UTU

The UTU Group (Urho Tuominen Oy) started developing its business through digital channels a few years ago. The website was renewed and Adeona PIM was adopted as the product information management system. Product information has been made available centrally within the group to enable efficiency and growth.

The family-owned electricity company UTU is celebrating its anniversary. The company turns 105 this year, and 80 years have passed since the completion of the first UTU power station. UTU has been growing strongly for ten years now; growth has been helped by the decision to renew systems and invest in digital channels alongside active sales work.

UTU wanted product data to be managed centrally

UTU's ambition is to be a modern and developing operator. Even before the PIM project, UTU was awarded by STK (Sähköteknisen Kaupan Liitto) as an updater of product information, but there has been a desire to improve the work further.

Therefore, in 2020, the development of the website was started and at the same time, system options for product information management were explored. Adeona PIM was chosen because its functionality met UTU's needs.

- We want to cooperate with operators like us to be able to be flexible and agile together. We felt that Adeona PIM fits our needs, and Adeona has enough support and responsiveness to offer us. It was also important to us that the supplier is able to serve us internationally, says the Product Management Manager Kari Parviainen.

In addition to Finland, UTU operates in Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with 190 people, and the company has four business areas: property electrification, renewable energy and electricity distribution, industrial automation and electronic transport. The PIM project and website development took place simultaneously and PIM was integrated into the website. All UTU countries were brought under a common domain and became PIM users.

Currently, UTU has 24 000 products in PIM. Along with the increase in turnover, the number of personnel has also increased. There have been plenty of new products and also one new business area.

- There is never a shortage of content topics in marketing, states the Marketing and Communications Manager Johanna Teinilä.

On the left is Project Coordinator Elina Inkinen, in the middle is Marketing and Communications Manager Johanna Teinilä and on the right is Regional Sales Manager Susanna Ahokas.

In Finland, product information is maintained partly in Swedish and English in addition to Finnish. In other countries, as a rule, we operate in each country's own language, English is used especially when there are synergistic benefits. PIM makes work more efficient: if the product information is already enriched in one country, the produced content is immediately available to everyone. The official product images are available up-to-date and the same in all the group's countries for common products - this makes everyday life easier.

Why was the PIM project started?

The PIM system was introduced at UTU because the aim was to manage product information efficiently. In the past, data was scattered in several places, and processes were manual and memory-dependent.

In the project, product data was centrally taken over and PIM was made into a product information master so that product information could serve other channels as well as possible. This made work more efficient, the time-to-market of products became faster, and product information is now widely available to the market in the right form.

 

- Product information is updated on the website at a fast pace. The automation is built for the wholesale market, which is a big customer interface. In STK register automation, it has been possible to take a large part of the product data automatically to the customers, says Parviainen.

- Previously, for example, in a large product series, each product was updated separately for brochures or websites. Now all you have to do is replace the file with a new version, and it happens in a minute, whereas previously it might have taken a lot of time from the product manager, continues Teinilä.

At UTU, it is estimated that PIM promotes business growth and that in the area of product management, the system is a must if you want to do things in a modern way. Versatile tools help you do things more efficiently and better; the savings in working time have been considerable.

- Although we haven't actually measured it, I could estimate that time is saved by around 30-50 percent. As a result, we have better quality product data available to different parties, and this also helps us in business, says Parviainen.

- As an organization, we are agile and of a suitable size, but we don't have too many people, so we needed a flexible system that enables us to move quickly in the market, says Teinilä.

Currently, UTU has ERP and CRM projects underway. The intention is to continue improving the efficiency of product information, and the ERP integration will be done in such a way that the creation of products takes place in PIM, i.e. PIM will continue to be the master system for product information.

- Up-to-date and high-quality product information is critical: people today work more and more online, and the information they are looking for must be found there quickly. The product data must be diamond so that the customer buys the product from us and not elsewhere, says Teinilä.

- I would dare to say that the one who makes electronic product information best and knows how to refine and utilize it, wins the game. Together with our partners, we have experience of what has been achieved through good and active work. Even in traditional sectors, the number of online purchases has increased significantly, says Parviainen.

Business benefits have been obtained from PIM

Nowadays, the customer base usually handles routines online, and this is something UTU wants to enable. Business growth is possible when comprehensive information is offered and self-service is utilized; the investment in the systems has paid off.

- Sales growth is of course the most essential: even in difficult years, we have managed to make a good result - even in the face of a declining market. People want information, and we want to help ensure that information is easy to find, says Parviainen.

- We have managed to get the best out of what we do. When the company has a completely new business area and a lot of new products, it is necessary to get help from the systems so that the personnel can work efficiently, continues Teinilä.

PIM is currently used at UTU by approximately 15 product managers from five different countries and six different business areas. In addition, five marketing communication professionals actively use PIM.

Efforts are being made to harmonize the use of PIM among different countries. The joint system helps the entire group and the countries with fewer personnel. Product information is shared among everyone and other systems have been modernized along with PIM. When product management is effortless, it frees up time for people to sell – it's vital.

The cooperation with Adeona has gone well. An advantage is seen in the fact that the system is constantly developing from the customers' point of view, and it also creates new opportunities for UTU.

- It's been nice to see that customer work is active: workshops are organized, which generate things in the development pipeline for everyone's benefit. In the future, we would like to use ETIM data and BMEcat files as the basis for product data in Adeona PIM. This would bring wider scope: not only technical but also logistical information and possibly other contents that come from big manufacturers quite ready-made. The cooperation with Adeona has gone well and the system is flexible, but the journey is not over - the intention is to continue the development further, says Parviainen.

 


UTU is a growth-oriented family business in the electrical and automation industry in the fourth generation. UTU has been electrifying Finland for over 100 years, with 190 employees. In addition to Finland, UTU operates in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway. UTU is involved in critical points in the electricity sector in the electrification of properties, electricity distribution and energy production, e-mobility solutions and automation solutions. The company's customers include electrical wholesalers, electricity distribution companies, electrical contractors and designers, and industry.

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