COLLEGE OF COMMERCE, BUSINESS, HOSPITALITY AND

TOURISM STUDIES

MKT 601: BUSINESS MARKETING

Research Project By

Ahmad Faiz

2015132955

July, 2016
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1.0

Introduction
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes used for creating,

communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients,
partners, and society at large (AMA 2013). Therefore Business Marketing is the process by
which businesses employ a multi layered strategy consisting of web communications, e-mail,
media campaigns and relationship management for the purpose of converting targeted business
prospects into customers (Online Business dictionary, 2016). Thus Business marketing includes
marketing to companies that buy products in order to make other productsor to facilitatetheir
companies operations. This also includes marketing to government agencies, including state and
local governments; marketing to institutions such as universities and hospitals; and marketing to
resellers, including retailers and industrial distributors.
Coca-Cola is the most popular and biggest-selling soft drink in history as well as the bestknown product in the world. The Coca-Cola Companyoffers nearly 400 brands in over 200
countries. There are more than 300 Coca-Cola bottlers around the world and most of the bottlers
are independently owned and not controlled by the Coca-Cola Company. Together with these
bottling partners, the company operates the most extensive beverage distribution system in the
world.
The area of research is centered on Coca-Cola Company. Its various marketing channels,
the type of product they deal in, how they build relationships and how they carry out the market
segmentations and targeting etc. are some of the areas this research will look at.
The purpose of this research is to have a deep understanding of Business Marketing and
some of the ways by which Business Marketing operations, strategies and SWOT analysis are
carried out in an organization.
The motivation of this research is on the fact Business Marketing is a process which deals
on a very extensive scale. Sales force management and other key players are more focused on
building strong long term relationships rather than on selling products.
The methodology used is based on both primary and secondary sources. Questionnaires
and interviews were conducted and a lot of research was conducted with the aid of both the print
media and electronic media.

Table of Contents
Headings

Page number

Introduction .....2
Table of content........3
Acknowledgement....4
Declaration of originality.....5
Literature Review ....6
Aims and objectives ........8
Methodology .......9
Discussion and Analysis ....10
Recommendation ...19
Conclusion .....20
References ...21

Acknowledgement
The success of any project depends on the guidelines and ideas of many other people. Apart from
the personal effort there are many others who have contributed towards the success of this
project. I take this opportunity to thank all those who have assisted me in the making of this
project.
I would first of all like to show my great appreciation to Miss Shivanjani Naidu for her great
effort and support. As a lecturer and tutor she helped the students in executing the project. She
tirelessly came for every class and gave us encouragement to make our project a successful one.
Apart from Miss Shivanjani Naidu, I would like to acknowledge the following:

My parent and family members who have helped me not only financially but also
encouraged me on every point and corner when I was doing this project.
The members of staff who helped in the completion of this project by providing relevant
information.
The advices of friends and elders.

Thus I am grateful to each and every one who has contributed in any format towards the
completion of this project.

Declaration of Originality

I,Ahmad Faiz, hereby declare that this project is my own piece of work. The materials, sources
and ideas used are being acknowledged in the reference and bibliography.

faiz_______________

_______

Name: - Ahmad Faiz

Student ID: - 2015132955
Date: -

2.0

Literature Review

The discipline of business-to-business marketing has a long history (HADJIKHANI and

