John Peter Koss

The domino effect in the beverage supply chain showcases the importance of inventory maintenance to keep product on the shelf.

Recently, a robust research effort was initiated to answer questions posed at a technical conference: “what does going digital mean?” and “what do you mean by digital?” The variety of answers received was interesting because they demonstrated different interpretations of the questions, as well as a real understanding of the term “digital.”

Observations, studies, research and experience in a broad variety of retail stores have generated significant, timely and technical concerns and questions. The number of brands, products and packages displayed on the store-length gondolas in the beverage section pose the first question: who created all these SKUs, and why?

Like all good things, there is a start and finish with well-defined steps,and that is why theapproach of looking at the application as an integrated supply chain is important.

Because safety has many aspects, the focus here is directed primarily toward physical facilities, personnel protection and approaches for establishing and managing a safe environment.

Even though warehouse structures might be called sales centers, distribution centers, dispatch stations and other names, the specific terminology becomes very important.

In the future, robotics could be programmed to load beverage delivery trucks.

Food safety, health-and-wellness and clean-label trends are influencing more beverage-makers to invest in high-pressure processing (HPP) equipment.

The relatively simple topic of space can become a major issue when analyzing and evaluating the beverage industry supply chain.