Shortage of 'cans'; Coca Cola supply chain under pressure

Uxbridge/UK: The carbonated soft drink Coca Cola's bottling in British and continental areas came under pressure from the supply chain crisis as a shortage of aluminium cans arose, The Guardian reported. Consumers have taken the decline in the availability of Diet Coke and Coke Zero to social media at some places.

The Coca Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has commented that it had been experiencing certain logistic challenges. Nik Jhangiani, CCEP's chief financial officer, said that they faced issues with the availability of HGV drivers but were concentrated on the steady-state supply of products throughout the pandemic induced lockdown. He said that they had performed well in service levels than their competitors. He added that they are working with customers to manage the crisis successfully.

The CCEP is responsible for manufacturing, transporting and selling products for Coca Cola, including Fanta and Sprite, across 29 countries in Europe and Asia. Its response came when the company reported pre-tax profits of 467 million pounds in July, almost doubled in six months. They had told investors that there is increased pressure on the company's ability to source key goods and services.

There was a shortage of HGV drivers due to the pandemic and Brexit, leading wholesalers to struggle getting goods delivered to shops. Last month, McDonald's had said that bottled drinks and milkshakes were temporarily unavailable in certain restaurants in England, Scotland and Wales and cited supply chain disruption. On Wednesday, the pub chain Wetherspoon's said they are experiencing a shortage of beers, like Carling, Coors, and Heineken.