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    • The Tampere Deck and Arena project will shape the face of the city and SokoPro is providing a boost

    The Tampere Deck and Arena project includes multiple separate projects. In addition to highly competent implementers, the massive project has required agile information management and archiving as well as an efficient digital tendering tool. SokoPro has been involved in the process to ensure that information flows smoothly between people and projects.

    An entirely new district is being constructed in the central area of Tampere – a hybrid block and hub that merges housing, entertainment and job providers. The unique project involves covering the southern section of the Tampere Central Station’s railway yard with a deck onto which offices, residential buildings, a new sports and entertainment arena and a hotel will be erected.

    The uniquely sizeable project involves multiple actors and has been divided into several separate subprojects. When the primary contractor SRV needed a comprehensive project management system, SokoPro was the safe bet. The system had been used for other SRV projects and was therefore familiar to some of the parties involved.

    A digital tendering tool as an element in large-scale procurements

    In terms of this project, the collaboration between SokoPro and SRV began with the basic needs in 2017. Printouts and a project bank were needed for the worksite. All project-related data was stored in SokoPro’s digital project bank from the get-go. The SokoPro digital tendering tool was also introduced later.

    Teemu Koskinen, Procurement Manager at SRV, says that the tendering tool has been an important element in competitive tendering for the project. The SokoPro digital tendering tool has been used for all of the large acquisitions of the Tampere Deck and Arena project.

    “I must say that the digital tendering tool is also my personal favourite among the services provided by SokoPro. I’m sure that many other companies could benefit from it,” Koskinen says

    According to Koskinen, the best part of the tool is that it can be used to distribute a large quantity of information and documents to select actors. Delineation is easy; the files, documents and tenders remain within the service, and the materials are always available to the entire organisation, regardless of any changes in staff.

    A satisfied customer is the best reward for the SokoPro experts.

    “The SokoPro tendering tool has been used for more than 200 competitive bidding processes within the project. This is absolutely a feather in our cap. It is wonderful to hear that our service is working so well,” says Aripekka Härkönen of SokoPro

    Success through dialogue and customer service

    For SokoPro, dialogue and development suggestions are an important part of effective customer service and collaboration. The flexible software enables customisation and swift reactions to customer needs. Tailored functionalities ensure that the customers get more out of the software.

    – “It has been very easy to contact SokoPro, and they have been commendably swift in responding to our requests and suggestions,” Koskinen says.

    Development happens when you stop and listen to your customers’ needs. The Tampere Deck and Arena project has also been a litmus test for SokoPro. According to Aripekka Härkönen, the project has helped solidify the course for developing the SokoPro software in the future.

    – “Every project is obviously slightly different, but our customers have been the ones to tell us how to develop our service,” Härkönen says, Härkönen toteaa.

    The journey towards the future of Tampere continues

    Over the coming years, SokoPro will have plenty of time to collect a wealth of data on the Tampere Deck and Arena project. Currently, the worksite is busy with frame construction. The project is making constant progress and the first buildings will be completed in 2021, after which construction will continue on the north section of the deck. The huge undertaking will reach full completion in 2025.

    It will take a while until residents can start carrying furniture into the residential buildings and hotel guests can admire the cityscape from their suite windows before heading to the new arena for a concert or other entertainment event. Tampere has begun its transformation into a new kind of city, and SokoPro is providing a much-needed boost for the process.

    – “It is obviously quite something that we have had the opportunity to assist one of our customers with a project as significant as this,” Aripekka Härkönen summarises.