"We are beginning to see the benefits from the large-scale reshaping that we started several months ago. We are pleased with our progress as we strive to be the premier consumer relationship organization."
Douglas Daft, Chairman and CEO
About The Company
MISSION OF COCA-COLA INTERNATIONAL
From our heritage to our mission to the people who bring our products to thirsty consumers, The Coca-Cola Company is a part of lives everywhere.
OUR MISSION IS TO MAXIMIZE SHARE-OWNER VALUE OVER TIME
In order to achieve this mission, we must create value for all the constituents we serve, including our consumers, our customers, our bottlers and our communities. The Coca-Cola Company creates value by executing a comprehensive business strategy guided by six key beliefs:
Consumer demand drives everything we do.
Brand Coca-Cola is the core of our business.
We will serve consumers a broad selection of the nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages they want to drink throughout the day.
We will be the best marketers in the world.
We will think and act locally.
We will lead as a model corporate citizen
OBJECTIVEThe ultimate objectives of our business strategy are to increase volume, expand our share of worldwide nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverage sales, maximize our long-term cash flows and
create economic-value-added by improving economic profit.
The Coca-Cola system has more than 16 million customers around the world that sell or serve our products directly to consumers. We keenly focus on enhancing value for these customers and helping them grow their beverage businesses. We strive to understand each customer's business and needs, whether that customer is a sophisticated retailer in a developed market or a kiosk owner in an emerging market.
There are nearly six billion people in the world who are potential consumers of our Company's products. Ultimately, our success in achieving our mission depends on our ability to satisfy more of their beverage consumption demands and our ability to add value for our customers. We achieve this when we place the right products in the right markets at the right time.
OUR PROFILE
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's leading manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, with world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company and its subsidiaries employ nearly 31,000 people around the world. Syrups, concentrates and beverage bases for Coca-Cola, the Company's flagship brand, and over 230 other Company soft-drink brands are manufactured and sold by The Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries in nearly 200 countries around the world.
By contract with The Coca-Cola Company or its local subsidiaries, local businesses are authorized to bottle and sell Company soft drinks within certain territorial boundaries and under conditions that ensure the highest standards of quality and uniformity.
THE COMPANY STOCK
The Coca-Cola Company stock, with ticker symbol KO, is listed and traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange. Common stock also is traded on the Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, Pacific and Philadelphia exchanges. Outside the United States, Company common stock is listed and traded on German and Swiss exchanges.
COMPANY'S OPERATING MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
The Company's operating management structure consists of five geographic groups. The North America Group comprises the United States and Canada. The Latin America Group includes the Company's operations across Central and South America, from Mexico to the tip of Argentina. The Greater Europe Group stretches from Greenland to Russia's Far East, including some of the most established markets in Western Europe and the rapidly growing nations of Eastern and Central Europe. The Africa and Middle East Group encompasses the Middle East and the entire continent of Africa. The Asia Pacific Group has operations from India through the Pacific region including China, Japan, and Australia.
The Minute Maid Company, the Company's juice business in Houston, Texas, is the world's leading marketer of juices and juice drinks. The Minute Maid Company's products include Minute Maid Premium Orange Juice with calcium, Minute Maid Premium Lemonade Iced Tea, Minute Maid Coolers, Hi-C Blast and Five Alive.
SOCIAL RESPONSIVENESS
The Coca-Cola Company has a commitment, more than a century old, to social responsibility through philanthropy and good citizenship. The Company's reputation for good corporate citizenship results from charitable donations, employee volunteerism, technical assistance and other demonstrations of support in thousands of communities worldwide.
The Coca-Cola Company continues to sponsor the world's most exciting sports events, including World Cup Soccer, the National Football League, National Basketball Association, NASCAR, the Tour de France, the Rugby World Cup, COPA America and numerous local sports teams. The Coca-Cola Company has sponsored the Olympic Games since 1928
Our Bottling System
One of The Coca-Cola Company's greatest strengths lies in its ability to conduct business on a global scale while maintaining a local approach. At the heart of this approach is the bottler system.
Our Company has business relationships with three types of bottlers:
(1) Independently owned bottlers, in which we have no ownership interest;
(2) Bottlers in which we have invested and have a no controlling ownership interest; and
(3) Bottlers in which we have invested and have a controlling ownership interest.
During 1999, independently owned bottling operations produced and distributed approximately 27 percent of our worldwide unit case volume. Bottlers in which we own a noncontrolling ownership interest produced and distributed approximately 58 percent of our 1999 worldwide unit case volume. Controlled bottling and fountain operations produced and distributed approximately 15 percent.We view certain bottling operations in which we have a noncontrolling ownership interest as key or anchor bottlers due to their level of responsibility and performance. The strong commitment of both key and anchor bottlers to their own profitable volume growth helps us meet our strategic goals and furthers the interests of our worldwide production, distribution and marketing systems. These bottlers tend to be large and geographically diverse, with strong financial resources for long-term investment and strong management resources. These bottlers give us strategic business partners on every major continent.
History Of coca-cola
The Coca-Cola Company is rich with history. Since 1886, we've been working to refresh people everywhere.
COCA-COLA YEAR BY YEAR
1886
The trademark "Coca-Cola" name and script are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Dr. Pemberton's partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, suggested the name and penned "Coca-Cola" in the unique flowing script that is famous worldwide today. Mr. Robinson thought "the two C's would look well in advertising."
1891
Atlanta entrepreneur Asa G. Candler acquires complete ownership of the Coca-Cola business for $2,300. Within four years, his merchandising flair helps expand consumption of Coca-Cola to every part of the nation.
1893
The trademark "Coca-Cola" name and script are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Dr. Pemberton's partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, suggested the name and penned "Coca-Cola" in the unique flowing script that is famous worldwide today. Mr. Robinson thought "the two C's would look well in advertising."
Coca-Cola began as a fountain product, but candy merchant Joseph A. Biedenharn of Mississippi was looking for a way to serve this refreshing beverage at picnics. He begins offering bottled Coca-Cola, using syrup shipped from Atlanta, during this especially busy summer.
1894
Coca-Cola began as a fountain product, but candy merchant Joseph A. Biedenharn of Mississippi was looking for a way to serve this refreshing beverage at picnics. He begins offering bottled Coca-Cola, using syrup shipped from Atlanta, during this especially busy summer.
1895
"Coca-Cola is now drunk in every state and territory in the U.S." - Asa Candler
1898
The Company outgrows its facilities and a new building is erected at Edgewood Avenue and College Street—later to be called "Coca-Cola Place." This year, the Company enters the markets of Canada and Mexico.
1899
Large-scale bottling becomes possible when Asa Candler grants exclusive rights to Joseph B. Whitehead and Benjamin F. Thomas of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for one dollar. The contract marks the beginning of The Coca-Cola Company's unique independent bottling system that remains the foundation of Company soft-drink operations. Within 20 years, the regional bottling system will grow to include 1,000 bottlers, with operations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Philippines and Guam.
1906
Cuba and Panama become the first two countries outside the U.S. to bottle Coca-Cola.
1915
Around this time, bottles used by companies in the soft-drink industry are very similar. And Coca-Cola has many imitators, which consumers are unable to identify until they take a sip. The answer is to create a distinct bottle for Coca-Cola, one that anyone would recognize, even if it was felt in the dark. As a result, the genuine Coca-Cola bottle with the contour shape now known around the world is developed by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana. It replaces the straight-sided bottle, giving Coca-Cola a distinct packaging advantage over the imitations.
