Keitele Group will improve its competitiveness by introducing the Timber by Pinja system. The old system currently in use has lagged behind in many respects and no longer serves the evolving requirements of Keitele Group. Raw material usage data, profitability calculations, sawmill batch cost comparison, product planning, by-product management and other important aspects will come directly from the system in real time. Data management in separate spreadsheets will be eliminated with the system upgrade.
The choice of the new system was also significantly influenced by the good experience gained in the past in cooperating in the development of the Forest by Pinja system. With the versatile Forest by Pinja system, Keitele Group gained access to vehicle and machinery management, two-way transports and real-time data on actual performance – practically the whole forest-side operations management were rationalized.
Keitele Group is the most customer-oriented large sawmill company in Europe, with exports to 30 countries. Operations are guided by customer-oriented terms of sale. Timber by Pinja facilitates production planning and sales when delivery time inquiries and other relevant information are readily available. The new system will harmonize operating methods throughout the Group. Before, we optimized individual functions. Now, we optimize the whole set.
“Crucial to switching the systems was that we receive a modern system that provides all the information for real-time processing from order to billing” says Ilkka Kylävainio, Industrial Counselor and CEO of the Group. “For example, we know the inventory situation all the time and are able to react quickly and cost-effectively to fluctuations in demand. We get immediate feedback on deviations in production and are able to make corrective actions immediately”, Kylävainio continues.
“Timber by Pinja facilitates decision-making with the right information instead of information based on estimates. In the future, the sawmills will be able to monitor, for example, the batch-by-batch usage ratio, which will result in savings in raw material costs. The more we are able to use the accumulated data, the less we do unnecessary work”, Kylävainio concludes.
Timber by Pinja will be introduced in stages. Production planning will be introduced first in Kemijärvi and Alajärvi, after which the use will be extended to other units. With the system delivery, Pinja will perform significant product development. “The deal is a significant sign of trust for Pinja. The delivery is very demanding and it challenges our expertise”, says Antti Miettunen, Pinja’s Forest Systems Business Director. “In addition to the new features to be developed with the system project, there are about 70 interfaces to manage in key functions”, Miettunen continues. “An example of the new features is BI reporting, which provides versatile tools for combining and visualizing data in the system”. The previous system of Keitele Group lacked a freely definable report generator, so the addition of this function will once again give the client new ways to plan and monitor operations. The system delivery will be completed by the end of 2019.
Forest by Pinja, Timber by Pinja and the mobile application Log by Pinja together form a unique suite that offers unified tools for the forest and sawmill industry without forgetting wood processors. The systems are constantly being developed and new versions are published annually. The new versions are included in the price of the SaaS service model. The systems have dozens of Finnish and foreign users, as well as hundreds of contractors using the mobile solutions.
More information:
Keitele Group, Ilkka Kylävainio, 0400 375 009, www.keitelegroup.fi
Pinja, Antti Miettunen, 040 546 7283, pinja.com
