The transparency enabled by the new tool has improved Boliden Kokkola’s project management, increasing predictability and efficiency.

Boliden Kokkola has made work more efficient in its activities related to investment projects thanks to Microsoft’s project management tool Project for the Web, i.e., the current Planner with premium features.

The investment portfolio management tool configured by Solu Digital has significantly facilitated investment project management at Boliden Kokkola by enabling better evaluation, monitoring, and decision-making.

Increased transparency improves project portfolio management

The tool’s most significant advantage has been the increase in transparency in managing a portfolio of more than 400 investment projects.

“We set out to find an overall solution that would provide visibility to our projects over the entire project’s life cycle, starting with an idea that is selected for implementation through portfolio management and then implemented,” says Boliden Kokkola’s investment manager, Jere Penttinen.

The company typically does 60–100 projects a year, so transparently managing ongoing projects was also necessary.

Jere emphasizes how the tool has enabled different stakeholders to visualize the project and plan prospects, which has helped discuss what needs to be done and in what order.

“When we have transparency, it allows the company’s executive management to make choices, guide the company’s operations in line with the strategy, and ensure that the projects we do and we spend our money on align with our strategy,” says Jere.

Better predictability for working

The improvement in transparency has made Boliden Kokkola’s operations more efficient and enabled better predictability.

“We have significantly better up-to-date situational information about where we are going all the time. Our planning for the coming years is much better today,” says Marko Salmi, the company’s digitization manager.

According to him, the feedback from various stakeholders from the Boliden Group and the local  plant’smanagement has been commendable.

The department heads of the production facility are particularly pleased that they now have better visibility into their departments’ future tasks. The project leaders also praised the concrete tools that help them perform their work better.

Communication as the cornerstone of smooth cooperation

Solu Digital’s expertise and ability to understand Boliden Kokkola’s needs were decisive factors in starting the cooperation. The cooperation started with light concept testing to confirm the tool’s applicability.

Jere especially praises the response time and service he has received from Solu Digital: “When we have made some change proposals or requests, they have been implemented quickly.”

Marko thanks Solu Digital’s experts for their know-how, service attitude, and personal communication: “Many times, a ticket is created somewhere, the recipient completely misunderstands it, and something other than expected is done. We have not experienced such challenges in this cooperation because the direct communication with the software developer has worked effectively.”

Jere and Marko also praise open and low-threshold communication on both sides. They say the discussions have been good and constructive, and they appreciate being told if an idea is not feasible.

Centralizing project information in one place, fast and precise communication, and expert service have been critical factors in introducing the new tool for project management.

Read the entire article about the collaboration between Boliden and Solu Digital here