Olle Svensson

Swedish strawberries for Midsummer, forest blueberries for your oatmeal, lingonberries for blood pudding, blackcurrant juice in the garden, cloudberries with sugar and vanilla ice cream… 

The list of all the good things you can get from Swedish nature could go on and on. But have you ever thought about everything that happens behind the scenes before the berries you buy end up in your kitchen? 

Olle Svensson AB was founded as early as 1945 and is today a leading wholesaler of wild and cultivated berries in Sweden. The short and intensive season, combined with the importance of delivering fresh berries, places high demands on fast and flexible deliveries with short lead times, as well as local refrigerated and frozen storage for further distribution to shops, local retailers, and berry processors such as producers of jam, juice, jelly, and other food products. 

The most challenging time of the year is the intense period from July to October, when berries must be picked, frozen immediately, and transported across the country. Large quantities are harvested in central and northern Sweden and then distributed nationwide. 

Fragmented processes 

With many years in the industry, it is natural that multiple routines and processes are added over time. When Olle Svensson AB decided to review their logistics, they were in a situation where they worked with 15–20 different carriers and had 5–10 external freezing warehouses used during peak periods. 

Olle Svensson experienced this as unsustainable, with far too many short-term solutions, spot pricing, numerous points of contact, and disorganized internal routines. Costs were also increasing in an unfavorable way and were difficult to oversee. 

Contact with TransportRådgivarna 

When Magnus Dahlberg started as Operations Manager at Olle Svensson AB, he contacted TransportRådgivarna to explore what they could offer. They presented clear examples of savings achieved in other companies, along with customer references. 

Above all, Olle Svensson AB needed to gain control over their contacts and agreements, but of course also to investigate whether costs could be reduced. 

An agreement was reached with TransportRådgivarna, and a project manager was assigned to map the situation and then develop various solution proposals. He presented packages that included both existing suppliers and new solutions. 

Magnus explains: 

"Our project manager turned out to be extremely skilled, professional, and highly competent—it was clear from the start. What is great about TransportRådgivarna is that you are presented with many different package solutions, and as a customer you have 100% control over how the final result should look."

Selection of suppliers 

A comprehensive approach was taken to both the warehouse situation and transport processes. TransportRådgivarna then arranged meetings with selected carriers and warehouse operators so that representatives from Olle Svensson AB could meet them, observe, and gain a practical sense of how they worked. 

The final choices were made based on price level, but also on previous experience with several of the carriers and warehouse operators. 

Magnus Dahlberg summarizes: 

"We went from having a large number of carriers and warehouse operators within logistics and storage to one main supplier in each area. The internal time savings are enormous—you know who to contact and you have close dialogue with your supplier. Everyday operations become much simpler. The workload has changed significantly, and it also creates new opportunities to develop joint IT solutions that can strengthen collaboration in the long term.

What TransportRådgivarna presented is exactly what they delivered. We can see that in the invoices that come in every day."

"We are extremely satisfied with the collaboration with TransportRådgivarna. You are always a bit uncertain before starting such a project, but I must say it turned out exactly as good as they promised from the beginning.