Todd Wermerson

By Gabrielle Mosquera Northern Tool and Equipment Co.'s U.K. call center used to ship its products based on little more than good faith. Until May 2001, the cataloger, which sells tools and equipment to consumers and businesses, had no address-verification tools in place for the U.K. shipping region. As a result, returns from incorrect addresses (along with shipping costs) began piling up. "We ship everything from tractors to work gloves," says Todd Wermerson, Northern Tool's president of information technology. "It's very expensive to ship that stuff across the U.K., and then ship it back." In fact, returns numbered so many that