The collaboration between PostNord Strålfors and Telia has lasted for over twenty years at a Nordic level. In Finland, Telia has been a Strålfors customer for printing services for 15 years. In 2022, the cooperation in Finland expanded to digital distribution channels when Telia decided to consolidate its partner network and chose Strålfors as its end-to-end partner for invoice delivery.
– We choose a partner with whom we have enjoyed working for years, and where the collaboration has been honest and based on mutual trust," says Pasi Tolvanen, Department Manager at Telia Finland, with a smile.
The project kicked off in late 2022 and was completed ahead of schedule in 2023, despite the fact that the undertaking was highly extensive. Tolvanen is convinced that the people involved in the project played a key role in its success.
–Everything went exactly as we wanted. The success of the project was made possible by having the right people from both Telia and Strålfors at the table to discuss matters. Building on our previous collaboration, we had already developed a common language, which helped us understand one another. Furthermore, shared goals and a desire to co-develop flexibly ensured mutual success, Tolvanen concludes.
Mika Penttilä, CEO of Strålfors, agrees with Tolvanen’s views
– The three most important success factors in this project were trust, a shared will—meaning common goals—and open communication among the project members. These same factors actually apply to any successful project, Penttilä points out
"We listen to the customer. That is where the impulse comes from, and then we execute it together."
Centralizing invoice delivery with Strålfors has brought significant benefits to Telia.
– In customer service, we are now able to serve our customers even better, as we have a single system where we can see the status of both paper and electronic invoices; when and how the invoice was delivered and through which channel. Naturally, this also improved our internal customer experience, Tolvanen says.
The benefits also include joint development work
Our partnership is based, above all, on trust, openness, and honesty, as well as our shared desire to be involved in building each other’s success. This kind of collaboration enables us to develop together and grow together
Pasi Tolvanen Department Manager, Telia Finland
A shared roadmap
Since the completion of the project, the collaboration has already led to new initiatives and ideas. Through a series of workshops, the companies are diving into new payment solutions and other measures to improve the customer experience. They are also seeking new ways to increase the proportion of digital invoices, even though Telia's levels are already high.
– Broken down by business area, 87% of our invoices on the consumer side are digital, 96% on the business side, and 97% on the operator side. But there is further potential considering how large and broad our customer base is. The degree of digitalization is one of our indicators, and I believe that with this strategic collaboration, we can develop it and move forward, says Tolvanen.
Penttilä agrees with Tolvanen:
– A win-win mindset and shared incentives form the core of what we do. This project is yet another example of how important trust, openness, honesty, and flexibility are between the project participants. When those elements are in place, you can openly raise even the more difficult issues. We are therefore continuing on the same path in our future development work, says Penttilä.
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