Customer Story: Hartela
The impressive outcomes and efficient process also reinforced my belief that we are on the right path, and I make it a point not to promise anything that might not be achievable.
Leena Joki
Head of Shared Service Center
Main Branch
Helsinki, Finland
Personnel
Industry
Construction
Turnover
Hartela
Hartela stands as a prominent family-owned company within the construction industry in Finland. This esteemed firm specializes in crafting homes, investment properties, office and industrial buildings, as well as public structures.
Hartela stands as a distinguished family-owned entity, among the largest and most renowned construction companies in Finland. A decade ago, Hartela centralized all its financial processes under one roof in a dedicated service center, streamlining and standardizing core financial services. Today, the same processes are uniformly applied across all group companies, with the only variation being the inspectors and approvers of purchase invoices.
Leading the financial service center is Leena Joki, who brings nearly four decades of experience with Hartela to the table. Joki has always seen herself as a dynamic innovator, playing a proactive role in guiding the next generation through the significant shifts in financial management brought about by artificial intelligence and automation.
Solid Foundation for the Financial Roadmap
In 2021, the company underwent a significant transformation with the adoption of the IFS Finance system, replacing its old financial framework. The idea of harnessing artificial intelligence to streamline financial management processes, especially in the handling of purchase invoices, had been a long-standing consideration in Leena Joki’s mind.
However, the implementation of the financial system momentarily shelved the idea, waiting for the financial roadmap to become clear with the new system and for the staff to have ample time available.
“When we transitioned to a new financial system, it unfolded over a two-year journey. Only after this pivotal change did the implementation of Snowfox’s AI technology emerge as the next logical step,” states Leena Joki.
Streamlining Purchase Invoice Processing with AI
At Hartela’s financial service center, approximately 60,000 purchase invoices are handled annually, utilizing the Rillion invoice system.
Previously, Rillion had already introduced automation into the processing of purchase invoices, offering suggestions for account allocation among other features. Despite this, a significant portion of the invoice processing workflow still required manual handling, and there was an increased need for detailed verification work.
Tiina Huhta, responsible for accounts payable, recalls that there was still a considerable amount of manual data entry involved at the time:
“Previously, the process required manually inputting the project number or reference, a detail that had to be meticulously extracted from the invoice itself and then entered into its respective reference field. Now, with artificial intelligence smoothing out the process, it often takes just a few clicks to get an invoice into circulation.”
“Once the financial foundation was solidly in place, it was the opportune moment to reach out to Snowfox, a company Leena Joki had encountered a few years prior at a Rillion customer event.”
Snowfox extended an offer to Hartela for a complimentary artificial intelligence accuracy test, which put Hartela’s own purchase invoice data under the microscope to assess the functionality of the AI. The convincing results of the test made the decision an easy and secure one to proceed.
“The positive outcomes of the AI accuracy test and the smooth process reinforced my belief that we are on the right path, and I would not promise something that might not be achievable,” praises Leena Joki.
The goal was to significantly reduce the time spent on invoice verification in both business operations and accounts payable, as well as to increase the rate of invoices automatically allocated to accounts to as much as 91 percent of all invoices.
From implementation to results from day one
The implementation of artificial intelligence with Snowfox didn’t require a separate IT project, seamlessly integrating as an additional functionality into the company’s existing purchase invoice system.
The rollout at Hartela’s financial service center was smooth and uneventful.
“Everything about the implementation process was straightforward and easy. We encountered no significant issues,” reminisces Tiina Huhta about the experience with Snowfox’s AI deployment.
Since deploying Snowfox’s AI technology, it’s been managing Hartela’s purchase invoices for over a year, fulfilling all its initial promises, confirms Leena Joki. Prior to the implementation, it was estimated that the AI could accurately predict the correct ledger entry for approximately 70% of cases and other accounting dimensions with about 90% accuracy.
“The AI has been learning for about a year now, and we are very pleased with the prediction accuracy we’ve achieved,” Joki shares.
The introduction of AI at Hartela has been welcomed with open arms, significantly reducing the need for corrections and clarifications in invoice processing.
“If you didn’t know there was AI at work, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s that unobtrusive,” notes Leena Joki.
Leena Joki and Tiina Huhta highlight the major benefits of Snowfox’s invoice AI as time savings, accuracy of invoices, and faster invoice processing. Snowfox has also greatly simplified the handling of invoices. The process of numbering project invoices and retrieving information has become much quicker. Often, it’s the seemingly small tasks that used to consume a lot of time.
“For instance, if an invoice only lists an address, the AI’s prediction of the project number speeds up processing because its predictions are generally accurate. Previously, we had to look up the project number from a separate Excel file, enter the address there, and then find the corresponding project number,” describes Tiina Huhta, painting a picture of a typical scenario.
Leena Joki also wishes to give special recognition to Snowfox for the regular meetings they hold. “We continue to have monthly reviews with the Customer Success team. It’s been a great experience, ensuring we never feel left in the lurch. Technically, everything has been functioning smoothly as well.”
Overall, Snowfox has proven to be a successful solution for the Hartela team, offering distinct advantages through automation and artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence has ushered in a multitude of benefits for Hartela:
- Significant time savings are realized as artificial intelligence accurately predicts the correct “littera” dimension entry in 70% of cases and all the other accounting dimensions with over a 90% accuracy rate.
- Invoices are properly accounted for, leading to a substantial decrease in errors.
- The cycle time for invoices is faster, resulting in shorter payment periods and improved cash flow.
- Work becomes easier as routine tasks are automated, allowing employees to focus on more challenging assignments.
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