From Challenge to Competitive Edge: How Kalevala Koru Boosted Delivery Reliability and Team Collaboration with S&OP Transformation

The Challenge

Kalevala Koru, a renowned Finnish jewellery brand, faced a “positive issue” when the launch of the Unikko collection led to much higher than forecasted demand across all markets, especially in Finland and Japan. Low demand in previous years due to Covid-19 and geopolitical uncertainty had left the company unprepared to meet this kind of sudden spike in demand. The company needed to rapidly develop its processes to ensure delivery reliability and maintain product quality.

CEO Kirsi Paakkari described: “We had a positive problem, although it didn’t feel positive at the time. The unexpectedly high demand caught us all by surprise and, despite our best efforts, production couldn’t keep up.”

The main challenge was to rapidly enhance baseline planning and product development processes to meet ambitious growth targets. The company needed transparent, immediately implementable solutions to align production with increased demand and to overcome technical and resource-related hurdles.

How Midagon Helped

Midagon worked closely with Kalevala Koru’s team to develop a lightweight, modified S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) process. This approach provided clear visibility into future demand and clarified internal roles and responsibilities. The process was designed to be straightforward and quick to implement, with a strong focus on collaboration across sales, marketing, and production.

“Midagon brought ready-made tools and process models, which allowed us to move quickly. The fact that Midagon experts were present and brought tangible suggestions really accelerated our progress,” highlighted Paakkari.

In addition to S&OP, Midagon helped establish a systematic product development process and a gate model, ensuring clear roles and responsibilities for future product planning and portfolio strategy. The project was conducted mainly through in-person workshops, fostering cross-functional teamwork and continuous process improvement.

Results achieved

The results were tangible and rapid:

• Delivery reliability improved significantly, even as the company grew quickly.

• Productivity increased, and cross-team collaboration deepened as different functions gained a better understanding of each other’s roles.

• The accuracy of sales planning remains a development area, but overall process efficiency and quality have improved.

• A new S&OP process was launched immediately after the project, with future cycles set to follow the new, enhanced models.

Key highlights and next steps

• Master Process Definition: The next phase involves defining a “master process” that maps the product journey from idea to store shelf. With Midagon’s support, this work continues.

• Team Cohesion: The challenging situation strengthened the team spirit, led to regular sales and production meetings, and increased the use of data in decision-making.

• Client Satisfaction: Paakkari expressed high satisfaction with Midagon’s flexibility, expertise, and understanding of both brand and consumer business: “Midagon’s flexibility and ability to adapt to our schedules and challenges were paramount. The cooperation went smoothly, and the project outcomes were clearly visible.”

• Growth Ready: Kalevala Koru’s collaboration with Midagon enabled the company to turn a crisis into an opportunity for operational excellence, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and improved cross-functional collaboration.