CUSTOMER CASE | CAR RETAIL & SALES
Keskusautohalli develops its operations empowered by automation and AI
Author
PAIJU KOIVULA
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At Keskusautohalli they wanted to streamline the use of business resources, and the solution was found in robotics. After the first implementation, automation was scaled up and now automation supports the company’s car sales and customer service, as well as makes inventory management and financial administration more efficient.
Keskusautohalli began using software robotics in 2020, when the company was looking for a solution to save working hours and make daily routine work easier.
"We wanted to save working hours and automate the process of purchasing new cars, which involved a lot of typing and searching and transferring data. With the automation, routine work is handled more efficiently and these resources can be transferred to other tasks. Our car secretaries are busy, and automation makes their everyday life easier," says Harry Valanne, Keskusautohalli's IT manager.
After the first implementation, Keskusautohalli started scaling their automation. Now the company’s robot Elvis boosts efficiency in about nine different processes. Automation supports the sale of new cars and the supply chain, managing the ledger, i.e. the circulation of the importer’s spare parts and the export to accounting, as well as inventory management.
"We started with the automation that makes car sales more efficient, and where the supply chain for new cars has been made easier. This automation supports both sales and customer service. In practice, the automation speeds up the delivery of the car to the customer," Valanne describes.
With the automation, about 22 working hours are saved per month, i.e. about 262 working hours per year (35 ftp). However, the saved working hours depends on the number of cars sold, and around 700–1000 cars are sold per year, so the automation is a significant relief.
NUMERIC RESULTS
The performance indicators for automation
500
Working hours saved per year
720
Shipping lists handled per year
3500
Spare parts invoices handled per year
Hundreds of working hours are saved and the use of existing systems are improved by an automation powered by Azure ML
Another automation solution was built for the organization’s financial administration, which handles importers’ spare parts invoices.
"This process was also a great use case for automation. It involves a lot of reading data from one place and entering it into another place," explains Valanne.
In 2023, the robot processed almost 3,500 spare parts invoices.
"Automation speeds up processing invoices considerably and saves the accounting team's working hours significantly," continues Valanne.
The third automation solution makes inventory management more efficient, where automation processes the importers’ spare parts shipments in the ERP system. The automation also utilizes Azure ML artificial intelligence in reading the spare parts shipping lists.
Several copies of shipping lists have to be processed every day – automation saves about 20 hours of work per month, so about 240 hours per year (32 ftp). The robot processes about 60 shipping lists per month, which makes about 720 lists per year.
"The robot reads the lines of the shipping lists faster, so automation makes the job a lot easier. The number of errors also decreases when the robot does not make typing mistakes. It increases certainty and, in addition, inventory balances are more up-to-date," says Valanne.
Automation also makes the use of existing systems more efficient – it ensures that current systems last longer and improves the user experience for the employees.
Keskusautohalli is satisfied with the cooperation and the next process to enhance car sales is already in the development pipeline
At Keskusautohalli they are satisfied with the results of automation and the employees feel that the automation makes work much easier.
"We have automated routine tasks and have been able to allocate our employees' time to tasks where their own expertise is needed. This increases the staff's satisfaction with their work," says Valanne.
Keskusautohalli has plans to continue scaling automation. Now there is a process in the development pipeline that will improve the handling and sales of demonstration cars.
"Automation speeds up the sales process and frees up sales managers' time to direct customer service instead of being stuck at the desktop. This way, they have more time to do real sales work and be in contact with the customer," explains Valanne.
The cooperation with Sisua Digital has gone smoothly and Keskusautohalli has been satisfied with Sisua’s proactivity.
"Sisua has reacted quickly to things, for example when we've come up with a new idea for what the robot could do. Sisua has always provided a clear process diagram of what the robot should do. It facilitates communication and development work. Regular and proactive communication from the contact person has also been good”, Valanne describes.
What was achieved
Automation benefits
- Enables faster customer service
- Speeds up the processing of invoices considerably
- Errors in processes are reduced
- About 500 hours of work are saved per year
- Working hours allocated to more valuable tasks
- More time for personal service
- Staff satisfaction is improved
About the company
Keskusautohalli
Keskusautohalli is one of the oldest car dealerships operating in Finland, founded in 1927. The company’s 4 offices are located in Turku, Raisio, Salo and Forssa. Keskusautohalli employs approximately 114 car trade professionals and its turnover in 2023 was €85.1 million. In addition to car sales, the organization offers maintenance, spare parts, breakdown repair and tire services.
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