Resilience as success criteria

The last three years have been marked by crises all over the world, which not only affected the people themselves but also many companies. Since Corona, many things have not been the same: the global lockdowns and supply bottlenecks were only part of the myriad challenges that companies had to resist. The supply chain, in particular, continues to cause stress: buyers increasingly complained that delivery dates are no longer reliably met, which can lead to serious damage to the company: The company's own production and subsequent delivery schedules cannot be met, resulting in penalties and delistings from retailers. Since many companies rely on single-source sourcing, they lack the flexibility to react accordingly in these situations. Diversification in procurement could counteract such situations.

The Covid pandemic was only the beginning. The consequences of the war in Ukraine have further aggravated the situation. They show once again that crisis resistance has become an indispensable success factor in companies.

Long-term contracting means reliability

AUSTRIA JUICE has successfully relied on sustainable contracting for years. With this crisis-proof business model, the company has also managed to set itself apart from the competition in many respects. The manufacturer of concentrates, beverage bases and flavours has not had to struggle with supply bottlenecks at all - thanks to a sustainable and regionally oriented supply chain.

In the past crisis-ridden years, the purchasing and distribution system of the contract system has once again proven that the company reliably guarantees security of supply and delivery reliability. The long-standing partnership with reliable forwarders and suppliers is also a supporting pillar of this long-standing, resilient corporate strategy.

From the field to the press in one day

Regionality and short distances are another advantage that comes to the fore in AUSTRIA JUICE's supply chains. The short transport routes and the knowledge of the cultivation and processing areas create authenticity and trust.

Each of the 14 plants worldwide is located in the immediate vicinity of the cultivation areas. The short distance allows for short transport routes. The clear course towards sustainability will also determine the coming years, and so AUSTRIA JUICE, together with the members of the Sustainable Juice Covenant (IDH), is pursuing a major goal: By 2030, we want to produce 100 percent of the goods along the entire supply chain in a verifiably sustainable manner.

Long-term planning and generous lead times

Through long-term planning and sufficient lead times in the procurement of raw materials, as well as by concluding annual volume contracts with suppliers, AUSTRIA JUICE is able to avoid bottlenecks and delivery problems as early as the purchasing stage. Large storage capacity and stockpiling also ensure that the products and quantities ordered by customers are always in stock and can be processed immediately into beverage bases or juices. This enables AUSTRIA JUICE to guarantee delivery capability and also to deliver customer orders on time.

Another decisive resilience factor is the cooperation with reliable partners such as forwarding agents and suppliers. "Through close partnership and a high level of trust, we can count on a smooth logistics flow," explains Franz Kronister, Director of Logistics, "This enables us to offer our customers the highest quality and reliability."

Customers are the focus at AUSTRIA JUICE, and customer satisfaction is our top priority. "We pride ourselves on taking every customer request seriously and doing our best to meet them," says Kai Oliver Antonius, CSO. "Our customer-oriented mindset and flexibility have once again given us a clear competitive advantage in recent years."

Standardised processes and teamwork ensure quality

This works through clear strategies. Thus, one relies on standardised procedures and processes in order to work efficiently and effectively. "At the same time, we are able to meet customer-specific specifications," Kai Oliver Antonius continues, "Every customer is treated individually with us, and we are always ready to work in a solution-oriented way and to perceive our customers' needs."

Another factor that makes AUSTRIA JUICE resilient and crisis-proof is the good internal cooperation and smooth interaction between the departments - for example between Product Development and Research & Development. "Close cooperation and a transparent flow of information enable us to identify challenges quickly and find effective solutions," says Manfred Urban-Klik, Director of R&D. "The close internal cooperation between R&D and Sales makes it possible to react proactively to market needs and trends and to develop innovative products," Manfred Urban-Klik is proud to say.

"We also know the market and can therefore provide our customers with optimal advice when it comes to proactive concepts, depending on the trend, to meet the expectations of our customers and the market," says Cornelia Kerschbaumer, Director of Marketing & Communication.

The collaboration between quality assurance, purchasing and logistics also works well at AUSTRIA JUICE. "We coordinate forecasts and delivery schedules together with our customers," says Stefan Brendler, Head of Sales Compounds, "This includes good internal organisation and gives us the advantage that we can still keep capacities ready for customer orders in case of supply chain bottlenecks. We plan comparatively far ahead, as our customer contracts enable us to identify specific needs at an early stage."

All in all, this strategy puts AUSTRIA JUICE in the best possible position to ensure and guarantee high delivery reliability. "We were able to meet customer deliveries even during the last, logistically challenging years, partly due to long-term partnerships with forwarding companies," sums up Franz Kronister, Director of Logistics.

And that should be continued - thanks to the way of success so far.