Interview with Coca Cola Commercial Product Supply Manager

Interview a Purchasing and Supply Management Professional – BUS 230 Assignment 1

Interview a Purchasing and Supply Management Professional Interview a purchasing and supply management professional in a private or public organization (for example a purchasing and supply associate, a Chief Purchasing Officer, or a business manager in a K-12 school system).
Write a 4-5-page paper that describes:

The line of business, mission, and goals of the organization he/she works for. Describe these briefly.
The description of his/her job functions and job responsibilities, educational background, professional experiences, personal challenges, job achievement, and fulfillment.
The operational and strategic objectives of the supply and purchasing department.
How the above supply objectives align with the organizational mission and goals.

Interview with Coca Cola Commercial Product Supply Manager – BUS 230 Sample Assignment

An interview was conducted with Darlene Nicosia, the Coca-Cola Company vice president in charge of commercial product supply in the greater Atlanta. I have had admiration on what Nicosia has done and her impressive work in the company supply chain management makes her a great mentor and appropriate professional for the matter of the completion of the assignment. The interview touched on a range of professional issues and it provided invaluable learning experience.

Line of Business, Mission and Goals of Coca-Cola Company

Founded in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, Coca-Cola Company deals in a range of products that includes soft drinks, juice, pure water, energy drinks and other beverages. The company has steadily grown to become world’s leading brand, with product brand portfolio that includes Sprite, Fanta, Coke, Minute Maid, Dasani water and Powerade, among many other brands (The Coca-Cola Company, 2018). The company has presence outside the United States, with its subsidiaries present in Europe, Asia, South America, North America and Africa.

The company’s mission statement has been designed to outline the company purpose and it outlines the standards against which the company measures its actions. The mission statement has been outlined in three short statements, “To refresh the world. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness. To create value and make a difference” (The Coca-Cola Company, 2018). In addition, the company has established a number of goals that touches its five major components of the company business (5Ps), people, profit, portfolio, partners and planet. The company goals are to maximize returns to stakeholders, offer a great working environment, create portfolio brands that satisfy consumer needs and desires, create winning network of partners and to act responsible in its business operations.

Job Functions, Responsibilities, Educational Background, Personal Experiences, Challenges, Achievement and Fulfillments

In the personal interview, Nicosia pointed that she studied Bachelor of Arts in Business and Logistics from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. Upon completion of her studies, she continued to work as Coca-Cola Fountain analyst before embarking on an MBA, business in Georgia Institute of Technology, graduating in 1994. She would later embark on her job in Coca-Cola in 2005, where she has gained promotions into various roles (Nicosia, 2018). Her first role at the company was as director of the company global procurement. In the role, she was in charge of development of the company’s global supply chain strategies.

As the head of Coca-Cola commercial product supply, Darlene has a number of responsibilities in her capacity. She is in charge of the company’s billion dollar supply chain, where she is responsible for the manufacture and sale of the company concentrates and soft drink bases for the company’s global subsidiaries. Under the capacity, she heads the development of the company’s global supply chain strategies.

Darlene has vast experience in the supply chain industry, while the challenges she has faced in numerous roles she has held have shaped her achievements. According to the interview when asked regarding her personal experiences, she asserted “I can summarily state that I have held numerous roles since from my internship to the current position in this global leading company. I started my career as an analyst with Coca-Cola, though I did work somewhere else briefly before rejoining the company” (Nicosia, 2018). She pointed that her personal experiences included knowledge in designing local and global supply chain for the company and working with new people in different culture when she worked in Europe. Her greatest achievement is rising to become the vice-president of Coca-Cola global supply networks, a feat she considers her greatest fulfillment.

The Operational and Strategic Objectives of Coca-Cola Supply and Purchasing Department

The management of a global supply chain for a company as huge as Coca-Cola can be a tough task in meeting its strategic and operation strategies. According to (Malakooti, 2014) supply chain management may have many objectives including cost and inventory reductions and expedite and facilitation of transportation. In her role, Nicosia appears to be equal to the task as she pointed that she maintains a close scrutiny of the operations of the company in all of its global operational units. The major purpose of these is to ensure a consistent execution of purchasing and supply processes. She pointed that some of the core functions of the purchasing department is cost reduction, which she said is achieved through minimization of resources. It can be asserted that this is indeed consistent with Coca-Cola goal of increasing of shareholder value which ensures profits are delivered on a consistent basis.

Darlene also noted that the business would continue to thrive and generate enough revenues as long as the company customers are satisfied. As a result she reiterated the important of the organization to provide products that meet the consumer dietary and price demands (Nicosia, 2018). She gave an example of the increased concern among consumers who have diabetes, to which the company produced sugar free coke. In order to meet the growing consumer preferences she points to the important role that purchasing and supply department plays. She cited the equipment and supplies acquisition, asserting that the department roles in ensuring effective equipment that are commensurate to their price and which help produce quality products are purchased.

Moreover, in order to meet the department objectives and goals, Nicosia has a responsibility of ensuring that all the department teams in Coca-Cola achieve full operational potential through the acquisition of appropriate resources. She said that this is achieved through a great feasibility in the choice of suppliers of the company product ingredients, packing, shipping, as well as all the costs associated with the maintenance of equipment (Nicosia, 2018).

How the Supply Objectives Align with the Company Mission and Goals

In order for a big global company such as Coca-Cola to meet its strategic objectives, there is need for all the company departments to align with the company goals and mission statement. The purchasing and supply chain is one of the most important departments in Coca-Cola Company, as it is responsible for all the purchases and supplies that the company makes. It is for these reasons that a good alignment between the department objectives with company mission and goals should be achieved.

Read also Coca-Cola Company BCG Matrix

The objective to source for quality products, equipment and ensure effective transportation aligns well the company mission and goals. The department objectives are geared towards creation of value for stakeholders, provision of quality products, creation of effective network of suppliers and satisfaction of consumer desires. All these align with the company mission statement and well as the organization goals and objectives.

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