Kariteam

The Kariteam family business traces its roots back to 1966, when Jenna Kesonen’s grandfather, Kari Pynnönen, founded Kirjapaino Karin. Over the years, the business has expanded, and the company currently employs about 60 professionals in the field.

Kariteam uses the Confirma ERP system and an e-commerce platform integrated with it. Kesonen considers the e-commerce segment to be significant, as 70% of the office supply store’s orders are placed online. The search engine-optimized online store ranks high in Google search results, which also brings a lot of new potential customers to the store. The online store thus serves not only as a sales channel but also as a marketing channel, and Kariteam expects its role to become even more important in the future.

Simplifying Purchasing and Inventory Management

Kirsi Nieminen, Controller at Kariteam, considers the Confirm system’s ease of use to be one of its key benefits. Products in the online store are managed directly within the ERP system, which reduces duplicate work since product information does not need to be exported separately to the online store. The ERP system also assists with purchasing by forecasting demand and generating various purchasing recommendations. This allows Kariteam to ensure that there is always enough stock on the shelves.

All of this also helps end customers who shop online. Kariteam’s online store essentially functions as an office supply shelf, allowing customers to easily order the products they need.

“The point-of-sale functions, the online store, and the software as a whole are so well synchronized with one another that, in principle, a single click is all it takes to send the information to every relevant location,” Nieminen notes.

Customer Satisfaction Through Additional E-Commerce Features

Nieminen explains that Kariteam gave careful consideration to the e-commerce site’s navigation - that is, the product tree. They received support in building the product tree from Confirm’s experts, and with their assistance, the product tree was carefully constructed.

– We designed the product tree with the idea of how the products would be arranged on the shelves in the store.

Confirma has been involved in developing Kariteam’s online store, which also includes many customized features. The need for customization stemmed from the end customers’ requests. Special features of the online store include, for example, an order list and a saved shopping cart option that also tracks recurring orders. Nieminen is pleased that these features benefit both the end customer and Kariteam.

– I think this also does a pretty great job of bringing the marketing vision to life.