People by PostNord 2_2020 English

PEOPLE

A MAGAZINE ABOUT US: WE MAKE EVERYDAY LIFE EASIER

#2 2020

All the numbers right “My gut instinct told me that something was wrong.” page 37

Ersin parked his truck, fell in love with statistics and turned failure into success.

#2 2020

120 PostNorders in this issue: Egil does the impossible, Nikolaj codes the future and Camilla always gets back up.

And 117 more as well.

SILVER MEDAL 2019

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The new flexible T-Cross.

An interior easy to rearrange to suit your needs – the new T-Cross is adjustable, allowing more legroom, or more room for luggage, or the space to load very long things. Moreover, lots of advanced safety features are included. For example, the new T-Cross brakes for pedestrians, helps keeping you in the lane, and warns you when you get tired. Discover the greatness of a compact SUV.

Find your nearest dealer on www.volkswagen.se Bränsleförbrukning blandad körning från 5,9 – 6,3 l/100 km. CO2-utsläpp från 131 – 142 g/km. Skattegrundande CO2-utsläpp från 112 g/km.

Miljöklass Euro Bilen på bilden är extrautrustad. Vi reserverar oss för ändringar och avvikelser.

Volkswagen

T H E C O N C LU S I O N *

PostNord

animals

>>> Dogs may be man’s best friend, but at PostNord, we might have a slightly more ambivalent relationship with animals. There have been many tales of angry dogs or cats lurking at their door’s mail slot, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting postman. At the terminal, little creatures may crawl or wriggle out of parcels, and drivers may have to stay alert for wild animals. Or even a newborn calf, like the Norwegian driver on page 37.

Naturally, many PostNorders also have good experiences with animals. Like the employees in Tampere, Finland, on page 34, who have their very own office dog.

Regardless of your preferences, life would be much less interesting without animals. Both inside and outside of PostNord. *The editorial staff draws highly unscientific conclusions on topics that bring PostNorders together, based on the interviews in the magazine.

1. A nose print is as unique as a fingerprint.

2. Dogs are capable of learning over a thousand words.

3. There are about 400 million dogs in the world.

4. Dogs see in shades of black, white, blue and yellow.

5. Cuddling with a dog can lower your blood pressure.

Source: djurdrömmar.se

Where are the news sections?

People by PostNord is a magazine full of stories about PostNord’s employees. If you have access to the PostNord intranet, all the latest news and information is available there. You are welcome to comment on the articles in the Yammer group: People by PostNord.

I M AG E S F R O M B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S

COPENHAGEN. Karsten Bidstrup photographs winning dogs in PostNord's stamp contest. See page 33.

Follow us on Instagram @peoplebypostnord PEOPLE BY POSTNORD

ROSERSBERG. Niclas Lövgren is photographed by Christian Gustavsson. Read about Niclas on page 29.

Silver medal winner at the Swedish Design Awards 2019

The year when nothing was as expected At PostNord, we are often forced to handle the unexpected, whether it be snow pouring down or a malfunctioning parcel sorting machine. No matter what, “the blue machine” has to keep on rolling and delivering parcels and letters to everyone who depends on our services.

But in March 2020, something happened that no one could have imagined. The coronavirus pandemic hit the Nordic region, turning everything on its head.

We were all pretty shaken at first. How would we manage all our deliveries if everyone got sick? Would there even be any deliveries to make? It soon became clear that PostNord’s services were needed.

Maybe more than ever.

Many Nordic citizens turned to the web to make their purchases, and demand for home deliveries rose sharply. In Norway, home deliveries increased by more than one hundred percent, and PostNord MALIN NORDÉN managed to increase capacity tenfold in a Editor in Chief, short time. In Denmark, a new delivery People by PostNord procedure was introduced in record time, and PostNord Strålfors took the initiative to help the healthcare sector, resulting in 36,000 protective visors.

Small miracles and heroic efforts have been seen everywhere in PostNord this year, and we have met the unexpected with innovative solutions. These achievements have enabled the company to not only cope with the crisis thus far, but even grow stronger.

How we act and lead, both ourselves and others, is always important, but becomes even more significant in challenging times. On page 48, you can read about ABC Leadership, which is based on the words Accountable, Brave and Committed. These words guide us in how to act to ensure that PostNord is successful on its journey of change. They remind us to take responsibility to make things as good as possible. It is a matter of being open and brave enough to try new ideas. If we do this, we can inspire each other and create a really good work environment together. Just as several employees in this issue show.

PEOPLE BY POSTNORD Editor in Chief: Malin Nordén National editors: Robert Långström (SE), Michael Kirkeby (DK), Maiju Karhunen (FI) and Sigurd Bjerke (NO).

Design: Kristian Gustafsson Language coordinator: Louise Holpp Other participants: Aniella Svensson, Grethe-­Birgitte Friis Jakobsen, Salla Virkkunen, Rebecka Mathers, Malin Dahlberg, Fredrik Arvidsson Production: Spoon Printing: V-TAB Email: peopleby@postnord.com

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BANFA JAWLA

Did you know that there has been a dog-human connection for quite a long time? Skeletal finds show that there were already domestic dogs 12,000 years ago.

Some more little-known facts:

Welcome!

CONTENTS #2-20

29

6

Niclas takes a breather.

Tarja is on the go.

38

Camilla climbs back up.

10

42

Work is a hot topic at the Berggrens.

Ersin reveals the tricks.

49 Magnus sees the details.

4

18

Sidsel and Nikolaj point us in the right direction.

PEOPLE BY POSTNORD

INDEX We feature in e this issu We are interviewed:

Alexander Wallsten 25 André Snitkjaer 55 Angelica Björkbom 48 Ann-Kristin Wik 28 Bengt Andersson 24 Bo Andersson 32 Camilla Niemann 38 Caroline Berggren 10 Daniel Bahner 56 Egil Öberg 14 Ella Clausen 33 Emma Strömberg 40 Eniz Özkan 42 Ersin Özkan 42 Helena Sjöberg 59 Jan Greve 59 Jasmina Music 56 Joakim Persson 59 Joan Regitza Garlov 54 John Fred Gong Ro 16 Johnny Adolfsson 62 Jussi Wahlberg (and Harry) 34 Kim Berggren 10 Kirsi Ylänne 26 Lene Reiupert 27

Lennart Rönnqvist 42 Mads Berggren 10 Magnus Egberth 49 Martin Redborn 53 Mathias Olsson 66 Mats Duvner 15 Mikkel Damholm Christensen 54 Niclas Lövgren 29 Nikolaj Settnes 18 Ole Laursen 52 Patrik Lindblad 49 Per Jostein Simensen 37 Pia Slot Smedegaard 33 Pål Eier 13 Sidsel Holm Larsen 18 Simon Høj 12 Sofia Leffler Moberg 64 Sophia Kandell 41 Stefan Fougt 40 Susanne Jellesen 27 Tarja Tuominen 7 Therese Eriksson 32 Tomas Lundström 29 Vandana Sharma 9

We get a mention: Anders Bertilsson Anders Ingelmo Anders Trawén Ann-Catrine Hagbo Anne-Marie Andersson Annemarie Gardshol Arto Kuorilehto Ayman Nouh Bekir Aslan Christen Asmundsson Christian Klaussen Christian Thorén Christoffer Larsson Claus Vogel Dag Helge Larsen PEOPLE BY POSTNORD

