Tallinn and Tartu Crematorium

About

Crematorium’s service design project is a result of a longtime collaboration with Tallinna Krematoorium AS. The goal was essentially simple –  to improve the funeral business which has been essentially the same for the past 25 years. 

By being on the forefront of saying goodbye to the deceased and being the largest service provider in the Baltics and the Nordics they feel the responsibility to make funeral and cremation arrangements as smooth as possible. The goal was to scale up the business and enable it to take more orders at a time, improve the quality of service by reducing human error, reduce waiting times at the office and improve the overall service quality. 

Business process mapping

The first step in such an extensive business digitalization process was mapping out every detail in the existing workflow. We analyzed every aspect of this complex service until it was clear where and how it can be optimized and which parts can benefit from digitalization. We did on-site observations to identify opportunities and by working alongside the employees, we learned how their current in-house processes work, how different roles communicate and affect each other.

Emphasizing what’s most important

The design process had to follow a few simple but important keywords – simplicity, responsiveness, discretion, and privacy. Focusing on mobile experience was essential – more and more prefer to browse on mobile as using a mobile device gives the customer a chance to get to know all the options on the go, in their privacy.

To create a sense of safety and comfort, the visual language has to be soft, light, bright, and dignified. As in this field, transparency is everything, we decided to provide a 360 walking tour of the chapels, as it’s not always possible to see them yourself due to the ongoing ceremonies, or if you are organizing the service remotely. We also made sure to document the product selection entirely as better product photos are perceived as higher grade and of higher quality. 

Automation

While professional help and support are always there for those who require it, it’s possible to arrange and order every detail of the service digitally. In addition to guiding the customer through the service details, the order flow is also used by funeral planning agencies, who do all the prior work with the client and just send the crematorium the predefined order.

The internal side uses custom-built project management software. We took the idea of a pipeline where a single ticket must go through several steps to complete the flow, but we adjusted it to the business logic to help to visualize the process.

As a result, the order details are automatically transformed into tasks for each role in the process. Orders are automatically invoiced and integrated with the accounting software and the inventory is always up to date.

Result

Awards

A simple, intuitive, and pleasantly bright user interface design has helped our customers to arrange their funeral ceremonies without additional stress. The solution is good at easing the heavy burden at the most difficult time. From the product side, the new solution has given us the chance to bring new digital opportunities to funeral services in Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Sweden. The system can be customized according to the funeral traditions, business size and regional regulations.

Lauri Maldre, Client Tallinna Krematoorium AS