In the Baltic Sea Region shipbuilding and seafaring have always been an essential part of the economy. Both still provide a competitive edge and create well-being in many of the region’s countries. Carinafour is a Finnish company developing and operating modern production systems and supply chain processes. In ECOPRODIGI the company concentrates on developing the digitalisation of supply chain management in shipbuilding industry. Efficient supply chain management ensures that the right materials are at the right place at the right time during the whole production process, which enables the organisation to operate more profitably.
In Carinafour the decision to join ECOPRODIGI was easy to make. The firm is involved in many development projects together with universities and other research organisations. ECOPRODIGI also links the actors from private and public sectors.
- Carinafour has always operated in networks and we see that cooperation provides huge possibilities for a small company like us. You just have to give it a chance, says Lappalainen when telling about the company’s philosophy.
Maarit Lappalainen, Head of People Operations, Carinafour
EU projects – difficult and bureaucratic?
Lappalainen sees that at least from business perspective the field of EU-funding shows as fragmented and difficult to grasp. The amount of bureaucracy may also be frightening as the companies are not used to working in EU context. Lappalainen wants to encourage all businesses that are considering whether to join a project or not.
- You are not conducting the project for the EU but for yourself. Focus on the issue you wish to develop and do not think how exceptional the financer is. Project bureaucracy and reporting are not so hard that an ordinary person would not survive them, she says.
Project turns into real business
Although the project is still ongoing, it has produced concrete value for the company.
- Cooperation opens viewpoints that we would not have thought of just by ourselves. Without ECOPRODIGI we would not be this far with developing the supply chain processes. This work has already turned into real business. We hope that EU will continue to support the development projects that enhance cooperation and strengthen competitiveness. We are eager to participate, Lappalainen concludes.
Read more about ECOPRODIGI!
The article is part of an European Union funded project "Cohesion through EUSBSR" promoting positive results of EU Cohesion policy in the Baltic Sea macro-region (EUSBSR).
The article reflects only the author's view and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
With financial support from the European Union
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