As part of its journey to transform its supply chain, Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) is handing over 35 state-of-the art cool drink trolleys to Durban beachfront hawkers. The outlay, a partnership with the Ethekwini Municipality, forms part of the latest extension of CCBSA’s R1.5 million project, initiated in 2019 to support mobile vendors, create jobs in the area and expand the company’s supply chain network.
“As the economy re-opens and millions of people make their way to the Durban beach during the summer festive season, our beach hawkers will play a vital role in bringing refreshment to leisure seekers,” says Michael Tsholo, General Manager for Coastal Region, CCBSA. “These trolleys will empower hawkers to generate much-needed income while ensuring that the product is distributed in a safe way, as they will adhere to strict safety and hygiene guidelines.”
In addition to the 35 cool drink mobile trolleys, with a 120-litre capacity each, the rollout has been accompanied by training for informal traders, which attracted 117 attendees. While 105 hawkers in the Durban central business district have already received 75-litre trolleys, the larger sized versions feature specifications adapted for beach conditions and the nature of work, which is different from the city environment.
Hawkers will also receive a branded umbrella, a branded bib, free ice and a trade discount. As part of the programme, a hawker distributor has been appointed to the district to streamline distribution of product and ice daily, delivering to the hawkers at their hotspots, which are mostly situated around taxi ranks.
“These high-quality trolleys, along with the support structure, will be critical in helping us be more efficient and profitable in our businesses,” says Mthokozisi Mthembu, one of the 35 beachfront hawkers receiving trolleys. “Being part of an internationally recognised company, the training we receive gives us an advantage when we serve customers.”
CCBSA has an extensive supply chain network, which includes formal and informal small businesses. The company provides support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through several channels, including truck driver owners distributing to the formal market through its Owner Driver (OD) programme, warehouse operators distributing to the informal market such as spaza shops and taverns through its Local Distribution Partnership (LDP) programme. Its Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) uplifts township youth and women through the Bizniz in a Box container business enterprise development programme and informal hawkers (vendors) are supported, along with direct support for existing spaza shops and taverns.
“When we launched in 2016 and set out to be a level 2 B-BBEE contributor by 2021, we didn’t want to only transform one part of our business through ownership, as is often the practice,” says Tsholo. “We set out the vision of empowering and transforming our entire business to the highest executive positions, and just as importantly to empower our entire supply chain from the wholesale level all the way down to the street vendor level, creating meaningful sustainable jobs.”
About CCBSA
Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) is a proudly South African company which began operating as a legal entity in July 2016, after the merger of six non-alcoholic ready to drink bottling operations. We employ over 7000 people at 13 manufacturing facilities across the country.
As a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) and a bottler for The Coca-Cola Company, our vision is to refresh Africa every day and make our continent a better place for all. We manufacture and distribute Coca-Cola beverages that make life’s everyday moments more enjoyable, while doing business the right way. The result is shared opportunity for our customers, our employees, our communities, and our shareholders.
We conduct our business ethically, transparently and conscientiously. We espouse an inclusive business culture to reflect our African identity. We accelerate sustainable, profitable revenue growth across all categories and offer an innovative portfolio of products that respond to customer needs and consumer preferences. Profitability is important, but not at any cost. People matter. Our planet matters. We do business the right way by following our values and partnering for solutions that benefit us all.
