NTT DATA | AB-INBEV | MICROSOFT
“ We wanted to give our BDR ’ s the tools to help our retailers ’ businesses grow ; to sell more products , to sell more beer and effectively thrive ”
RICARDO PADULA PRODUCT LEAD , BEES FORCE
In this part of the world , they drink their beer out of bottles : Ice cold bottles , from ice cold coolers containing ice cold beer . It ’ s been this way forever . The hotter the region , the colder they like their beer . Brazilians alone glug their way through more than twelve billion litres of beer from coolers annually .
But unlike most ‘ Western leaning ’ countries , the majority of this beer is bought from small retailers or in small bars which often double as the local — and only — shop . Keeping an accurate check on sales and stock and ensuring these small retailers are maximizing returns on their turnover presents a huge challenge .
The market leader in these regions — the multinational drinks group AB-InBev — has found a way to revolutionize its sales and refresh its supply chain in these parts other beers find hard to reach .
In Europe and the US , we recognize the company ’ s leading brands Budweiser , Corona and Stella Artois . In the Caribbean it ’ s Presidente and in Brazil : Skol , Brahma and Antarctica dominate . AB-InBev was formed following the acquisition of American brewer Anheuser-Busch by Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev , which itself came into being after a merger between AmBev and Interbrew . So , put simply . This is a big global company .
However , being big and dominant does not mean one approach to the market fits all . The Caribbean , South America and South Africa have unique challenges .
This is where the workers at BEES come in . BEES is the e-commerce platform for Ab-InBev . Ricardo Padula , Product Lead - BEES Force explains how the latest image recognition technology , supply chain analytics and algorithms are now being used to bring the beer maker ’ s more ‘ out of the way ’ retailers into the 21st Century
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