Powering up resilience to mitigate supply chain disruption

One of the world’s largest food and beverage companies has hundreds of brands under its belt. But amid global supply chain disruption, labor shortages and pandemic-fueled shifts in consumer demand, getting those products onto store shelves was becoming more difficult.

The company’s service level, measured by Case Fill Rate (CFR), was only reaching about 84%—some 11-12 percentage points below pre-pandemic performance. So, for example, a retailer looking to stock 100 bottles of a product may only receive 84 at the expected time of delivery.

With orders delayed or incomplete and shelves empty or understocked, the company was concerned about losing market share—and the trust of consumers. The company needed to rethink how it could effectively and efficiently handle supply chain management. So the company turned to Accenture to help identify the heart of the issue and collaborate on potential solutions.

With end-to-end visibility, more efficient organization and a set of new routines and best practices to connect disparate teams, supply chain network issues are now much more manageable. The results are evident in the numbers: The company saw its case fill rate pass 90%—a level it had not achieved in more than two years. Soon, it was finishing its month with record volumes. 

The greater resiliency built into the new system means the company is prepared for what’s ahead and can react more efficiently to future supply chain disruption. In reimagining its operations, the company is orchestrating the change it needs to deliver customers what they expect. Now, retailers are more likely to get the products they want, when they want them—keeping shelves full and consumers happy.