Design | September 2022
Pekka Poutiainen: partnership with Designergatan – from cold call to user interface design loved by customers
Design | September 2022
Pekka Poutiainen: partnership with Designergatan – from cold call to user interface design loved by customers
Pekka Poutiainen, Chair of the Board at Receptum Software, known for its MAXX pharmacy system, talks about Receptum’s partnership with Designergatan and describes the significant benefits they have reached through high-quality design.
Receptum and Vallisdata – these are the two companies that brought me together with Herman Talvitie, the founder of Designergatan. We did our first joint project at Vallisdata which is now known as Receptum Software.
Vallisdata, founded in 1990, focused on software production: we wrote the code and built the software ourselves, installed the equipment and laid cables – took care of everything related to IT. Gradually the company grew and hired more employees, and my role as CEO became mainly managerial, I didn’t do much coding myself anymore. At the time when Herman entered the scene, I was doing very little coding myself.
"Herman presented his case with great ambition."
I started working with Herman about five years ago. He just called me out of the blue, presented himself, told me what he can do and what he was interested in. The phone call came at such a good moment because we were just looking into how we could improve our user interfaces (UI) and software. We were lacking the knowledge and expertise that Herman said he had. This made us intrigued. Herman’s approach was suitably slow-paced for us, it gave us time to think and get a grasp of what our options were and what it was that we wanted to achieve. Herman presented his case with great ambition.
"It’s not enough that the code works well technically, it has to create an experience for the user, preferably one of simplicity and ease of use."
We figured out together how our co-operation would work, and we started off with small steps. Gradually Herman’s role grew bigger and more important, and we realized the mutual benefit: Herman enjoyed his work and found it rewarding, and we gained a new approach and a new understanding of what we needed to do and where to aim. Herman brought with him a novel sense of quality – we needed to do better and aim higher. It was a new way of thinking for us, understanding that you can always do better and go further, have a wider perspective on what you’re doing. It’s not enough that the code works well technically, it has to create an experience for the user, preferably one of simplicity and ease of use. This is the frame of mind that Herman kept reminding us of, so persistently that finally we fully understood its significance.
Skills and knowledge are important, of course, but attitude is equally significant: how you work, what your standards are, how you strive for improvement. In the beginning, Herman’s ambitions were higher than ours. Before Herman joined in, we had been satisfied with producing code that worked well technically and didn’t have too many bugs. It was only when Herman joined our team that we began to understand the importance of user interface design.
It wasn’t so much about the functionality of the code, but about what the user experience was like. We started to improve the user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX) through design. Herman was already familiar with the application and participated in developing the functionalities. But this wasn’t his main task, he focused his attention on UX and UI design – starting with colors, buttons, layout, and the general look and feel of the software all the way up to a bigger picture. He was also responsible for harmonizing the complete system.
"The system must have a harmonious look and feel, even if parts of it have been created by different companies."
At that time, we were already working with large systems at Receptum Software: our main product was the pharmacy system that covers everything that a pharmacy needs and that consists of dozens of modules. Several companies were involved in creating the various modules of the system which resulted in several different user interfaces with different key sequences, functions and clicks. We realized that harmonizing these modules was important from the user’s point of view: it didn’t make sense for all of them to work differently or look different. The system must have a harmonious look and feel, even if parts of it have been created by different companies.
"Herman’s technical skills, approach and design knowledge improved our user experience. His ambitious attitude was infectious."
When a new guy with a new frame of mind joined the team, it was easier for me as CEO to lead by example and show the others that this is what we’re now aiming at, hoping that this would increase the ambition level of the rest of the team. We had a dozen developers working for us, and everyone was working on one specific module at a time. Our process was such that every developer would create the user interface for the module they were working on quite independently. Herman set out to harmonize the system, one module at a time, improving the user interface and user experience. This set an example for the rest of the team: ”See, this is what we can achieve!” Herman’s technical skills, approach and design knowledge improved our user experience. His ambitious attitude was infectious.