LAPLACA, 2013), and for long researchers have sought to understand and explain how
business-to-business markets operate (HUNT, 2013). However, for the greater part of the
twentieth century, the bulk of academic research in the field of marketing has focused on
consumer markets (LAPLACA and KATRICHIS, 2009) rather than business markets. Beginning
in 1971 with the introduction of Industrial Marketing Management, the first journal dedicated to
business-to-business markets, academic researchers have had an increasing number of
publication outlets available to them. IMM was followed by the Journal of Business Research
(1973), Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing (1985), Advances in Business Marketing
and Purchasing (1986), Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing (1992) and the IMP Journal
(2006). As these journals were launched, they gradually grew an impact to the field of marketing.
At the same time the number of marketing researchers focusing on B2B markets was undergoing
significant growth. While the academic field of marketing is dominated by those researching
consumer markets, this does not reflect the significance of Business to Business markets in the
economies around the world.
Kotler et Al. (2004) as well as Fill and Fill (2005) defined clearly the B2B market and the
consumer market distinguishing them according to their actors and the nature of the product and
services exchanged. Indeed, they define the B2B market as the market wherein organizations buy
and sell products and services to other organizations that will use them to produce other products
and services. While in contrast the consumer market gathers individuals buying products and
services for their personal consumption. According to the differences in the nature of these two
markets, marketing researchers have encouraged the development of a specific marketing
approach for each of these markets (Wind, 2006). In fact, the nature of the buyer and seller
relationship differs. In B2B markets this relationship is based on collaborative exchanges
whereas transactional exchanges are the norm in consumer markets (Day, 2000). This
difference is the consequence of a more complex buying process in industrial markets, since the
purchase is not undertaken for personal use, involves different actors (i.e. buying centre or
Decision Making Unit (DMU) members) and is often leading to the development of a custommade solution (Hakansson, 1982). Gilliland and Johnston (1997) also enhance the importance of
the buying centre in their model. They emphasize that B2B Marketing and communications
actions are targeting a wide range of actors within the buying centre but even around it:
prescribers, Business-to-Business Marketing: A Revised Model of Marketing and
Communications Effects January 2013 9 Author - Marie Faugre purchasers, decision-makers,
end-users, suppliers, etc. leading to a big influence game for a common decision to meet
technical requirements that constitute the need while consumer buying process imply less
different actors and influence attempts. At least, it is what academics advocated in the 1980s.
The B2B/B2C marketing theory of dichotomy rests upon four characteristics of B2B
markets: these are:
Time perspective: B2B markets are based on the notion of long-term relationships that
might be linked to the notion of collaborative exchanges presented earlier.
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Role of the customer/consumer: This role in the buying process is very different; the
purchase is a group purchase with a Buy Task Involvement (BTI) very different. The customer
because of this high BTI is considered to be more active than in the B2C buying process.

Market structure: B2B markets are often niche markets with a small range of both buyer
and seller. The concentration of the market also encourages the development of strong
relationships between buyer and seller.

Unit of analysis: which as a consequence of the previous characteristics the interaction

between customer and supplier instead of one of these two actors.
Initial works on the B2B/consumer marketing dichotomy involved a deductive approach, indeed,
from the general theory, researchers have drawn hypothesis, tested them and concluded from
their premises that B2B marketing worked differently because of its specific characteristics,
described above, giving birth to the B2B/B2C marketing dichotomy. Nevertheless, this theory
has been criticized for its weakness caused by its lack of empirical supports (Coviello and
Brodie, 2001).
This theory leads B2B marketing literature for years and is still presented as accurate nowadays,
quoted by a number of researchers (e.g. Kotler et Al., 2004; Fill and Fill, 2005) and also
marketing associations worldwide (e.g. American Marketing Association). However, Cova and
Salle (2007), and others academics challenge this theory, criticize the IMP Group works. Indeed,
they enhance that for forty years now these researchers are using the same arguments to
differentiate industrial and consumer marketing without investigating consumer marketing
progress.
The second most mentioned area for B2B research is in global markets. While the globalization
of consumer markets garners considerable press in business periodicals, business markets have
been considered as global markets for several decades. But while our experience in global
marketing is long, there are many gaps in our knowledge (especially predictive knowledge) of
how and why some strategies work and others fail. Global B2B marketing research has focused
on strategy (ELG et al 2012; LISBOA et al 2011), influence of the global supply and distribution
chains (Giannakis et al 2012; Skarmeas et al 2008), and global e-commerce (Samiee 2008)
among other topics. The IMM reviewers indicated numerous specific research topics that are of
keen interest.
Finally talking about loyalty and commitment, commitment is the degree of perception
that buyer and seller are plugged in continuous businesses and is reflected in investments in the
partnership and the stability of relationship (Prahinski and Benton 2004). Cooperation is the
perception that partners work together to achieve mutual goals and is related to market flexibility
and conjunct problem solving, for example (Cannon and Perreault 1999; Prahinski and Benton
2004). All of these linkages can provide a strong relationship which will reduce costs and risks,
and will increase profitability for both parts and attitudinal loyalty by the buying firm (Kumar
2002).

Aim
The main aim for this research is to understand what b2b marketing and business is. How
a company such as Coca cola uses different areas of b2b business and leads the market.

Objective
The objectives of this research are:

Review the literature concerning business to business marketing.

