Keys to Successful ERP Implementation: Industry Expertise and Customer Focus

Tamminen has reduced the Excel jungle, streamlined processes, and developed product management. “Many people think that in this industry there is a bit of plus, minus, and multiplication for delivering meat products to the store. The truth couldn’t be further, the cutting plant has a lot of complex meat cutting models and yield calculations,” says Pasi Tamminen, CEO of the family-owned business Tamminen.

With an annual turnover of EUR 70 million across four production plants, with 200 employees, Tamminen’s meat processing plant, which processes eleven million kilos of meat, invests in quality: the best raw materials, craftsmanship in meat cutting, product development, and certified product safety. The same intransigence is required of the partners, in addition to knowledge of the food sector.

Roima Intelligence, which met the criteria, was selected as the supplier of the ERP system. “We offer industrial IT solutions that measurably generate added value for our customers. Our operations are based on long-term partnerships. We start from the premise that we need to understand our customers’ processes. That is, not just the industry, but the customer’s processes,” says Jan-Erik Mattsson, Industry Director, Roima Intelligence. From the very beginning, he has been involved in Tamminen’s ERP project and has long experience in the food industry.

Before ordering a four-wheel anti-skid system, you need to make sure that you have the right size of rims and tires underneath. “Our previous system was from 1994, mainly handling sales and invoicing, and the stock balances of our four production facilities were in different excel sheets. In the system renewal, we were afraid of runaway costs, falling into a complex bit monster world, and whether we would be getting an ERP supplier who makes solutions suitable for us.

On the other hand, we realized that to get the maximum benefit from the new system also in the longer run, we must first put the management of our product data in order,” says Pasi Tamminen.

It was not a small initial step. “The accuracy of the product information was not at a sufficient level for us either, and I understand that this is not unusual,” Tamminen adds

The accuracy of product information was brought under control in cooperation with Tamminen and Roima’s experts as well as Roima’s solutions, and just over a year ago, Tamminen was able to start an ERP implementation.

“Tamminen has several hundred pig carcass cutting options alone. Already in the initial stages, we did a process walk and talked to production supervisors. This gave us an idea of what the system needs to manage to make it easier for employees, and what its usability should be like,” Jan-Erik Mattsson recalls.

“Now it just works. Together, we also defined efficient models for material and production control. At the same time, we developed our meat control process to be more streamlined and based more strongly on sales forecasts. We carry out further development according to our own rhythm. We stayed within budget, which is not often said in ERP projects,” Pasi Tamminen sums up.

Article has been published in Talouselämä magazine Business Now-supplement on September 23, 2022.