Before this, coding had always been number one and we had always worked from the inside out: creating databases and functionalities that work. The user interface had been regarded as something tedious. But Herman’s example opened our eyes to see how it should be done. Sure, some of us considered this an added task and found it hard to adopt new ways of working after dozens of years in the business. The users can’t see inside the code, so you need to pay attention to the size and positioning of the buttons. To many, these were new and challenging ideas in the beginning, and it took quite some adapting.
Adopting new ways of working was, however, a profitable investment in the long run. Today coding is very different from what it was in our early years. The user interface and back-end are now created by different people, not by one and the same person. Herman is now part of our design and implementation team responsible for UI and UX. Back-end is created by different teams. And all these teams communicate with each other.
"Almost half of the Finnish pharmacies have the MAXX system in use."
Our main product is the MAXX pharmacy system. Vallisdata had created software for different purposes. We started with accounting and invoicing software for small companies, and regional newspaper applications – the pharmaceutical industry was just one customer sector back then. Nowadays we focus our business solely on pharmacies. The new version of MAXX has been on the market for ten years now. Almost half of the Finnish pharmacies have the MAXX system in use. Some Swedish pharmacies are also using this system. We are now working on the next release and are currently negotiating with a major Nordic company.
Herman joined in the development of MAXX. Even though the product is ready, it consists of many modules and there is always work to be done. We are continuously enhancing it and the developers are always working on it: we are adding new things or making adjustments according to regulatory requirements. Herman joined in the development after just one phone call. Together we embarked on developing the system, particularly the user experience and user interfaces.
At Receptum Software we focus on software development. Parent company Receptum, on the other hand, manages the customer interface, customer acquisition, sales and customer management for all of our customers in the pharmaceutical industry in Finland and in Sweden. We have travelled back and forth in the Nordic countries presenting demos and prototypes to ensure smooth sales and implementation.
We are committed to growing our sales globally in the pharmaceutical industry and are already looking into some possibilities. However, while we have been developing MAXX, we have acknowledged that the pharmaceutical industry is just one customer sector, and it is quite easy to adapt MAXX to meet the needs of another industry as well.
"MAXX is a very comprehensive system."
MAXX is a system that covers all the functions that pharmacies have. It can handle orders to wholesale, using mostly automated processes. You can also manage the pharmacy’s medicine storage with MAXX. The orders are sent to Finnish pharmacy wholesale distributors automatically – the user’s input is not necessary unless the user wants to be involved in the process. The information is delivered based on stock and sales. MAXX includes prescription handling, regulatory reporting, a point-of-sale system, customer management and invoicing as well as circulation of goods, stock turnover, self-service checkout and a queuing system integration. MAXX is a very comprehensive system. This is also the result of the fact that we have made everything ourselves as much as possible. In the future our products may not be 100 % self-made, but as long as we can outperform our competitors, we will continue to do so.
"He impressed us already during the phone call."
It’s quite surprising that our partnership started with a cold call. Usually they don’t lead to anything, especially if the call is completely unexpected and the customer is not prepared for it in any way, for example, if the customer hasn’t received an e-mail before the call. Quite often the reply is “I’m busy, so no thank you”. But in our case, this is how it started because the call came at the right moment. Also, Herman’s calm demeanor and peaceful approach gave us enough time to see the benefits of the partnership. He impressed us already during the phone call. I don’t recall the following step, I suppose he came by and we talked about how to continue.
In business, first impressions and good preparation are elementary in making new contacts. You also need a bit of luck and the right timing to get results.
"Herman presented the user interface design plan he had made. The customer fell in love with it straight away"
Our partnership is solid and long-lasting. We have achieved a lot together. As I mentioned earlier, we are very happy with everything that Herman has introduced to our way of working. The level of ambition has been good, and he has taught us to think in new ways and inspired us to develop our work also in the field of user interface design. He is a master of his trade and has helped us achieve a lot. The new large-scale customer acquisition project we are now working on is largely thanks to Herman. Herman made the UI design plan and presented it to the customer with us. They fell in love with it straight away. This new customer is a big, significant case for us – probably the largest one we have. Of course, we have lots of customers in Finland and they have a high priority, but this particular customer is the largest one. This is a big success for us and will serve as a great reference in opening new doors.