1919
The Coca-Cola Company is sold for $25 million to Atlanta banker Ernest Woodruff and a group of investors. The same year, the Company's stock is first sold to the public at $40 a share. One of these original shares was worth about $6.7 million at the end of 1998 (assuming all dividends were reinvested).
1920
The Coca-Cola Company establishes a manufacturing operation in France. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes rules that Coca-Cola is a single thing coming from a single source and well-known to the community.
1923
Robert W. Woodruff, son of Ernest Woodruff, becomes president of The Coca-Cola Company. His insistence on quality and more than six decades of leadership take the business to unrivaled heights of commercial success, making Coca-Cola an institution the world over.
1926
The Foreign Department becomes a subsidiary later known as The Coca-Cola Export Corporation.
1928
Annual bottled Coca-Cola sales exceed fountain sales for the first time. Also this year, Coca-Cola makes its first Olympic appearance when 1,000 cases of Coke accompany the U.S. Olympic Team to Amsterdam.
1929
Sixty-four bottling operations are located in 28 countries, spreading refreshment worldwide. Also this year, the fountain glass is adopted as standard, and "The Pause that Refreshes" first appears in the Saturday Evening Post.
1933
The automatic fountain dispenser is introduced at the Chicago World's Fair. By simply pulling a handle, soda jerks can now serve uniform, properly refrigerated Coca-Cola.
1936
This year, The Coca-Cola Company observes its 50th anniversary. A three-day bottlers' convention, a motion picture chronicling the Company's early years, and even a special anniversary logo are part of the celebration.
1941
"Every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is and whatever it costs"—Robert Woodruff. Also this year, the trademark "Coke" first receives equal prominence in advertising with "Coca-Cola."
1942
"It's the Real Thing" is first used in Coke advertising. On December 25, The Coca-Cola Company, in cooperation with the War and Navy Departments, sponsors a special 12-hour radio broadcast to more than 142 stations. Titled "Uncle Sam's Christmas Tree," the program featured 43 popular orchestras live from 43 widely scattered military bases in the U.S.
1943
On June 29, General Dwight Eisenhower dispatches a cablegram requesting a shipment of 3 million bottles of Coca-Cola and complete equipment for bottling, washing, refilling and capping twice monthly.
1944
"Global High Sign" slogan is developed. And on New Year's Day, Sgt. William DeSchneider of Hackensack, New Jersey, wins a raffled bottle of Coca-Cola. The raffle, with chances selling for a quarter, raises about $4,000, or the equivalent of 80,000 bottles of Coca-Cola.
1945
"Coke" is registered as a trademark by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
1950
Edgar Bergen and his sidekick Charlie McCarthy appear on the first live network television show sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company.
1955
The 10-, 12-, and 26-ounce king-size and family-size bottles are introduced with immediate success. Fanta is launched in Naples, Italy. Today, Fanta is the #1 orange soft drink in the world.
1960
Metal cans like the ones sent to troops during the Korean War are now available on market shelves everywhere. Also this year, The Coca-Cola Company purchases The Minute Maid Company.
1961
Sprite, the lemon-lime drink, is introduced to the public.
1963
The Company introduces TAB, its first low-calorie drink, and "Things Go Better with Coke" can be seen in a variety of advertisements.
1969
"It's the Real Thing" makes a comeback.
1971
Young people from around the world gather on a hilltop in Italy to sing "I'd like to buy the world a Coke."
1976
"Coke Adds Life" campaign is introduced.
1977
The unique contour bottle, familiar to consumers everywhere, is granted registration as a trademark by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, an honor awarded to only a few other packages
1979
Coke introduces "Have a Coke and a Smile," a campaign of heartwarming emotion best captured by the television commercial featuring "Mean" Joe Greene, a tackle on the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.
1981
Roberto C. Goizueta is elected chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company. He will lead the Company for 16 years.
1982
The Coca-Cola Company introduces diet Coke to U.S. consumers, marking the first extension of the Company's most valuable trademark to another product. And the "Coke is it!" theme is translated and tailored to reach consumers everywhere as it is launched worldwide.
1985
In April, after extensive taste testing, the Company introduces a new taste for Coca-Cola in the United States and Canada—"new" Coke. Consumers respond with an unprecedented outpouring of loyalty and affection for the original formula, and the Company listens. In July, the Company reintroduces the original formula for Coca-Cola, as Coca-Cola classic. Also this year, Cherry Coke is introduced.
1986
In the year of the Company's 100th anniversary, two large U.S. bottlers combine to form Coca-Cola Enterprises. Over time, this new company will assume responsibility for bottling operations in Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
1988
An independent worldwide survey confirms that Coca-Cola is the best known, most admired trademark in the world.
1989
The Coca-Cola Company sells Columbia Pictures to Sony Corporation.
1990
World of Coca-Cola, an attraction featuring a historical and futuristic look at Coca-Cola as well as a chance to sample The Coca-Cola Company products from around the world, opens in Atlanta.
1994
M. Douglas Ivester is elected president and chief operating officer of The Coca-Cola Company.
1996
Coca-Cola sponsors the Summer Olympics in the hometown of The Coca-Cola Company: Atlanta, Georgia. And the Cisneros Bottling Company, the largest soft-drink bottler in Venezuela, switches from Pepsi to Coca-Cola.
1997
World of Coca-Cola Las Vegas opens, complete with a hundred-foot-tall Coca-Cola contour bottle. The Coca-Cola Company sponsors the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, marking the 70th anniversary of the Company's Olympic partnership. New products Citra and Surge hit the market. And M. Douglas Ivester is named chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company. He is the tenth chairman of the board in the Company's history.
1998
Sales of Coca-Cola and other Company products exceed 1 billion servings per day.
2000
Doug Daft elected Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Brands of Coca-Cola
The products of The Coca-Cola Company touch lives everywhere. Our core brands have made an impact around the world; brands such as Fanta, Sprite and of course, Coca-Cola, are available and recognized in many countries. Each of our other brands are distributed in one or more countries, and is tailored to the cultures and tastes of those consumers. So wherever you are, you're sure to find a Coca-Cola product to enjoy.
Financial Report of Coca-Cola International of Year 1999
OUR BUSINESS
We are the world's leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. Our Company manufactures beverage concentrates and syrups and, in certain instances, finished beverages, which we sell to bottling and canning operations, authorized fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers. We also market and distribute juice and juice-drink products. In addition, we have ownership interests in numerous bottling and canning operations.
VOLUME
We measure our sales volume in two ways: (1) gallon sales and (2) unit cases of finished products. Gallon sales represent our primary business and measure the volume of concentrates and syrups we sell to our bottling partners or customers, plus the gallon sales equivalent of the juice and juice-drink products sold by The Minute Maid Company. Most of our revenues are based on this measure of wholesale activity. We also measure volume in unit cases, which represent the amount of finished products we and our bottling system sell to customers. We believe unit case volume more accurately measures the underlying strength of our business system because it measures trends at the retail level. We include in both measures fountain syrups sold by the Company to customers directly or through wholesalers or distributors. The Company now includes products sold by The Minute Maid Company in its calculations of unit case volume and gallon sales. Accordingly, all historical unit case volume data in this report reflect the inclusion of these products. In all years presented, the impact on our unit case volume and gallon sales was not material.
Against a challenging economic environment in many of our key markets, our worldwide unit case volume increased nearly 2 percent in 1999, on top of a 6 percent increase in 1998. Approximately 1 percentage point of the increase in unit case volume in 1999 was attributable to the Cadbury Schweppes brands acquired during the second half of 1999. Our business system sold 16.5 billion unit cases in 1999.
