Mr. Szulc, what has changed in your job since the launch of the B. Braun—the next decade strategy?
Digitalization plays a crucial role in B. Braun’s future. In both production and logistics, processes need to be streamlined, simplified and accelerated. This can only work if the necessary technological infrastructure—standardized and harmonized—is in place and running smoothly. In this respect, we at the Shared Service Center (SSC) are at the forefront of the transformation.
What contribution would you like to make to the B. Braun—the next decade strategy?
The more forms are replaced by digital systems, the more artificial intelligence, data mining and robotics are used at B. Braun, the more IT specialists will be needed to meet the demands of day-to-day business. Our goal and joint commitment is to stop outsourcing this kind of service to external partners. My contribution to the B. Braun—the next decade strategy is therefore primarily to attract new talent to the company, either through new hires, or through our employees development.
What changes have you found easy?
The exciting thing about working in the Shared Service Center is that every working day is different and completely unpredictable with a lot of intercultural experience; I was lucky to find wonderful colleagues with whom we have made a great team, dedicated in assisting B. Braun employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with IT issues. When we work on weekends or on an on-call shift, we are even responsible for all countries where B. Braun has a subsidiary.
And which ones did you find difficult?
When I moved to the Shared Service Center in 2018, it was hard for me to take a global perspective at first because I was used to focusing on IT in Poland; so I had to change my mindset, and I think many employees feel the same way. It will therefore probably take a while before we have truly grown together into a global company, but the more harmonized solutions or infrastructure we use, and more experience we exchange with our international colleagues, the more efficiently B. Braun will be able to work in the future.
What significance does B. Braun’s corporate culture have for you?
I really appreciate that B. Braun values diversity. Different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds are added value. We create a culture where all employees feel free to be who they are. It is equally important to me that our work contributes to the improvement of health protection. That's what I now tell new employees during their onboarding: whether you're writing an invoice, programming a new system, working in sales or logistics, the final goal is to help save lives by providing the best medical products.
