The Coca-Cola Company is a public American based multinational corporation. It
also manufactures, retails, and markets non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The
Coca-Cola Company produces Coca-Cola which was invented by a pharmacist known as
John Stith Pemberton in the year 1886 at his Pemberton Chemical Company located in
Atlanta, Georgia. John Stith Pemberton later sold the formula of the brand to another
pharmacist, Asa Griggs Candler for $2,300 in the year 1889 as a medicinal beverage (Renz &
Vogel, 2016). Coca-Cola was used as a medicinal beverage because it contained cocaine. The
cocaine was removed from the formula in the year 1903. The bookkeeper of Pemberton
named Frank Robinson is credited for both naming the product and designing its logo. The
logo later became its trademark and was registered in the U.S Patent office in 1893 (Wilcox
& Frandsen, 2018). The motivation behind the name Coca-Cola as told by Mr. Robinson was
from the two main ingredients used namely cocoa leaves and cola nuts. Asa Griggs Candler
completed his purchase of the Coca-Cola formula and brand from in the year1889 from
Pemberton's heirs and incorporated it in Atlanta three years later in 1892 (Renz & Vogel,
2016). The company's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia but it is incorporated in Delaware.
The business was lucrative to a point the Coca-Cola was sold in every state by 1985. This
paper aims to describe the Coca-Cola Company, benefits gained by the company by operating
globally, technology used by the company, and technology recommendations. The Coca-Cola company;

In the year 1919, the Coca-Cola Company was sold to the Trust Company of Georgia
owned by Ernest Woodruff. The company had claimed about 60 percent of its market share
by 1948 but decreased to around 21.8 percent in 1984 due to a new entrant called Pepsi. The
company concentrates on the production of syrup concentrate which is then distributed to
bottlers located in various regions all over the world who hold the local Coca-Cola franchise.
Coca-Cola drink is a cultural institution as well as a symbol of American taste. The Coca-Cola Company owns its anchor bottlers, Coca-Cola Refreshments located in North America.
The Coca-Cola Company is also ranked as the world’s largest producer of public plastic
waste. It is estimated that the company manufactures over 3 million tons of plastic packaging
annually. The company has had a long history of acquisition including Minute Maid in 1960,
Columbia Pictures in 1982, Thums Up in 1993, Barq’s in 1995, Odwalla brand in 2001, Fuze
Beverage in 2007, Huiyuan Juice group in 2009, Honesta Tea in 2011, ZICO in 2013,
Monster Beverage in 2014, Topo Chico in 2017, Costa Coffee in 2018, and Chi Limited in
2019 (Espínola-Arredondo, Munoz-Garcia, & Jung 2020). As of 2017, the Coca-Cola
Company reported total revenue of $35,410 million and a net income of $1,248 million. As of
the same year, the company had employed 61, 800 employees. The Coca-Cola Company
today has more than 2,800 products and is present in more than 200 countries. The Coca-Cola company;
Benefits of the Coca-Cola Company operating globally
The Coca-Cola Company has earned many benefits by extending its operations in
other countries. One of the benefits is increased sales. Although the United States has the
largest economy in the world, it only accounts for 5 percent of the world population. This
means marketing products outside the United States can lead to increased sales and
profitability. The Coca-Cola Company has benefited immensely by marketing its products in
the global market (Morgan, Feng, & Whitler, 2018). About 80 percent of its profits come
from sales outside the United States where the company is based. Other global companies
such as McDonald’s and Wall-Mart have also shared in the global market and are doing
tremendously well in sales and profits.
Second, the Coca-Cola Company has reduced costs by operating in the global market.
Offshoring has in the recent past become the most effective way of cutting on costs. This is
because some of the countries in the world an example of China and India offer extremely cheap labor as compared to the workforce in the United States (Cockrell, 2019). The Coca-
Cola Company has gained a cost advantage by doing business in more than 200 countries
some of which have a greater rate of production. The reduced labor costs generate economies
of scale which in turn lowers the company’s average cost of production. Reduced operating
cost also contributes to profitability. The Coca-Cola company;
Third, the Coca-Cola Company has benefited from risk diversification by operating in
the global market. Risk diversification is the spreading of the risk out to many regions to
mitigate the potential negative effects. Establishing operations in many countries helps ensure
that companies do not suffer heavy losses in case of a risky event hence the cliché "do not
pull all your eggs in one basket". Operating in more than 200 countries has reduced the
unsystematic risk for the Coca-Cola Company. Heavy dependence on suppliers or marketers
in one country may also have serious negative effects in case of political upheavals, natural
disasters, or economic collapse (Hurwitz et al., 2019). The Coca-Cola Company has reduced
its overdependence on local suppliers as well as built stronger leverage when negotiating
prices with its existing suppliers.
The technology used to support the global position of the Coca-Cola Company.
The Coca-Cola Company uses a mix of the Big Data technology, the Artificial
Intelligence bolts, and social media to support its global position. To coordinate the
production, distribution, sales, and customer feedback, the Coca-Cola Company uses
technology. It is estimated that Coca-Cola products have a serving rate of approximately 1.9
billion every day. The company has for many years invested heavily in research and
development to ensure that it makes the most out of the data collected. The new flavor Cherry
Sprite launched in the year 2017 is the product of Big Data technology. The company is also
capitalizing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) bolts which is the technology used in vending machines. The AI bolt allows consumers to personalize their experience and can mix their
favorite blend to their preference (Garnham, 2017). The machines use artificial intelligence to
behave differently in different scenarios. Social media is another area used by the Coca-Cola
Company to support its global position. The company has 35 million followers on Twitter
and 105 million followers on Facebook. Through the use of social media, the company
observed that its products are mentioned on average every two seconds somewhere in the
world. The company has also employed image-recognition technology to tell when a
photograph of its drinks is posted online (Cheng et al., 2018). The information obtained from
the technology used is in turn used to serve the target market during advertising. The Coca-
Cola Company has observed that through the use of technology, customers are four times
more likely to click an advert of its products. The Coca-Cola company;
The IT strategy used to gain market share and retention
The Coca-Cola Company uses strategies such as social networking, green bottles, and
freestyle dispending. As earlier mentioned, the Coca-Cola Company uses social media
platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to gain a competitive advantage in the market (Pan,
Xia, & Luo, 2017). The company uses social media platforms to inform customers of new
products, invites users to play games, and associates its products with a positive feeling (Pan,
Xia, & Luo, 2017). The Coca-Cola Company introduced an environmentally friendly way of
packaging in the year 2009 when it began to produce products using less petroleum. The
company today uses PlantBottle packaging technology which is less expensive and
environmentally friendly (Gersen & Hemphi, 2019). The Coca-Cola Company began rolling
out freestyle dispensers in 2010 whereby customers can create their beverage. The dispensers
not only help create variety but also record the most requested drink.
Recommendations on the type of technology

