A Conversation With Trinh Clark, Henry Schein’s Chief Global Customer Experience Officer
HDA distributor members are investing in optimizing the user experience for their manufacturer partners and pharmacy and provider customers — with efficiency, reliability, and security in mind. In line with this focus, Henry Schein recently launched a new Global Customer Experience Organization, led by Trinh Clark, SVP and Chief Global Customer Experience Officer.
As part of HDA’s Faces of the Supply Chain series, we recently sat down with Clark to discuss her new function, the company’s adoption of cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), and her role as a leader in Henry Schein’s employee resource groups (ERGs) and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Key highlights from that conversation are captured below.
1. Tell us about your role at Henry Schein?
I’m responsible for leading a new Global Customer Experience Organization that’s focused on driving an exceptional experience for our customers across all of our sales channels, as well as our global Henry Schein brand marketing strategy.
We want to make sure that we are not only meeting our customers’ expectations, but also meeting them where they want to engage with us on that journey. In my role, I’m really privileged to work with a group of leaders who are focused on looking at that customer journey and, across every interaction that we have, trying to drive intentional experiences that create a deep-rooted partnership for our customers and for Henry Schein.
2. What do customers love about Henry Schein?
With all of the customer sentiment and feedback that we get, there are two things that stand out for me. The first is the people — that’s our Team Schein members — and the positive sentiment that we hear from our customers is that our team members are driving value for them.
Our Team Schein members also drive the second point – our customers' appreciation of our logistics and being able to get the right products in the clinician’s hands at the right time, so that they can perform the procedures and the treatments to deliver improved patient outcomes.
3. As a leader with extensive background in healthcare technology, what role has innovation played in the transformation of the distribution sector?
We see a huge explosion of technology, especially around artificial intelligence, and we’re using AI and machine learning in a number of areas across the company. This is driving even greater efficiencies and productivity, but also collaboration. We’re really excited about that because data is a critical asset that we’re using to not only better understand our customers, but also to understand our manufacturing partners, and making sure that we are collaborating and making decisions around distribution to support our customers’ needs.
4. As a leader in Henry Schein’s DEI efforts, including serving as an executive sponsor of the company’s Women’s Leadership Network and elevASIAN ERGs, why is it important to have a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce in the healthcare distribution sector?
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as an executive sponsor for our [ERGs]. It is one of the most rewarding roles that I have at Henry Schein, and it’s certainly given me the opportunity to learn so much from my fellow team members. At the end of the day, ERGs are meant to connect, empower and develop our team members to not only achieve business success, but to grow personally as well.
5. How do you strive to be an ally for others?
To me, allyship is partnership. And that’s actually understanding that we share the same core values. In any relationship, you need to have alignment on core values. And then, of course, it’s communication. In terms of understanding those values and how we display them, how we exhibit them and how we demonstrate that every day in every interaction with every team member.
6. HDA’s tagline, Health Delivered, conveys distributors’ essential role in delivering medicines, vaccines, healthcare products — and ultimately, the industry’s value to the healthcare ecosystem and the patients it serves. What does Health Delivered mean to you?
Our manufacturer and supplier partners are really important to us because they obviously help us deliver health. For me, it also reinforces our Henry Schein brand promise, because at Henry Schein, we deliver the solutions that healthcare professionals rely on to improve the performance of their practice so they can improve the lives of patients.
It’s important for us to ensure that we are delighting all of our stakeholders and we certainly have a mosaic of success with the customers at the heart of it.
For more unique perspectives from HDA member company employees, check out the full Faces of the Supply Chain series.
Note: This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.