Vara Saeveski OÜ is an Estonia-based company specialized in wood processing and sawn timber production from softwood logs. Since August 2021, the company has managed its production chain with improved efficiency powered by Timber by Pinja.
Vara Saeveski is a sawmill company situated in the municipality of Vara in Eastern Estonia, a location that holds over a century of wood processing and sawmill expertise. The company sources fresh pine and spruce logs and produces high quality sawn timber for wholesale. Its customers are located around Estonia, and roughly 25% of the produced volume goes to exports. To gain competitive edge and futureproof their business for the years to come, Vara Saeveski adopted Timber by Pinja, comprehensive software solution for their dedicated sector.
Vara Saeveski started collaboration with Pinja at the beginning of 2021. The objective was to shift from several scattered systems into a single, cover-all solution, and to make the transition during the calendar year.
The project involved the deployment of Timber by Pinja, to cover for the productional – such as inventory management –, financial and data management needs. The project proceeded in the targeted schedule and Vara Saeveski took the solution into use in August 2021. A valuable contribution to the collaboration came from a local consultant company Reha IT, which brought in local language, IT and ERP consultancy.
Vara Saeveski now uses the new solution throughout the organization. Since the company is using full ERP software for the first time, the main focus has been on first using the basic functionalities effectively. Going forward, they plan to dig deeper into the many levels and possibilities that the solution offers.
Overall, the project went well. We kept to the budget and schedule, and I have already seen how the solution helps our different functions, such as purchases, sales and production.
Located in Eastern Estonia, in the renowned sawmill hub of Vara, Vara Saeveski produces high-quality timber for purposes such as construction and furniture production. To best serve its customers, the company focuses on stable, high-quality production and competitive price points while also maintaining fair conditions for the suppliers and ensuring sustainable forestry.
Founded in 2000, Vara Saeveski is a close-knit work community which operates under a single roof. With an annual output of 120,000 cubic metres, it makes a well-established middle-size business on the Estonian market.
– Even though we all work in the same premises and managed without a comprehensive system for a long time, I can see a change coming. This was a good time for us to make the transition, says Vara Saeveski’s Managing Director Andres Hummal.
For the company, some of the key goals in the project included better stock overview, easier production planning and real-time production management. After deployment in August 2021, the software is now being used throughout the organization.
– Timber by Pinja provides benefits for all our users. One important aspect is that the quick feedback we get from the system allows us to make faster decisions, Hummal notes.
Up until 2021, Vara Saeveski’s business was managed through a variety of services. They used their bookkeeping system as the main data repository, supplemented with other solutions for other dedicated purposes.
– One of the reasons we decided to choose Timber by Pinja is that it was easily integrated with our bookkeeping system and our other local systems. The integration with our bookkeeping has worked well, Andres Hummal notes.
Due to historical reasons, certain parameters in the sawmill industry are used differently in Estonia compared to many other countries. These aspects were brought to open discussion in the project and solved before deployment. Vara Saeveski’s local consultant partner Reha IT helped manage the project on the customer’s behalf, and this operating model proved very convenient and effective for all parties involved.
– Overall, the project went well. We kept to the budget and schedule, and I have already seen how the solution helps our different functions, such as purchases, sales and production. Our project team worked well and was very focused, even considering we worked 100% remotely, Andres Hummal notes.
Also from Pinja’s point of view, the project proceeded and succeeded as intended.
– It was nice to be working with such professional people from the customer’s side. The project proceeded according to plan and we kept to the original schedule. We kept touch with the end customer’s local consultant Toomas Vaher from Reha IT on a weekly and sometimes daily basis, and things worked out seamlessly, notes Pinja’s Project Manager Elvis Punnek.
Overall, the original plan of completing the deployment in 2021 was met, and the Timber by Pinja software was taken into use in August 2021.
– Less Excels now! Since this is our first time using a comprehensive system in our company, we are currently learning to use it on an efficient, basic level. In the future, I believe we’ll get further with the many levels and possibilities the solution offers, Andres Hummal concludes.
20+ years of experience in wood processing
120 000 m3 of sawn timber from Nordic quality softwood per year
Year 2000 started operating in the municipality of Vara in Eastern Estonia
With the help of the software modules included in Timber by Pinja, the entire ERP of the sawmill and wood processing plant is effortless, precise and modern.