Keurig Dr Pepper speeds product launch and go-to-market time with Infor
CASE STUDY
Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) is a leading beverage producer whose wide range of more than 125 hot and cold beverages are designed to satisfy any consumer need, any time. KDP holds leadership positions in soft drinks, specialty coffee and tea, water, juice and juice drinks, and mixers, and markets the #1 single-serve coffee brewing system in the U.S. and Canada. Since 2011, KDP has used Infor® PLM for Process to quickly develop new products, produce them using the best possible formulas, and maintain full compliance with regulatory requirements.
At a glance
Headquarters
Plano, Texas
Industry
Employees
25,000
Infor Product
Partner
Website
BOB WIMPFHEIMER
Senior Manager, R&D Knowledge Management, Keurig Dr Pepper
Meeting FDA regulatory requirements
To ensure compliance with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new regulations on nutrition labeling introduced on May 27, 2016, KDP upgraded to version 11.2 to leverage new functionality and expand its use of PLM for Process to include knowledge management, research and development, procurement, quality management, and regulatory affairs.
Improving product development
In addition to its flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple® brands, KDP’s portfolio includes 7UP®, A&W® Root Beer, Canada Dry®, Clamato®, Crush, Hawaiian Punch®, Mott’s®, Mr & Mrs T, Peñafiel, Schweppes®, Squirt®, and many others.
Product development at KDP begins with an initial concept for a new beverage. Then, KDP develops a prototype to produce it on a pilot basis. During prototyping, KDP uses consumer testing and other business considerations to determine the best formulation to commercialize. The initial prototype could have multiple possible formulas with different ingredients. Before producing the prototype in a pilot plant, the prototype must meet certain quality standards. Infor PLM for Process helps ensure that all formulas that are piloted in a plant meet those minimum requirements and manages the process that determines which formula will be selected to progress further into the development process.
Once the formula is in the right stage, PLM for Process alerts the regulatory department, which checks the formula to ensure that ingredients and ingredient proportions are legal to use in the region where the product will be sold. When a formula is approved on all dimensions, the manufacturing supply chain receives a document with the formula to be produced on a larger scale, so it can be commercialized.
Business challenges
- Manage information and processes for new product development and launch within the cold beverage brands at Keurig Dr Pepper, which has 50+ brands
- Upgrade Infor PLM for Process or switch to a competing solution to meet new FDA regulations on nutrition labeling in the US
- Streamline workflows among knowledge management, research and development, procurement, quality management, and regulatory affairs to help move new products more efficiently from initial concept to commercial availability
- Successfully navigate new nutrition labeling regulations, which impact the wide variety of products KDP produces
Saving time on nutrition labels
Business results
Adopting future-ready processes
Bob Wimpfheimer, Senior Manager, R&D Knowledge Management and R&D at KDP, explains the current predicament for companies in the food and beverage industry: “In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has made changes in the requirements for product labeling. That means that virtually every food company is going to have to redo every single label for each and every portion size on every single product over the next couple of years. That’s a huge amount of work.”
For KDP, the good news is that the processes it has implemented with Infor PLM for Process automate much of this work. Additional projects in the near future will be focused on expanding Infor PLM for Process’s footprint to cover more areas within KDP.