Matre

Building a Foundation from Day One: How TRIMIT Supports Matre’s Journey

Matre officially launched on August 29, 2024, with a brand platform, a small product portfolio – and no customers yet.
As a newcomer in the Norwegian furniture industry, the company’s ambition is clear: to create timeless furniture rooted in Norwegian design traditions while helping revive a once-proud industry.

But alongside the design story lay another equally important one: how to build the right business foundation from the start. For CEO Frode Karlsen, that foundation was TRIMIT.

The Challenge of Starting from Scratch

Launching a furniture company is about more than great products. For Matre, the challenge was how to:

Manage outreach to potential retailers and interior designers.

Keep track of countless meetings and leads before the first order was even signed.

Build and structure a product portfolio with multiple variants, price levels, and configurations.

“From the beginning, I had a clear idea that we needed systems to help us streamline our dialogue and process with customers. From my previous experience at Varier Furniture, I knew TRIMIT was a good system with many of the elements we wanted to bring into Matre as well.”

Still, with limited resources, TRIMIT and Business Central initially looked like too big of a system for a startup.

From my previous experience at Varier Furniture, I knew TRIMIT was a good system with many of the elements we wanted to bring into Matre as well.”

FRODE KARLSEN

CEO OF MATRE

Experience that Made the Difference

Frode’s hesitation didn’t come from lack of knowledge. At Varier Furniture, he had worked extensively with TRIMIT and seen firsthand how essential the right system is in a complex industry:

Furniture is complex – assortments, variants, and product structures need careful management.

Variant configuration is critical – without it, scaling becomes chaotic.

Migration is costly – smaller systems may look attractive at first, but switching later is disruptive.

“There are many smaller systems you can implement early on and later migrate to Business Central. But I’ve always been impressed with Business Central – and especially with TRIMIT’s configuration layer on top of it, which is tailored for furniture companies like ours.”

FRODE KARLSEN

CEO OF MATRE

Matre is a Norwegian furniture company rooted in cultural heritage and design tradition. With a passion for craftsmanship and sustainability, Matre creates timeless pieces that transform spaces while working to revitalize Norway’s furniture industry and share its unique design legacy with the world.

A Flexible and Effective Approach from TRIMIT

When Frode approached TRIMIT in Matre’s early days, he expected the solution might be too heavy. Instead, he found a partner willing to adapt:

“They were willing to see us as the small business we were, but also recognized our potential. It felt like a win-win. That meant a lot – especially since we hadn’t sold a single product yet. In fact, the very first invoice we ever sent was through TRIMIT,”
Frode explains.

TRIMIT suggested a step-by-step implementation that matched Matre’s reality: starting with core order and customer management, adding the variant and product configurator right away – essential for a furniture business – and keeping the system as standard as possible, with the option to expand later into PIM, bill of materials, and more.

The results spoke for themselves. Although the original plan was to go live within three months, Matre was fully operational in just one month, already sending invoices through TRIMIT. For a startup needing to focus on customers, products, and brand building, this speed was critical.

Benefits of Choosing TRIMIT Early

1. A Platform to Grow With

Instead of facing migration later, Matre can grow within the same platform – adding functionality as the business evolves.

“Had we chosen a smaller system instead, we would eventually have faced the disruption of switching later. Here, we can grow in the same platform… I don’t regret it for a second.”

2. Variant Configurator as a Game-Changer

Furniture complexity is non-negotiable. TRIMIT’s configurators give Matre the ability to manage assortments and pricing efficiently, providing the structure needed for scalability.

3. Power BI for Instant Insights

Though not essential at first, Power BI was added early – and quickly proved invaluable.

“Power BI has already proven extremely valuable, giving us instant insights without the heavy reporting work. It saves me a lot of time and strengthens both our business and our relationship with TRIMIT.”

4. A True Partnership

For Frode, the people behind the system matter as much as the system itself.

“TRIMIT’s consultants have been good advisors, challenging us where needed and being understanding of our financial situation when guiding us on next steps.”

Growing with Confidence from Day One

Matre may still be in its early days of their business journey, with just two employees and a handful of production partners, but with TRIMIT as the backbone of their operations they are already positioned to scale with confidence and ready to realize their ambitions.

For CEO Frode Karlsen, the decision to implement TRIMIT was never just about meeting immediate needs – it was about building long-term stability. His trust in the system, shaped by earlier experience at Varier, combined with TRIMIT’s flexibility in supporting a small but ambitious company, made the choice clear.

Today, Matre is focused on building its brand and platform through selected retailers, leaving e-commerce to customers in the first phase – but the foundation is ready for expansion when the time is right.

“We’re happy with both the product and the collaboration, and we’re confident we’ll build further on this foundation in the future.”

By choosing TRIMIT and Business Central from day one, Matre avoided the compromises and disruptions of smaller systems and instead secured a scalable, industry-specific platform that will support them for years to come.

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