Interview with Anke Laue, Global Head of Supply Chain Management Coating & Adhesive Resins, Evonik
In a world focused on efficiency and bottom lines, customer service can sometimes get pushed to the sidelines. But what if exceptional customer service wasn't just about polite interactions, but a key driver of measurable success? At LogiChem 2024, Anke led a working group session that tackled exactly that. Titled "How can you engage customer service as a leader supporting function to driving end-to-end KPIs using your understanding of the customer journey," this session challenged traditional thinking and equipped participants with actionable strategies.
Melanie Salter, Director of Supply Chain Research, boom! Global Network interviewed Anke prior to LogiChem 2024:
Mel:
You’ll be leading a working group session at LogiChem called ‘How can you engage customer service as a leader supporting function to driving end-to-end KPIs using your understanding of the customer journey’. Please can you tell me about the session and the key questions you would like the working group to address?
Anke:
It’s a huge topic so the aim of the working group is to really concentrate on end-to-end customer-focused KPIs. We’ll be discussing how to avoid having KPIs just for the sake of having them, what actionable steps can be taken to improve the KPIs and how we can use KPIs to drive improvements that impact the customer experience. I want to challenge the participants thinking and give them some actionable ideas to take back to their companies and apply to their own projects and initiatives.
Mel:
It’s great to see that there are going to be more women at LogiChem this year than ever before, however, there’s still a long way to go to reach a 50/50 split. What can companies do to increase the representation of women in the supply chain?
Anke:
Companies need to support working mothers by offering benefits that enable good work/life balance, such as generous maternity leave and flexible work initiatives. I also believe that women can help by making themselves more visible and pursuing opportunities. So, both companies and individual women have a role to play in increasing representation.
Mel:
What are you planning to get out of the LogiChem?
Anke:
I’m excited about sharing my experience in supply chain and customer service with my working group participants and providing insights and ideas that they can use in their companies. I’m also looking forward to networking with interesting people and gaining new perspectives and ideas that I can take back to Evonik.