HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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SWAN SHADOW
- A REMARKABLE MOTORYACHT PAGE 4
THE RENOVATED HELSINKI OLYMPIC STADIUM PAGE 7
HUS USES CUTTING EDGE ROBOTS
PAGE 29
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CONTENTS
Smart Supply Chain
4
AI & Business Strategies
19 SVEA OFFERS EASY SOLUTIONS FOR B2B E-COMMERCE
SAILING WORKS OF ART
20 BASICS OF PLATFORM ECONOMY: WHY DO 70% OF FINLAND’S BIGGEST COMPANIES NEED A “PLATFORM OF PLATFORMS”? 22 AI STILL HAS TO EARN ITS WINGS 23 CYBERSECURITY STRATEGY IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT FOR SECURITY MANAGEMENT AND EFFECTIVE GENERAL STRATEGY 24 A UNIQUE WAY TO EXPERIENCE NATURE INDOORS
Sustainable Business
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FINLAND’S LEGENDARY EVENT ARENA IS BACK
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CHILDREN CAN’T WAIT - BUSINESSES NEED TO BE ON CHILDREN’S SIDE
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MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
26 THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL COMMERCE – COMPOSABLE ARCHITECTURE
10 SPEED UP THE EU TAXONOMY – CLEAR THE HIGHWAY! 12 YOUR DREAM HOUSE IN FINNISH NATURE 14 WITH A SUSTAINABLE INVOICE LIFECYCLE SERVICE FOR WORLD CONQUEST
Digital Health
Smart Supply Chain
16 BRINGING FINLAND TO THE WORLD - LONGING FOR DOMESTIC TASTES 17 HOW PROCUREMENT CAN HELP TO DRIVE MEANINGFUL CHANGE
PUBLISHER
BIG Business Insight Group Oy Kalevankatu 31 00100 Helsinki www.bignordic.com customercare@bignordic.com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
28 HAS THIS MEGATREND ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED IN YOUR WORKPLACE? 29 HELSINKI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL USES CUTTING-EDGE ROBOTS TO ASSIST SURGEONS
Christian Ehrström christian.ehrstrom@bignordic.com
CONTRIBUTORS
David J. Cord, Pia Iisaho, Mari Korhonen
ART DIRECTOR Pirja Suotamo
PRINTED BY
PunaMusta / Tampere 2022
Business Insight Group is an owner and operator of first class international events and media solutions that focus on megatrends and challenges facing major business sectors today. BIG’s focus is on highly specialised, must-attend events that are independently researched and tailored to deliver unbiased and focused market information. Our readers and event participants are at the most senior level and we design our content to enable powerful interaction and market knowledge, benchmarks, trends and unique insights, all from a highly focused business and industry perspective. We create value to our partners through a unique omnichannel communication and lead generation method and this is one of those channels. Business Insight Group is executive events and communications reinvented.
Smart Supply Chain
SWAN 55
SAILING WORKS OF ART Nautor’s Swan yachts embody cruising and racing for those with a passion for sailing. TEXT: DAVID J. CORD
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he year is 1966. England wins the World Cup and Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a civil rights march in Chicago. In Finland, Pekka Koskenkyla releases an innovative work of art into the Baltic Sea. It is the first Nautor’s Swan yacht, the remarkable Swan 36. Now, 56 years later, Nautor’s Swan is still releasing innovative works of art into the world’s oceans. “Nautor’s Swan was born out of an inspiration, and the brand has always been synonymous with elegance, quality and performance,” says CEO Giovanni Pomati. “Pekka had the intuition and the ability to convince Sparkman & Stephens in New York – one of the most acclaimed yacht designers of 4
the time – to design his first sailing yacht in fibreglass trimmed in wood. Hundreds of years of Finnish boat building tradition helped Pekka in his dream to build high-quality and high-performance sailing yachts, made for those who have the passion for cruising and racing.” It was only a few years later, in 1974, that a Swan yacht surged to international attention. Ramón Carlin piloted the Swan 65 Sayula II to win The Ocean Race, then known as the Whitbread Round the World Race. Nautor’s Swan is not resting on their laurels either: the ClubSwan 125, launched in 2021, has won the line of Honour twice in the Rolex Fastnet Race and Caribbean 600.
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
“In 1998 Leonardo Ferragamo aquired Nautor’s Swan. His management has evolved the brand by continuing to push forward a whirlwind of innovations and changes that firmly place the Swan yachts at the forefront of the international sailing world. From that moment on, Nautor’s Swan has always been raising the stakes in building new models and push its boundaries, meeting its customers’ needs and fulfilling the expectations of the market with seaworthy, elegant, performing and timeless yachts,” Pomati says.
Racing yachts with the highest pedigree Today Nautor’s Swan has three classes of yachts for different customer needs: ClubSwan Yachts for high-performance racing, Swan Yachts the performance cruisers and the Maxi Swan Yachts for those who demand elegance, comfort, style
and modernity with bigger volumes and sizes. “ClubSwan Yachts are pure racers, where performance and innovation have priority,” Pomati says. The ClubSwan Yachts are designed by Juan Kouyoumdijan, the French-Argentinian naval architect who specializes in ocean racing yachts. These include four different models focused on speed, technology and competitive sailing.
From cruising to a remarkable motoryacht “The Swan Yachts are meant for those owners who have the passion for the sport of sailing, either cruising or racing, and mark the new generation of Swan yachts coming from the pen of Maestro German Frers,” Pomati continues. Six different boats are in the Swan Yachts division, including the new version of the Swan 55,
SWAN SHADOW
PHOTO: MAURIZIO PARADISI
PHOTO: DAN-ERIK OLSEN PHOTO: EXASTUDIOS
which will be presented in Cannes in September 2022. It epitomises a new generation of hull design developed from decades of experience combined with the best modern tools. The Maxi Swan Yachts include four ships ranging from 88 to 120 feet which offer the highest expression of seaworthiness combined with luxury, with the hybrid electric Swan 88. The designers’ team include Maestro Germán Frers, interior designer Misa Poggi and exterior designer Lucio Micheletti. The range is rounded out by their motoryacht, the Swan Shadow, which was launched in 2021. She is not only a chase boat, but also a powerboat embodying the core values of Nautor’s Swan. The boat is made in Italy where the motoryacht tradition is very strong in building, with a Finnish Design by the pen of Jarkko Jansen. |
PIETARSAARI, FINLAND
AT HOME IN FINLAND
PHOTO (LEHT) : EVA-STINA KJELMAN, (RIGHT) STUDIO BORLENGHI
SWAN ONE DESIGN WORLD ST. TROPEZ 2021
GIOVANNI POMATI, CEO
Nautor’s Swan is based in Pietarsaari, Finland, in their renowned Boatbuilding Technology Center. A recent two-year renovation of their facilities added 9,935 sqm of space. “The new area is dedicated to the new joinery, high-tech lamination operations with an oven for post curing, halls for painting, grinding and polishing as well as areas for warehousing and logistics,” Giovanni Pomati says. “All manufacturing activities are now located in the same place and help with a better organisation and logistics to improve efficiency and quality.” If you are interested in learning more about this remarkable line of yachts, you are invited to visit the virtual showroom at nautorswan.com, or even make a trip to Pietarsaari. “The philosophy of the brand remains the same as when we were founded 56 years ago: building cruising and performing yachts in keeping with Swan’s DNA of attention to detail, performance, quality construction and reliability,” Pomati says.
