Freight invoices, zone surcharges and transport agreements across borders and continents – for many companies it is a jungle. At BouMatic, which produces and supplies advanced milking equipment and robots to dairy producers all over the world, the solution was to bring in specialist expertise from LogistikPartner, who advise on international freight and forwarding.
Henrik Outzen has been Managing Director of BouMatic Denmark for 18 months. When he joined, the collaboration between the two companies was already well established. He quickly found out why.
“LogistikPartner has insight into the hundreds of rules and details that make transport so complex. Whether it’s about cubic metres, loading metres or length, and whether the transport is to a European country or overseas, they have a set-up that ensures us the best price in terms of reliability and safety,” says Henrik Outzen.
Smooth access to invoice checking
BouMatic’s European central warehouse is located in Skjern. Each month, goods are received here from the parent company in the US, and some of the equipment is also assembled here—produced partly in Denmark and partly in other European countries. For that reason, logistics and transport solutions play a crucial role. After all, customers are located across Europe, Asia and other overseas markets.
“When invoices arrive from freight forwarders and carriers spread across Europe, it can be very difficult for us to see whether the price is correct. That’s why it is so important that we have access to LogistikPartner’s software—otherwise it quickly becomes unmanageable to check the bills, because our major shipments often involve 15–20 parties per transport,” he says.
Minimises errors
Henrik Outzen highlights that working with LogistikPartner and using their software offers advantages on several fronts.
“I think LogistikPartner do a really good job—both in terms of the analysis they carry out and their web-based tool, which reviews invoices and automatically compares them with the freight forwarders’ original quotes. It reduces the risk of errors, saves us significant costs, and sharpens our focus on costs and the complexity of freight,” says Henrik Outzen.
Freight – a by-product
BouMatic’s primary purpose is to deliver a high-tech product to dairy farmers. Freight is a kind of by-product, and for him and the company’s other employees it is a positive advantage to have a supplier that provides oversight and tools.
“I was actually surprised at how much freight forwarders let prices rise—and how good they, and the carriers, are at making money from their services. We don’t have our own in-house freight department, so for us it makes very good sense to use LogistikPartner’s services,” says Henrik Outzen.
“I was actually surprised by how much freight forwarders let prices rise – and how good they, and the carriers, are at making money from their services.” — Henrik Outzen
FACTS
BouMatic is among the world’s largest suppliers of milking robots and all types of milking equipment for cows, sheep and goats.
In Denmark, the European central warehouse is located in Skjern. The group is headquartered in the United States and has roots dating back to 1938. It is American-owned.
More: boumatic.com
