A reliable and sustainable short sea solution

DFDS NorthSea terminal employees, ship

About Norske Porter

Norske Porter AS is a supplier of quality doors, gates, and loading systems. The company imports a wide range of products to Norway and works with large producers all over Europe. With more than 30 years of experience in the business, they are well established in the market. Norske Porter’s goal is to offer the widest product range and best customer service in the market while delivering products in the most efficient and sustainable way possible.

Client: Norske Porter Industry: Construction (Doors and Gates) Headquarter: Larvik, Norway Type: Public Founded: 1991

Norske Porter logo

DFDS improves Norske Porter's logistics by providing a short sea solution

Summary

As an importer of doors, gates and loading systems from the continent to the Norwegian market, Norske Porter was challenged by high freight rates and lack of capacity. They struggled with delays, inconsistent lead times, and inefficient transport planning. On top of that, the transport costs had increased in their current set-up. Altogether, Norske Porter needed a partner to help them improve their overall logistics. Someone who could optimise lead times, secure capacity, and plan the logistics flow while at the same time reducing cost.

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Results

BMGS case study delivery from AtoZ

Optimised lead times

Customer Service

Consistent on-time delivery with improved transport planning

BMGS case study clear budget proposal

Secured capacity which reduced transport costs

BMGS case study measure co2 footprint

Decreased CO2 emissions

Challenge

To import products from Europe to Norway, Norske Porter had a logistics set-up based on road transport. However, they struggled with delays, varying lead times and high freight rates. With the driver shortage in Europe, it was also hard for Norske Porter to secure the capacity needed. In addition, they needed to improve their transport planning and communication at the loading site. While striving to deliver their products in the most efficient and sustainable way possible, they felt there must be a better transport alternative.

DFDS trucks on the road

"The transition from road transport to short sea has been very smooth, and we know exactly when our goods will arrive. Our logistics flow has much improved now that we have fewer contact points. I would strongly recommend DFDS’ short sea set-up to other companies because of the environmental benefits, on-time deliveries, and knowing the vessel arrives on time versus having trailers transporting the goods all the way across Europe."

Per-Ludvik Vagle, Manager at Norske Porter

Solution

Together with DFDS, Norske Porter started looking into a more sustainable transport option. They investigated the possibility of moving goods volumes from road to sea, and DFDS suggested a short sea logistics set-up. Today, DFDS collects Norske Porter’s goods in trailers and ships them on vessels from Ghent to Brevik for further delivery into Larvik. This allows Norske Porter to secure both lead times into Norway, avoiding irregular goods flows, and guaranteeing a consistent delivery with scheduled vessels.

DFDS’ customer service provides one single point of contact for planning Norske Porter’s goods. The local presence of DFDS’ office in Ghent provides smooth communication with a short response time at the loading site.

Making the transition to short sea transport allowed Norske Porter to circumvent the capacity imbalance, driver shortage and the high freight rates of road transport. Today, they not only see great economic benefits but have also managed to decrease their CO2 emissions.

DFDS ship loading containers at port