Pori Energia Oy

The Company: About Pori Energia Oy

Pori Energia is a 120-year-old company operating in energy production, electricity retail, district heating and cooling, maintenance, contracting, and wind power services. 

The company’s annual revenue is approximately €140 million. Pori Energia Sähköverkot Oy’s area of distribution covers 52,000 network users. Pori Energia Oy and Veolia Nordic AB jointly own Suomen Teollisuuden Energiapalvelut– STEP Oy.

Pori Energia operates primarily in the region of Pori and Satakunta. The company has several power plants and offices. Therefore, efficient communications between units are essential.

Introduced in May 2018, IFS covers the company’s financial administration, project management, purchasing, warehousing, and sales. In the future, the system will also extend to the company’s maintenance activities.“The introduction of the system has gone very well. Some surprises and challenges are bound to turn up when undertaking an information system reform of this scale and with so many features .However, we have solved those quickly. 

The IFS ERP system has accelerated and clarified our processes. Furthermore, the system has enhanced our business practices,” says Petri Mäkilehto, ICT Development Manager of Pori Energia. 

The system is currently used by 150 people, and when the maintenance side of Pori Energia comes along, the number of users will climb up to nearly 200.

The Situation: Outdated System

The information system Pori Energia previously used was outdated. According to Mäkilehto, its lifetime was coming to an end, which is why the company wanted to replace it with a modern and adaptable system. 

At the same time, the company wanted a system that would be utilised by the whole company. The system should support their current business model and enable continuous development work. 

The Solution: IFS Cloud ERP

“Providers of enterprise resource planning systems were invited to tender via a public procurement procedure. We selected IFS for its quality and price. The system is a versatile and all-in-one product that includes all the features we need. Our ERP system must evolve according to the requirements of our business environment. The IFS system takes this factor into account,” continues Mäkilehto.

The Results: IFS Cloud Implementation Benefits

A four-person team is behind the design and introduction of the ERP system at Pori Energia. Petri Mäkilehto’s lead role concerns logistics, Eveliina Koskinen, expert in financial administration, manages purchasing, and the Chief Accountant, Janica Sandberg, takes care of the full range of financial administration. The closely cooperating team was reinforced with the Business Controller Sami Uusitalo, who acted as a Client Solution Manager. ​“The system has been received well by our employees. Thanks to the reform, our employees were provided with better tools. 

As a result, they have become more active users of the system itself,” says Sandberg. ​“According to our employees, the processing of purchase invoices has become easier. They also find the software modern and informative. Our employees have been actively proposing improvements to the system, which helps us finish the reform successfully,” says Sandberg. One usual problem regarding the introduction of a new ERP system is its compatibility with other existing information systems. ​“The integration process is still partially in progress. However, information is flowing as it should be between already integrated systems, such as the working hours monitoring and travel expense reporting systems. This has made our daily operations significantly easier,” Sandberg continues.