Lu Chouraki, Ipsen’s Field Service Manager, has played a central role in shaping the Ipsen Service HUB Program — an initiative that brings additional service resources to areas of the U.S. with high concentrations of Ipsen customers. With seven active Service HUBs supporting more than 350 customers across the country, the program is already making a measurable impact. Chouraki shared the vision behind the Service HUB concept and explained how it continues to strengthen a service team that’s already an industry leader.
When you started talking about the HUB service concept, what about this program appealed to you the most?
We were looking for ways to service customers using a more proactive approach, while also looking for opportunities to offer our field service technicians an alternative to frequent long-distance travel.
As the HUB program first started taking shape, what were some of the unexpected benefits or struggles you encountered during the rollout?
Right away we started seeing better responsiveness to our service clients, meeting our customers’ immediate needs at a much faster rate. Building service HUBs allowed us to have local service technicians that would be able to build a rapport with a regional set of customers. But we could also see that we needed to grow our field service technician team. Better response times resulted in a rising demand for our service.
What was the customer feedback you received from the initial launch of the service HUBs?
Customers responded quickly and very positively. It seemed like we were giving them something that they wanted and needed.
How has the rollout of new service HUBs changed as a result of the experience gained from the first HUBs?
The Ipsen Customer Service (ICS) group and the HUB program were able to modify some of our internal procedures to allow for better collaboration. Ipsen’s regional service management teams now oversee both the traditional field service engineers, as well as the HUB field service engineers.
What are the key indicators that the Ipsen Service HUB Program will be a success for Ipsen?
One of the reasons that Ipsen is the industry leader in vacuum furnaces is because of the strong reputation of the Ipsen Service Team. Ipsen service is an added benefit for customers buying an Ipsen furnace. Customers invest in Ipsen furnaces because they have a want and a need for their equipment to perform well. The rapid response that customers will experience from an Ipsen service HUB will allow us to pursue more service contracts and respond to more emergency calls. The new service model will reinforce the confidence and quality behind the Ipsen brand.
How will the new Ipsen Service HUB Program affect the current Ipsen Customer Service experience?
Adding an Ipsen service HUB to a region for rapid response and schedule maintenance programs will allow our traditional ICS team to focus on longer projects like furnace installations and retrofits. And we’ll see an increase in job satisfaction from our team members – technicians will be well positioned to choose to work close to home at a HUB, or if the tech prefers to travel, the opportunity to continue with our traditional ICS remains an option as well.
In the end, our goal is to make the customer service experience a flawless one. Our service HUBs will help us build closer relationships with our customers, and earn their trust when they look to us to service their equipment.
What’s next for the Ipsen Service HUB program?
Our goal is to add four more HUBs throughout 2025 and be fully launched and operational by 2026.