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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PHOTOS: STADION-SÄÄTIÖ/WELLU HÄMÄLÄINEN
Sustainable Business
From the 72-meter-high tower of the Olympic Stadium, you can admire Helsinki from a unique vantage point.
FINLAND’S LEGENDARY EVENT ARENA IS BACK Part of history, a national symbol and a stage for modern events. The Helsinki Olympic Stadium, which has reopened its doors, impresses with its versatility.
experience from the stadium’s famous architecture.
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Boosting millions to the regional economy
TEXT: MARI KORHONEN
he Helsinki Olympic Stadium will finally be able to shine after a unique world-class renovation. During the renewal, which was completed in August 2020, the operating capacity of the nationally protected site was expanded so that Finland now has the long-needed facilities for organising international outdoor events and major concerts. At the same time, the architecturally recognised Olympic Stadium, which has been dubbed the most beautiful in the world, has gained at least half a century more life on its 84-year journey. “In 2015, the stadium was in such poor condition that renovation was the only option in terms of business continuity,” says Ari Kuokkanen, the director of the Olympic Stadium. “The site, protected by the Building Act, set its own conditions for the renovation and honouring the architecture style was prioritised. In addition, new facilities were built and 6
practically another stadium was created underground. As a result, the historic site received 19,000 square meters of additional firstclass capacity.” The historic milieu in its renewed form opens new avenues. In addition to concerts and sporting events, the Olympic Stadium is a training facility for ordinary citizen athletes from junior amateurs to senior professionals. It also has more than 3,000 square metres of office space for corporate tenants, a convention and corporate event centre for groups ranging from dozens to thousands of people, and a nationally and internationally important tourist destination.
A peek under the surface and over the roofs of Helsinki The year 2022 will be memorable for the Olympic Stadium. After the renovation, the stadium will be able to open to its full potential without the pandemic
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
restrictions, just in time for the 70th Anniversary of the Helsinki Olympics. The ambience of the stadium reflects the anniversary festivities, from casual visits to major events. “The anniversary year can be celebrated, among other things, with guided stadium tours, where you can get a glimpse into the history of a nationally and internationally significant site as well as witnessing a modern, functional stadium,” says Kuokkanen. “As part of the tour, you can also visit the renovated Sports Museum, which embodies the spirit of national sports and exercise. The tours are also rewarding for the locals, as not everything is visible on a first look.” From the 72-meter-high tower of the Olympic Stadium, you can admire Helsinki from a unique vantage point. “From high in the air Helsinki’s urban landscape appears in all its beauty, surrounded by the Baltic Sea,” Kuokkanen describes the
The renovation of the Olympic Stadium is significant not only culturally but also economically. Prior to the remodel, the annual regional economic impact of the renovated stadium was estimated to be EUR 80 million, but now it appears the forecast was too conservative. “With a target of one million visitors, the regional economic impact will be closer to EUR 100 million annually,” says a smiling Kuokkanen. “During last year’s exceptional circumstances, already a quarter of the target visitors were reached without any events, so the estimates seem realistic.” People in Finland and visitors from around the world are interested in the renovated Olympic Stadium. If you would like to see how such a national icon was updated to meet modern requirements without sacrificing its historic character, come visit stadion.fi, or better yet, come experience the stadium in person!
CHILDREN CAN’T WAIT - BUSINESSES NEED TO BE ON CHILDREN’S SIDE The Children’s Rights and Business Principles that guide businesses turn 10 this year. Respecting and supporting children’s rights in business operations does not just mean that child labour is not tolerated in company’s own operations or in their whole value or supply chain.
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t is estimated that one billion children are affected by global value and supply chains. About 300 million children breathe polluted air from factory areas every day, tens of millions of children are separated from their parents because of the parents’ work, and as many as one in ten children are child laborers. The realization of child rights in business operations means, for example, that unhealthy or unsuitable products are not marketed to children, that companies promote the safety of children online or that they ensure workplace flexibility for their parents. The common principles provide a practical framework for businesses to look at the realization of child rights in all operations. The Children’s Rights and Business Principles, developed by Save the Children, UNICEF and the UN Global Compact, were released 10 years ago. The aim was to put children’s rights at the heart of company strategies and corporate social responsibility. For a decade, the ten principles have guided companies to assess the impact of their actions on children.
Businesses can make a significant contribution to achieving the global goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by taking into account child rights and the impact on children in all their business activities by 2030. The additional challenges posed by climate crisis, global health threats, crisis of education as well as digitalisation are having a more drastic impact than ever. Children do not have time to wait for the fulfilment of their rights to be taken seriously in the business world. Several businesses have already seized the opportunity to secure a more sustainable future for children and youth. All businesses should evaluate the impact on children’s lives and at the very least minimize their harmful effects. Taking responsibility and action is good business, because as future employees and consumers, children will evaluate the performance of companies more critically than before. More information at www.savethechildren.fi/crbp
Does your company need help implementing sustainability from a child rights perspective? Contact Camilla Ekholm, Global Corporate Partnerships, Save the Children Finland, camilla.ekholm@savethechildren.fi
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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Sustainable Business
MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE The majority of us do care about the world, its nature, oceans and wildlife. The majority of us want to live a life that does not affect the planet negatively. We are all supportive of a better world. This does, however, require some trade-offs in our current way of living.
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BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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hese are trade-offs some of us are not willing to make, yet. We still want to travel, eat whatever we want and indulge ourselves with things that we believe we deserve, no matter the carbon impact. Unfortunately, western way of living is exploiting the world in an uncontrollable way and not giving back at the same pace. This is just not sustainable. ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS, common knowledge, and public awareness of the state of the world, is redirecting us into the right track. Toward a carbon emission free planet. Activists highlighted the environmental situation during the 60s but only now, it has become a topic for corporations’ top management because investors, customers and employees are demanding it. Failing not to do enough, is directly reflected, as revenue decrease. How would the world look like if the statements on the environmental impact were taken seriously during the 60s? Where would the planet be today? The people around the world have awakened and are demanding change. Oracle recently did a survey, “No Planet B: How can business and technology help save the world”, interviewing more than 11 000 people on the topic of environment and social issues. The findings are very conclusive, majority of the people (78%) are frustrated with the lack of sustainable progress by businesses. 70 % also said that they are changing brands if the brand is not being sustainable enough. These are very interesting findings! Read the report by scanning the QR code.
When it comes to the planet, Oracle is committed to also do our part by
WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESSES, companies need to rethink the way they create value for their shareholders, employees, and customers. The whole organisation needs to be sustainable in every possible aspect. Fair, recyclable, creating low waste, and hopefully powered with green energy. In some cases, this is perceived impossible. Fortunately, it is not! It needs to be researched and enabled with new technology. As all of us need to make trade-offs. So does the corporate world. Corporations need to trade off time and earnings for a better world. 89% of business leaders believe that technology will help to drive sustainable business with concrete process changes. Oracle is proud to say that we are helping corporations on their journey toward a more sustainable way of doing business, and we are doing so together.
