Kimberly-Clark Considers Itself COmmunity Partner
Last updated Saturday, November 5, 2005 10:30 PM CST in Business
By Anita French
The Morning News
ROGERS -- Kimberly-Clark sees itself as more than just a Wal-Mart supplier. The company, which has had an office in Northwest Arkansas for almost 15 years, solidified its role as a community benefactor by donating $100,000 last week to Mercy Health System's new hospital now under construction in Rogers.
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Susan Barrett, president and CEO of Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas, said the hospital was "extremely grateful" for the Kimberly-Clark donation.
"Globally, they have been extremely generous in their philanthropic activities. This pledge reinforces their generosity as well as their commitment to helping people care for themselves and their families," she said.
Kimberly-Clark joined other corporations earlier this year when it donated $250,000 in cash and $350,000 in products to support relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina.
The name Kimberly-Clark may not be all that familiar to those outside the business world, until they learn the company makes such well-known items as Scott tissue, Kleenex and Huggies diapers, along with several other products. The Dallas-based company was the first Wal-Mart supplier to open an office at Village on the Creeks, Dunning said.
The current office is the fourth one Kimberly-Clark has had in Northwest Arkansas, but won't be the last. Dunning said in July they were looking for a bigger site and one has been found, although he declined to reveal any details as yet, except to say it will still be in Rogers.
"We need to grow along with Wal-Mart," Dunning said.
Needing larger space is just one indication of how its business with Wal-Mart has grown. Dunning said they had 41 on staff in July, and that figure now stands at around 50.
Dunning's office focuses on sales and marketing with Wal-Mart. He said Kimberly-Clark and Wal-Mart have a "very collaborative approach" in regards to products and promotions.
"We share ideas. Each tries to provide consumer insights. It's all speaking to the same individual -- the consumer," Dunning said.
He admires Wal-Mart's business model and integrity and "the fact that you can work with them on any aspect of your business," he said.
Dunning agrees with those suppliers who say Wal-Mart is tough but fair, but expanded on that by saying Wal-Mart "doesn't lay down the rules" but works with suppliers.
Kimberly-Clark is among the vanguard in Wal-Mart's radio identification frequency program. Referred to as RFID, the technology uses a decoder, a radio frequency tag and an antenna that emits radio signals to activate the tag and read and write data to it. The tags are expected to eventually replace the universal bar code.
Wal-Mart is using the tags to increase productivity and efficiency in its supply chain and is leading the way among retailers in promoting the technology. Kimberly-Clark was among the top 100 suppliers to meet Wal-Mart's January deadline in having RFID tags in use on their products.
"The very first product scanned at the RFID testing program in Dallas was a Kimberly-Clark product," Dunning said. "We're very involved with RFID and supplier-chain issues."
His office has stayed in the forefront of community involvement by supporting the Northwest Arkansas Cancer Challenge, the Boys and Girls Club and the Walton Arts Center. Dunning said a large contingent from his office put on the Saturday night event during the recent Cancer Challenge fundraiser. His office also has had Race for the Cure teams, he said.
"We donate time, money and products to all these. It's a reflection of Kimberly-Clark's corporate philosophy about being a good neighbor," Dunning said.
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