62 52 29 14 29 25 29 38 29 52 16 49 40 10 16

Dainius Dainys Daniel Assarson David Winberg Derin Sarwat Diana Hjelte Emil Aasmul-Olsen Emilia Mannari Fredrik Thörnblom Georg Ribbing Henok Kiros Henrik Almtorp Hossein Arkan Ibrahim Haji Ilker Bircan Jacob Franke

37 56 52 29 29 12 34 52 14 29 10 29 38 42 52

Jakub Kisel Jani Ståhlhammar Jeannette Hyldig Jesper Sangill Jimmy Ohlsson Johan Granath John Nyås Johnny Larsson Jörgen Lundgren Kay Espung Klara Møller Poulsen Krista Yliruusi Leif Göransson Magnus Bennich Marcello Menchise

18 52 52 18 29 62 37 42 14 52 12 34 52 52 14

Martin Larsson Martin Pingel Mathias Filipsson Mikael Erikson Nadja Kristiansen Niels Crossland Niklas Reinholdsson Noman Siddique Palle Olsen Patrik Larsson Patrik Lindqvist Patrik Wikström Peter Andersson Peter Lundin Philip Wik

56 33 29 52 12 10 62 14 52 49 40 42 14 14 42

Pontus Gellerbrink Päivi Kiljunen Rolf Kjellberg Ruben Knudsen Salih Korkmaz Sanna Mäki Thomas Reinelöv Tonny Rasmussen Torfinn Trondsen Uhlie Evertsson Yakup Cakmak

29 7 42 38 42 34 29 38 37 14 42

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PHOTO: BENJAMIN SUOMELA

MY SPOT / KVARNBÄCKEN WATER TOWER

“There is something peaceful about the place” “EXERCISE IS WHAT keeps me going. I enjoy being able to move around, both at work and in my free time. At the PostNord warehouse in Vanda I can easily reach 20,000 steps in one workday, and I could never imagine myself in an office job. But that’s not enough for me. I stay in motion during the evenings as well, when my dog Adessa needs to get out. We go for shorter walks on weekdays, but on Sundays we usually travel ten kilometers along forest paths. We often walk to Kvarnbäcken water tower, which is near our home in Helsinki. Once there, Adessa can run loose for a while. The tower was built in 1965, and there is something peaceful about the place. It may be because I used to come here as a child. I grew up in eastern Helsinki, and it’s fun to remember the view from the past and compare it to what I see today. I’ve also noticed that Adessa becomes calm when we get there.”

TARJA TUOMINEN, WAREHOUSE WORKER IN VANDA, FINLAND INTERVIEWED BY MAIJU KARHUNEN Closest colleagues: “I work mostly with Päivi Kiljunen.”

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DON’T MISS ON INSTAGRAM The best bits from the magazine, and unique video clips, are available here.

Don’t forget to follow us! @peoplebypostnord

Lunch box tips, a whole family working with the mail, and vinyl favorites. “Pick up” offers quick looks at PostNord’s world on pages 9–15.

TEXT: FROM THE POSTNORD COOKBOOK “VÅR BÄSTA MAT” PHOTO: WOLFGANG KLEINSCHMIDT

Enchiladas are an oven-baked Mexican dish.

IN THE LUNCH BOX

Vanda’s chicken enchiladas Food should be spicy and tasty – and fun to cook. These are the words of Vandana Sharma, production manager in Solna, who contributed her favorite recipe to PostNord Sweden’s very own cookbook “Vår bästa mat.”

4 SERVINGS • 500 g chicken fillet, cut into strips • 2 yellow onions • Butter for frying • 1 tsp salt • 1 tsp sambal oelek • 2 dl crème fraiche • 8 mini tortillas • 2 dl grated tasty cheese AS A SIDE Mixed green salad

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DIRECTIONS: • Preheat the oven to 225°C. Cut the chicken into strips. Peel and finely chop the onion.

• Brown the chicken in a frying pan with butter until it has nice color and is cooked through.

Add salt and transfer to a plate.

• Fry the onions in butter until they are soft and translucent.

Add the chicken. Season with sambal oelek, stir in the crème fraiche, and allow to simmer

for a few minutes. Add more salt to taste.

• Spread the mixture on the tortillas. Fold the tortillas in half, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and then sprinkle with cheese. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10–15 minutes until the enchiladas have nice color.

• Serve with salad.

“I love cooking and trying new things. I found the basics of the recipe in a food magazine. After testing it, I put my own spin on the dish with sambal oelek and a tastier cheese. It’s become a real favorite in our home. A great bonus is that it’s just the right size for your lunch box.

A simple recipe that you can make quickly. And it tastes great!”

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A FAMILY AFFAIR

Blue blood Do you need help with a problem at work? Have dinner with the Berggren family.

WHEN THINGS GET OUT OF HAND around the dinner table, Birthe Berggren will suddenly shout “Dirty laundry!” The odd thing is, the family’s conversation had nothing to do with laundry. It is about PostNord. As usual.

It’s no surprise that’s the topic since 75 percent of the family clocks in at the distribution hub in Hillerød, north of Copenhagen, at 7:30 each morning. The 25 percent that doesn’t work at PostNord – mom Birthe – is then forced to say the code “dirty laundry.”

“When someone says the code, it’s time to change the subject. But it can be tough to follow the rule, since there’s usually just one more thing that needs to be discussed, some challenge or idea,” says son Mads.

Dad Kim started working as a postman 25 years ago. When daughter Caroline graduated last summer and wanted to take a gap year, it seemed natural to follow in her dad’s footsteps and apply to work at PostNord. The same applied to son Mads when he needed to take a break from his university studies.

The passion for their shared workplace has brought the family even closer together.

“I talk with my sister much more now that we’re working at the same place,” Mads says. “I also have a really good coworker named Henrik Almtorp, who I share some interests with. Both my sister and dad talk with him a lot as well.”

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TEXT: MARIE-LOUISE ARNFAST FOTO: FREDDY BILLQVIST

Caroline, Kim and Mads Berggren Position at PostNord: Works in sorting and is a postman in Hillerød, Denmark.

Closest colleagues: Niels Crossland, Claus Vogel and Henrik Almtorp.

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TOP 3 / SIMON HØJ

TEXT: MICHAEL KIRKEBY PHOTO: FREDDY BILLQVIST

A stubborn musician

Simon Høj Position at PostNord: Customer Service worker for companies in Aarhus, Denmark.

Closest colleagues: “I have many great colleagues, and it’s hard to point out anyone in particular.

But I spend time with Klara Møller Poulsen, Nadja Kristiansen and Emil Aasmul-Olsen almost every time I’m at work.”

Are you looking for Simon Høj?

Just follow the trail of guitar plectrums on the ground.

“MY DAD HAD 15,000 vinyl records. He sold them a few years before vinyl records were suddenly ‘in’ again. He got SEK 9,000 for them – about half a SEK per album. We try not to think about it too much,” says Simon Høj.

When not working at PostNord’s Corporate Customer Service Center in Aarhus, Simon is studying to become a dietitian. He divides the rest of his time between his girlfriend and music – composing, playing guitar, listening to old vinyl records, and discovering new music.

“I’ve been playing in a band for ten years, since I was 15. After high school, I went to a conservatory prep school for three years. But I don’t have the stomach for the compromises that life as a professional musician entails. It may be a kind of childish stubbornness, but music is too important to me.”

