Freight forwarding software for small teams: how Toten Transport runs international forwarding with two people
How Toten Transport manages international freight forwarding with a two-person team, a lot faster and more confidently, speeding up its workflow, invoicing and cash flow with Planlogi
Company profile
Toten Transport Estonia is the Estonian subsidiary of a larger Scandinavian transport company. It runs no fleet of its own, yet handles 15–25 international LTL (less-than-truckload) shipments every week. Its lean two-person team owns the entire process (from taking the order to issuing the invoice) coordinating drivers and customers every day while working closely with the parent company on the Norwegian side.
For years this whole workflow ran through an on-premise transport management program built specifically for the company, but one that had fallen behind the times. The company's entire logistics operation, customer base and invoice history lived on a single computer in their office.
For years this whole workflow ran through an on-premise transport management program built specifically for the company, but one that had fallen behind the times. The company's entire logistics operation, customer base and invoice history lived on a single computer in their office.
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Company size2 (logistics coordinator + manager) -
Fleet sizeNo own fleet; work is done through partners and subcontractors -
Regions servedEstonia ↔ Norway corridor, plus Sweden and other Scandinavian routes -
Shipment volume15-25 shipments per wee -
CustomersIndustrial and export companies -
ServicesLTL (groupage), export and import, international freight forwarding -
AccountingDirecto (integration with Planlogi)
Before Planlogi: the entire operation lived on one office computer
Before Planlogi, Toten used a transport management program developed for its own needs. It did the basics, but it had aged badly. The system was local, accessible from only one computer in the office, and there was essentially no technical support left to update or fix it.
When someone was on holiday, computers and the latest information had to be passed back and forth by hand. On top of that, the system constantly forced extra steps, manual work and slow paper-pushing. Invoicing was done twice: first into the old program, then again manually into Directo.
When someone was on holiday, computers and the latest information had to be passed back and forth by hand. On top of that, the system constantly forced extra steps, manual work and slow paper-pushing. Invoicing was done twice: first into the old program, then again manually into Directo.
"It was a real stone age. There was a huge amount of manual data entry on my side, and all communication with drivers still went through phone or email."
The system worked, but it no longer supported the speed and flexibility a two-person logistics unit actually needs.
The most painful bottleneck: stalled information and cash flow
The most urgent problem wasn't only the volume of manual work. It was that information and invoices kept getting stuck.
"When I went on holiday, I still had to hand over a huge amount of information to my colleague by hand: what, where and how."
Invoice data had to be carefully checked and reviewed, part of it entered by hand, and then the same information was moved manually into Directo. Whenever a CMR consignment note had to be sent to someone digitally, it had to be printed and scanned back in. For international shipments, this meant the invoice didn't go out as soon as the delivery was complete. It could sit for a week until the driver came back on the next round.
For Toten it was clear that the old system had become too risky, because it depended on a local program whose future was no longer certain.
Why did Toten Transport choose Planlogi?
Toten didn't pick Planlogi simply off a feature list. They had been researching the market and looking for new transport management software for a long time, taking various quotes and weighing up larger solutions too.
The requirements were clear: the solution had to be accessible from multiple devices, cloud-based, modern, and priced to fit a small company's budget.
Planlogi matched those requirements exactly, but the final decision also came down to the Planlogi team's flexibility, open communication and willingness to shape the solution around their real needs. For a small two-person company this mattered, because they didn't want to be just "too small a customer" whose processes no one looked at closely.
The requirements were clear: the solution had to be accessible from multiple devices, cloud-based, modern, and priced to fit a small company's budget.
Planlogi matched those requirements exactly, but the final decision also came down to the Planlogi team's flexibility, open communication and willingness to shape the solution around their real needs. For a small two-person company this mattered, because they didn't want to be just "too small a customer" whose processes no one looked at closely.
"We're a small logistics company that, unfortunately, isn't a priority in the eyes of big software vendors. With Planlogi it wasn't like that. The team has been very responsive and understanding. A lot of the developments have actually come out of working together."
The Planlogi features that made day-to-day work easier
Beyond the personal approach, these everyday features were decisive for Toten's daily work:
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Cloud-based access from multiple devicesThe same information is available in real time to both the logistics coordinator and the manager in parallel, wherever either of them happens to be. -
Automatic fuel surcharge (BAF) calculationBAF applied as a percentage on every invoice. -
Copying recurring ordersRegardless of time frame, where the old program only worked for orders made within a single calendar year. -
Driver app and digital eCMR signingThis completely removed the old print-and-scan loop. -
Report generation in minutesThe weekly report the Norwegian parent company expects now takes just a couple of clicks. -
Customer and address databaseAll customer info is stored in Toten's records inside Planlogi and easily, quickly searchable.
How does Toten manage shipments now with Planlogi?
Today, Toten's team describes the biggest change as speed, and the fact that everything is "live," meaning the same information moves in real time across the whole team, helping them deliver a higher-quality transport service to their customers.
