Barole Trucking Delivers Final Four with Profit Tools Software.

Business/Technology Editors

FRIDLEY, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 2001

In the rush to prepare the Metrodome for the NCAA Final Four and Championship games, over 25,000 lower level seats were needed. Barole Trucking answered the call, getting seven container loads of imported seating delivered to the auditorium by 3/23, just in time to be set up for the first game on 3/31. Barole delivered the containers on behalf of OOCL and Superior Brokers of Bloomington, MN, who handled the Dutch import via the ports of Antwerp and Montreal, with passage to Minneapolis via the Canadian Pacific railroad. AB Tribunes of Best, Netherlands manufactured the seating.

Barole recently implemented Intermodal dispatch and operations software from Profit Tools, Inc. of Newmarket, NH, for their ocean container transportation business. "We couldn't deliver the Final Four winner, but we delivered the seats," joked Barole General Manager Scott Kavoukjian. "Shipments like these have to be done right the first time no matter how busy we are, which is why we made the software investment." Based in Minneapolis/St. Paul, about 5 miles from the Metrodome, Barole dispatches 25 company trucks and 40 owner-operated trucks, serving a six-state area including Chicago and Omaha. They handle import and export container traffic via the Burlington Northern and Canadian Pacific rail yards for customers such as Orient Overseas, Canadian Maritime, and Evergreen.

Barole uses Profit Tools for core functions such as order-entry, dispatch, billing, and driver logs. The system also includes a document imaging module which enables them to scan and store paper documents electronically, and associate them with individual shipment transactions. A search function lets them retrieve scanned documents, such as signed delivery receipts, and fax them directly from the computer to the customer. An interface to the InTouch mobile communications system keeps dispatchers connected with drivers and enables them to locate vehicles and generate ETAs. Drivers can request directions without tying up dispatchers. Accounting is done with QuickBooks Pro via an interface to Profit Tools.

"To serve our customers better and to grow the company, we needed to improve our ability to track equipment and find ways to streamline our overall business processes," said company president Ray Olson. "We installed Profit Tools and began using it for dispatch and billing last July. It worked well for us, so in September we made the decision to add Document Imaging, then went ahead with the Mobile Communications Interface last December," Olson said. General Manager Scott Kavoukjian is especially pleased with the Document Imaging: "It cuts our paper handling costs by over 40%," he says, "and it has improved our A/R cycle, because we can provide instant response to our customers' proof of delivery requests."

About Profit Tools, Inc.

Based in Newmarket, NH, Profit Tools, Inc., develops leading-edge business, operations and e-commerce software for commercial trucking and freight transportation. They offer configurable, off-the-shelf solutions to TL, LTL, Air-Freight, and Intermodal carriers, as well as freight brokers and agents, enabling them to be flexible and efficient without extensive training or in-house IT staff. Profit Tools' Internet solutions link transportation service providers more closely with their customers and business partners, allowing even the smallest carriers to meet the information requirements of the supply chain.