Businessmodel of Kimberly-Clark

Customer Segments

Kimberly-Clark has a segmented market business model, with customers that have slightly different needs. The company targets its offerings at consumers and businesses.

Value Proposition

Kimberly-Clark offers two primary value propositions: innovation and brand/status.

The company has embraced innovation throughout its history. Its breakthroughs include:

• The paper used for rotogravure, a procedure for printing photographs with a rotary press
• Kotex, the first disposable feminine hygiene product
• Kleenex, the world’s first facial tissue
• Pull-Ups, the first disposable training pants
• Huggies Little Swimmers, the only patented, self-adhesive Ultraviolet B sun sensors
• Gentle Care and Newborn diapers, the only diapers with an umbilical cord opening
• Poise Extra Pads with Wings, the first winged pad designed for bladder protection

• The first electronic bath tissue dispenser The company has established a powerful brand due to its success. It sells its products in over 175 countries, and they are used by almost a quarter of the world’s population daily. It holds the #1 or #2 market share position in 80 countries. It generated $18.6 billion in sales in 2015 and has 43,000 employees globally. It maintains many well-known brands, including Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Depend, Cottonelle, and Kotex. Lastly, it has won many honors, including the following:

• Ranking #4 on the list of the “World’s 25 Best Multinational Workplaces” by the Great Place to Work Institute (2012)
• Ranking #1 among the “Best Multinational Workplaces in Latin America” by the Great Places to Work Institute (2014)
• Recognition as one of the top 20 “Best Corporate Citizens” by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for five consecutive years
• Recognition as one of the first companies to receive the Investors in People Health and Wellbeing Good Practice Award by the U.S. Department of Health
• The Catalyst Award for 2014, which honors leadership initiatives for women
• Corporate Citizenship Awards from Business Civic Leadership Center
• Recognition as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute ### Channels

Kimberly-Clark’s main channels are retail stores such as supermarkets, drugstores, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, and department stores. It also sells its products through online retail and various distributors. The company promotes its offering through its social media pages, advertising, and participation in trade shows and conferences.

Customer Relationships

Kimberly-Clark’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service nature. Customers utilize its products while having limited interaction with employees. That said, there is a personal assistance component in the form of phone and e-mail support.

Key Activities

Kimberly-Clark’s business model entails designing, developing, and manufacturing its products for customers.

Key Partners

Kimberly-Clark’s key partners are the suppliers who provide it with the raw materials it uses to manufacture its products. Its primary raw material for tissue products is cellulose fiber. For nonwoven fabrics it uses polypropylene and other synthetics and chemicals.

Key Resources

Kimberly-Clark’s main resource is its intellectual property, which includes the various patents and trademarks it owns in the U.S. and worldwide; they are material to its business.

It maintains important physical resources in the form of the 94+ manufacturing facilities it operates in 39 countries. Lastly, it depends on its team of engineers and scientists to design and develop products.

Cost Structure

Kimberly-Clark has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through low-price value propositions. Its biggest cost driver is cost of products sold, a variable expense. Other major drivers are in the areas of sales/marketing and research/development, both fixed costs.

Revenue Streams

Kimberly-Clark has one revenue stream: revenues it generates from sales of its products to customers. For business customers, sales often occur through long-term contracts.