The Coca-Cola Company leads a worldwide franchise system built on the foundation of local bottlers. Its many flavors of Coke—plus Fanta, Powerade, Dr. Pepper, and Sprite—are worldwide favorites. Collectively, Coca-Cola has more than 100,000 employees in the United States, nearly 70 independent Coca-Cola bottlers across the United States, and another 225 bottling partners worldwide. Coca-Cola manufactures and sells concentrates, beverage bases, and syrups to the bottlers. It also owns the brands and is responsible for consumer brand marketing initiatives. 

Coca-Cola bottling partners work closely with local businesses, including amusement parks, convenience stores, grocery stores, movies, restaurants, and street vendors, to execute localized strategies developed in partnership with Coca-Cola. These outlets sell Coca-Cola brand soft drinks to consumers at a rate of more than 1.9 billion servings a day. This approach has enabled Coca-Cola to create a global reach with a local focus. 

Critical Thinking Questions 

1. How might The Coca-Cola Company and/or its bottlers use connected coolers to engage with customers in real time? What advantages might this capability provide?

2. The many Coca-Cola bottlers worldwide may employ different technology partners and different technology solutions to implement the connected coolers. They are likely to rollout the technology over different timeframes. Will this lack of standardization hinder the success of this initiative?

3. Is there a need to share the data collected from the various bottlers? What issues might arise in attempting to share this data?