Ed Stark
Global Supply Chain Practice Leader
Capgemini Consulting
Excellence in Client ServiceIt’s fair to say that Ed Stark is heavily invested in his clients. As the global supply chain practice leader for Capgemini Consulting, Stark spends plenty of time trying to figure out the best course of action for his clients, but he always starts out an engagement the same way.
“The first thing I do is buy stock in that client’s company,” Stark says. “I mean, that’s what I’m there to do, right? Improve the market value of that client.”
Stark has been working in and around supply chains his entire career, with two stints each in industry and consulting. “I came from industry and I worked with consultants a lot, and I never liked the ones I felt were just trying sell me a product,” Stark says.
“I think that’s a big advantage for me,” he says. “When I speak to a client, I’ve been on both sides of the table and am truly there to offer solutions, not sell a consulting service.”
One such client was American Greetings. The program initially focused on IT services, and Stark progressed to implement a full business transformation for American Greetings, and began providing other value-adds such as deep insight into the culture of operating in other regions such as China and India.
“Plenty of firms are [only] great at telling clients what to do, but that’s not us,” Stark says. “Because I was on the other side I understand how important the implementation and solutions side of the business is—clients want results.”
Those results speak for themselves. For one client, Stark helped dramatically restructure an ailing manufacturing division and improved the bottom line from a 15 percent net loss to a 13 percent net operating gain within 12 months—all while increasing revenue 25 percent.
Stark has been instrumental in building a supply chain and procurement consulting practice in North America and Europe, and has delivered—on average—19 percent savings per client. “Even in these tough times, clients are still buying our services, and that’s says a lot, I think, about the value we bring to the table,” Stark says.
—Joseph Kornik>>
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