“Changing your TMS and telematics provider is like doing open heart surgery and brain surgery… together. But we’re sitting here – we made it.” – Hjalmar van Tiel, Managing Director, Van Tiel Transport B.V.
About L. Van Tiel Transport B.V.
Van Tiel Transport B.V. is a long-standing, family-run transport business based in Schiedam, right by the Port of Rotterdam. Founded in 1928, the company has grown alongside the port itself, from early chemical logistics to today’s mix of containers, tank containers, port shunting and intermodal moves.
Van Tiel operates around 45–50 trucks, with most drivers returning home daily, and a smaller group running week-long trips. The team also supports warehouse activity and frequent “train-to-terminal-to-vessel” shunts where work where timing, accuracy, and reliable data make or break the day.
Over the years, Van Tiel deliberately diversified its customer base. Today, their three biggest customers make up around 60% of turnover, balanced by a broader mix of work and customer types.
The before: two big constraints holding them back
Van Tiel wasn’t actively looking to replace everything. In fact, they had changed TMS systems not that long ago. But both the TMS and onboard setup were starting to feel like they belonged to a different era: static workflows, slower support, and a growing gap between what the business needed and what the tools could deliver.
1) With their previous TMS system, the pains were clear:
- A complex, static system that didn’t flex around real-life operations, meaning the team could not make the software work for them.
- Slow support loops, with ticket-based email support that could take days – not workable when you’re running live transport.
- Too much manual entry, which doesn’t just cost time, it increases the risk of incorrect data that cascades into planning and finance.
“If you make a ticket, you want it solved quickly… the previous way of working wasn’t in line with how we work.” – Arinda Beije, Quality Manager, L. Van Tiel Transport B.V.
2) Old on-board hardware wasn’t up to the job
On the vehicle side, Van Tiel was facing a reality many operators recognise: older onboard hardware across part of the fleet needed replacement anyway. That became the moment to step back and say: if we have to change – let’s change properly.
“If we want to change, now’s the time because we have to change either way.”
Their goal wasn’t to reduce headcount. It was to increase reliability, raise quality, and be confident they were ready for what’s next.
Why Qargo + Platform Science together?
Van Tiel made a deliberate whole stack decision: upgrade the transport workflow and the connected fleet layer at the same time, and make sure the two systems talk to each other cleanly.
A key part of that decision was Platform Science’s open ecosystem approach – meaning the platform is designed to easily connect with other systems and applications. The team wanted a flexible solution that allowed them to integrate their own or third-party applications alongside the core workflow, ensuring the setup remains adaptable as their operation evolves.
“We made this decision because we want a higher quality level… and we want to be ready for the near future.” – Hjalmar van Tiel, Managing Director
But they didn’t describe it as a standard digital transformation. They described it as: make work easier, make data reliable, and stop fighting the systems.
Implementation: a fast, coordinated rollout
Implementing a new TMS was already a big move. Doing that plus new onboard tablets and workflows could easily be chaos – Van Tiel expected it to be. But it wasn’t.
Qargo onboarding: calm, hands-on, fixed-in-the-moment support
Qargo’s onboarding approach stood out for its speed and practical support in the production environment – not just in tests. “On the first day, it was so relaxed in the office… things ran pretty much directly.”
“If something occurred, Guilian (our onboarding manager) took his laptop and said… ‘refresh your page’ and it worked. That gave so much peace.”
Even with limited planner testing beforehand, the team adapted quickly – including more experienced users who usually take longer to change habits.
Platform Science rollout: executed quickly, minimal downtime mindset
They chose to do it properly, all at once approach because stretching change over weeks is often where frustration creeps in. Their onboard installation was completed in days, not weeks and critically, it was organised like a project, not a slow drip.
“The speed of implementation was special… tablets in all 45 trucks were installed in just three days.”
— Hjalmar van Tiel, Managing Director
Van Tiel’s view is simple: you plan for a short dip in productivity, then you’re settled rather than living in conversion limbo for ten weeks.