Simon’s three favorite album covers

There are three albums that have meant so much to Simon that the covers hang on his walls while the records plays on his turntable.

TOM WAITS – “THE HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT” (1974) “My first vinyl record and probably the best blues album ever. The cover looks like a painting, and it hung on my wall for many years. When I bought the record, I also changed style from a Gucci necklace and spiky hair to t-shirts with band names, long hair and lots of guitar plectrums that constantly fell out of my pocket. No one could doubt my devotion, ha ha.”

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NICK CAVE – “PUSH THE SKY AWAY” (2013) “This is probably the record I’ve listened to most. Nick Cave has deep roots in the blues, and he shares this mood in the album.

The deep melancholy and sentimentality. On the cover, you can see that he captures a little light in the darkness – you can also hear it in the music.

The cover hangs on my wall to this day.”

THE RACONTEURS – “HELP US STRANGER” (2019) “Jack White is a God. I saw his band, Raconteurs, in Berlin last year and it was one of my greatest experiences ever – not just in terms of music. I like the green hand on the cover. It’s a helping hand, I think, and the cover hangs on my wall at home.”

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PICKING A BRAIN / PÅL EIER

TEXT: JULIA KROHN PHOTO: CHRIS MALUSZYNSKI

Going with the flow “Progress plans and coordination don’t cross my threshold. At home and in my free time, I’m no control freak. With three children, the day-to-day life of my family is hectic. But I follow their pace and find joy in going with the flow.”

Then and now “I began working at the terminal in Drammen in 1997. I’ve always worked at what is now known as PostNord. Over my 20 years, I’ve become well versed in almost every aspect of our operations.

When people talk about how the parcel market has changed, it’s something I’ve seen up close and personal. I’m not a sentimental person, but it’s good to know where you’ve come from.”

Focus on the future

Pål wants to win the parcels ON THE FOURTH FLOOR of an office building in the Alfaset area of Oslo, you will find Pål Eier.

He has just one goal in sight: PostNord has to win the parcel market. But the Win in Parcel strategy is more than just a goal. It is a focus for the entire PostNord Group.

“Win in Parcel characterizes everything we do. Including in everyday life. It guides us in all of our projects and in all the choices we make, both now and in the future. When in doubt, you can always ask yourself ‘Does this bring us closer to our goal of winning the parcel market?’”

Pål, who is leading and coordinating Win in Parcel in Norway, asks himself this question often. Each week, he meets with colleagues

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“To win the parcel market of the future, we have to deliver to the consumers of the future. The current trend is flexibility, sustainability, next-day delivery, delivery without signed confirmation, and the ability to decide where the parcel should be delivered. Our task now is to simplify our service so we can meet the requirements at the best price.”

from different parts of the organization to check on progress toward achieving the goal.

“It’s great to have a hand in so many parts of the organization – out where the action is. It gives me major insight into what the challenges are and what initiatives are underway in the organization. It’s a huge bank of resources.”

“What makes it even more fun is that everyone is on board. It’s an amazingly positive atmosphere and I feel that Win in Parcel has brought us closer together. The goal of winning the parcel market is a common thread running through everything from marketing, product development and terminal work to distribution, sorting and HR.” 13

ABC@POSTNORD

“I’m a little selfish” It's extremely difficult to turn a skeptic into a fan. But no one told Egil Öberg that.

TEXT & PHOTOS: MALIN DAHLBERG

ABC@POSTNORD Are you good at giving that little something extra? Or do you know somebody else who is?

Please let us know at peopleby@postnord.com

FOR OVER 30 YEARS, Egil Öberg has come to work full of positive energy. His philosophy is to enjoy what you do and get others to do the same.

“You spend one third of your life at work. Why not make the best of it?”

With the post office in Norrmalm as his base, Egil delivers mail and parcels to companies in Stockholm.

“I believe that you get back what you give. I want to be perceived as professional, happy, decent and responsible. Customers should be able to ask me anything related to my job. If I don’t know the answer, I will find out by the next day.”

EGIL’S UNWAVERING ENTHUSIASM has earned him many supporters among his customers. At one company where Egil delivered mail, there was a new manager. She was skeptical of PostNord after reading negative newspaper articles and social media posts, but that was before she met Egil. “He has a natural pride in his work. He knows everything going on in his area. If there’s a problem, he solves it. He interacts with you in a way that lets you know that PostNord is a company you can rely on,” says the same manager, who has now been converted from a skeptic into a fan.

Egil himself is humble about this attention. He doesn’t consider it unique to him.

“My colleagues and managers do fantastic things every day, but it almost always goes unnoticed. That’s why I get happy when I get that kind of feedback. It really energizes me!”

OVER THE years, he himself has given feedback to customers he feels have a good attitude. At a large communications company, there were three young people working in reception. They always greeted him, asked how he was doing, and offered him some water. Egil thought they were so fantastic that he sent a handwritten letter to the CEO, who was so amazed that he had to respond: “It’s not often that people take the time to give such good feedback. It gave all of us at the office a boost.”

“In a way, I’m a little selfish. I want to feel satisfied with my day when I go to bed, because then I feel good.”

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Egil Öberg Job: Driver in Stockholm, Sweden.

Closest colleagues: “There are many great people at my workplace. It’s like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. But to name a few: Marcello Menchise, Peter Lundin, Noman Siddique, Jörgen Lundgren, Georg Ribbing, Peter Andersson and Uhlie Evertsson. I also appreciate my head of production, Ann-Catrine Hagbo, and my production managers. They are empathetic, funny, delegate responsibility, and are generous with straightforward information.”

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TECHNOLOGY LESSON/THE POSTNORD APP

TEXT: DAN NILSSON

A remote control for the people One of the most popular apps in the Nordics will now find even more parcels for customers.

What do you mean, parcel number?

New favorite features The FlexChange feature, where the user can redirect the delivery while it is in progress, is popular. Personally, Mats is most pleased with the feature that enables the customer to confirm their identity using BankID instead of an ID card at the partner outlet, and send the QR code to a friend, who can then pick up the parcel. “There, PostNord really thought outside the box. It’s a fantastic service that benefits both the customer and the partner outlet,” he says. He adds that it is only available in Sweden so far. Another popular service is the Shipping Tool, where the customer can pay for shipping in the app and then print the shipping document at the partner outlet. “Many people think it’s great that they don’t need their own printer,” says Mats.

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When PostNord’s recipient app was introduced in 2014, customers had to enter the parcel number themselves to find their package. From 2017, you simply need to enter your email address and phone number in the app once. It then automatically finds new parcels that are en route to you. Another thing that has become easier is that the names of parcel services have been removed externally, so that customers only need to order shipping based on weight and size.

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The app makes life easier Today, the app has a number of features that make life easier – like tracking parcels, buying shipping, and searching for your closest partner outlet and mailbox. In March 2020, the app underwent a redesign and the features were developed. “Basically, the app had to be adapted to people’s stressful lives. We are constantly working to make the app an easy-to-use tool in all situations,” says Mats Duvner, product owner of the app at PostNord.

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Better and better each (Wednes)day At PostNord, the app factory is constantly working, and sneaks in a new or improved feature at least once a month. Each Wednesday, the tech company contracted by PostNord performs new tests with private individuals if the need arises. “Our work is very agile,” Mats says. “We want the app to be a remote control for the customer’s parcel. For example, Denmark was one of the first to use it to unlock parcel boxes, called Naerboks.” Mats considers this a good example of how a remote control should work.

