Hartwall

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Hartwall

“The mobile solution developed by Fujitsu is yielding concrete business benefits… More than half of the work we used to do has been eliminated.” Arto Kuoppa, Transport Manager, Hartwall

Customer’s Challenge

Hartwall is Finland’s leading beverage company, specialising in beer, cider, soft drinks and mineral waters. Hartwall operates two production sites plus a bottling plant for natural spring water and its sales channels cover retail stores, restaurants, bars and service (vending machines and post-mix) segments. The company has 1,100 employees and a 44% aggregate share of the drinks market in Finland, but in February 2002 Hartwall joined forces with Scottish & Newcastle to become a leading European brewer.

Hartwall recognised that if it could improve the speed and accuracy of the data transmitted to its back-end databases from the field by its delivery drivers, regarding the delivery of orders and the retrieval of returned goods, it could significantly improve customer satisfaction and achieve greater efficiency across its supply chain.

“A delay of several days in updating the stock level was causing problems in both stock accounting and production planning, where the number and type of beverage containers returned by the customers is vital,” explains Arto Kuoppa, Transport Manager, Hartwall. “Once the papers finally arrived, the delivery notes were posted in the main system manually, which was very time-consuming and work-intensive.”

Fujitsu Solution

Hartwall chose Fujitsu to develop a mobile solution to streamline its logistics operations, based around the use of Fujitsu’s mProcess software and Nokia 9210i Communicators.

Designed for task-oriented mobile working, the Fujitsu mProcess solution offers a mobile integration infrastructure where multiple back-end systems can be accessed by users out in the field anytime, anywhere. From the mobile device the user can send and receive data from each system, browse visits, tasks and documents and use the reporting functionality. Both on-line and offline capabilities are present with either automated or user prompted synchronisation features.

After a thorough evaluation, the Nokia Communicator product was selected, because it offered considerable advantages over competing PDA-type devices. Winning features included display brightness and contrast; built-in keyboard; the combined phone and data terminal aspect and the wide range of available business critical applications.

With the mProcess software running on the Nokia Communicators, Hartwall’s drivers can automatically receive information about their delivery route and any messages for the customers. Correspondingly, when each consignment is delivered, they can enter goods flow information directly into Hartwall’s main SAP R/3 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, where it is stored so that it is accessible by key personnel in real-time. As a result, Hartwall has been able to improve the speed at which transactional information is recorded and the accuracy of its business critical data.

“We are constantly striving for the perfect delivery,” says Arto Kuoppa. “Thanks to the new mobile field force solution developed by Fujitsu the quality improvements are already visible. Information now flows seamlessly between Hartwall and our drivers. So, people in our Logistics Centre will know in near real-time what has been delivered, the types of containers returned, and whether there were any damaged goods or other problems with the consignment.”

As Hartwall’s logistics are outsourced to third party trucking companies, the reliability and user friendliness of the mobile solution is especially crucial. Arto Kuoppa adds, “The fact that the mProcess software is easy to use and dependable has ensured that the new mobile solution has become an integral part of the drivers’ everyday work and the Nokia Communicator has proved to be an essential tool. Based on the success of the project we now plan to extend the solution across the company’s entire logistics chain, covering the whole of Finland.”

Hartwall is now piloting a similar mobile service with its maintenance staff, who visit customer premises to fix any problems with the dispensing taps and pumps on drinks containers.

Benefits to our Customer

Hartwall has achieved several substantial benefits since the deployment of Fujitsu’s mobile solution:

• Improved efficiency – through accelerated data communication, reduced errors, avoidance of duplicated work and a generally more streamlined logistics process from production to billing, freeing up staff for more value adding work
• Increased productivity – drivers can report changes in deliveries and any products returned so they have better control over their work and deliveries can now be planned better due to the faster and easier access to the information about the contents of routes and shifts
• Cost savings - data from deliveries is captured directly without any manual intervention, reducing errors and delays, saving time and money in data capture and correction and minimising the need for customer services resources
• Greater customer satisfaction – with greater speed and accuracy of order fulfilment and invoicing. The innovative, state-of-the-art solution also enhances customers’ perception of Hartwall’s professionalism
• Improved management – more detailed, accurate and timely information is available for use in production planning and logistics personnel are guided to follow company procedures and guidelines more diligently
• Better financial management – invoices are now more accurate and can be issued much quicker, improving company cash flow

“The mobile solution developed by Fujitsu is yielding concrete business benefits for the company in the form of streamlined logistics processes and much better resource usage across the entire supply chain. In fact, more than half of the work we used to do moving information back and forth has been eliminated,” says Arto Kuoppa.

Our Approach

Working with Hartwall in a partnership approach, Fujitsu designed a mobile service to meet the needs of the customer’s business. We designed, implemented and continue to host and support the solution and work continuously to improve service excellence.

As a natural extension of our desktop and infrastructure capabilities, our mobile services allow us to provide simple-to-purchase services, based on a flexible commercial framework and reduced barriers to adoption making us an attractive business partner.

Our Expertise

In 30 years of designing, implementing and managing complex business systems, Fujitsu has amassed a wealth of experience in developing mobile workplace solutions that reduce costs, improve productivity and customer services and deliver a compelling return on investment.

Fujitsu’s mobile services for the Mobile Professional and Mobile Field Force have been developed according to the TRIOLE and Sense and Respond® approaches. Based on reuse and design for service, TRIOLE means that Fujitsu provides reliable, robust and repeatable solutions that can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively. The Sense and Respond approach enables Fujitsu to deliver continual service improvements, in real-time, at the client interface.

Fujitsu offers a full-spectrum managed mobile service, delivered securely and in real-time. It is device and network independent, easy to use, and offered at a predictable monthly charge.