Agility has become the new currency of competitiveness in the drinks sector. With consumers demanding variety and faster innovation, manufacturers are rethinking how they produce, adapt and deliver.
The market is shifting quickly. Smaller, nimble brands are launching new products at speed and carving out market share. Warren Proctor, Associate Partner at Argon & Co, sees this not as a threat, but as a signal for established players to adapt. “The way to keep up is to have strong systems that enable stability where you can, so your workforce has the capacity to innovate,” he says.
For established players, the question is no longer if they should adapt, but how and that starts with the systems that underpin their operations.
Why systems matter
Agility isn’t about frantic reactions, it’s about stability. Without strong systems, manufacturers risk wasting energy on firefighting problems rather than innovating.
Warren puts it plainly: “Manufacturers are not just putting out the same product for a week at a time anymore. Run sizes are reducing significantly."
This shift changes how teams work. Instead of focusing on recurring breakdowns or quality issues, employees are freed to explore new products, improve efficiency and respond to customers. And because results are visible early, confidence builds. “Often if results don’t come quickly, programs fall over. We’ve designed our system to deliver short-term results so people believe in it and then sustain improvements for the long term,” Warren explains.
The message is clear: good systems aren’t just operational—they’re cultural. They shape how teams think, behave and deliver.
Aligning activities to strategy
Alignment is where agility becomes meaningful. It’s not enough for a business to say its strategy is “sustainability” or “cost leadership.” The test is whether every individual on the factory floor understands their role in achieving it.
Warren insists on that clarity. “Whatever your commercial strategy is, every single person within your manufacturing footprint should know exactly what they’re doing to support it,” he says.
That might mean a line operator is responsible for hitting a cost-reduction target, while an engineering team is tasked with rolling out energy efficiency projects. The power lies in connecting those day-to-day activities back to the bigger picture. When people see how their work contributes, engagement rises and wasted effort falls away.
Enter Industry 5.0
Industry 4.0 promised a revolution of automation, robotics and integrated data systems. But as many manufacturers discovered, efficiency alone doesn’t guarantee competitiveness. The next evolution, Industry 5.0, reframes the equation.
“Industry 4.0 was all about systems and technology, almost removing people from manufacturing,” Warren explains. “Industry 5.0 is about putting people back in, recognising where humans create value and how they can work alongside technology. It’s also about looking at impacts beyond profit: your workforce, your community and your environment.”
For drinks businesses, this shift is crucial. It means designing operations where humans and machines complement one another, where automation handles the repetitive, while people focus on creativity, innovation and sustainability. In doing so, manufacturers can build a future that is both productive and resilient.
Preparing for the future
Warren’s advice to manufacturers is pragmatic: don’t leap ahead blindly. “We meet manufacturers where they’re at,” he says. “There’s no point rolling out complex automation or AI if the basics aren’t in place. Stability and capability come first, then you can layer on technology at the right time.”
This staged approach gives organisations breathing room. Instead of overwhelming operations with too much change, they can focus on building capability and momentum step by step. And the payoff is powerful: once the basics are stable, teams have space to think differently. “If you remove the waste and give your team time to be creative, they can develop new products, think of new ways to be more efficient and find opportunities to be more productive,” Warren adds.
By embedding strong systems, aligning people to strategy, and embracing the principles of Industry 5.0, beverage manufacturers can build businesses that are not only agile, but also sustainable and future ready.
Argon & Co’s MODE (Manufacturing Optimisation Daily Execution) system is a tailored solution designed to align with each manufacturer’s strategy and deliver rapid, sustainable results. To find out how MODE could support your business, visit the Argon & Co website or reach out to Warren directly via warren.proctor@argonandco.com.
Argon & Co is a Gold Partner of the Drinks Association.