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Feedback for improvements It is not just the app that has become more popular. Surveys show that it has also made PostNord more appreciated as a company. Its importance is confirmed through the feedback the customers can give us directly via the app. “We are continuously working to improve the app based on the feedback we receive. Customer Service is one of our most important channels for getting feedback from customers,” says Mats.

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Is the app the future?

Tops the list PostNord’s app has grown to become one of the most popular in the Nordic region. During last year's peak, there were times when it topped the list of the most-used apps – and in May, during the coronavirus crisis, it broke an all-time record in number of unique users, when a total of 1.7 million Nordic residents managed over 5.5 million parcels via the app. Success that continued throughout the summer.

>

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One new feature in Sweden is that the recipient can follow their parcel on a map in real time when it is en route to them. The app is also getting better at collecting information about non-Nordic parcels, so that they also become visible automatically when they are on the way. But how much development is really possible for the app? “Ultimately, there is a limit,” says Mats. “Right now, it’s a great tool for strengthening our relationship with customers, but I would be surprised if the app wasn’t challenged by new technologies in the future. What will we use then? Maybe speech synthesis and AR*!”

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“Right now, the app is a great tool for strengthening our relationship with customers,” says Mats Duvner, product owner of the app at PostNord.

*AR (Augmented reality) is a digital filter put on reality, as in the mobile game Pokemon Go.

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THE BEGINNING

See video and photos Follow us on Instagram #peoplebypostnord

A unique fresh start John Fred Gong Ro has given the expression “a new chapter in life” a whole new meaning.

HE FLED the world’s longest civil war in Myanmar and became a truck driver in a magical world of killer whales and the midnight sun. It is impossible to imagine the contrast of living in a war that has been going on for fifty years, and then suddenly switching to a totally predictable everyday life half a globe away – as a driver for PostNord. It is highly likely that John Fred Gong Ro is the only common denominator that exists between the two worlds.

At exactly seven o’clock each morning, you can see him at the loading dock of the PostNord terminal in Stokmarknes in Vesterålen, a group of islands north of Lofoten, Norway. He is one of the regular drivers and has a route that runs between Stokmarknes and Melbu, which is 15 kilometers away.

“It’s fantastic to drive through so much beautiful nature every day. I’ve gotten to know the various small communities, have good colleagues, and really enjoy my route,” says John Fred.

It’s been ten years since John Fred, his wife Di Dang and their two daughters landed in Stokmarknes. They came as UN quota refugees and had never heard of Lofoten before. But they got a great introduction.

“We have good neighbors and are happy here,” John Fred says. “And five years ago, I started working at the PostNord warehouse, together with pleasant colleagues.”

Today, Di Dang is a chef and works at a restaurant up in Sortland. They now have three daughters, ages 4, 14 and 18.

At the warehouse, John Fred also got to know the drivers. One day, their manager came to him with a question.

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“One of the drivers was leaving. The manager wanted to know if I would consider becoming a driver. Of course, the answer was yes!”

HE LOADS THE TRUCK at seven in the morning, makes his first round of deliveries, and is back during the course of the morning. He then reloads and drives to Melbu before returning to Stokmarknes for additional rounds.

“A lot of what I transport is medicines and other products that we drive for Helseservice. It feels good to transport important products that the healthcare sector needs to make everyday life easier for people.”

Among his colleagues, he is known for his determination, his good mood and his ability to quickly solve problems. A good driver has to have the logistics in order already, right when loading the truck and planning the day’s deliveries. If John Fred has fallen even five minutes behind schedule, he always notifies those concerned.

As a person, he is rather modest – but it is clear that he has found his niche in life.

“I had no experience of working as a driver at all before I came to Stokmarknes. But I feel that this job suits me well.”

John Fred Gong Ro Position at PostNord: Driver in Stokmarknes, employed by KP Transport, which is a subcontractor of PostNord.

Closest colleagues: “Christian Klaussen, the operations manager and the one who first hired me as a terminal worker. Dag Helge Larsen, a good driver colleague who taught me about most of our routes.”

AND EVEN THOUGH HE now works as a driver, he is happy to help inside the terminal.

“When extra people are needed and it fits my schedule, I am happy to take a few shifts at the warehouse during periods when a lot of goods are coming in. I like working inside as well. No matter what my workday looks like, I am grateful to all of my kind colleagues. We were very lucky to end up here.”

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TEXT: GEIR ANDERS RYBAKKEN ØRSLIEN PHOTO: HEGE ABRAHAMSEN

John Fred’s journey from war-torn Myanmar has been anything but straightforward. Now he is thriving among the mountains and fjords in Stokmarknes in Vesterålen, a group of islands north of Lofoten, Norway.

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“It is a huge puzzle that is constantly changing.�

With the help of Big Data, Nikolaj Settnes and his colleagues try to predict the future.

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THE MISSION / BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

The oracle in Kastrup Nikolaj Settnes helps PostNord see into the future. “A good algorithm can be delectable, maybe even a bit sexy.”

TEXT: MICHAEL KIRKEBY PHOTO: FREDDY BILLQVIST

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NIKOLAJ SETTNES creates intelligent tools that predict how many parcels PostNord is expected to handle several months into the future.

However, he is less interested in having total control

over his own future.

“Since I was little, I’ve gotten used to taking one day at a time. Carpe diem thinking may sound romantic, but to me it is something completely concrete,” says Nikolaj.

He was in sixth grade when he got the news that his future was not like everyone else’s.

“Muscular dystrophy is caused by a genetic defect. I was just unlucky.”

When Nikolaj turns on his computer each morning, the goal is to have another good day at work. He is one of four highly specialized members of PostNord Denmark’s Business Intelligence development team. His workplace is on the top floor of the office complex on Hedegårdsvej in the Kastrup suburb of Copenhagen.

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The team are working to develop the digital tools and applications that will make life and work easier for their colleagues in the rest of PostNord.

“I’ve decided to turn on my computer with a ‘Yes! What are we going to do today?’ instead of a tired sigh. Life is too short for that. In my case, perhaps even shorter than for many others.”

NIKOLAJ WAS ABLE TO WALK until he started university. He played guitar and sang in a band until just a few years ago. Today, he is 31 years old and prefers to focus on what he can do now – not what he can no longer do, or might not be able to do in a few years’ time. That doesn’t interest him very much.

It is a completely different story when it comes to his work tasks. Here, the IT tools that Nikolaj develops need to predict the future as accurately as possible. How many parcels can PostNord expect to handle in three months? How many people need to be called in to work at that time? If the forecast is off by more than five percent, it is not good enough. Nikolaj and his colleagues must

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5% PostNord Predict foresees the future to estimate parcel turnover at the terminals. If the forecast is off by more than five percent, the algorithm has to be adjusted.

then adjust the algorithm and make the tool better.

“In principle, PostNord Predict – or PNP as we like to call the tool – can always be made better. Our attitude is that the best can always be made better and ‘pushed a little further’ as we usually say. It’s a great professional satisfaction that I don’t want to be without. A good algorithm or code can be delectable, maybe even a bit sexy.”

PNP’S ABILITY to predict parcel quantities is based on what is known as Big Data. The algorithm in PNP continuously registers and analyzes millions of pieces of data coming from different sources.