Many companies are investing in creating a better world with technology. • Huhtamaki, the Finnish packaging manufacturer, is redesigning their manufacturing processes to decrease waste and increase transportation efficiency with Oracle’s Cloud applications. • Tetrapak, also a packaging manufacturer, is using technology to calculate more efficient transportation routes and truck packaging with Oracle’s Cloud applications. Scan QR code above to know more. • Unilever, a leading global provider of food, home and personal care products slashed 10 % of their carbon emission thanks to Oracle’s Cloud applications.
Many manufacturers are making their factory smart by adding new technology to measure, calculate and gather data in real time for humans to make the right decisions and predict the future. This has helped them to create agility and use resources more efficiently. Not just saving the planet, but also a lot of money. On top of this, there are also many Artificial Intelligence projects working on understanding customer demands, and making sure the right products are produced at the right time with the right quality. Also interesting is that AI can help in understanding the competition and its flaws. In this way, a superior product can be created. AI is fantastic when it comes to gather and analyse data. SO HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE? By going out of our comfort zone and changing the way we travel, what we eat and what we consume and at the same time continue to push our favourite brands AND workspaces to be more sustainable. We hold the power to demand more of the company we work for, as consumers, and as partners to the companies we do business with! The survival of the human race is dependent on us doing things better and our ability to become more innovative than before. | Learn more about Oracle on www.oracle.com/fi
Miguel Vergara Business Development Director , Finance and Operations | Oracle
Oracle´s 2025 Sustainability goals
halve our greenhouse emission by 2030. Today we are already using 100 % renewal energy at our offices and we have already decreased 94 thousands metric tonnes of emission due to our initiatives since 2015 and we are raising the bar constantly to reach zero emission by 2050. We still don’t think we are doing enough and are looking to do even more in the years to come to make the world a better place. BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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Sustainable Business
The EU’s environmental rating will turn capital flows towards sustainability and reward visionaries.
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he European Union’s policy towards a sustainable development economy is broad and systematic - the smartest in the world. The new EU Taxonomy Regulation redirects capital flows towards environmentally beneficial activities. The EU Taxonomy requires compliance not only from companies but also from the EU’s Green Bonds. The EU Taxonomy translates the environmental benefits of companies into economic language. It provides a common set of criteria for environmental assessment. Sustainable business economic activities are reported as turnover, capital expenditure and operating expenditure. This information will be monitored and used by financiers and investors as decision criteria for their investments, as they are obliged to report accordingly on the environmental benefits of financing their activities.
Currently, EU Taxonomy reporting applies to listed companies with more than 500 employees in the EU, as well as financial institutions, asset managers and insurance companies. Right now, over 10 000 European companies are subjected to the obligation. In the coming years, the scope of the rating requirements will be progressively expanded. As the information on listed companies becomes publicly available, the reporting obligation will be extended to the financial sector.
The EU Taxonomy Classification of activities is a complex and demanding task To qualify for environmental classification, a company’s economic activity must be beneficial to one or more of six environmental objectives: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, water and marine resources,
circular economy, pollution prevention or biodiversity and ecosystems. An activity that benefits one environmental objective must not be detrimental to any other environmental objective - and that too must be assessed. In addition, the company must meet minimum requirements in terms of human and labor rights. When an economic activity meets all the taxonomy requirements, its financial indicators are reported as a taxonomy-compliant activity.
The winners are environmentally positive companies In the succeeding EU Taxonomy change, companies should position themselves as pioneers rather than as opponents. The EU taxonomy will benefit many companies and should certainly not be resisted. Companies producing environmental technologies and their customers, as well as
companies producing renewable energy, for example, are major beneficiaries. Environmentally positive companies rightfully benefit from the taxonomy and are therefore also willing to voluntarily report on their activities, even if they are not subject to the obligations. The EU taxonomy classification and reporting offers a boost and a promising future for sustainable companies that have invested for years in environmentally beneficial technologies, services, and production, and have believed that one day the value will change. That day is now. Taxonomy-compliant businesses will find it easier to raise finance and their stock market prices will rise. Visionaries will also be rewarded. Business leaders who have invested in sustainability through executive compensation schemes will eventually receive bigger rewards.
CHOOSE ECOBIO MANAGER AS YOUR PARTNER IN EU TAXONOMY, CLASSIFICATION AND REPORTING Ecobio Manager turns the complex set of EU Taxonomy requirements into a smooth work process for you and your team. Read more: www.ecobiomanager.com. Ecobio Manager is an advanced SaaS for managing corporate sustainability. The technology and up-to-date databases help you ensure compliance and improve profitability – locally and globally. Ecobio Manager is a part of Ecobio. We help you balance business and nature. Since 1989.
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BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
Artist’s impression
38–220 – 150mm2 61,5 2 2
PREMIUM PREMIUM LIVING LIVING
BY THE THE SEA SEA BY
Sales of the newapartments Kesäkatu The apartments will be readyinin Helsinki have December 2022 now begun.
Exceptional homes
at the most delightful locations
r apartments will elevate will find the home of your
othelsinki@auratum.com
FIND OUT MORE AT TOOLONKESAKATU.FI
Whether by construction or renovation, Auratum consistently creates dream homes in delightful locations. Auratum’s top-class reputation comes from its commitment to unparalleled build quality. This level of excellence can be seen in the superior equipment choices, the delightfully-designed solutions, and the elegantly durable materials used in all our projects. Always situated at central and notable locations, our apartments will elevate your living to a whole new level. With Auratum, you will find the home of your dreams.
AURATUM ASUNNOT • www.auratumasunnot.fi HELSINKI: Soile Goodall, +358 40 533 5533, asunnothelsinki@auratum.com
Sustainable Business
YOUR DREAM HOUSE IN FINNISH NATURE
Villa Dogi was built in 2014 by the architect Jussi Kalliopuska. The 300+ square metre house is built into the solid Finnish hillside and is angled to embrace the landscape. It is in the municipality of Ingå
Villa Dogi is a unique home for sale located close to the sea about an hour outside of Helsinki. TEXT: DAVID J. CORD
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here are four real luxuries in life,” says Dr Ykä Kumpula. “Clean air, clean water, pure nature and not too many people.” This healthy philosophy is manifested in the house he has created, Villa Dogi, in southern Finland. Nestled inside a forest close to an archipelago in the Baltic Sea, the house defines Kumpula’s luxuries. Best of all, it is now for sale. Villa Dogi was built in 2014 by the architect Jussi Kalliopuska. The 300+ square metre house is built into the solid Finnish hillside and is angled to embrace the landscape. It is in the municipality of Ingå, famous for being the home of World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm. The roads in the area look perfect for rally, but Kumpula is more interested in wind power than horsepower. “This is why I’m selling the house,” he explains. “Now that I have retired it is time for long
sailing trips! I am happy to let someone else enjoy the happiest life in the world at Villa Dogi.”
A place you have to experience Kati Helanto leads the way out of the house. She carefully avoids a robot lawnmower sedately rolling along the immaculate yard. A calm pond sits in the centre of the lush green lawn. On the far side of the tree-lined pond sits a kota, a small tepee-shaped structure used by the Saami in Lapland. At the end of the pond is an outdoor kitchen and eating area, perfect for outdoor entertaining in Finland’s long, warm summer nights. Next to the treeline is a small house for guests or a caretaker. “It is nice to have a fine house, but what can really make a house great is the location,” Helanto says. “Look at this house’s location. Look at the nature around us.” She falls silent for a moment. They only thing you hear is a soft
Kati Helanto has been a real estate agent for 30 years. She is a founding partner at UpHouse LKV, her familyowned company with her daughters Janni Väätänen, licensed real estate agent (left) and Fanny Kourula, CEO and senior licensed real estate agent (right).
