Normet

People-driven ERP renewal accelerates Normet's global growth

Change management helped Normet succeed in a business-critical ERP project. The employee-inclusive system overhaul improves data-driven management and lays the foundation for sustainable international success.

CHALLENGE

Harmonising operations to drive growth

Normet has grown from a local mechanical engineering company to a global technology company developing innovative solutions for the mining, tunnelling, and construction industries. However, rapid growth brought challenges to business management and scalability: the company’s operations worldwide were fragmented, with different systems and operating models used in various countries.

Normet wanted to unify its business processes, operating models, and IT infrastructure across its organisation, which operates in over 30 countries. The goal was to drive business growth by improving customer experience and data-driven management. Achieving these goals required a unified Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

– Successfully implementing the ERP system across the company was crucial for our growth. Without the new ERP system, our growth would stall. Successful implementation was also a security issue, as the previous system had reached the end of its lifecycle, says Normet’s IT Director Suvi Eväkoski, who leads the company’s IT project office.

Successfully implementing the ERP system across the company was crucial for our growth. Without the new ERP system, our growth would stall.

Suvi Eväkoski / IT Director, Normet

SOLUTION

Change management before technology

Normet understood that the ERP project was not just a technical exercise. Therefore, people-driven management was part of the project, and the ERP pilot project was carried out in collaboration with Gofore. The cooperation focused on renewing work methods and tools within the company.

– ERP projects ultimately involve people’s operating models, so we must integrate people-driven change management throughout the project. We also wanted to develop change management models that we could utilise in other projects, says Suvi Eväkoski.

The project team implemented an inclusive approach with the customer to drive the change. Employees were involved early in the new ERP system and could see its benefits concretely, reducing any resistance to change and enhancing commitment. The project group conducted change measurements during the pilot to monitor employee commitment and views, which provided valuable information for management’s decision-making and enabled targeted support and communication.

Additionally, the team organised over a hundred training and coaching sessions during the pilot project to prepare employees for the change. The key user network, which trained end-users in new operating models, processes, and systems, was central to these efforts. Gofore also helped management and supervisors articulate the vision and goals of the change to their teams.

The implementation went smoothly without business disruptions, as examining the factory's metrics does not reveal when it occurred.

Eetu Pekkanen / Global Production Director, Normet

OUTCOME

Performance-enhancing pilot paves the way for change

Normet aims to roll out the same ERP system globally in a controlled manner. They took the first step towards this goal when the introduction of the new ERP system in Finland exceeded expectations.

– The implementation went smoothly without business disruptions, as examining the factory’s metrics does not reveal when it occurred. Well-planned and comprehensive training ensured that employees were ready to use the new system effectively straight from day one, says Normet’s Production Development Director, Eetu Pekkanen.

The new ERP system eliminated several manual work steps and standardised data handling, providing valuable information for decision-making. At the same time, the system’s performance took a significant leap: for instance, the renewal reduced the time spent on production’s material requirements planning from several hours to a few minutes.

Normet and Gofore’s collaboration continues as the ERP system is rolled out globally in the coming years. At the same time, new productivity-enhancing features are continuously developed on top of the newly built system.

– This long-term project will strengthen Normet’s position as a global player and create a stable foundation for sustainable growth. We will achieve significant improvements in data-driven management as we move from using 15 separate ERP systems to a single unified one, comments Suvi Eväkoski.

Want to know more about successful ERP implementation?

Watch our webinar recording, where Normet's CEO Ed Santamaria discusses how to lead ERP transformations.

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Project highlights

Challenge

Normet wanted to lay the foundation for sustainable international growth by unifying the business processes of its organisation, which operates in over 30 different countries. The goal was to create scalable change management models and successfully implement the new ERP system.

Approach

The ERP project started with a pilot implementation utilising people-driven and inclusive change management. The cooperation included creating a key user network to support the implementation, organising hundreds of training and coaching sessions, and measuring change to ensure employee commitment. At the same time, models for future change management were developed.

Outcome

The successful pilot implementation of the new ERP system lays the foundation for phased international implementation. A unified system harmonises data handling, reduces manual work, and enables better data-driven management. The successful ERP project strengthens Normet’s position as a global player and creates a foundation for sustainable growth.

Important figures

160 training events
~500 trained end-users
9 pilot project duration in months

EXPERTISE

The skills & competences utilised in the project

Get in touch!

Outi Määttä

Director, Industry

outi.maatta@gofore.com

+358 40 756 2991

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