An increases e-commerce efficiency by 20%

Tokmanni is Finland’s leading variety discount retailer with a broad assortment. The company has almost 200 stores across the country, supported by over 4,000 employees. It has built a strong reputation for providing value for money to its loyal customers, combined with a firm commitment to sustainability and best employee practices.

WMS from IMI

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Tokmanni

Rapid e-commerce growth places new demands on warehouse processes

Tokmanni’s logistics operations are largely managed from a central warehouse and distribution centre in Mäntsälä, approximately 50 km north of Helsinki. The facility handles around 40,000 SKUs and supplies stores across Finland, reaching as far as the Arctic Circle. At the same time, e-commerce has grown rapidly, with strong increases over several years, placing greater demands on speed, accuracy and flexibility.

E-commerce is a key driver of Tokmanni’s growth. Up to 2019, an agile response to changing customer needs led to strong development in the channel, with a 43.5% increase that year. Growth continued in 2020 with a further 124% (with the pandemic as a clear contributing factor), followed by an increase of 58.7% in 2021.

No other company could match what IMI was able to do for us. We are seeing a 30% improvement in ecommerce picking efficiency with the utilization of IMI’s Pack Station WMS module. That translates to about 20% overall improvement in e-commerce.

Antti Tikkakoski

IT Product Owner, Tokmanni

“We were limited to a maximum of 24 orders per pick batch regardless of the number of rows, so on orders with only one order line, we were often driving around with almost empty roll cages.”

– Antti Tikkakoski, IT Product Owner, Tokmanni

The challenge

Growing e-commerce highlights limitations in picking and packing flows

Tokmanni’s rapid growth in e-commerce made it clear that existing processes needed to evolve.

Picking and packing processes were separated and based on legacy systems. This created inefficiencies and made it difficult to fully utilise capacity.

At the same time, issues arose in the integrations between systems. Errors in interfaces could stop the packing of new orders, quickly affecting the entire flow. In some cases, picking had to be limited because space for orders waiting to be packed was restricted. This had a direct impact on delivery times.

With continued growth, and a forecast of up to 50,000 SKUs in the warehouse, the need for more stable, scalable and connected processes increased.

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The solution

Integrated WMS brings picking and packing into a flexible flow

After evaluating several options, Tokmanni chose to upgrade its existing WMS from IMI, rather than replace it.

The solution introduced a modular and configurable system where picking and packing were integrated into a single flow. The packing station fundamentally changed the way work is carried out. This made it possible to work more flexibly and reduced dependencies between process steps.

At the same time, processes were consolidated into one system. This provided better control and reduced the risk of integration errors. Changes to workflows can now be managed centrally, simplifying both maintenance and further development.

The solution is also scalable. Satellite warehouses can be connected when needed, for example during peak periods, with full visibility and communication between locations.

The long-term partnership with IMI was an important factor in the decision, particularly in terms of support and understanding of the business.

“Having reviewed the features we needed, IMI’s latest version had more available options than anything else, added to the fact that installing and implementing an entirely new system would have been far more expensive and time-consuming. It was an easy decision in the end.”

– Antti Tikkakoski, IT Product Owner, Tokmanni

“With IMI’s Pack station we don’t have to worry about the actual customer order while picking, in contrast to the previous system. Now we can pick full roll cages of online customer orders and scan the product barcode in the pack station to confirm the correct customer order.”

– Antti Tikkakoski, IT Product Owner, Tokmanni

The result

Higher efficiency and a more stable e-commerce operation

The implementation of the upgraded warehouse management system delivered clear improvements in both efficiency and stability. By integrating picking and packing into a single flow, the way of working became more flexible, while dependencies between steps were reduced. This made it possible to handle higher volumes without increasing operational complexity.

The improvements are clearly reflected in the results, with 30% higher picking efficiency and a 20% increase in overall e-commerce efficiency.
The packing station also changed how picking is organised, contributing to a smoother and more consistent flow throughout the warehouse. At the same time, the need for manual adjustments decreased, providing better control over order handling.

Bringing processes into a single system also improved stability. The risk of integration errors was reduced, and changes to workflows can now be managed centrally. This has made it easier to adapt to new requirements and continued growth.

The result is a more efficient and robust e-commerce operation, with improvements in both productivity and delivery performance.