Jori Fabricius: How Kemira Utilized Digitalization to Build a Resilient Supply Chain

After a disruptive year, supply chain & procurement companies are still reeling from the impacts of the pandemic. They continue to face obstacles in transportation and logistics, rising prices of raw materials, and shifts in customer demand.  

Supply chain leaders have realized that digitalization and sustainability efforts need to be prioritized to provide flexibility to respond to unforeseen challenges. Jori Fabricius, Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain Management at Kemira, shares his insights on the post-pandemic supply chain landscape and its effects on tech adoption, leadership and more.  

   

The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation efforts in supply chain and procurement. What tech adoptions have been the most effective in mitigating the disruptions presented by the outbreak? 

There are many aspects to this, but what immediately comes to mind are control tower tools, visibility enabling tools and processes that support fact-based alignment across functions. The idea is to bring transparency to deviations as soon as possible and enable fast mitigations. 

• Real-time execution controls (day to day): These were implemented at Kemira two to three years ago. The controls are nature operative and used in placing replenishment purchase orders and securing material availability. They are connected to visibility tools and alerts in real-time, providing personal dashboards that show performance and risk incidents to operators as they are happening. The addition of AI allows operators to supervise product quality and connect the dosing of chemicals.  
• Planning tools (weekly or monthly, mid-term): These are extremely valuable as they provide optimized plans to mitigate potential or current constraints, and to enable fast cross-functional problem-solving. In Kemira, we started the implementation of upgrading the planning environment globally, which has been successfully taken into use for supply planning. 
• Visibility tools (long-term): This is related to general aspects of performance — a good example is visualizing Kemira’s distribution networks with enriched built-in KPIs. This allows us to visually capture recent changes such as distribution cost performance, distribution distances, shipments sizes and transportation emission calculation.  

All these tools are necessary to drive performance and to enable faster, better decisions and implementations. This saves time, improves service and creates new business opportunities. Another thing to note is that these tools are highly dependent on cleansed, credible master data and one common enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform.  

 

In your opinion, how has digital transformation affected leadership roles in supply chain and procurement? 

Over my 30-year career, I think there has been a continuous change in the supply chain in terms of technology and science. In fact, the term ”supply chain management” did not exist before 1982 even though the concept has been around long before that.  

When digital transformation cracked the nut of “the distance dilemma”, the world became a smaller place and brought different cultures together. With more companies centralizing teams from their physical locations, supply chain leaders need to be culturally sensitive and emotionally intelligent to build engagement across diversified teams. 

Supply chain leaders also need to understand other functions better. They can no longer work in isolation. To be efficient, they need to gain knowledge on multiple industries and professions, and learn a number of skills. Going back to the tools I mentioned earlier, they are useless without analytical skills. Leaders must be adept at using IT tools because these are business-critical capabilities.  

   

Sustainability is a core part of Kemira’s business strategy and operations. Why is there an urgency for organizations to embrace sustainability and what are its long-term benefits? 

At Kemira, we can proudly say that our value system supports sustainable world thinking. One of our values is ‘‘We care for people and the environment.” Having this value makes for a strong foundation for future sustainable initiatives.  

Other than values, we need to understand the different players around us such as our customers, investors, regulators, resource market and employees. In the last five years, investors have been putting more effort into implementing sustainability programs. No company today can say that sustainability does not have a role in their business strategy.  

In terms of recruitment, I think the fight for talent will only grow bigger as we go along. This is because the younger generation will choose companies that reflect their own values, and sustainability is a topic that comes up very often during Kemira’s job interviews.  

What do I think are the long-term benefits? I would say it is very difficult to work in this world if you are not a good citizen. Regulators, Customers and Investors for sure are moving in a sustainable direction which not only supports good citizenship but is also a ticket to a profitable business.   

 

What are the biggest obstacles when it comes to maintaining sustainability in all levels of the supply chain?  

It is fair to note that the obstacles are partly related to behavior and an individual’s value systems. It is difficult to change as culture and values always beat a good strategy. 

Because of that, I would say change management is the most difficult part as transforming current value systems may not happen quickly. Another hurdle is missing infrastructure – replacing an entire supply chain is a major change and does not happen overnight. For example, shifting from oil-based materials to bio-based ones. There is bound to be some resistance as current infrastructures have been in place for decades. Hence, leaders must implement change management carefully, taking into account regulations and investors’ needs.  

“It is easier to steer a boat that is moving and floating,” rather than one that is sinking.  

 

What can business leaders do to future-proof their supply chain and procurement functions in order to tackle unprecedented challenges? 

Organizations must be ready for a heavier fight for resources and competencies in the future. There will be market upsides and downsides, especially with leaner pipelines. Additionally, they must always develop new digital capabilities that drive business value and build engagement.  

Business leaders must also look for the best talent to join their companies but recognize that it will be a challenge. Engaged and flexible employees are role models and potential future leaders. They are usually the best people to secure an organization’s resilience and continuity.  

 

What are emerging supply chain trends in 2021 and 2022? 

I believe there are two main trends supply chain leaders should look out for:  

• The new order after COVID-19: After 1.5 years of living in isolation and running operations, leaders need to reflect on the lessons learned from the pandemic. It has been no doubt a tough time for organizations. However, it is time to truly understand the phenomenon itself and to build a sustainable working model. 
• Digitalization remains strong: There will be more choices for digital applications in operative work, like pricing tools. Procurement and sourcing platforms will also accelerate B2B integration and collaboration, and support building communities.  

 

*The answers have been edited for length and clarity.