DHL becomes the main supplier to Sweden's booksellers
DHL Express (Sweden) and the service company for the Swedish Booksellers’ Association, Bopako Service AB, have entered into a long-term cooperation agreement covering 360 bookstores in Sweden. The agreement means that the booksellers can check where their shipments are in the transport chain and that delivery times are significantly reduced.
Swedish people are buying more books than ever before. According to the Swedish Retail Institute, HUI, 80 million books were sold in Sweden in 2007, an increase of 4.1 percent over the previous year.
The Swedish Booksellers’ Association, SBF, was established on August 14, 1993, and now has around 360 booksellers as corporate members. Now DHL Express (Sweden) and the SBF’s service company have signed an exclusive framework agreement for the SBF’s member companies.
Initially, the framework agreement is expected to cover 375,000 shipments and a total of 550,000 parcels per year, making it one of the most important parcels service agreements for DHL in Sweden. And there is every indication that the volumes may be much greater than 550,000 parcels per year. This is because the total sales of books are increasing all the time and this agreement will produce spin-off effects for other types of goods.
DHL Express hopes that the agreement will have a ripple effect on smaller companies, printers and others. Altogether, more than 300 companies are directly or indirectly linked to Sweden’s booksellers.
DHL Express (Sweden) and the service company for the Swedish Booksellers’ Association, Bopako Service AB, have entered into a long-term cooperation agreement covering 360 bookstores in Sweden. The agreement means that the booksellers can check where their shipments are in the transport chain and that delivery times are significantly reduced.
Swedish people are buying more books than ever before. According to the Swedish Retail Institute, HUI, 80 million books were sold in Sweden in 2007, an increase of 4.1 percent over the previous year.
“The agreement with DHL Express means that Sweden’s booksellers will receive faster and more frequent deliveries, improving service to bookstore customers”, says Tomas Wyatt, Managing Director of Bopako Service AB.
Clear and ambitious quality targets
The Swedish Booksellers’ Association, SBF, was established on August 14, 1993, and now has around 360 booksellers as corporate members. Now DHL Express (Sweden) and the SBF’s service company have signed an exclusive framework agreement for the SBF’s member companies.
“Our transport network, combined with a high level of service, is the reason the SBF has chosen DHL Express as its logistics partner. Clear and ambitious quality targets are another thing that our customers value”, says Per Nordén, Key Account Manager for DHL Express (Sweden).
Best possible service in relation to the price
Booksellers receive deliveries from six distribution centers, from where books are sent to bookstores all over the country. The new agreement means that DHL will pick up shipments every day. They will then pass into DHL’s normal network, to be handled according to DHL’s standards, providing the SBF’s members with the best possible service in relation to the price. Books can be delivered to most places the morning after the shipments have been collected from the distribution center.
The advantage of this approach is that DHL scans the goods five times before they reach the intended bookstore. This means that booksellers can obtain real-time information on the whereabouts of their shipments throughout the transport chain and that DHL can guarantee the SBF a real, measurable level of quality.
Spin-off effects
Initially, the framework agreement is expected to cover 375,000 shipments and a total of 550,000 parcels per year, making it one of the most important parcels service agreements for DHL in Sweden. And there is every indication that the volumes may be much greater than 550,000 parcels per year. This is because the total sales of books are increasing all the time and this agreement will produce spin-off effects for other types of goods.
In the first phase, the agreement between DHL and Bopako Service AB will run to 2009. After that, it will be automatically extended for one year at a time. Apart from the SBF agreement, DHL also hopes to have the opportunity to deliver to next year’s ‘Bokrea’ (discount sales). “We were in the process or rolling out the agreement when this year’s Bokrea got under way, but we have high hopes of being able to deliver big pallet shipments to next year’s sales”, says Per Nordén.
DHL Express hopes that the agreement will have a ripple effect on smaller companies, printers and others. Altogether, more than 300 companies are directly or indirectly linked to Sweden’s booksellers.
