Musti Group

INTRODUCTION

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In the spring of 2018, Musti Group organised a project to define and document all processes for the entire organisation. In connection with this, the company also wanted to implement internal controls, which led the Musti Group to implement Falcony's mobile solution for in-store processes. In-store controls are carried out at all stores in the chain, with both a weekly checklist and a monthly checklist. These checks include a comprehensive list of controls for various operations, such as purchase orders, inventory balances, inventory checks, and cash register tracking.

The implementation was done in three different countries within just three weeks. Despite the fast schedule, the new platform had a warm welcome: “When we introduced the solution, our external auditors said that they had never seen such an effective and high-quality implementation. And best of all, we've also received a lot of positive feedback on the ease-of-use and speed of the tool from the store front”, says Riitta Helin, Group Business Controller at Musti Group.

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COMPANY

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Musti Group is the largest pet accessory retailer in the Nordic countries and the fourth largest in Europe. It operates in Finland (Musti ja Mirri), Sweden (Arken Zoo) and Norway (Musti). Founded in 1988 in Finland, Musti Group currently employs a total of 1,700 employees and serves its pet-friendly customers through its online store and 280 retail stores.

Musti ja Mirri Oy is known among their clients for its excellent customer service and customer experience, acknowledged in various customer relationship barometers, most recently in the Customer Relationship Index 2019. Correspondingly, several awards in the Great Place to Work survey - the competition for the best workplace in Finland - show high employee satisfaction.

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IMPLEMENTATION

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When planning the implementation, it was obvious that the challenge would be how to effectively and comprehensively implement the new process in nearly three hundred stores. Besides the smooth implementation, a requirement was that the solution should be easy-to-use in terms of daily store operations and administration.

Musti Group didn't want to make changes at the expense of great customer service, as the customer always comes first. For that reason, the store staff didn't want to be burdened with complicated solutions to the already hectic store work. So, instead of Excel, the company wanted to find an actual tool for the internal controls.

“We had already used Falcony | Audit for our stores’ concept audits and were pleased with it. When we  heard requests from the field that new tools would only complicate the daily work, we decided to proceed with the same application because of its flexibility”, explains Accountant Niina Wuorimaa when asked about the selection process.

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BENEFITS AND RESULTS

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With the help of Falcony, virtually all Musti Group personnel participate in internal controls. “The fact that there has been a lot of positive feedback from the stores is in itself a miracle. I don't think we could have done such an effective implementation with any other service provider”, Helin praises.

With Falcony, relevant information is collected in a structured way across the entire Musti Group. Possible findings and non-conformances found in the internal controls and corrective actions can be recorded on a mobile device. In this way, the information is comparable and can be effectively utilised for decision making. Musti Group has integrated Falcony with BI tool QlikSense, which takes them even further when monitoring and analysing the response rates for their internal controls, content quality, and scores. This enables faster prioritisation when solving problems.

In addition to in-store audits and internal controls, the Falcony platform has been used in stores for spontaneous spot checks. “On the whole, we have had a really positive and flexible image of both the tools and Falcony as a company. I’m sure we will deepen our cooperation in the future", Helin ends.