INVESTMENTS
With a business system that operates locally in nearly 200 countries and generates superior cash flows, we consider our Company to be uniquely positioned to capitalize on profitable investment opportunities. Our criteria for investment are simple: new investments must directly enhance our existing operations and must be expected to provide cash returns that exceed our long-term, after-tax, weighted-average cost of capital, currently estimated at approximately 11 percent.
Because it consistently generates high returns, the beverage business is a particularly attractive investment for us. In highly developed markets, our expenditures focus primarily on marketing our Company's brands. In emerging and developing markets, our objective is to increase the penetration of our products. In these markets, we allocate most of our investments to enhancing infrastructure such as production facilities, distribution networks, sales equipment and technology. We make these investments by forming strategic business alliances with local bottlers and by matching local expertise with our experience, resources and focus. Our investment strategy focuses on three fundamental components of our business: marketing, brands and our bottling system.
MARKETING
To meet our long-term growth objectives, we make significant investments in marketing to support our brands. Marketing investments enhance consumer awareness and increase consumer preference for our brands. This produces long-term growth in volume, per capita consumption and our share of worldwide nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverage sales.
We heighten consumer awareness and product appeal for our brands using integrated marketing programs. Through our bottling investments and strategic alliances with other bottlers of our products, we create and implement these programs locally. In developing a strategy for a Company brand, we conduct product and packaging research, establish brand positioning, develop precise consumer communications and solicit consumer feedback. Our integrated marketing programs include activities such as advertising, point-of-sale merchandising and product sampling.
BRANDS
We compete in the nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverage business. Our offerings in this category include some of the world's most valuable brands, 232 in all. These include soft drinks and noncarbonated beverages such as sports drinks, juice and juice drinks, water products, teas and coffees. As discussed earlier, to meet our long-term growth objectives, we make significant investments to support our brands. This involves investments to support existing brands and to acquire new brands, when appropriate.
In July 1999, we completed the acquisition of Cadbury Schweppes plc beverage brands in 155 countries for approximately $700 million. These brands included Schweppes, Canada Dry, Dr Pepper, Crush and certain regional brands. Among the countries excluded from this transaction were the United States, South Africa, Norway, Switzerland and the European Union member nations (other than the United Kingdom, Ireland and Greece). In September 1999, we completed the acquisition of Cadbury Schweppes beverage brands in New Zealand for approximately $20 million. Also in September 1999, in a separate transaction valued at approximately $250 million, we acquired the carbonated soft drink business of Cadbury Schweppes (South Africa) Limited in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. Our acquisitions of Cadbury Schweppes beverage brands are still pending in several countries, subject to certain conditions including regulatory review.
In December 1997, our Company announced its intent to acquire from beverage company Pernod Ricard its Orangina brands, three bottling operations and one concentrate plant in France for approximately 5 billion French francs. The transaction was rejected by regulatory authorities of the French government in November 1999.
BOTTLING SYSTEM
Our Company has business relationships with three types of bottlers: (1) independently owned bottlers, in which we have no ownership interest; (2) bottlers in which we have invested and have a noncontrolling ownership interest; and (3) bottlers in which we have invested and have a controlling ownership interest.
During 1999, independently owned bottling operations produced and distributed approximately 27 percent of our worldwide unit case volume. Bottlers in which we own a noncontrolling ownership interest produced and distributed approximately 58 percent of our 1999 worldwide unit case volume. Controlled bottling and fountain operations produced and distributed approximately 15 percent.
We view certain bottling operations in which we have a noncontrolling ownership interest as key or anchor bottlers due to their level of responsibility and performance. The strong commitment of both key and anchor bottlers to their own profitable volume growth helps us meet our strategic goals and furthers the interests of our worldwide production, distribution and marketing systems. These bottlers tend to be large and geographically diverse, with strong financial resources for long-term investment and strong management resources. These bottlers give us strategic business partners on every major continent.
Consistent with our strategy, in January 1999, two Japanese bottlers, Kita Kyushu Coca-Cola Bottling Company Ltd. and Sanyo Coca-Cola Bottling Company Ltd., announced plans for a merger to become a new, publicly traded bottling company, Coca-Cola West Japan Company Ltd. The transaction, which was completed in July 1999 and was valued at approximately $2.2 billion, created our first anchor bottler in Japan. As of December 31, 1999, we owned approximately 5 percent of this new anchor bottler.
In 1998, Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. (Coca-Cola Amatil) completed a spin-off of its European operations into a new publicly traded European anchor bottler, Coca-Cola Beverages plc (Coca-Cola Beverages). On December 31, 1999, we owned approximately 50.5 percent of Coca-Cola Beverages. Our expectation is that we will reduce our ownership position to less than 50 percent in 2000; therefore, we are accounting for the investment by the equity method of accounting.
Historically, in certain situations, we have viewed it to be advantageous for our Company to acquire a controlling interest in a bottling operation. Owning such a controlling interest allowed us to compensate for limited local resources and enabled us to help focus the bottler's sales and marketing programs, assist in developing its business and information systems and establish appropriate capital structures.
In July 1999, our Company acquired from Fraser and Neave Limited its 75 percent ownership interest in F&N Coca-Cola Pte Limited (F&N Coca-Cola). Prior to the acquisition, our Company held a 25 percent equity interest in F&N Coca-Cola. Acquisition of Fraser and Neave Limited's 75 percent stake gave our Company full ownership of F&N Coca-Cola. F&N Coca-Cola holds a majority ownership in bottling operations in Brunei, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Vietnam.
In line with our long-term bottling strategy, we periodically consider options for reducing our ownership interest in a bottler. One option is to combine our bottling interests with the bottling interests of others to form strategic business alliances. Another option is to sell our interest in a bottling operation to one of our equity investee bottlers. In both of these situations, we continue participating in the bottler's earnings through our portion of the equity investee's income.
As stated earlier, our investments in a bottler can represent either a noncontrolling or a controlling interest. Through noncontrolling investments in bottling companies, we provide expertise and resources to strengthen those businesses.
In 1999, we increased our interest in Embotelladora Arica S.A., a bottler headquartered in Chile, from approximately 17 percent to approximately 45 percent.
Our bottling investments generally have been profitable over time. Equity income or loss, included in our consolidated net income, represents our share of the net earnings or losses of our investee companies. In 1999, our Company's share of losses from equity method investments totaled $184 million. For a more complete discussion of these investments, refer to Note 2 in our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The following table illustrates the difference in calculated fair values, based on quoted closing prices of publicly traded shares, and our Company's carrying values for selected equity method investees (in millions):
FINANCIAL STRATEGIES
The following strategies allow us to optimize our cost of capital, increasing our ability to maximize share-owner value.
DEBT FINANCING
Our Company maintains debt levels we consider prudent based on our cash flow, interest coverage and percentage of debt to capital. We use debt financing to lower our overall cost of capital, which increases our return on share-owners' equity.
Our capital structure and financial policies have earned long-term credit ratings of "A+" from Standard & Poor's and "Aa3" from Moody's, and a credit rating of "A-1" and "P-1" for our commercial paper programs from Standard & Poor's and Moody's, respectively.
Our global presence and strong capital position give us easy access to key financial markets around the world, enabling us to raise funds with a low effective cost. This posture, coupled with the active management of our mix of short-term and long-term debt, results in a lower overall cost of borrowing. Our debt management policies, in conjunction with our share repurchase programs and investment activity, typically result in current liabilities exceeding current assets.
In managing our use of debt capital, we consider the following financial measurements and ratios:
SHARE REPURCHASE
In October 1996, our Board of Directors authorized a plan to repurchase up to 206 million shares of our Company's common stock through the year 2006. In 1999, we did not repurchase any shares under the 1996 plan due primarily to our utilization of cash for our recent brand and bottler acquisitions.