“There are many variables that affect parcel volumes,” Nikolaj says. “What do consumption patterns look like right now? When are wages, child allowance and holiday pay paid out? What was the period like last year? How many shopping days are left until Christmas? What does the vacation situation look like in other countries where Danes shop online?

How can these and other factors heighten each other, creating the effect 1+1 = 3? It’s a huge puzzle that is constantly changing.”

Yet the forecast will never be one hundred percent correct. Reality does what it wants to do. As the saying goes “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” The weather is never completely predictable, and there are sometimes phenomena like the coronavirus that turn everything upside down.

FOR NIKOLAJ, THE pandemic meant that many months went by where he barely saw anyone other than his girlfriend Michelle, his regular assistants, and little Molly, his lively Bichon Havanais dog who happily runs around the apartment in Vallensbæk Strand, south of Copenhagen.

“I really don’t want to catch the coronavirus, so many months passed before I started meeting up with my family again – we met outdoors, maintained plenty of distance, and used lots of hand sanitizer. You can 20

Sidsel Holm Larsen and Nikolaj Settnes Position at PostNord: Sidsel is the manager and Nikolaj is a digital developer at Business Intelligence in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Closest colleagues: Jesper Sangill and Jakub Kisel.

“We have strong comradery in our little department, and communicate a lot with each other when developing and maintaining solutions.” easily become depressed if you are isolated for a long period of time. Fortunately, we have the internet. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent communicating with my family digitally – or playing online games with my friends during the pandemic. But it’s a lot.”

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The coronavirus crisis has also been a challenge for Nikolaj’s manager Sidsel Holm Larsen.

“We have strong comradery in our little department, and communicate a lot with each other when developing and maintaining solutions. During the coronavirus shutdown, we had a lot of video meetings to maintain good team spirit. It wasn’t optimal, but it was okay for a while.”

SHE AGREES WITH Nikolaj’s description of their workplace.

“Not to brag, but I think we have the best job in the world. PNP is a good example of the data-driven applications and tools we develop to help PostNord make better decisions – for the benefit of both our customers and P E O P L E BY P O ST N O R D

ourselves. It is meaningful and it’s important for job satisfaction.”

On several occasions, the team of Sidsel, Nikolaj, Jesper Sangill and Jakub Kisel has received a round of applause during meetings with other units at PostNord – out of sheer enthusiasm for the solutions they have developed.

“Nikolaj should take a great deal of credit for that,” Sidsel says. “He is not only technically skilled, but also good at explaining what we do in a way that everyone can understand. I am in the process of hiring two new employees for our department. The demands are high, but if they have a profile similar to Nikolaj’s, I will be very happy.”

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Focus: In the shadow of corona

T H E Y E A R T H AT ALMOST DISAPPEARED As the world holds its collective breath, the blue machine must keep moving. In the spring of 2020, Postnorders straightned out their uniforms and introduced a number of unique initiatives. “everyone felt the drive to do something good.”

Text: Malin Dahlberg, Robert Långström, Dan Nilsson, Michael Kirkeby and Maiju Karhunen Photo: Christian Gustavsson and Anders Deros

SOME OF OUR EFFORTS >>> P E O P L E BY P O ST N O R D

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CHAPTER 1:

“Drive protection to 49 municipalities – tonight!”

THE MESSAGE CAME AT three o’clock on Maundy Thursday. Bengt Andersson, a driver for PostNord Courier, had just dropped off a delivery of wheelchairs and walkers to the medical care center in Borås when he got an alert on his PDA. He understood immediately that it was something out of the ordinary. It was just a matter of calling home to his wife Anne in Ulricehamn to let her know that he would be late for the upcoming Easter weekend.

The order: Pick up a large delivery of personal protective equipment and drive it to 49 different municipalities. Preferably that same evening.

It was important to set off as soon as possible to the depot in Skövde that stocks equipment and medicines for Region Västra Götaland. Bengt got behind the wheel of his Fiat Doblo. An hour later, he sped into the depot, loaded his vehicle full of boxes, and drove out of the parking lot.

IT’S NOT UNCOMMON for Bengt to receive urgent orders from Region Västra Götaland.

In fact, 95 percent of his schedule is made up of runs for the region. After completing training to meet the high demands of the healthcare sector, he regularly delivers medicines, patient aids, organs and samples – all usually under extreme time constraints. A delivery can mean the difference between life and death.

Bengt was also not new to runs related to the coronavirus pandemic. He had recently completed a large number of long stretches with COVID-19 tests, mainly between Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg and his home area of Västergötland.

“When the virus broke out, I quickly understood that there would be a lot to do. At

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six o’clock each morning, there were deliveries to the lab. I’ve even driven up to the Institute for Communicable Disease Control in Solna several times,” explains Bengt, adding that an order for a 400 kilometers long transport can pop up suddenly and at any time of the day.

What made the assignment unusual this time was that it required a great deal of coordination on his part. A total of seven drivers were involved in the assignment. Not only were the deliveries taking place later into the evening, but the town halls were closed over the Easter holiday.

“Yes, it took quite a bit of tweaking. At each address on the list, the doors were closed. We had to call around to contact persons at each location to find out where they wanted the boxes delivered instead.

“Everything still worked like a well-oiled machine, luckily enough. There were managers at the Skövde depot who were on call in case we ran into problems, but we only needed to contact them once when an address was incorrect.”

BENGT DROVE EFFICIENTLY and purposefully from municipality to municipality, in a straight line between Bollebygd and Ulricehamn and in the surrounding areas. By the time he was done, he had made almost 20 stops. Before the stroke of midnight, all 49 municipalities had received their visors, and seven courier drivers were able to return home, satisfied with their extra­ ordinary efforts.

“I find this job very rewarding,” Bengt says. “It’s stimulating and varied. We get to help people in many ways. It feels like we are doing something for the benefit of society.”

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PHOTO: ANDERS DEROS

CHAPTER 2:

“We grasped the situation quickly”

“When the virus broke out, I quickly understood that there would be a lot to do,” says driver Bengt Andersson.

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IT WAS WEDNESDAY, February 26th. in society. It can be a matter of crucial Alexander Wallsten, the Group’s Head of deliveries of medicine, home deliveries of Security, was concerned. It was a week long food, or critical information to citizens. If the school break in Sweden, and lots of Swedish company’s blue vehicles were to stop rolling, families had traveled to Italy and the German then society would also come to a halt. That Alps for vacation. At the same time, the is why PostNord has a crisis management Public Health Agency of Sweden was organization that ensures work will continue, reporting new cases of coronavirus in regardless of what happens. But certain criteSweden. ria need to be met for the organization to be That same day, Alexander sent an called to action. A crisis arises when email to PostNord Group CEO the organization’s physical existence, Annemarie Gardshol that the image, employee security or basic organization needed to prepare in business opportunities are case the virus struck heavy in the threatened, while skills and resources Nordic region. There was no are not sufficient to cope with the ready-made pandemic plan at the situation without significant damage.

Group level like that drawn up by “Incidents happen every day, but it the Swedish Posten in 2008 in is very rare that a crisis occurs,” Annemarie response to the bird flu and the states Alexander.

Gardshol.

