09.06.2026 | Growth-oriented Halonen & Carlson needed a system landscape to support daily operations across the entire omnichannel commerce value chain. In a large-scale project delivered by Efima, the company’s digital core was modernized from point-of-sale systems to ERP, financial management, and the data platform. Despite the scope of the transformation, the rollout was completed without closing a single store to customers.
Veljekset Halonen Oy is a Finnish family-owned company with roots dating back to 1932. Over its long history, the company has grown into a versatile retail operator serving customers across fashion, department store retail, and e-commerce channels under the Halonen & Carlson brands.
However, growth and the development of omnichannel commerce placed increasing demands on the system landscape. Previously, Halonen’s and Carlson’s operations largely ran on separate systems, making management and development more complex. “We were in a situation where nearly all functions were in different systems. In addition, Halonen and Carlson each had their own systems. As our goal was to grow and develop our omnichannel business, we needed a system landscape to support that journey,” says Sari Helenius, Administration Director at Halonen.
The goal of the transformation was clear – to find a solution that integrates previously separate functions, supports growth, and provides better tools for customer service and for developing the entire retail value chain.
Business and technology expertise determined the partner selection
For Halonen & Carlson, selecting a partner emphasized both deep retail expertise and strong experience in Microsoft technologies. The solution needed to fit real business operations – not just a technical target state.
Efima was chosen as the partner for the transformation, as they understood Halonen & Carlson’s business specifics and the pain points the new system aimed to address. From the start, the collaboration was defined by open dialogue and a shared commitment to building a functional whole. “Efima had strong Microsoft expertise and an excellent understanding of retail. It was important for us that the partner understands our business and the everyday challenges we were building the system to solve,” Helenius explains.
One unified solution across the entire retail value chain
Halonen & Carlson’s system transformation was exceptionally extensive, as backend systems must support the customer experience regardless of channel. Instead of updating a single system, the project focused on building an integrated system landscape to support omnichannel commerce operations.
The transformation brought together the POS system, ERP, warehouse management, logistics, e-commerce integrations, financial management, procurement processes, and a modern data platform supporting reporting and data utilization.
“This was a very extensive project. We renewed the point-of-sale system, ERP, warehouse management, logistics, e-commerce integrations, and financial management. Everything was brought into one unified system,” Helenius describes. The benefits of a unified system landscape are particularly visible in everyday retail operations. For example, an e-commerce purchase triggers multiple processes within the ERP. Orders are routed to the correct store based on inventory levels and delivery address, and the system automatically generates required messages, shipping information, and package labels. Some products can also be delivered directly from the manufacturer to the customer, enabling a wider assortment without the need to stock those items.
For the customer, the transformation translates into a more seamless experience. Product availability and store inventory, e-commerce orders and click & collect services, and customer service information are all built on the same foundation. “What matters most to us is that we can serve customers well. No matter the channel – whether it’s e-commerce, store, customer service, email, or chat – the information must be available in one place,” Helenius says.
Implementation completed without closing stores
The most critical phase of a system transformation is often the go-live. For Halonen & Carlson, the goal was ambitious – stores were not to be closed even temporarily due to the rollout. Achieving this required careful planning, testing, scheduling, and close collaboration between Halonen & Carlson and Efima.
The success of the deployment was ensured through measures such as temporary integrations and running two production environments in parallel. The solution was deployed overnight, and at the critical moment both teams were on standby to resolve any possible issues immediately.
The result was exactly as targeted – the system changed in the background without customers even noticing. “We made a conscious decision not to close stores. The deployment had to be done in a way that allowed customers to continue as normal. That required extremely close collaboration with Efima – everything was tested, all steps were planned and scheduled,” Helenius explains. “The entire deployment went so smoothly that customers didn’t notice it at all. We didn’t have to keep a single store closed for even an hour,” she adds.
Smoother everyday operations for stores and backend functions
The impact of the transformation is now visible in Halonen & Carlson’s daily operations. In stores, checkout processes and inventory management run more smoothly. In logistics and warehouse management, goods move more efficiently. For management, finance, procurement, and reporting, the unified system supports data-driven decision-making and daily work.
Helenius says she frequently visits stores and has heard from staff that many tasks are now faster than before. When systems better support employees, the conditions for delivering excellent customer service improve. “What is particularly valuable is that we now have a reliable system we can trust. It makes everyday work easier for staff, improves customer service, enhances procurement, and helps logistics get products on display faster,” she explains.
According to Helenius, modern technology also makes work more meaningful at Halonen & Carlson: “The most valuable outcome has been that we have been able to make our employees’ work easier and thereby ensure the best possible customer service. We now have a modern system that supports our employees’ work at every level of the organization. Technology is not an obstacle – it supports the work.”
The partnership continues beyond go-live
In the collaboration between Halonen & Carlson and Efima, open discussion, trust, and the ability to solve challenges together have been key. In a large-scale project, it was essential to have a partner with whom progress can be made systematically – while also being able to challenge shared assumptions when needed. “We have had great interaction and an open dialogue with Efima. We trust each other and can also question things when necessary. The collaboration has been productive on many levels,” Helenius says.
The new system landscape provides Halonen & Carlson with a foundation for developing omnichannel commerce in the future. When data, processes, and channels are built on a shared digital core, the business can be developed more holistically and customers can be served better across all channels. “I recommend this type of solution for companies that aim to grow and have a strong ambition to develop their omnichannel operations. When all information is in one system, customers can be served better across all our sales channels,” Helenius concludes.
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