Vanessa Stark, from South Africa, is not a new face at CHEP. She has worked for CHEP Automotive from Cologne for the past 7 years – first in customer service, then in sales and subsequently as Strategic Marketing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to her employment at CHEP, Stark also worked for BMW as well as UTi Worldwide, a global provider of supply chain services. Last year she earned her Executive MBA in Business Administration & Management at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. She succeeds Yoni Van der Veken, the current Country General Manager.
Van der Veken has been working at CHEP since 2010, with the last 3 years as Country General Manager. CHEP Benelux has recorded strong growth during those years.
“We have succeeded in greatly diversifying in recent years and leaving our mark in every phase of the supply chain,” he commented “We have always been looking for ways to make the supply chain more efficient and sustainable, also in the field of transport thanks to transport partnerships with and between customers. Moreover, we have taken important steps with technological innovations and digital solutions for in-store promotions. They will undoubtedly be rolled out further in the coming years.”
New challenges await Van der Veken in July: he will be General Manager Inbound Solutions Europe. “CHEP is uniquely positioned to achieve further efficiency and waste reduction in this phase of the supply chain. Together with the European Inbound Solutions team, I am excited to further expand this branch of our business in the coming years,” he continued.
Inbound Solutions includes all solutions for incoming goods flows – such as the transport of ingredients, packaging material, dry and liquid bulk goods – to a production environment (mainly within the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector). The focus is mainly on plastic pallets, IBCs (Intermediate Bulk Containers) and liners. Liners are large bags in which liquids are transported safely and protected against external influences.
Stark will continue the course of recent years, but it certainly has the ambition to look even further. Not only at the technological level, but also with regard to new markets. “In addition to Fast Moving Consumer Goods, I want to explore new markets with our sharing model and go for even more efficient and sustainable supply chains in other sectors,” said Stark. “More and solid transport collaborations and an eye for digital applications are essential in this. Only in this way can we meet the challenges that we face.”
Stark has been in Belgium since May. Stark and Van der Veken worked intensively together in the past two months to facilitate the transition. CHEP Benelux has been helping to bring goods to consumers for 40 years.
