Cola maker develops people behind the brand
A company, who commits to their employees by providing them with continuous training, invests on the intellectual capital of their organization and maintains a well-priced product for their consumers.
ARC Refreshments Corp. (ARC), the exclusive licensed bottler of RC Cola International in the Philippines, has kept standards in check with regular training for its employees. This year, the emphasis was on Statistical Process Control (SPC), an industry standard methodology for measuring and controlling product quality during the manufacturing process. It’s laborious and often one of the most neglected aspects of analysis and improvement.
“Departments should have a basic idea of statistics and its importance in manufacturing, only then are they able to complement what their counterpart department is doing,” says Jose Obinguar, a veteran quality assurance consultant and practitioner in the beverage industry since 1984. Obinguar magnified the importance of how statistics is used to manage and monitor the manufacturing process, maintain product quality, and allow for informed decisions to produce the perfect cola drink.
It allows systems to operate at its full potential. Digging deeper, he ties all elements of the brand from bottling to servicing. “Product quality encompasses all aspects of the business, from purchasing and finance, down to the level of the production crew. Everyone should be able to work together and understand the process involved.”
“If the ingredients are inferior in quality, then the result will always be inferior or less-than-satisfactory. If the machines are not properly maintained, then they would always affect productivity,” he cites logically. He explained how SPC can ensure consistency throughout the supply chain. “From product sampling, to applying the correct mix of ingredients, and quantifying the resulting variability, each of these steps require basic statistical processes,” he says.
Keeping-up with the innovations of a hi-tech industry make companies more relevant to consumers. For his part, Butch Aves, vice president for technical services of ARC, confirms the importance of including SPC in training sessions. “SPC applies to all frontiers - everything we do is measured. It’s one way of controlling the variability of results, and making sure that RC Cola remains consistent in taste and quality.”
No one can deny that RC Cola is one of the best-loved carbonated beverages - quality, has long been the cornerstone of the brand. ‘We continue to invest in human resources to strengthen the capabilities of our employees. This forms part of our commitment in ARC. We want to provide quality products at an affordable price point for our customers,” says Aves. In the end, the company’s ethos benefits the end-users.