We do not anticipate the repurchase of any shares under the 1996 plan during the first half of the year 2000. This is due to our anticipated utilization of cash for an organizational realignment and the projected impact on cash from the planned reduction in concentrate inventory levels at selected bottlers. We intend to reevaluate our cash needs during the second half of the year.
Since the inception of our initial share repurchase program in 1984 through our current program as of December 31, 1999, we have repurchased more than 1 billion shares. This represents 32 percent of the shares outstanding as of January 1, 1984, at an average price per share of $12.46.
DIVIDEND POLICY
At its February 2000 meeting, our Board of Directors again increased our quarterly dividend, raising it to $.17 per share. This is equivalent to a full-year dividend of $.68 in 2000, our 38th consecutive annual increase. Our annual common stock dividend was $.64 per share, $.60 per share and $.56 per share in 1999, 1998 and 1997, respectively.
In 1999, our dividend payout ratio was approximately 65 percent of our net income, reflecting the impact of the other operating charges recorded in the fourth quarter. To free up additional cash for reinvestment in our high-return beverage business, our Board of Directors intends to gradually reduce our dividend payout ratio to 30 percent over time.
FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT
Our Company uses derivative financial instruments primarily to reduce our exposure to adverse fluctuations in interest rates and foreign exchange rates and, to a lesser extent, adverse fluctuations in commodity prices and other market risks. We do not enter into derivative financial instruments for trading purposes. As a matter of policy, all our derivative positions are used to reduce risk by hedging an underlying economic exposure. Because of the high correlation between the hedging instrument and the underlying exposure, fluctuations in the value of the instruments are generally offset by reciprocal changes in the value of the underlying exposure. The derivatives we use are straightforward instruments with liquid markets.
Our Company monitors our exposure to financial market risks using several objective measurement systems, including value-at-risk models. For the value-at-risk calculations discussed below, we used a historical simulation model to estimate potential future losses our Company could incur as a result of adverse movements in foreign currency and interest rates. We have not considered the potential impact of favorable movements in foreign currency and interest rates on our calculations. We examined historical weekly returns over the previous 10 years to calculate our value at risk. Our value-at-risk calculations do not represent actual losses that our Company expects to incur.
FOREIGN CURRENCY
We manage most of our foreign currency exposures on a consolidated basis, which allows us to net certain exposures and take advantage of any natural offsets. With approximately 70 percent of 1999 operating income generated outside the United States, weakness in one particular currency is often offset by strengths in others over time. We use derivative financial instruments to further reduce our net exposure to currency fluctuations.
Our Company enters into forward exchange contracts and purchases currency options (principally European currencies and Japanese yen) to hedge firm sale commitments denominated in foreign currencies. We also purchase currency options (principally European currencies and Japanese yen) to hedge certain anticipated sales. Premiums paid and realized gains and losses, including those on any terminated contracts, are included in prepaid expenses and other assets. These are recognized in income, along with unrealized gains and losses, in the same period we realize the hedged transactions. Gains and losses on derivative financial instruments that are designated and effective as hedges of net investments in international operations are included in share-owners' equity as a foreign currency translation adjustment, a component of other comprehensive income.
Our value-at-risk calculation estimates foreign currency risk on our derivatives and other financial instruments. The average value at risk represents the simple average of quarterly amounts for the past year. We have not included in our calculation the effects of currency movements on anticipated foreign currency denominated sales and other hedged transactions. We performed calculations to estimate the impact to the fair values of our derivatives and other financial instruments over a one-week period resulting from an adverse movement in foreign currency exchange rates. As a result of our calculations, we estimate with 95 percent confidence that the fair values would decline by less than $71 million using 1999 average fair values and by less than $56 million using December 31, 1999, fair values. On December 31, 1998, we estimated the fair value would decline by less than $60 million. However, we would expect that any loss in the fair value of our derivatives and other financial instruments would generally be offset by an increase in the fair value of our underlying exposures.
INTEREST RATES
Our Company maintains our percentage of fixed and variable rate debt within defined parameters. We enter into interest rate swap agreements that maintain the fixed-to-variable mix within these parameters. We recognize any differences paid or received on interest rate swap agreements as adjustments to interest expense over the life of each swap.
Our value-at-risk calculation estimates interest rate risk on our derivatives and other financial instruments. The average value at risk represents the simple average of quarterly amounts for the past year. According to our calculations, we estimate with 95 percent confidence that any increase in our average and in our December 31, 1999, net interest expense due to an adverse move in interest rates over a one-week period would not have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements. Our December 31, 1998, estimate also was not material to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
PERFORMANCE TOOLS
Economic profit provides a framework by which we measure the value of our actions. We define economic profit as income from continuing operations, after giving effect to taxes and excluding the effects of interest, in excess of a computed capital charge for average operating capital employed.
We use value-based management (VBM) as a tool to help improve our performance in planning and execution. VBM principles assist us in managing economic profit by clarifying our understanding of what creates value and what destroys it and encouraging us to manage for increased value. With VBM, we determine how best to create value in every area of our business. We believe that by using VBM as a planning and execution tool, and economic profit as a performance measurement tool, we greatly enhance our ability to build share-owner value over time.
We seek to maximize economic profit by strategically investing in the high-return beverage business and by optimizing our cost of capital through appropriate financial policies.
TOTAL RETURN TO SHARE OWNERS
Our Company has provided share owners with an excellent return on their investments over the past decade. A $100 investment in our Company's common stock on December 31, 1989, together with reinvested dividends, grew in pretax value to approximately $681 on December 31, 1999, an average annual compound return of 21 percent.
History Of Coca-Cola In Pakistan
Coca-Cola is being produced and consumed in 48 countries of the world. The areas covered by Coke are divided into various zones and territories. In one zone or territory, there are 12-15 countries. South West Asia region includes:
Pakistan
India
Philippines
Thailand
Hong Kong
Burma
Maldives
At present, Coca-Cola is No. 2 in Pakistan sales wise and market share after Pepsi, which is the market leader. But overall in the world, Coca-Cola is No. 1.
The head office of South West Asia region is in Lahore.
In Pakistan, there are 11 territories where the franchised units produce and sell Coca-Cola. Some of these territories are:
Lahore
Karachi
Rawalpindi
Peshawar
Hyderabad
Multan
Rahim Yar Khan, etc.
Out of these 11 territories 8 territories have been purchased by Coca-Cola international now in Pakistan. Most of the territories in India and Pakistan now have been operated by Coca-Cola International itself.
Multan Beverages
In Multan, the franchise unit was established in 1964, with the wish or struggle to make it easy to distribute Coke in different areas and to make it No. 1 in the market, and with the hope that it will play a great role in increasing the production and to make it popular in all over the country.
PRODUCT RANGE
In their product range, they have three categories, i.e. Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite, which are further divided into different packing units. They are 175ml, 250ml, 300NR, 1 litre, 1.5 liter plastic and 2.0 liter plastic. Now they are also considering to introduce Plastic bottle of 1 liter.
AREA COVERED BY MULTAN BEVERAGES
Multan Beverages covers the areas of:
Multan City
Pakpattan
Sahiwal
Dera Ghazi Khan
Rajan Pur and on that side it covers the area to the Ziarat in Balochistan.
It covers certain other urban and rural areas in Punjab and Baluchistan also.
Company Objectives
Multan Beverages wants to achieve the following goals:
To maintain the quality of product. Product should be supplied in the market in such a way that it must fulfill the consumer desires.
To fulfill their sales projections.
