AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SOFT DRINK (A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY ONITSHA L.G.A ANAMBRA STATE)
The Physical Distribution of soft drinks in Nigeria has obviously played many roles in the economic growth of the country and the Onitsha metropolitans in particular. Through, series of identifies obstacles and hindrance have actually intruded their ways in playing their implied roles to the consumers of soft drinks in Onitsha, and Nigeria at large.
However, this chapter deals mainly with a review of related literature on the “assessment on the physical distribution of coca-cola, Onitsha”.
There had been numerous written and speaking related literatures by scholars, investors, traders, professional researchers and authors, as records has shown that much related literatures had been documented on the topic.
Therefore, the researcher will highly rely on the available information from newspapers, journals, magazines, reports, projects and textbooks, for overview. For a better comprehension of the topic under discussion, the chapter has to be presented under the following sub-headings.
- The concept of physical distribution of soft drinks
- The contributions of physical distribution of soft drinks in the Nigeria
- The problem facing the physical distribution of soft drinks.
- The remedies to the problems facing the physical distribution of soft drinks.
- The prevailing factors influencing consumers preference and tastes for soft drinks.
2.2 IMPROVEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY
The invention of modern technologies in the production of goods and services have assisted to soft drinks industries to cope with highly evolving rate of consumers life style and choices. With the introduction of technology, the high demand of soft drinks have been controlled squarely.
Sawinski (1995, 552-553) stated that advances in technology have improved all aspects of the soft drinks industry. For instance, advances in additives such as: sugarless, sweeteners, caffeine free product, and new flavourings have enabled the industry to provide products that meet changing customer tastes and preferences. Computerized manufacturing technologies have attributed to higher efficiency and qualify in bottling operations. Computerized system can now be used to measure key aspects of beverage production such as; Syrup, Usage, Brix Count (Percent sugar), and beverage carbonation. Advances in logistics and information technology are helping companies enjoy better inventory control, faster truck check-in and check-out, better load errors.
Dawson (1997, 74-78) stated this, technology advances have also helped the sales end of the business. The so-called “Smakt” vending machines used electronic components to track sales patterns, stocks and equipments break-downs. When equipped with wireless communications software, these machines can also automatically reader stock, eliminating the need for manual stock checks. Faster fountain dispensers are also being developed to better customers on the go. Another innovation that could revolutionize the business is the self-chilling can developed by the Joseph Company. The introduction of technology has increase the labour force, because technicians had been employed to installed, maintained, operate and repaired as the case may be.
- REVIEW OF CURRENT LITERATURE
(Improvement on the Economic Growth)
Effective and efficient physical distributed of soft drinks must definitely bring desirable improvement in the economic growth. In that respect, good proportion of the population fully employed, increment in the Gross National Product (G.N.P) and percapita. There will be increase in the government taxation revenue, because more profit will be made by these soft drinks industries and they will be tax accordingly. This can therefore, assist the government to maintains and increase infrastructural development.
Muralidharan (1996) stated that “Many countries that were once inaccessible to foreign companies are opening up their markets, countries like, China, India and Indonesia, which together accounting for really half of the world’s population. These countries also have among the lowest per capita soft drink consumption levels in the world. They now provide opportunity previously unavailable to them and success in these new markets depend on learning to operate in dissimilar cultures, managing political and currency risks and overcoming infrastructural problems.
The annual GOP growth in the U.S, average 2.32% between 1991 and 1995. During the same 1991-95 period, inflation in the U.S., measured by the consumer price index, averaged 3.19% and the lending interest rate charged by U.S. banks on loans to prime customers averaged 7.34%. The below table C, summarizes these numbers and also provides corresponding numbers and also provides corresponding numbers for two earlier five-year periods.
Table C: General Economic Indicators for the U.S.
| Average annual | 1981-85 | 1986 – 90 | 1991-95 |
| GPP growth rate | 2.64% | 2.7% | 2.32% |
| Inflation rate | 5.5% | 3.95% | 3.19% |
| Lending rate | 13.30% | 9.36% | 7.34 |
Literature review of this work covers the research from the perspective of the general overview of the position of physical distribution of soft drinks in coca-cola Onitsha in Onitsha South Local Government Area, Anambra State. It includes the helps these company (coca-cola) derive from making of physical distribution of soft drink. From the literature review according to Johnson and Wood (1982) defined Physical Distribution as, the purpose of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient flow of raw-materials, in – process inventory, and finished goods from the point of origin to the point of consumption.
