DESIGN ¦ DEVELOP ¦ DELIVER

COCA-COLA AMATIL CASE STUDY ¦

THE REAL THING

THERE ARE FEW MORE IMPRESSIVE GLOBAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS THAN COCA-COLA Working in partnership with distributors has allowed the Coca-Cola Company to sell its products in every country in the world, except two (Cuba and North Korea). In Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa, one of the largest bottling and distribution operations of its kind is carried out by Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA).

The company can trace its trading roots all the way back to the turn of the 20th Century, although its focus on beverages really took hold when the company was named Amatil Limited in 1977. By 1989, Coca-Cola had a majority share, helping the business grow to today’s impressive levels, taking on a wide variety of products and, as one of Australia’s leading businesses, employing almost 15 000 people. When the need arose to consolidate New Zealand’s North Island warehouse activity on one site, reducing operating cost and improving uptime, CCA already had experience of working with Swisslog in Australia. “Swisslog is a leading supplier to our business,” says CCA’s Parish Samuel. “The technology is new to CCA and maintenance of distribution centers is not our core business. So the reason for outsourcing maintenance basically comes down to our desire for 100% uptime, and because Swisslog is the expert.“

ABOUT CCA

CCA is one of the largest bottlers of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in the Asia-Pacific region and one of the world’s top five Coca-Cola bottlers. CCA operates in six countries - Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa. CCA employs 14 900 people across the Group and has access to 270 million consumers through more than 700 000 active customers. CCA’s diversified portfolio of products includes carbonated soft drinks, spring water, sports and energy drinks, fruit juices, iced tea, flavored milk, coffee, tea and SPC Ardmona and Goulburn Valley packaged ready-to-eat fruit and vegetable snacks and products.

DESIGN ¦ DEVELOP ¦ DELIVER DESIGN ¦ DEVELOP ¦ DELIVERCCA | CASE STUDY CCA | CASE STUDY

Central to the success of the CCA operation are major distribution centers (DC) across eight sites in Australia and New Zealand. In Auckland, the DC is attached to the main manufacturing site in New Zealand. It houses 35 000 pallets and ships 22 million cases of product each year to replenish two other DCs in New Zealand, as well as fulfill customer orders for most of the North Island. The team can pick up to 80 000 cases of product (averaging 16kg each) in a shift while the biggest challenge is the visibility of orders at around 5 pm each day for delivery the next day.

To reduce the need for multiple warehouses in Auckland, as well as to future proof for growth, reduce warehouse operating costs, and improve inventory accuracy and management, the CCA team looked to Swisslog to align its investments in warehouse automation. Improving pick accuracy with voice technology, as well as

overall improvements to customer service, were also potential benefits, although the company already operated at extremely high levels of professionalism and productivity. “There’s a fantastic ethos of openness, transparency and encouragement from the customer and we like all our relationships to be a partnership approach,” says Swisslog‘s Sites Operations Manager – CCA NZ, Craig Harley. “Our aim is to provide standard service arrangements – such as 24-hour maintenance staff responsible for day-to-day maintenance of equipment, as well as lifecycle maintenance against agreed plans, plus involvement in unrelated areas that can improve throughput and efficiency in the warehouse.”

DEVELOPING VALUEAuckland features a high degree of complexity, so the co-operation and openness has definitely produced benefits for both parties. The work began with data analysis, as Swisslog learned the ROI requirements, even going so far as to observe the operation by riding on the delivery trucks. Together, Swisslog and CCA looked at how the utilization of the high bay could be optimized, while considering whether to move and store raw materials at what was originally designed as a pure finished goods warehouse.

No issue was off limits, with Swisslog helping the business to consider options and alternatives in security barriers, lighting, pallet quality, and just about everything. “Every assumption was challenged, every process of how products are handled on a daily basis was considered,” says Craig.

“Every assumption was challenged, every process of how products are handled on a daily basis was considered.“

DESIGNING SUCCESS

DELIVERING CONFIDENCE “The ongoing need to do more with less is what keeps us moving forward,” says CCA’s Parish Samuel. Together with the Australian DC at Northmead (also utilizing Swisslog equipment and support), Auckland registers world class levels of throughput. Pick accuracy is at an all-time high with returns at 1%. CCA is able to respond quickly to same day orders and thanks to accurate inventory reads, fulfill orders with a 99% case fill.

Taking beverages from production and other suppliers, synchronizing the delivery to the pick face, picking pallets, and increasingly cases, for shipping, and prioritizing the eventual dispatch is all part of the process. “There’s no other site that has everything in one place,” says Swisslog’s Key Account Manager Sean Ryan. “It makes the operation simpler in many respects, but complex in the way it is integrated together. At this stage, we are focused on fine tuning to give us the best results.” And those results are clearly delighting the customer, who twice recognized Swisslog with its ‘Supplier of the Year‘ award.

Swisslog is always available, hands-on and

clear about the objectives we are working together

to achieve. They’ve stuck to timelines, been responsive

to deviations from the plan and continue to help us

deliver the best outcome.

“This is a partnership that has grown over time,” concludes Craig. “The team is integrated into the CCANZ team and functions completely as an integral unit. We use the skills and expertise of the Swisslog team on other activities in the DC, which makes it a safe and effective operation. Everyone functions as a unit and understands the need for our various roles. Everyone shares information and knowledge to ensure a smooth operation. The maintenance manager sits in on the DC team meetings as an equal.” It’s an impressive example of how close co-operation can lead to exceptional results. Clearly, Swisslog continues to work hard to maintain its high standards, but so far as CCA are concerned, they’re in it together for the long haul.

“THERE’S NO OTHER SITE THAT HAS EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE.”

DESIGN ¦ DEVELOP ¦ DELIVERSwisslog AGwww.swisslog.com

In today’s competitive world, companies must be able to deliver the right orders to the right customers at the right time. Errors and delays in order fulfillment can have lasting negative impacts on the brand – but maintaining high stock levels ties up capital and affects flexibility.

As a full-service provider of automated intralogistics systems, Swisslog delivers everything companies need to optimize logistics from planning through implementation.

Our order fulfillment and inventory solutions enable companies to achieve the highest throughput at the lowest cost, efficiently handle large catalogs of SKUs, and accurately meet delivery demands and requirements.

ABOUT SWISSLOG

Consult Analyze Plan Solution ChooseSolution

Engineering Integration Installation Ramp Up Preventive Maintenance

24/7 Support Optimization & Spare Parts

Moderni-zation & Expansion

CAD

DESIGN DEVELOP DELIVER

Total floor space 28 000m²

Total storage capacity 33 900

Total length of conveyor 1 200m

Number of automatic storage retrieval machines (cranes) 11

Total number of pallet spaces in the system 800

Designed number of infeed pallets per hour 240

Designed number of outfeed pallets per hour 270

Pick locations for fast-moving product 73

Pick locations for slow-moving product 380

FACTS & FIGURES

SWISSLOG SCOPE OF DELIVERY▪ Swisslog designed WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT (WMS)▪ Paperless pick (voice command picking)▪Wireless communication between the WMS system and the

material handling equipment▪The system is designed to handle 4 100 pallets, which is

equivalent to 264 800 cases per day over a 24-hour period (peak throughput)

▪Swisslog designed a “SINGLE POINT OF CONTROL” operational control system (SPOC)

▪Operational 24/7