How Coca-Cola Uses ERP Solutions To Optimize Energy Usage And Reduce Costs

Swaziland, South Africa — Recognizing the need for an effective energy management strategy, Coca-Cola Swaziland (Conco Ltd.) decided to investigate further and what they found surprised everyone.

While there are many definitions for energy management, they mostly focus on two aspects; maximizing profits or minimizing costs through lower energy consumption. However, it’s rare to see actual practical examples of how one actually goes about achieving these desirable goals and that’s because the solution is a great deal more complex than switching off something when it’s not in use.

There are no best practice guides for specific industries and, insofar as electricity is concerned, only the incoming supply is usually measured and these data disappear into storage rarely to be seen again. Monitoring systems tend to only provide historical analysis tools and don’t offer any control functions. But electricity isn’t the only cost — what about, air, steam, water, gas, etc. And, most important, where does one start?