Selver has been operating in the Estonian retail landscape for more than 30 years. During this time, e-commerce has emerged alongside physical stores, self-service checkouts have complemented traditional cashier lines, and numerous digital solutions have been introduced. In parallel, Selver has continuously developed its processes and automated daily operations to consistently provide customers with the best possible shopping experience.
With an annual revenue of €620.8 million, the operational activities of a retail company of this scale involve large volumes of data, complex supply chains, and the need to make fast and accurate decisions. In addition to more than 70 stores, Selver—part of the TKM Group—operates an e-store covering the entire country and owns the subsidiary Kulinaaria OÜ, which produces ready-made meals and catering products sold under the Selver Köök brand. E-Selver has repeatedly been recognised as Estonia’s most user-friendly online grocery store.
The foundation of Selver’s business operations is the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ERP system. OIXIO has been Selver’s long-term partner in ensuring ERP reliability and integrating various solutions, with the partnership spanning nearly 20 years.
Retail Requires 24/7 Reliability
IT systems used in retail must operate around the clock, as even the smallest disruption affects the entire organisation—from ordering and warehouse processes to cashier operations and reporting. System updates can only be performed within very limited time windows, typically during night hours and within a few hours at most. This places additional requirements on both the ERP system and its integrations.
According to Kristjan Anderson, Head of Business Accounting at Selver, approximately 25% of Selver’s employees use the ERP system on a daily basis.
“For us, it is essential that the partner responsible for the reliability of our financial software understands our business inside and out, responds quickly, and thinks along with us. These are exactly the qualities we value in OIXIO,”
says Kristjan Anderson, Head of Business Accounting at Selver.
Equal Partners at the Table
The cooperation between Selver and OIXIO includes both helpdesk support and custom development. For a large organisation, it is especially important that a partner is able to identify both risks and opportunities. Each month, the teams sit down together to assess emerging business needs and plan changes that support Selver’s business processes both in day-to-day operations and in the long term.
According to Taavi Silm, IT Project Manager at TKM Group, OIXIO’s strength lies in its proactive mindset.
“The greatest value of OIXIO is that they always think three steps ahead. They are an equal partner at the table for us—asking the right questions and analysing whether a planned development fits into the bigger picture,” says Silm.
The same is confirmed by Marju Mikli, Head of Sales Processes at Selver: “OIXIO is a partner who doesn’t just do what we know to ask for. They look at the broader context and focus on achieving the best possible outcome.”
Cooperation That Supports Long-Term Goals
The best solutions emerge when cooperation goes beyond a traditional client–vendor relationship and both parties work towards a shared goal. Selver’s experience shows that this approach creates real value, as it helps deliver solutions that support the company’s business as a whole.
A good example is the integration of the central warehouse with the AX 2012 ERP system. According to Taavi Silm, the business logic was deliberately designed in cooperation with OIXIO consultants to be scalable, allowing the same solution to be used in other processes, not just in central warehouse operations.
Kristjan Anderson also highlights local, Estonian-language support as an added value. According to him, international partners may offer excellent project management, but when issues arise, support often becomes difficult to access. With a local partner, communication is direct and response times are faster.
Focus on Customer Experience
According to Anderson, OIXIO stands out from other IT service providers thanks to a stable team and continuity. The same team has been supporting Selver for years, resulting in a deep understanding of both the company’s business logic and the history of its systems.
“IT service providers can broadly be divided into two types: those who sell development hours and those who sell customer experience. OIXIO clearly belongs to the latter. They don’t offer anonymous development, but solutions that take into account our real business needs and the business impact of additional developments,” says Anderson.
He adds that while it is impossible to completely avoid incidents in IT, what matters most is how a partner responds. “Fast and meaningful response is crucial, and in this regard, OIXIO has been a reliable partner for Selver,” he notes.
Key Projects Delivered
OIXIO has been Selver’s ERP maintenance and development partner for nearly 20 years. One of the largest cooperation projects was the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 in 2012–2013, which is still in use today. On a monthly basis, the focus is on ensuring system reliability and delivering enhancements that support Selver’s constantly evolving business needs.
Numerous large integration projects have been carried out together, aimed at connecting the ERP system with various external parties. These projects support critical business processes—how goods are stored, how the supply chain functions, and how to order intelligently so that products spend as little time in the warehouse as possible and move quickly into circulation.
In the near future, the focus will be on further developing analytics and making ordering even smarter.
“Previously, we developed a smart ordering solution in-house, but now we’ve decided to move to an off-the-shelf solution specifically designed for the retail sector,” says Kristjan Anderson.
Major projects in recent years include:
✓ E-store integration with ERP – OIXIO’s role was to integrate the e-store with the ERP system to ensure accurate data exchange and up-to-date information in the ERP.
✓ Centralised goods ordering – Whereas stores previously ordered goods individually, Selver has now centralised goods management through a central warehouse, representing one of the most significant changes in recent years.
✓ Smart ordering – A machine-learning-based ordering system helps forecast order quantities based on historical sales data. Today, 20–30% of goods move through this solution. At the same time, store managers can place manual orders to account for local specifics, such as major events in certain cities that temporarily increase demand for specific products.
✓ Power BI – Business intelligence dashboards support data-driven decision-making, compare machine-learning-based order recommendations with actual sales, and help assess forecast accuracy.
Feedback on the Partnership
Marju Mikli, Head of Sales Processes at Selver, says they have been very fortunate to work with a stable team and strong consultants from OIXIO.
“OIXIO’s lead consultant Ene Vatsa has been involved with our systems since 2013 and knows the entire history,” says Mikli.
Kristjan Anderson rates OIXIO’s work at 8–9 out of 10. According to him, OIXIO’s strengths are consistency, flexibility, and a willingness to think along with the business.
“Looking at our partner landscape, OIXIO is certainly one of our strongest partners. Of course, there’s always room for improvement. Some issues have taken longer to resolve, and some incidents have recurred. At the same time, in certain cases, we ultimately arrive at the inherent complexity of AX itself rather than the partner’s work,” says Anderson.
Selver Is Innovative and Ambitious
Selver is the second-largest grocery retailer in Estonia by revenue and the only grocery chain whose e-store covers the entire country. Speaking about Selver’s future plans, Kristjan Anderson highlights the specifics of the Estonian market, where eight nationwide grocery chains operate, and competition is exceptionally intense.
Selver’s goal is to be the best store conceptually and the strongest e-store. According to Anderson, this means combining innovation with a human-centred shopping experience, while remaining true to Selver’s strengths—its meat, fish, and bakery counters.
“In the future, we want to be strongly represented both in digital channels and in physical retail, reach every corner of Estonia, and offer customers a recognisable and warm shopping experience. We want to preserve staffed fresh food counters,” says Anderson. These ambitions also place high demands on IT solutions and partners, who must be able to support Selver’s growth and continuous development.
OIXIO Is a Reliable Partner for ERP Implementation and Support
ERP is not just a tool—it is a critical part of company management and business processes. We are your partner in keeping systems reliable, even as business needs change and challenges arise.
We think along with your business and provide the support your company needs to grow and expand. Within the Microsoft ERP family, we implement and consult on two highly regarded and widely used solutions in Estonia: Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365BC, formerly NAV or Navision) and Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management (D365F&SCM, FO, formerly AX or Axapta).
If you are ready to take the next step towards replacing your ERP system or digitising your processes, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
OIXIO Group