Fazer operates in the markets for bakery products, confectionery and plant-based products. With a turnover of 1.1 billion euros, Fazer is one of the leading food companies in the Nordic region. Fazer’s well-known products are exported to more than 40 countries. With operations in eight countries, Fazer employs around 6 000 people in its offices, factories, bakeries, mills, cafés and bakery shops. You can read more about Fazer here.

“Today, Fazer is pretty much an industrial producer of high-quality consumer products. I have worked at Fazer for more than 21 years, the last 13 of which have been in corporate management. I am the main user of both IBM Planning Analytics and our reporting environment. A large part of my working time is spent on management reporting, planning processes and preparing long-term forecasts,” says Sami Rytkönen, Fazer’s Senior Manager, Group Business Control and Planning.

Fazer and Intito’s long-standing cooperation started in 2014.

Fazer is one of Intito’s first customers. The cooperation started in 2014. Along the way there have been many different projects, but Intito’s experts have remained largely the same. Over the long period of cooperation, Intito’s consultants have gained a deep understanding of Fazer’s business and broad environment.

“For a long time, we have been building new, developing and improving our old applications. Intito’s consultants have built up a comprehensive picture of our environment. When I heard that we were moving to the Intito CARE service contract, I was happy because I knew it would save me a lot of time,” says Sami Rytkönen.

The latest development project involved migrating from the old IBM Planning Analytics workbooks to the new interface. Now Fazer’s environment runs on the IBM Planning Analytics Workspace interface. The project started in September 2022 and went into production in February 2023. During the transition phase, an intensive support period, the HYPERCARE model, was agreed upon to ensure a smooth transition. During the HYPERCARE period, there were hardly any requests for support. The migration went well and the day-to-day running of Intito CARE – alongside Fazer’s other IBM Planning Analytics applications – started smoothly.

Intito care provides Fazer with comprehensive care.

Intito CARE is a comprehensive package of services. It provides Fazer’s IT team and business with support, maintenance and development services as well as comprehensive care. In addition to maintenance services, Intito CARE is an assurance that a consultant who knows the customer’s model is available for small development needs flexibly and quickly.

Henna Pajarinen is Intito CARE Specialist, and she is responsible for leading Fazer’s Intito CARE. “I have enjoyed this cooperation a lot. Fazer has a great IT team. We work in good understanding, openly discussing. Based on customer feedback, we develop our service to meet their changing needs. Intito CARE includes things agreed to ensure smooth cooperation and everyday life. In principle, however, it is about genuinely caring for the whole client,” says Henna Pajarinen.

“We have been under Intito’s maintenance services for a long time. When Henna joined our CARE team, it clearly brought more structure and clarity to our work. Today, Henna works between us and Intito’s consultants. The regular meetings provide a rhythm to our everyday work and help us to keep the overall situation well under control,” says Kalev Soosaar, Fazer’s Senior ICT Specialist, Data Management Services.

Consultants who are familiar with the client’s environment form the backbone of Intito CARE. The service commitment guarantees both a rapid response and a thorough investigation of the content of the tickets. The transparency of the service model ensures that Fazer’s experts do not have to wonder whether the ticket queue is progressing on time. “For me personally, Intito CARE has meant freed up working time. Intito CARE makes sure that the expertise we need is readily available,” says Kalev Soosaar.

Intito care keeps everyday life running smoothly, even during the busiest times.

The importance of Intito CARE is highlighted at the busiest times of Fazer’s financial year – for example, when making a forecast. That’s when a large number of Fazer employees are working in the IBM Planning Analytics Workspace environment within a few days. In such a situation, even a small problem quickly accumulates and help needs to be available without delay. “In the event of a problem, our entire group report could be delayed by days. It’s terribly important for us to be able to prioritize the most critical actions quickly. Intito CARE has worked well even in the busiest moments,” says Sami Rytkönen.

During the almost 10 years of cooperation between Fazer and Intito, Intito has grown quite a bit as a company from, in the words of Sami Rykönnen, “a consulting firm of the owners and a few of the best TM1 experts”. “Personally, I have been pleased that the turnover of consultants has been quite low. Our cooperation works well and Intito CARE makes sure that everyday life runs smoothly. We will certainly continue to work with Intito on small projects,” says Sami Rytkönen.