Derome Builds a Stronger Group on the Omnia Platform

The Swedish wood industry group Derome has rebuilt and modernized its Omnia-based intranet. By upgrading the platform from a local server-based solution to the latest cloud version, Derome has transformed its intranet from a dusty archive into the hub of its operations. The solution is now employees’ first choice for finding information and has helped create a stronger, more unified Derome.

“Our new intranet is much more than just an information and communication platform. It’s the main gateway to all resources, tools, and processes — including communication and collaboration areas and all internal information. By upgrading Omnia, we’ve moved everything into the cloud and ensured high accessibility for the entire organization. We’ve also rebuilt the entire information structure, increased communication transparency, and updated all content,” says Anna Elengård, Communications Project Manager at Derome AB, and continues:

“The solution provides significantly easier and faster access to accurate, reliable information, applications, tools, internal expertise, and other resources. When everything and everyone are in one place, employees become more efficient and save valuable time. It also strengthens engagement and cohesion across the entire group.”

Derome is Sweden’s largest family-owned wood industry company, supplying products and services throughout the value chain — from forest to finished house — with a strong focus on sustainability at every stage. The group consists of six business areas offering everything from forestry, wood and construction products, and machine rental to logistics, house production, and property management. Derome employs around 2,500 people, more than half of whom work on the frontline in production and logistics.

For several years, the company used a local server-based version of Omnia for its group-wide intranet. While the solution contained plenty of information, much of it was outdated and in need of a thorough review. According to Anna, the intranet had become more of a hindrance than a help — employees didn’t trust that the information was accurate or current, and the site was perceived as a “digital graveyard.”

It also lacked full accessibility, making it difficult to communicate in an inclusive, engaging, and group-wide manner.

“We want every employee to have full access to all information and be involved in our shared conversations about the company’s challenges and development. To improve accessibility, we needed to move the intranet to the cloud and make it available to frontline workers via mobile phones, tablets, and digital signage screens, among other tools. That’s why we decided to upgrade Omnia to the latest version,” explains Lisa Larsson, HR Communications at Derome.

The implementation project was led internally by Anna and Lisa, with support from Omnia Coach Alejandro Tegebo-Hernandez, who assisted with preparation, planning, training, workshops, and implementation. In connection with the upgrade, Derome also reviewed and updated all content and redesigned the information and navigation structure.

“Since much of the content on our previous intranet was outdated, we decided not to migrate anything to the new site. Everything had to be reviewed, revised, or recreated to ensure that the new intranet contained fresh, reliable, and well-structured information. We’ve also developed new communication guidelines — covering tone of voice and visual identity. All content must have a clear purpose, be easy to understand, and align with our core values, goals, and vision,” emphasizes Anna. Lisa adds:

“With great commitment from everyone involved, the intranet has been transformed from a dusty digital archive that few people used into the hub of our operations — a place where everything is available and truly supports the organization!”

Lisa and Anna describe how a strategic decision was made to separate the Quality Management System from the intranet and make it an independent solution. This strengthened the intranet’s communication focus while making the Quality Management System more user-friendly, streamlined, and clear. The systems remain seamlessly integrated, so users can easily access all processes from the intranet.

“This is part of our broader initiative to improve internal communication and the user experience. Instead of designing around systems, we now build around business-critical needs and values. And instead of structuring content by function or unit, as before, we now design from a cross-functional, holistic perspective — in collaboration between HR, Marketing, and IT — to communicate a unified Derome,” says Lisa.

“The editors must always ask themselves whether the content creates real value for employees, and if other departments may share the same information needs. If so, they’re encouraged to collaborate on the content — to streamline, cross-fertilize, and increase knowledge sharing.”

The implementation and improvement project took one year, from needs analysis and pre-study to relaunch of the intranet, known as Dnät. In parallel, a new Quality Management System was also developed. Content production in both projects was guided by three core principles: information should be easy to understand, professional and visually appealing, and reliable.

The goal was to create an intranet that makes it easy for employees to navigate between systems, information, and inspiration — while strengthening workplace culture and supporting Derome’s business goals and strategies. The vision rests on three pillars: Culture, Accessibility, and Efficiency, aiming to increase employee pride, satisfaction, participation, and the ability to quickly find relevant information.

To achieve this, Derome has ensured that all employees can access all information, systems, tools, and processes via Dnät. This was made possible through integrations with business and desktop applications, cloud access, and Omnia’s responsive interface and mobile app. Frontline employees can now log in using personal accounts or shared terminals.

With Omnia’s social features, Quick Polls, and targeting capabilities, Derome can easily track engagement and tailor content to different audiences. Company culture and engagement are further strengthened by sharing goals, visions, and business results prominently on the homepage and ensuring shared values permeate all content.

“The results came quickly. Employees find the intranet easier to navigate, more attractive, and more relevant — a true support in their daily work. Just three months after launch, page views increased by 300%, from 20,000 to 80,000, and the number of unique visitors rose to over 1,600 per day. We’re also seeing far greater engagement, with many employees posting on the feed, liking, sharing, and commenting on news and updates,” says Anna.

The project team’s vision is for users to find any information, process, colleague, or tool in under 30 seconds. While much progress has been made, Lisa and Anna emphasize that improving findability is an ongoing focus.

In addition to a simplified, user-oriented navigation structure, this involves refining search paths and content — moving away from document-heavy structures.

“Of our previous 7,000 documents, only a few hundred remain. It’s simpler and better to present information on web pages. This reduces duplicates and outdated content while making information more accessible and easier to maintain,” says Lisa.

“We’ve also created a search path between the intranet and the Quality Management System, making it much easier to locate the right process. With search filters, AI, and enhanced personalization, we believe that relevance and findability will continue to improve,” concludes Anna.