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Microsoft ERP Low-code Energy

Case Oomi

Digia built a high-quality financial management business platform for a large Finnish electricity company – The solution came in under budget

Oomi is a joint venture of ten Finnish energy companies that serves roughly 400,000 customers. Digia built Oomi a high-quality financial management business platform that will help the company grow in areas such as renewable energy. The project was a resounding success, even coming in under budget, says CFO Piia Passila.

 

In 2020, ten significant Finnish electricity companies, including Vantaa Energy, Oulun Energia and Lahti Energia, launched a new joint venture named Oomi. This was the birth of one of Finland’s largest power marketers.

The company’s goals remain ambitious. Oomi is growing and developing new business operations. Its ambitions include developing significant new renewable energy and energy efficiency services.

CFO Piia Passila explains that Oomi was built in a short timeframe and launched its operations with a lighter financial management solution. It was not long before the limitations of this solution became apparent. A better and more powerful business platform was needed.

What we did

What we used

This was an all-round good project for us. I don’t know if you can ask for more. After all, Digia is an experienced supplier and a surefire choice.

Piia Passila, CFO, Oomi

A new business platform that supports Oomi’s growth

“We knew we didn’t just want to improve the capabilities of our financial management software incrementally; we needed to ensure the company’s ability to grow. We wanted scalability, flexibility and adaptability to the needs of our business operations”, Passila says.

The new system needed to be adaptable to situations such as acquisitions and internationalisation. Three practical considerations were emphasised in Oomi’s choice of solution.

First, the company wanted to boost the efficiency of financial management by automating routine tasks. One early target for automation was the circulation of purchase invoices.

Second, the company wanted to improve financial process controls to prevent abuse and mitigate against human error. “Something as simple as approval limits ensures that invoices cannot be approved by people who don’t have the authority to do so”, Passila explains.

The third focus area was ease of use and user friendliness. Passila points out that this area is essential because processes like handling invoices can involve a significant chunk of the organisation.

The complicated project called for an experienced partner

Ultimately, Oomi settled on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance ERP software for the new solution. It offers the necessary financial management tools and simultaneously functions as a broader business platform that can be expanded flexibly according to Oomi’s needs.

The call for tenders went out to four IT-sector companies. “Digia set themselves apart fairly quickly. The company had good references and plenty of experience in these kinds of systems. Digia is also an important Microsoft partner”, Passila says.

The project was complicated by an unusually complex project organisation, consisting of personnel from five separate companies. Oomi’s financial management has been outsourced to an external partner, and they were an integral participant in the project. Also involved were separate partners that have been responsible for Oomi’s integrations, reporting and technical maintenance.

“This was another reason why it was important to get an experienced IT partner on board. At the beginning of the project, we were concerned about the size of the project organisation, but thanks to good project management and communication, work proceeded according to plan and everything went well”, Passila says.

Two factors contributed to the success of the project – even bringing it in under budget

The project began in earnest in the autumn of 2022. Passila explains that two measures were taken to ensure the project's success. First, the project team wanted to develop Oomi’s financial management in easily manageable stages. Initially, the project focused on core financial management functions such as payment transactions, bookkeeping and reporting, with other features to be added later.

“The more things you develop at once, the more complex the project becomes, and you inevitably run into unforeseen issues. Another danger is that business needs and requirements can change during the project”, Passila says.

As far as possible, Oomi also wanted to keep to a standard implementation to ease system maintenance and future development. Minor adjustments were made to financial management processes to adapt them to the new system where necessary.

The implementation of the system was a resounding success. “Progress was well in hand throughout the duration of the project. At no point did we run into any major challenges or problems”, Passila says.

The project was completed in the autumn of 2023 after about one year of work. “We were able to stay on schedule very well, and we even came in slightly under our estimated hours and budget”, Passila says.

The team at Oomi feel that the company’s financial management is now on solid foundations. Passila explains that targets such as system scalability and adaptability, additional controls and ease of use have been reached. The new system also boosts the efficiency of financial management processes and reduces manual workload.

Oomi intends to continue developing and improving the system and the company’s financial management processes. In collaboration with Digia, the company is set to start implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365’s invoicing module for new services.

“We have no hesitation recommending Digia as a supplier. Cooperation was seamless, and the project progressed at a healthy pace throughout”, Passila says. “I don’t know if you can ask for more. After all, Digia is an experienced supplier and a surefire choice.”