Telia Supply Chain Management Information System

20+ years

Author

Deniss Ojastu
Partner

Background information

Telia is the leading telecom operator in the Nordics and Baltics, with operations in 17 countries and more than 100 million clients. Building their international success on local excellence requires efficient processes to sustain best-in-class service within a competitive price range.

Helmes has partnered with Telia’s Estonian affiliate for many years in developing a demand-driven supply chain management information system. In close cooperation with the client, the supply chain management information system was developed to minimize lost sales while having the optimum amount of goods in stock at any time.

Satisfaction with the solution as well as a positive cooperation experience provided Helmes with the opportunity to present an offer in Telia’s central procurement of a Common Demand and Purchase Planning Tool (CDPPT) which would:

  • maintain maximum availability of consumer electronics;
  • reduce man-hours spent fulfilling it; and
  • develop an automated monitoring module so that errors in logistics processes would be discovered as soon as possible.

Competing with world-class software providers’ products, Helmes was chosen to develop a custom supply chain management information system that would precisely reflect Telia’s innovative supply chain management process. Compared to its competitors, Helmes offered maximum flexibility and agility, which were considered crucial when providing the shortest time to market to reduce the payback period of the investment.

Learn more: Custom software development solutions

Supply Chain Management Information System

Project highlights

The project’s aim was to implement the supply chain management information system developed in Estonia after customization and localization in seven Telia countries. A pilot project was carried out in one country. After this, implementation and integration work was carried out in two countries at a time. At the same time, the core of the supply chain management system was developed, and each implemented system was supported and maintained.

Implementation involves integration with almost 30 different information systems; in each country the supply chain management information system interfaces with different ERP solutions (e.g. SAP, Scala, Oracle, Oracle 1B, EBS and custom ERP systems), the warehouse, couriers’ systems, the provider’s information systems (such as Nokia, Samsung and Apple), and so on.

Around 80 different contact people, from the client’s side (central and local project contact people), from third parties (transportation, suppliers etc.), and Helmes were involved in the organization of the supply chain management project at different times. Communication during the project was intensive, as is required for development in close cooperation with the client.

Helmes took full responsibility for successful integration rather than just building Telia’s end of the interfaces. In many cases, the third parties needed Helmes’ technical expertise in integration to finalize their interfaces. Communication with third parties was managed by Helmes, saving the time and energy of project managers.

Throughout the project, Helmes provided full flexibility in changing any part of it – the countries, the functionalities to be developed, due dates, etc. As a project supervisor, Helmes took responsibility for working through delays and managing the supply-chain management information system development process to meet the overall due date.

Solution highlights

The CDPPT system incorporates the full functionality of a continuous replenishment information system for demand-driven supply chain management. It shares real-time market information with all the members of the supply chain. Flexibly responding to changes in demand makes it possible to optimize the elements of the logistics mix – stock, storage, packing, transport, and communication.

The supply chain management information system is highly configurable to meet the differing needs of each Telia country.

The configuration options are maintained through permission. Each country can, at any time, change its settings and set-up without any excessive need for software development or support.

As the supply chain management information system is highly business-critical, it has a built-in monitoring module which enables Helmes to detect possible errors (including user interaction that does not follow common patterns) in real-time. Most often the problem is solved and reported before the client has even noticed that an error has occurred. The system can help detect the source of the error, including third parties’ information systems, quickly and accurately.

Business benefits of the supply chain management information system

A well-planned information and product flow provide a competitive advantage in terms of both prices and service levels. CDPPT automates orders and supply chain management in accordance with real-time market needs. The possibility of errors is minimized by replacing manual labor with automation and closely monitoring each step of the process.

The main benefits assessed by Helmes are:

  • accurate forecasts and no lost sales:
    • no fixing capital in excessive stock while providing the required service level;
    • shorter time for goods in stock and less need for storage space;
  • optimized work of packers and transportation; and
  • automated two-way communication within the supply chain.

Why choose custom software solutions:

  • maximum flexibility;
  • maximum agility;
  • maximum response rate to maintain and support highly business-critical information systems;
  • end-to-end responsibility in integration; and
  • information system that reflects the fine-tuned logistics processes of a market leader providing a competitive edge.

Get in touch

Get in touch

Let me know if you have a supply chain management software challenge to solve! We can help.

Deniss Ojastu
Partner
+372 58 35 9582