In Componenta's digital development, the measure of success is tangibility

When introducing cutting-edge technology to heavy industry, trends and fancy terms don’t impress. People accustomed to concrete results and visible outcomes on the production line expect the same from digitalization efforts.

Matti Tuominen leads Componenta’s IT and understands the demands of Finland’s traditional metal industry conglomerate—knowing how IT should be developed to meet its needs.

"In heavy industry, flashy IT buzzwords don’t cut it. What’s needed are real tools that drive progress. Users want straightforward, easy-to-use solutions that deliver tangible added value—and those are the ones that succeed.

At Componenta, business must be the driver, embracing and adopting digital development steps. Without that, the IT director is just shooting blanks.

Componenta is currently overhauling its core operational systems, starting with clarifying the company’s process structures and how technology supports them. Tuominen is pushing the project forward with a clear goal: to establish a business-driven understanding of the current state."

"A solid foundation and a real understanding of how things actually work. This simplifies many things and reduces risks when implementing ERP systems—ensuring they align with real-world operations, not unrealistic models. If we make changes, ultimately, they always come down to changes in processes."

In change management, a deep understanding of real-world processes is invaluable. Engaging people in the change is crucial, and reviewing and modeling processes helps strengthen this commitment.

Matti Tuominen (Group IT Manager at Componenta Oyj) knows the ins and outs of industrial IT development.

"In change management, communication is key. Discussing processes with people and modeling them together helps make the change tangible. It builds understanding and context, bringing everyone closer to the final outcome with each conversation."

The company had process descriptions in a previous tool related to its quality system, but it quickly became clear that the level of detail was insufficient. Componenta needed a way to model processes with the right depth—and when it also required understanding dependencies and how technology supports business, it adopted Digileaper’s Twin EA tool.

After modeling the quality system and enhanced Best Practice processes with Digileaper, workshops were held at different production plants. Together with operational key personnel, they clarified real-world operations.

Training in the new tool was quick, and the focus remained firmly on business substance—ensuring the modeling process stayed aligned with operational reality.

"We needed to find new ways. Digileaper offered us a sensibly priced solution that enabled quick collaboration. People embraced it well—there was strong commitment and participation. The tool supported our work, not the other way around."

Speed and efficiency show in the results. In just a couple of months, over 200 processes were modeled, capturing not only the details of real-world operations but also the dependencies related to tool utilization. Even when you think you know your own organization, clarifying processes always brings new insights.

Beyond the official systems guiding operations, Excel spreadsheets and other ad-hoc tools often play a silent but critical role in day-to-day work—sometimes even becoming the de facto primary tools, despite what the organization’s formal structure intends. This is especially true in large organizations, where business silos often create technology silos as well. Understanding the real-world use of technology and role assignments is a key success factor in system development planning.

The information embedded in process and technology models is vast, and Componenta leveraged this data even in ERP request-for-proposal (RFP) processes. Modeling allowed them to provide both high-level overviews and shift perspectives on the fly—something static documents could never match. Instead of overwhelming suppliers with traditional documentation, Componenta gave them controlled access to the models via Twin’s partner portal, making the process far more efficient.

"The reception to this new approach was very positive and made things much easier. Our procurement strategy has been built on transparency, so sharing actionable information in a way that suppliers can easily digest has been crucial. Overall, this has been a successful model—it streamlined the process and, most importantly, improved the quality of the proposals we received."

What about Digileaper?

In addition to providing the Twin enterprise architecture tool, they offered expert support, particularly in business architecture, helping structure processes and modeling frameworks.

What is Matti Tuominen especially satisfied with?

"Their responsiveness and expertise in addressing diverse challenges. The ability to guide us in the right direction. Flexibility is the word that best describes Digileaper’s approach."

Componenta’s digital development playbook—demanding concrete results, real added value, and user-friendly solutions—serves as an excellent guide for all results-driven organizations. Their textbook execution in ERP project preparation is rooted in human-centric practices, facts, and real-world operations.

These proven recipes for success are highly recommended for anyone aiming to excel in development.

You can find the finnish version from our finnish blog.