What makes a successful beverage distributor?

Many point to the deployment of automation and production techniques. Others say doing the job in a timely fashion. Finally, it is always the people who make or break an enterprise. But true success is doing all of those things for a sustained period of time.   

Such is the case with the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Central Virginia, celebrating its 100th anniversary this June. Success is owed to the commitment of one family and its dedicated team of workers, who built a close-knit bottling company ready to begin its second century.   

People? It’s a family business with a third generation of ownership. The extended family includes several longtime dedicated employees. Perhaps the most dedicated is Agnes Garver who just celebrated her 55th year with the company for which she has been a secretary, payroll supervisor and benefits coordinator.     

Recently, Everette Anderson, VP of sales and marketing, supervised a film crew sent by Pepsi-Cola to capture the spirit of the company. It’s a spirit that has its origins at the start of the 20th century.    

The company began in 1904 when Samuel Ambrose Jessup (affectionately called S.A. by friends and employees) co-founded a soft drink bottling business in Martinsville, Va., USA. By 1908, S.A. moved to Charlottesville with the idea of expanding the business. He sought the most popular cola drink he could find to base his business on, ultimately deciding on Pepsi-Cola. Even though several places in North Carolina were bottling Pepsi-Cola before he started, the Jessup family now has the oldest franchise on record with the parent Pepsi-Cola.

When S.A. passed away in 1960, the firm was taken over by James L. Jessup, his son. When he died in 1984, the company was passed on to another Jessup—James (nicknamed Jay)—who holds the position of president today. His sister, Suzanne Jessup Brooks, is executive vice president. Mary Helen Jessup, Jay and Suzanne’s mother, also plays a role in the company.     

The company now operates four soda and water bottling plants throughout the state of Virginia. Those plants are located in Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, Warrenton and Weyer’s Cave. In addition to bottling Pepsi, Gatorade, Tropicana and other PepsiCo products, the firm distributes Cheerwine. Also under the company umbrella is a Cadbury facility, which carries 7UP, Snapple and Canada Dry. In total, the bottler covers 18 counties and employs 350 people.  

By the time Jay took over, there were still many seasoned veterans in the ranks that he had worked with, or at least knew, from his youth. In his formative years, Jay was involved in all facets of the business, from loading trucks at night to running routes during summer vacations. “I knew and trusted these folks well enough to kind of keep my mouth shut, keep my ears and eyes open, and ask lots of questions,” Jay explains. “That gave me time to learn the way we went about our business in the environment of the mid-’80s.”

An Extended Family
What stands out about the business is the way the Jessups have fostered a family atmosphere that extends beyond blood relatives. For example, Frances Burns has served in the capacity of operations vice president for eight years. Prior to that, he was a plant manager for 27 years.  

“I can go back with the company 40 years,” he says. “When I graduated from high school, I needed to go to college. I was able to come to work here with the Jessup family and go to school at the same time.”   

The current plant manager, Wayne Davis, has been with the company for 44 years.

Jay believes that his company rests on two pillars: the customers and the people who serve them. “That’s kind of basic sounding, boilerplate stuff,” he acknowledges, “but that’s really how it goes. You’ve got to try and treat your employees such that their main focus is trying to serve the customers the best way they can. And then if the market dynamics and the business environment changes, you’ve got to figure out what that means.”

Meanwhile, Burns believes the biggest challenge today is the proliferation of products.

“Nowadays, there are a lot of SKUs,” concurs Jay. “But our sales team is pretty good about getting new products out there and giving them a shot. Give us the product and we’re good to go. We can get it out there and get it in front of people and then let them do their best if we get support from the franchise companies.”

One of the best things about today’s market is the many retail formats that offer the bottler’s products, with none really controlling overall volume, Jay asserts.

“We have a good variety of customer types along with a vast assortment of package types to meet their needs,” he says. “I think that one of the neatest things about the market that we’re in is that we’ve got a taste of everything. I don’t think any of them these days dominate particularly as far as overall volume.”

Distribution 2.0
Currently, the company is concentrating more on logistics and warehouse automation with an eye on the future. This focus started four years ago with a meeting with Darvey Automation. Charles Darvey, a longtime veteran of the beverage business, approached the Jessups with a way to streamline their operations through automated case picking. If all goes according to plan, the process should be up and running by summer.  

“Years ago, there wasn’t any problem finding labor to load trucks,” Burns says. “Today it’s extremely difficult. This machine will actually take a sales order and build that order to specification, perfectly identifying everything that’s on a pallet.”
When deliveries arrive at the stores today, he continues, there’s not much concern with what is brought into the store; there’s more concern with the accuracy of what’s on the pallet.

“And if you are shooting for a pallet accuracy of 99.8 percent, and you can prove that to them, you’ll be able to qualify for an Advance Ship Notice where they will allow you specific times to come into the store, drop without getting checked and go on your way.  This particular machine can accomplish that task.”

Such automation enhances the operation while also offering a competitive advantage within the trading area. It allows the company to receive preferred treatment over competitors going into the store.

“The true benefit is the accuracy of all the loads, which is important because of all of the SKUs that we now have,” Burns adds. “Eventually, we hope it will reduce the manual case picking to build loads for trucks. We’re looking for a reduction in labor for warehouse pickers and loaders.”  

One of the bigger changes that has made a difference in the way the company operates —certainly from a logistics standpoint—has been the growing number of SKUs. There was a time when the company carried 40 SKUs in total: now 40 new SKUs are added each year.

In recognition of its 100th anniversary, the company is throwing a bash in June for all employees, their spouses and special guests. At some point, all will hoist a beverage—surely a Pepsi—and toast to a job well done.

 VITAL STATS
PEPSI-COLA BOTTLING CO. OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA
PRESIDENT: James “Jay” Jessup
HEADQUARTERS: Charlottesville, Va., USA
’07 CASE SALES: 9.8 million
EMPLOYEES: 350
GOALS: To be recognized by our customers as the very best supplier of liquid refreshment beverages in Central Virginia and to satisfy every variation of the thirst needs and desires of the consumer.

From Beverage World May 15, 2008