Coca-Cola has a global brand value of 71 billion USD, while Pepsico has a global brand value of 33 billion USD. These companies have over 200+ bottling partners across the globe, and the enormity of their distribution chain and inventory management compels them to run their distribution processes using automation.

Many industries already use automation technologies for their day-to-day operations, and the beverage industry has been embracing this change slowly, owing to digital transformation initiatives.

Automation can help beverage companies gain complete visibility of their supply chain and distribution while reducing labor costs. It allows consumer goods companies to eliminate monotonous tasks like store visits planning, route management, and in-store activities for the field agents to execute them effectively.

We will cover some of the benefits of automation within the beverage industry in this blog. Let’s deep dive!

Is Time Inefficiency in Your Distribution Operation Limiting What Your Field Force Can Achieve?

Automation in distribution can save hours when used right. Monotonous tasks like placing the same order multiple times a week, placing returns, and expiry date checks have become easier to execute. Following pre-prepared timed checklists and traveling through planned route calls, distribution process automation can boost the overall efficiency of the field force. With minimum time spent by field forces to execute, employees’ productivity rises.

Does Your Distribution Network Have the Traceability Your Business Decisions Require?

With digital automation software, traceability comes by default. Based on the roles defined by the company, access to complete or partial data is provided across different hierarchies within the enterprise. The data helps each organization to make informed decisions, extending enhanced visibility to understand the inflow and outflow of products, the pace of movements, the backlogs, the near expiry products, and many other details.

Digital automation software makes traceability a default capability rather than an analytical project. Based on role-based access controls defined by the organization, complete or partial data visibility is provided across every hierarchy within the enterprise — from the van driver’s daily load summary to the commercial director’s network-wide inventory position. The inflow and outflow of products, the pace of movement at each outlet and distribution node, near-expiry product positions, and backlog accumulations are all visible in real time to the people who need to act on them.

The commercial value of this traceability compounds in a category like beverages, where seasonal demand volatility is high, promotional periods create sharp velocity spikes, and the margin impact of near-expiry write-offs is directly controllable through better stock movement visibility.

Is Asset Management Across Your Beverage Network Creating Hidden Costs?

The beverage industry deals with bulk assets like coolers, draught machines, and refrigerators. These assets’ transportation, installation, and maintenance come at a high cost for the manufacturer. Technologies like Augmented Reality can help field forces view assets as 3D objects in the in-store spaces and can automate the asset allocation and maintenance to a great extent.

Augmented reality technology changes the asset management equation in two ways. First, it enables field forces to visualize assets as 3D objects within actual store spaces before physical placement — ensuring that the right asset is allocated to the right outlet configuration, reducing misalignment between asset specification and store requirements, and eliminating the costly corrections that follow incorrect initial placement. Second, it enables AR-assisted maintenance planning by giving technicians a visual reference for the asset’s condition and service history overlaid on the physical asset during service visits.

Ivy Mobility’s Retail Execution platform includes augmented reality capability for asset visualization and allocation, allowing beverage field reps to propose, visualize, and gain approval for asset placements within a single workflow that compresses the decision cycle and improves the quality of placement decisions across the network.

Are You Managing Empties Collection With the Visibility It Deserves?

The beverage industry collects glass bottles and recycles them regularly as part of their distribution process. Manufacturers extend to retailers, hotels, and pubs discounts or promotional benefits proportional to the empties collected from them to promote recycling. The ability to digitally track empties can be a game-changer for beverage companies by allowing them to have complete visibility into empties stock and also helps with the calculation of discounts offered to retailers.

Digital tracking of empties stock transforms this from an informal, relationship-based process into a managed, visible, auditable one. Beverage companies gain complete real-time visibility into empties positions across the network, which outlets have accumulated returnable stock, how quickly empties are moving back through the chain, and what the current liability is for the discount and promotional calculations tied to collection volumes. That visibility enables more accurate financial reconciliation, reduces the disputes that arise when empties volumes are estimated rather than tracked, and provides the data foundation for optimizing collection routes alongside forward delivery routes to minimize the transportation cost of the reverse logistics operation.

Ivy Mobility’s DSD platform supports digital empties tracking as part of its beverage-specific distribution capability, integrating collection data with order management, invoicing, and promotional discount calculations within a single system.

Is Your Demand Forecasting Accurate Enough to Protect Margins Through Seasonal Volatility?

Automation can help beverage manufacturers improve overall supply and demand management and forecasting. By leveraging accurate data on the amount of stock needed based on real-time demand, beverage companies can achieve better fulfillment.

Investing in intelligent AI & ML-driven technology can help beverage companies with relevant recommendations and forecast manufacturing requirements for the seasons ahead. Manufacturers can regulate excess production, and accurate recommendations can boost overall sales.

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Our industry experts have spent years mastering automation features that can boost sales for our beverage customers. Our solution architects are committed to creating features that work for the global and local markets alike. With seamless integrations and freedom for customizations, our solutions have helped many beverage companies across the globe to thrive.

If you’re a beverage manufacturer or distributor looking for solutions to help your business thrive, then you might want to take a demo with us to understand our capabilities. Book here.