Back in the early 2010s, daily operations at Pilkington’s factories in Finland were far from digital. Purchase invoices physically traveled between sites in a van, and approvals were handled manually.
“We had a dedicated person driving invoices around Finland. Whenever a stack landed on someone’s desk, we’d write by hand: approved, approved, approved. In retrospect, it sounds completely absurd,” says Kai Stenvik from Pilkington.
When Pilkington began searching for a solution to modernize their manual invoice circulation process, finding a suitable provider proved difficult. Offers from major software vendors were astronomically priced and didn’t meet the unit’s needs.
“I received what you might call a cold call from OpenText (then Liaison). They paid me a visit and, after our meeting, I directly asked if they could recommend a more appropriately sized provider. Soon, Irene from Heeros called and came to visit and that’s how it all began,” says Stenvik.
From the start, Heeros stood out with its reasonable pricing, transparent communication, technical expertise, and above all, its willingness to listen to the customer.
“The implementation went incredibly smoothly. Nobody complained, which - from an IT perspective - is already a significant achievement,” Stenvik notes.
Once the system proved its value, its use was expanded to Pilkington’s Espoo unit. Additionally, a customized e-invoicing system was developed to accommodate the unit’s complex pricing structure. The next phase of the collaboration was Pilkington’s own system: a highly automated messaging solution tailored to the needs of insurance companies and partners.
Pilkington’s invoice data is widely recognized for its clarity, accuracy, and rich content that supports automation and advanced reporting. That reputation has spread organically, and the company continues to receive inquiries from across Finland based on word-of-mouth recommendations.
Alongside technical solutions, the human element has been crucial in the partnership. From the very beginning, Heeros has provided faces and names—not tickets and bureaucracy.
“No tickets, no red tape. We have people we trust,” says Kai Stenvik.
The relationship has long outgrown the system provider role and evolved into a partnership built on mutual trust. This is evident in both day-to-day interactions and in the fact that Pilkington has never considered switching to another provider.
“Heeros feels like part of our own team. The service is personal, the response is quick, and the collaboration seamless,” says Yrkka Oura from Pilkington.
Over time, Heeros has become an integral part of Pilkington’s daily operations. Today, the partnership is about enabling new business models, automating critical invoice-related processes, and supporting growth without bottlenecks.
The strength of collaboration is also seen in its agility.
“If we get a request for a new billing parameter within two days, we call and Heeros delivers. I don’t think any large provider could match that,” says Helemäe.