It was also defined by another radical secular been Stanton (1981). He define physical distribution as, consisting of all the activities concerned with moving the right amount of the right products to the right place at the right time.
The result of this study will be used to know whether physical distribution plays a positive or negative role to the physical distribution of soft drink of coca-cola company in marketing their product. The research of this work should strive to evaluate role of the physical distribution to the above claim with respect to coca-cola company. Benefits can be derived from proper physical distribution of soft drinks, focus on Coca-Cola Co., Onitsha.
- PROVISION OF JOB OPPORTUNITIES
When the soft drinks industries effectively and efficiently engaged in physical distribution of their products, many individuals will be gainfully employed-locally and internationally. Distribution covers advertisement, grading, transportation, etc. Hence different workers are them employed, such as, Advertisers, Casual workers, drivers etc. It will improves more than 1000 workers are employed tamually, for promotions and advertisement, casual worker, drivers, managerial staffs, at catara.
- IMPROVEMENT ON INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT
An effective and efficient physical distribution of soft drink in Nigeria will surely bring about certain degree of improvement on the infrastructural amenities, especially those ones commonly used by the soft drinks industries in their routine production and distribution processes. Higher percentages of water and electricity consumptions are used of these industries. The soft drinks products need constant electricity supplied for preservative and good tastes. Water in larger quantities are alwages needed in the production stages. Good roads are required for better and constant distribution of the soft drinks products in order to meet the consumers demand day-by-day.
As regards the importance of infrastructural amenities to these industries, it becomes necessary to be provided and constantly maintained by the industries and the government. Thus, there will be an improvement on the nation economy and even the people within benefit a lots on the improvement and provision of basic infrastructural amenities. Infact, these mentioned amenities are inevitable factors and materials in the soft drinks industries.
Hence, the industry will always provides more and improves on the already existing ones, irrespective of government attitudes to these amenities.
Bottling operations and syrup production differ in their capital intensity and profitability. Beverages and store for the retailers and consumers to buy as at when needed are very few in number to meet up with the level of distribution by the industries for the targeted consumers. It then imposes a serious problem to the desired level of production and distribution of these drinks, companies with the ascending changes of consumers.
In this situation, the demand will exceed the supply, thereby increasing the price of the product. Even, the storage facilities like, cold-room, refrigerators, etc are still inadequate in supply.
At the retail end, problem includes lack of refrigerators in retail outlets and even lack of power lines in some places.
Overcoming these problems has required and may continue to require sizable investments infrastructure development and giving away or loaning coders-(Muralidharan 1996).
- HIGH TRANSPORTATION COSTS.
There is always a problem of distance from the urban centres where the soft drinks industries are located, such as Onitsha to the rural areas where the majority of the customers lived. There is also high cost of maintaining distributing or delivery vans and couple with the already mentioned poor roads, the transportation fees and costs of effectively and efficiently distributing this product became unavoidably high. Even, at the international markets of soft drinks, distance and high transportation fares is so prevailing. The fact is that transportation is as important as the physical distribution of any product in the world, hence the high cost of it has to be adjusted properly to the selling prices of the products in questioned.
Some of the inputs from Agriculture need to be distributed to the industrial usage, such as, bulk sweetener or the sugar manufactured from agricultural produce – like, care and leaf.
Again transport fares are extremely high in Nigeria and other West African Countries, when compare with fares in Europe and United States. For instance, it costs a lot of money to transport heavy commodities such as; cement, cattle, etc from one town to another in Nigeria (Eyiyere, 1997).
The depots or warehouses where the wholesalers that buy in bulk different preference and tastes. In some area or places, some brand of soft drinks are not found or distributed, that will then change the consumers preference and tastes for a particular soft drinks, instead of non-availability of the desired choices.
Above all, individual differences must always play a role in the consumers choices of the beverages.
- PROBLEMS FACING THE PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SOFT DRINKS
As mentioned earlier, the physical distribution of soft drinks played certain roles in the economic development of the nation and Onitsha and its environs in particular. Yet, some problems normally face the successful result of this distribution. Some prevailing problems are stated as follows.
