Kimberly-Clark changes strategy

When the local management team considered the best way to implement the plan, it realised the company was not optimally structured for growth, particularly when it came to its commercial operations. "Our customer operations were centralised in Johannesburg, which was not necessarily the most optimal model going forward," says K-CSA managing director, Garth Towell.

"After researching successful company models in countries with similar geographies to ours, we found the Latin America's model most appropriate. We modified the example to suit our operation in South Africa and established geographical business units (GBAs) around the country,"

He says that instead of sales managers, the GBAs will be headed up by three new 'mini country managers', who will lead multifunctional teams with common objectives (sales, marketing, finance, supply chain, human resources). "These people will think 'business' and not just 'sales'. In addition, decision making will move closer to the field with people being empowered to make business decisions within a given framework."

New leaders

The company has appointed Joanne Siney-Gould as its commercial director, with full commercial responsibility for the South African business, in particular leading GBA implementation and providing day-to-day work direction for the newly appointed GBA leaders.

To lead the territorial expansion part of the company's five-year plan, Dion de Graaff was appointed to drive the initiative with specific focus on the establishment and management of commercial operations in East and West Africa. Previously financial director of the South African company and leader of the 2015 planning committee, his strategic and operational expertise is regarded as imperative to unlocking the immense potential north of South Africa's borders.

Lizet Norval, who had been seconded to the role for nine months, while de Graaff was leading the growth plan development, was officially appointed as financial director this year.

This team will be supported by the three new GBA leaders, Joanne Clarke (GBA leader: North - located in Gauteng), Mandy van Niekerk (GBA leader: East - located in KwaZulu-Natal) and Chris Hall (acting GBA leader: West - located in Western Cape).

What is significant about the new appointments is that they are all appointments from within the organisation. "This bears testimony to our talent management drive, which is aimed at unleashing the power and maximum potential of our employees," adds Towell.

Future drives

The idea is to build a sustainable competitive advantage by moving to a more front line organisation, allowing a closer customer/shopper/consumer relationship, faster execution, solution-oriented multifunctional teams, with unique local cultural awareness.

"This fits with the international group's aim to be 'much more local than its global competitors...and much more global than its local competitors'," he concludes.