"Herman has taught us and our customers to always strive for better, anything less won’t do."
As far as I understand, Herman is expanding the operations of Designergatan and looking for new partners. His network is growing, and we hope to get even more help from him in the future. As I’ve mentioned, we focus on one module at a time. We wish to create more of this type of high-quality design work. The demand for it is growing. Herman has taught us and our customers to always strive for better, anything less won’t do.
We have a high standard of service. Design is an investment that has paid off – we are reaping the benefits. I find that good design is an investment. We used to have a rather low profile, and raising the standard means increase in costs. But when the demand for a higher standard comes from outside, you can’t ignore it. Our old way of working simply will not do anymore. The change has been forced upon us but luckily, we already took steps towards it proactively before the customers would have reacted – in the worst case – by abandoning us. It really was the right time for us to make a change.
"I believe it brings him joy to be able to contribute to the world of design with his own example."
Designergatan does things in their own unique style. This is typical of Herman, he wants to leave his mark. It seems to me that he wants to set his targets high and then surpass those targets. I believe it brings him joy to be able to contribute to the world of design with his own example. Herman is usually very open in how he describes his thought process, he elaborates on how he has, for example, chosen certain colors and shapes. He wants to give a detailed account of the steps that it took him to reach the result. This is something that he has introduced to our developers as well, and it is a great example of an analytical thought process.
When we think about the foundations of a good partnership, trust has got to be the most important element. Also, both sides have to have something to offer, and there needs to be a clear understanding of the roles of customer and provider. Herman does a good job, and we pay him for his input. When there is mutual trust, you don’t need to doubt whether things are done properly and according to the agreement on either side. There is no room for such doubts. We have a real partnership and we can talk about everything in an open and direct way.
"Somehow you miss having a chat with an old friend."
We’ve had a good working relationship, but now I’m already retired. Our partnership developed and we got to know each other on a personal level. Working together, you get to know each other quite well and this creates something that stays with you even when you’re retired. Somehow you miss having a chat with an old friend. I have lots of fond memories of our partnership and warmly recommend Herman’s work.
Pekka Poutiainen, Chair of the Board at Receptum Software, known for its MAXX pharmacy system, talks about Receptum’s partnership with Designergatan and describes the significant benefits they have reached through high-quality design.
Receptum and Vallisdata – these are the two companies that brought me together with Herman Talvitie, the founder of Designergatan. We did our first joint project at Vallisdata which is now known as Receptum Software.
Vallisdata, founded in 1990, focused on software production: we wrote the code and built the software ourselves, installed the equipment and laid cables – took care of everything related to IT. Gradually the company grew and hired more employees, and my role as CEO became mainly managerial, I didn’t do much coding myself anymore. At the time when Herman entered the scene, I was doing very little coding myself.
"Herman presented his case with great ambition."
I started working with Herman about five years ago. He just called me out of the blue, presented himself, told me what he can do and what he was interested in. The phone call came at such a good moment because we were just looking into how we could improve our user interfaces (UI) and software. We were lacking the knowledge and expertise that Herman said he had. This made us intrigued. Herman’s approach was suitably slow-paced for us, it gave us time to think and get a grasp of what our options were and what it was that we wanted to achieve. Herman presented his case with great ambition.
"It’s not enough that the code works well technically, it has to create an experience for the user, preferably one of simplicity and ease of use."
We figured out together how our co-operation would work, and we started off with small steps. Gradually Herman’s role grew bigger and more important, and we realized the mutual benefit: Herman enjoyed his work and found it rewarding, and we gained a new approach and a new understanding of what we needed to do and where to aim. Herman brought with him a novel sense of quality – we needed to do better and aim higher. It was a new way of thinking for us, understanding that you can always do better and go further, have a wider perspective on what you’re doing. It’s not enough that the code works well technically, it has to create an experience for the user, preferably one of simplicity and ease of use. This is the frame of mind that Herman kept reminding us of, so persistently that finally we fully understood its significance.
