Tamera Fenske, Chief Provide Chain Officer, Kimberly-Clark
Tamera Fenske is a CPG provide chain chief who has labored in a wide range of manufacturing and provide chain management roles and is thought 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 international accountability for the Enterprise Provide Chain’s end-to-end manufacturing and distribution footprint in addition to the useful 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 most of the firm’s international 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 trade.
● the important thing pillars of our provide chain are security, sustainability and delivering on money, value and repair.
● our aim is to foster collaboration at each ends of the availability 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 brief on KPIs and metrics, however basically, I imagine in maintaining our folks secure. Secure operations are the muse 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 internet productiveness and make an influence 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 realize 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 availability chain: Commerce wars, sanctions and associated disruptions trigger volatility within the trade.
2. Cyber safety: As we proceed to digitalize our provide chain, it’s essential 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 variety 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 absolutely integrating and leveraging one another’s provide chains, we are able to advance in areas like sustainability and effectivity. Kimberly Clark’s capabilities align with these of a significant buyer accomplice and mixing the 2 can unlock vital efficiencies and effectiveness. The worth creation on each side is usually compelling, as seen within the KPIs. Our aim is to foster collaboration at each ends of the availability 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 usually compelling, as seen within the KPIs. Our aim is to foster collaboration at each ends of the availability chain, treating it as an prolonged ‘one provide chain’ and managing it as if it have been our personal
Adopting Expertise: Leveraging Digital Networks for World Success
We work carefully with our digital crew 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 prematurely. Whereas we’ve sturdy methods and capabilities, they’ve been carried out in pockets throughout the group. Our aim 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 methods and unlock the worth we’re in search of.
The Key to the Future: Digital Connectivity
Our workers are a vital a part of making a digital material and investing of their growth is essential to deliver technical capabilities inside our groups. That’s why we’re frequently targeted on digitally enabling and connecting our workforce. We’re working to create an simply accessible and unified information lake throughout the enterprise, guaranteeing 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 guaranteeing our provide chain stays versatile, permitting us to adapt shortly. Agility, whereas usually overused, is totally essential for us. By utilizing real-time situation modeling, we are able to assess the influence of disruptions or mandatory adjustments earlier than taking motion, which helps us to make knowledgeable choices. The tempo of the world will maintain accelerating and the extra digitally related and versatile we’re, the higher positioned we shall be.
One key factor is the elevated concentrate on and recognition of the availability chain’s position. Our partnership with industrial, R&D and innovation groups have to be seamless. We’re dedicating vital effort to understanding the complete worth chain and guaranteeing we work collaboratively towards shared objectives—service, high quality and price.
When everybody involves the desk with aligned targets, it’s not only a provide chain subject; 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, enhancing prices and driving steady enchancment. Whereas we excel in operational excellence and commonplace plant enhancements, reminiscent of total gear effectiveness and waste discount, the true worth lies in aligning with the patron worth proposition and driving value transformation. Attaining this requires a deep understanding of the enterprise’s targets and the wants of our customers. We make sure that the design and the merchandise will succeed out there. In analyzing the KPIs and information inside the provide chain, we discovered that 70 p.c of prices are tied to product design and materials selections. This highlights the significance of shut collaboration with the R&D crew and enterprise models, understanding client demand and desires.
Recommendation to Friends: Keep Curious and Maintain Questioning
Keep curious. Curiosity is the driving drive behind the evolution and development of the availability chain. I all the time urge folks to hunt to know—ask ‘Why.’ However after getting gained that perception, ask, ‘Why not?’ The sky is the restrict. Challenges cleared the path to alternatives. In case you are somebody who thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing surroundings and enjoys bringing progressive options, then the availability chain is the house so that you can be in.
