CCEP to spend more than €500m on customer service

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) is planning to invest more than €500m ($567m) this year to improve its customer service.

This move is reported to be part of the company’s on-going multi-year €1.5bn ($1.7bn) investment programme, which focuses on new technology, supply chain capabilities and coolers.

CCEP CEO Damian Gammell said: “We’re investing in key areas of the business to make it easier for customers to do business with us, and to offer consumers a wider range of great products.

“Last year our targeted investment programme helped to create €8.7bn in value for customers, nearly €600m more than 2017.”

The investment will see the inclusion of new digital solutions, including mobile sales tools that increase productivity and optimise sell time.

As part of the programme, CCEP is planning to incorporate new business analytics capabilities to improve promotions and forecasting with customers.

The firm also plans to expand digital services for customers such as Kollex, a recently established digital joint venture (JV) for the beverage wholesale trade and the away-from-home market in Germany.

In addition, the company plans to increase capacity by adding new manufacturing lines in Halle, Mannheim, Barcelona, Seville, Ghent and Wakefield.

Also this year, the company will be reducing the amount of recycled plastic in its products through ongoing work with Ioniqa. It will transform hard-to-recycle plastic waste into high-quality polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

As well as placing 69,000 more coolers in customers’ outlets this year, CCEP also plans to launch its CCEP Ventures programme, which will offer solutions across customer experience, logistics, future packaging design and pricing analytics.

Gammell further added: “CCEP Ventures will help us bring the best minds and ideas from the outside world into our business. It will help us find, fund and foster new solutions and scale with speed.”

In June 2017, CCEP introduced new Glacéau Smartwater in Berry & Kiwi, Lemon, and Green Apple flavours, in the UK.