Customer-centricity was one of the values that made me fall in love with this company more than 23 years ago.
What drew me in then still drives me now: a belief that when you understand your customer deeply—how they work, what they need, and where they’re trying to go—you can solve bigger problems faster and better.
That belief hasn’t changed. But the expectations, and the tools we have to meet them, absolutely have.
When I joined NECI (now part of Stellix) more than two decades ago, we built our relationships on localness and trust. My first major project was supporting a large technology implementation at a Cambridge-based biotech company. We spent time on-site.
We integrated into their teams and worked side by side; we were intimate with how their systems were structured and how our technology needed to function in their workflows. That closeness allowed us to move quickly and solve real problems. We understood the stakes, the work processes —and we understood the people. One team – one mission – one culture – one outcome!
That kind of customer intimacy still matters. And the bar for it is higher than ever.
Today, we operate in a hybrid engagement environment, some physical, some digital, where data flows continuously, systems are connected, and AI can uncover patterns faster than any individual ever could. The opportunity before us is huge: the ability to anticipate needs, personalize experiences, and deliver impact with greater speed and precision. However, what about the human experience? How do we engage as people to get to a one-team culture?
This is something I spend a lot of time thinking about. How do we redesign our work processes to leverage the new predictable technology but not lose the culture and relationships required to deliver lifesaving drugs? What is the new model for customer-centricity?
In my opinion, it has to shape how we operate: how our systems are designed, how our teams are aligned, and how we scale the kind of partnership that leads to meaningful outcomes.
Personalization Is the New Baseline
We’re all used to technology that anticipates and responds to our needs. Whether it’s a show to watch, a product to reorder, or a payment to make, digital experiences are designed to feel seamless. Companies learn from your behavior, adjust over time, and help you get what you need with less friction.
The idea that an app could understand what you’ve bought, when you’re likely to reorder, and what else you might need—and send reminders before you even think to ask? That used to feel futuristic. Now, it’s the baseline of customer service.
In ways large and small, a personalized experience has become the norm. That expectation follows us into our work lives. And the more complex the work, the more important it becomes to deliver experiences that feel effortless, even when they’re anything but behind the scenes.
At its best, digital technology strengthens the human connection. Personalization at scale helps us stay one step ahead. It helps us deliver value faster. And it helps our customers feel known, supported, and understood.
How Stellix Is Operationalizing Customer-Centricity
With the standard for customer-centricity evolving, we’ve had to rethink how we work—and that’s exactly the journey we are going on. We’re building the infrastructure to scale what we’ve always believed: that strong relationships lead to better collaboration and better outcomes.
To start, we’ve rolled out a few initiatives that embed customer-centricity into every part of our business. These programs are named, communicated, and supported—because that’s what it takes to make this kind of transformation happen.
It is not all pretty; changing how you work as an individual is difficult, and changing as a team is more difficult. We are on our way, and most days it's harder than you think!
1. Value Impact Program
We launched the Value Impact Program (VIP) to capture and celebrate the tangible outcomes Stellix delivers for our customers.
We’re building a shared library of customer wins that show exactly how our work translates into real-world results. Team members are encouraged to submit success stories so we can track the value we’re delivering—from enabling life-saving therapies to reach the market to supporting clean energy to contributing to the production of essential goods and materials for society.
These stories are shared across the organization to keep us connected to our purpose—and to help every team member see the difference their work makes. They also shape how we communicate with customers, showing that we don’t just promise outcomes—we deliver them.
2. CX360
Customer Experience 360 represents our commitment to modernizing how customers interact with us. It started with investments in foundational digital platforms to run our business and is evolving into a broader transformation of how we create excellent customer experiences.
This initiative is about enabling faster, more transparent, and more proactive service. From real-time proposal tracking to self-service tools, CX360 gives us the infrastructure to support the kind of seamless digital experience our customers get in other parts of their lives.
3. Customer Experience Center
The Customer Experience Center (CEC) is a dedicated space where we bring our solutions—and our culture—to life.
It’s a hub for collaboration, co-innovation, and problem-solving. With interactive exhibits, live system walkthroughs, and immersive storytelling, the CEC helps our employees and visitors see what’s possible when digital transformation is done right. It’s how we move from conversation to connection—and it sets the tone for how we want every engagement to feel.
4. The Stellix Way
The Stellix Way is in draft form, it's a work in progress. It will be an internal blueprint for how we show up for customers. It will define how we design processes, build systems, and align teams across the business.
We are hoping this approach will help us stay connected to what matters most: building trust, reducing friction, and making it easier for customers to get the outcomes they care about. The goal is to give our teams a shared playbook and a common language, so that no matter who you’re working with at Stellix, the experience feels seamless.
Customer Centricity Is Still Personal—Just Smarter
We all make thousands of decisions a day. And when we’re on the receiving end of a service, we want things to be easy. We want to feel as though someone thought about what would make our experience better—and acted on it.
That’s what personalization really is.
We’ve always cared. That hasn’t changed. What’s different is that we have entirely new ways to demonstrate that commitment, physically and digitally.
What excites me most is the chance to take something I’ve believed in since day one and scale it in ways that weren’t possible before. To combine the personal with the digital. To build relationships—and the systems and culture that sustain them.
At Stellix, that’s what we’re doing—every day, in every detail. Customer-centricity brought me here, and it keeps me invested in where we’re headed next.