Skills and knowledge are important, of course, but attitude is equally significant: how you work, what your standards are, how you strive for improvement. In the beginning, Herman’s ambitions were higher than ours. Before Herman joined in, we had been satisfied with producing code that worked well technically and didn’t have too many bugs. It was only when Herman joined our team that we began to understand the importance of user interface design.
It wasn’t so much about the functionality of the code, but about what the user experience was like. We started to improve the user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX) through design. Herman was already familiar with the application and participated in developing the functionalities. But this wasn’t his main task, he focused his attention on UX and UI design – starting with colors, buttons, layout, and the general look and feel of the software all the way up to a bigger picture. He was also responsible for harmonizing the complete system.
"The system must have a harmonious look and feel, even if parts of it have been created by different companies."
At that time, we were already working with large systems at Receptum Software: our main product was the pharmacy system that covers everything that a pharmacy needs and that consists of dozens of modules. Several companies were involved in creating the various modules of the system which resulted in several different user interfaces with different key sequences, functions and clicks. We realized that harmonizing these modules was important from the user’s point of view: it didn’t make sense for all of them to work differently or look different. The system must have a harmonious look and feel, even if parts of it have been created by different companies.
"Herman’s technical skills, approach and design knowledge improved our user experience. His ambitious attitude was infectious."
When a new guy with a new frame of mind joined the team, it was easier for me as CEO to lead by example and show the others that this is what we’re now aiming at, hoping that this would increase the ambition level of the rest of the team. We had a dozen developers working for us, and everyone was working on one specific module at a time. Our process was such that every developer would create the user interface for the module they were working on quite independently. Herman set out to harmonize the system, one module at a time, improving the user interface and user experience. This set an example for the rest of the team: ”See, this is what we can achieve!” Herman’s technical skills, approach and design knowledge improved our user experience. His ambitious attitude was infectious.
Before this, coding had always been number one and we had always worked from the inside out: creating databases and functionalities that work. The user interface had been regarded as something tedious. But Herman’s example opened our eyes to see how it should be done. Sure, some of us considered this an added task and found it hard to adopt new ways of working after dozens of years in the business. The users can’t see inside the code, so you need to pay attention to the size and positioning of the buttons. To many, these were new and challenging ideas in the beginning, and it took quite some adapting.
Adopting new ways of working was, however, a profitable investment in the long run. Today coding is very different from what it was in our early years. The user interface and back-end are now created by different people, not by one and the same person. Herman is now part of our design and implementation team responsible for UI and UX. Back-end is created by different teams. And all these teams communicate with each other.
"Almost half of the Finnish pharmacies have the MAXX system in use."
Our main product is the MAXX pharmacy system. Vallisdata had created software for different purposes. We started with accounting and invoicing software for small companies, and regional newspaper applications – the pharmaceutical industry was just one customer sector back then. Nowadays we focus our business solely on pharmacies. The new version of MAXX has been on the market for ten years now. Almost half of the Finnish pharmacies have the MAXX system in use. Some Swedish pharmacies are also using this system. We are now working on the next release and are currently negotiating with a major Nordic company.
Herman joined in the development of MAXX. Even though the product is ready, it consists of many modules and there is always work to be done. We are continuously enhancing it and the developers are always working on it: we are adding new things or making adjustments according to regulatory requirements. Herman joined in the development after just one phone call. Together we embarked on developing the system, particularly the user experience and user interfaces.
At Receptum Software we focus on software development. Parent company Receptum, on the other hand, manages the customer interface, customer acquisition, sales and customer management for all of our customers in the pharmaceutical industry in Finland and in Sweden. We have travelled back and forth in the Nordic countries presenting demos and prototypes to ensure smooth sales and implementation.
We are committed to growing our sales globally in the pharmaceutical industry and are already looking into some possibilities. However, while we have been developing MAXX, we have acknowledged that the pharmaceutical industry is just one customer sector, and it is quite easy to adapt MAXX to meet the needs of another industry as well.
"MAXX is a very comprehensive system."
