Coca-Cola Company Company Analysis: Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company began humbly in 1886 when Atlanta pharmacist, John Pemberton, mixed up a caramel colored liquid and carried it a few doors down to have it mixed with carbonated water. Here, a few customers sampled it and they agreed that it was something special so the pharmacist began selling it for 5¢ a glass, with sales of approximately nine classes per day (Coca-Cola Company, "Heritage Timeline"). Pemberton never lived to see his invention become one of the biggest empires in the soft drink industry. Upon his death, Frank Robinson, Pemberton's bookkeeper named the mixture, Coca-Cola and wrote it in the distinctive script that is still used as the company's trademark today (Coca-Cola Company, "Heritage Timeline"). It was salesman, Asa Candler, who the built the syrup into a viable business and sponsored the first plants in Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles (Coca-Cola Company, "Heritage Timeline"). In the years prior to World War I, many copycat beverages entered the market and Coca-Cola found itself in a position of needing to protect its brand. It was during this time that the company held a contest to design the distinctive glass bottle that would become a trademark of the Coca-Cola brand, setting its product aside from other competitors on the market at the time. The contest was won by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana. One of the key features of the bottle is that the contour of the bottle could be recognized in the dark (Coca-Cola Company, "Heritage Timeline"). From 1919 to 1940 Robert Woodruff brought about the design of the familiar six-pack that allowed consumers to take the cola home with them. Coca Cola's overseas expansion began in World War II when Woodruff ordered that, "every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5¢, wherever he is and whatever it costs the company," (Coca-Cola Company, "Heritage Timeline"). The 1960s through 1980s saw the expansion of the soda industry and the growth of the overseas sales. The 1980s saw the introduction of Diet Coke and New Coke. It was during this time that Coca-Cola became a public company. Since that time Coca-Cola has remained a brand that is a recognizable American icon throughout the world (Coca-Cola Company, "Heritage Timeline"). Business Analysis The mission of the Coca-Cola Company is to refresh the world, inspire moments of happiness and to create value that makes a difference in the world (the Coca-Cola Company, "Growth, leadership, sustainability"). Currently, Coca-Cola is sold in over 200 countries around the world and employs approximately 92,800 employees. Company has been in business for 124 years. Nearly 1.6 billion servings of Coke are provided to customers every day, making Coca-Cola one of the most recognized consumer brands of beverages in the world (the Coca-Cola Company, "Growth, leadership, sustainability"). Strategy The Coca-Cola of did not become one of the largest corporations in the world without a solid business strategy. (the Coca-Cola Company, "The Coca-Cola System"). The Coca-Cola Company is still headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia where it all began. The company now offers much more of than its original branded Coca-Cola. They now offer a wide selection of waters, juices, juice drinks, teas, coffees, sports drinks, and energy drinks. Coca-Cola's bottling system is the backbone of the organization. Originally, Coca-Cola was only sold in fountain machines. This meant that customers had to go to the retail store, which may have been inconvenient. The introduction of the bottling system allowed Coca-Cola to distribute its products over a wider region and allowed its consumers to enjoy their product anywhere they wished to go. The ability to bottle their product is the mainstay of the Coca-Cola system. The bottling system uses more than 300 bottling partners on a world-wide basis that provide their products to local consumers. Rather than having a central plant that ships their products all over the world, that Coca-Cola system uses of the approach of local employment, local business, and the ability to support the local economy. Coca-Cola bottlers are a unique system that allows the company to operate like a local business, rather than a global giant. This also allows Coca-Cola to work closely with its customers, such as grocery stores, restaurants, street vendors, movie theaters, amusement parks and many others who buy their products for resale (the Coca-Cola Company, "The Coca-Cola System"). Coca-Cola works through distributors, rather than selling their products directly to consumers. Organization The company is organized into several major divisions, depending on the region of the world...

These groups are Eurasia & Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, Pacific, bottling investments, and corporate. The unique bottling system uses partnerships with other companies to provide the backbone of the Coca-Cola distribution system. The Coca-Cola Company has a unique structure that is different from other global organizations. The Coca-Cola system is not a single entity from a legal or managerial perspective (the Coca-Cola Company, "The Coca-Cola System"). The company does not own or control its partner bottling companies. Management The structure of the Coca-Cola Company makes it a unique entity in terms of management and investment analysis. The Coca-Cola Company operates as a global team that is built around its brand and its people. Muhlar Kent is the current Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (the Coca-Cola Company, "Leading the Industry & Refreshing the World Responsibly"). The management system and Coca-Cola is complex and has multiple levels, and located in many locations around the world. The central headquarters is located in Atlanta, Georgia. However, many of the other lower level management positions are available throughout the local distributing portions of the company. Management positions are divided into a number of traditional and nontraditional functions. Some of the most important managerial positions are sourcing, packaging, and transportation. The company also has many of the other management positions associated with a manufacturing facility. Auditors and the quality control personnel also play a key role in allowing the Coca-Cola Company to maintain its position as one of the top brands in the industry. Managing businesses that are not part of Coca-Cola creates a complex management challenge concerning how to keep quality standards when the businesses representing their brands are not formally part of the Coca-Cola Corporation. In order to maintain quality standards that Coca-Cola Company has a branded quality control system known as the Coca-Cola Quality System or TCCQS. This management system was developed by a global cross functional team that was endorsed by senior management of the Coca-Cola Company (Coca Cola India). This management system includes oversight of fourteen key elements and management principles. Having a well defined set of principles allows them to deliver quality across the system of suppliers and manufacturers. All of their outside suppliers and vendors must comply with these principles if they are to remain a part of the Coca-Cola team. In order to be a Coca-Cola distributor, manufacture, or any other part of the manufacturing process, the business must be willing to adhere to that of a set of international standards. Food safety standards are different among various countries, so the Coca-Cola Company publishes a set of standards that all of their manufacturing, distribution, and retail companies must adhere to in order to continue to deliver Coca-Cola products. In addition to its own internal standards, many of the companies within the Coca-Cola family must also comply with international standards such as ISO 9001 to 2000. The company must also comply with national regulations in the country in which they operate. Managing a company such as Coca-Cola is complex and requires the coordination of the many areas in many different locations around the world. The Coca-Cola Company has many unique challenges associated with the fact that not all of the companies in which it is involved are a part of Coca-Cola. The companies that they work with are often independently owned, or have their own specialized part of the system. Maintaining quality is one of the biggest challenges that the Coca-Cola team has. Insisting that subsidiaries and partners follow a set of standards is one of the best ways to make certain that the company can maintain quality across the system. The TCCQS is a branded quality management system that allows Coca-Cola to remain one of the top of the global companies in the world. Without the system, it is likely that they would not be able to maintain their brand image and brand identity in terms of quality and value that the offer to their customers. Financial The following information is available on the financial health of the Coca-Cola Company for the years 2006-2010. 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 Period End Date 12/31/2010 12/31/2009 12/31/2008 12/31/2007 12/31/2006 Period Length 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months Stmt Source 8-K 10-K 10-K 10-K 10-K Stmt Source Date 02/09/2011 02/26/2010 02/26/2010 02/26/2010 02/21/2007 Stmt Update Type Updated Updated Reclassified Reclassified Updated Revenue 35,119.0 30,990.0 31,944.0 28,857.0 24,088.0 Total Revenue 35,119.0 30,990.0 31,944.0 28,857.0 24,088.0 Cost of Revenue,…