H5N1 virus. They instead had to start identifying trigger points and actions, such IN A CRISIS SITUATION, a number of crisis as “If A happens, then X must be done and committees made up of carefully selected communicated. If B is reported, then Y must and trained personnel in all countries take be done and communicated.” over. The rule of thumb is that it is better to “We realized that there could be a problem activate crisis management too early than of people coming back from their vacation too late. infected,” Alexander says. “Management “Their role is to manage the crisis. They made a quick decision that everyone who gather information, define measures, had been abroad had to stay home in coordinate, make decisions, communicate quarantine. We drew up plans for who could – thereby making it possible for others to work from home, and which key people continue conducting normal operations. would take turns staying home. The fact that They are trained to handle all kinds of we grasped the situation quickly is one of the crises, like accidents, major fires or mass reasons why PostNord has managed the loss of personnel.” coronavirus pandemic well so far.” As the Nordic region’s largest supplier of products, POSTNORD’S crisis management organizagoods, mail and parcels, PostNord is one of tion trains and practices regularly so that its the companies considered to have a vital role capacity is always maximized. A major crisis

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exercise was conducted in October 2018. The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) were invited as observers. The scenario, which took months to prepare, developed day by day, and none of the participants knew what was going to happen.

It all started with PostNord IT discovering discrepancies in the production systems.

Suddenly, they lost control. Malicious code was spread to over one million Swedish citizens. An extreme media drive kicked off, and the blame was placed on PostNord. But then it emerged that similar events had taken place at other socially critical actors in Sweden and the rest of Europe. It turned out that a country in the immediate area was behind the attacks, and media focus then shifted from PostNord to the nation and the EU. “The purpose of the exercise was to stress-test the organization to see how we would handle an interruption of that magnitude. The course of events was very realistic, and PostNord received both attention and praise for the exercise and the

scenario. For example, we staged daily press conferences with reporters, photographers and TV teams to make it feel as real as possible for all involved,” explains Alexander.

THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC is one of the biggest crises that PostNord has faced in recent years, but according to Alexander it is a little different in nature.

“We are used to dealing with crises that are high intensity for a short period of time, and that affect parts of our organization. Not the whole organization at once.

“The pandemic is a low-intensity, prolonged crisis that requires endurance, patience and foresight in a way that I think has been new to many companies. I think we have handled it really well. We quickly grasped what was about to happen and acted immediately to ensure that deliveries continued, and to not only reduce the spread of infection, but also reduce anxiety and ignorance associated with the situation. I think the fact that we have honed our crisis management organization for such a long time has been crucial.”

Crisis management in five steps: 1

2

It is better to activate Make sure you have the crisis management a good picture of organization too early the situation based than too late. on facts.

3

4

5

Identify risks; assess consequences.

Take action and perform follow-up.

Communicate!

With customers, employees and the public.

“I think we have handled it really well,” says Alexander Wallsten.

PHOTO: KRISTINA SAHLÉN

CHAPTER 3:

Finnish everyday heroes of the coronavirus spring FOR POSTNORD FINLAND , the virus spring resulted in an increase in assignments related to healthcare deliveries. For example, PostNord employees have transported coronavirus test samples all over Finland. One such worker is Kirsi Ylänne.

“In the beginning, I wondered whether I could become infected by the samples. The fear was, of course, completely unjustified because all of the drawers were securely closed, and I was also careful with my hand hygiene and making sure the vehicle was clean,” says Kirsi.

She still washes her hands as often

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as possible, always carries hand sanitizer with her, and always disinfects her vehicle after each terminal visit.

“I think these special hygiene efforts are great and hope they continue along the same line even after the pandemic. It never hurts to maintain good hygiene.”

Kirsi has been driving for PostNord since the summer of 2019, and also has previous experience with healthcare deliveries. She likes that the work is versatile.

“Even though I usually have to get up before three in the morning, I like my job. It feels good to do a job that is actually important.”

“The special hygiene efforts are great,” says Kirsi Ylänne.

PHOTO: PRIVATE

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CHAPTER 4:

As brilliant as it is simple ON MARCH 11TH, a record number of TV viewers in Denmark could hardly believe their ears. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that half of Denmark was being shut down to slow the spread of the corona­ virus. She started with the now famous words: “What I will say tonight will have major consequences for all Danes.”

But not everyone got the message. In Aalborg in Nordjylland, Susanne Jellesen was putting her children to bed, ages two and three.

“It was an hour later that I came out of the bedroom, so I was probably one of the last to learn that the country was being shut down.

There was a text from my mom on my cell phone; did I watch the announcement on TV — and would I be going to work at PostNord the next day?”

At the distribution hub in Aalborg, where Susanne has worked for the past 16 years, there are usually a lot of parcels from China.

Many questions now arose. Can the coronavirus survive inside the boxes? How do we avoid

being infected by colleagues — or by all of the customers who have to sign for their parcels?

“There were many questions those first days, and the atmosphere was special.

Actually, I think most of my colleagues faced the new challenges calmly. And we have never had such clean hands at work before,” says Susanne with a laugh.

The idea for this new way of obtaining proof of receipt originates at the other end of the country. In Lyngby, north of Copenhagen, Lene Reipuert was also glued to her TV on March 11th. As Head of Parcel Operations at PostNord in Denmark, it is Lene’s responsibility to make sure that parcel distribution works. The mail has to be delivered. It is important infrastructure, especially during pandemics.

IT DID NOT TAKE LONG before clear Early the next morning, a meeting instructions were given. It was was held with the coronavirus team, Lene Reipuert. which coordinated initiatives at all important to avoid physical contact with customers when they received units at PostNord Denmark. And at ten their parcels. o’clock, Lene had a meeting with her own “The solution was as simple as it was management team. brilliant: I set the parcel down and take a step “The issue of avoiding infection when back. Then the customer steps forward and handing over parcels came up quickly. We puts their signature on the package using their brainstormed ideas, and decided that the own pen — just above the barcode — and takes customer could acknowledge receipt of the a step back. I then take a step forward and take parcel by signing on the parcel itself rather a photo of the signature and barcode with my than the hand scanner. We are pleased with hand scanner — job done. I wouldn’t mind if we the solution and do not intend to abolish it at keep this method,” says Susanne. present,” says Lene.

PHOTO: MICHAEL BO RASMUSSEN / BAGHUSET

“Actually, I think most of my colleagues faced the new challenges calmly.”

Susanne Jellesen

Focus: In the shadow of corona>>> P E O P L E BY P O ST N O R D

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CHAPTER 5:

Tenfold increase in operations in record time IN A LOCKED-DOWN Norway, with closed schools and hundreds of thousands of employees working from home, the need for deliveries to private addresses during the day quickly increased. PostNord decided to meet the needs with full capacity and an offensive strategy.

The capacity for home deliveries was increased almost tenfold. To achieve this, drivers who normally only delivered to stores also started to handle private home deliveries.

“It was a matter of loading the trucks earlier to also be able to deliver private parcels during office hours. And it worked,” states Ann-Kristin Wik, Traffic Manager for PostNord in Mo i Rana.

Just when the authorities closed large parts of society, PostNord in Norway made a plan to

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possibly reduce the number of trucks.

“But we quickly saw that things were developing in the completely opposite direction. The demand for private deliveries and MyPack was so great that we had to call in an extra truck to keep up with the large quantities of goods that had to go out.”

affect a lot of them, and thereby also us. But that was not the case. In fact, the opposite happened. During the most intense coronavirus period, there was not a single truck that was not also carrying goods to private individuals,” explains Ann-Kristin.

