Tamera Fenske is a CPG supply chain leader who has worked in a variety of manufacturing and supply chain leadership roles and is known for unlocking best-in-class capabilities across a range of technologies, innovations and go-to-market models. As Chief Supply Chain Officer for Kimberly-Clark, Fenske has global responsibility for the Enterprise Supply Chain’s end-to-end manufacturing and distribution footprint as well as the functional support areas, including procurement, quality, sustainability, occupational health and safety, strategy and capital engineering. During her 22-year tenure with 3M, Fenske held various senior roles leading manufacturing, supply chain and operations for many of the company's global businesses as well as plant management. She brings additional prior experience from Marathon Ashland Petroleum and Dow Chemical Company.
Recognizing Fenske’s visionary leadership and her excellence in supply chain management, this exclusive interview features her invaluable insights on digital transformation and continuous improvement to drive innovation within the industry.
● The key pillars of our supply chain are safety, sustainability and delivering on cash, cost and service.
● Our goal is to foster collaboration at both ends of the supply chain, from suppliers to customers, treating it as an extended ‘one supply chain’ and managing it as if it were our own.
● Kimberly-Clark is creating a comprehensive digital network— not just a digital thread, but a digital fabric—that connects us globally.
The Fundamental Pillars: Safety, Sustainability and Service Excellence
The supply chain is never short on KPIs and metrics, but fundamentally, I believe in keeping our people safe. Safe operations are the foundation of high-performing operations, so we invest significant energy into maintaining robust safety standards globally. We strongly focus on leading indicators that contribute to net productivity and make an impact on the P&L. The key pillars of Kimberly-Clark’s supply chain are safety, sustainability and delivering on cash, cost and service. While there are countless metrics within these areas, they all align to achieve these ultimate outcomes.
Core Supply Chain Challenges: Geopolitics, Cybersecurity and Regulatory Shifts
The macro challenges in supply chain management are grouped into three key areas.
1. Geopolitics and the de-globalization of the supply chain: Trade wars, sanctions and related disruptions cause volatility in the industry.
2. Cyber security: As we continue to digitalize our supply chain, it’s critical to protect ourselves from software vulnerabilities and potential threats from contractors or third-party attacks.
3. Regulatory changes and trade compliance: There’s been a lot of focus on tariffs, especially with the new administration. As we operate globally, we must ensure we meet the required sustainability standards.
Fostering Partnership: A Unified Approach
I always emphasize the importance of a ‘one supply chain’ mentality— driving strategic partnerships with both suppliers and customers. By fully integrating and leveraging each other’s supply chains, we can advance in areas like sustainability and efficiency.
“The value creation on both sides is often compelling, as seen in the KPIs. Our goal is to foster collaboration at both ends of the supply chain, treating it as an extended ‘one supply chain’ and managing it as if it were our own”
Kimberly Clark’s capabilities align with those of a major customer partner and combining the two can unlock significant efficiencies and effectiveness. The value creation on both sides is often compelling, as seen in the KPIs. Our goal is to foster collaboration at both ends of the supply chain, treating it as an extended ‘one supply chain’ and managing it as if it were our own.
Adopting Technology: Leveraging Digital Networks for Global Success
We work closely with our digital team and as part of our ongoing transformation; we have established a new digital supply chain division that will focus on identifying opportunities in advance. While we have strong systems and capabilities, they have been implemented in pockets across the organization. Our goal is to create a comprehensive digital network—not just a digital thread, but a digital fabric—that connects us globally. We collaborate closely with our vendors to integrate their solutions into our systems and unlock the value we are seeking.
The Key to the Future: Digital Connectivity
Our employees are an essential part of creating a digital fabric and investing in their development is critical to bring technical capabilities within our teams. That’s why we’re continually focused on digitally enabling and connecting our workforce. We’re working to create an easily accessible and unified data lake across the enterprise, ensuring we have real-time visibility into what we need as well as integrated business planning platforms.
In terms of the digital supply chain, we’re advancing our digital twin capabilities. We are ensuring our supply chain remains flexible, allowing us to adapt quickly. Agility, while often overused, is absolutely crucial for us. By using real-time scenario modeling, we can assess the impact of disruptions or necessary changes before taking action, which helps us to make informed decisions. The pace of the world will keep accelerating and the more digitally connected and flexible we are, the better positioned we will be.
One key element is the increased focus on and recognition of the supply chain’s role. Our partnership with commercial, R&D and innovation teams must be seamless. We are dedicating significant effort to understanding the full value chain and ensuring we work collaboratively toward shared goals—service, quality and cost. When everyone comes to the table with aligned objectives, it is no longer just a supply chain issue; it’s an opportunity to stay at the forefront of what’s coming.
Culture of Collaboration: Aligning R&D and Business
One of the key strategies in our transformation is value stream simplification. The value stream serves several purposes— delivering productivity, improving costs and driving continuous improvement. While we excel in operational excellence and standard plant improvements, such as overall equipment effectiveness and waste reduction, the true value lies in aligning with the consumer value proposition and driving cost transformation.
Achieving this requires a deep understanding of the business’s objectives and the needs of our consumers. We ensure that the design and the products will succeed in the market. In examining the KPIs and data within the supply chain, we found that 70 percent of costs are tied to product design and material choices. This highlights the importance of close collaboration with the R&D team and business units, understanding consumer demand and needs.
Advice to Peers: Stay Curious and Keep Questioning
Stay curious. Curiosity is the driving force behind the evolution and advancement of the supply chain. I always urge people to seek to understand—ask ‘Why.’ But once you have gained that insight, ask, ‘Why not?’ The sky is the limit. Challenges lead the way to opportunities. If you are someone who thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment and enjoys bringing innovative solutions, then the supply chain is the space for you to be in.
