Archives: Työt

“The fastest and the most reliable processes in the industry” is one of Lindström’s key goals. The same ambitious approach also describes Lindström Group’s strategy process.

Lindström Group renews its strategy more thoroughly every five years and updates it annually. To work on the strategy 2016-2019, Lindström wanted to have partners who are able to include the viewpoints of the entire company in the process and who have a strong experience in formulating Group strategies with well-established tools for the strategy process. The strategy work had to be thorough in order to reach a simple, understandable and well-grounded outcome. Another important goal of the process was to produce clear actions and priorities for successful strategy implementation.

”Lindström operates in 24 countries. In every country, the service portfolio is different due to the distinct development stage of the market. This also added its own complexity to the process.”

In cooperation with Fountain Park, Capful tailored a strategy process for Lindström, in which all relevant aspects were taken into account while making the necessary choices. Firstly, the changes in the operating environment, as well as, the organizational development needs were identified by using the virtual brainstorm method of Fountain Park. Secondly, the changes in the operating environment were analyzed and processed with Capful in project meetings and market-specific workshops arranged by Capful. Based on the analysis of the business environment, Lindström’s internal development targets and the vision 2020 adopted by the Board of Directors, the strategic themes of Lindström were selected and crystallized in the management team’s workshops.

The core of the new strategy is a clear set of measures that are now being developed further. There is a high level of motivation and enthusiasm to implement the new strategy.

– Juha Laurio, CEO, Lindström

Interested?
Let’s talk

The advancement of the fourth industrial revolution increases the uncertainty of the future and also has a strong impact on the field of occupational pension insurances. The importance of data analytics and automation increases in improving efficiency and customer relationship management. Customers ask for personalized and flexible services that are available at different times and in different ways. Fintechs and international companies are striving to challenge financial corporations that operate as important distribution channels for occupational pension funds. In addition, blockchain technologies create new operating models for the industry. Many traditional companies are afraid of losing direct contact with customers when tech companies enter the customer interface. Which ecosystems will win and on what platforms will future services be built? In addition, robotization, servitization, service platforms and self-employment change the nature of employment relationships. How, where and by what means will the TyEL (Employment insurance for employees) and the YEL (Insurance for Self-Employed Persons) payments be paid in the future? Among other things, these issues were analyzed in a scenario-based strategy work focusing on how the employment pension company Elo can utilize the changes enabled by digitization.

Starting point

• Digitization and technology developments have a strong impact on the earnings-related pension sector and on the financial companies operating as key distribution channels for pension insurance companies.
• Digitization involves a great deal of uncertainty and disruptive discontinuities, which are difficult to analyze through future predictions.
• Views on the pace of progression and the impact of digitization development vary. However, there are no right or wrong answers, hence, finding a way to deal with alternative futures and their impacts has to be foun

What was done?

• Scenarios focusing on digitization in the occupational sector were established: five different scenarios in which the pace, intensity, content and impacts of digitization development on Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company vary.
• Contingency plans for five different scenarios were prepared. In addition, a list of the necessary measures to be taken as a basis for strategy work (which should be implemented regardless of the scenario in which the sector is starting to develop) was identified.
• Elo’s own strategic options regarding the ambition, operational models, organization and priorities of digitization were described. Strategic intentions, policies and key actions were then defined based on systematic evaluation of the different strategic options.

What was achieved?

• The scenario-based strategy work encouraged an exchange of ideas in various discussions and enabled constructive processing of the uncertainties and disruptions produced by digitization within the company.
• The project established the basis for the strategic direction of utilizing Elo’s digitization until 2020. The key conclusions and guidelines were crystallized into five strategic themes.
• Based on the project, it was possible to define underlying assumptions for the development of Elo’s operating environment. By monitoring the validity of these assumptions, Elo is now able to strengthen its responsiveness to industry changes.

Interested in scenarios?
Let’s talk!

The Energy Future Project identified possible developments in the future of energy customers and their energy use.

The major changes in the energy sector at the moment can be summarized into four themes:

1. Renewable energies and low carbon energies
2. Digitization and technological development
3. Changing energy market actors
4. The increasing importance of consumers.

The Energy Future Project discussed these themes from an energy customer’s perspective.

The project was organized in six workshops that involved energy operators and stakeholders widely. The workshops were divided into the following customer groups: households, mobility and logistics, service sector, manufacturing industry as well as farms, countryside and leisure housing. Each workshop discussed how energy change, technological development and servitization could affect the everyday life, working life, operating models and energy use of each customer group. In addition, the workshops sought answers to how energy customers themselves and their choices affect the energy system. The timespan under observation was until 2030 and Finland was the main context.

The key issues of the project were: What is the customer’s position in the energy market of the future? Is the energy sector able to develop services that are genuinely consumer-friendly and help consumers in gaining a competitive advantage? Are there going to be more incentives that support the introduction of new and innovative energy solutions?

Successful workshops were a prerequisite for a good implementation of the project. The challenge was to form a versatile team which is able to identify genuinely customer-driven benefits and new opportunities in the ongoing change in the energy market. With Capful’s competent guidance, we succeeded in this and obtained a lot of concrete suggestions for further work.

Jukka Leskelä, CEO of Finnish Energy

Starting point

• The consumer and customer perspectives are gaining strength in the energy sector both in legislation and in operations of energy companies.
• Finnish Energy strives to take account of the energy use of customers and to become a forerunner and a promoter of the discussion of innovative development of the energy system.
• The aim was to involve broadly different energy customer groups and to gather their views on the potential and desirable developments of energy use.

What was done?

• The key trends in different customer groups’ operating environment, uncertainties and assumptions about the future development of the energy sector and the use of energy were identified.
• The impacts of future developments were assessed: What opportunities and risks the supposed developments would bring to different customer groups, if they were realized?
• Proposals for key stakeholders were created: What measures should energy companies, policy-makers, lobbyists and clients themselves need take in order to exploit future opportunities and avoid risks?

What was achieved?

• The customer-oriented future image of Finnish Energy created in the project forms a base for open customer-driven energy debate in Finland and a broad-minded environment for lobbying.
• Views of different customer groups’ about the desirable development of the energy sector and the measures considered in the field were gathered from which cross-cutting themes between distinct customer groups were identified in order to support lobbying and the development of the industry.
• The output of the project is a story-based, visual description of Finnish Energy Future. The final outcome of the project is going to be released in early 2018.

Interested in scenarios or the future of energy?

Let’s talk!