Miriam has been working at sustainabill since February 2021. Prior to that, she worked as a consultant with a focus on sustainability management and business development at PwC. What she particularly likes about her job at sustainabill is the contact with clients and the feeling of making the world a bit better with every project.

In this interview, Miriam reveals to us what her work at sustainabill looks like, how she helps customers implement regulatory requirements, such as the German Supply Chain Act, and what customer feedback makes her particularly happy.

5 questions for Miriam Gogel about her work as Head of Customer Success at sustainabill

1. Miriam, what are your responsibilities as Head of Customer Success at sustainabill?

I support our customers and assist them on their way to implementing sustainability requirements in the supply chain. At the moment, for us in Germany this mainly concerns the implementation of the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG).

I also take over the onboarding of new customers. In doing so, I support the preparation, i.e. defining the scope of the suppliers and the survey and also the communication to the suppliers. It is very important to us to get our customers up and running in the best possible way, to give them an introduction to the functions and to help with the initial invitation of suppliers. They usually don’t need me for the final use of the platform, because it is so intuitive.

2. Which customers are currently using sustainabill? Are they primarily concerned with the implementation of the German Supply Chain Act or are there other requirements as well?

Right now, we are gaining many customers from medium-sized businesses. For many customers, the Supply Chain Act is the trigger to introduce a software solution for the supply chain. But our customers are looking beyond that – the vast majority are looking for a solution that can also cover all future ESG requirements.

Customers appreciate the comprehensive features of our platform and the ease of implementation. We offer an End2End process covering abstract and concrete risk analysis, definition and tracking of preventive and remedial actions, and documentation and reporting requirements. In addition, our solution allows true visibility into deeper supply chain levels, i.e. extended to the upstream supply chain.

Often, customers from medium-sized businesses do not yet have any solutions in place and they can also realize synergies with other requirements via sustainabill: emission targets, implementation of sustainability reporting requirements such as from the CSRD, having the Code of Conduct signed, querying certificates from quality management as well as other compliance requirements such as REACH and RoHS. Ultimately, the requirements in the context of sustainable procurement will continue to increase. With sustainabill, customers have a solution to cover all of this. Another decisive factor for these customers is that suppliers can use the platform free of charge.

3. Which resources are needed at customers to address the issue of sustainability in the supply chain with sustainabill?

The users of the platform familiarize themselves with the applications, which works very well due to the good UX design and is also accompanied by us as part of the onboarding process. Good preparation before the platform is even used is important, especially good communication to the suppliers so that they know what is in store for them and why. This is where barriers and fears can be easily broken down. It is important to emphasize the collaboration aspect: with the assessment, a status quo is determined, which shows options for action and thus enables an effective improvement of the assessment result. It is not about directly devaluing suppliers and letting negative consequences follow. This is also the interpretation of the law. Sanctions should always be the last measure.

4. Which customer feedback makes you particularly happy?  

“Well, that was fast. I didn’t expect that.” This is often the reaction when suppliers are invited to the platform and asked to complete self-assessments. It’s straightforward and done in three clicks. “The platform is really easy to use. The user interface is intuitive.” As a SaaS solution, we want to make processes easier for our customers and simple as well as pragmatic to implement. If no processes for supplier risk management according to ESG criteria have been established yet, the implementation of regulatory requirements like the German Supply Chain Act seems like a disproportionately high burden to many customers. I am pleased that we are able to remedy this situation and free up customers to concentrate on the essentials: entering into discussions with the relevant suppliers and establishing meaningful measures. This is also how the law becomes effective and can ensure real improvements in the supply chain.

5. What do you do when you’re not helping customers for sustainabill?   

I ride my bike a lot, use it to cart my kids around ” in the countryside” and I am an advocate for better mobility options. Because it’s not just in the supply chain that we can achieve a lot in terms of human rights and emissions reduction; we can also reduce the impact on the climate here on site.

You have further questions for Miriam or want to know more about sustainabill? Please, don’t hesitate to contact us.