by Staff, on May 6, 2024 11:58:34 AM
Photo Credit: The Coca-Cola Co.
As food and beverage manufacturers incorporate artificial intelligence into more facets of their operations to give them an advantage in the marketplace, they are spending big money to have access to the latest technology. Case in point: The Coca-Cola Company.
The Coca-Cola Company recently announced a five-year strategic partnership with Microsoft to align Coca-Cola's core technology strategy system-wide; enable the adoption of leading-edge technology; and foster innovation and productivity globally.
As part of the partnership, Coca-Cola has made a $1.1 billion commitment to the Microsoft Cloud and its generative AI capabilities. The collaboration underscores Coca-Cola's ongoing technology transformation, underpinned by the Microsoft Cloud as Coca-Cola's globally preferred and strategic cloud and AI platform.
Through the partnership, the companies will jointly experiment with groundbreaking new technology like Azure OpenAI Service to develop innovative generative AI use cases across various business functions. This includes testing how Copilot for Microsoft 365 could help improve workplace productivity.
Coca-Cola has migrated all its applications to Microsoft Azure, with most major independent bottling partners following suit. As a pioneer in AI adoption, Coca-Cola has been innovating with generative AI for nearly a year and has already leveraged Azure OpenAI Service to reimagine everything from marketing to manufacturing and supply chain and beyond. The company is currently exploring the use of generative AI-powered digital assistants on Azure OpenAI Service to help employees improve customer experiences, streamline operations, foster innovation, gain a competitive advantage, boost efficiency and uncover new growth opportunities.
"This new agreement builds on the success of Coca-Cola's partnership strategy with Microsoft, showing our commitment to ongoing digital transformation," says John Murphy, President and Chief Financial Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. "Our partnership with Microsoft has grown exponentially, from the $250 million agreement we initially announced in 2020 to $1.1 billion today."
The agreement reflects a significant step in advancing Coca-Cola's digital transformation, focused on providing expanded access to Microsoft's cloud and AI platforms — as well as solutions such as Microsoft 365, Power BI, Dynamics 365, Defender and Fabric — to enhance efficiency and scalability while fostering innovation across the system.
Coca-Cola is not the only company in the food and beverage industry utilizing AI. Major food brands such as Kraft Heinz, Mars, AB InBev, Sam’s Club, and McCormick & Co. also are incorporating it into their operations.
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