Our work — Valmet
Valmet: transforming global sales operations with a unified Salesforce-powered platform
Creating clarity in a complex sales environment
For Valmet’s Automation Solutions business, selling is not a one-size-fits-all process. The organisation serves customers across industries and geographies, handling everything from small spare-part orders to large capital projects worth tens of millions of euros globally. In that environment, speed, accuracy and visibility matter — but so does the ability to manage complexity without creating extra burden for users.
That was the challenge behind the Salesforce project named Beacon: a sales transformation designed to replace fragmented legacy tools with a single, modern, integrated platform that could support both today’s needs and future growth.
When legacy systems can no longer support growth
Before Salesforce, Valmet’s sales-related product management and sales tool platform was heavily based on home-grown IBM Notes applications and Excel/Visual Basic tools, with several of the most important solutions built in the early 2000s. Many external links were needed to move information between applications. Many of the tools had been created for specific functions, which made development, training, and maintenance harder over time.
The practical impact was significant. Legacy systems were no longer supporting future business needs or the expected customer experience. Sales teams relied on Excel-based configurators, which created a steep learning curve. There was also no proper integration with channel partners, and no single environment to support the full customer journey from marketing and lead handling through to quoting, ordering and delivery.
The challenge: legacy systems slowing down sales and growth
Valmet faced several key challenges:
- Heavy reliance on manual processes and Excel-based configurators
- Disconnected systems with no centralised data or real-time visibility
- Limited ability to utilise existing data for decision-making
- Lack of integration with partners and across internal functions
The existing setup was highly tailored but not scalable, lacked proper IT support, and lacked future viability.
"We realised that our current system would not support our future business needs or enable efficient sales management and inclusion of all stakeholders in an integrated system."
The vision: one global, end-to-end sales platform
Valmet’s ambition was clear: to transform sales into a modern, scalable, and data-driven function, and they began a platform migration pre-study and user study involving more than 50 key stakeholders who confirmed that the business had accumulated new requirements that the existing platforms could not meet. The findings highlighted the need for a more harmonised and modern system landscape, centralised support, stronger alignment with Valmet-level platforms, an end-to-end way of working, and KPIs to help measure and guide the right actions.
The project purpose was to enable growth and support Valmet’s mission of serving customers better by introducing a new Salesforce-based sales management system. The goal was not simply to replace old tools, but to create transparent collaboration between marketing, sales, service, business units and operations — improving sales efficiency and customer experience across the whole journey.
Key goals included:
- Creating a unified, global sales process
- Connecting marketing, sales, and delivery into one flow
- Improving transparency and collaboration across teams
- Enabling better use of data
- Supporting both simple and highly complex sales scenarios
A critical success factor was designing the solution end-to-end — not just for sales, but across all internal stakeholders throughout the entire customer lifecycle.
A modern, integrated sales platform on Salesforce
Together with Fluido, Valmet introduced a global, Salesforce-based sales platform designed to guide sales teams through complex processes.
The core solution includes Salesforce Sales Cloud for sales case management, Salesforce CPQ for costing, pricing and quoting, and Epicor CPQ to support advanced product configuration. The environment also connects with ERP for orders, PLM for product bill of materials, and a document management system for final quotation generation, contract handling, and broader document handling.
The design of Salesforce supports one unified Automation Solutions sales process aligned with the wider Valmet sales process, while also allowing different workflows depending on business type. Built-in rules for approvals and reviews help make the sales process smooth and efficient. Leads from different marketing channels can be routed into lead queues for further handling, and dashboards and reporting are available in the same system. For pricing and products, simple items can be sold directly, while complex offerings are handled through guided sales configurators.
"One important thing for us was pricing. We needed a more integrated and guiding tool for creating technically sound quotations, which would become more efficient"
The solution includes:
- Salesforce Sales Cloud as the core CRM
- Salesforce CPQ and Epicor CPQ for advanced configuration and quoting
- Integrated connections to ERP and PLM systems
- A unified flow from marketing leads → opportunities → quotes → orders
The impact: improved efficiency, transparency, and consistency
The scale of Salesforce today is substantial. The platform supports over 1,000 users in 40 countries. Epicor CPQ sales configurators support all main products. Valmet describes the result as one unified global sales process with integrated reviews and approvals, supported by one common system.
Valmet has seen a shorter learning curve for new sales representatives, improved process quality, fewer deviations in transfer to delivery, better user experience, stronger transparency between functions, and a solid foundation for future growth and digital capabilities. The benefits don’t stop there; they include more efficient sales case management, stronger marketing integration, mobile use, guided selling, and improved quotation quality.
While direct revenue attribution is difficult in complex B2B environments, Valmet has seen clear operational improvements:
- Increased number of handled opportunities in the common sales system
- More efficient and consistent quoting processes
- Improved visibility and transparency across teams
- Reduced reliance on internal emails and manual coordination
“Now everyone can see the key information directly in the system. There is no need to ask around or search for data—it’s all there.” According to many Users within Valmet
Why did Valmet select Fluido as System Integrator?
Fluido was selected as the system integrator due to Fluido’s proactive and flexible approach, together with a strong and experienced core Salesforce and CPQ team — an important factor from a project risk management perspective.
A strong foundation for continuous innovation
Valmet Automation Solutions Sales Tool is more than a technology project. It is a business transformation that has given Valmet a stronger operating model for sales, pricing and process transparency. By replacing fragmented legacy tools with one integrated platform, Valmet has created a better foundation for growth, customer experience and future innovation.
While still early, AI is seen as a key part of the future—particularly in helping leverage data and improve decision-making across the sales process. The journey continues.
