Here at RELEX, we build outstanding software that creates measurable value for our retail customers. As smart as our AI-driven software is, though, it is nothing without the bright minds behind it. In Employee Spotlights, we want to introduce RELEXians who create the solutions to solve our customers’ problems and, while doing that, make the world more sustainable bit by bit.
In this Employee Spotlight, it’s time to meet our Business Manager Timo Idänheimo!
How long have you worked at RELEX, and what do you do here?
I joined RELEX at the beginning of 2016 as a project manager in the Customer Operations team. Since then, I have been working as a service manager, account manager, and a team lead, and currently working as a Pre-Sales consultant in EMEA Sales. My current job includes convincing new possible customers on why they should choose RELEX and how much would they gain out of selecting us.
What do you enjoy most about working at RELEX?
I love working with different customers. Learning how they operate, meet with new people, and solve their business or supply chain challenges. If you can show a customer that by doing this and this (for instance, in their system), they can save money or make availability better.
At RELEX, I enjoy the level of autonomy within the daily work and the mastery that is expected and allowed to gain. We also have a clear purpose in the work we do for our customers e.g., reducing food wastage. Every day brings something new to learn – the difficulty is to keep up with all the development.
What do you find most challenging about your job?
As said, the speed of development in RELEX is staggering – in our products and organization. Our Product and Technology teams are all the time creating very sophisticated solutions to difficult customer challenges. To understand and be able to explain those to a customer, requires constant self-development and learning. You cannot dwell on the good old days but to push yourself every day. That is both challenging yet extremely interesting.
What is your favorite RELEX value, and why?
I really like our values – all of them – since they are unique and very much present in our daily operations. But my absolute favorite is “Put an end to stupid things.” This is because it allows us to try out new things (you don’t know if something is stupid or not before you’ve tried it once) but restricts us from continuing if something is not working. We ably this, not only internally, but also when advising our customers. If we see that a customer is doing something wrong, we want to tell them and encourage them to do better. Being open and honest to our customers is the only way we can achieve the Humble World Leadership (or Domination) in Retail Optimization.
What advice would you give others interested in working at RELEX?
We definitely need more bright minds to join RELEX. When I joined RELEX, we had around 160 employees – now are almost 900. RELEX is a great workplace to learn about retail, supply chain, and space management – after which a grocery store will never look the same again. Every day will bring something new to learn, so you are expected to have an open mind for ideas. We are publishing multiple open positions globally every month (as the COVID-19 situation calms down), so you should constantly follow our website for new interesting opportunities.