To maintain their repute
To maintain their relations with distributors whose network is spread all over the area.
To make Coca-Cola products No. 1 in Pakistan.
Coca-Cola International In India And PakistanAs Coca-Cola is market leader in the world but in Pakistan and India its situation is not so good as compared to other countries of the world. All over the world it is No. 1 but in these territories it is No. 2 in market share and sales. That's why Coca-Cola international decided to purchase these territories.
The first plant which is purchased by Coca-Cola international in Pakistan is Karachi Plant that purchase was committed in 1996. They want to purchase further plants but due to political instability in Pakistan they stopped. But in 1999 company decided to purchase other plants. And in January 2000 almost all Plants of Pakistan had been purchased by Coca-Cola international. A new company was established in Pakistan. And they named it as The Coca-Cola Export Corporation (TCCEC) and to operate it locally its name is Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited (CCBPL).
On 22nd January 2000 hand over of Multan Plant took place and its new name is Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited, Multan Plant.
Mission of CCBPL, Multan Plant.
At the time of equisition the market share of Multan Plant as compared to Pepsi Cola is very small. i.e. only 12% to 15% of the total market. Mission of the plant is to be the market leader.
CHANGES IN MULTAN PLANT
After the purchase of plants in Pakistan coca-cola beverages fire almost all of the employees working in the old setups. And they rehired some of these and other personnel on the basis of their competencies they have from other organizations of beverages field and experienced people from other multinational organizations e.g. Liver Brothers etc.
Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited made number of changes in the Multan Plant and in Other plants. Some of these changes are structural in nature and some are related to operations of the system.
Now instead of Managing Director of organization, Business Operations Manager (BOM) is the head of organization. And Mr. Aamir Altaf Qureshi is appointed as the BOM in Multan.
They made number of changes in Production system, Marketing system etc. for the improvement in quality. They purchased new fool proof bottles washing system in which almost every bottle remains in the process for one and a half hour. That step increased the quality of the product and shows the concern of the company for the society and consumers in Pakistan.
Business Operations Manager (BOM)
Business Operations Manager is responsible for all the operations of Multan Plant. In Multan Plant Mr. Aamir Altaf Qurashi is BOM of the organization.
He is a Chemical Engineer from United States and very experienced in the field of Beverages as doing work in that field for almost 10 years. As he is Chemical Engineer so he know all the procedures of production and that's why he is able to handle all operations of the Production. He is also considered as the big boss of the production department.
Now we shall discuss responsiblities and structure of each department one by one
New structure of Coca-Cola Multan Plant
We can divide the whole organization of Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited Multan Plant into 5 (Five) major departments these are
Sales and Marketing Department
Administration Department
Finance Department
Logistic Department
Technical Department
Let we discuss each of these departments in detail:SALES AND MARKETING DEPARTMENT:
On the whole sales and marketing department is consist of thirty-seven (37) employees. As mentioned in the organ gram of the CCBPL, Multan Plant Mr. Usman Zaffar Butt is the Head of the department. He is a competent person in the field of marketing. You may able to better understand the structure of Sales and Marketing Department of CCBPL, by that figure
SALES & MARKETING MANAGER
Mr. Usman Zaffar Butt is the head of the Sales and Marketing Department of Multan Plant. His responsibilities are to co-ordinate the activities of sales department and of Marketing Department. He assist the regional sales managers for the sale in their regions. And also assist marketing manager for running the marketing activities smoothly.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE SALES AREA OF MULTAN PLANT
The whole area of Multan Plant is devided into three (3) broad regions these are Multan, Sahiwal and Dera Ghazi Khan.
Multan Region
Mr. Ali Navaiz is the Sales Manager of the Multan. He is responsible for the sale in Multan Region. The whole Multan region is further divided into to areas these are named as Multan Base and Multan District. The whole Multan city including old city is the part of Multan Base. While Multan District consists of all neighbouring areas of Multan city e.g. Bodla, Makhdoom Rashid, Muzaffar Garh etc.
For the co-ordination of Mr. Ali Navaiz there are two Area Sales Managers for each area of Multan Region. These are Imran Hashmi for Multan Base and Mr. Ali Aamir for Multan District. And these both have number of Market Development Officers (MDO's) for the development of the market.
Basically for sales purposes the whole territory of Multan region and other regions is divided into many small parts and for each part we have a separate distributor i.e. for Multan Cantt we have Sardar Qayyum & Co. and for M.D.A.
Chowk we have Niazi Traders as distributors. For every two distributors normally the company offers the services of one Marketing Development Officer. For that company get two types of benefits
With the help of these MDO's company come to know the actual situation of the market from the mouth of their own employees.
And company provide assistance to the distributor for achieving the sales targets.
Sahiwal RegionMr. Kaleem Bukhari is Sales Manager of that region. He is also a graduate from our department. He completed his studies from the department in 1989. He is really a co-operative man. During my stay at Coca-Cola he really helps me in understanding the culture of the organization. Which remains helpful for me for the period.
Sahiwal Region covers the area of Sahiwal City, Jahanian, Khanewal etc.
As in Multan region there are two Area Sales Managers for the co-ordination of Regional Sales Manager similarly there are also two Area Sales Manager in Sahiwal. According to the sale Sahiwal Region is best among the whole territory of Multan Plant.
These two ASM's are Mr. Mubeen and Mr. Ejaz Hussain. They are hard working people. Due to their hard work distributors of that region are able to achieve the sale targets.
The remain departmental structure of the Sahiwal Region is exactly similar to that of Multan Region.
Dera Ghazi Khan Region
The Regional Sales Manager of Dera Ghazi Khan Region is Mr. Muhammad Jamshed. He is really a simple man. During my stay at Coca-Cola Multan he always co-operate me like an elder brother.
The D.G. Khan Region covered the area from Muzaffar Garh to Raja Pur and Ziarat is also in the territory of D.G. Khan.
As in other two regions D.G. Khan has also two Area Sales Managers for the co-ordination of Regional Sales Manager. These are Hamad-EL-Samee and Azhar Ansari.
MARKETING DEPARTMENT
As mentioned in the organ gram of Sales and Marketing Department it is basically a subpart of Sales and Marketing Department. Basically the task is divided into two parts on is sales and the other is Marketing. Marketing in CCBPL means the co-ordination of the sales department. The basic task of the marketing department is the distribution of company assets in the market in the form of Deep Freezer, Visi Cooler, Chest Cooler or in the form of Cabins, boards, hoardings etc. And they are also responsible for the proper maintenance of the record of these assets. i.e. they have to maintain the record that which asset is where and in which condition and how many assets we have in the store, they also responsible for the distribution of assets among different regions. When a new lot of deep freezer came to plant by TCCEC then marketing department distribute these assets among different regions according to their requirement and their sale.
Finance Department
Finance Department is responsible for proper flow of cash and for the controlling of financial assets of the organization. The budget is allocated by TCCEC (The Coca-Cola Export Corporation) for the period of month or two and finance manager of TCCEC of and on came there to check the financial activities.
On the whole Finance Department consists of 16 (Sixteen Employees).
They all are hard working and loyal to the organization. The structure of finance department is as follows:
The responsibilities of Finance Department can be to some extent understandable by the chart. Four departments are directly reporting to the accounts manager. These are MIS (Management Information System) department, Store, Excise, and Cash department. Let's now we see the responsibilities of these departments separately.
Store
The store in charge give the present situation of the equipments and material in the store. There are three types of stores in Coca-Cola. One is located in the factory where we store equipments and material like tissue paper boxes, soaps, ballpoints, ink etc. of daily usage. And every purchase which comes into the factory premises first added to the store registers. Then it is submitted to the concerned department.