To understand how a company such as coca cola utilizes the principles of b2b marketing.
To fully understand the pros and cons implementing b2b for a company such as coca
cola.

3.0

Methodology

The methodology that was applied by the study was chosen in order to acquire information and
deduce conclusions about the Business Marketing at Coca cola.
2.1

Purpose of the study and type of Investigation

The main purpose of this study was to obtain an insight on the Business operations of an
organization.
2.2

Data collection

For the purpose of this research, and in order to achieve the objectives, datawas collected and
both primary and secondary researches were conducted. The secondary data was to contribute
towards the formation of background information; such as how Business marketing and
relationship building is carried out and also the favourable outcome of business to business
relationship.
2.3

Sampling design

In order to collect primary data interview survey technique was used. Informal interviews were
conducted and an extensive research was done through the use of internet and other relevant
print and electronic media.
2.4

The interview survey

For the purpose of this project semi-structured face to face interview was conducted.
2.5

Contribution of the study

It was intended that the findings of this research project were used to assess and evaluate the
effectiveness of long term strong relationships between businesses.

3.0Findings and Discussions

Part A- Type of products and nature of demand

Coca cola basically deals in Processed Materials. These products are created from raw
materials and are used in the production of another product. Coca cola purchases different raw
materials to be used in the production of its products. One thing to note is that, Coca Cola
Company does not only deal in the production of coke but it has more than 300 kinds of products
it deals with.Coca-Cola has hundreds of brands and thousands of products sold worldwide in
over 200 countries. Some brands and products are only sold locally due to cultural taste while
other products are sold in a specific region or around the world. Coca-Colas most famous brand
is its Coca-Cola Classic Brand known for its white and red colors and original formula. Aside
from its popular soft drink Coca-Cola brands which comes in a variety of flavors and diets, some
of Coca-Colas other popular brands include, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Dasani Water, Nestea,
Bacardi, Fuze, Minute Maid orange juice, Odwalla, Powerade, and Sprite to mention but a few.
The demand for syrup and concentrates is heavily dependent on the demand for soft
drinks. This is due to the fact that bottlers are legally tied to a manufacturer and must purchase
all the syrup necessary to meet their downstream demand from the syrup/concentrate producer.
As a result of this strong correlation, the demand determinates of the flavoring syrup and
concentrates manufacturing industry moves hand in hand.
A number of factors determine demand for soft drinks. These are:
Price: - the demand for soft drinks is relatively price-elastic. This means that as the price
of soft drinks increases, the demand decreases to a greater degree, relative to the price change.
Demand for soft drinks is also relatively income-elastic, meaning that as consumers incomes
decrease, the demand for soft drinks (coke) decreases to a greater degree, relative to the income
change, and vice versa.

Consumer lifestyles and tastes also affect demand for soft drinks. The reduced emphasis
on family meals and the increased desire for convenience food and takeaway products may
increase demand for soft drinks, especially RTD products, as they are packaged to meet this
grab-and-go lifestyle. Along the same lines, as people become busier, they look for soft drinks to
provide energy and rejuvenation, thereby spurring growth in the functional beverage categories.
While this presents an opportunity, it is not expected to override the other factors that are
negatively impacting demand for soft drinks at this time.18 Health issues are a hot topic with
many consumers and, as a result, are driving demand in both directions. Soft drinks developed to
be low-calorie, low-sugar, and preservative-free are in line with consumers health
consciousness, and demand for these products is increasing. At the same time, the public debate
about nutrition, and specifically about SSBs, has reduced demand for non-diet CSDs or shifted
demand to diet.

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All bottling partners work closely with customers, grocery stores, restaurants, street
vendors, convenience stores, movie theaters and amusement parks, among many others, to
execute localized strategies developed in partnership with our Company. Customers then sell
these products to consumers at a rate of more than 1.9 billion servings a day. Coca Cola
Company manufactures and sells concentrates, beverage bases and syrups to bottling operations,
owns the brands and is responsible for consumer brand marketing initiatives. Their bottling
partners manufacture, package, merchandise and distribute the final branded beverages to their
customers and vending partners, who then sell their products to consumers. Working groups of
Company associates and representatives from bottling partners have been formed to determine
the feasibility (due to the legal and management complexity of theCoca-Cola system) of
collecting and consolidating economic and social data in addition to the environmental data
already collected. Many of their bottling partners produce their own corporate responsibility
reports.

