Nowports

About Nowports

Nowports was founded at the end of 2018 by Alfonso de los Ríos and Maximiliano Casal with a clear idea: logistics needed to change. For years, international trade had depended too much on emails, phone calls, scattered updates, and the kind of follow up that makes people feel like they are chasing a package through a maze while blindfolded. That old way of working created delays, errors, and confusion across the whole chain. So Nowports bet on technology from the beginning, using it to bring more visibility, control, and efficiency to logistics operations that badly needed a cleaner way to move.

The company grew fast. Today, Nowports has offices across Latin America and a team working in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, and Peru. That kind of regional growth is exciting, but it also brings a lot of internal complexity. Different teams. Different countries. Different payroll rules. Different local requirements. And, of course, a lot of information that needs to stay accurate. For Human Resources, this meant the operation could not keep depending on scattered processes. A company built to modernize logistics could not have its own HR and payroll management feeling like a shipment stuck in customs with no tracking number.

What problems did they identify?

The problem became clear as the team grew and the operation became more regional. Managing payroll and Human Resources started to feel heavier than it should. Communication between Administration and HR became harder, especially when they needed to coordinate salary changes, new hires, terminations, schedule adjustments, performance evaluations, bonuses, and reimbursements. A lot of it was handled by email, which meant constant reviews, cross checks, and follow ups. And email, as everyone knows, is where simple requests go to become tiny paper monsters with subject lines. 

“Each change involved emails, reviews, and cross checking information, which made us lose a lot of time.”

That was the daily friction. Every update required several steps. Every adjustment needed someone to confirm the details. Every change carried the risk of someone missing the latest version or answering on the wrong thread. In a regional company, that kind of back and forth grows quickly. What looks like one small update can become a whole chain of messages, approvals, and repeated checks. There was also the issue of variable payment concepts. Bonuses, reimbursements, last minute adjustments, and salary changes made payroll calculation more complex. These were not unusual cases. They were part of the normal rhythm of the business. But without a centralized system, each one added more pressure to the HR team. Payroll started to create bottlenecks in internal workflows, and that slowed down the area’s ability to focus on more strategic work. As Brenda González, HR Manager, explains, “each change involved emails, reviews, and cross checking information, which made us lose a lot of time.” And the challenge went beyond communication. Bringing together different payment concepts, such as bonuses, reimbursements, and salary adjustments, made payroll more complicated and slowed the team down. In a logistics company, that kind of delay feels especially painful. The whole business is about movement, but internally, payroll was starting to move like a tired shopping cart with one wheel arguing with the floor.

In what areas has Runa helped them?

Nowports needed a single, automated database where personnel information could live in one place and be easy to check at any time. Runa made that possible. Instead of looking across emails, files, and separate tools, the team could centralize employee data and manage key payroll and HR processes from one platform. That changed the way the daily operation felt. Less hunting for information. Less repeating the same checks. Less “who has the latest file?” energy floating around the team. Runa also helped simplify salary payments, payroll stamping, and the tracking of important information such as birthdays, anniversaries, and performance KPIs. Those details may seem small until a team grows across countries. Then they matter a lot. Good HR management depends on having information that is updated, easy to access, and reliable. Otherwise, everything becomes a guessing game with spreadsheets wearing fake mustaches.

Another important change came with tax calculations. Nowports was able to automate calculations such as VAT and ISR, which had previously been handled manually. That reduced the risk of errors and helped the team avoid delays. For payroll, this kind of automation is not just convenient. It protects time, accuracy, and trust. When calculations are done manually, every cycle carries more risk. When the process is inside a platform, the team can work with more confidence and fewer last minute scares. Support from Runa also made a difference. When questions come up, the team can get quick answers and resolve adjustments without putting timelines at risk. For a company growing across several markets, that matters. HR cannot wait days for support when payroll is moving and people are expecting clarity. Brenda sums it up well: “today, we have clear, accessible information ready to operate without friction, which allows us to focus on strategic tasks and support the company’s growth with solid processes.” That is the real value. Runa helped Nowports reduce operational noise so the team could spend more time supporting the business, not chasing details through inboxes.

Why did they choose Runa?

Nowports chose Runa because the company needed more than a payroll tool. They needed a platform that could bring Human Resources management into one place and make the process easier to control. Managing payroll, personnel information, performance tracking, and key HR data from one interface gave the team more clarity and helped reduce the errors that came from using disconnected tools. For a regional operation, that kind of centralization is not a luxury. It is the difference between having a control tower and trying to manage flights with sticky notes. Ease of use also mattered. The platform was intuitive enough for the team to adopt quickly, which made implementation smoother. That is important because a tool can be powerful, but if the team needs a survival guide, three trainings, and a motivational speech just to use it, the value disappears fast. Runa helped the team move into the new process without making the transition feel heavy.

The direct support from Runa was another key reason behind the decision. Nowports needed a team that could respond, understand the situation, and actually solve things. Not just send a polite message and disappear into the mist. In payroll and HR, support needs to be practical because every delay can affect the operation. Having that reliable support gave Nowports more confidence as it continued growing. For Nowports, Runa became a way to bring order to a regional HR and payroll operation that was getting more complex every month. The platform gave the team better control, clearer information, and fewer manual steps. And for a logistics company that helps clients move smarter, having internal processes that also move smarter just makes sense. Growth is already hard enough. Payroll does not need to bring its own suitcase full of chaos.