MAXX is a system that covers all the functions that pharmacies have. It can handle orders to wholesale, using mostly automated processes. You can also manage the pharmacy’s medicine storage with MAXX. The orders are sent to Finnish pharmacy wholesale distributors automatically – the user’s input is not necessary unless the user wants to be involved in the process. The information is delivered based on stock and sales. MAXX includes prescription handling, regulatory reporting, a point-of-sale system, customer management and invoicing as well as circulation of goods, stock turnover, self-service checkout and a queuing system integration. MAXX is a very comprehensive system. This is also the result of the fact that we have made everything ourselves as much as possible. In the future our products may not be 100 % self-made, but as long as we can outperform our competitors, we will continue to do so.
"He impressed us already during the phone call."
It’s quite surprising that our partnership started with a cold call. Usually they don’t lead to anything, especially if the call is completely unexpected and the customer is not prepared for it in any way, for example, if the customer hasn’t received an e-mail before the call. Quite often the reply is “I’m busy, so no thank you”. But in our case, this is how it started because the call came at the right moment. Also, Herman’s calm demeanor and peaceful approach gave us enough time to see the benefits of the partnership. He impressed us already during the phone call. I don’t recall the following step, I suppose he came by and we talked about how to continue.
In business, first impressions and good preparation are elementary in making new contacts. You also need a bit of luck and the right timing to get results.
"Herman presented the user interface design plan he had made. The customer fell in love with it straight away"
Our partnership is solid and long-lasting. We have achieved a lot together. As I mentioned earlier, we are very happy with everything that Herman has introduced to our way of working. The level of ambition has been good, and he has taught us to think in new ways and inspired us to develop our work also in the field of user interface design. He is a master of his trade and has helped us achieve a lot. The new large-scale customer acquisition project we are now working on is largely thanks to Herman. Herman made the UI design plan and presented it to the customer with us. They fell in love with it straight away. This new customer is a big, significant case for us – probably the largest one we have. Of course, we have lots of customers in Finland and they have a high priority, but this particular customer is the largest one. This is a big success for us and will serve as a great reference in opening new doors.
"Herman has taught us and our customers to always strive for better, anything less won’t do."
As far as I understand, Herman is expanding the operations of Designergatan and looking for new partners. His network is growing, and we hope to get even more help from him in the future. As I’ve mentioned, we focus on one module at a time. We wish to create more of this type of high-quality design work. The demand for it is growing. Herman has taught us and our customers to always strive for better, anything less won’t do.
We have a high standard of service. Design is an investment that has paid off – we are reaping the benefits. I find that good design is an investment. We used to have a rather low profile, and raising the standard means increase in costs. But when the demand for a higher standard comes from outside, you can’t ignore it. Our old way of working simply will not do anymore. The change has been forced upon us but luckily, we already took steps towards it proactively before the customers would have reacted – in the worst case – by abandoning us. It really was the right time for us to make a change.
"I believe it brings him joy to be able to contribute to the world of design with his own example."
Designergatan does things in their own unique style. This is typical of Herman, he wants to leave his mark. It seems to me that he wants to set his targets high and then surpass those targets. I believe it brings him joy to be able to contribute to the world of design with his own example. Herman is usually very open in how he describes his thought process, he elaborates on how he has, for example, chosen certain colors and shapes. He wants to give a detailed account of the steps that it took him to reach the result. This is something that he has introduced to our developers as well, and it is a great example of an analytical thought process.
When we think about the foundations of a good partnership, trust has got to be the most important element. Also, both sides have to have something to offer, and there needs to be a clear understanding of the roles of customer and provider. Herman does a good job, and we pay him for his input. When there is mutual trust, you don’t need to doubt whether things are done properly and according to the agreement on either side. There is no room for such doubts. We have a real partnership and we can talk about everything in an open and direct way.
"Somehow you miss having a chat with an old friend."
We’ve had a good working relationship, but now I’m already retired. Our partnership developed and we got to know each other on a personal level. Working together, you get to know each other quite well and this creates something that stays with you even when you’re retired. Somehow you miss having a chat with an old friend. I have lots of fond memories of our partnership and warmly recommend Herman’s work.
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© Designergatan Ltd 2024