Part B- Character of company in terms of B2B business

The reputation of the Coca-Cola Company is built on trust. Those who do business with
them around the world know that they are committed to managing their business with a
consistent set of values that represent the highest standards of quality, integrity, excellence,
compliance with the law and respect for the unique customs and cultures in communities. They
seek to develop relationships with suppliers that share similar values and conduct business in an
ethical manner. As part of their ongoing effort to develop and strengthen theirrelationships with
suppliers, they introduced the Supplier Guiding Principles Program for direct suppliers.
The Supplier Guiding Principles Program is based on the belief that good corporate
citizenship is essential to their long-term business success and must be reflected in their
relationships and actions at the marketplace, the workplace, the environment and the community.
They also included Principles of Citizenship to assist in their understanding of core values.
Recognizing the differences in laws, customs and economic conditions that affect business
practices in various parts of the world, we believe that shared values must serve as the
foundation for relationships between The Coca-Cola Company and their suppliers. The Supplier
Guiding Principles restate their requirements and emphasize good workplace policies that
comply with applicable environmental laws and with local labor laws and regulations.
The company is growing its business via both organic growth and acquisitions. Recent
years saw the company increasing its investments in major emerging markets while making
small- scale acquisitions in developed markets to enrich its health and wellness portfolio. Refranchising and re-organising its bottling operations is also an important highlight of its
corporate activities.Coca-Cola doesnt measure the ROI of its influencer marketing activities in
terms of sales but more in terms of measuring behaviors, which was actually refreshing to hear.
The team focused on the impact in terms of preferential buyer behaviors; brand love and
purchase intention.

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Part C- Market segmentation, targeting and positioning of the company and

how it searches and identifies opportunities for business
Coca Cola Company applies a basic marketing model called STP: a three-stage process
that examines segmenting, targeting, and positioning strategies.
Segmentation enables Brands to define the appropriate products for different kind of
customers. Coca Cola doesnt target a specific segment but adapt its marketing strategy by
developing new products.Coca Cola consider each customer as a target and a potential consumer.
All age groups are being targeted but the most potential is the age group from 18-25 that covers
around 40% of total age segments.

source:-www.googleimages.com
The basic model of coke to carry out its segmentation (India)
Other segments include:
Age: Generally, Coke does not have a specific target and is addressed to everyone. But
the main consumers are 12-30 years old people; even if there is no specific product or
communication for less than 12 or more than 30, the brand succeed in reaching them, through
partnerships for example (restaurants, fast foods such as McDonalds etc.), or thanks to its value
among consumers. So, the core target audience of Coca Cola is youngster or youth. Their
targeting is not based on gender thus both genders like this product and use it.

Life style: no life style targeted but more and more busy life style and mobile generation
(youth) are considered to be the most important part of Cokes consumers.
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Occupation: no occupation targeted but consumers are mainly students and family
oriented people

Nature: fun, joy, entertainment loving

Customers Media Habits
There are some habits which are given as follow:

The young target audience of the brand loves media exposure

Mobile generation & social media is part of daily life
Connected people; they like innovations, they like being surprised.

Targeting
Coca-Colas target market is as vast and varied as its product lines around the world.
While the company does not have a specific target market, it does however, target specific
markets and demographics based on taste and habits. For example, its Odwalla brands of
healthy juices is targeted towards people who are health conscious and do not mind spending a
bit more money for a healthy drink while its Powerade drink is geared towards athletes who need
a drink to replenish their system after a hard workout. Around the world Coca-Cola offers
products targeted towards local markets and tailored to national tastes while keeping in mind
cultural beliefs. For example, in India Coke offers Limca a light lemon-lime drink that is a
favorite of the locals; and in Europe it offers Fanta, an orange flavored drink that is consumed
daily by people there.

Positioning
Coca Cola has strategically positioned itself within the world of soft drink market. It faces a vital
question: does it have to keep the same positioning or to adapt according to the 200 countries
where the brand sells its products? The brand has understood this principle while ago: think
global, act local. Coca cola is thus willing to keep the same core product which is coke, but it
adapts the offer to local needs. They use strategic positioning in order to have the same image all
around the world, which is a success because it is perceived today as a part of daily life
everywhere. This perception of the brand by the consumer leads to a high degree of loyalty and
makes the purchasing decision more automatic. Coca Cola has been successful by using Unique
Selling preposition as Live the coke side of life, related to joy and happiness. Consumers
basically associate this brand with these emotions. When the name of Coke is mentioned, the
first thing that comes into mind is fun and entertainment, as their tag line is open happiness.
In order for Coca Cola Company to thrive as a business in the market, they understand
the trends and forces that will shape their business in the future and prepare for what's to come.
Some of the ways by which Coca Cola identifies opportunities for new business include:
Get out into the market and listen, observe and learn.

