helped build the Hoover Dam from 1931 to 1935, as well as the Golden Gate Bridge from 1933 to 1937.
Read more ...
The endurance of print books has Penguin Random House investing in its physical supply chain.
By Tim O’Connor
The first e-readers hit the market in 1998 and the first Amazon Kindles arrived nine years later, signaling the leading online bookseller’s belief in the future of digital books. It seemed like the days of print editions and book spines were numbered. Soon, giant book warehouses stuffed with Dr. Seuss reprints and Dan Brown releases would be replaced by server rooms and distribution would be as simple as ones and zeros traveling over a Wi-Fi network.
But it didn’t happen. Ten years after its predicted demise the print market is as robust and resilient as ever. E-books sales actually fell 5 percent in the first half of the year compared to 2016, according to the Association of American Publishers, accounting for only 17.1 percent of the total trade book market. Print is still very much in vogue and massive warehouses still play a crucial role in getting books in readers’ hands.
Publishers such as Penguin Random House always believed digital would be more of a complement to print reading, rather than a complete replacement. While others rapidly moved to favor e-publishing, Penguin Random House took a more balanced approach and continued to invest in its physical supply chain. It wasn’t a print or digital proposition; it was print and digital. “We deliver about 460 million books a year to customers and 20 percent of that is digitally,” Senior Vice President of Fulfillment Annette Danek-Akey explains. “We just had to learn to be good at managing both.”
Read more ...
Vexos’ newly created intelligent supply chain has already saved the electronics manufacturer millions of dollars.
By Jim Harris
Vexos is dedicated to providing complex electronic technologies. “I’m very proud of our people and their commitment to customer service,” says Stephanie Martin, senior vice president of global supply chain for the New York City-based company. “Everyone aims to delight our customers with our performance. We are committed to exceeding expectations.”
The company is a full turnkey electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider to the medical, industrial, semiconductor, automotive, consumer, safety and security and internet of things (IoT) markets. The company provides printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies and custom material solutions. It also provides full systems integration and comprehensive testing services with enhanced engineering and supply chain management solutions. These services span product life cycles all the way from development and introduction through growth, maturity, post-production services and end-of-life phases.
Read more ...
Mercedes-Benz USA has the people and facility infrastructure in place to support its growth.
By Tim O’Connor
When Rory Hepner and her team visit the carriers that transport trucks across the country for Mercedes-Benz, they often hand out small gifts such as hats and T-shirts or they may host a cookout for drivers. Those are small gestures, but ones that show the company’s appreciation for its carriers and acknowledge their contributions toward making Mercedes-Benz one of the world’s leading premium automakers.
Read more ...
Dukane offers in-house tooling and machining for its plastic assembly equipment.
By Tim O’Connor
Dukane has touched many industries since it started 1922 as Operradio, a radio manufacturer. It was an early pioneer in commercial speakers and communications equipment before getting into the manufacturing of plastic assembly equipment in the early 1970s, which remains its primary business today.
Read more ...