Second store is located near to the factory in a separate building. This is called the store for marketing assets. Every type of breakage of bottles is submitted in that store and new assets of company like D/F, V/C are also stored in that store. New crates of wood are also manufactured there. For that purpose there is a small workshop. The incharge of that store give report to the store incharge of factory which then submit that report to the Accounts Manager.
Third type of store is located on the Vehari Road near the B.C.G. Chowk at approximately half kilometers distance. That is a store of finished goods i.e. filled bottles came there from the factory and from there the distributors get there orders. The incharge of that store is directly reporting to Accounts Manager.
MIS (Management Information System) Department
MIS department is responsible for the generation of reports for each department i.e. for production department about the situation of empty and syrup. Report of Manufactured stock for the sales coordinator. And these reports are also submitted to the BOM and to the Accounts Manager. On the basis of these reports Management make decisions about the production, sales and different matters.
This department is also responsible for the development of computer programs for all departments. That department is consists of only two employees one is MIS Manager and the other is his Assistant. Management information System Manager in Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited, Multan Plant is Mr. Rizwan Graduate from a private computer institute of Multan City. He developed different programs for the preparation of daily reports for management.
Cash Room
Cash Room is like a bank. It makes the transaction of cash possible for the company. Mr. Khalid Khan controls that department. Coca-Cola made payments in two ways one through check and other in the form of cash. The payment which is made through check is issued by Accounts department itself while cash payments are given to the vendors from that cash room. For example Coca-Cola pay to daily wagers in the form of cash and that payment is made through that cash room. While the pay of permanent employees is automatically transferred to their accounts. And cash room is also responsible for the collection of cash from distributors for their purchases.
Excise Office
That office is on the gate of factory that is controlled by Excise Attorney which is an employee of the Government of Pakistan. He is there for the collection of taxes. To smoothning the flow of cash to the taxes The Coca-Cola Export Corporation arranges an equipment for each plant which can count the No. of crates loaded in the truck which is going out of the factory. In that way the proper flow of cash to the Government is possible without any embiguity. Excise Attorney is not directly reporting to the Accounts Manager. But he can solve his problems by consulting Accounts Manager.
Technical Department
On the whole there are thirty (30) permanent employees working in the Technical or Production department. And also number of daily wagers are also working in the department.
There are number of processes takes place in Technical department like washing of empty bottles, preparation of syrup, chilling and filling plant. That is purely a technical department most of the employees in the department are technical and others are operative people.
The structure of Technical or Production Department is given below:
There is a Quality Assurance Manager who is responsible for all the operations of the Technical department. In Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited Multan Plant Quality Assurance Manager is Mr. Jaffar Hussain. He is a competent man. Due to his hard working and commitment to the work Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited Multan Plant is able to achieve these targets.
There is also two Shift Chemists separate for day and night shifts. There is a lab in the production department, which is responsible for the assurance of proper quantity of sugar, syrup, water in each bottle after every 500 regular bottles they check one bottle for the assurance.
PRODUCTION PROCESS
The production process of Coca-Cola takes place in only one department because it is not a very big plant or the production of cold drink does not require lengthy or time consuming procedures.
The theoretical capacity of the plant is 24 hours a day, which means that three shifts of production, each consisting of 8 hours, can be run in a day. The requirement or demand of cold drinks has a seasonal trend. So in case there is a greater demand for the drink, the plant is operated 24 hours a day using 3 shifts, i.e. its theoretical capacity. During the whole year, in working days, at least two shifts are run daily.
The plant consists of four major components; namely the washer, filler, chiller and the water treatment plant.
For production process, the very first thing required is empty bottles. The vehicles or delivery vans bring the empty bottles to the production department. Bottles are taken out of the crates and placed on a conveyer belt. This portion of the plant is called De-caser. From de-caser, the conveyer belt takes the bottles to the washer. Between washer and de-caser, the bottles are sorted in two rows. A person is standing there to pick the straws left in the bottles. After that the bottles pass through a section, where bright light falls on the bottles. One person is standing on either side of the rows to observe if there is any breakage in the bottles. These bottles are taken out from the rows and set aside. After that, the bottles are moved to a large deck from where the bottles are picked up and put into the washer automatically.Before loading into the washer, the bottles keep on depositing there and stay there for at least 10 minutes.
In the washer, the bottles are treated with steam, chemicals and water. The washer is designed in such a way that there is no chance for any dirt or contamination remaining on the bottle. But even then, after passing through the washer, another person inspects the bottles and if anyone found suspicious, it is immediately separated from others and sent back through another conveyer belt.
In another section of the department, water is purified and hygienically standardized through a treatment plant. In another room which is called CO2 room, liquid carbon dioxide is put into the machine. Another room, where the concentrate and sugar are also put into process, takes them to the mixer. In CO2 room and the room where concentrate and sugar are put into process, meters are there which note the quantity of CO2 and concentrate consumed during the period.
In the mixer, fixed proportions of water, sugar and concentrate are mixed together. This mixture or syrup is then passed through another part of the plant where CO2 is mixed with pressure. Now the syrup is ready to be filled into the bottle.
The syrup is automatically transferred to the filler. The conveyer belt containing empty bottles passes through the filler.The filler fills the bottles with syrup. The next portion of the plant puts the crown on the bottle. After that, the bottle is ready, but before passing out, the bottles are once again checked and if any bottle is found broken, under-filled or improperly closed, it is taken out and sent back.
After that the bottles are ready to be put into crates and these are loaded into the vehicles and sent to the distributors or retailers.
PRODUCTION RATE
During whole of the process, a bottles takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to pass through all the process, and when the production stops, then the last bottle sent on the conveyer belt is ready after one and a half hour. So the total production time consumes about one and half hour extra. The same plant is used for filling Sprite and Fanta bottles.So for this purpose, the production process is to be stopped, syrup/mixture is changed and new bottles (Fanta or Sprite) are loaded onto the conveyer belt. This changing of the bottles is called Change Over, and for this purpose, the whole production is stopped, completed and then started again. So this changing over requires one and half hour extra time. In this way the total production time can be calculated.
The filler fills about 3-4 bottles in a second which gives an average of 200 bottles a minute. So if the total production time is known, we can easily calculate the units produced during a shift or a day.
The production quantity can also be determined by another way. The total empty bottles received from the loading department are noted, then the bottles broken, taken out due to dirtiness, breakage, improper filling or free drinkage are noted at the end of the day or shift. These are totaled and subtracted from the total empty bottles. This gives the number of bottles filled during the shift. It can also be tallied with the number of filled bottles received by the loading department.
Logistic Department
Logistic department is basically the combination of two departments these are logistic and shipping department. The whole transports and vehicles are arranged and maintained by logistic department. And shipping department is responsible for the maintenance of inventory of empty bottles.
On the whole logistic department is consists of 27 permanent employees. And rest of the employees work on daily wages.
The structure of Logistic Department is given below:
RESPONSIBILITIES OF LOGISTIC DEPARTMENT
As I mentioned earlier logistic department is basically for the purchase and maintenance of new vehicles. For that purpose they have a workshop for heavy-duty vehicles and for cars in the factory. And for the motor cycles they made arrangement with a workshop from where employees get work done and payment will be made by the factory at the end of the month.