She has been working as Traffic Manager in Mo i Rana since July MO I RANA IS 25 kilometers south of 2019. On a typical stressful day, she the Arctic Circle, a seven-hour drive guides about 15 vehicles in traffic. north of Trondheim, in a vibrant “When I had just started, we had Ann-Kristin Wik. industrial environment. PostNord’s a new hauler, with several new terminal, with seven employees, is located in drivers, so my pulse was a little high the first Mo Næringspark. There, we also find more few weeks. When winter came, the E6 than a hundred other companies with over highway over Saltfjellet was closed down 2,300 employees, most of them linked to several times due to snow, and then the industrial production. coronavirus crisis struck in March… So “I was worried that the shutdown would things have definitely not been boring.” n

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“I have never done anything of this scale so fast before,” says Niclas Lövgren.

PHOTO: CHRISTIAN GUSTAVSSON

CHAPTER 6:

“We knew that we clould help out” “THE NEED WAS URGENT. The orders were

flying in! I have never done anything of this scale so fast before.

Niclas Lövgren, Customer Developer at PostNord Strålfors 3D Solutions in Rosersberg, tells about how he and his colleagues produced 36,000 protective visors for the healthcare sector in just a few weeks. How they changed over their usual production and created a completely new supply chain and production line in just three days. Even as he describes these unique efforts, he does so almost as if it were any job. Maybe that’s a trait needed to take a project like this across the finish line. A kind of calm that transforms the extraordinary into something normal.

“We knew that we could help out. That made it easy to come in on the weekends, work longer days, and take shorter lunches.

It’s no fun to stand and blast parts over and

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The 36,000 3D-printed protective visors reached the healthcare sector in just a few weeks. over again. But everyone felt the drive to do something good,” says Niclas.

SO WHAT EXACTLY DID they do in Rosersberg, just north of Stockholm, in February 2020?

When the pandemic reached Europe, Italy started to make 3D-printed ventilator valves.

Tomas Lundström, Head of 3D at PostNord

Strålfors, heard about this and immediately started investigating whether they could do something similar in Sweden. The team in Rosersberg contacted healthcare professionals and asked “What do you need?”. The answer was “A lot, and we need it fast.”

“We said that we could help with different types of protection. We could even 3D-print portable ventilators using drawings we got from Spain. But new government rules for procurement during the pandemic brought everything to a halt. We didn’t get a real response. So, we asked our customers directly instead and kind of went in through the back door,” says Tomas. He continues: “We turned to eldercare, both private and municipal actors. PostNord’s sales people contacted them, since at Strålfors we did not have them as 3D customers. The need was enormous. They had nothing. They took action immediately when we got in touch with

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See Niclas print in 3D Follow us on Instagram #peoplebypostnord

“We can produce just about anything as long as there is a digital file. But, due to the enormous demand, we ended up having to restructure production,” says Niclas Lövgren.

pandemic, but delivered everything to PostNord’s premises in Denmark, which could then ship it to Rosersberg.

There, Niclas Lövgren and his colleagues had built a production line with stations. All of PostNord Stålfors was helping in shifts. A Strålfors printer in Tandsbyn reused an old machine to punch holes in the overhead sheets.

“Everyone was very quick in setting up a completely new chain to get this to work.

From nothing to full-scale production in two or three days. The sales team, with Anders Trawén at the helm, took care of all customer contact and follow-up so we could focus on production. It was an absolutely fantastic job by our colleagues,” states Niclas.

them. We could start the same day. Finally we got to help!”

DUE TO REGULATIONS REGARDING hospital equipment in Sweden, the orders ended up being for protective visors only. Industry colleagues at the 3D company Prototal shared their drawing of a visor that was already in use in the healthcare sector. It was a 3D-printed holder with a transparent overhead sheet for the face. The material was the biocompatible nylon plastic Pa12, which can be sterilized.

An order came in for 7,600 holders and 36,000 visors. Delivery date – preferably yesterday.

“I was put in charge of the 3D production, with a team to help me out. We can produce just about anything as long as there is a digital file. But, due to the enormous demand, we ended up having to restructure production,” says Niclas.

THEN THE NEXT problem arose. Niclas had

sent out a request for overhead sheets within PostNord and received a huge response.

Everyone from interns to the CEO had searched offices, warehouses and their own homes. They had sent over 6,000 sheets to

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Niclas Lövgren, Customer Developer at PostNord Strålfors 3D Solutions.

Rosersberg by mail, many with small notes of encouragement included in the parcels. But 30,000 sheets of a specific quality were needed, and they were sold out. There were none to be found in all of Sweden.

In stepped colleagues in Denmark, who had found a Danish supplier. The supplier could not ship to Sweden due to the

The team behind the initiative Thomas Reinelöv, Anders Trawén, Pontus Gellerbrink, Mathias Filipsson, Arto Kuorilehto, Jimmy Ohlsson, Hossein Arkan, Henok Kiros, Diana Hjelte, Derin Sarwat, Bekir Aslan and Anne-Marie Andersson.

P E O P L E BY P O ST N O R D

The Guide

P ET S BY P O ST N O R D Animals are a big part of our lives.

At PostNord, they can also be a big part of the job.

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Hundreds of crickets on the terminal floor, pig semen, and dogs that find drugs.

Per Jostein hit the brakes, stopped and saved the life of a calf.

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Harry is the most popular colleague at the office.

Maybe it has something to do with his extremely cute eyes?

Driver and rider Camilla’s life has been marked by animals.

Through them, she has learned to never give up.

Prince Harry!

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Pets by PostNord

PHOTO: KRISTINA SAHLÉN

“I’ve come to sabotage your workday!”

THREE PARCELS THAT THERESE WILL NEVER FORGET

Bo Andersson.

1. Live insects “I’ve met a lot of animals. Once, a parcel burst and hundreds of live crickets poured out. All I could do was sweep and sweep. It’s not like I could capture them all.”

2. Dead cat “One time, I put my hand in a parcel that needed to be fixed.

What a heavy teddy bear, I thought. When I lifted it up, it turned out to be a dead cat.”

3. Ten parcels of seals “What’s leaking, I thought to myself, and discovered both blood and water coming out of ten or so parcels. It turned out they contained different body parts and entrails from seals that were probably frozen before being packed.”

A TALE OF BOAR SEMEN AND AN OVERJOYED SWEDISH FARMER

As told by Therese Eriksson, Segeltorp parcel terminal, Sweden.

PHOTO: SARA HESSEL

Therese Eriksson.

“This story takes place in Västerås sometime in the 1970s.

I came down to the post office at five o’clock in the morning. Our janitor, who went by the name of Knutte, had found a forgotten styrofoam box containing boar semen. It was supposed to go to Skåne, and the customer had paid for both special delivery and express delivery, so time was of the essence.

The foreman said ‘Bosse, take the Volvo, it goes the fastest, and drive!

You can’t go on break until the parcel has been delivered.’ All I could do was hop in the truck and speed away to the world metropolis Höör.

On the way there, I began to

With their noses deep in the parcel cages, the dogs of the Swedish Customs Service are hard at work at the Arlanda letter terminal in Stockholm. The goal is to detect things that are not allowed to be sent by mail. The dogs are trained to find cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and cannabis, as well as ammunition and weapons, that are smuggled in from abroad.

Each day, the dogs go on their rounds, among the PostNord employees, to detect suspicious parcels through their sensitive sense of smell. For comparison, humans have five million

32

olfactory cells, while a dog has 220 million. There is no technical equipment that is as sensitive as a dog’s nose.

