Brand Identity and Image in B2B Factory Automation Context

The goal of this thesis is to study how a solution-oriented business-to-business company can utilize its brand as a strategic asset by using the concepts of brand identity and brand image. The study analyses the intended brand message (identity) contrasting it with the customer perceptions (image) to reveal points of parity and congruence. The study uses a case company as an example and discusses the benefits of brand management as well. Internally, brands can be studied by performing a set of interviews amongst top and middle management. The interviews need to consider the various elements of branding from associations to differentiation and value creation. Customers’ perceptions can be reliably studied via online survey designed to compare the intended brand message with customers’ experiences. From the perspective of industrial management the incentive for brand development lies in both monetary and managerial benefits. In literature the four essential benefits of B2B branding are risk dilution, efficiency of communications, strategic direction and price premiums. As a result, suggestive models for brand identity and image were devised and compared. The Case Company perceives itself as a technically oriented open-integrator, with a strong focus on reliability and customer service. Customers agree with the picture in general, but there are some points of parity as well: they are quite satisfied with the company and perceive it as reliable and providing the promised value. The problematic areas revolve around customer interaction and maintaining the leadership position. The results confirm previous findings in B2B branding theory, where the reliability and credibility of the supplier are in major role. The results also suggest a holistic, corporate approach on branding.

Cost-benefit analysis of using test automation in the development of embedded software

The goal of this thesis is to make a case study of test automation’s profitability in the development of embedded software in a real industrial setting. The cost-benefit analysis is done by considering the costs and benefits test automation causes to software development, before the software is released to customers. The potential benefits of test automation regarding software quality after customer release were not estimated. Test automation is a significant investment which often requires dedicated resources. When done accordingly, the investment in test automation can produce major cost savings by reducing the need for manual testing effort, especially if the software is developed with an agile development framework. It can reduce the cost of avoidable rework of software development, as test automation enables the detection of construction time defects in the earliest possible moment. Test automation also has many pitfalls such as test maintainability and testability of the software, and if those areas are neglected, the investment in test automation may become worthless or it may even produce negative results. The results of this thesis suggest that test automation is very profitable at the company under study.

Benefits of sales force automation to salespeople and to their customers in business-to-business markets

This study applied qualitative case study method for solving what kind of benefits salespeople and their customers perceived to gain when sales reps used a specific sales force automation tool, that defined the values and identified segment that best fit to each customer. The data consisting of four interviews was collected using semi-structured individual method and analyzed with thematic analysis technique. The analysis revealed five salespeople perceived benefits and four customer perceived benefits. Salespeople perceived benefits were improvements in customer knowledge, guidance of sales operations, salesperson-customer relationship building, time management and growing performance. Customer perceived benefits were information transmission, improved customer service, customer-salesperson relationship building and development of operations, which of the last was found as a new previously unrecognized customer benefit.

Helsingin matkailijakartta = Turistkarta över Helsingfors = Helsinki : Touristenkarte = Helsinki : tourist map = Helsinki : plan touristique

Kartta kääntöpuolella

Helsingin matkailijakartta = Turistkarta över Helsingfors = Helsinki : Touristenkarte = Helsinki : tourist map = Helsinki : plan touristique

Kartta kääntöpuolella

Developing purchase invoice processing through workflow automation

The aim of this master’s thesis is to research and analyze how purchase invoice processing can be automated and streamlined in a system renewal project. The impacts of workflow automation on invoice handling are studied by means of time, cost and quality aspects. Purchase invoice processing has a lot of potential for automation because of its labor-intensive and repetitive nature. As a case study combining both qualitative and quantitative methods, the topic is approached from a business process management point of view. The current process was first explored through interviews and workshop meetings to create a holistic understanding of the process at hand. Requirements for process streamlining were then researched focusing on specified vendors and their purchase invoices, which helped to identify the critical factors for successful invoice automation. To optimize the flow from invoice receipt to approval for payment, the invoice receiving process was outsourced and the automation functionalities of the new system utilized in invoice handling. The quality of invoice data and the need of simple structured purchase order (PO) invoices were emphasized in the system testing phase. Hence, consolidated invoices containing references to multiple PO or blanket release numbers should be simplified in order to use automated PO matching. With non-PO invoices, it is important to receive the buyer reference details in an applicable invoice data field so that automation rules could be created to route invoices to a review and approval flow. In the beginning of the project, invoice processing was seen ineffective both time- and cost-wise, and it required a lot of manual labor to carry out all tasks. In accordance with testing results, it was estimated that over half of the invoices could be automated within a year after system implementation. Processing times could be reduced remarkably, which would then result savings up to 40 % in annual processing costs. Due to several advancements in the purchase invoice process, business process quality could also be perceived as improved.

Analyzing and Computing the Sustainability Gains of Building Automation

Smart home implementation in residential buildings promises to optimize energy usage and save significant amount of energy simply due to a better understanding of user's energy usage profile. Apart from the energy optimisation prospects of this technology, it also aims to guarantee occupants significant amount of comfort and remote control over home appliances both at home locations and at remote places. However, smart home investment just like any other kind of investment requires an adequate measurement and justification of the economic gains it could proffer before its realization. These economic gains could differ for different occupants due to their inherent behaviours and tendencies. Thus it is pertinent to investigate the various behaviours and tendencies of occupants in different domain of interests and to measure the value of the energy savings accrued by smart home implementations in these domains of interest in order to justify such economic gains. This thesis investigates two domains of interests (the rented apartment and owned apartment) for primarily two behavioural tendencies (Finland and Germany) obtained from observation and corroborated by conducted interviews to measure the payback time and Return on Investment (ROI) of their smart home implementations. Also, similar measures are obtained for identified Australian use case. The research finding reveals that building automation for the Finnish behavioural tendencies seems to proffers a better ROI and payback time for smart home implementations.

