Car tyres, wheels to complete sets; Inter-Sprint is the largest European tire distributor. From the location in Moerdijk they transport hundreds of containers per month throughout Europe, at 1,200 tires per container. They do a large part themselves with their own fleet. But as customers demand ever faster delivery, Inter-Sprint lost some of its trade in Finland to local players. This is how Freight Frame came into the picture: super fast and reliable delivery in Finland, high service with competitive prices.
“Whether customers are in the Netherlands, Spain or Finland. Everyone expects: ordered today, delivered tomorrow,” says Ary Wijnholst, Logistics Planner at Inter-Sprint. In the team of five planners, Ary mainly focuses on foreign planning. He talks about the challenge they had in Finland: “In Finland we saw a drop in trade. The delivery time had to be faster and faster, but faster than local traders was difficult. That’s how we lost customers. So we had to find a solution. Transporting ourselves took too long and we want to stick to our company philosophy that the cars are at home at the weekend.” Sea containers came into the picture because of the competitive prices, but that was not a solution for faster delivery times. could be a solution, says Ary, but then the focus is on price and not on delivery time. He therefore went in search of a specialized Finanland transporter.
Ary has been a freight forwarder for over ten years. He therefore knows better than anyone else how the market works and which transporters are available. Ary smiles, “A full car with tires is quite valuable and easy to trade. That is why we do not want to work with forwarders, because then you no longer have control. I was looking for a reliable, good and permanent partner to whom we can put everything down. And yes, it can always be cheaper, but not better.” After doing some research on the internet and verifying with several companies, he chose Freight Frame.
That choice turned out to be the right one. “Freight Frame was able to offer a very fast connection; loading on Monday and unloading on Wednesday afternoon in Helsinki. At such a distance, that’s really fast!”, Ary emphasizes. But it’s not just about speed or price. Ary: “For example, loading at the agreed time, clear information about the location of the car and giving advice about the exact route. Freight Frame is very strong in this, because they are always available, helpful and they arrange urgent deliveries immediately. That works well and ensures a good relationship.”
Ary notices in the approach that they really have knowledge of the country: “I make the planning and route for Finland myself and I send that to Freight Frame. They give advice on whether there is no faster route or whether certain destinations should be turned around. Our customers notice this too. They now get everything delivered much faster and that means more trade for us!”
Inter-Sprint has the largest range in Europe with a stock of no less than 3.8 million tires! As a result, customers almost never miss out. “I thought I had a lot of knowledge, but how Freight Frame is going about it and as fast as they can deliver, I honestly didn’t expect that. They apparently have such a fast connection and changeover time that trailers never stand still.” He is genuinely surprised how Freight Frame can arrange for them to load on Monday and unload on Wednesday afternoon in Helsinki. “Apparently they also have very good drivers. I have not had a single complaint in the last 2 to 3 years”. So when asked whether he would recommend Freight Frame, he didn’t have to think twice. “When a colleague, competitor or even my wife – who also works in transport – comes with an issue about Finland or towards Lithuania, I immediately think of Freight Frame!”