Although the Coca-Cola Company has always been upbeat with matters technology,
the company can try using inventions such as the Optical Character Recognition (OCR), the
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and Blockchain technology. The OCR is a
technology that is used to extract data from either printed or written text the converts the data
into a machine-readable form (Ghosh, Srivathshan, & Saleh, 2020). The OCR can help the
company to read container numbers and data processing. RFID is a technology that uses
electromagnetic waves to automatically identify and track tags that are attached to objects.
The Coca-Cola Company can use this technology to track its products. This can help the
company to increase the visibility of products and mitigate risk. The RFID can also help the
company to trace shipments and safekeeping of trade documents. The Coca-Cola Company
can also embrace Blockchain technology to reduce costs as well as enhance transparency in
its global operations (Ghosh, Srivathshan, & Saleh, 2020). With the use of Blockchain
technology, Coca-Cola can simplify the payment process. This is because Blockchain
technology does not need the use of a Letter of Credit (LoC). The Coca-Cola company;
Methods by which the above technologies can support decision making
Technology is today incorporated by decision-makers to ensure that the most effective
decisions are made. Global companies have resorted to using technological inventions to
support their decision-making functions. With OCR, RFID, and Blockchain technologies,
global companies can access real-time data which is crucial for effective for reaching sound
decisions. The technologies can help track which products are consumed in large quantities
which can, in turn, help make production decisions. The technologies can be used by the
management of the Coca-Cola Company to evaluate customer taste and preference and this
can help make decisions on new product development. Read more
Challenges faced by Coca-Cola Company as a result of operating globally

Doing business outside a company’s country of origin has many challenges. The
Coca-Cola Company has had a series of challenges in the past. For example, the medicinal
challenge, the fountain challenge, the cocaine challenge, the bottle challenge, the Pepsi
challenge, and the sugar challenge among others. The company is still facing cultural and
language barriers in some countries. The people in different countries behave differently and
speak in different languages (Farndale et al., 2019). This can affect communication. The
company is also facing a challenge on tariffs and export fees. Coca-Cola Company has had
serious problems paying different types of fees that are paid upon delivering products in its
countries of operation. The company is also facing stiff competition in some countries. The
Coca-Cola Company products have suffered competition in countries where local products
are cheap and always available (Chen, 2018). The Coca-Cola company;
In conclusion, over the 133 years of existence, the Coca-Cola Company has risen
from a small company to the largest beverage company in the world. Over the years, the
Coca-Cola Company has acquired many other companies with the recent being Chi Limited
acquired in the year 2019. The company operates in more than 200 countries and has over 2,
800 products. Operating in the global market has enabled the Coca-Cola Company to
diversify risk, access a wider market, and reduce operating costs. The invention of
PlantBottle packaging technology has helped the company regain customers' trust as the
packaging is less expensive and environmentally friendly. The company uses a mix of the
Big Data technology, the Artificial Intelligence bolts, and social media to support its global
position. The company can improve its standings in various areas by employing up to date
technologies such as the Optical Character Recognition (OCR), the Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID), and Blockchain technology. Although the company has many
products, it should focus on mass production of the most demanded. This would, in turn, help
satisfy customers. The company is doing tremendously well in recycling the old packaging bottles. There is, however, much more than the company needs to do as the bottles are still present in the dumping sites. The most effective way of clearing the bottles from the roadside and dumping sites is buying them back from customers. This will ensure that the containers still kept in the houses are not thrown in dumping sites but taken to Coca-Cola buying
centers. The company should maintain a competitive advantage by producing tastier
beverages and offering them at fairer prices than competitors. The Coca-Cola company;