References to the term ‘robotics’ in filings from beverage companies rose 150% in the second quarter of 2021, compared to the three months prior, according to recent research.
In total, the frequency of robotics’ appearance in the 12 months to the end of June was 83% higher than in the same period in 2016, when GlobalData first began to track the key issues referred to in company filings.
To assess whether robotics is featuring more in the summaries and strategies of drinks manufacturing companies, two measures were calculated. Firstly, there's the percentage of companies that have mentioned robotics at least once in filings during the past 12 months - this was 21% compared to 10% in 2016. Secondly, GlobalData calculated the percentage of total analysed sentences that referred to robotics.
Of the 20 biggest employers in the beverages industry, Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (FEMSA) referred to robotics the most between July 2020 and June 2021. GlobalData identified eight robotics-related sentences in the Mexico-based company's filings, representing 0.07% of all sentences.
Suntory Holdings mentioned robotics the second-most, in 0.06% of the sentences in its filings over the 12 months.
When drinks manufacturing companies publish annual and quarterly reports, ESG reports and other filings, GlobalData analyses the text and identifies individual sentences that relate to disruptive forces facing businesses in the coming years. Robotics is one of these topics - companies that invest in these areas are forecast to be better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.
This analysis provides an approximate indication of which companies are focusing on robotics and how important the issue is considered within the beverages industry. However, a company mentioning robotics more regularly is not necessarily proof that they are utilising new techniques or prioritising the issue, nor does it indicate whether the company's ventures into robotics have been successes or failures.
