Lassila & Tikanoja is a service company that makes the circular economy a reality. The company’s goal is to continuously increase the carbon handprint of its operations, i.e. the positive climate impact. L&T Industrial Services provides hazardous waste, sewer maintenance, process cleaning and environmental construction services to various industries. L&T operates in Finland and Sweden. The company’s turnover in 2020 was 751.9 million euros, and they employ 8,100 people.
The roots of the cooperation between Lassila & Tikanoja and Pinja go back to the end of 2019, when L&T was looking for a solution for more efficient inventory management. The goal was to find a supplier who had the ability to implement a customized solution for even the most demanding needs. L&T and Pinja quickly reached the same wavelength, and they shared a clear vision of a solution suitable for L&T, which sealed the decision regarding the partner.
– Pinja clearly had a desire to understand our needs and to be able to deploy a solution that suits us based on our needs, explains Ari-Pekka Heikkilä, Business Director at Lassila & Tikanoja. In addition, Pinja’s experience of the environmental sector and the circular economy business was a major benefit.
A tailored solution for inventory management and batch handling
The Once by Pinja system has already been deployed at the first site, in addition to which a supply contract has already been signed for several sites, where the commissioning will take place by the end of 2021. The goal is to improve material flow management and improve the understanding of the overall business when the Once system is fully implemented.
– From the very beginning, however, the deployment of Once enabled us to utilize our customers’ weighing data, for example. If necessary, we can use the departure and arrival place information, and easily share information with different parties in the supply chain. It speeds up certain practices when the necessary information is automatically retrievable, says Heikkilä.
Pinja is developing a customized solution for inventory management for Lassila & Tikanoja in addition to the Once system. At present, inventory management is carried out with the help of Excel, but there is a need for common operating models and more efficient data management between use sites.
– Pinja’s system solutions are very useful for this, as the operating methods common to the systems can be hidden inside, Heikkilä describes.
The cooperation with Lassila & Tikanoja has inspired Pinja as well.
– We provide them with a complete solution for material flow management, which also includes software development to implement a more versatile inventory management solution. This is a large suite, which also consists of something completely new, was told from Pinja.
Creating something new requires trust and common understanding
Heikkilä feels that the cooperation with Pinja has been smooth and functional right from the beginning.
– Pinja has involved a really knowledgeable and understanding team. We have been able to take our ideas forward, and our needs have been understood well. Finding a common language in such system projects is not always self-evident, he sums up. According to Heikkilä, one of Pinja’s strengths is developing something new.
– I find that it is also important for Pinja’s people, and they have the power to do so. They quickly grasp our thoughts and vice versa. That makes everything work smoothly.
So far, the Once system has been deployed smoothly at Lassila & Tikanoja, and operating models are constantly being developed as the implementation progresses, in order to make work even more comfortable.
– As a general rule, we strive to make solutions on the terms of our operations, not the terms of our systems. Together, we have been able to shape and develop Once so that it fits well into our operations, Heikkilä concludes.
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Once by Pinja
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