LogDigiS project promotes digital skills for in-house logistics SMEs

In a changing and digitalising working life, versatile digital skills and competences related to the use of digital tools are needed. In the LogDigiS project, we are promoting digital skills in SMEs in the in-house logistics* sector, and thereby improving well-being, productivity, and profitability. 

“In-house logistics is part of a very wide range of jobs and businesses, as the practical work includes receiving goods, shelving, moving materials, picking, packing and loading, among other things. The work often takes place in warehouses, which are found in shops, factories, and hospitals. So the project has a real impact on the skills of Finnish businesses on a wide scale,” says Jaana Lerssi-Uskelin, Project Manager at LAB University of Applied Sciences. 

The in-house logistics SMEs participating in the project will benefit from the development of digital skills in a number of ways. As a result of the development of skills, digital tools are perceived as facilitating work, which contributes to well-being at work. Supervisors are better equipped to lead the implementation of digital solutions, which in turn plays a significant role in the success of the implementation. Companies are learning to recognise the added value of digitalisation in developing their business, and a positive attitude will improve well-being and productivity throughout the workplace. They will also learn how to take responsibility and sustainability principles into account when adopting and acquiring technologies.

“The key to the project is the company-specific development plan. Together with the companies’ staff, we take a holistic look at the starting situation in terms of well-being at work and digital capability, and set targets based on the bottlenecks identified. We also support the implementation of the tools and monitor the digital development of companies throughout the project,” says Jari Salo, project coordinator at TIEKE.

In addition, enterprises will be able to learn from each other and receive peer support through regional meetings involving all the enterprises involved in the project in the region concerned. DHL Supply Chain (Finland) Oy and its units in the Helsinki and Oulu regions will be the major benchmarking company for the project.

The project will produce a practical, digital skills package for companies to use in order to promote digital capability. The kit includes webinar recordings, materials on digitalisation induction, digital tool adoption and skills development for supervisors and personnel, as well as tools used in the project to develop digitalisation. The digital competence kit will be freely available to other companies, stakeholders, educational institutions, and other interested parties.

Interested? Contact Project Manager Jaana Lerssi-Uskelin, jaana.lerssi-uskelin@lab.fi!

* By in-house logistics workplaces, we mean workplaces in different sectors, such as retail and industry, where there are in-house logistics processes (e.g. receiving, shelving, material handling, picking) and warehousing.