Breaking the deadlock in a logistics company — agreement after 4 months of quarreling
Contractors started leaving due to an owner dispute. Our relationship audit showed a financial communication error. After changing reporting rules, trust returned in 11 days.
Two partners of Trans-Nordic Logistics stopped talking to each other in October 2024. Lack of communication paralyzed the signing of new contracts and threatened to break cooperation with 3 key recipients from Denmark. We entered the company to settle the past and establish new rules for profit sharing.
The challenge
The dispute lasted exactly 126 days and concerned alleged siphoning of funds for private purposes by one of the partners. The atmosphere was so bad that office employees began looking for new jobs, and the company recorded a revenue drop of 14% within one quarter. The partners communicated exclusively through lawyers, which generated costs of around 4,200 PLN per month just for the exchange of letters.
The problem was exacerbated by the lack of a transparent system for reporting fuel costs and servicing of 17 truck tractors. Each owner had a different Excel sheet, and the numbers did not match by nearly 28,000 PLN annually. Without clear data, trust ceased to exist, and the company stood on the edge of liquidation.
Our approach
Our team conducted a relationship and financial audit in 3 stages. First, we separated emotions from numbers, analyzing bank statements from the last 8 months. We discovered that the error did not result from bad will, but from double-booking of tire service invoices, which explained 89.1% of the differences in amounts.
Next, we organized 3 mediation sessions, each lasting 3 hours. Instead of looking for the guilty, we focused on repairing the share structure and clear division of duties. We used the parity method, where every decision above 15,000 PLN now requires signatures from both parties, but smaller expenses are fully autonomous for each director.
The solution
We implemented a new company statute that contains safeguards in case of another conflict. We changed the reporting system to one that refreshes margin data every 24 hours and is available to both partners on smartphones. Thanks to this, no one has to ask the other about the company's cash status.
We signed an out-of-court settlement that closed all claims from 2023-2024. Additionally, we introduced a clear dividend payout schedule — once a quarter, without exceptions. This calmed the home situation of both owners and allowed them to return to work on regaining lost transport orders.
Results
The partners returned to joint management of the company without the involvement of external lawyers. Trans-Nordic Logistics maintained all export contracts and hired 2 new drivers a month after concluding mediation.
Timeline
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January 8, 2025Analysis of financial documentation and interview with accounting.
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January 12, 2025First mediation session — confrontation of numbers and expectations.
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January 15, 2025Development of new expense and reporting regulations.
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January 19, 2025Signing the final settlement and annex to the company agreement.
"We were one step away from court and breaking the company into pieces. Forum Sovereignty showed us that the problem lay in a stupid error in the tables, not in theft. I regained my partner and peace."