“Now that I have retired it is time for long sailing trips! I am happy to let someone else enjoy the happiest life in the world at Villa Dogi,” says Dr Ykä Kumpula.
sigh of wind through the spruce and pine trees, punctuated by singing birds. Pheasants? Sandpipers? There are also ospreys in the archipelago, while in the twilight evenings you can hear cuckoos echoing in the forest. There are deer out there too, quiet and shy, and if you are lucky you might see elk, the lords of the forest. “You can look at the pictures and read the article, but this is a place you have to experience. You have to feel it,” Helanto says.
Why is Finland the happiest country? Helanto has been a real estate agent for 30 years. She is a founding partner at UpHouse LKV, her family-owned company. She and her daughter Janni Väätänen, who is also a licensed real estate agent, are selling Villa Dogi. They have offices in the Finnish capital Helsinki and the neighbouring city Espoo, but she obviously relishes
being in the forest. “Helsinki is a great town, but Finland is more than Helsinki,” she says. Finland has been named the happiest country in the world by the World Happiness Report five years running. Some of the reasons cited include the lack of corruption, strong human rights, highly educated citizens, stable democracy and well-functioning society. Kumpula also has a few ideas why people are so happy in Finland. “We have the cleanest air in the world,” he says. “We have safety, freedom and we have Every Person’s Right, which gives everyone the right to fish, pick berries or gather mushrooms in the forest.”
Life in nature The right to enjoy nature seems to have been the guiding principle for his house. The giant picture windows frame nature like a Romantic painting. Wood is everywhere, from the dark rich floors and the rustic steps to the benches in the ubiquitous Finnish sauna. A gourd-shaped fireplace dominates the centre of the multi-level living area. The house is only a few years old and entirely modern. Nearby are schools, doctors, a large wooden shopping mall, and any service you could want. “This would be a great second home, or you could even live here year round,” Helanto says. “If someone is interested in experiencing this, I hope they contact us to make an appointment. We could go outside and meditate in the peace and quiet.” |
If you would like to learn more about Villa Dogi and life in the happiest country on Earth, please use the QR code to visit www.villadogifinland.com. You can also contact Kati Helanto at +358 50 568 8404 and kati.helanto@uphouse.fi or Janni Väätänen at janni.vaatanen@uphouse.fi. BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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Sustainable Business
“Ropo Capital delivers over 140 million invoices in the Nordic countries and our
invoice lifecycle service covers also the payment-related
customer service. Our service and success are measured
both in relation to our clients
and their customers and this is also reflected in the priorities
of our sustainability strategy,”
describes Jenni Jantunen, Chief Brand and Communications Officer of Ropo Capital
WITH A SUSTAINABLE INVOICE LIFECYCLE SERVICE FOR WORLD CONQUEST
Ropo Capital’s sustainability strategy centers on an inspiring working environment, responsible service delivery and a climate-friendly invoice lifecycle. Ropo believes that sustainability, which is strongly integrated into the group’s strategy, will accelerate its growth into the leading player in the Nordic countries.
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rust is the foundation of any business. In the case of Ropo Capital, the statement is more than true. The group serves its clients by ensuring that vital processes along the value chain of the receivables lifecycle are covered, from invoice delivery to sales ledger and receivables management – in other words, it is responsible for the core of all financial transactions. “High-quality service and trust are the foundation for everything we do”, says the Ropo Capital Group’s Chief Brand & Communications Officer Jenni Jantunen. “Our clients expect us to be fully transparent, and that is what we are committed to.”
Sustainability indicators available to everyone In 2021, Ropo decided to take transparency to the next level. During Covid-19, Ropo committed to annual sustainability reporting in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and renewed its group-wide sustainability strategy. With this strategy work, the group’s sustainability focus areas and key sustainability indicators are now available to everyone. 14
“Sustainability has always been at the heart of what we do, but now it is part of the group strategy. Anyone can look more closely into our sustainability principles and evaluate our success,” summarizes Jantunen, who was the lead in building the group’s sustainability strategy.
The environmental impact of invoicing is of interest Ropo’s service is based on its own technology, automation, and real-time data access. The single service provider model streamlines the entire invoice lifecycle into an easy-to-track entity and provides full visibility into all stages of the invoicing process. “We feel that with our services we can positively influence the carbon footprint of invoicing and promote sustainable credit management. It’s essential to grant credit responsibly and minize the carbon footprint of invoice delivery,” Jantunen describes. According to Jantunen, increasing the electronic invoicing rate is central, but it is equally important to ensure that the entire supply chain, starting with the logistics partners, meets the sustainability requirements set for the invoice lifecycle service.
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
Nordic market leader by 2023 Fast-growing Ropo Capital, is the market leader in invoice management in Finland. The goal now is to achieve the same position elsewhere in the Nordic countries. Ropo strongly believes in changing the market with its invoice lifecycle concept. With the help of the service, data related to invoicing and payments can be harnessed to support business development, and customer understanding and cash flow predictability increase. “Knowledge-based management is a big trend that our services respond well to. You can see that clearly; our invoice lifecycle service is quickly becoming the new norm also outside Finland. Sales has taken off great in Sweden and Norway,” says Jantunen. |
ROPO CAPITAL • 100 M€ Group turnover • Personnel in Finland, Sweden, and Norway around 400 • Head office in Kuopio • Sustainability report published: ropocapital.fi, ropocapital.se, ropocapital.no
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Ylös kohti
Miten syntyy hiilineutraali tulevaisuuden rakennus? Luo tulevaisuuden rakennuksia jo tänään. Ala kehittyy, mutta tämän päivän globaalit vaatimukset vievät muutosta eteenpäin. Menestyäksesi rakennuttajana, omistajana ja käyttäjänä sinun on pystyttävä kestävän kehityksen ja terveiden rakennusratkaisujen perässä.
se.com/fi
Lue lisää tulevaisuuden rakennuksista.
Smart Supply Chain
BRINGING FINLAND TO THE WORLD - LONGING FOR DOMESTIC TASTES Tastes from home bring strong memories throughout the world. Now rye bread, salmiakki and chocolate are just a few clicks away regardless of distance.
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he longing for the unique taste of Finnish food culture is almost invariably familiar for Finnish expats living abroad. Light-roasted coffee, rye bread, salmiakki and, of course, Fazer’s blue are classic flavours in Finnish mouths that are hard to imitate elsewhere. Domestic flavors surface emotional memories and nostalgic moments when abroad. Bringing treats from your home country is also a source of pride and a cultural act when served to the international community. As long as these flavors are available, that is. Many Finns living abroad identify the situation where relatives have been given the role of the food supplier from home. Suomikauppa. fi started a similar service based on these premises. The founder of our online store was on a posting abroad and eventually got tired of asking his relatives in his longing for chocolate and salmiakki. A coder was found in the close circle, with whom they struck together and set up an online store selling Finnish products for export purposes in 16
2005. Ville Aittola, the CEO of the company that currently manages the suomikauppa.fi online store, opens the history of special sales to Finns abroad.
