Valmet – Global delivery of business and engineering application management

Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries.

Client challenge: Valmet had a scattered vendor landscape across hundreds of IT and OT applications, which tied up their IT resources in managing these and increased operational expenses over time. Instead, they wanted IT to move from being a support function towards a more strategic, value-adding business partner that contributes to Valmet’s future success. They, therefore, needed a global partner to manage their existing applications.

Solution: Capgemini analysed the needs of the full range of over 100 business-critical applications and planned and executed a transition process to take control and deliver the services more efficiently.

Benefits:

• Freeing up Valmet’s IT staff from managing services and supporting users means they can focus on innovation and driving business growth
• The expert engineering knowledge of Capgemini means the range of applications supported isn’t limited to traditional business applications
• Consistently delivering on cost-saving targets allows Valmet to invest the savings back into development

Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. Their automation systems and flow control solutions serve an even wider base of process industries. The company has existed for over 200 years, and its current form was created in 2013 after a demerger. They’re a Finnish company but have a global presence.

Following this, the company made a strategic choice to make IT core to their future growth and, to help release its potential, they decided to work with partners on their existing services so their IT staff could focus on innovation opportunities.

The challenge was to identify a single, globally capable partner for Valmet’s application management services. This would include a range of over 100 business-critical applications and so require a carefully planned transition process to take control and deliver the services more efficiently.

“IT in Valmet has always been a business-critical function that is supposed to contribute to growth and profit. We wanted to shift the focus of our work to future topics and not on running what already exists.”

Janne Puustinen, CIO at Valmet

Selecting A Transformation and Applications Management Partner

Valmet were extremely thorough in the process of choosing a partner. Even though there was no pre-existing relationship with Capgemini, “what got our attention, in the beginning, was their strength in engineering, PLM (product lifecycle management), CAD systems and so on. It made them an obvious choice to include in the process.” says Jukka Länsimies, Director, IT Business Solutions at Valmet.

Beyond the technical and practical demands of the process, it was also considered a vital part of the relationship that any Valmet employees who moved between the companies would be going somewhere they would be well looked after. “It was important to us that they got a proper new home and a promising career,” says Janne Puustinen, CIO at Valmet.

Capgemini were able to stand out from the other options with its novel approach to analysing and representing the challenges. They presented themselves as an ideal fit for Valmet’s needs.

When it came to making the decision, Janne says, “Every candidate has strengths and weaknesses in different places. In our case, the range of different applications was critical, and Capgemini convinced us of their expertise”.

Meeting the Capgemini team in person was also crucial to Janne, who added, “We visited and saw what you were doing with the other customers. It was important as ‘seeing is believing.’ Your references were also good.”

The Transition Process

The advantage of working with an experienced partner like Capgemini became quickly clear to Valmet. After preplanning was complete, the actual process began in March 2019 and was completed by June 2019. “Capgemini has done it before, and the transition was very well managed and organised,” said Jukka Länsimies, Director, IT Business Solutions at Valmet.

“Capgemini is easy to work with, and we can trust what you are promising.”

Jukka Länsimies, Director, IT Business Solutions at Valmet

This was only the beginning, though. “The transition is only the starting point of the journey. We did not sign this agreement because we wanted to transfer people or complete a successful transition. We signed it for the better future that comes with having a trusted partner in place to take care of those application packages,” added Janne.

Creating long term relationships where customers know they can rely on Capgemini’s expertise and experience is central to our partnerships.

The Services And Applications Management

The partnership between Valmet and Capgemini covers over 100 applications, including engineering product development, product lifecycle management, and other technologies.

“The scope of the agreement is the ongoing management services and future management services,” says Jukka.

These business-critical applications include recognisable names like Salesforce through to small applications where time was carefully taken to clarify what was needed in their service.

Capgemini’s strength in engineering meant they were able to handle those as well as the business applications that are more widely supported.

Rating The Partnership

The relationship is shortly to enter its fourth year, which shows the continued confidence of Valmet in Capgemini’s services.

“The Capgemini relationship has helped improve the performance of Valmet. I would take the same decision again.”

Janne Puustinen, CIO at Valmet

“We haven’t had any kind of catastrophe or usage break since the partnership began… We have also done many standard running processes together like upgrades and developments delivered on time and on budget,” says Jukka.

It’s also worth considering how things have gone more on a more granular level. Jukka says, “In engineering applications, you have very good knowledge”, and when considering a specific product, “We are happy with your Salesforce work”.

“Overall, the SLAs have been met very well,” adds Janne.

“Our aim has been to balance the client proximity, collaboration and delivery efficiencies by using an optimized mix of local and offshore resources.”

Samu Nurmi, Account Executive at Capgemini.

The Financial Performance

“I think we are getting value for our money,” says Janne, in a sentence that sums up a positive outcome from the partnership. At the same time, he’s keen to highlight, “This was not a cost savings initiative. It was about taking control of our IT strategy. However, the significant savings have allowed us to invest that money back into the business”.

“We have been following the business case that was built and are on the right track. We now have a more optimised service delivery which has brought significant savings. Capgemini committed to year-on-year cost savings and have delivered on that,” he added.

The Final Word On The Capgemini Partnership For Valmet

The word used to describe Capgemini as a transformation partner taking on some of their services by Janne Puustinen, CIO at Valmet, is “Capable”. This ideally sums up the essence of reliability and competence that such responsibility requires.

The fact that these business-critical applications have been entrusted to Capgemini for a fourth year also speaks for itself