News
Embracing technology within supply chain to better serve our customers
14/11/2023
Innovation, Topic #1 | José Antonio Echeverría, CCEP Chief Customer Service & Supply Chain Officer
At CCEP we make, move and sell some of the world’s most-loved brands, delivering great service to our 2 million customers while progressing against our sustainability commitments.
With the continued development of technology, we are transforming our manufacturing operations across our 30 countries. This will help us to deliver better service for our customers and move forward on our journey to realise what the factory of the future looks like.
We are adopting and continually exploring new technology to improve and enhance how we work - creating an efficient, safe and sustainable supply chain.
Throughout 2023, we are investing at least €800m in capital expenditure to support our growth priorities.
This includes a number of digital projects within customer service and supply chain that will benefit both our customers and the 17,000 colleagues based across our 76 production sites.
Let’s take a look at some of the digital opportunities we’re developing and deploying at CCEP:
Efficiency through technology
New technologies in manufacturing and logistics are enabling CCEP to work more efficiently, unlocking more capacity to meet customer demand and grow our business.
- Already live in Spain and Germany, our new Customer Demand & Supply Planning (CDSP) system is transforming our planning activities. With better forecasting of sales demand this ensures we get the right products to customers when they need them. This is helping us work faster and with more agility thanks to its machine learning and scenario-planning capabilities. As CDSP rollout continues across CCEP markets, data-driven planning will set us apart in anticipating our customers’ needs and consumer demand.
- We continue to invest in automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) in our warehouses. These systems use software, computers and robotics to automate and streamline the handling, storage, and retrieval of goods.
- Through a Warehouse Digital Twin project we are also mapping a number of our warehouses into virtual models to analyse activities. This technology allows us to rapidly test new layout options, design robustness, optimise processes and support future investment decisions – all with the aim to increase warehouse capacity and productivity.
- Automated guided forklifts are helping us to increase efficiencies and prepare for predicted volume growth. Our site in Halle was the first site in Germany to introduce three automated guided forklifts in 2021. Our Bad Neuenahr site now also has five automated vehicles supplying their returnable and refillable production line, transporting recycled plastic between production and storage with a reliability rate of 99.95%. Following their success to date, we’ve invested in a further 26 automated guided forklifts for our Dongen site and are planning continued investment across our operations.
- Our logistics team in Mannheim have successfully trialled a fully autonomous, self-driving outdoor electric truck for pallet transportation. It can perform tasks such as connecting and disconnecting the truck and trailer and has the ability to be fully integrated into mixed traffic with forklifts and other vehicles.
Trialling an autonomous self-driving e-truck in Mannheim, Germany
Automated guided forklifts in Dongen, the Netherlands
The Warehouse Digital Twin team in Mannheim, Germany
Automated storage and retrieval system in operation in Wakefield, GB
Automated storage and retrieval system under construction in Ghent, Belgium
Progressing our sustainability ambitions
New technology is helping CCEP ensure that our packaging and manufacturing are more sustainable, supporting our ambitions to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.
- Modern automation technology is supporting our sustainable packaging ambitions – for example helping to sort refillable glass bottles at our Mannheim site. In addition, we invested in a new packaging machine in München, enabling us to pack refillable glass bottles in 6-pack format.
- Following over €40m investment, we have introduced both converted and new equipment across all of our European markets capable of producing bottles with attached caps (except Portugal which will go live before the end of 2023). This capability is helping to reduce litter by ensuring that when consumers recycle our bottles, no cap gets left behind. This equipment innovation has enabled us to lead the way in meeting the EU’s Single-Use Plastic Directive that comes into effect from July 2024.
- Sustainable infrastructure such as solar panel installations in Australia, Indonesia, Portugal and Great Britain is helping our sites work towards achieving carbon neutral status.
Solar panels at our operations in Chaudfontaine, Belgium
Solar panel installations in Indonesia
Colleagues in East Kilbride, GB, with production line capable of producing bottles with attached caps
Attached cap bottles produced in Edmonton, GB
Refillable glass bottles in 6-pack format
Designing the workplace of the future
The workplace of the future will see colleagues embracing new skills and career opportunities, completing training in new and innovative ways, and being better supported to ensure they can work safely.
Further to the changes technology is bringing, we are making wider improvements as we develop a culture that is also fit for the future. We are fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone’s welcome and our great people feel truly valued and encouraged to be themselves.
- New and evolving technologies require a skilled and digitally literate workforce to embed, manage and maintain them. At CCEP we are supporting colleagues with their digital skills development, such as automation training to ensure our technicians are skilled in fault finding and program modification. Our continued adoption of new technologies will also see the rise of new career opportunities for those who want to grow their careers in this space.
- New solutions and approaches to training can help us maintain a safe working environment. In Indonesia, our teams have implemented a truck driver fatigue management system, using cameras in the cab to monitor driver fatigue across five of our operations. Meanwhile, our Valencia and Grigny sites have trialled virtual reality headsets to learn more about workplace and equipment safety in a fun and interactive way. And the rollout of our latest safety training programme (Human Organisation Performance or ‘HOP’) is another step to help us maintain a safe working environment and world class safety performance.
- In addition to a more digitally-enabled workplace of the future, we will see greater gender balance, in line with our CCEP diversity targets which include 45% of management positions to be held by women by 2030, and one third of our workforce to be women by 2030. To support our recruitment and retention of women within supply chain, we launched ‘Women’s Listening Circles’ this year to share experiences and ideas in a trusted environment. To date, we have heard from over 50% of the women in our supply chain and action plans are now in creation - with focus areas such as hiring and development, safety, culture and mindset, flexibility and comfortable work environments.
Keeping our drivers safe in Indonesia through a truck driver fatigue management system
Virtual reality supports equipment training in Valencia, Spain
Safety training programme rolls out at Sidcup, GB
Exploring exciting opportunities for the future
While we’re excited by the many potential benefits of new technology for CCEP, robust trials are needed to test their scalability and feasibility across our operations, and ensure it truly adds value for our customers, our colleagues and our business.
Our teams have been working on some additional trials which we hope will lead to scalable solutions for CCEP and the industry in the future:
- Our manufacturing site in Mannheim, has trialled augmented reality glasses, enabling our line operators to receive immediate digital guidance and support on production lines. This provides a promising future solution for guided, remote troubleshooting, helping line operators to deliver efficient servicing of our production lines and minimise downtime.
- A decision intelligence platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) has proven successful in a pilot to support CCEP manage the return of empty glass bottles for refill in markets where returnable packaging is in use. This offers a potential route to streamline repetitive tasks for our colleagues and ensure availability of packaging for production.
- 3D capture of our sites is being trialled to help educate key stakeholders on our production processes and support the digital onboarding of new employees.
- Through our innovation investment engine, CCEP Ventures, we are funding direct air capture projects with the University of California, Berkeley and three universities in Europe. Our investment will accelerate research into carbon capture and opportunities to turn CO₂ emissions into useful products for our supply chain through carbon upcycling.
In CCEP customer service and supply chain, we have always been passionate about delivering great service for our customers and our business.
I’m excited for the many opportunities that technology advancement brings to help us further and faster realise our ambitions, while also helping us create an inclusive and safe workplace with exciting career opportunities for our people.
José Antonio Echeverría, Chief Customer Service & Supply Chain Officer