Here to discuss the logistics strategy, innovation and transformation driving the company forward in this region is Minja Karl, Logistics Excellence & Transformation Director, CEE.
As Minja explains, in order to understand the logistics endeavours of Molson Coors CEE, the regional dynamics of the countries where the company operates are fundamental factors for consideration.
“The CEE is quite a complex and diverse region, and while we are domestically orientated, we are still exploring synergies between the region’s countries and how we interact on a global level,” says Minja. “So when we discuss logistics projects or strategies – such as standards, optimisation or processes – we must consider the interconnectedness of our operations.
“One of the key projects we have focused on for our logistics transformation is standardisation – not only from the process point of view, but also in terms of performance tracking.
“All of our countries’ logistic teams have the same KPIs from both a local and regional level. These include targets related to existing factors like productivity, but also new projects like digitalisation and automation.
“But in the journey of innovating our logistics strategy, one of the things I’m most proud of is how we’ve gathered the logistics teams around unified goals, embraced working together and cultivated a shared sense of where we’re going and why.
“All the logistics leads from our region’s countries communicate with me daily, and we are all sharing information. Ultimately, this team spirit and collaboration have allowed us to experiment with new practices and turn them into best practices for the entire region – whether this be at a high strategic level, or at a smaller grassroots level of how we clean and maintain our facilities, or conduct workshops to identify local needs.”
Beyond standardisation, Minja emphasises the importance of digitalisation and new technology within the logistics transformation journey at Molson Coors in the CEE region.
“Here in the CEE, we are constantly working on digital transformation,” says Minja. “I have been part of the Molson Coors CEE regional team for eight years, but in the three years of my current role, I have witnessed our digitalisation projects and practices develop and grow exponentially.
“For instance, all of our countries use software called Traceability, which we are deploying to track our goods, starting from sourcing the raw materials to reaching the end customers. It’s a fantastic platform, and part of this is conducting regular assessments and checks to ensure our functionality and performance remain high.
“Another crucial part of our digital transformation is implementing a warehouse management system (WMS), and we realised we could tap into WMS capabilities on the Traceability platform. From here, we smoothly deployed new WMS capabilities at a very competitive price for such software currently available on the market.
“Similarly, we have also been exploring how to optimise our logistics operations with a transport management system (TMS) and order management system (OMS).
“But before we embark on new digital transformation projects, we conduct comprehensive pilot studies to assess all the avenues before us and then conduct a feasibility study for the entire region. For instance, we launched our TMS and OMS in Romania as a pilot study before rolling it out successfully and smoothly to the rest of the region.
“There have been some great examples of logistics innovation projects tested at the country-by-country level, which we will look to explore further in the future. In Croatia, our team in Zagreb developed a very simple Android app to make the operations paperless. They also installed tabs in their forklifts, which display information but also dictate that the vehicle cannot be started without completing an environment, health and safety (EHS) checklist.”
After touching on the paperless project in Croatia, Minja elaborates on how sustainability and environmental responsibility are core considerations in the logistics transformation journey at Molson Coors CEE.
“As a part of the Molson Coors global business, we absolutely embrace the importance of our sustainability, carbon footprint and ESG performance as a region,” insists Minja. “There is no project – whether this be in logistics, IT or elsewhere – that is not interconnected with our sustainability stream. For me and my team, our WMS, TMS and OMS projects, alongside our digital transformation more broadly, all supported progress towards our sustainability agenda.
“Another point of pride here for us as a logistics team was how, in the years from 2019 to 2023, we optimised our transportation processes with tremendous positive results. In this period, the average truck fill rate grew by 9%, we cut our emissions by 2,500 tonnes of CO2, and we decreased the total distance driven by 2.7 million kilometres. Four of the countries in the CEE region have already installed solar panels or plants for their electricity needs. 99.7% of the materials used in our beer production and packaging processes are either recyclable, compostable or reusable. And, of course, these sustainability steps also came with associated cost reductions too.
