Dole Subsidiary Enhances Sweden Warehouse Operations

To increase warehouse operations across Finland, Sweden, and the broader Nordic region, Dole Nordic has procured the Fresh Produce division of Greenfood AB.

Dole’s new collaboration 

Dole has gained access to a 26,500 sq. ft fresh produce distribution hub in Helsingborg, Sweden, through a new alliance with the leading food enterprise. This facility emphasises the company's commitment to implementing cutting-edge warehouse technologies, featuring robotics, advanced automation, logistics solutions and sophisticated inventory management systems.

Niels Klem Thomsen, CEO of Dole Nordic AB, says: “We are pleased to welcome GFP colleagues to our organisation – a team of skilled people who have consistently delivered value to their customers.” 

“Together, we will strengthen our Nordic platform, enhance our customer offering and create a stronger foundation to support growth in fresh produce consumption across the region.”

Dole Nordic has emerged as Northern Europe's premier distributor of fresh produce, following its 2007 formation through a strategic alliance between Denmark's Lembcke group and Sweden's Everfresh.

Dole’s procurement actions

In 2020, Dole began finding ways to strengthen its procurement practices in order to continue providing fresh produce to its consumers. Naissa von Pein, Former Director of Global Category Indirect and Procurement Excellence at Dole, gave her perspective on the process in an interview with Procurement Magazine.

“We are going through a period of evolution at Dole, which is a company that in the past has been traditional with a decentralised structure and limited visibility due to the lack of systems,” she says.

“We’re now working towards centralisation and process standardisation, while driving automation through procurement tools and focusing on a more strategic procurement approach for relevant categories.”

To manage its procurement operations during that period, Dole engaged Ivalua, a provider of cloud-based software solutions.

“Implementing Ivalua’s software has enabled us to focus on our e-sourcing, supplier qualification, as well as contract management,” Naissa adds.

“My current focus from a procurement excellence standpoint relates to process streamlining, automation, and elevating procurement’s profile and visibility within the company. 

“We are reviewing procurement processes to identify ways of eliminating time-consuming tasks through the use of automated systems and analysis, as well as identifying weak links in the existing supply chain, strengthening us as a function and freeing up time to focus on long-term initiatives.”

Arindam Sengupta, who served as Vice President of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at Dole International, shared his perspective on maintaining the company's commitment to the advancement of procurement methods.

“How do we make our procurement organisation fit for the future? It’s clear the sustainability agenda looms large in the minds of our consumers," he says. 

“Focusing on sustainability will affect how much customers are willing to pay for our products compared to our competitors. To achieve that, we’re going to need to build close links with new product allotments and new marketing agendas and work end to end with marketing and sales organisations to stay ahead of the curve.”