Unlocking potential with design
Joonas Juujärvi, our Business Lead and an Industry Expert specialising in bespoke digital services, highlights that process efficiency is crucial. Whether it’s sales, logistics, or lead management, optimising end-to-end processes is key. Design tools help dissect complex processes, identifying bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement.
Take Ramirent’s Rami X service, for example. By adopting a design-led approach, Ramirent revamped their order management process, achieving measurable improvements. Curious for more? Check out our in-depth case study for the full story.
Predictability through design: From reactive to proactive
In business, unpredictability is a constant challenge. Companies often face sudden costs and unexpected errors that disrupt operations. What if you could shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive planning?
Design allows companies to anticipate needs, identify risks, and create solutions before problems arise. Instead of scrambling to fix issues, organisations can use design to anticipate and mitigate risks.
Consider, for example, a leading retailer with frequent supply chain disruptions. Traditionally, they would react to these disruptions, firefighting to minimise impact. With a design-driven approach, they would analyse supply chain processes, identify potential failures, and proactively redesign workflows. The result? Fewer disruptions, reduced costs, and last but not least, more predictable operations.
Look at Fintraffic, a leader in traffic control and management. Through strategic design, they optimised operations, enhancing safety and efficiency on roads and rails and in the skies and at the seas.
“Fintraffic Railway is a great example of a client who has, from day one, understood why design is such an important part of everything we do together,” says Outi Niinikoski, Product Designer and People Lead from Solita, who has been working with them for years. “There’s always a designer in the team, whatever we do, and they are the ones asking why instead of talking from a tech perspective. Design is all about understanding the human perspective in everything we do.”
To truly understand the world of a locomotive driver or traffic controller, or their processes and daily tasks, one must immerse themselves in their environment, interact with it, and use it. Only then can it be identified what would help, be more efficient, and profitable. This approach makes operations more predictable and less surprising, leading to better efficiency in costs and actions. However, this doesn’t happen overnight, and designers need to dig deep to come up with solutions that solve the right problems. It’s more of a partnership than just work.
During their shared journey, Fintraffic and Solita have completed several projects and solved many different challenges. Dive into one of them in our detailed story to see the transformative power of design in action.
Co-design: A catalyst for change
Co-design isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a powerful tool for driving meaningful change. By involving internal and external stakeholders, co-design fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation.
Often, management doesn’t have complete transparency into daily workflows or the time to gain the big picture, leading to less effective outcomes. Co-design brings all stakeholders into the process, revealing true workflows and pain points. Through collaborative workshops and prototyping, stakeholders gain a deeper understanding of challenges and opportunities.
The benefits of co-design go beyond process efficiency. As redesigned processes are rolled out, employees encounter less resistance. Involving them in the design process ensures they understand and support changes, leading to smoother implementation.
Moreover, co-design uncovers hidden insights, providing a nuanced understanding of operations and tailored solutions that address real needs.
Designing for measurable impact: The role of transparency and digitalisation
Design isn’t just about theory—it’s about tangible outcomes. From streamlining inventory management to enhancing customer service, the design delivers a measurable impact that affects the bottom line.
Achieving measurable impact requires transparency and data-driven insights, where digitalisation plays a crucial role. Traditional organisations often bury critical actions in spreadsheets and manual processes, hindering productivity and tracking effectiveness. Digitalisation creates a transparent, data-driven environment where every action is measurable.
For instance, Ramirent implemented a digital inventory management system, gaining real-time visibility into their supply chain. This transparency allowed them to measure the impact of design interventions accurately and make data-driven decisions to optimise operations further.
In this way, digitalisation becomes more than just a technological upgrade—it’s a catalyst for transparency, accountability, and measurable impact. By leveraging digital tools and data-driven insights, organisations can unlock new opportunities for efficiency, innovation, and growth. As technology has taken major leaps for example in the fields of low-code, AI and cloud computing, it’s also becoming easier and easier to bridge already existing digital touchpoints into coherent processes enabling data collection – often new solutions are far less important than connecting the tools people already use.
Why invest in designing internal services?
- Gain clarity on operations and focus on the right solutions.
- Streamline processes and eliminate inefficiencies with design optimisation.
- Drive change and foster innovation through co-design.
- Achieve more with less—design delivers a stronger impact with fewer resources.
- Say goodbye to guesswork and hello to measurable results with data-driven design.