“In addition to these regional sustainability projects, we have our overarching global strategy, which we call Our Imprint at Molson Coors. It includes the steps we need to take in the long term, by 2030 or by 2050, to comprehensively make progress with our carbon footprint and overall sustainability agenda. It truly is a huge focus for us as an organisation.”
According to Minja, it would be impossible to maintain momentum for the digital transformation journey and sustainability agenda at Molson Coors without the corresponding continuous improvement mindset and operational excellence behind them, enshrined by the World Class Supply Chain Excellence programme.
“We have a programme at Molson Coors called the World Class Supply Chain (WCSC),” explains Minja. “Under this expansive umbrella, there are twelve pillars.
“One of the most important enablers for deployment of the WCSC programme is called ‘Run to Target,’ which was deployed back in 2016. The main purpose of the entire WCSC programme, and especially within ‘Run to Target,’ is a mindset of continuous improvements, chasing our targets and ourselves to make progress.
“To turn this back to the logistics teams, another pillar is called ‘Supply Network,’ under which I deployed a logistics aspect to the pillar three years ago.
“Here, we have five priorities:
- Order management
- Transport management
- Warehouse management
- Asset care and loss prevention
- Safety and distribution
“At a fundamental level, my aim was to embrace continuous improvement and operational excellence to make progress in performance as a region, spanning all five priorities.”
Implementing such improvements, Minja adds, requires external collaboration and a robust partnership strategy.
“Partnerships based on trust and mutual success are fundamental to Molson Coors, and this is particularly evident within two important logistics streams here – Route to market and Site loss analysis,” says Minja. “Under these two streams, our main intention is really to follow the process flow, but also to follow the information flow. No business stands alone, and we are all connected to our partners. Route to market and Site loss analysis are beyond our primary internal orientation, so they require external support, knowledge and synergies.
“Here, our collaboration with Everstream is a fantastic example of a highly successful partnership. Plenty of our colleagues in the broader supply chain team collaborate with Everstream on a wealth of different topics or projects.
“One of the biggest areas we are exploring with Everstream is risk forecasting and mitigation. They are helping us dive deeper into our supplier and commodity analysis, assessing where risk might come from and how we can adapt proactively to offset them.
“We also work with Everstream to mitigate risks related to transport lanes. Even though we are somewhat domestically orientated, our logistics operations do entail border crossings and international movement of goods. Collaborating with Everstream has been a huge benefit to us in these regards.”
Looking ahead to the future, Minja is buoyant about the coming years at Molson Coors and where he sees the logistics industry heading.
“Our company culture and the people who make it so incredible will help us embrace the future at Molson Coors CEE,” says Minja. “We put our people first, teaching them but also learning from them, which is something I adore. I am also excited by and proud of how we are developing our teams further, having people from various backgrounds and with different perspectives, male and female colleagues, young people with less experience and teammates with rich expertise.
“We will also continue to embrace digital transformation, new technologies and automation, while also enshrining sustainability in our operations to maintain momentum and progress in the coming years.
“I truly believe that there is nothing the future might hold that we will not be able to survive or seize and then thrive.”
Learn more at molsoncoors.com.
ADDED VALUE
Balance is key
“Everybody needs to balance their personal and professional lives,” says Minja. “I love working in the beverage industry, but my life beyond it is also essential. I am а proud father of a beautiful young woman, so family is of the utmost importance. I am also a musician, and I play three instruments: clarinet, saxophone and guitar. Hobbies, family and enjoying life are something I always make a top priority because the only certainty we have is the uncertainty of the future, so we must enjoy the here and now as much as possible.”
Events
“I thoroughly enjoy attending specialised logistics and supply chain business events,” says Minja. “Two I would really like to recommend are both hosted in Germany: LogiMAT, Stuttgart and Transport logistics, Munich.”
Connect with Minja.
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