Automation Hero September 2020: Simon Welander

Simon Welander, Team Leader of Operations Planning at Blinkfyrar, has streamlined the ordering process at the company through EazyStock. With the help of inventory optimization, he has freed up time to continue developing other important processes at the company. That’s why he’s EazyStock’s Automation Hero in September!

Name: Simon Welander
Title: Team Leader of Operations Planning
Company: Blinkfyrar

Congratulations on winning the award, Simon! Can you please tell us a little about yourself, where you work and what your role is?

Fun! Thanks so much! I currently work as a Team Leader of Operations Planning at Blinkfyrar.

This means that I work to ensure that our operations are flowing as they should and that we have materials to meet our production targets on time. Above all, I ensure that we have the right items in our inventory.

What “red flags” made you realize that you needed to invest in an automation solution?

The investment in EazyStock was made before I started working with purchasing. However, the actual implementation of the software took place right when I started, so I have been involved from the start, which has been very useful for me.

Even though I was not involved in deciding on the investment itself, I have some insight into what our ordering process looked like before EazyStock came into the picture 4-5 years ago. Before EazyStock, our ordering process was very time consuming and lengthy, and it also felt generally outdated. We also had poor control of our inventory. This meant that we were looking for a tool that could facilitate the purchasing process and simultaneously help us to have a better overview of our stock.

How has your work changed since you implemented EazyStock?

Considering that I was not there in the time “before EazyStock”, my work in the purchasing department (as it was called then) has not changed much.

However, I think that EazyStock was a big advantage from the start because this helped me to gain a greater understanding of how our products move and what ordering patterns they have right off the bat.

Before I started in our purchasing department, I worked in Blinkfyrar’s warehouse. That background gave me insight into the products we had, but it was when I got a visual picture of the movement pattern with EazyStock that I gained a deeper understanding – one of all the challenges you face when supplying a warehouse with its items. Some examples of challenges we have faced at Blinkfyrar are how to handle parameters such as safety stock and order points during product portfolio expansion; EazyStock has solved this for us.

How has automation with EazyStock helped Blinkfyrar?

Above all, EazyStock has reduced the time spent on the ordering process itself. With the help of the software, we have been able to streamline this process and thus free up time that we can now spend on other things that are at least as important in the daily work.

Additionally, we have the opportunity to make different types of forecasts, something we can not do in our ERP (Microsoft Dynamics NAV). This has made it easier for ourselves, but also for our suppliers.

What other tools do you use for automation?

In addition to EazyStock, we have also automated certain parts of our ERP (Microsoft Dynamics NAV). Otherwise, we do not currently use any automation tools.

What do you think about the future of automation?

At present, a lot has already been automated – partly within business, but also in private life. I believe that automation will continue to develop at a rapid pace and that in the near future we will have access to programs and solutions that are even smarter and more efficient than today. Just think of how fast development has occurred over the last 10-15 years; during this time period things like smartphones, tablets, smart watches, etc. both launched and developed. I believe that development will continue at the same rapid pace, or perhaps even faster, and that we will have access to even smarter solutions and technology in the not too distant future.

Thank you Simon and congratulations again!

If you would like to nominate a colleague, customer or partner for next month’s Automation Hero, please fill out the contact form here.