Top Women In Store Brands 2023: Brooke Cline

For more than a decade, Store Brands and Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence (WISE) have teamed to honor women across the private label industry who have had and continue to have a major impact in the store brand segment.

From supply chain, to sales, marketing, finance and more, members of the Class of 2023 each play a vital role in moving store brands forward amid new and on-going challenges that include rising prices, capacity issues with manufacturers, and evolving demand from consumers. 

The following is the profile of Brooke Cline of Refresco Beverages, the 2023 Supply Chain honoree.

Driving Transformation

At Refresco Beverages, Brooke Cline plays a pivotal role and carries a wide array of responsibilities for the private label beverage manufacturer. 

As senior manager of the company’s supply chain operations, Cline leads a team of 12 materials managers and analysts, overseeing inventory management, forecasting, replenishment, and supplier performance. The role emphasizes process refinement through the implementation of best practices, leveraging technology to enhance efficiency, and eliminating non-value-added tasks.

Using a key performance index (KPI) scorecard, Cline oversees inventory levels, service performance and financial results. Collaborating closely with suppliers, she manages inventory levels across manufacturing facilities, ensuring optimal production schedules and minimal waste. The role extends to guiding the product life cycle of materials, supporting new product introductions, label redesigns and sustainable sourcing initiatives. Additionally, Cline fosters team development through mentoring, instilling necessary skills for current and future roles.

During the past year, Cline has achieved a number of benchmarks at Refresco, which manufactures fruit juices, carbonated soft drinks and mineral waters. She led the implementation of end-to-end planning processes for packaging materials in the beverage manufacturing process. She also led the restoration and creation of key controls and processes between suppliers and manufacturing facilities, reducing unplanned downtime across a network of North American plants. 

Cline’s notable achievements earned her a well-deserved promotion, where her strategic vision has grown. She also spearheaded a comprehensive digital transformation, harnessing SAP and Power BI to streamline planning processes, which not only optimized operations but also enabled real-time, data-driven decision-making. Cline’s strategic prowess and market insights were instrumental in achieving impressive double-digit growth rates.

Amid supply chain disruptions lingering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Cline has been credited with demonstrating “remarkable ingenuity,” orchestrating diverse sources and innovative commercial agreements to uphold a consistent aluminum can supply despite shortages.