Driving Customer Quality with my Global Team at ASML

In 2020, our business – like all businesses – was confronted with COVID-19, and we had to find new ways to maintain strong customer trust and engagement with ASML.

As Head of Global Customer Quality Management, I lead a team of quality managers across the USA and Europe. My mission is to ensure that our continuous quality improvements are meeting or exceeding our customer expectations. Essentially, we are the quality business partner for Customer Support and Sales.

While I won’t pretend it hasn’t been a challenge, I can proudly say that this past year, we have managed to drive quality to the next level. 

My role at ASML

To meet customer expectations, we have to be engaged, understand their needs and be proactive. Critical to our success is aligning on key performance indicators that matter the most to our customers and continuously driving towards improvements in these areas.

It is crucial for us to work in cross-sector teams because this allows us to link the people, processes and products together that are all required for a successful job. Collaboration is part of our company DNA at ASML, and by coming together from multiple lines of the business, we look at customer issues from several angles and can provide effective, holistic structural solutions.

The pros and cons of a global team

Working across different time zones and dealing with distance and travel is not always convenient or easy. Having said that, working on a global scale gives such valuable insight on trends and developments in this industry. You are able to connect the dots much faster, which you can use as input for the quality strategy.

It’s important that everyone understands what deliverables are expected of them, so clear communication is a must, and there should be no assumptions about how everyone is spending their time.

Juggling time zones, sites and locations

I am located on the West Coast of the US, so my first meeting with Europe usually starts at 6:00 a.m. PST. At 7:45 a.m. PST, I slot in 15 minutes to enjoy breakfast with my family, before continuing with meetings until I stop for lunch and a refreshing walk.

My afternoons are used to analyze industry trends, work on improvement projects and meet with leadership teams. I also usually do something proactive called a Gemba Walk (gemba or 現場 is a Japanese word meaning “the actual place”). Going to the fab or warehouse helps me to understand what is needed to set the people up for success and prevent safety and quality issues.

Some days, I am also engaged with my customers and colleagues in Asia, which means working through the evening as well.

ASML provides a backbone of support

In 2018, I faced one of the most significant challenges during my time with ASML (apart from COVID-19) when I was asked to move to America and take on my current role. I was tasked with making the connection between ASML’s excellence vision and the quality vision/framework of our customers, in collaboration with the operations.

This required quite a lot of customer and internal stakeholder management, with many different expectations and perceptions. However, there is such an emphasis on our core values at ASML: Care, Challenge, Collaborate – and I received all the support I needed. It made the process very smooth for me. The company has given me considerable leadership training, which helped me to view everything more holistically, think more strategically, and be able to manage and drive ‘change’.

ASML offers all kinds of CBT’s (computer-based training) to employees which are great opportunities to learn more about the technology and processes we use.

Interested in joining us at ASML? Head to our careers page for our latest job opportunities.