Millions in savings

TOOLS is Norway’s leading supplier of tools, machines, personal protective equipment, and industrial consumables.

Freight cost management

IMI's solution influences TOOLS' business strategy

IMI’s freight cost management solution has helped TOOLS gain control over all business processes, including freight calculation and accurate freight accruals in the accounts. Freight is now part of all profitability analyses and an integrated element of all control functions.

IMI is not only a software provider but also a close partner that influences TOOLS’ business strategy across Sweden, Finland and Norway. The expertise IMI brings has strengthened TOOLS’ position as a tools supplier and improved the offering to customers.
For the finance department, the solution has been highly valuable. Processes for account coding and cost allocation have been automated, and previous challenges with accrued freight costs have been eliminated.

We have over 200 transport companies that provide services for us at a daily basis. With FCM from IMI as part of the team, we are saving millions.

Stig Robert Gustavsen

Logistics Manager, TOOLS

IMI GO! FCM - Freight Cost Management. Tools

Millions in savings

“We have saved millions with IMI’s solution as part of the team. One of the features is invoice control,” says Stig.

Some time ago, IMI discovered that a customer number with a carrier had been registered with an incorrect discount structure in the system. The issue was identified early, and more than 700,000 NOK could be credited.

Since then, TOOLS has achieved simpler processes and better control, and now has greater confidence that invoices from transport providers are accurate.

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A challenging journey

When Stig became Logistics Manager at TOOLS, the company had twenty warehouses across Norway. These were reduced to five, and today only the central warehouse and a regional warehouse in Stavanger remain.

Accurate reporting and profitability analyses provide better business control. The solution has streamlined freight and transport operations and gives a clear view of what it actually costs to transport goods from point A to point B. Soon, TOOLS will also use the price calculator on its website, allowing customers to calculate freight costs directly without logging into an external system.

“For us, gaining control of our business processes was crucial. I came from a company that had problems with freight accruals. For six years, we discussed how to get better control of the month-end closing. We knew what we had shipped, but we did not receive invoices and did not know what we would have to pay. At TOOLS, we now have control over our business processes and a well-functioning freight accrual system in place. I no longer need to go into Excel files with more than 20,000 rows. IMI gives me an overview of everything. With their trend analyses, I get the information I need at a high level.”

-Stig Robert Gustavsen, Logistics Manager at TOOLS

From invoice control to financial control

IMI’s solution goes beyond traditional invoice control by offering broader, more tailored functionality that integrates processes for invoice control, account coding, accrued liabilities, price calculation and profitability analysis.

The close collaboration with IMI has led to improved business reporting and stronger control at management level. With millions of freight operations each year, TOOLS has also gained better operational control, with booking managers using the freight calculator to get a clearer overview of goods transportation.

Business processes must be structured

TOOLS has a complex and partly unstructured carrier setup with over two hundred carriers, which has increased the need for more structured internal processes and greater use of IMI’s solution across the organisation.

IMI is seen as a solution-oriented partner in addressing these challenges. With a strong Business Intelligence foundation, TOOLS has improved its ability to develop its working methods and stay ahead in analysis and follow-up.

At the same time, the company is actively analysing the profitability of its transport setup, using both its own vehicles and external carriers. This creates a constant trade-off between cost and delivery speed, where faster deliveries often increase freight costs.

“We have discussed the profitability of using our own vehicles. We rely on everything from external carriers driving TOOLS vehicles to smaller local partners handling daily deliveries. The cost of using smaller partners is likely not economically justified, but this is the dilemma between sales and logistics. Sales is about delivering goods on time. The faster goods reach the customer, the more expensive the freight becomes. With FCM, we can pre-calculate freight prices and reduce them.”

-Stig Robert Gustavsen, Logistics Manager at TOOLS

A closer look at freight costs

At the same time, TOOLS is implementing BI reports to analyse freight costs in relation to revenue. The aim is not to generate revenue from freight, but to ensure accurate billing and offer competitive and precise freight pricing. IMI supports this by providing greater transparency and control over how transport costs are calculated and followed up.

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