The City of Vantaa is one of the largest real estate owners in Finland, with a stock value of some one billion euros. The City of Vantaa Real Estate Center uses the comprehensive IWMS360° solution by Rapal with Optimaze as the main software. With Optimaze, they have been able to make the lease process of the city premises more efficient, thus generating savings worth several person-years.
The City of Vantaa owns some 800 buildings. The city service units use about 800,000 square meters of space at a variety of facilities. The city leases another 290,000 square meters from other sources. In addition, the city owns some 50,000 square meters in mutual real estate companies. A significant share of the city's facilities is used for education, early childhood education, and social and health care services.
"The task of the City of Vantaa Real Estate Center is to acquire facilities for the city's services," says Pasi Salo, Business Premises Manager.
ERP elements as part of an information system
In 2015, the city invited tenders for real estate information systems and selected Rapal, along with three other software providers. The Real Estate Center has gradually implemented the comprehensive IWMS360° solution, with Optimaze as the main software.
"We used public procurement. We ended up with tenders from three joint ventures, one of which was led by Rapal," Salo says, thinking back.
"The aim in software procurement is to find a solution that is more than data storage. It should include a variety of ERP-related elements. The purpose of ERP was to standardize certain processes in order to improve the quality and flow of operations. At the same time, we were hoping to avoid unnecessary work phases and waiting times," Salo explains.
”Rapal really listened to our needs"
Watch the video of City of Vantaa Business Premises Manager Pasi Salo discuss the implementation of the software and cooperation with Rapal.
"We combined software solutions used for investment planning, construction and maintenance in order to create a comprehensive data management system. Optimaze plays a key role in it as the base register," says Salo. At the moment, the implementation process is almost complete. All the data systems used earlier by the Real Estate Center have been replaced. New functions have also been added to the software; old databases have been integrated, and new ones introduced.
"Implementation took place in two parts. We implemented ready-made modules and developed new ones in workshops. Rapal really listened to our needs, and the software was modified to suit the needs of the customer, the City of Vantaa," Salo explains.
"During implementation, several new interfaces were created and integrations made to other systems. With the interfaces, we have been able to automatize the transfer of data from different programs. This prevents transferring the same data twice. The key integrations were made to the real estate data system and the city's financial management system," Salo continues.
More efficient lease process generates savings
According to Salo, Optimaze is much easier to use than their old system. There is no need to memorize the user manual to get the job done. There are also clear differences in the lease process and general costs.
“The lease process for our apartments and business premises has become more efficient. We have generated savings worth several person-years,” Salo says, summing up.
"As a project leader, Rapal's performance has been excellent. It has been good working with them, and we will definitely continue our cooperation for years to come," Salo concludes.
This article and video were prepared by Suomen Asiakaskokemukset Oy.