By Prudence Minayo
Coca-Cola company opened its doors in Kenya in 1948 and has dominated the soft drink market in the country since then. Being a distributor for Coca-Cola products is a profitable venture if you meet the requirements set by the company.
This writer will take you through the requirements you need to fulfill to become a coca cola distributor.
Capital
To be a coca cola distributor, one must be able to raise a startup capital of between 3 million to 5 million Kenyan Shillings. You should also be able to obtain a bank guarantee of 2 million Kenyan Shillings.
Computer Literate
One must be or have staff who are computer literate so as to be able to compute stocks and sales reconciliation.
Storage
This is an important aspect in any business, especially if you plan to be a distributor. You will need a place to store your products after buying them in order to make the distribution easier. In this case, you will need a warehouse facility comprising a minimum of 2000 Square feet storage.
Target Market
You will be required to state your target market? Where are you going to be distributing the products? It is very important to state where your market interest lies.
Commitment to Nairobi Bottlers limited Code of Business Ethics
A number of business ethics are explained in the coca cola website which falls under the Nairobi Bottlers Limited. The rules include:
- Protect the environment. Conducting business in ways which protect and preserve the environment.
- Child labor. Supplier will comply with all applicable local and national child labor laws.
- Provide safe and healthy workplace. Maintain a productive workplace by minimizing the risk of accidents, injury, and exposure to health risks.
- Forced labor. Supplier will not use forced, bonded, prison, military or compulsory labor.
- Abuse of labor. Supplier will comply with all applicable local and national laws on abuse of employees and will not physically abuse employees.
- Demonstration of compliance. Supplier must be able to demonstrate compliance with the supplier Guiding principles at the request and satisfaction of The Coca Cola Company.
- Work hours and wages. Compensate employees relative to the industry and local labor market. Operate in full compliance with applicable wage, work hours, over time and benefits laws, and offer employees opportunities to develop their skills and capabilities and provide advancement opportunities where possible.
- Freedom of association and collective bargaining. Supplier will comply with all applicable local and national laws on freedom association and collective bargaining.
Other requirements are:
You must demonstrate strong sales/ general business expertise with a proven track record, including door to door selling.
You must be passionate about high performance and growth.
You must be a dedicated and committed entrepreneur for the foreseeable future on a full-time basis.
You must provide copies of certificate of incorporation, memorandum, relevant details of the application and KRA pin certificate.
Able to have distribution vehicles with adequate carrying capacity as stipulated by the Nairobi Bottlers Limited.
You should have an application letter which should be enclosed in an envelope together with all the required documents.
Applications should include:
Application Letter
a. Copy of Certificate of incorporation, memorandum and Articles of the Applicant and PIN Certificate
- State the working capital and level of bank guarantee available
- Market of interest
Applications should be enclosed in a SEALED envelope and addressed to:
Country Sales and Marketing Manager
Nairobi Bottlers Limited
P.O. Box 18034-00500,
Nairobi, Kenya.
I would like to join as a distributor