The Coca-Cola Company March 2020

Solving business challenges with technology

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Solving business challenges with technology WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY

LEWIS VAUGHAN

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Photo © Coca-Cola Italy w w w.c o c a - c o l a c o mpa n y. com

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Damiano Marabelli, Central & Eastern Europe Business Unit CIO, The Coca-Cola Company, discusses IT’s role in facilitating a ‘Total Beverage’ transformation

T

he Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) needs no introduction, seeing as it is one of the world’s most recognisable brands. Main-

taining that privileged position requires the input of all of its different departments, and, in this regard, IT is no different. Damiano Marabelli is in charge of the company’s IT operations in one of its biggest 04

business units (BUs), as he explains: “I joined TCCC as ‘Central & South European BU IT Client Engagement Director’ at the beginning of 2013. Then I was asked to structurally merge the IT operations of the above BU with the Russia, Ukraine and Belorussia BU, creating the second biggest BU outside North America: the Central & Eastern Europe Business Unit (CEE BU) with its headquarters in Athens”.

The CEE BU operates in one of the most diverse business contexts in the world, encompassing 411 million people in 26 countries (four — Italy, Russia, Poland and Romania - account for more than half of the CEE business); 23 official languages; 16 currencies; only seven markets above a population of 10 million; and four main bottler partners (SIBEG in Sicily, CCBS in Albania, GSD in Malta and CCH in all other BU territories).

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Damiano is guided in his role by the objectives previously set out by Barry Simpson, Senior VP and Chief Information Officer at TCCC, who two years ago articulated a digital transformation programme known as ‘Digitizing for Growth’. The three main objectives of the program are: ‘digitizing for the Consumer’ by creating more personalised, predictive and emotive experiences by harnessing data and analytics; ‘digitizing for the Customer’ by building new routes to market and forging additional partner-

CEE BU – Connected Cooler Demonstrator CLICK TO WATCH

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ships alongside strengthening existing

System”, in short the network involves

ones; and ‘digitizing the Enterprise’ by

TCCC supplying beverage products

investing in capabilities to create an

to the bottlers which then add other

agile, engaging and productive work-

ingredients, package the products

place. To achieve those aims, TCCC

and distribute them through four main

is focused on continued investment

market channels, known as: Super-

in digital marketing, ecommerce

markets, Convenience, Discounters

platforms, scalable sales and com-

and HoReCa (including bars, pubs, res-

mercial technology.

taurants and cafeterias). While gross

TCCC’s unique relationship with

profits for bottling partners are often

its bottling partners is another

healthy, operating margins are much

important consideration for its

thinner, which leads TCCC to pursue

digital transformation. Together

innovations. “TCCC invests heavily in

referred to as “The Coca-Cola

category development, both creating w w w.c o c a - c o l a c o mpa n y. com

BUILDING ENTERPRISES FOR THE DIGITAL AGE Triveneto Servizi was established by Roberto Bontempi in Spinea, metropolitan city of Venice, in 2012. The company specialises in ICT workplace maintenance and mission critical services for multinational corporations.

More recently, Triveneto Servizi has invested in leading-edge skills, focused on developing FMCG image recognition solutions, Blockchain payment systems and high-speed fiber connectivity.

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TRIVENETO SERVIZI & COCA-COLA ITALIA CASE STUDY EXPO 2015 The main activities carried out include: • Installation of laptops, desktops, printers, videoconference Coca-Cola devices.

• 24/7 Assistance during the event on the above materials and on the software’s installed with an onsite team of IT senior technicians.

• Project managing activity in preparation of the event (contact with the vendors, managing of the offers, collaboration with Telecom & CISCO in the creation of the network architecture).

There has never been a more exciting time to work with technology. In the past, innovation was limited by the capabilities of hardware and software - now it’s only limited by the imagination.

Today, mobile technology, the cloud, intelligent machines, social media, Internet of Things and emerging technologies make almost any idea possible.

Roberto Bontempi, with his 30 years of experience in building ICT companies, has been a premium partner of Coca-Cola Italia for seven years. From his Milano office, and in cooperation with his senior team, coordinated by Andrea Lombardo, Bontempi takes care of all IT desk site support services.

This facilitates all digital collaboration capabilities and technology consumerisation programmes from CocaCola’s Corporate IT, and makes the Milano employees more productive, digitised and connected. During 2020, Triveneto Servizi will fully unlock the power of the smart working paradigm in Coca-Cola Italia, promoting the fast adoption of all apps available in the Coke app store.

One of the most remarkable achievements of Triveneto Servizi and Coca-Cola Italia’s collaboration has been the ICT support provided during the preparation-executionclosure of the EXPO event for the entirety of 2015. The main features of the service provided were the Coke EXPO pavilion onsite installation, and maintenance of the IT equipment and software provided by Coca-Cola, in order to create a Coca-Cola office area, applying the Coca-Cola small office standard configuration.

The Coca-Cola Pavilion, built for EXPO Milano 2015, celebrated the company’s tradition, in line with the theme of the exposition “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.

This was a stage upon which the company displayed its sustainability model – based on the promotion of wellbeing, protecting the environment and building stronger communities – in an experiential way.

The Pavilion - standing 12 metres high and covering 1,000 square meters of surface area, was constructed of environmentally sustainable materials including wood, glass and water to create an iconic space that was simultaneously contemporary and innovative.

The outer walls, made of glass and wood, recreated the Coca-Cola logo and the contour silhouette of the historic glass Coca-Cola bottle, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015. Visitors to the pavilion were led along an interactive journey where they participated in the discovery of Coca-Cola world and learned about the company’s values.

The building outlined the dimensions of a basketball court and, at the end of EXPO, became a new space that the Milan community of Famagosta now uses for physical activities.

