Valmet Automotive, a Finnish full-service provider to the automotive industry, has upgraded its EDI messaging system to better meet the changing needs of the industry. At the same time, CGI has taken over the responsibility of the company’s data transmission.
In the automotive industry, electronic messaging facilitates, among other things, order analysis, quicker deliveries, and numerous direct and indirect savings in areas like order processing and invoicing. Automotive companies have been pioneers in EDI messaging since the 1980s, and EDI has played a crucial role in production flow ever since.
One of these companies is Valmet Automotive, which has manufactured over 1.8 million cars for several prominent car brands in Uusikaupunki, Finland. In 2021, Valmet Automotive also commenced large-scale production of battery systems at its Uusikaupunki plant.
"For instance, a particular wiring harness intended for a specific car model must arrive on a designated day. Achieving such precision would be challenging without a functioning supply chain data transfer or EDI system," says Timo Tuominen, IT Infrastructure Manager at Valmet Automotive.
With the EDI project, we wanted to upgrade our technology and move from SaaS solutions to a more service-oriented approach.
IT Infrastructure Manager, Valmet Automotive
Freeing up resources for work related to data transmission
In 2021, Valmet Automotive's EDI system was nearing the end of its life cycle. A modern, more service-oriented alternative was sought to replace it.
"Earlier, Valmet Automotive was in charge of managing and overseeing the data transfer. With the EDI project, we aimed to enhance the technology and transition from SaaS solutions to a more service-oriented operating model," Tuominen explains.
CGI had recently upgraded its messaging technology, switching to Compacer's EDBIC solution, which Valmet Automotive was already familiar with.
"Thanks to CGI's investment in electronic data interchange, we can now provide our customers with the most advanced service delivery platform on the market for messaging and digitalization of business processes. We have over 5,000 integrations and a robust network of connections for exchanging various types of messages between partners," says Susanna Virtanen, Director Consulting Expert at CGI.
Scaling the project
Despite the promising beginning, the EDI project faced its own challenges, often related to the rapid changes in the automotive industry. At the project's outset, it was clear that a second data transfer initiative would run concurrently with the EDI migration. This second initiative was related to the series production of a new car model that commenced in October at the Uusikaupunki car factory.
"The new car project increased the overall workload of the electronic data interchange system. Naturally, we had some preparation in advance for our customer's upcoming production. Both data transfer projects were executed simultaneously," says Tuominen.
In the future, the use of data transmitted via EDI will also be developed for use in the logistics chain for finished cars. However, this further development phase has not yet been scheduled.
