Nokia’s PLM journey: “Information is power nowadays”
ArticleEchoing the calls for innovation by previous speakers, Sakari Jorma, head of Data Management Platforms at Nokia, said:
“Nokia is in a challenging position, so now is the time where we definitely need to be bold and innovative if we want to regain certain things. To be on the edge you have to have structured information. You have to have the right information at the right time and place. At Nokia, regardless of the situation of the company and the innovation we do, we need to have the core information in place.”
Photo: Arne Hyckenberg
Jorma’s presentation, ‘Global master data harmonization, experiences and lessons learned, how to relate to PLM,’ explained how important information is to Nokia.
“We have 65,000 employees and there are over 350,000 outlets that sell 50,000 different phones and accessories including franchising through multiple distribution channels and sales methodologies. Before, we could sell everything we produced. Now we have to understand the sales landscape and be able to report back what we sold, and in what color, in France and compare that to sales in Finland, for example. Information is power nowadays. Master Data Management is like the foundation of a building and it needs to be in good shape. And PLM is the gatekeeper for all this.”
But Jorma was also quick to point out that when embarking on a Master Data Management project most people realize how bad the data actually is and how disorganized it is.
“But at least you have something to start with,” he said. “Then you can start cleaning it and governing it.”
For Nokia, MDM is an enterprise-wide trusted and reusable corporate asset supporting current and future business operations.
The key message in Jorma’s presentation was: “No matter what your company does, you still need your core information in place and to govern it. Do your MDM correctly.”