Invoice process analysis and development. Case: Power and automation technology company

This master’s thesis studies the case company’s current purchase invoice process and the challenges that are related to it. Like most of other master’s thesis this study consists of both theoretical- and empirical parts. The purpose of this work is to combine theoretical and empirical parts together so that the theoretical part brings value to the empirical case study. The case company’s main business is frequency converters for both low voltage AC & DC drives and medium voltage AC Drives which are used across all industries and applications. The main focus of this study is on the current invoice process modelling. When modelling the existing process with discipline and care, current challenges can be understood better. Empirical study relays heavily on interviews and existing, yet fragmented, data. This, along with own calculations and analysis, creates the foundation for the empirical part of this master’s thesis.

Framework for Marketing Automation: Case Vaisala

Työ käsittelee Markkinoinnin Automaatiota, viitekehyksen rakentamista Markkinoinnin Automaation käyttöönottoon ja sen hyödyntämiselle markkinoinnin ja myynnin putken hallinnassa. Työ on suoritettu tapaustutkimuksena, jonka primääri datana on käytetty puoli-strukturoituja haastatteluja ja sekundääri datana on käytetty dataa myynnin tietojärjestelmistä. Kirjallisuuskatsaus markkinoinnin automaatioon paljastaa, että aihetta ei ole juurikaan tutkittu akateemisesti. Etenkin selkeitä aukkoja teorioissa on miten markkinoinnin automaatiota kannattaisi aloittaa ja miten siihen tarvittavia kamppanjoita kannattaisi rakentaa. Tapaustutkimuksen tuloksena selvisi selkeät ongelma kohdat nykysessä markkinoinnin ja myynnin putkessa, ja myös kohdat joissa markkinoinnin automaatio voi olla avuksi. Suurin osa ongelma kohdista on markkinoinnin ja myynnin välissä. Toimiakseen markkinoinnin automaatio vaatii selkeät määritykset yrityksessä Liidille ja miten sitä käsitellään. Toimivuuden takaamiseksi se tarvitsee myös jatkuvaa palautetta liideistä ja myynneistä. Alue mikä myös tarvitsee muutosta paremman toimivuuden takaamiseksi on markkinoinnin kamppanjoiden suunnittelu, yhdessä myynnin kanssa ja asiakkaan polku edellä. Tulevaisuuden tavoitteena tulisi olla viestien personointi ja asiakkaiden profilointi. Tulevaisuuden tutkimuskohteet olisivat erittäin avuliaita yrityksille, varsinki jos ne käsittelisivät käyttöönottoa tai personointia.

Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea - How place brands are perceived differently from the points of view of a local and a tourist

Tämä tutkielma käsittelee paikkamarkkinointia ja paikkabrändäystä. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan paikallisen ja turistin tapoja muodostaa kaupunkibrändi; mistä palasista brändi muodostuu kirjallisuuden ja haastateltavien mukaan, koetaanko eri palaset vaihtelevissa määrin tärkeiksi riippuen siitä, tarkastellaanko paikkaa paikallisena vai turistina, ja löytyykö jotain yhteisiä retorisia nimittäjiä sille, miten kotikaupungista puhutaan verrattuna lomakaupunkiin. Tutkimuksessa haastateltiin yli kolmeakymmentä henkilöä heidän kotikaupungeistaan ja kaupungeista, joihin he olivat matkustaneet lomalle. Haastateltavat olivat suurinpiirtein samanikäisiä, mutta eri kaupungeista ja matkustaneet eri paikkoihin. Haastateltavia pyydettiin ensin kuvailemaan vapaasti kotikaupunkiaan ja sen jälkeen kaupungista kysyttiin kirjallisuuteen perustuen kysymyksiä. Sama menetelmä toistettiin lomakohteen suhteen. Tutkimuksesta selvisi, että paikkabrändi muodostetaan samoista komponenteista, mutta joidenkin komponenttien merkitys on tärkeämpi kotikaupungissa, kun taas toiset komponentit ovat tärkeitä lomakohteen suhteen. Ihmiset ja kulttuuri yleisesti koettiin tärkeinä komponentteina molemmista paikkabrändeistä puhuttaessa, kun taas kotikaupungin brändinmuodostukseen kuului vahvemmin lait ja muut käytännölliset menettelytavat kuten liikenteen toimivuus. Lomakohteen brändinmuodostuksessa vapaudella tehdä mitä haluaa oli suuri merkitys ja vapautta nähtiin eri muodoissa. Retoriikka kotikaupungista puhuttaessa oli selvästi negatiivista, kun taas lomakohteesta puhuttiin yleisesti ottaen positiiviseen sävyyn. Suhde kotikaupunkiin oli ambivalentti, sillä huonojakin puolia mainittaessa niitä puolusteltiin, tai kotikaupungista mainittiin loppujen lopuksi jotain hyvää. Tutkimusten tuloksiin perustuen toimenpidesuosituksina ehdotetaan olemassaolevan autenttisen kulttuurin ylläpitämäistä, korostamista ja kaupungin orgaanista kehittämistä suuntaan, jossa se on hyvä paikka niin elämiseen kuin lomailuun. Identiteetti, imago ja ihmiset kietoutuvat tiiviisti yhteen, minkä vuoksi kaupunkisuunnittelun- ja kehittämisen tehtävänä on pitää huolta, että kaupunki on onnistunut molempien ryhmien suhteen, ja molemmat ryhmät levittävät kaupungista positiivista sanomaa.