The classics hold their leading position Over the years, the world has changed and e-commerce has developed, but Finns’ longing for domestic products has remained. The starting points for our operations are still the same as in 2005. By choosing domestic quality, purity, healthiness and exceptional product safety, we have increased and developed our operations by doing everything right from the beginning in the Finnish way, Aittola describes the basic pillars of sustainable operation.
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
The favorites are still the same as in 2005, but the selection is constantly expanding in a customer-oriented manner. Rye bread, sweets and Finnish light roasted coffee are still the most demanded, but practically today our selection includes almost anything from domestic food to cosmetics and interior decoration products. If you can’t find something in the selection, we try to supplement it according to demand, Aittola promises.
Freshly delivered to the other side of the globe Suomikauppa.fi delivers domestic products to 130 countries quickly and cheaply given its geographical location. Shipments to the east coast of the United States are delivered at best in a day, to the west coast in a couple, and to New Zealand in less than a week. You can actually get your bread fresh on the table, Aittola smiles. The jungle drum has spoken and the demand for Finnish products abroad has also increased among schools and companies. We will meet this particular demand by opening a wholesale store for companies and different expat communities during the summer, Aittola reveals about the future development steps. In addition to dry products, consumers can order domestic sausages and cheeses within Europe from finnishfreshfood.fi/en.
HOW PROCUREMENT CAN HELP TO DRIVE MEANINGFUL CHANGE
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By Ian Thompson, UK General Manager at Ivalua
uring the course of the pandemic, procurement has helped firms find savings, collaborate with suppliers, and navigate supply chain risk in the wake of COVID-19. This highlighted procurement’s importance and solidified its place in boardroom discussions. However, as organisations start to recover from the pandemic’s impact, procurement teams must look at new ways to demonstrate their wider value and support business objectives if they are to maintain their slot on the boardroom agenda. Procurement is no longer just about risk mitigation, cost savings, and supply chain agility – it now has a strong environmental and social impact tied to it. Procurement leaders can solidify their new seat at the table by contributing to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) measures. This will underline procurement’s position as a strategic advisor while also driving positive change. The CPOs of the UK FTSE 100 have a huge amount of spending power. This power can translate into positive changes that drive CSR while delivering on business objectives. With growing government regulations, and consumer and employee expectations, organisations are now under greater pressure to act. Responsible practices are no longer optional, and those that do not comply can face serious reputational damage.
provide transparency into when suppliers will be paid and pay them on time to give them a fighting chance to survive. Not only do prompt payments boost the wider economy, they also build strong relationships with suppliers – helping organisations to collaborate more effectively and even work together to find new revenue streams. A survey of suppliers by Forrester research found that transparency and timeliness of payments was the top factor in encouraging suppliers to collaborate and share innovations with a particular customer. As suppliers are becoming more selective on who they work with, becoming a partner of choice is vital. This can help organisations build cutting edge products and services to gain competitive advantages. For organisations and suppliers, it pays to pay on time.
Late payments mean SMEs are feeling the pinch
Stamping out modern slavery
As the pandemic caused many to reduce operations, late payments have compounded financial problems for suppliers facing liquidity pressure. While larger suppliers have the equity to hold out for longer without payment, SMEs can’t always last and face the risk of running out of funds altogether. Unfortunately, the FSB found that 62% of small businesses have been subject to late or frozen payments during the pandemic. Recent research reveals that almost two thirds of suppliers feel that late payments are putting their company at financial risk – which is ultimately threatening the survival of small firms as they are facing pressure to reduce costs to beyond what is reasonable. Supplier failure is a major risk for organisations – particularly among small businesses. Failure of key suppliers can prevent organisations from delivering the products and services they need to customers, so they must
Organisations have a duty to select suppliers responsibly, especially as labour issues become more prevalent. Famously, retail giant Boohoo was caught out by an investigation into its Leicester supply chain, revealing employees working in unsafe conditions for as little as £3.50 per hour. Boohoo was forced to sever ties with hundreds of its UK manufacturers, as well as publish a full list of its suppliers. Instances such as this show that business now face new pressure to identify modern slavery in their suppliers – but also their suppliers’ suppliers – too. As public and government pressure mounts, organisations need to improve visibility into labour practices across their supply chain. This will help firms identify responsible practices for direct suppliers but also for indirect tier two and three suppliers, reducing their risk. By scrutinising suppliers and their partners, organisations can put policies in place to en-
Procurement is no longer just about risk mitigation, cost savings, and supply chain agility – it now has a strong environmental and social impact tied to it.
sure they only select those with the best labour standards. This will make a clear statement that exploitative practices won’t be tolerated while also making high labour standards a key differentiator for suppliers looking to work with you. In turn, this will force other suppliers to follow suit and become a real force for change.
Embracing a sustainable future At the start of 2020, sustainability initiatives were picking up steam, but COVID-19 slowed progress. Ivalua research found that while 95% of UK businesses have plans in place to address environmental concerns in the supply chain in the next 12 months, 60% decreased their investment in sustainability initiatives due to the pandemic. Sustainability initiatives are now gathering momentum, with cities, countries, and business now making pledges to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions. As sustainability continues to be a focus, organisations need to ensure they are following green practices. However, 93% of UK businesses claim it is challenging to gain visibility into suppliers to track the environmental impact of their supply chains. Businesses must address supplier visibility issues and make sure they are putting the right tools in place to drive environmental change internally and beyond, empowering suppliers to do the same. Turning over a new leaf Procurement has played a vital role in helping organisations to keep the lights on despite major disruption. However, to keep their seat at the table in strategic discussions, procurement must continue to add value in the form of driving the CSR agenda as organisations pivot from crisis to growth mode. But to achieve this, organisations must take a smarter approach to procurement. This will help them gain a 360-degree view of their suppliers, including information on sustainability practices and labour standards across the supply chain, and help to strengthen supplier relationships and collaborate to drive continuous improvements. Additionally, organisations will be able to automate and optimise payments, boosting the wider economy and better supporting SMEs. Ultimately, these capabilities will help organisations focus on CSR and make procurement a driving force for good for the future. | Read more: www.ivalua.com
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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Changes in the operating environment call for an agile transport partner A modern and innovative fleet combined with a partnership network covering all of Europe makes transport using FREJA’s solutions cost-effective. In addition to air and sea freight, FREJA’s wide-ranging transport and forwarding services also include demanding special transport. Just as the world was starting to recover from the crisis brought about by the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created new kinds of problems for the world economy. The shortage of raw materials and China’s strict restrictions also pose challenges for global transport chains and imports and exports. With constantly fluctuating operating conditions, good co-operation with transport and forwarding companies plays a key role for international transports. “We have had to get used to a foggier outlook, but an expert in transport services is still able to foresee through careful planning any possible difficulties in international transports and ensure that the freight is delivered without delays,” says Matti Urmas, Managing Director at FREJA Transport & Logistics Oy.
Wide-ranging transport solutions Since last year, in addition to road transport and air and sea freight, FREJA has been providing temperaturecontrolled road transport services, which are necessary for food and chemical transport, for example. “We provide all the international transport services you need. There are no such goods or machines for which we could not provide a transport solution,” says Urmas. Our extensive fleet has helped us through the difficult situation with sea containers, as the shipment streams
have been directed more towards Central Europe. With the rising transport costs, it is important to get the shipments delivered with as few kilometres as possible through effective transport solutions. Efficient international transport is also something we take to heart. While we cannot avoid emissions altogether, we can reduce them.
