GLS Australian Beverage LTD Essay Example for Free

GLS Australian Beverage LTD Essay 1937, Australian Beverages Ltd (ABL) commenced manufacturing soft drinks [non-alcoholic drinks rather than ‘hard’ drinks that contain alcohol]. 1970s and 1980s, the company expanded beverage portfolio by entering into other non-alcoholic beverage categories, such as fruit- and milkbased drinks. 2011, the company was Australia’s largest supplier of non-alcoholic beverages. -Tom Dwyer, current Managing Director since 2008. Joined the company at a time when carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) growth was stagnating and shareholder confidence in the company was waning. Dwyer established a strategic planning team to assess the current product portfolio and identify organic and acquisition growth opportunities. From this review the importance of operational excellence was identified Strong investment was made in world-class manufacturing facilities and systems. Process re-engineering was implemented to reduce the costs of manufacturing and time-to-market. Given the declining consumption of CSDs, Tom Dwyer has sought to reduce ABL’s reliance on them, focusing on growing new products and entering new non-alcoholic beverage Categories. Significant investment in product development of other non-alcoholic beverages Several acquisitions made to grow the market share of non-CSD based beverages in the company’s portfolio Entry into the Australian snack food market recently undertaken. Finalised the integration of a snack food business acquisition just over 12 months ago, Latest acquisition enabled ABL to leverage its strong distribution capabilities to supermarkets, convenience stores and hospitality channels by adding complementary food products to non-alcoholic beverages. CSDs still accounted for 68 per cent of company revenue in 2011. The board has requested the company continue to accelerate