Possess a world view.

Focus on needs of our consumers, customers and franchise partners

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Focus on execution in the marketplace every day.

Be insatiably curious
Act with urgency
Remain responsive to change
Have the courage to change course when needed
Remain constructively discontent
Work efficiently

Part D- SWOT analysis and Vision and Mission statement

SWOT stands for Strengths Weakness Opportunities and Threats. SWOT consists of examining
the current activities of the organization- its Strengths and Weakness- and then using this and
external research data to set out the Opportunities and Threats that exist.
Strengths:
1.
Brand name: - Coca-Cola has been a complex part of world culture for a very long time.
The product's image is loaded with over-romanticizing, and this is an image many people have
taken deeply to heart. Coca Cola is an extremely recognizable brand. The companys popularity
is one of its superior strength which is virtually incomparable. The Coca Cola brand is known all
over the world. People drink Coke not only for its taste, but because feeling that they are part of
something cool, hip, and popular. The Coca-Cola image is displayed on T-shirts, hats, and
collectible memorabilia. This extremely recognizable branding is one of Coca-Cola's greatest
strengths. "Enjoyed more than 685 million times a day around the world Coca-Cola stands as a
simple, yet powerful symbol of quality and enjoyment" (Allen, 1995).
2.
Company valuation One of the most valuable companies in the world, Coca cola is
valued around 79.2 billion dollars. This valuation includes the brand value, the numerous
factories and assets spread out across the world and the complete operations cost and profit of
Coca cola.
3.
Vast global presence Coca cola is present in 200 countries across the world. Chances
are, any country that you go to, you will find coca cola present in that market. This vast global
presence of coca cola has also contributed to the building of the mammoth brand name.
4.
Largest market share There are only 2 Big competitors in the beverage segment Pepsi
and Coca cola. Out of these 2, coca cola is the clear winner and hence has the largest market
share. Amongst all beverages, Coke, Thums up, Sprite, Diet coke, Fanta, Limca and Maaza are
the growth drivers for Coca Cola.
5.
Fantastic marketing strategies Coca cola unlike Pepsi always tries to win peoples heart.
Where Pepsis target is continuously changing, and is targeted towards youngsters, Coca cola
targets people of all ages. The targeting is also done by celebrities who are well liked for
example Amitabh Bacchan, Sachintendulkar, AishwaryaRai, Aamir Khan etc
6.
Customer Loyalty With such strong products, it is natural that Coca cola has a lot of
customer loyalty. The products mentioned above like Coca cola and Fanta have a huge fan
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following. People will prefer these soft drinks over others. Because of the good taste of Coca
cola, finding substitutes becomes difficult for the customer.
7.
Distribution network Coca cola has the largest distribution network because of the
demand in the market for its products. On the other hand, due to this successful distribution
network, Coca cola has been able to command such a high market presence.
Weaknesses:
1.
Competition with Pepsi Pepsi is a thorn in the flesh for Coca cola. Coca cola would
have been the clear market leader had it not been for Pepsi. The competition in these two brands
is immense, both rule the cola market and they deal in almost the same business.
2.
Product Diversification is low Where Pepsi has made a smart move and diversified into
the snacks segment with products like Lays and Kurkure, Coca cola is missing from that
segment. The segment is also a good revenue driver for Pepsi and had Coca cola been present in
this segment, these products would have been an additional revenue driver for the company.
3.
Absence in health beverages obesity is a major problem affecting people nowadays.
One of the biggest weaknesses that Coke faces is the publics perception that it is unhealthy and
can leads to certain diseases like diabetes if consumed in high quantities.. Carbonated beverages
are one of the major reasons for fat intake and Coca cola is the largest manufacturer of
carbonated beverages. The inference is that the consumption of beverages in developed countries
might go down as people will prefer a healthy alternative.
4.