Professional personnel makes the difference “In addition to professional drivers, we need operational competence and employees who can make it through even demanding and changing situations. Our most valuable success factor is having the best people in the business working with us,” says Urmas. Wide-ranging transport services are also a reason why FREJA’s positive business development has continued throughout the pandemic. The rising transport costs, accelerating inflation and dark clouds looming ahead for the economy are not something Urmas worries about too much, as FREJA has weathered the storms of several operating environment changes and recessions thanks to its professional personnel. “Our strength is in our professional people and genuinely personalised customer service. Our client relationships are long and new clients often become loyal regulars.”
Matti Urmas, Managing Director at FREJA Transport & Logistics Oy, promises that FREJA will always be there for its customers and ready to help with international transport.
Global transport partner ROAD TRANSPORT General merchandise & full and part loads 850 trailers and 80 trailers for temperature-controlled transport SEA AND AIR FREIGHT PROJECT TRANSPORT
Digital Commerce
Svea offers easy solutions for B2B e-commerce Volumes in e-commerce have increased explosively during the pandemic, and the B2B e-commerce space is growing fast. TEXT: PIA IISAHO PHOTO: TARUKUVA
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fifth of the B2B sellers in Finland are going to start a webstore within a year, and in five years more than third of the business sales will be made online, according to the latest survey on B2B e-commerce conducted by the Finnish Postal Service Posti. We are seeing clear change here,” says Konsta Karvinen, CEO at Svea Payments Oy – a subsidiary of Svea Bank in Finland. Traditional B2B order management systems are moving towards modern online stores with automatic product management and logistic systems. Furthermore many companies now specialize in building B2B e-commerce platforms supporting complex pricing models and advanced automation. In addition, according to Karvinen, the saying that some products would not fit in online stores is not necessarily true anymore. The market has widened to everything and anything and at least parts of the purchase process can easily be brought online leaving personal customer service points only where it creates added value.
Svea meets the demand Suitable payment options are important in B2B e-commerce. Currently card payments and invoice are typical in B2B online stores. But there are known challenges here. The person
placing an order might not have a company credit card and offering invoice as a payment method may pose a serious credit and even a fraud risk to both the store and the customer besides the payment service provider. Svea has an array of solutions that meets the demands for easy transition to B2B e-commerce – both safely and indeed smoothly. Combining Svea’s business invoice for online purchases and a safe but easy buyer management tool is all it takes. “We have just made payments even easier by launching a purchase right register to our invoice service. Companies can assign purchase rights that entitles a person who is not an authorized signatory to make purchases with business invoice. This is a great service if you already have a B2C-webstore, but you would like to offer your products to businesses as well. All you have to do is add Svea’s invoice to your payment methods with the purchase right register,” says Karvinen. Purchase limits are adjustable and the purchase right can be withdrawn or temporarily deactivated. Authentication is easy with bank identifiers. “By choosing Svea business invoice, clients are covered for credit risks while they get more time for strategic matters as the entire invoicing process is handled for them,” adds Karvinen. |
BENEFITS OF THE PURCHASE RIGHT REGISTER • Safe shopping, even when the order is delivered outside the official address • Decreases risk of misuse • Fluent and safe B2B-trade for seller and buyer business
Svea Payments Oy is a subsidiary of Svea Bank in Finland. Svea is a European financial group that has offered its business and private customers more opportunities since 1981. From the very beginning their principle has been simple: to grow together with their clients by providing solutions to challenges and opportunities for success. Thus, Svea offers the most effortless online and in-store payment solutions, efficient debt collection services, and a comprehensive range of financial services to consumers and companies of any size. www.svea.fi Konsta Karvinen, CEO at Svea Payments Oy
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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AI & Business Strategies
Basics of Platform Economy
WHY DO 70% OF FINLAND’S BIGGEST COMPANIES NEED A “PLATFORM OF PLATFORMS”? And how technology at its best takes us towards humane leadership of the 2020s? TEXT: DAVID J. CORD
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inland’s largest organizations build their digital future based on human orientation and the socalled “servicification.” Seamless and smooth service experiences are created only with customers and employees in the center. However, point-like systems built over the decades often become roadblocks to such development. That is where a “platform of platforms” comes into play. Uber, Wolt, and Airbnb are examples of platform businesses that the media and thought leaders have talked about to the point of boredom. The distance between these “cloud-born” consumer services and large Finnish companies operating in more traditional industries sometimes seems light-years long. However, each of these organizations is in the middle of a transformation that fundamentally changes the manufacturing sector, retail, construction, healthcare, and public administration organizations, namely service-orientedness. We use services continuously: we ask for a new password from IT, request a week of vacation from HR, or ask for a snapshot of the customer’s recent transactions from the finance team. We apply for daycare, want to see our health history, or request additional funding for a long-drawn-out home renovation project.
The poor customer must deal with all of the platforms.
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The digital services we use usually need a technology platform – typically more than one. One platform manages customers, another HR processes, and a third implements AI solutions. The list continues. There are countless such technology platforms in large companies and public organizations. The platforms’ life cycles stretch from the 1990s to recent days, and at worst, the poor customer – internal or external – must deal with all of them. Point-like platforms often provide their users with an inconsistent user experience, a variety of logins, and processes whose gaps get patched up with routines such as filling out Excel forms. In addition, they often cause data to fragment into separate repositories, from which it is practically impossible to build insights to lead a business. I guess no one is saying that leadership in the 2020s service business is the same as in the 1990s. So why do we assume that platforms from the ’90s could support today’s leadership?
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
Because they can. Nearly three out of four of the 25 largest companies in Finland have already woken up to how the diversity of technology platforms at its harshest leaves behind intermittent processes, siloed data, and an outdated user experience. More than 70% of Finland’s largest companies use ServiceNow’s “platform of platforms” to support their digitalization journey. With ServiceNow’s platform, they can serve their internal customers uninterruptedly, no matter how many different parts of the organization and separate systems are involved. They build smooth and unified onboarding processes for their new hires and managers. They create feedback loops that stretch from the consumer to the outsourced contact center and all the way to the planning systems of the manufacturing shop floor – in real-time. They automate routines to allow more time for meaningful human-to-human interaction. And they create service experiences that are modern and convenient for the users, never mind the
number and lifecycle stage of the core systems that lie underneath.
Why do we assume 90’s platforms can support today’s leadership? Because they can. Putting people at the center and harnessing automation and data to serve the customer – both internally and externally – makes it possible to move towards what is excellent about the Ubers and Wolts: a service that flows naturally and as if unnoticed by the users. | www.servicenow.com
Juho Friberg Country Manager, Servicenow Finland
AI & Business Strategies
AI STILL HAS TO EARN ITS WINGS
Consumers are often uneasy about how the technology uses their data, says Saara Hyvönen, co-founder of AI consultancy DAIN Studios. Companies need to make AI more trustworthy.
