Business Challenge
In 2023, Vianor began on a major ERP renewal project. Along the way their ambition grew beyond what standard ERP systems could not offer. They wanted to achieve higher level of detail and automation required for purchase price calculation and product cost management.
Transformation
The Price Engine was designed to calculate purchase prices both hierarchically and automatically. Pricing Engine key factors are import costs, supplier contracts and currency fluctuations. Calculated factors construct a baseline for inventory values. Price Engine feeds these factors into sales price and inventory valuation structures across all countries.
Results
The Price Engine has fulfilled Vianor’s goals. Purchase pricing updates that once took days are now completed in minutes, with recalculations running automatically across all regions. The company has gained both efficiency and accuracy, giving managers reliable data for daily operations and long-term decision-making.
We achieved exactly what we wanted: an easy-to-use, flexible solution tailored for us. It automated purchase pricing updates, gave us confidence in our data, and opened completely new possibilities to lead our business with data
Project Details
Why Vianor needed a new approach to pricing
Vianor operates in three countries and multiple currencies, managing more than 250,000 products that require daily valuation. For years, purchase pricing data was stored in over 50 Excel files, making updates slow, resource-intensive and error-prone.
“The complexity of managing purchase prices was simply too high for us to continue in Excel. We needed a system that could automate the process, handle the scale, and deliver accurate data for running the business,” says Janne Lindström, Head of Solutions at Vianor Holding.
Choosing IBM Planning Analytics as the foundation for the Vianor Price Engine
Vianor needed a solution that could replace dozens of spreadsheets with a single automated system capable of handling vast data volumes. Planning Analytics platform was already in use in another team in Vianor. This ensured easy integration. Just as importantly, Planning Analytics provided the computational power to process 250,000 products across multiple countries and currencies, while remaining flexible and cost-effective to tailor to Vianor’s needs.
Building the Vianor Price Engine with Intito
Together with Intito, Vianor created a Price Engine that pushed Planning Analytics into new territory.
“For me, this was enjoyable because it was something different. We hadn’t built a model like this before, and it was exciting to dive into Vianor’s purchase pricing world and create something entirely new together,” says Joonas Keskinen, Senior Consultant at Intito.
The Price Engine was designed to:
- Integrate with Vianor’s ERP and data warehouse
- Calculate and update purchase prices hierarchically and automatically
- Handle import costs, supplier contracts and currency fluctuations
The project was characterized by close teamwork. Intito’s consultants worked directly with Vianor’s business owner in agile sessions, testing and adjusting on the spot.
“What I really liked was the low-threshold way of working together. We didn’t need big meetings. Instead, we built the solution side by side in Teams, testing and adjusting right away. Joonas understood our business immediately, which made the cooperation smooth and efficient,” says Lindström.
How the Vianor Price Engine on IBM Planning Analytics delivers efficiency and better data
The Price Engine quickly transformed pricing and inventory processes. Its benefits are clear:
- Accuracy of purchase prices and inventory values
Over 250,000 products are valued correctly every day, even with decentralized purchasing. The system accounts for currency rates, campaigns, discounts, supplier rules, and production costs to ensure precise purchase prices and inventory values. - Data for business management and audit trail
All product’s price attributes are tracked, creating a complete audit trail. The data in Price Engine enables comparisons over time and across countries and helps the business react quickly to price changes. - Agility, adaptability and cost efficiency
Built in just three months, the Price Engine has proven highly cost-efficient. New calculation features and updates to pricing rules can be added quickly, making it easy to adapt to changing needs. - Efficient and automated purchase price management
Manual work with 50+ Excels has been replaced by automated updates three times a day. What once required two people and days of effort can now be accomplished by one person within minutes.
A flexible platform that opens new possibilities
For Vianor, the Price Engine was only the beginning. Once purchase pricing and valuation challenges were solved, the company saw the broader potential of Planning Analytics platform.
Since then, Vianor has built additional models such as a production cost calculation model for tire retreading and a leasing valuation model. Developed on Planning Analytics, these share the same strengths as Price Engine: reliable automation, seamless integration and scalability.
As Janne Lindström summarizes:
“We achieved exactly what we wanted: an easy-to-use, flexible solution tailored for us. It automated purchase pricing updates, gave us confidence in our data, and opened completely new possibilities to lead our business with data”.
Solution Components
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• IBM Planning Analytics
