Coca-Cola HBC gains visibility into its entire project universe

The challenge

Coca-Cola HBC is a key strategic partner that packages and sells Coca-Cola beverages exclusively in 29 markets across three continents. HBC’s relationship with ServiceNow is an established one – having first adopted the platform in 2015.

In the years following implementation of the ServiceNow Platform, HBC focused exclusively on IT Service Management (ITSM), largely for incident and change management. But in 2019, the company began to explore and realise the true potential of the platform. And so a new service portal for IT was launched. The mobile app was put in place and Virtual Agent now brings IT support much closer to employees. Of significant benefit is the DevOps application and change acceleration.

Though ServiceNow was already being leveraged to manage demand and planning, no specific ServiceNow solution had been used previously for business projects. The company had long been reliant on Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations to manage projects and present reports. A people survey conducted across the organisation revealed that staff handling project management in their own, disparate ways were overwhelmed with work and had no shared insight. Not surprisingly, projects were often delivered late.

Dedicated to eliminating waste not only on the factory floor but throughout the organisation, HBC needed a tool that would reduce processes, bring visibility across the portfolio, and enable regular monthly reporting on strategic projects to senior executives. Crucially, it had to be intuitive and simple.

The solution

Working with ServiceNow partner Devoteam, Coca-Cola HBC began implementing the SPM framework for business projects—known internally as Smart PMO—in 2022. Work started in November of that year and the rollout to central departments started five months later.

PowerPoint project updates are now consigned to history, with executive teams requesting that reports are drawn only from SPM’s single source of truth. Teams once reliant on Excel and PowerPoint, burdened by overwork and beset by delays, have had their experience and productivity transformed.