Anheuser-Busch Inbev in Hong Kong

Anheuser-Busch InBev is a Belgium based consumer products company that carries over 200 beer products within the global market. Along with producing beer, they also have operations in adventure park entertainment and packaging. Their lifelong achievement is to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World (AB InBev 2011 Annual Report). Their products are divided into three different types of brands: local, multi-country, and global brands. Six of their global brands which include Stella Artois, Budweiser, Skol, Brahma, Bud, Light and Beck’s rank top 10 most valuable beer brands in the world (AB InBev 2011 Annual Report). Their operations span 23 countries, including China, which has had a strong presence in the company since 1984. Within China, AB has 35 beverage plants and employs approximately 26,000 people.

The entry modes AB used to break into the Chinese industry were mainly selling their Focus Brands, consolidating their leadership, investing in geographic expansion while maintaining a steady revenue stream and managing best practices efficiently (AB InBev 2011 Annual Report). In 2006, they bought out Fujian Sedrin Brewery and doubled their business. The beer market grew by 6.6% in 2011 in the Asia-Pacific area and there was a greater need for beverage plants in China. The company acquired a number of partners along the way in the Chinese brewing industry including Double Deer, Jinling, Baisha, KK, Shiliang, , and Jinlongquan (www.ab-inbev.com). Because China currently is the world’s largest beer market, there is a great deal of competition. The largest competitor is SABMiller as well as Carlsberg which both have plants in China.

Anheuser-Busch InBev Organization Chart

Anheuser-Busch InBev has succeeded because of the unity and flow of the organizational structure. Because they are a large company with plants operating throughout the globe, they must have a solid core structure to keep the parts moving. AB Inbev operates under a functional structure, which is a great way for global companies operating in a number of countries to trump local responsiveness and anchor their value chains (DRS, p. 566). They also exist under a strict corporate governance that consists of board of directors who have created codes for the entire organization to abide by.

References

About Anheuser-Busch InBev
http://www.ab-inbev.com/go/about_abinbev.cfm
Anheuser-Busch InBev 20122 Annual Report
http://www.ab-inbev.com/pdf/AB_InBev_AR11_EN.pdf
Anheauser-Busch InBev Organization Chart
www.ab-inbev.com/go/corporate_governance/organization_chart
Daniels, J. D., Radebaugh, L. H. & Sullivan, D. P. (2013). International Business (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson/Prentice Hall.