Samskip, a Dutch company with its headquarters in Rotterdam, was founded originally in Iceland, in 1990. Since then Samskip has consistently grown and extended its network in 35 countries. The logistics service provider focuses on multimodal transport, integrated logistics, breakbulk and project cargo movements, temperature-controlled and ambient cargo forwarding, and logistics.

In Europe, Samskip offers its customers temperature-controlled services in four places. In Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Netherlands. One of the subsidiaries of Samskip is FrigoCare, which is responsible for the logistics of the Samskip containers in Rotterdam. The containers with frozen goods are either being stored or further transported into the multi-model network of Samskip. In order to efficiently streamline these cold storage operations, Samskip started working with Boltrics’ WMS in 2016.

Samskip streamlines its warehouse operations with the WMS of Boltrics in the Netherlands, Norway, and Iceland. Ragnar Thor Ragnarsson, Chief Information Officer at Samskip explains why they were looking for a new WMS at the time. “We were working with different systems that got outdated. It was time to implement a modern solution.”

A modern, state-of-the-art WMS

“The experience of Boltrics and the proven track record was the deciding factor. Our largest cold store is in the Netherlands, which was a very good fit. We have also implemented Boltrics’ WMS in other countries, where they were not active before at the time, but that has also proven to be very successful,” says Ragnar.

“I like the implementation methodology of Boltrics very much. In a period of three months, the software is fully implemented. That definitely has been a positive point.”

“Also the knowledge of the Boltrics consultants of the market and the functionalities of the WMS is a perfect fit. All the requirements for inbound, outbound, storage, traceability and working in different temperatures are all covered in the software.”

Adapt and adjust

Mon Verstegen, General Manager Freight Forwarding at Samskip stresses the importance of the flexibility of the system. “Business never stays the same. Processes are different now compared to before. We need to adapt and it is good to have a system where you have that flexibility. You can keep on expanding it.”

“You can adapt the software to the business of today instead of working with the solution from yesterday.”

Mon Verstegen

General Manager Freight Forwarding at Samskip

Built on the latest Microsoft technology

Mon: “I was not familiar with the software of Boltrics when I started working at FrigoCare, but the software is very self-explanatory. We have had some new employees joining and it is not hard for them to learn how to work with the system. That is very good for us, it can get people up to speed quickly and have the business run as usual.”

Ragnar: “Boltrics is focused on their branch solution and trusts in Microsoft to enhance and keep up with the technology. In this way, Boltrics can focus on developing their solution and providing improvements and functionalities that their customers require. I think that is a good setup.”

Software that fits seamlessly

Ragnar: “Our cold stores in Rotterdam, Ålesund, and Reykjavík all have the same system, but have different flavors of the in- and outbound flows. There are different checks that need to be made, different kinds of weighing and labeling and this is all configured in a very flexible way. Processes, checks, and value-added services can even be configured per customer. Both in inbound and outbound. That is something we are using a lot.”

Mon agrees: “Every warehouse has its own needs and the Boltrics software has been set up according to those needs. In our warehouse, we work with a unique system for imports from outside the EU, which is directly integrated with the health authorities. Another example is that in Norway, a lot of pallets of fish are entered the warehouse. In Rotterdam, we need everything to be containerized. So it is a different kind of business.”

Ragnar: “In Norway, we implemented an integration with a weighing solution, which is also directly integrated to authorities to report what is coming into the cold stores and out of the different trawlers.”

Save time and serve customers

Mon: “The experience of working with Boltrics’ WMS is very positive, it saves a lot of time. Once data is in the system, we do not have to repeat it a few steps ahead again. Recently we also started working with box scanning. It gives our customers an overview of the exact weight and products that are in stock. Certain sets of data that are put in the barcode is directly send into the WMS. It can then be exported to the customer through various reports. Our customers need this information to inform their customers of what is coming and also to do customs clearance correctly.”

Successful at Samskip and promising for you:

  • Work with one integrated system for all your processes instead of different point solutions.
  • Know what you want when selecting a new WMS, both from a functional and technological perspective.
  • Use the strength of the standard system and do not bend it into old habits and old ways of working.

About Samskip

Samskip is a global logistics company offering transport and related services by land, sea, rail, and air with a particular focus on cost-efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly transport. Samskip is one of the larger European transport companies, with offices in 35 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia.