As a result of the collaboration between Pinja and the leading producer of wood-based bio-products, Metsä Fibre, a common operating model and standardized design processes were established for the sawmills.
Metsä Fibre owns half a dozen sawmills in Finland that produce sawn timber for construction and other industries. Before all sawmills had their own production planning tools. The project achieved to unify the operations and planning processes across all sawmills with a system that the staff at different organizational levels are equally happy to use. When the same tools are used at each sawmill, it is easy to eliminate the risk of human errors. If a worker is needed at another sawmill than where they normally work, they can now step in as substitutes without interruptions in the production.
We chose Pinja’s PES-system because Pinja possesses in-depth understanding of production planning.
Excel sheets and calculators were used frequently, and production management was mainly left for a few individuals at each sawmill. Foreseeing production needs and planning future sales was somewhat short-sighted, and the ability to respond to changing scenarios was slow. There was an apparent need to unify both the operation models and the tools.
After preliminary evaluations and assessments, Metsä Fibre chose its development partner.
– We chose Pinja’s PES-system because Pinja possesses in-depth understanding of production planning. In addition, the tool’s planning view impressed us: Pinja was the only contestant that was able to present the entire production process from logs to finished products in a single, clear view, explains Juha Hirvasmaa, Head of Sawmill Development at Metsä Fibre.
– The client had analysed their needs in detail beforehand, which made our job a lot easier, which is not always the case, says Antti Halonen, Solutions Architect at Pinja.
After the acquisition decision, we examined the roles of different systems, defined functionalities, and integrated PES into Metsä Fibre’s ERP system. The system end-users were involved in the project already in the definition phase.
– The accuracy and transparency of planning have improved throughout the entire process from raw materials to finished products. We are also now more agile when it comes to making necessary changes, says Juha Hirvasmaa, Head of Development at Metsä Fibre. We are now able to plan ahead our production on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis, and we are able to examine the entire sales in real time according to each sawmill or type of timber.
5 Sawmills
4 Pulp Mills
2,1 M m³ Sawn softwood per year
1 600+ Employees
3,1 B Revenue
An optimal production plan is based on factual information on the status, capacity and materials of the supply chain
Companies capable of quickly adapting to changes achieve success.
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The introduction of PES commenced in 2012, and in 2017, the co-operation transferred to a more comprehensive level.