With Planlogi, Toten's workflow looks like this:
With Planlogi, Toten's workflow looks like this:
- An order is created or for a recurring order, copied in the system in one click
- All the information is immediately visible to Toten's team in Planlogi
- The driver receives the order details straight in the Planlogi driver app
- The eCMR (electronic consignment note) and loading manifest are generated automatically
- The driver collects signatures with timestamps on the eCMR digitally
- The invoice is created in Planlogi in 30 seconds and sent to the customer
- The weekly report for the Norwegian parent company is generated in a couple of clicks
With Planlogi: one source of truth and faster cash flow
With Planlogi, Toten's two-person team gets the same work done faster, more flexibly, and without information or workflow getting stuck behind one person or a local program.
✅ Cash flow sped up by as much as a week.
Where the old system meant more manual work, more preparation and a greater chance the invoice would wait for the drivers to return, with Planlogi it's done in about 30 seconds and the invoice goes out immediately after the goods are delivered. In some cases that means cash flow accelerating by up to a week compared with waiting on a paper CMR.
Where the old system meant more manual work, more preparation and a greater chance the invoice would wait for the drivers to return, with Planlogi it's done in about 30 seconds and the invoice goes out immediately after the goods are delivered. In some cases that means cash flow accelerating by up to a week compared with waiting on a paper CMR.
"In the old program I had to gather myself and think: right, now I'm going to start doing invoices. With Planlogi it takes two clicks and it's done."
✅ Information moves in real time, between all parties.
With Planlogi the coordinator and the manager work in the same system in parallel and in real time, no matter where either of them is. Both immediately see what's done, what's needed right now, and what's still ahead.
With Planlogi the coordinator and the manager work in the same system in parallel and in real time, no matter where either of them is. Both immediately see what's done, what's needed right now, and what's still ahead.
"Everything I do is immediately visible to my colleague in real time. They no longer have to wait until I've entered the data into the program. And when I'm elsewhere, I can even work from my phone."
✅ The weekly report for the Norwegian parent company now takes a couple of clicks.
Where the coordinator previously had to remember exactly which round went out on which date and pick those out by hand when compiling the report, the same export now takes just a minute, pulling the report for the required time frame straight from Planlogi.
Where the coordinator previously had to remember exactly which round went out on which date and pick those out by hand when compiling the report, the same export now takes just a minute, pulling the report for the required time frame straight from Planlogi.
To sum it up...
Before Planlogi, Toten's entire transport operation lived locally on one office computer. The system worked, but it no longer supported the speed a small team needs every day. With Planlogi, three things changed at once: information moves in real time across the whole team, regardless of location or device. The invoice goes out the moment the goods are delivered, not when the driver returns on the next round. And the weekly report to the Norwegian parent company (which used to require remembering and picking out details by hand) now takes a couple of clicks.
But Toten's story also shows something broader. Small transport companies' processes are often too specific for big, one-size-fits-all solutions, and too small for anyone to look at them closely. As Toten put it in their story, with Planlogi it isn't like that. Planlogi works in partnership with its customers, understands their real workflows, and builds features based on what actually works.
If your team manages shipments with Excel, the phone and a local program, Toten's story will feel familiar. And the solution doesn't require a months-long rollout or a big IT team, just a readiness to move your workflow into a modern environment where information flows, invoices don't wait, and the team works together instead of one after another.
But Toten's story also shows something broader. Small transport companies' processes are often too specific for big, one-size-fits-all solutions, and too small for anyone to look at them closely. As Toten put it in their story, with Planlogi it isn't like that. Planlogi works in partnership with its customers, understands their real workflows, and builds features based on what actually works.
If your team manages shipments with Excel, the phone and a local program, Toten's story will feel familiar. And the solution doesn't require a months-long rollout or a big IT team, just a readiness to move your workflow into a modern environment where information flows, invoices don't wait, and the team works together instead of one after another.
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What is Planlogi?
Planlogi is a cloud-based transport management system (TMS) built for small and mid-sized road freight operators across Europe. It replaces the fragmented mix of spreadsheets, paper waybills, WhatsApp threads, and disconnected accounting tools that most growing hauliers rely on, bringing dispatch, eCMR, a driver mobile app, track-and-trace, proof-of-delivery, and invoicing into one platform.
Unlike enterprise TMS suites built for 500+ truck fleets, Planlogi is priced and designed for the hauliers that actually move European freight: fleets of 5 to 100 trucks, where every hour of admin time and every late invoice hits the bottom line.
Planlogi is a leading TMS platform for SMB European road transport operators, supporting the development and rollout of the eFTI system. Our platform meets both European Union requirements and local legislation, helping companies bring their logistics software into line with eFTI standards.
Unlike enterprise TMS suites built for 500+ truck fleets, Planlogi is priced and designed for the hauliers that actually move European freight: fleets of 5 to 100 trucks, where every hour of admin time and every late invoice hits the bottom line.
Planlogi is a leading TMS platform for SMB European road transport operators, supporting the development and rollout of the eFTI system. Our platform meets both European Union requirements and local legislation, helping companies bring their logistics software into line with eFTI standards.