Water management Coca cola has faced flak in the past due to its water management
issues. Several groups have raised lawsuits in the name of Coca cola because of their vast
consumption of water even in water scarce regions. At the same time, people have also blamed
Coca cola for mixing pesticides in the water to clear contaminants. Thus water management
needs to be better for Coca cola.
Opportunities:
1.
Diversification Diversification in the health and food business will improve the
offerings of Coca cola to their customers. This will also ensure that they get better revenue from
existing customers by cross selling their products. The supply chain which is distributing their
beverages can also distribute these snacks thereby sharing the load of Supply chain costs.
2.
Brand name: - Coca Cola is a big company that deals on a very large scale. It has many
unpopular brands and products that it should continue to take advantage of and develop. Another
opportunity lies in its ability to develop new products based on changes in consumer tastes.
3.
Developing nations Although developed nations have a high presence of Coca cola,
these countries are slowly moving towards healthy beverages. However developing countries are
still being introduced to the delight of carbonated drinks and soft drinks. Countries like India
which are developing and have a hot summer, find the consumption of cold drinks almost
doubled during summers. Thus the higher consumption in developing business environment can
be a good opportunity to capitalize for Coca cola.
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4.
Packaged drinking water With hygiene becoming a major factor in the consumption of
water, packaged drinking water has found its way into peoples mind. Coca cola has a presence in
the packed drinking water segment though Kinley. Although Kinneys expansion is slow as of
now, Kinley has a huge potential of expansion. Thus Coca cola as a company should focus on
the expansion of Kinley as a brand and take it up to customers level of trust.
5.
Supply chain improvement Supply chain can be a major cost sink hole with the
transportation costs always rising. Coca colas complete business is based on transportation and
distribution. There will always be possible improvements in this area. Thus Coca cola should
keep strict watch on its Supply chain and keep improving to bring the cost down.
6.
Market the lesser selling products In the product portfolio of Coca cola, there are
several products which have not found acceptance in the market. Coca Cola needs to concentrate
on the marketing of these products as well. It is understood that Coca cola has made several
expenses to launch these products. Thus, the marketing and subsequent rise of sale of these
products will help revenue of Coca cola.
Threats:
1. Direct competitors - especially from second leading competitor Pepsi. Since they are both
leaders of the cola market and they deal in almost the same product thus the competition
is high. A little change in demand or price can increase or decrease the profit or loss of
the company.
2. Health- changing health-consciousness attitude of the market, which could have a serious
effect on Coca Cola. Diabetes, unhealthy gums and teeth, reduced eyesight and other
diseases are related to the consumption of coke.
3. Raw material sourcing Water is the only threat to Coca cola. The weakness of Coca
cola was the suspected use of pesticides or vast consumption of water. However, the
threat here is that water scarcity is on the rise. With the climate changing, and regions of
various countries facing scarcity of water, sooner or later someone might raise fingers on
beverage companies. Thus, Water sourcing is an axe which can fall anytime on the head
of Coca cola. If water is limited or rationed, Coca cola can experience a major downfall
in their revenue and capacity of distribution. The same can affect its arch rival Pepsi as
well.
4. Indirect competitors Coffee chains like Starbucks, Caf coffee day, Costa coffee are on
the rise. These chains offer a healthy competition to Coca colas carbonated drinks. They
might not be a big competition for Coke, but they do give a dent to its beverage market.
Similarly, health drinks like Real and Tropicana as well as energy drinks like Red bull
and Gatorade are stealing away the market share indirectly.
Coca colas Mission
Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company
and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions. Thus it includes:

