“Sometimes a successful transformation depends less on the change models and methods you bring. It depends on who you are as a person, and what energy you bring into a room.”
Mariëlle Boxsem-Aarts, Interim Change Manager
Transformations in highly complex and technical environments move fast. Systems, dependencies, and deadlines quickly take center stage. At the same time, the real question remains simple: how do you help people trust a new way of working when new technology is changing the rules of the game?
Mariëlle Boxsem-Aarts knows this tension well. Through SPRING TODAY, she joined a engineering-driven organization to support a fundamental shift in supply chain planning. She is the Change Manager in the program, responsible for the people side of an transformation that touches a critical business process.
What was the goal of this transformation?
“This was not a simple tool implementation,” Mariëlle explains. “This company builds extremely complex products. The volumes are small, but every item consists of around 100.000 parts. Planning happens on different horizons, short term, mid-term but also long-term, meaning years ahead, because some components have lead times of years.”
This complexity has a practical consequence. Employees that nowadays conduct their work in a manual fashion have tasks that can take days to complete. “Right now, gathering all information, analysis of data and collaboration, can take up to a week,” she says. “With this new capability, it can happen in seconds.”
“It’s like moving from paper and books to the internet.”
Sounds like a fundamental shift…
“Yes, the impact this has on the company and the workflows is enormous. But this also means people have to work in a completely different way. They’ve built their expertise around manual work, due to the complexity and uniqueness of the products. They know exactly what’s happening and where and how they can adjust to new business demands. Now they have to trust a system that calculates outcomes automatically, based on data that is never perfect.”
“That’s a huge change,” Marielle adds. “It’s like moving from paper and books to the internet.”
Were there any big obstacles you’ve faced along the way?
“My task as the Change Manager on the project is to keep bringing the people side of change into the conversation.”
“That challenges the strong engineering culture of the company,” Mariëlle says. “Many people are detail-oriented and risk-averse. They want to discuss the details, cover the exceptions, and think things through before taking the next step.”
At the same time, the organization has grown extremely fast. “Processes are subject to a lot of change” she explains.
This combination shapes how change moves: lots of stakeholders, lots of alignment, and decisions that stay open for a long time. Mariëlle’s conclusion is practical: “To be successful here, you have to be persistent. Repeat yourself in telling why it is needed, and what it will bring. Keep reminding people that they can’t forget the human side, because for most, technology comes first.” But without people, the new system will not be used, which leads to less progress and results.
How did project pressure influence your approach?
The program is shaped by hard technical deadlines and freeze periods. “The original idea was to roll out in waves,” Mariëlle says. “Start small, learn, and then expand.”
In practice, the timeline is forcing acceleration. “This puts pressure on the people side,” she says.
What stays with her is the delivery mindset she sees under pressure. “The first technical deadline was met. Many did not believe this to happen,” she says. “In this company that is common: If it has to happen, the people deliver. And if it doesn’t work the way it should, then it will have to work the way it can!”
How do you aim to build adoption for the new way of working?
Training is becoming a key lever. “At first, the assumption was: they’re smart people, give them two hours, and they’ll know how to work with the system,” Mariëlle says. “Instead, I advocated for a much more intensive approach. People spend around 40+ hours on training.”
She also builds adoption through experience on the floor. “The people who helped build and configure the solution will act as coaches. Real handholding,” she says. “People need to see it, experience it.”
“I advocated for a much more intensive approach”
What’s your biggest takeaway?
Mariëlle is clear: “It’s not just in the skills, methods, and models,” she says. “Sometimes the biggest impact you make, is because of who you are.”
Her peers notice it too. “They tell me my energy, my positivity, make a difference,” she says. “I don’t see this as a skill. It’s just who I am. And apparently, sometimes that’s enough to get things moving in the right direction.”
How did you experience working with SPRING TODAY?
“I really enjoy working with SPRING TODAY, and especially with Lisette — the collaboration felt smooth, honest, and very constructive.
I’m genuinely grateful for the clear communication, the positive energy, and the way they always think along with me.”
Your partner in change
Curious how SPRING TODAY supports organizations navigating complex, technology-driven change with the help of talented change managers like Mariëlle?
Or are you a change professional ready to make impact in challenging environments?