I take sustainability personally

When asked the same question as everybody else in our “Working for TSS” blog series (“How long have you been working at TSS?”), Hanna lets out a chuckle and rolls her eyes. “I’m almost afraid to answer that question; it’s been so long”.  Rewind 16 years, the young(er)Hanna, recently graduated and working for a staffing agency, was given an assignment at a never yet heard of company in Arninge, Stockholm. She commenced work on Order & Admin at TSS in 2005, and the rest is history.

A growing companionship

Working in the department of Key Account Management, her responsibilities included key functions such as orders, support and server maintenance. As the company grew, Hanna became responsible for processes, support, and rollout and implementation of projects at customer level.

The knowledge that came with the project management of technical implementations resulted in a deep understanding of the customers’ business processes. “Our system is developed and founded on customer needs and challenges and adapted to meet them”. Enriched with these unique experiences and insights, Hanna took a natural step to proceed to Key Account Management.

Hanna manages several of TSS’ major accounts, and her primary responsibility is to nurture and develop the relationship. “We are always working with our customers to find solutions that make their operations more efficient, with great attentiveness to the end-to-end process”, Hanna explains.

Contemplating how TSS has earned her loyalty for all these years, Hanna says: “Apart from the fact that we have been growing since I started working here, adding to my personal development, the most important thing is what we do. We have always put the patient in the centre, caring for the medical safety of all individuals. I am glad to see that today, life science companies seem to listen more to patient needs and ensure even higher quality to the end-user. To me, this is important on a personal level; If my children were getting sick, I would expect nothing less from the medicineI buy.”

Hanna also says that the question about Sustainability is close to her heart. When drugs are being monitored and their quality assured, means of transport and product packaging with less environmental impact can be used, and waste can be prevented. “TSS acts as a facilitator in sharing knowledge with and between clients”. Hanna explains. “It is truly inspiring to see leading pharma companies working together for harmonization and sustainability in the supply chain.”

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Keeping the fun in it

Another strong motivational factor has been the company culture. TSS have stood the test of time and there are now more colleagues than Hanna can talk to on a daily basis, but there is still that friendly atmosphere and sense of care between colleagues. “From day one, it has always been fun to go to work.Although the company has grown, and colleagues have entered and exited over the years, we have always managed to maintain the open and easy-going, positive corporate culture.” The city office opened a few years ago, to match the increasing need for space and because the central location makes it easier to host customer visits. Even though the move meant longer commuting times for Hanna, she takes her bike to work almost every day, enjoying the exercise and fresh air. The move to Haga, near pharma and life science industry last year, to match the increasing need for space makes it easier to host customer visits. Even though the move meant longer commuting times for Hanna, she takes her bike to work almost every day, enjoying the exercise and fresh air.

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The lion’s share of memorable moments

When it comes to remarkable memories from her history at TSS, Hanna has many to share. There is always something new to experience when you meet customers in their own environment, in different parts of the world. Whether that means getting invited to a hidden underground jazz concert in Chicago or almost – literally – stepping into the lion’s den:

“I visited a client in Dubai and was walked through the logistic site where our monitors were being used. The large shipping boxes had small air holes in them, and I thought I could see something moving inside, so I approached them out of curiosity. The staff held me back and politely told me not to upset the lions inside! It turned out that our temperature monitors were used to monitor the temperature in the cages for two lions, who were to be shipped off as a gift to the Prince in the neighbouring country!”

Seeing the future for TSS

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“We have so many interesting projects going on, with many highly renowned organisations in Sweden and abroad, and it’s so exciting to be part of the process of setting a new standard for clinical trials.”, Hanna says. “I love working with something this meaningful and I believe in the future for our solution. Sustainability and a sustainable supply chain in pharmaceuticals is something we should all care about.”

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