Softsys
Softsys has created reliable, time-tested, and usage-proof warehouse management systems for automated in-house logistics and discrete automation since 1998. We are stable, robust and reliable, yet agile, innovative, and constantly evolving. We are backed by a reliable enterprise owner and our products have been deployed to all continents across to globe. Our aim is to exceed your expectations and gain our client’s trust.
Our story began in 1990, when Kone Corporation’s automated warehouse unit was partitioned off and sold to an external company, AWA. As AWA grew, increasingly ambitious projects required constantly evolving management systems. To answer this challenge, AWA formed Softsys as a subsidiary in 1992, to develop their own automated warehouse management system.
Finnish integrity and intensity
Our success was solidified by our co-operation with Saarioinen in developing their logistics. Their project to implement a new automated warehouse had failed and the project had been deemed “impossible” until Softsys was recruited to save the project, a task we succeeded in with flying colors. The very same plastic load containers are recycled and reused using the same system to this day – our small contribution to sustainable growth and greener industry.
Obviously, we deal with more than just food. Softsys delivered two control systems to Outokumpu Oy’s steel mills in Tornio in ’99 and ’01, and one to Holland in ’05. All three are still in use and supported by Softsys 24/7. The 400 meters long production line in Tornio, with three transport units moving 30-ton steel rolls, is a literal giant to control.
Going global
Raflatac, a UMP-owned company, ordered their first management system in ’94 for their Tampere plant and were so impressed with the product that they ordered systems for France, Germany, England, Spain and USA soon after. With these deployments, Softsys could improve their product in several locations and gather valuable experience from different environments.
Back then, Timo Räisänen, now the CEO of Softsys, was the project manager for the management platform. When touring the different plants, he observed that while the management system in each location was identical, the ways the factories operated were wildly different. Armed with that knowledge, Softsys was able to learn how to adapt to their clients’ wishes even better.
In 2000, the first client for Softsys’ own “AWAcon WMS” was Burgo Spa, a large paper mill in Italy. One of the developers for AWAcon WMS was Jarno Muntto, a recently graduated M. Sc. Tech, who was placed on-site to monitor the newly-deployed system. Today, Jarno is Softsys’ CTO and still personally responsible for the operations at the Burgo paper mill.
A new automated warehouse and control system was deployed in Sumatra, Indonesia in 2006, to support their new paper-making machine. Simmering in tropical heat, J-P Yli-Rahnasto was on-site handling the deployment. J-P was also involved in a recent upgrade in 2021, although now the deployment could be handled remotely from Helsinki. In 2021, we can safely say that we’ve conquered the world and claimed our place as a trusted partner for large enterprises on all continents. Our own WMS product has dropped AWAcon from its name and is now known simply as Softsys WMS.
Work with us?
Do you want an energetic, rich and diverse working environment, with top strategic thinking?
We are flexible and determined in our problem solving, eager to serve and solution-centered. We create tailor-made solutions for our clients, providing direct expert support when needed.
We’re responsible for systems that have been reliably in production for over two decades and spend half our of working time still improving and developing them. Our team is committed: people leave Softsys when they retire. We are straightforward and direct, our style is to focus on the essentials. Interested? Drop us an email!