According to Niko Pesonen, Vice President of Sales for SOK, the collaboration with Maire is "seamless and forward looking".
We trecked the 10 minutes it takes us to walk to the S Group (the largest retailer in Finland) headquarters in Vallila to interview Niko about his views on Maire, the SaaS tool that turns online demand into on-demand offering with demand forecasting
Below we share the highlights from the interview. SOK’s team has been using Maire in their strategic decision-making and in their day-to-day activities, and they couldn’t be happier.
Maire’s insights have proven invaluable for SOK’s operations, helping them make data-driven decisions efficiently and accurately. The VP shared that Maire isn’t just another tool on their dashboard; it’s a critical component in their decision-making. From refining everyday operations to shaping their broader strategic initiatives, SOK sees Maire as essential to maintaining their competitive edge in Finland’s retail landscape.
Watch the interview or jump to the text description.
Can you introduce yourself?
I am the VP of sales for our consumer goods. That means omnichannel sales for e-commerce and our brick-and-mortar stores, as well as overseeing concept development and marketing.
How did you discover Maire?
Initially, we were looking for something to help us understand market demand, especially on the e-commerce side. Our e-commerce team discovered Maire, and we began piloting it for a few months.
How has Maire impacted your team’s decision making process?
Soon after piloting Maire, we started exploring how we could integrate it into our forecasting processes. We conduct rolling 18-month forecasts for sales, which also support our procurement and resourcing. We do this quarterly, but at that time, we didn’t have enough tools to understand the evolving market demand for certain categories. We saw potential in implementing Maire across our planning categories to improve decision-making and avoid missing out on emerging trends.
Which feature of Maire stands out the most?
We’ve integrated Maire's data into our planning tools, which enhances our forecasting accuracy. At the same time, we use Maire's interface to monitor our short-term commercial goals and prepare for upcoming seasons, helping us identify major trends.
Do you use Maire to not jump into certain trends?
We may see certain categories or demand areas trending down faster than anticipated, or identify categories we were considering expanding into but find, through Maire’s data, that the demand is either small or downtrending.
How was integrating Maire to your existing systems?
The setup process was straightforward. We mapped Maire's keywords to our planning categories to support our demand forecasting, allowing for a quick integration with our planning tools and a tailored view in Maire’s interface that supports our daily and weekly needs.
What is Maire’s role in your strategic planning and growth?
The market is evolving faster than ever, so we need rapid response times. I would encourage further development of AI-based planning tools and enhanced forecasting capabilities.
How is the collaboration with Maire?
Our collaboration with Maire has been seamless and forward-looking.
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