Drinks industry must improve supply chains

A global supply chain consultancy company is urging drinks firms to evolve and improve their supply chains in order to meet consumer demands for greater product variety.

Drinks companies and their suppliers are being encouraged to put more emphasis on improving all elements of their supply chain

Crispin Mair, Director at Crimson and Co, has claimed drinks companies and their suppliers must put more emphasis on improving all elements of their supply chain to meet the rising demand for a larger choice of products in their portfolio.

Although the demand for variety across the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector is nothing new, Crimson and Co highlighted that drinks companies are often left lagging, putting pressure on the consultancy and the suppliers to become more responsive to the evolving market.

Accommodating wider product diversity is a costly process, said Mair, which is why it is important for firms to strengthen their supply chain.

He added: “It is imperative drinks companies are seen to be working with their suppliers to mitigate the costs involved within this process.

“As an industry, we need to see greater collaboration whereby suppliers and drinks companies work closely to ensure that the necessary changes don’t prove to be ridiculously expensive. The two parties must work together to ease the cost burden.

“Ultimately, the drinks industry needs to understand that it will not be able to optimise costs without working with suppliers. It needs to treat suppliers as a business asset with a huge amount of knowledge.”

Crimson and Co will host a Drinks Industry Forum on 22 January in London, to address these points raised by Mair.