Building a smarter, stronger, more resilient supply chain
Introducing Shabnam Nejand, Evonik’s new Global Director of Supply Chain for Drug Substance.
Read: ca. 6 min
Today’s pharmaceutical landscape is defined by unpredictability, geopolitical tension, supply disruptions, and rising sustainability expectations. The stakes have never been higher for drug developers. Reliable, transparent, and future ready supply chains are no longer a “nice to have”, they are fundamental to keeping critical projects on track and ensuring patients receive the medicines they rely on.
That is precisely the environment into which Shabnam Nejand steps as Evonik’s new Global Director of Supply Chain for the Drug Substance product line. Recently named one of the Women MAKE Award 2025 honorees – a prestigious U.S. manufacturing recognition celebrating women who drive meaningful operational and organizational transformation – Shabnam brings both experience and momentum into her new role.
And if there is one consistent message she wants customers to hear, it is this:
Our customers must experience a supply chain they can trust – reliable, resilient, and ready for whatever the market brings.
Global Director of Supply Chain for Drug Substance
With two decades of experience across engineering, marketing, commercial strategy, and digital transformation, Shabnam brings a rare multidisciplinary perspective to a role that is becoming pivotal for the industry. Her leadership arrives at a time when Evonik is accelerating capacity expansions, investing in sustainability, and advancing digitalization efforts across its global healthcare network.
A clear mission: reliability above all
When asked about her top priorities in the new role, Shabnam’s answer is immediate and confident. Reliability, she says, is the foundation on which everything else must be built.
Drug Substance production spans multiple global sites, from the U.S. to Germany and Slovakia. Coordinating these operations requires what Shabnam calls “tight synchronization across production, procurement, and logistics,” enabling Evonik to anticipate potential constraints before they impact a customer’s timeline.
This means:
Strengthening end-to-end planning across functions
Enhancing visibility and collaboration between global teams
Improving capacity and inventory planning to reduce last-minute firefighting
Elevating proactive risk management to stay ahead of volatility
Global markets – including the pharmaceutical industry – are facing constant disruptions – from raw material shortages and tariff shifts to geopolitical uncertainty. Shabnam is adamant that Evonik must not only react faster, but see further ahead.
"Supply chain risk is no longer occasional; it’s constant. Customers need a partner who can navigate uncertainty. Our job is to shield them from volatility."
Her plans include deepening strategic sourcing, securing critical materials, broadening the supplier network, and continuously evaluating options for second sourcing.
Sustainability as a core operating principle
One of the most refreshing aspects of Shabnam’s approach is her refusal to treat sustainability as a “separate program”.
"Sustainability should not be an initiative - it should be part of building a healthier, more resilient supply chain."
Shabnam Nejand (Global Director of Supply Chain for Drug Substance)
She sees environmental responsibility as intrinsically linked to performance, reliability, cost efficiency, and customer trust. For her, sustainable sourcing means:
- Working with suppliers who demonstrate carbon transparency, energy efficiency, and responsible material choices
- Strengthening long-term supplier partnerships in which both sides invest in sustainability
- Exploring greener logistics – from optimizing routes to shifting transport modes
- Collaborating with logistics partners that use cleaner technologies
Even small changes, she notes, add up quickly when implemented systematically across the network.
Ultimately, customers can expect the drug substance supply chain to play a stronger role in supporting their own sustainability goals, not just Evonik’s. This aligns with the increasing pressure drug developers face to report emissions across Scope 1-3 and improve the environmental impact of their supply chains.
A multidisciplinary leader for a complex industry
Shabnam’s experience cuts across three areas that are essential for modern pharmaceutical supply chains: engineering, marketing, and digital innovation. She credits each of them with shaping her leadership approach.
- Engineering taught her structured problem solving and system thinking – skills crucial for tackling root cause issues in complex manufacturing environments.
- Marketing and commercial strategy sharpened her focus on the customer journey. Every operational decision, she says, must answer the question: “How does this improve responsiveness, transparency, or reliability for the customer?”
- Digital transformation exposed her to the power of automation, analytics, and integrated data – tools she plans to leverage to make faster, smarter decisions.
It is this combination, she believes, that enables her to bridge strategy and execution.
“I don’t see supply chain as a silo. It must be deeply aligned with production, commercial teams, and the customer. Digitalization ties all of this together.”
Digital tools that strengthen transparency and agility
Transparency and agility have become nonnegotiable in pharma supply chains. Evonik is investing significantly in digital capabilities to support exactly that.
Shabnam highlights several innovations:
1. Enhanced sales and operations planning (S&OP) and demand planning
Integrated data and improved analytics will give earlier visibility into:
- Potential constraints
- Capacity opportunities
- Shifts in project demand
This allows teams to act proactively – before a bottleneck becomes urgent.
2. End-to-end visibility through customer service excellence initiatives
New order-to-cash tools will provide a unified view of:
- Planning
- Manufacturing
- Inventory
- Order status
Instead of information spread across multiple systems, teams – and customers – will have a cohesive, real-time picture.
3. Visual risk management tools
Perhaps the most transformative technology is a digital platform that visualizes risk across:
- Suppliers
- Logistics flows
- Geopolitical exposure
It allows scenario modeling and early warnings long before delays hit the customer.
Together, these tools will create what Shabnam describes as “a faster, smarter, more transparent supply chain – and a partnership that is predictable, data driven, and truly responsive.”
What customers can expect going forward
When asked what developments customers will see over the next few years, Shabnam outlines a clear roadmap:
- Greater resilience: More diverse sourcing and a stronger supplier base to protect against global volatility.
- Cleaner, clearer transparency: Improved visibility into order status, inventory positions, production milestones, and risk mitigation actions.
- Stronger support for customer sustainability: Greener logistics, smarter energy usage, and sourcing choices that reduce overall supplychain carbon impact.
- Advanced digitalization and use of AI: Dashboards, automated data flows, and scenario modeling that reduce cycle times and improve decision-making.
- A more customer-centric partnership: Ultimately, Evonik aims to make it easier for customers to focus on the science and patients, while Evonik handles the complexity behind the scenes.
“If we do this right,” Shabnam says, “our customers will experience a supply chain that is not only faster and more resilient, but one that helps deliver medicines to patients faster.”
ANY QUESTIONS? JUST CONTACT US.
"Reliable supply doesn’t happen by chance. If you have questions about your project or our approach, let’s talk."
Shabnam Nejand
Global Director of Supply Chain for Drug Substance
