When operating at full capacity, the newest canning lines available to beer brewers are capable of producing over 2,000 cans per minute or about 2.5 to 3 million cans a day. Warehouses can also be fitted with cloud-based systems, which help ensure product is stored and accessible for distribution with extreme ease. Packagers know that having fast bottling equipment and more automated warehouses are all part of what drives down operating costs while increasing efficiency. However, beer markets are much more complex than 5-10 years ago when more volume was the norm.
Today’s beer brewers are dealing with 10x the amnumberf product SKUs, less volume, and more diversity of products, not to mention a crowded marketplace with both large and craft brewers competing for attention on the shelf. The greater selection and small batches of craft beer appeal to today’s consumers and are challenging traditional ways of thinking about packaging lines. The need to improve flexibility and accuracy is key.
Gavin Millar, Senior Director, Global Packaging and Warehouse Design at Molson Coors, is constantly reviewing production line costs, suppliers, and performance for areas of improvement. This role fits into a much larger World Class Supply Chain continuous improvement program at Molson Coors, in which one of the key pillars is the adoption of best-available technology and measurement and tracking of energy use.
We spoke with Gavin Millar to understand how to select the best-available technology and achieve packaging production and warehouse efficiency.
Questions answered:
Click through to read the entire interview with Gavin Millar.