How Supply Coordinator Mary Jordan Carpenter supports ExxonMobil Basestocks customers

Basestocks Global Expertise Showcase

ExxonMobil Basestocks has an expansive global network that is dedicated to meeting the needs of its customers, now and in the future. Numerous men and women are working hard behind the scenes to bring ExxonMobil’s “engineered fluids” to market. Meet one of our own, Mary Jordan “MJ” Carpenter — a supply coordinator for the Basestocks team, based in Spring, Texas — as she shares her perspective on how she supports customers and why customer service is important to her.

Q: What is your favorite part about being a supply coordinator for the Basestocks team at ExxonMobil?

Supply coordinators are critical to the base stock industry. As the link between supply sites and the end customer, we help ensure that our customers receive specifically tailored and top-quality product more quickly and efficiently. The best part of being a supply coordinator is seeing the immediate results of my work. We tend to put in long hours to make movement happen for our customers, so it is always extremely rewarding when we get to see the barge discharge or truck arrive at the site to meet our client’s specific needs.

I’ve also been able to create great relationships with many of our customers, and they have come to rely on our dependable, results-oriented and creative solutions to help keep their operations running as efficiently as possible.

Q: What’s something unique about the work you do that might surprise others?

I like to describe my role as a supply coordinator as the bridge between sites, the customer service team, the sales team and the end customer — helping to ensure everything is linked together. We have the biggest impact on a customer’s experience, and we do everything we can to make sure their experience with ExxonMobil is a positive one. As the “bridge” of operations, being able to work as part of a larger team is vital to success in this role, and I depend on my network of colleagues with wide ranging expertise to help me determine creative solutions for our customers.

Q: As a main point of contact across various parts of the business for all supply activities, including marine and overland movements, can you share some of the challenges you have to work through in order to ensure satisfaction among all parties, both internally and externally?

In our business, everything has a certain element of urgency to it, and our work is very dynamic. We work to ensure that supply does not go to customers until it has passed our release testing protocols that guarantee we are providing high-quality products.

Fluctuating demand is often the biggest challenge we face when working through supply for our customers, but we address replenishment needs and ensure we have alternate sourcing arrangements in place, especially if a blend gets moved up. Additionally, I maintain regular contact with my counterparts in Europe and Asia Pacific to ensure we are always aligned and ready for any unforeseen circumstances that could affect an actual execution. Lastly, successfully managing a balance between the many sites and stakeholders across the business can be difficult, but we have a great team that helps us prioritize projects and keep customers at the forefront of everything we do.