DC Velocity - Tipsheet 2013

SHARING
supply chains
for mutual gain

Kimberly-Clark helped to pioneer the
concept of collaborative supply chains.
The benefits have been so great that the
practice is now sweeping through Europe.

Eight years ago, when Kimberly-Clark Corporation launched a collaborative distribution trial with Lever Fabergé (now Unilever’s Home and Personal Care unit) in the Netherlands, company managers had no idea that they were trailblazing what would become a supply chain best practice in Europe. In that first experiment, the two companies made joint deliveries to customers, with each company filling half of each truck.

With that early effort, Kimberly-Clark pioneered the concept of collaborative distribution, also known as shared or collaborative supply chains, a practice that is now sweeping Europe. In a shared supply chain, two or more companies use the same distribution facility and transportation services to serve mutual customers. This practice reduces costs for manufacturers and provides more frequent replenishment for retailers.