Tamera Fenske, Chief Provide Chain Officer, Kimberly-Clark
Tamera Fenske is a CPG provide chain chief who has labored in quite a lot of manufacturing and provide chain management roles and is understood for unlocking best-in-class capabilities throughout a variety of applied sciences, improvements and go-to-market fashions. As Chief Provide Chain Officer for Kimberly-Clark, Fenske has world accountability for the Enterprise Provide Chain’s end-to-end manufacturing and distribution footprint in addition to the purposeful help areas, together with procurement, high quality, sustainability, occupational well being and security, technique and capital engineering. Throughout her 22-year tenure with 3M, Fenske held numerous senior roles main manufacturing, provide chain and operations for lots of the firm’s world companies in addition to plant administration. She brings further prior expertise from Marathon Ashland Petroleum and Dow Chemical Firm.
Recognizing Fenske’s visionary management and her excellence in provide chain administration, this unique interview options her invaluable insights on digital transformation and steady enchancment to drive innovation inside the business.
● the important thing pillars of our provide chain are security, sustainability and delivering on money, value and repair.
● our purpose is to foster collaboration at each ends of the provision chain, from suppliers to clients, treating it as an prolonged ‘one provide chain’ and managing it as if it have been our personal.
● Kimberly-Clark is making a complete digital community— not only a digital thread, however a digital material—that connects us globally.
The Elementary Pillars: Security, Sustainability and Service Excellence
The provision chain isn’t quick on KPIs and metrics, however basically, I imagine in maintaining our folks secure. Secure operations are the inspiration of high-performing operations, so we make investments vital vitality into sustaining strong security requirements globally. We strongly concentrate on main indicators that contribute to web productiveness and make an impression on the P&L. The important thing pillars of Kimberly-Clark’s provide chain are security, sustainability and delivering on money, value and repair. Whereas there are numerous metrics inside these areas, all of them align to attain these final outcomes.
Core Provide Chain Challenges: Geopolitics, Cybersecurity and Regulatory Shifts
The macro challenges in provide chain administration are grouped into three key areas.
1. Geopolitics and the de-globalization of the provision chain: Commerce wars, sanctions and associated disruptions trigger volatility within the business.
2. Cyber safety: As we proceed to digitalize our provide chain, it’s important to guard ourselves from software program vulnerabilities and potential threats from contractors or third-party assaults.
3. Regulatory adjustments and commerce compliance: There’s been a whole lot of concentrate on tariffs, particularly with the brand new administration. As we function globally, we should guarantee we meet the required sustainability requirements.
Fostering Partnership: A Unified Strategy
I all the time emphasize the significance of a ‘one provide chain’ mentality—driving strategic partnerships with each suppliers and clients. By totally integrating and leveraging one another’s provide chains, we will advance in areas like sustainability and effectivity. Kimberly Clark’s capabilities align with these of a serious buyer associate and mixing the 2 can unlock vital efficiencies and effectiveness. The worth creation on each side is commonly compelling, as seen within the KPIs. Our purpose is to foster collaboration at each ends of the provision chain, treating it as an prolonged ‘one provide chain’ and managing it as if it have been our personal.
The worth creation on each side is commonly compelling, as seen within the KPIs. Our purpose is to foster collaboration at each ends of the provision chain, treating it as an prolonged ‘one provide chain’ and managing it as if it have been our personal
Adopting Know-how: Leveraging Digital Networks for International Success
We work carefully with our digital workforce and as a part of our ongoing transformation; we’ve established a brand new digital provide chain division that can concentrate on figuring out alternatives upfront. Whereas we’ve sturdy techniques and capabilities, they’ve been applied in pockets throughout the group. Our purpose is to create a complete digital community—not only a digital thread, however a digital material—that connects us globally. We collaborate carefully with our distributors to combine their options into our techniques and unlock the worth we’re looking for.
The Key to the Future: Digital Connectivity
Our staff are a vital a part of making a digital material and investing of their growth is important to convey technical capabilities inside our groups. That’s why we’re regularly targeted on digitally enabling and connecting our workforce. We’re working to create an simply accessible and unified information lake throughout the enterprise, making certain we’ve real-time visibility into what we’d like in addition to built-in enterprise planning platforms.
By way of the digital provide chain, we’re advancing our digital twin capabilities. We’re making certain our provide chain stays versatile, permitting us to adapt shortly. Agility, whereas typically overused, is completely essential for us. By utilizing real-time state of affairs modeling, we will assess the impression of disruptions or essential adjustments earlier than taking motion, which helps us to make knowledgeable selections. The tempo of the world will hold accelerating and the extra digitally linked and versatile we’re, the higher positioned we shall be.
One key aspect is the elevated concentrate on and recognition of the provision chain’s position. Our partnership with industrial, R&D and innovation groups should be seamless. We’re dedicating vital effort to understanding the total worth chain and making certain we work collaboratively towards shared targets—service, high quality and price.
When everybody involves the desk with aligned goals, it’s not only a provide chain challenge; it’s a chance to remain on the forefront of what’s coming.
Tradition of Collaboration: Aligning R&D and Enterprise
One of many key methods in our transformation is worth stream simplification. The worth stream serves a number of functions— delivering productiveness, bettering prices and driving steady enchancment. Whereas we excel in operational excellence and normal plant enhancements, reminiscent of general gear effectiveness and waste discount, the true worth lies in aligning with the patron worth proposition and driving value transformation. Reaching this requires a deep understanding of the enterprise’s goals and the wants of our customers. We be certain that the design and the merchandise will succeed out there. In analyzing the KPIs and information inside the provide chain, we discovered that 70 % of prices are tied to product design and materials decisions. This highlights the significance of shut collaboration with the R&D workforce and enterprise models, understanding client demand and wishes.
Recommendation to Friends: Keep Curious and Hold Questioning
Keep curious. Curiosity is the driving drive behind the evolution and development of the provision chain. I all the time urge folks to hunt to grasp—ask ‘Why.’ However after you have gained that perception, ask, ‘Why not?’ The sky is the restrict. Challenges paved the way to alternatives. In case you are somebody who thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing atmosphere and enjoys bringing progressive options, then the provision chain is the house so that you can be in.
