New ideas that can beat the recession – Swedish express market
Although some express operators with a smaller presence in Sweden have continued to see growth – UPS reports doubledigit increases in 2001 – the express market as a whole has seen a significant slowdown since the first quarter.
DHL has around 60% of the Swedish express market, and saw growth tumble from 15% in Q1 to zero in July and August and a 2% drop in September.
“We have not lost customers and have managed to increase our market share, but they are sending lighter shipments and less frequently, ” says country MD Tomas Olsson.
“The IT and automotive sectors have been affected by the global slowdown, but not pharmaceuticals.
“Volvo and Ericsson are our biggest customers and their suppliers are also affected.
“The good thing is that work with companies like Pharmacia has grown by 50%, but some of the big companies have been severely affected this year.”
For Olsson, the solution is to teach customers different ways of using the express product, citing the example of Alfa Laval, which makes hydraulic pumps for big ships.
“If the ships have a problem while at sea, they need to have the spare part when they arrive at the next port and Alfa Laval had been wondering where they should put their warehouses.
“We have been developing a system with Alfa so a ship can put an order on our system via the Internet while at sea, and we make sure we transport the part to the right harbour for when the ship arrives.
“That is the kind of service we need to focus on.That is how we can meet the recession, where we build the systems with the customer, and where their order system is linked to ours.
“We have been investing heavily in that, getting people trained and sending them out to customers who are looking for new solutions.”
Olsson is also optimistic that a new alliance with Danzas will help bring in new business.The Nordic region has been the first to take advantage of the new relationship, which involves joint working and began in February.
“So far, we have got three contracts where we have divided the work between us.We managed to win some business that has been with a competitor for 10 years.
“Separately we could not have won that business, but together we cut three days out of the delivery time from a production plant in the US.”
Posted: 26/11/2001
IFW
