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Beverage Icon Liberty Coca-Cola Retains DVIRC Six Sigma Experts Resulting in $1.4MM in Initial Cost Savings
With the help of: Pennsylvania Manufacturing Extension Partnership
About
For over 100 years, Liberty Coca-Cola beverages has produced, sold and distributed 90 million cases of some of the world’s most recognizable products, including Coca-Cola, and other soft drinks, juices, energy drinks, water and ready-to-drink coffee and tea across its 16,000 square miles of territory in New York, New Jersey and the Greater Philadelphia region. With 3,000 associates across 8 distribution centers and 3 manufacturing facilities, Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages takes pride in empowering its people and making a difference in the local communities it proudly serves. The Liberty team often says the ‘L’ in the name stands for "local," and as a leading manufacturer, Liberty wants to partner with local experts and could empower their teams through continuous improvement.
The Challenge
Liberty’s leaders identified the need to develop Six Sigma certification programs in its Philadelphia facility as part of a larger investment in the long-term growth of its people and their careers, engaging all associates to make and own local decisions, while striving for a culture of operational excellence. For help Liberty turned to DVIRC, part of the Pennsylvania MEP and the MEP National Network™.
We turned to DVIRC because we knew they would be more than just a training provider. We were looking for someone who could offer us a robust partnership. DVIRC customizes their approach to meet our specific needs, and they deliver a unique 'learn and apply' program that integrates training with hands-on projects. Candidates worked on actual projects to apply what they learn supported by a DVIRC coach. We loved that DIVRC provided that and appreciated the local aspect of the company as well.
MEP's Role
Since creating Liberty Coke’s customized learning program, DVIRC has certified over 100 participants in Yellow Belt training and certified over 60 participants in the Green Belt Certification program. The Green Belt Certification Program was designed to promote participant collaboration and teamwork to work on real-world projects. The typical value generated from these projects is considerable – far exceeding the cost of the program. In addition, once the individuals and teams are trained, they continue generating high value through second and third project charters.
In one example of a successful Green Belt project, teams identified a problem with truck idling times by analyzing telematic data. The team found they could eliminate waste by cutting down on this time and quickly got to work on research and analysis to craft a tailored solution, resulting in cost savings.
Liberty Coke has retained DVIRC to train associates to continue working on projects adding to the value beyond the program. Associates have expressed high level of career satisfaction as a result of the program and Liberty Coke continues to establish a culture of empowerment and team collaboration through its partnership with DVIRC.