A modern PIM system streamlines the operations of the Association of Finnish Pharmacies

“Taksa” pricing system serves hundreds of Finnish pharmacies. Crasman carried out a demanding integration project and ensured that the data in the PIM system is reliable and consistent.

Summary

The pricing system, Taksa, is the product database of the Association of Finnish Pharmacies, containing comprehensive information on medicines, herbal preparations, and general merchandise. The Taksa system is used by approximately 600 member pharmacies of  the Association of Finnish Pharmacies and hundreds of online pharmacies.

Challenge: Outdated System and Poor Data Quality

The Taksa system, built on nearly 20-year-old technology, was in dire need of modernization.  The Association of Finnish Pharmacies aimed to find a ready-made PIM platform that could meet their needs without unnecessary customization, to enhance stability and maintainability, and to ensure a long lifespan for the system.

Product information management in Taksa is a critical system for the industry, providing enriched product data to all information systems of the member pharmacies of the Association of Finnish Pharmacies, covering the majority of pharmacies in Finland. Since the data pertains to medicines, the PIM solution and the product information must be extremely reliable—errors could potentially be life-threatening for pharmacy customers.

“This project can rightly be called critical: a significant portion of Finnish pharmacies relies on the system's data, and if that data is incorrect, the repercussions could be massive,” says Markus Manner, Development Manager at the Association of Finnish Pharmacies.

Solution: Modern Akeneo PIM Platform and Customized Product Information Model

The Association of Finnish Pharmacies had identified Akeneo as their preferred platform, a choice well-aligned with Crasman's extensive experience. The long-standing collaboration between the Association and Crasman made Crasman the natural choice for delivering the system.

During the project, the importance of the definition phase was particularly emphasized. Crasman worked closely with the Association of Finnish Pharmacies and Akeneo to define the PIM system's product structure, integrations, and migrations, resulting in a comprehensive specification document for the implementation phase.

“I appreciate that Crasman challenges its clients. Their role was crucial in the thorough definition process and questioning of existing practices. Additionally, they managed the entire project, including integrations, with great control and precision,” Markus Manner explains.

Results: A Robust System for the Future

The new Akeneo-based Taksa system is modern, and thanks to standardized data models, its maintainability and usability are at a high level. The practices and models created during the project, as well as vendor independence, ensure a long lifespan for the system. The project also corrected errors from the previous PIM system, resulting in improved data integrity and quality.

“For the success of the project, it was perhaps most important that the new product information model was thoroughly considered from all angles and is future-proof. By defining the product information model concurrently with the new system, we were able to get it right the first time,” says Lotta Multimäki, Crasman's PIM expert.

“The update brings many benefits. The new Taksa system ensures that the same product information is available to every information system, regardless of the customer’s interaction channel. The level of automation in the system is significantly higher than before. The handling of medicinal products is more efficient, enabling broader production of enriched information. Additionally, the system is compatible with the global GS1 standard, which makes it much easier to expand the product offerings and bring new suppliers into Taksa,” Markus Manner lists.

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