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hen you next board an airplane, have a look at your fellow travelers and ask yourself who had to pay more, who less for the same kind of seat as yours. Airlines have, of course, always had variable prices for seats – from great-value economy-class deals to the-skyis-the-limit first-class offerings. But in recent years many carriers have adopted so-called dynamic pricing, which takes that idea a crucial step further. It uses artificial intelligence to price your ticket according to what the carrier knows about you – an algorithm takes all “your” data and decides whether you are in a position to pay more (or, yes, less) for that still empty seat. In theory, harnessing reams of individual data like this will produce the most consumer-friendly pricing practices – everybody on your aircraft only paid what they could and the route you’re frequenting is profitable (in a world in which unprofitable routes get cut). In practice, however, dynamic pricing can make consumers extremely uncomfortable. Its use by large online retailers over the years has stirred more public suspicion than delight; ride-hailing companies regularly spark controversy for so-called surge pricing, the practice of charging (a lot) more at times of peak-demand – or, allegedly, when your phone-battery level is low. The latter claim speaks volumes about one big risk of using AI to help with – or even take – business decisions. Consumers are often uneasy about what happens to their data in AI-powered “black boxes” of the companies they do business with, and even slivers of anecdote can, wrongly or rightly, create distrust that drives them away. Ironically, as AI usefully spreads to more and more industries and corporate functions, the danger of consumer backlashes against the technology is rising. If companies want to continue leveraging it, they must address these concerns by adopting a more transparent – and so more trustworthy – AI. TO GET THERE , companies have to adopt clear ethical guidelines about how they use algorithms and other tools. What should they be used for? I would draw the line at AI that subliminally manipulates behavior, but give a thumbs-up to dynamic pricing and many oth-
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er uses… On condition that we are clear about how AI should be used in each field – individual rights have to be respected, privacy protected, discrimination against and manipulation of customers ruled out. Companies have to test their algorithms against these tenets before using them commercially – and make sure these standards never slip once on the market. THE EU IS CODIFYING ETHICAL GUIDELINES in AI its Act, which could be passed in 2023 or 2024. So, companies better start to understand where they are using AI, how its algorithms work, what effects they are having on consum-
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ers. The AIA is looking to ban AI applications like social scoring that carry unacceptable risks, force high-risk applications in areas like critical infrastructure to undergo conformity assessments and even oblige limited-risk applications like chatbots into more transparency about their use of AI. Companies should not view this as a threat, but as an opportunity to make AI more trusted – dynamic pricing included. | DAIN Studios is a Finnish-German data, AI, and insights consultancy www.dainstudios.com
PHOTO: OPA LATVALA
Henry Nieminen, CEO, Insta Group.
CYBERSECURITY STRATEGY IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT FOR SECURITY MANAGEMENT AND EFFECTIVE GENERAL STRATEGY A cybersecurity strategy involves much more than making technical choices – ideally, it is a combination of insights into corporate management and technology.
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here has been a dramatic increase in digital threats in recent years, which makes the strategic management of cybersecurity more important than ever before. A cybersecurity strategy steers a company’s operations, helps prioritise measures and, most importantly, enables a proactive approach to cybersecurity.
A good cybersecurity strategy aligns with the company’s high-level strategy Cybersecurity has been traditionally viewed as a technical aspect only, and its implementation has been left to each company’s ICT department. In order to fully integrate cybersecurity into the corporate strategy, it must be linked to the company’s high-level strategy. In this regard, it is important to identify the risks and challenges imposed by digitalisation that are holding the company back from achieving its strategic objectives. Risks are of course specific to each company, but a digital disruption can harm customer cooperation, delivery chains or production flow. Other risks can include corporate espionage to gain a competitive advantage or confi-
dential information for stock exchange. Once the risks have been identified, the probabilities and financial impacts must be determined. Only then is it the time address specific malware programs or technical issues and make fact-based management decisions on what preparations need to be put in place. This requires the person preparing the cybersecurity strategy to be able to combine technological expertise and management acumen. It is the only way to talk about cybersecurity in a language the management understands.
Cybersecurity affects everyone – mobilisation based on metrics and division of responsibility Once the cybersecurity strategy and the relevant decisions have been made, it is time to deploy the strategy in practice. The first phase of mobilisation is to assign responsibility for each strategic element and determine the metrics for monitoring the implementation of the strategy. As a high-level metric, it is possible to monitor interruptions in the production chain or customer process, whereas lower levels focus more on practical matters, such as firewall
functionalities, network security and discrepancies related to data communications. At the same time, it is important to remember that the cybersecurity strategy affects every company employee. Simply repeating the message over and over again is not enough when incorporating behavioural models and processes into daily activities. Instead, the communications must provide justifications. It is far easier for employees to commit to processes and behavioural models, when they have a clear understanding of the impacts a possible problem may have on themselves and the activities of the company and its customers.
Updating the strategy based on situational changes An effective cybersecurity strategy is never static. Systems and threats advance quickly which means that those responsible for cybersecurity must keep a close eye on the environment and any situational changes. In the event of a significant shift in the risk level of any area, the cybersecurity strategy must be reviewed. This is also necessary when the company’s general strategy is amended. | Visit www.insta.fi to learn more.
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
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AI & Business Strategies
A UNIQUE WAY TO EXPERIENCE NATURE INDOORS Inside an office building in the heart of the pulsing city of Helsinki is not where you’d expect to find a compelling nature-experience. Opening its doors in August, the new Naava showroom presents you with the future of indoor design. Come and experience the power of nature indoors during the Design Helsinki 24.-25.8.2022.
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annerheimintie is one of the busiest streets in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. What is known for hotels, retailers, cafe’s and offices, is soon hosting a unique experience not commonly found in cities, not to mention indoors. One of the biggest trends in architecture and interior design is biophilic spaces creating indoor environments that mimic nature, fostering physiological and psychological needs that contemporary buildings often neglect. The undoubted benefits of designing human-friendly indoor spaces make this trend one that is here to stay. Decision-makers worldwide are becoming more aware of the effects working environments have on employees and other stakeholders. The role our surroundings play in our health and well-being will lead to new expectations towards the built environment, and the key element in re-populating our offices successfully will be to create workplaces where people want to spend their time in. We are en24
tering an era in which investing in people-centric interiors is no longer considered just as a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and keeping talent, but a must-have. The measures taken to improve the indoor environment will act as important indicators of company values and employee wellbeing. Using smart solutions, it is fairly easy to adapt to any existing space to meet the new standards expected from healthy workplaces. Naava offers a unique opportunity to come experience the most human-friendly office and pick up the best practices to make your workplace support the health, wellbeing and performance of the people spending time there. Naava is a healthtech-company reconnecting humanity with nature. Along with Naava’s own air-purifying green walls, the showroom exhibits the leading workplace solutions by world-renowned partners such as Vitra, Nespresso Professional, Be WTR, Signify, Taiga Concept, and Artome. |
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
You can visit the showroom during Design Helsinki 24.-25.8.2022 Register from QR-code
or book a time for a visit: www.naava.io/events/ design-helsinki-2022
AI & Business Strategies
Marko Rytkönen, Country Manager and Petri Herranen, Sales Manager at Vaimo Finland.
THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL COMMERCE – COMPOSABLE ARCHITECTURE
Vaimo helps companies improve customer experiences and increase sales with innovative Composable Commerce solutions. TEXT: DAVID J. CORD
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omposable Commerce, based on decoupled architecture, is a type of computing architecture where components are autonomous,” explains Marko Rytkönen, Country Manager for Vaimo Finland. “This means the front end is independent of the back end core commerce engine. It is integrated using APIs while independent services provide key business functionalities.” Unlike monolithic platform-based architecture, Composable Commerce is built modularly using only the applications a company needs. A mass retailer might want to efficiently handle enormous volumes, while a luxury store could focus on personalising the customer experience. Multiple teams can deliver their own components and remain independent. YOU DON’T NEED TO JUMP into the world of Composable Commerce at once; many companies are doing it gradually to better fit their business requirements and control ris-
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Composable Commerce is an approach which allows ecommerce development to be faster, more efficient and have better results. ks, for instance by first implementing only a separate product information management system or headless commerce frontend. “The key benefits are a unified core commerce engine, easy integrations, front end flexibility, and improved user experience and scalability, while marketing, sales and customer support are separated from technical development,” Rytkönen continues. Composable Commerce is an approach which allows ecommerce development to be faster, more efficient and have better results. Customers are more engaged and are more likely to try new services. The end goal is a
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
better customer experience and increased sales and profits. “Decoupled architecture is often the best solution for bigger companies who look for high flexibility and scalability,” says Rytkönen. “It allows for individualised ecommerce and easy integrations with best-of-breed solutions. While the investment needs can be substantial, when done correctly the ROI can be extremely fast.” TO SUCCEED WITH Composable Commerce, a company needs proper organisational and cost management skills. Also, managing several technology stacks requires a different way of thinking. “For a large company that is looking to grow and keep pace with ever-changing customer expectations, decoupled Composable architecture provides the infrastructure to scale and the flexibility to adapt quickly,” says Rytkönen. “If you want to learn more about the benefits of Composable Commerce, come to vaimo.fi and see how Vaimo can help you with your digital commerce needs.” |
Digital Health
HAS THIS MEGATREND ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED IN YOUR WORKPLACE? the company’s operations are both human and efficient, that is, humanly efficient. “Humanity is clearly the megatrend at the moment. Its meaning is understood, but it often remains detached. The human side and efficiency are treated as if at different tables,” Ikonen describes. Therefore, top management should also be interested in human efficiency. Flagging for value is not helpful if the staff experience is not practised in the same way as the customer experience.
Change will only succeed if it becomes a common cause and everyone recognizes that action is needed.
Experts will be even more demanding in the future. Terveystalo’s leading organizational psychologist, Outi Ikonen, helps companies harness human efficiency as a competitive advantage.
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t is known that running a business is not an easy task. Often, managers have a good view of operational management, but the psychological needs of employees and the phenomena of organizational dynamics are often overlooked, and the company is therefore unable to reach the best possible result and growth. Pioneering companies invest in combining operational efficiency and humanity, resulting in a thriving company where employees are genuinely motivated to pursue common goals every day. Experts in human efficiency are organizational psychologists who operate at the interface between the operational and the human. It is the combination of psychological and business understanding that distinguishes organizational psychology from traditional management consulting. “All organizations have some problems on the table, and very often those problems are related to combining the operational and human side. Even the best interaction training in the workplace will not help if the work structures are not working,” says Outi Ikonen, Terveystalo’s leading organizational psychologist. 28
Organizational problems may manifest themselves in meagre results, increase in sick leave or higher turnover. Often the underlying cause is the failure of change. Terveystalo’s organizational psychologists work with senior management to help clients to solve the problems and bring organizational psychological understanding to support the desired change. The purpose of cooperation is to locate the problem and create guidelines for what is the desired outcome. This is not traditional business coaching or advice: the purpose is to help the client thoroughly understand and solve the problem. “The process of collectively learning, identifying and realizing the issues together is really important,” Ikonen says.
Investing in human efficiency does not require magic tricks. Human efficiency may sound contradictory, but that is what companies should strive for. When work combines basic human psychological needs such as motivation, relevance, trust and emotion, as well as, clear goals on the operational side, smooth work processes, good management and open flow of information,
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
“In the working life of the future, experts will be even more critical and demanding. We need to invest in a humanly efficient working life”, Ikonen says. Investing in human efficiency does not require magic tricks, rather that the principle is being applied to all organisational structures. Also important is that the superiors have resources and knowledge to lead human efficiency. The task of an organizational psychologist is to make the somewhat outlined concept of human efficiency more understandable and simpler – and thus easier to lead. The collaboration with the company and Terveystalo’s organizational psychologist can take a few months or much longer. “Even in big changes, a year is a short time,” Ikonen says. Working involves constant dialogue and building trust. While working with the company’s management, it’s also important for subordinates to be aware of what’s going on in the company. “Ownership of change is often run by the company, and subordinates do not see it as their own business. However, change will only succeed if it becomes a common cause and everyone recognizes that change is needed,” Ikonen says. If your organization wants to encourage and support human efficiency, Terveystalo’s organisational psychologists consult corporate management to transform your operational structure to increase work well-being and results. Visit terveystalo.com to learn more. |
HELSINKI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL USES CUTTING-EDGE ROBOTS TO ASSIST SURGEONS Stop thinking of robots as the killers in science fiction movies. These robots could save your life. TEXT: DAVID J. CORD
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he Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) Heart and Lung Center is a European pioneer in robot surgery. Antti Vento, the director of the center, says it is because robots bring clear benefits. “For the patient, robotic technology means reduced pain, faster recovery and better surgical outcome,” he explains. “The operation is less invasive, which means less strain and fewer complications.” Robotic systems such as the Da Vinci Xi and Stereotaxis Genesis are significant investments, but they can drastically improve efficiency and lower other hospital costs, such as for inpatient care.
”The robots at HUS will enable more complicated surgeries to be performed.” “Robotic-assisted surgery is increasing rapidly for esophageal cancer,” Vento says. “The conventional cardiac surgery is also changing. We install aortic valves by catheter and repair mitral and tricuspid valves. This requires a high-tech hybrid operating room with imaging equipment. The world’s first new-generation magnetic navigation device Stereotaxis has been installed at the HUS Heart and Lung Center summer 2020. Robotics enables physicians to treat complex arrhythmias that are difficult or may be impossible to treat otherwise.”
European center of excellence HUS is rapidly becoming a European center of excellence for robot-assisted procedures and minimally invasive surgery, particularly for pulmonary, cardiac and general thoracic and esophageal procedures. “Helsinki University Hospital is one of the largest esophageal surgical centers in Europe,” says Vento. “Our surgeons are trained in centers of excellence in the US and we have already acquired exceptional expertise in the surgical treatment of benign esophageal diseases with our old robot. The new Xi model makes it possible to perform the most difficult operations.” There is a tendency for the centralization of healthcare, particularly with specialist procedures. Helsinki is becoming a center of excellence not just for Finland, but for northern Europe.
More robot helpers in future
”Helsinki University Hospital is one of the largest esophageal surgical centers in Europe”, says director of the center Antti Vento.
If you want to learn more about the specialist medical care at HUS’s Heart and Lung Center, come to hus.fi/en.
With aging demographics, there is an increased need for surgeries on elderly patients. The robots at HUS will enable more complicated surgeries to be performed with minimal invasiveness, helping improve the patients’ quality of life as well as reducing the overall costs of healthcare to society. “Becoming a center of excellence requires work, multi-professional collaboration and a commitment to excellence,” says Vento. “Pulmonary surgery and robotic esophageal surgery are a top product that only Helsinki can perform in Finland, and there aren’t many hospitals who can do it in other Nordic countries either. We have invested very heavily in this technology and developing the needed expertise.” |
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