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Heineken
Logistics: Managing demand
"Obviously, you can define Heineken's success as
being the brewer of the world's best beer. But it
goes deeper than that. For instance, consider how
we physically get our products to the customer.
Put plainly, over the next several decades, in logistical
terms, our focus must go beyond the supply-side.
We've got to get involved with the whole demand side
as well." Andrew J. Thomas (30), vice-president
operations planning for Heineken USA, believes that
there are ways of getting management to look at the
demand-side. "The first challenge is the initial,
unwavering response to consumer demands. We seek
to reorientate our beer-supply management towards
a better understanding of demand for our products.
This is where we want to match up deployment of our
resources. The second challenge is closely linked with
the first: we have to make far better use of information
coming to us from along the whole line. Integrated
planning and information management are the key
words. In the United States we've taken a first step,
with HOPS. That stands for Heineken Operational
Planning System. It's based on the internet and
translates information on demand and stock in the
marketplace into planning at the wholesaler, and
managing orders. With HOPS we aim to guarantee
that every consumer - wherever he or she may be -
always has a cool, refreshing glass of Heineken beer
within reach. Cheers!"