Amstel Malt meets
growing need
Distribution and Logistics map
out new strategy
Heineken in bites and bytes
Alcohol-free beer ever more
popular on Dutch market
Managers from many countries hold first meeting
Advanced computer system
helps Brands Design work faster
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NO. 34
PAGE 5
Thirty-six Heineken managers and consultants got together
last month in Naarden (near Amsterdam) for a two-day
seminar to discuss Logistics and Cost Leadership, Logistics
and Service, Logistics and Speed. It was the first time that
the logistics experts from operating companies and corpo
rate staff had held such a joint meeting.
Nowadays, anyone who says that the onward march of the
computer is unstoppable is really stating the obvious. But
the development of software which can be used by a depart
ment like Brands Design truly deserves to be described as
something special.
In the Netherlands consumer de
mand for alcohol-free beer continues
to grow. And in response to this
trend a new Amstel beer has been
launched: non-alcohol Amstel Malt.
The first crates of Amstel Malt left
the brewery last month.
More and more Dutch drinkers
are opting for alcohol-free beer. In
1990 total sales had already reached
11 million crates, and the expecta
tions for this year are further growth
to 14 million crates. Just like in the
traditional beer market, segmenta
tion is also occurring in the non-alco
hol beers. In the premium segment
Heineken's representative is the
international Buckler brand. Amstel
Malt is positioned in the mainstream
segment.
Amstel Malt is produced using
the traditional brewing method.
After fermentation the alcohol per
centage is reduced to less than 0.1%
alcohol by volume, which makes the
beer 'alcohol-free'. Thanks to this
brewing process Amstel Malt retains
a natural, beery character.
The first bottles ofAmstel Malt line up on the conveyor belt in the brewery.
K. Vuursteen, Heineken Board mem
ber with responsibility for Market
ing, closed the meeting by emphasis
ing again the importance of cost
control and service.
Fritz Beukers, of El Aguila, tells the
other participants how logistics are
tackled in our Spanish operating
company.
What were the objectives of this
meeting? Top priority was to boost
management know-how in the areas
of distribution, logistics and raw
materials. The emphasis was, firstly,
on the importance of customer ser
vice in creating a competitive edge
and, secondly, on a discussion of the
costs of transport and distribution.
And, last but not least, the mutual
swapping of information, experi
ences and ideas was felt to be a valu
able spin-off of the meeting.
The managers, who came from
the Netherlands, New Zealand, Ire
land, the Dutch Antilles, Singapore,
Zaïre, Italy, Greece, Spain and
France, first listened to introductory
talks by (external) guest speakers,
after which they set about putting the
experience they had gained into
practice in their own operating com
pany.
Cooperation
The first speaker at the seminar
was Kees Zandvliet, head of Cor
porate Distribution and Logistics,
who talked about how to gain a com
petitive edge through the use of Inte
grated Logistics.
In his presentation Zandvliet
strongly advocated more 'horizontal'
cooperation between the various
departments involved in the flow of
goods within the business: from pur
chasing, via production, up to and
including sales. Only in this way can
Heineken operating companies
emerge as winners in the race against
the competition.
Costs
The task of the logistics depart
ment is not getting any easier. Within
the brewing industry there is a con
stant drive for bigger production
units, as few different products and
pack forms as possible, so as to
minimise costs per hectolitre. But, a-
gainst this, consumers are more fre
quently asking for different products
and other types of packs, whilst the
trade wants the breweries to provide
an ever higher standard of service.
According to Zandvliet, the best way
of meeting these conflicting de
mands is the use of integrated logis
tics: the ideal solution for minimi
sing the cost base, improving cus
tomer service and boosting flexibility.
To explain the new working
method, we must first take a step
back in time and examine the 'old'
procedure. Suppose that an operating
company wants to have a different
text included in the Heineken label.
Previously Brands design used the
services of a draughtsman for such a
job. This man or woman then went
along to a compositor to have the text
typeset, then sat down at the paste-up
table and fixed the new text in the
right position. The lithographer then
produced the films needed by the
printer to transfer the updated label
onto paper.
Secret
It was a round-about, time-con
suming method. That's now plain to
see. The new system is super-fast
and, emphasises Cees Oostrum, it
provides optimum quality. The se
cret is hidden away inside a square-
shaped cassette which contains a
double-sided compact disk (CD).
Stored on this disk is the information
about three hundred elements of the
logos and picture marks of Hei
neken, Amstel, Buckler and Brand.
Every element (hop cluster, red star,
Heineken 'black bar' logo, typeface
and so on) of every label is stored in
digital form (in ones and zeros) on
the CD. So the disk carries a digital
description of the Heineken 'black
bar' logo in zeros and ones, and the
same applies to all the other label
design components.
Cees Oostrum briefly explains the
new working method. 'Let's assume
that we have a modified text in one
of the labels. The lithographer sits at
the computer and retrieves the label
element in which that text has to be
included, types in the new text, pres
ses a key and the machine instantly
turns out films which are ready to go
to the printer.' Fast service to oper
ating companies is therefore guaran
teed by this new system. 'A gigantic
time saving, without losing any
quality', says Oostrum. The comput
er hardware for the new system is
owned by Heineken. The Amster
dam firm of Litho Partners invested
in the hardware, Heineken invested
in the software.
Difference
And yet the new system can't
handle all jobs. Brands Design sees a
distinct difference between creation
and realisation. If a change in a label
All design ele
ments of each la
bel are stored in
layers in the
computer.
has no effect on the layout, the litho
grapher can sit at the computer and
do his work. But it's a different mat
ter if the text change alters the pic
ture, the image conveyed by the
label. In that case a creative person
has to set to work to determine, on
the basis of instructions from Brands
Design, what the new label should
look like.
Speed
The new system is certainly not
cheap but, claims Cees Oostrum, it
definitely offers more financial bene
fits over the long run than the old
system of draughtsman, compositor
and lithographer. None theless, finan
cial benefits were not at the top of the
priorities list. The most important
argument for changing over to the
new system was the speed with which
the operating companies can be serv
ed, whilst retaining the quality.
Innovation in Brands Design
involves more than just the introduc
tion of this new system. Computer-
aided progress marches on; a study is
currently being made into how
Brands Design and the (European)
operating companies can exchange
information via the cc:mail system.
This 'electronic mail' system should
make it possible for a label design
proposal to be transmitted from
Amsterdam to a computer screen in
the operating company.
