CAN SHORTAGE ALSO AFFECTS COKE’S SUPPLY CHAIN

The shortage of aluminium metal containers is already causing dozens of companies worldwide a lot of headaches. Now it is the turn of British and continental bottling, which has become the latest business to be hit by the supply chain crisis.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), which is responsible for manufacturing, transporting and selling products such as Fanta and Sprite in 29 countries in Europe and Asia, has said it faces a number of logistical challenges.

Some consumers have shown their discomfort on social networks at the lack of availability of Diet Coke and Coke Zero in recent weeks in some establishments. Nick Jahangiani, CCEP’s chief financial officer, said the company had been struggling with the availability of heavy truck drivers, but had been concentrating on managing the supply chain during the pandemic to ensure it could maintain deliveries to customers. “The shortage of aluminium cans is now one of the main issues for us at the moment, but we are working with customers to manage this successfully,” he adds.

Despite the current situation, Coca-Cola European Partners earned €246 million in the first half of the year, up 95% compared to the same period in 2020. The Coca-Cola bottler has reported that, on a like-for-like basis, net profit rose 93% between January and June to €500 million, while book revenue increased to €5,918 million, 22% higher than that achieved in the same period in 2020.