To refresh the world

To inspire moments of optimism and happiness
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To create value and make a difference.

Coca cols Vision

Our vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our business
by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable, quality
growth. These are:
People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.

Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and
satisfy people's desires and needs.

Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create

mutual, enduring value.

Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support
sustainable communities.

Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall
responsibilities.

Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.

Part E- Marketing channels and challenges in terms of managing the channel

Coca-Colas products are sold and distributed worldwide through many outlets from store
shelves and vending machines, to concession stands and restaurants. The Coca-Cola Company
tries to extend its reach and offer its products through many channels to expand its offerings to
everyone around the world. Although the company does not sell its drink online, mainly because
drinks of that sort are considered convenience items and people want to consume them right
away, it does sell apparels and gears online to promote its brands and products. Nowadays you
can find coke products in just about anywhere.
Once bottled, coke may be distributed through a variety of different channels before
making it into the hands of the final consumer. While a portion of cokeis sent from the bottler to
distributor, who serves as middlemen facilitating further distribution and warehousing, the
majority of it is sold directly to merchants. The company has a strong and reliable distribution
network. The network is formed on the basis of the time of consumption and the amount of sale
yielded by a particular customer in one transaction. It has a distribution network consisting of a
number of efficient sales men, more than 70,000 retail outlets and 8000 distributors in India
alone.
Distribution of Coke to the target market in the involves the use of indirect channels and
intermediaries, and is supported by supply chain theory. In 2013, the Coca-Cola Company
announced that it was moving away from its attempts to take control of its US distribution
networks, and instead opting for a franchise model. This model involves Coca-Cola remaining in
charge of providing Coke syrup, which is then to be produced, packaged, and distributed by
17

independent regional bottling companies to vending machines across the country. This alteration
in the logistics of distribution has been pursued due to expected cost reductions as a result of
allowing dedicated intermediaries to specialize in delivering the product to retailers and the
target market. The move away from the vertical integration is somewhat uncommon, but has
been shown to be similarly beneficial in the past for businesses such as the Ford Motor
Company. The timing of these changes in distribution is fitting, considering that they are
occurring at a time in the product life cycle when sales growth is slowly beginning to fall, which
will allow for efforts to continue growth to be maximized in other areas.
One basic challenge in channel management is the conflict with bottlers. Coca cola use
bottlers to package and distribute products. This structure often causes conflicts of interest
between coca cola and bottlers. It is widely criticized that coca cola often profits from increased
concentrate sales at the expense of bottlers margin. Moreover, coca cola has historically had
higher returns and lower capital requirements for building and maintaining production and
distribution networks. Bottlers continue to consolidate in an attempt to offset margin pressure
through cost reduction. Specifically, size helps bottlers to spread fixed costs over greater volume
and make larger investments in automated production lines.
Finally Coca cola continue to develop new products and packaging, which increases
operational complexity and in turn expenses for bottlers. While coca cola views these new
products as a way to build a portfolio of options to hedge against product successes or failures,
bottlers see them as a burden since they often require additional capital expenditures. Some
bottlers have even refused to carry some of the new non-carbonated niche offerings that coca
cola has acquired, such as Mad River Teas and Planet Java Coffee, forcing the company to bury
both products.

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4.0Recommendation
It is highly recommended that business to business marketing is not a one man show. It takes
time before it is able to capture a large portion of the market share. Coca cola has passed
thorough all those states, and presently coca cola is not just a firm but rather a brand. Some
other recommendations include:

The company should increase their service stations.

More financing option should be available.

The company should provide more customer value.

Follow up should be increased.

Effort should be done for developing the concept of good relationship with consumers.

Special offer should be provided by the coca cola product

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5.0Conclusion
In conclusion, from production and distribution to advertising and sales, the soft drink
industrys operating model has evolved over the years and continues to adapt quickly as
economic, social, and political forces shift. Coca cola has made changes, and is more
adaptive and these factors can be said to be the success of coca cola. Coca cola practices all
its promotional mix and marketing mix, and thus the results are not farfetched. Coca cola is
the leading brand and product in the world of soft drink.

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8.0 References
Coca Cola Distribution Information [online] Available at
http://www.colalife.org/2010/12/19/how-coca-colas-distribution-system-works/[Accessed July
182016]
Coca Cola Financial Profile [online] Available at http://finance.yahoo.com/ [Accessed July 17
2016]
Hill, L.C.W (2011) International Business:Competing in the global marketplace (8th ed.) New
York. McGraw-Hill Irwan, PP. 578.
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-system
Jurate, B., Rasa, G., Darius G. (2011).Changes in marketing
channelformation.InzinerineEkonomica-Engineering Economics.
Kopylovsky D., 2010.Syrup & Flavoring Production in the US. IBISWorld Industry Report,
31193.[online] Available at< www.ibisworld.com/industry/default.aspx?indid=275.> [Accessed
19 June 2016]
"The coca-cola company." 123HelpMe.com.[online] Available at
http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=164228[Accessed18 Jul 2016 ]
The Coca Cola Company [Online] Available at http://us.coca-cola.com/ [Accessed July 182016]
Puravankara, D., 2007. Strategic Analysis Of The Coca Cola Company. Simon Fraser
University.

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