The after: what changed day-to-day
In Qargo, two things created immediate impact:
Drag-and-drop order entry with Qargo Intelligence (Qi)
Van Tiel’s team described a familiar pain: manual order entry takes time — and when the data is wrong, everyone downstream pays for it (planning, admin, invoicing, customer comms).
With Qargo, they drag orders in, let Qi read and populate key fields, and focus on checking rather than typing.
“That was the wow factor… you just have to check. It saves time and reduces wrong data.”
At the same time, Platform Science’s AI-powered document scanning strengthened the driver-to-office communication loop. Drivers can capture high-quality scans directly from their devices, improving data accuracy from the field and ensuring the information flowing into Qargo starts clean from the source.
Arinda estimates this has cut order-entry effort by 30–50% again versus their prior improvements, with more upside as scanning becomes even more consistent.
Planning that fits port-life complexity
Van Tiel does a lot of coupling/decoupling work and port shunts – workflows that expose rigid systems fast. Qargo’s planning flexibility and drag-and-drop experience made it easier to adapt without building workarounds.
“It was too good to be true… why didn’t we know about it earlier?”
– Arinda Beije, Quality Manager
With Platform Science, the benefits were more reliable fleet data and less admin around driver hours. On the fleet side, they highlighted reliability and admin reduction, especially around driver hour correction and task consistency.
Previously, the person responsible for hours spent significant time correcting and changing driver tasks. With the new setup, that work reduced dramatically.
“Now it goes more easily, and the data is much more reliable… the time she spends on that part is maybe half.”
One reason this works so well is the flexible workflow setup between Qargo and Platform Science. When a planner assigns or updates a task in Qargo, it triggers specific workflows directly on the driver’s device – ensuring the right instructions, documents and steps appear at the right moment in the driver journey.
The 1 + 1 = 3 effect: reliable data flow between office and trucks
Van Tiel described the combined value in practical terms: the integration makes the operation more reliable, with cleaner data moving between systems. “We’re very happy we made this decision. We get reliable data which we didn’t have before.”
They also pointed to what connected operations unlock beyond daily efficiency: faster exports and reporting for quality frameworks like ISO/SQAS, and future-readiness as port processes evolve.
Why it matters
In port logistics, the pressure is constant: slots, terminals, last-minute changes, compliance requirements, and customers who expect answers now — not tomorrow.
Van Tiel’s story reflects a shift many operators are making: moving from “systems that record what happened” to systems that help teams run the operation in real time, with reliable data.
And perhaps the best part? The big scary change didn’t turn into a big scary project.
“Get over the part that it’s too good to be true… It really is possible.”
— Arinda Beije, Quality Manager
Sustainability and reporting: the next chapter
Van Tiel’s next focus is using connected data not just to run transport, but to prove performance.
From Qargo, they want:
- More financial reporting and weekly performance views (revenue and costs per truck/driver) without rebuilding everything in Excel.
- Easier setup and extraction for emissions reporting to support certifications.
From Platform Science, they already use:
- Fuel usage reporting to identify gaps and enable driver coaching, with optional performance tooling to add later once the basics are bedded in.
Closing thoughts
If you ask Van Tiel what Platform Science and Qargo deliver together, the answer isn’t just new tools. It’s a calmer operation, a more reliable data foundation, and a setup they believe they can grow with.
“It was a smooth transition to a reliable and future-proof transport management system.”
And to any operator hesitating? “Get over the part that it’s too good to be true… believe the hype.” A fast, calm transformation – from static systems to reliable, connected operations.
“Before, we didn’t have reliable data. Now we do, and it’s a better step to the future.”
– Hjalmar Van Tiel, Managing Director, L. Van Tiel Transport B.V.
Next steps
🚀 Want to see how a connected TMS + telematics setup can transform your port and container workflows? Book a demo and we’ll map your “office-to-truck” workflow end-to-end.