Coca-Cola has a number of products, but their core product is the eponymous flagship beverage. But what is Coca-Cola? In essence, it is a syrup that is mixed with carbonated water in order to produce a soft drink. The production method is to gather the base ingredients, and then to create the syrup, which is a mixture of these flavoring ingredients, sugars and some water. This syrup is then blended with the carbonated water in order to produce the final product. When you get a Coke at a soda fountain, the blending occurs at the fountain. When you get a Coke in a bottle or can, it is blended at the manufacturing facility right before it is packaged, so that the packaging maintains the carbonation.
The process looks like this:
source: Process Flow Sheets (no date)
Supply Chain
The Coca-Cola supply chain is complicated mainly by the volumes that the company requires, and the fact that it needs near-constant production to minimize costs. The ingredients are a collection of flavors and syrups, which are processed agricultural products. So Coca-Cola needs to ensure a high volume of supply, delivered at frequent intervals throughout the year, of products that are derived from crops. That is a significant challenge for the company. One of the reasons why the company switched from sugar to high-fructose corn syrup, for example, was to ensure a domestic supply of its main sweetener -- sugar crops...
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