Triveneto Servizi has a vision that inspires all ICT services of its portfolio: “expect the same technology experience at work as we have elsewhere in our lives”. This means differentiating ICT services – more green, more social, more collaborative, more mobile and more reliable – that drive innovation for productivity and growth.

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innovative packaging solutions and

few years is Price-Profit-Volume

fostering brand development,” says

Simulator and Assortment Optimisa-

Marabelli. “Given its multi-segmented

tion. Powered by Microsoft solutions

shopper and customer base, TCCC

including Azure, PowerBI and the

must spend heavily on market research

.NET framework, the software lever-

— it’s necessary for TCCC to stay ahead of changing market trends, consump-

BU and Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling

tion behaviour and competitive tactics.”

Company worked with McKinsey to

The close relationship with bot-

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ages an experience whereby CEE

build scenarios and volume projections

tlers extends to joint IT projects. One

for profitability and margin improve-

key innovation introduced in the last

ments. “Revenue Growth Management

“ It’s necessary for TCCC to stay ahead of changing market trends, consumption behavior and competitive tactics” — Damiano Marabelli Central & Eastern Business Unit CIO The Coca-Cola Company

(RGM) is the core business process in The Coca-Cola System,” Marabelli explains. “It maximises system revenue by systematically identifying pockets of value and by activating offerings that most profitably convert shoppers into buyers. The essence of RGM is in understanding consumers’ perception of product value and accurately aligning product prices, placement and availability with each

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE 11

Damiano Marabelli Damiano has broad IT, business and change management experience through various positions he held for more than 15 years within the Whirlpool Corporation. He holds a college degree in Computer Science and an Executive Master Business Administration degree specialising in ICT Strategy, Governance and Management from the Polytechnic-University in Milan. In addition, he has earned a ccOPEX (Customer-Centered Operational Excellence) Six Sigma Black Belt certificate and an Online Masters in Social Media Communication from Il Sole24Ore business school in Milan. 51 years old, he grew up in a small lake town near Varese, Northern Italy, where he continues to live with his family.

Married with one son, Damiano is a strong tennis player and passionate about historical and philosophical essays.

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Photo © Coca-Cola HBC 12

customer segment. These simulation

“ It no longer makes sense to think of IT as a separate entity from marketing, finance or supply chain” — Damiano Marabelli Central & Eastern Business Unit CIO The Coca-Cola Company

and optimisation capabilities support this process and have already been rolled-out across several other BUs and bottlers.” RGM will continue to be a focus, with a new generation of RGM analytics being designed to harness AI and machine learning to elaborate on insights and realise profits.

Consumer-facing technology has also been a focus, as with the company’s recently launched app aimed at teenagers. “During 2019 the brand new Coca-Cola app was active

“ Ipis acest volorepta doluptia quation elio repelestiur acerecti aut aborent occustrum quoditi ut eiciaes esi quibus aditiam util” — Name of Person, Position and company

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in 17 CEE markets, fully leveraging

1 March 2019, more than 1.6 million

the business unit’s digital market-

consumers have installed the app, with

ing ecosystem that also includes a

more than 250,000 of them using it

GDPR-compliant consumer database,

actively every month. “As a result of

a consumer promo engine, a social

that, more than 1.3 million consum-

media listening and engaging center

ers have registered in our consumer

and so on,” Marabelli elaborates. “The

database, 1.4 million stories have been

mobile experience covered by the app

uploaded to the app and more than 4.3

involves user-generated content, loy-

million pin codes have been redeemed

alty and promotions — users upload pictures and unlock words to build stories by participating in promotions

— corresponding with the same amount of drinks being purchased.”

The delivery of such systems stems

and earning points to be exchanged

from a reimagined role for the IT func-

for digital prizes.” Since its launch on

tion, which Marabelli traces back to w w w.c o c a - c o l a c o mpa n y. com

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1886

Year founded by Dr John Pemberton

$31.8bn Revenue in US dollars (2018)

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700,000+ Number of employees across company and bottling partners

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Photo © Coca-Cola Italy w w w.c o c a - c o l a c o mpa n y. com

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previous CIO and Vice President Ed Steinike. Marabelli remembers the words of Steinike, who previously said: “It’s all about people. Just like CocaCola’s marketing organisation, which hired some really smart people in the field of digital and interactive marketing, we started to recruit talented IT people who were more entrepreneurial, a little more strategic in their thinking, and who connected better with what marketing was trying to achieve.” This reinvigorated culture has also been 16

reiterated by Corporate CIO Barry Simpson, with Marabelli taking a number of lessons from him, including IT’s

“ 1.3 million consumers have registered in our consumer database, 1.4 million stories have been uploaded to the app and more than 4.3 million pin codes have been redeemed” — Damiano Marabelli Central & Eastern Business Unit CIO The Coca-Cola Company

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role in helping TCCC to implement its

ply chain. From product development,

‘Total Beverage’ strategy, which involves

intelligent supply chains, advertising

broadening its offering to become

and mobile payments, technology has

more consumer-centric. As part of that,

become an integral ingredient in all

Marabelli emphasises that IT must be

aspects of businesses. We are shifting

capable of adapting to the new ecosys-

from builders of technology to archi-

tem and constantly reinventing the way

tects of possibility that will enable our

the company does business.

business’ success as a ‘Total Beverage’

It is with this strategy in mind that

company. We do not solve technology

Marabelli conceptualises his depart-

problems; we use technology to solve

ment’s future path: “It no longer makes

business challenges.”

sense to think of IT as a separate entity from marketing, finance or supw w w.c o c a - c o l a c o mpa n y. com

The Coca-Cola Company Coca Cola Plz NW Atlanta, GA 30313 T +1 404 676 2683 www.coca-colacompany.com