TYPES OF VEHICLES IN THE FACTORY
There are basically four major types of vehicles in the factory. These are
Motor Cycles for Market Development Officers (Sales Staff)
Cars for Management
Vans for Loading
Loader Machine
Coca-Cola offers a motorbike and 60 liters of petrol per month to each Market Development officer (MDO). And the maintenance of the motorbike is also the responsibility of company. The issuance and maintenance of these motorbikes is also the responsibility of logistic department. If a new employee is employed in the sales department as MDO then marketing or sales department send a request for motorbike to the logistic department and if logistic department has any extra motorbike then they issue that one to that employee otherwise they purchase a new motorbike for that employee.Coca-Cola also offers cars for the management. Coca-Cola Multan plant has approximately 15 cars for management. 1300 CC car is only allowed to BOM (Business Operations Manager) and all departmental heads can use 1000 CC car. The issuance and maintenance of these cars is the responsibility of logistic department. Logistic department is also responsible to maintain the record of petrol consumption of each motorbike and car. For the purpose of petrol Coca-Cola International Multan Plant arranged an agreement with a petrol pump of shell near the factory from where any employ can filled his vehicle by giving a slip which is issued by logistic department.
Vans are also there in the Coca-Cola Multan Plant. These are for the purpose of supply of crates to the places where cases are issued directly by the factory such as Police Commissioners and these vans are also used to supply assets of factory to the shops like Deep Freezers, Visi Coolers, Chest Coolers etc.
Loader Machines are used in shipping department. These are used to load and unload the trucks etc. For the maintenance of these vehicles and cars a workshop is present in the factory where many competent mechanics were employed to assure the proper maintenance and working of these vehicles.
Purchase Department
The responsibility of Purchase Department is to purchase every sort of requirements of different department but they are not responsible for some technical requirement like empty is managed by TCCEC or shipping department itself. The work procedure of purchase department is like that if a department want to purchase any thing he will prepare a purchase requisition on this requisition the signature of departmental head, BOM and of Financial Manager is necessary. Then this requisition will sent to the Purchase department where they prepare a work order and give one copy of this work order to the shopkeeper who is producing the product and one copy will sent to concerned department and one will remain in the purchase department to receive the amount of that work vendor should contact to the finance department for the payment or for the check with the slip of work order.
Purchase department consists of only two employees one is Purchase Manager and other is his Assistant.
Purchase Manager of Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited Multan Plant is Mr. Nasir Abbas and Mr. Naeem is his Assistant.
Administration Department
The responsibility of Administration department in Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited, Multan Plant is the administration of all sort of formal and informal activities. In formal activities the maintenance of attendance sheet of daily wagers, which is then shifted to the finance department where they made salaries for these employees on the basis of there attendance at the end of the week or month. For that purpose there are gate keepers who are also responsible for the issuance of entry cards to the visitors and they maintain the record when an employee comes in the factory and when he leaves either he is on official duty or going out for his private work.
On the whole Administration Department is consist of eleven employees. The structure of Administration Department is given below.
My attendance record is also maintained by Admin Department. Attendance sheet after 20 min. of morning time is presented to the BOM (Business Operations Manager) and he checks who came in time and who are not. And he personally ultimate the habitual employee.
My Activities at CCBPL, Multan Plant
I spent almost 6 weeks in the CCBPL, Multan Plant during my stay I experienced many things at the plant. I got many type of practical experiences especially my study of MIS (Management Information System) is proved very helpful in understanding situations and developing the solutions for these situations. I experienced that whatever we are studying in our MBA courses these things are practically applied there and the perception of the students that these things are only written in the books these are not practically applicable in the business world is wrong. I feel organizations apply all these things but there is a slight difference due to the variation in situation and requirement of that organization. For example in finance department every organization has its own form of activities due to the different sort of requirements. And in Marketing some products are lightly based on Marketing Activities but some organizations are highly marketing oriented, their totally sales are dependent on the efforts of marketing department so these organization give more emphasis to the marketing activities while a capital intensive industry give more emphasis to the financial activities.
CCBPL, Multan Plant is one of the organizations where Marketing efforts are of most importance. And I am lucky in the sense that I got the chance to do work in the Marketing Department for most of the time of my stay at CCBPL, Multan Plant.
IN FINANCE DEPARTMENT
I spent almost one and a half week in the finance department. It is very difficult for a person to fully understand the procedures of finance department in a short period. But during my stay I tried my best to understand the way of doing work in finance department. Which I already explained in the introduction section of finance department.
IN MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM DEPARTMENT
I spent almost two weeks in the MIS Department. I did work there under the assistance of Mr. Rizwan who is MIS Manager in CCBPL, Multan Plant. During my stay at CCBPL, Multan Plant he is developing program for Marketing Department to maintain the record of Company Assets. As I had the experience of doing work in the Marketing Department so management sent me to the Marketing department for the assistance of Mr. Rizwan as I to some extant know the requirements of Marketing Department. I helped Mr. Rizwan in preparing that program for the Marketing Department.
IN MARKETING DEPARTMENT
I spent most of the time in the Marketing Department CCBPL, Multan Plant. Because at that time they require an employee in the department and they give me an assignment to develop a system in which they can maintain Record of company assets. For that purpose I initially did work on the understanding of the requirements of the management. For that purpose I conduct some interviews of management i.e. Sales and Marketing Manager etc. and also I got an apportunity to had a meeting with Marketing Manager of TCCEC Mr. Ali-us-Sajjad. He really helps me in understanding the requirements of TCCEC (The Coca-Cola Export Corporation). After understanding the requirements I did visit the store from where the gate passes of assets are issued I collect that record of all gate passes which had been issued since then from the factory. I also made discussion with employees of Marketing department like Mr. Maudood Khan, Mr. Harris A. Malik etc. to understand the requirements of these people. These interviews also help me to understand the existing system of Marketing Department regarding assets.
Basically company assets can be identified by two Numbers these are one is Serial No. of the equipment which is issued by the manufacturer of the assets e.g. Pel for Deep Freezer, Seil Kelvinator for Visi Cooler and Chest Cooler. The CCBPL, Multan Plant issue an Asset Code for each asset which is in the following format.
07-03-02-9999 for Deep Freezers and for Chest Coolers
07-03-01-9999 for Visi Coolers
first I got approval from the management that I should maintain that record by making a database but I am not able to get approval for data base so I decided to maintain that record in excel. For that purpose I prepared a table on the basis of the information I can get from the gate passes. I prepared separate page for separate regions of CCBPL, Multan Plant e.g. for Multan Region, Sahiwal Region, and for Dera Ghazi Khan Region. As the no of units given in the Multan Region are very high so I decided to divide it into two areas i.e. Multan Base and Multan District.That table has following fields:
Name of the Field Purpose
Sr. # It gives the the total No. of assets in
the area
Gate Pass No. Number of the gate pass on which
that is issued
Asset Type Deep Freezer, Chest Cooler, Visi
Cooler
Manufacturer i.e. Pel, Seil Kelvinator, Inter Cooler
etc.
Serial No. Serial No. of the asset which is issued
by the manufacturer of company.
Asset Code Code of the asset which is issued by
Company.
Date of Issuance It shows the date on which gate pass
of that asset is issued
Name & Address of The Shop Name and Address of the shop for
which that asset is issued.
Agency Name Name of the Agency under which
territory the shop is located.
MDO Name of the Market Development
officer of that area.
PURPOSES IT SERVES
That table serves all requirements of the management. For example
If management wants to know which asset is on which shop that can easily obtained by giving Asset Code, Serial No. or Gate Pass No.
Similarly if management want to know when an asset is issued it can also be obtained by giving gate pass no, shop name, etc.
The Coca-Cola Export Corporation often requires how many assets you have been issued so far that table can also find it out.
Similarly if management want to know how many assets in a specific region you can know from that table.
You can find out how many assets have been issued in a specific area of distributor.
