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Operations in Practice: Britvic - Delivering Drinks To Demand

Britvic is a leading soft drink manufacturer in Europe that bottles and distributes over 1 billion litres of drinks annually through its six UK factories and national distribution center (NDC). The NDC handles up to 620 truckloads and 6,000 pallets of drinks daily to ensure that 250,000 customer outlets receive orders on time. Flexibility and efficiency are crucial given seasonal and weather-driven fluctuations in demand that can range from 1,000 to 6,000 pallets daily. Automated warehouse technology and workforce management practices are used to cope with these demand variations.

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Trishul Pattnaik
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257 views1 page

Operations in Practice: Britvic - Delivering Drinks To Demand

Britvic is a leading soft drink manufacturer in Europe that bottles and distributes over 1 billion litres of drinks annually through its six UK factories and national distribution center (NDC). The NDC handles up to 620 truckloads and 6,000 pallets of drinks daily to ensure that 250,000 customer outlets receive orders on time. Flexibility and efficiency are crucial given seasonal and weather-driven fluctuations in demand that can range from 1,000 to 6,000 pallets daily. Automated warehouse technology and workforce management practices are used to cope with these demand variations.

Uploaded by

Trishul Pattnaik
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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M11A_SLAC0460_06_SE_C11A.

QXD 10/20/09 9:34 Page 298

298 Part Three Planning and control

Operations in practice Britvic – delivering drinks to demand1

Britvic is amongst Europe’s leading soft-drink


manufacturers, a major player in a market consuming
nearly ten billion litres a year. Annually, Britvic bottles,
distributes and sells over 1 billion litres of ready-to-drink
soft drinks in around 400 different flavours, shapes and
sizes, including brands such as Pepsi, Tango, Robinsons,
Aqua Libra, Purdey’s and J2O. Every year, Britvic
produce enough cans of soft drinks to stretch three
times around the world, so it has to be a high-volume
and high-speed business. Its six UK factories contain
factory lines producing up to 1,500 cans a minute, with
distribution organized on a giant scale. At the centre of

Source: Wincanton
its distribution network is a National Distribution Centre
(NDC) located at Lutterworth, UK. It is designed to
operate 24 hours a day throughout the year, handling
up to 620 truckloads of soft drinks daily and, together
with a national network of 12 depots, it has to ensure
that 250,000 outlets in the UK receive their orders on customers (supermarkets). Given the lack of space
time. Designed and built in collaboration with Wincanton, in the High Bay, it is not possible to simply stock up
a specialist supply chain solutions company, which for the busy periods, so flexibility and efficiency are
now manages Britvic’s NDC, it is capable of holding the keys to success.
up to 140 million cans in its 50,000-pallet ‘High Bay’ The NDC uses a number of methods to cope with
warehouse. All information, from initial order to final demand fluctuation. Most importantly is the use and
delivery, is held electronically. Loads are scanned at development of technology both within the NDC and out
Britvic factories and fed into the ‘Business Planning in Britvic’s supply chain. High levels of throughput and
and Control System’ that creates a schedule of the ability to respond quickly to demand fluctuations
receipts. This information is then fed to the Warehouse depend on the use of integrated information technology
Management System and when hauliers arrive at the linked to automated ‘High Bay’ handling technology.
NDC, data are passed over to the Movement Control ‘Without the automation this plant simply couldn’t
System that controls the retrieval of pallets from the function. You realize how much you need this system
High Bay. when it breaks down! The other day, multiple errors
Over the year Britvic distribute over 100 million in the system meant that in the space of 6 hours
cases. However, the demand pattern for soft drinks is we went from being ahead to having 50 loads waiting to
seasonal, with short-term changes caused by both be processed. That equates to 1,350 pallets or nearly
weather and marketing campaigns. Furthermore, 4 million cans.’
Britvic’s service policy of responding whenever Human resource management is also key in managing
customers want them to deliver has a dramatic impact capacity. Every morning the shift manager receives
on the NDC and its capacity planning. ‘Our busiest orders for the day, although further orders can be placed
periods are during the summer and in the run-up to at any time during the day. The order information allows
Christmas, where we expect over 200 trailers in and the multi-skilled workforce to be allocated effectively.
out each day – that equates to about 3 million cases The daily meetings also allow any problems to be
per week. In the quiet periods, especially after addressed and dealt with before they become critical.
Christmas, we have less than a million cases per week’ Finally, by outsourcing the NDC management to
(Distribution Manager). Wincanton, the site is able to second employees from
Not only is demand on the NDC seasonal in a other Wincanton-owned sites when demand is high.
general sense, it can vary from 2,000 pallets one day, ‘Our other sites around the country have different peaks
to 6,000 the next, as a result of short-term weather and troughs throughout the year which helps us utilize
patterns and variable order patterns from large employee numbers.’

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