Autorola has consolidated all global agreements in House of Control’s solution. The result is validated data quality, eliminated risk – and a CFO who can make decisions based on “a single source of truth” in a complex, global group.
For the global technology success story Autorola, contract management is more than an administrative task; it is a strategic necessity. With revenue approaching DKK 800 million and operations worldwide, the group’s business depends on a large number of critical supplier agreements.
By digitalising contract management with House of Control, Autorola has moved from manual processes to full strategic oversight. This provides reassurance for the board, peace of mind for the finance function, and a solid foundation for continued international expansion.
Autorola is one of the true success stories in Danish business. Since its founding in 1996, the company has revolutionised how the automotive industry handles used cars and fleet management. Through advanced digital auction platforms, buyers and sellers are connected across national borders.
The paradox for many fast-growing technology companies is that while the external product is streamlined, internal processes often lag behind. With 900 employees across 19 countries and 22 subsidiaries, Autorola was managing a vast number of agreements – ranging from complex IT licences to local lease contracts.
For a group operating in many countries, the desire for transparency and a common structure was the primary driver behind the collaboration with House of Control. For CFO Peter Bisgaard, the goal was to establish a global online archive that could replace manual routines and provide a consolidated overview of the group’s obligations.
“A large part of our business is built on supplier agreements. That’s why it was crucial for us to establish a central online archive where we could collect and manage all contracts across borders,” explains Bisgaard.
At Autorola, effective supplier management is a core part of the infrastructure. With the transition to a digital solution, the objective has been to ensure that agreements are easily accessible and transparent to the right people in the organisation.
“It’s about creating order and visibility. By gathering everything in one system, we ensure the necessary transparency and always have full control over our supplier contracts, which supports efficient operations,” he says.
Before centralisation, reality was characterised by local variations. In a group spanning from Mexico to Turkey, there was no common standard. Some agreements were stored in physical folders, others on local servers or in the inbox of a local manager.
Financial Controller Daniel Zink-Jensen, who led the rollout, describes a daily reality marked by uncertainty.
“Contracts were scattered across countries, and practices differed from Mexico to France. It was difficult to know which agreements were active, which had expired, and where documentation was missing,” he explains.
This lack of transparency created three concrete risk areas:
CFO Bisgaard is particularly focused on the latter.
“A lack of control means a risk of losing oversight in supervision, audits, and board work. Now that we have full visibility, the CEO and the board can trust the numbers and the basis for our decisions. That strengthens governance across the entire group,” he emphasises.
The journey to control began with one key realisation: the data had to be valid. In January, Zink-Jensen and House of Control initiated a comprehensive effort to quality-assure the contract portfolio.
“We went from a situation where we couldn’t fully rely on the data to one where we now have complete confidence in it,” says Zink-Jensen.
The process involved removing inactive contracts and validating active agreements. Once this foundation was in place, Autorola could decentralise responsibility. Today, the local subsidiaries own and manage their own contracts within the system.
“The local teams know their agreements best. They know whether a lease in Paris needs to be renegotiated or whether the leasing agreements in Turkey are correct. Now they handle uploads and follow-ups themselves, while we at headquarters control the quality.”
Today, House of Control functions as a digital safeguard. Zink-Jensen uses the solution weekly to follow up on system notifications, allowing him to contact the relevant entities when needed so that no deadlines are missed.
“The most important thing for me is that we no longer receive notifications about expired contracts that we’re still paying for. The system alerts us well in advance before an agreement is automatically renewed.”
The system’s search functionality also saves the organisation significant amounts of time.
“If we removed the system tomorrow, we would lose traceability and visibility across subsidiaries. That’s something we would have to stop immediately,” says Zink-Jensen bluntly.
The value lies in avoiding duplicate purchases and ensuring that negotiation leverage is always in place as contracts approach renewal.
A key factor behind the successful implementation has been the close follow-up from House of Control. As the system was rolled out to users with varying technical skills and language backgrounds, their Customer Success Manager, Simon Søgaard-Pedersen, contributed with tailored solutions.
“Simon took the time to understand the users’ situation and created videos showing exactly where to click and how to use the features. That has made onboarding significantly easier,” says Zink-Jensen.
This proactive support, combined with fast response times, has been crucial in ensuring that the system is now actively used across all 22 subsidiaries.
With Complete Control as its foundation, Autorola is looking ahead. The ambition is for data quality to become so high that the system can eventually deliver disclosure notes directly to the annual financial statements – saving the finance department substantial manual work.
For CFO Peter Bisgaard, the conclusion is clear: in a complex, global market, control over one’s own obligations is a prerequisite for success.
“We save time, we reduce risk, and we work more professionally. House of Control gives us the tool we need to ensure stability in the midst of growth.”