Lien Kemper stands out from the very first moment you see her. That’s not just because she towers over most people at 1.8 meters tall. It is much more her nature and personality that creates a lasting impression. Curious and energetic, cosmopolitan and courageous, Lien moved to Germany with her parents at the age of 12. After graduating from high school, she studied economics in Bremen, Paris, and Sydney.
Today she works in Supply Chain Management at Siemens, heading the project management office for a company-wide digitalization project — ‘purchase-to-pay’. On top of this, she is working to create the unknown.
In early 2017, together with a handful of colleagues, she began to accelerate digital change within Supply Chain Management and that’s when the Digi Network was founded. It’s about disruption, new ways of thinking, and a different culture of interaction and communication. And this with 7,000 coworkers, mind you.
Demanding answers for a digital world
Lien’s team started with a bunch of questions: How can we realize digital ideas more quickly and more simply? How can we encourage the exchange of information on digital topics, without overwhelming people? What does failure mean? Does company culture in the digital age really have to be lived from the top down — shouldn’t it be from the bottom up? How do we deal with fear and resistance from our co-workers? “Digitalization demands courage from all of us, and a desire to discover new things,” Lien says with a smile.
“Join us, bring an idea to the table and implement it. Whether you are a trainee or a supervisor, everyone can do,” she explains. It’s this hands-on mentality that informs the motto here: “Don’t just talk — act.”
An example is the team’s development of the Supply Chain Control Tower app, which helps purchasers track the delivery status of raw materials and components, and can quickly inform them of any delays. It is an early warning service that, until now, was not very widespread. Total time investment for the development, using the new experimentation-friendly method, was just two months.
Everyone is part of the change
Lien’s projects enable employees to experience the impact of digitalization in their daily work. She enjoys taking a flexible approach, finding processes that are easy to implement, and harnessing the opportunities presented by imperfection. For her, as a young mother, these are important prerequisites, both professionally and personally.
Another digitalization project that has been developed by a related Digi Network team and accelerated by Lien is the Digital Leader Workshop, which is designed for managers to discuss the challenges of digital change and develop strategies to take everyone on the road to this new era. The workshop concept has proved to be so successful that Siemens now offers it worldwide.
“The more of our colleagues around the world who ‘live’ what digitalization offers, the more successful we will be,” explains Lien. “The ‘we can’t’ mentality is actually disappearing from people’s minds. And that’s good for everyone.”
Lien’s next adventure is with her newborn baby and young family, as they are soon embarking on a world trip. She is already looking forward to continuing her journey into the digital age inside and outside of her job.
Lien Kemper began her career at Siemens as a senior in-house management consultant. There she masterminded and co-founded the Digi Network. To further boost the program she changed into Supply Chain Management. After her second maternity leave, she will continue to accelerate digitalization. Find out more about working at Siemens.