You can also find out that how many assets have been issued for a specific Marketing Development Officer.
It can also tell us that how many assets of specific company are issued.
So it servers all requirements of CCBPL, Multan Plant's management.Some Special Activities In Marketing Department
GORE HEAD ACTIVITY
Gore head activity is a special type of marketing activity that is launched by TCCEC through the country. That is the basically effort of Coca-Cola International to introduce the new original taste of Coca-Cola. That is really a successful activity for introducing the new original taste.
Coca-Cola made an arrangement with a distribution company to sell out his Not Refundable or disposable bottles at the price of Rs. 5/- only. Although regular price of that bottle is Rs.12/-. And that bottle is chilled also. On first day I assigned duty for the supervision of these gore heads. That was my first day at coke.
AN INTERESTING INCIDENT
That was my first official day at coke. I assigned responsibility to supervise the gore head activity at Ghanta Ghar by Marketing Manager. My responsibility during that supervision is that I have to decide where the distribution channel should place the gore head center because they are from Karachi they don't know the important locations of Multan city. For that activity purpose Coke got permission from Administrator Municipal Corporation to place stall on the different spots in the city. At that day I decided to place two stalls at Ghanta Ghar. One in front of Multan Kitab Ghar and the other is at the slide of Lohari Gate I also concerned the Marketing Development Officer (Mr. Anees) who is also with me at that time.
But as you know that is really a place of rush in the Multan City. As we started the sale people rushed upon the boys of distribution channel. In the few minutes I realized that if we continued the sale the result may be in the shape of lost of many bottles in the evening. So I decieded to stop the sale at the both spots. The supervisor by the distribution channel is Mr. Imran he came to me and asked me to move from here. As I had already informed about the position of the gore head to the Marketing Manager, so I can not move now without his permition. So I decided to make a telephone call to marketing manager. When I told him the situation the answer is really amazing for me. He said to me, "You are at the spot you can better understand the situation so you can make better decision?" He also said that don't waste your time in making telephone calls. The answer of Marketing Manager gives me lot of confidence. So I told the Marketing Manager now I can make decision.
By this incident I came to know that in marketing timely decision is very important. A man of marketing cannot wait for the boss to come and guide him for the situation. And it also helps me in understanding the culture of CCBPL, Multan Plant. The people at CCBPL, Multan Plant are trusting people. They always used to trust on the ability of their employees.
MARKET SURVEYS AND MY ASSIGNMENT
As the management of CCBPL, Multan Plant had decided to give me the assignment of maintaining the records of chillers, so they sent me in the market first of all to get information about the already issued chillers. So I went to the different areas of Multan City with the MDO of that region like one day I visited the area of Purana Shuja Abad Road with the MDO Mr. Ali Raza Gardazi and on the second day I visit the area of Makhdoom Rashid with MDO Mr. Zia Akhtar. In that way I completed all the shops of Multan City in 7 days where our assets are present.
After that I got the record of Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal from Mr. Harris A. Malik who already visited these areas.
During these surveys we collect the information about the assets and about the condition of assets. We have to note the Asset Code and Serial No. of the asset and also the name of the shop keeper and shop and location of the shop. After collection of that record I divide the whole record according to the agency record then I compared collected record with the record, which I got from the store through gate pass. If I found any asset, which is issued for the different shop, and know physically present in the different shop I got out such type of records and send these records to the respective Regional Sales Managers for the further verification. Then I got these verified records with the form of change of shop which is necessary for the movement of asset from one shop to another. Then I started the entry of record in the computer.
ARRANGEMENTS OF ANNUAL EMPLOYEE DAY
During my stay in Marketing Department CCBPL, Multan Plant also arranged the annual employees day after the end of tough month of June. In June CCBPL, Multan Plant achieved the target sale. So the annual employee day is the prize for the employees by the management. That function is really important for the management of CCBPL, Multan Plant because the management of the country from different plants are coming to the Multan Plant and also some officers of TCCEC are coming to attend the meeting. Mr. Sherazi is the chief guest of the function. The whole management came one day earlier in the Multan for some meetings with Business Operations Manager of Multan Plant. We have to arrange these meetings too and we also have to arrange the plant visit of the management. For all these tasks marketing manger assigned different duties to different marketing members.
My first duty is the arrangement of night dinner at Holiday Inn. And we also stayed there at Holiday Inn for the assurance of proper arrangements.
For the entertainment of employees we call Miss Humera Arshad (A famous female Singer).
The function is really successful. Higher management appreciate our efforts and our arrangements. Business Operations Manager is really happy with our arrangements. So he decided to reward us for our hard working. He invited the marketing team (Mr.Usman Zaffar Butt, Rana Akmal Sher, Madood Khan, Harris A. Malik, Muhammad Junaid Khan, Muhammad Akmal, Muhammad Mehar Munir) on lunch at KENZOO Mall Plaza, Multan Cantt. He also decided to give a prize of Rs. 500/- to each of marketing team member. He declared that prize during the lunch.
GORE HEAD ACTIVITY IN DERA GHAZI KHAN
The Gore Head activity is approved by TCCEC only for big cities of Pakistan. But that activity is proved so successful that management decided to launch it to the to the small cities too for one day only while it continued in Multan for 6(six) days. For that purpose management get special approval from TCCEC. And we (Marketing Team ) went to the Dera Ghazi Khan for that activity. In Multan City there was a distribution channel to sell these bottles but in Dera Ghazi Khan we them selves have to sell these bottles. We divide the whole Marketing Team and MDO's of Dera Ghazi Khan into two sub teams and place our stalls at two different places in Dera Ghazi Khan. One at Pakistan Chowk and the other at Azadi Chowk. We have to sell round about six hundred crates and each crate contains 12 bottles. Our expectation is that we may hardly able to sell these crates but response is far better than our expectations. We sold all these crates till the noon.
ACCIDENT IN DERA GHAZI KHAN
As I mentioned earlier that in Dera Ghazi Khan we have to sell the bottles our self. So when I was selling these bottles at Pakistan Chowk a bottle brust and the one piece of glass of that bottle injured me. The Marketing Development Officer Danyal is present there he got me to the doctor. The doctor did the dressing of my injured arm. And give some medicines to me. The whole expenses of the Medicines is also afford by CCBPL, Multan Plant.
ARRANGEMENTS OF BUSINESS PLAN 2001
That was my last function at CCBPL, Multan Plant. That meeting was very important in the sense that in that meeting management is going to take the decision about the future strategy of the CCBPL, Multan Plant to capture the major share of the market. For that purpose marketing department decided to issue a card to every person who is going to attend the meeting. The preparation of these cards is my responsibility. Thanks God I proved my self that I can do that very well. Mr. Sheraze appreciates that idea of Marketing Department. With the help of these cards we are able to solve the problem of over attendance in the meetings. And another benefit we get from the cards is that in that meeting we also had to distribute some prizes for the distributors who achieve there targets during the year 2000. Its really good for the management that they are able to call every person with his name. Which shows the value able ness of these people in the eyes of management. The prizes included a Pick up Van, a Motor Bike, an Air Conditioner and similarly some other small prizes. That annual meeting was held in Shangrila Chineese.
After that business plan we went to the Shangrila Bar B Q. Where there is the inauguration of children park which is provided by CCBPL, Multan Plant.
Mr. Sherazi, Mr. Ali us Sajjad, Mr. Rizwan Ullah Khan, Mr. Aamir Querashi, and Mr. Usman Zaffar Butt conducted the Business Plan meeting. They made the decisions about the Polices of CCBPL, Multan Plant with the collaboration of Distributors of Multan Region.
