Coca-Cola HBC's supply chain is complex, with variable transportation and storage costs, as well as seasonal demand variations. This complexity was preventing effective analysis and holding back the possibility of cost-cutting.
The management needed a simulation solution that would help solve these core challenges:
- Make the network more transparent
- Help test hypotheses
- Support decision making
firstBit | NFP were contracted to create a supply chain model for these purposes, as well as to reduce goods movement and processing costs.
The team chose anyLogistix software for supply chain design and analysis, as it provided more opportunities for detailed simulation and logistics optimization. Like AnyLogic, it provides innovative simulation technologies, but also combines them with powerful analytical optimization approaches for end-to-end supply chain analytics.
The project began with the development of a concept supply chain simulation based on the current network’s performance data and metrics. This defined the scope of supply chain model development and moved the project to a prototyping phase, where testing was carried out based on limited data. Based on the results of the testing, the team validated the model and could estimate the risks of further scaling the model.
In the final phase of development, the supply chain model was scaled to represent a supply chain of 200,000 clients with considerations for routing, fleet availability, and load capacities. With this model built in anyLogistix and with access to its supply chain-specific experiments, it became possible to exclude economically inefficient routes and to better optimize suitable routes regarding vehicles and their loading.
Overall, the developers used the supply chain model to tackle five key business challenges:
- Production strategy selection
- Supply chain master planning
- Warehouse location
- Last-mile delivery strategy
- Safety stock calculation
The outcome of the project was a supply chain decision support system for managers from Coca-Cola HBC. With it, they can manage their supply chain, allowing for different planning horizons, test logistics and production hypotheses, and support decision making for delivery managers.
