In a sector where downtime directly translates into financial loss, effective software is not a luxury but a prerequisite for remaining competitive. Frontliners, a company specializing in logistics software for intermodal transport, faced a critical decision: continue building on an outdated system or develop an entirely new application. Together with development partner NetRom Software, the company—based in Oss—chose the latter. The result is a scalable and flexible cloud solution that eliminates the need for separate applications and enables seamless integration across the logistics chain.
Frontliners was founded in 1995 with a clear objective: to gain a competitive advantage through proprietary software for the transport sector. Today, the company employs approximately 70 people and provides software for a wide range of logistics processes, from matching supply and demand to depot management, planning, and invoicing.
In international transport across multiple continents, the use of multiple modalities (such as road, rail, and sea transport) is unavoidable. This balancing process requires the integration of order management, planning, pricing information, and external partners across the logistics chain.
The software used by Frontliners had evolved over several decades, but by 2019–2020, modernization had become unavoidable. Sebastiaan de Gouw explained: “We had continued building on a core system that was originally developed 25 years ago in Clarion. However, the software was not scalable, not object-oriented, and instead of being cloud-based, it was still fully on-premises. Stability was also declining.”
‘‘The NetRom developers are highly skilled, and the code quality is high. This quality advantage goes hand in hand with a cost advantage.’’
SEBASTIAAN DE GOUW, CEO OF FRONTLINERS
The modernization program was ambitious: a timeline of three to four years, a scaled Agile development approach, and a cloud-based architecture built on microservices. H&S Group, one of the shareholders, already had positive experience with NetRom Software. Sebastiaan de Gouw explained: “We started with a clean slate. This gave us the opportunity to move several steps forward. We aim to leverage modern technologies such as scaled Agile, domain-driven design (a software design approach focused on modeling business domains), cloud computing, and the application of AI.”
The joint development team consists of approximately 110 people, organized into seven mixed teams. Nearly 30 team members are from NetRom: 21 developers and 8 QA engineers. The teams work in two-week sprints. Four times per year, developers collaborate in person for a week in Romania. De Gouw noted: “Working remotely alone is not sufficient.”
The collaboration provides benefits for both parties. De Gouw added: “We learn a great deal from each other. NetRom learns from Frontliners’ scaled Agile approach, and we learn from NetRom about their efficient coding practices. The NetRom developers are highly skilled, and the code quality is high. This quality advantage goes hand in hand with a cost advantage.”
Frontliners deliberately chose a dedicated team, enabling the development of domain expertise and ensuring long-term stability. As a result, employee turnover remains low.
Frontliners operates with a long-term horizon of ten years. The first phase—developing a cloud-based solution to replace legacy applications—is well underway. The second phase focuses on integrating additional components of the logistics chain, generating new data streams.
Sebastiaan de Gouw explained: “The more data you have, the better you can manage your operational planning. In the new version, end users can rely much more on the software. It will be able to generate multiple scenarios more quickly, such as alternative routes or schedules.”
The third phase centers on AI and predictive capabilities. This long-term vision, combined with NetRom’s technical expertise and commitment, forms a solid foundation for the future of logistics software.
Discover how NetRom, together with Frontliners, transformed a legacy system into a scalable cloud solution
