Being customer centric is at the heart of what we do and who we are – from working closely with customers to test ideas to listening and adjusting our product based on feedback provided.  In order to foster this close collaboration, we have a dedicated team whose purpose is to be there and genuinely care about helping the people using our software. This unique approach to customer service has many components that show the customers that we listen and solve their needs. 

Our Customer Success team acts as a vital link between ZeroNorth and our customers’ businesses — helping to enhance their vessel performance, improve their TCE and lower their CO2 emissions. ZeroNorth’s Customer Success Managers work closely alongside our customers to understand their key objectives and challenges. They then use their expertise to help our customers understand how Optimise can power better decision-making across their organisation.

Here’s how.

Read more about our Optimise software: Increase TCE earnings and get CO2 emission insights

The day-to-day of a Customer Success Manager

The implementation of any new systems can present a number of operational challenges for any business, no matter how advanced. From technical difficulties, to poor training, to a lack of internal buy-in, demonstrating the efficacy and ROI of new digital systems against a business’ objectives is a vital component of commercial success.

Our Customer Success team was specifically developed to support our customers throughout every stage of working with ZeroNorth, from onboarding and familiarisation, to ensuring the continued best use of Optimise across their fleets.

A multi-faceted role, ZeroNorth’s Customer Success Managers have to liaise with sales, product and tech teams across the business. The cross-functional nature of the role means our managers are quick on their feet, utilising project and change management, as well as training skills.

Each customer is assigned a Customer Service Manager, which trains, connects and helps the operators solve their daily needs in regard to optimising their vessels. Each operator can ask for help for each voyage so that they fully understand how Optimise provides value and how best to increase earnings for their company while also making a positive impact on the environment. Our CSM’s continually learn and adjust how we train new users, collect and respond to feedback, improving our product and service we deliver.  

Support from experience

Supporting our customers throughout is crucial to the team’s success. We believe in providing ship operators with everything they need to make the most of our software solutions; from working flexibly in tune to customers’ varying schedules, to providing real-time support and tailored solutions.

But unlike many service-orientated teams, our Customer Success Managers have a unique collaboration between our CSM’s with first-hand experience of maritime operations and our CSM’s with a tech background. This marrying of two expertise, shaped by their experience working for ship operators and within the tech sector, our Customer Success Managers are equipped with all the practical knowledge, experience and expertise they need to support our customers. 

Meet Our Team

Asia, Sofie and Ivo currently make up our team, but we are on the lookout for a 4th, so look below for a link to apply and read more about each team member. 

Meet Sofie Amalie

Sofie Amalie has an extensive background in bunkers and operations having served as a dry bulk operator at Lauritzen Bulkers for 3 years. Prior to this, Sofie Amalie worked as a Sales Manager at Inchcape Shipping Services and previously to this as a Bunker Trader for just over 4 years at Monjasa. We asked her a few questions about her experience as an operator and how that has helped her in her role as CSM at ZeroNorth.  “I understand the challenges our users face and I speak their language in regards to the terms that they use.  I also know the work-flow that they go through and can talk to them about their daily work processes and help them see the solutions to the challenges they face by using Optimise.”

We asked her what she likes the most about her job - She responded “We are a customer centric organisation and the CSM role is the closest to the customer, I thrive on building a close relationship with them.  We are also a part of realising value for our customers - and that feels good. I also love to see the work we do reflected in the change management in the companies we work with, it is very rewarding when we can help them achieve their goals.”

As far as ZeroNorth as an organisation, and how that benefits customers Sofie had this to say “We are a flat organisation – so there is not a long way from customer feedback to implementing improvements.   Everyone at ZeroNorth is listening to what helps solve our customers needs. I am a respected player in the organisation and we all work together to reach a collective goal for our company and our customers.”

Meet Ivo

Ivo came to us from being an operator at Cargill for three years and he also served as an officer on vessels for 7 years.  

At Cargill he joined the performance team – finding initiatives to drive digitalisation and efficiency for vessels – this in turn lead him to ZeroNorth’s Optimise. Ivo was one of the lead operators testing and implementing Optimise with his organisation. So he has been on the other side and knows what our customers are experiencing and how to help them quickly and easily onboard. When asked what is the advantage of Optimise, Ivo said “The biggest selling point – operators get all necessary data in one place, it provides the full scope of what a vessel speed wise and consumption wise is capable of in order for an operator to execute actions which make a big difference for the savings you can acquire. The tool is straightforward – at beginning we help our customers with training, but then they can easily navigate themselves and achieve value just by following the recommendations.”

Ivo has a masters in transport and sustainable development. He connects strongly to the purpose of ZeroNorth to reduce CO2 emission as he hopes to make the world greener than it is today. In regard to ZeroNorth and what we need to do to achieve success, he said “We work with the three most important pieces of sustainable development, the environmental aspect while bringing a positive change in the industry, the social aspect which fosters relationship with our customers and the economic goals which provides profitability to our customers. If we can achieve success on all three then you are there– it is not so easy to do – but we are fighting for it.”

Meet Asia

This is Asia’s second act as some call it, her second career. She was previously a teacher and then after having her kids, she went back to get her masters degree,  studying technology at ITU. She brings her calm listening skills fostered as a teacher along with her love for the details to her role as a CSM. Her background in tech helps her understand how to translate customers need into technical requirements which then our product teams can implement. 

Asia relates the project management activities in ZeroNorth to the skills she mastered manoeuvrings the logistics of being a mother of 3 children - coordinating meetings, making sure everything happens in the right order, ticking off all the boxes for tasks while also remembering to take care of and always being there for her customers. She likes predicting their needs ahead of time, delivering value and showing them best practice by guiding them and seeing them success gives her a natural satisfaction and joy. 

She finds her job interesting and rewarding because of the connection between shipping with tech. This industry is going through a transformation and being part of the innovation and providing technology that helps to advance the way vessels are operating – creating a better world – to reduce Co2 emission is very rewarding.

Read more about how we collaborate: Collaboration, Unification and Digitalisation

Interested in joining the team?

ZeroNorth is proud to be one of the fastest growing tech start-ups in Denmark — from an independent spin-off of Maersk Tankers, to a fully-fledged start-up, digitalising shipping for the climate.

Now, we’re developing our team even further. We’re looking for a new Customer Success Manager to join our operations. You’ll work closely with our sales, product and tech teams to bring people, processes and technology together across the business, and provide our customers with a seamless and effortless user experience.

If you’d like to find out more about the Customer Success Manager role, or are searching for your next great role, view our job openings today.