When one of them gets a scent, the dog handler gives the signal to hop in the cage. The dog then searches for a while. When they find the right parcel, they mark it by standing completely still facing the parcel. The shipment is then picked out for further inspection by the customs staff, and the dog gets a much-earned reward – a ball or some other toy to chew on. What we humans take very seriously is a game for our four-legged friends.

As told by Bo Andersson, Årsta letter terminal, Sweden PHOTO: RASMUS FORSGREN

THE DOG AS COWORKER

wonder how I would find farmer Jonsson, but got a stroke of genius.

When I arrived, I went into the local BP gas station. There I found a young guy who, of course, knew where Jonsson lived. The problem was that I couldn’t understand a word of his directions to get there!

I couldn’t even hear a difference between ‘left’ and ‘right’, so I had to ask him to give me the directions in English.

When I finally got to my destination, I was greeted by the happiest farmer in northern Europe. He was over the moon! He took the parcel and practically ran down to the pigsty. We were down to the last few minutes! His wife made me some coffee and a cheese sandwich before I got back on the road for my return trip. It was a really long workday, but it was worth it!”

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Behind the scenes

with Theo.

The seven winning dogs were photographed by Karsten Bidstrup, who was hired especially for the assignment. The photos were then processed and turned into stamps by Ella Clausen, Graphic Designer at PostNord Stamps.

A BIG DANISH HIT THIS WAS definitely something new for German Shepherd Theo. Lots of lamps and spotlights centered on his nose, and an enthusiastic photographer trying to get the best angle. After a bit of persuasion by an experienced “dog whisperer,” a series of personality-filled portraits of Theo, Audi, Mille, Chivas and Pila, Gaia and Blida was finally created. Dogs that, in stamp form, would prove to be a big hit.

It wasn’t just history that was written when “My dog on a stamp” was selected as a stamp theme in 2019. The series of 2 million copies also sold out in record time. And it was the first time that Danes became directly involved in a stamp design contest on social media.

“We got images of well over 5,000 dogs – and had to choose just five to capture portraits of. It was no easy task, but we got help from expert, committed people from the Danish Kennel Club,” explains Pia Slot Smedegaard, Project Manager of the Danish department of PostNord Stamps that was responsible for the campaign.

IT WAS IN THE spring of 2019 that PostNord invited Danish dog owners to participate in a contest to have their dog portrayed on a stamp. The invitation was published as a post and video on Facebook and Instagram.

And it was met with enthusiasm. The hope was to get 3,000 entries, but the actual number was almost double that.

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Pia Slot Smedegaard and Ella Clausen Position at PostNord: Pia is a Project Manager and Ella is a Graphic Designer at PostNord Stamps in Denmark.

Closest colleagues: “We are each other’s closest colleagues, together with Martin Pingel, who is Head of Stamps.”

“Dogs mean a great deal to many of us.

They’re faithful friends who are always there for you and always happy to see you when you get home. There are so many different things you can do with your dog – take a walk, hunt or participate in shows,” says Pia, who has an English Cocker Spaniel and was not at all surprised that so many dog owners wanted to immortalize their pet on a stamp.

IN ADDITION TO BEING faithful family dogs, the dogs chosen for the series also had to have specific abilities or traits – or a special story. Getting it on a stamp was a challenge itself.

“The most important thing for me was to bring out each dog’s character traits. Police dog Theo, who lifts his ears and signals attention. Hunting dog Audi, who sniffs upward and signals a good sense of smell.

Family dog Mille, who adopted motherless kittens and with a slightly bowed head signals care.

“It’s about getting to the core and telling the dog’s story visually,” explains Ella Clausen, the graphic designer from PostNord Stamps who transformed the photos into expressive stamps.

THIS WAS THE first time that PostNord Stamps’ Danish department got the people involved in choosing a stamp design. It was done previously in Sweden in the #mittfrimärke contest, but after the Danish success the Swedes also understood that dogs are the ticket to really getting the people involved. Some 30,000 Swedish dog owners sent in their contributions this spring, and in August 2020 a stamp booklet was released with the dogs Håkan, Olsson, Woody, Fanny, Athos and Ailo. And they were as popular in Sweden as their four-legged counterparts in Denmark.

MARIE-LOUISE ARNFAST

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“What’s all the noise about? Can’t a dog work in peace?”

Jussi Wahlberg Position at PostNord: Customer Relations Manager in Tampere, Finland.

Closest colleagues: “The entire office, but Harry may work a little extra with Emilia Mannari, Krista Yliruusi and Sanna Mäki.”

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The Guide

A FLUFFY FAVORITE Jussi Wahlberg was responsible for one of the best recruitments at the office. A colleague no one can tear their eyes away from.

TEXT: MAIJU KARHUNEN PHOTO: BENJAMIN SUOMELA Harry has been working at the PostNord office in Tampere for the past year. In a customized HR role, he walks around among the staff and observes them with a focused black gaze. If he likes what he sees – and he usually does – he will hop right up into the person’s lap. The rest of the time he usually spends thinking about food.

Despite his odd role and behavior, Harry is loved by his coworkers. Maybe this isn’t so strange when you’re an American Cocker

H

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Spaniel, sweeter than a busload of maple syrup.

“It was love at first sight when I saw Harry,” explains his owner Jussi Wahlberg, who works as Customer Relations Manager for companies at PostNord Finland’s office in Tampere.

JUSSI APPLIED FOR THE JOB at PostNord in Finland when he was living in Copenhagen. He had heard such good things about the company. When moving to Tampere, he chose a home that would be suitable for a dog.

“I previously had a Miniature Schnauzer and a Rabbit Dachshund. But I’ve been without a

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Harry inspects the work environment at the office with Jussi Wahlberg and Emilia Mannari.

dog for a long time as I lived in Copenhagen for a year and a half and didn’t want a dog in such a lively city,” he says. He then continues: “I spend a lot of time out in nature parks and forests. I wanted a dog that I could take with me to all my activities. Another important criterion was that the dog had to be sociable because I hang out with friends a lot.”

WHEN JUSSI PICKED UP Harry from the breeder in Kajana – a six-hour car ride from his home in Tampere – he had a friend along in case Harry got nervous on the ride home.

But the fluffy little puppy fell asleep in the back seat as soon as the engine started.

“I think the love was mutual right from the start, since Harry so clearly felt at home and slept for most of the car ride. Everything has gone smoothly since we met,” says Jussi and looks at Harry, who is lying next to him.

If there is a day when Harry is not at the office, his colleagues turn to Jussi with a disappointed look on their face and ask where he is. He has quite simply become

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More Harry?

Follow Harry on Instagram: @harrytheamericancockerspaniel

part of the tight-knit gang of eleven people working with sales and production. Jussi says that he asked whether a dog would be welcome at the office before getting Harry.

“I’m glad that my colleagues, and the people of Tampere in general, have such a positive attitude toward dogs.”

THE PEOPLE OF TAMPERE know what they’re doing. There are actually many benefits to having a dog at the office. Studies show that having a dog at work reduces stress and quarrels among the staff. A dog reminds us to focus on and enjoy the little

things in (working) life. Maybe you are having a conflict with a colleague, but then her Pekingese hops up into your lap and licks your hand. It’s hard to stay mad when that happens. We should simply be more like a dog and let conflicts run off our backs.

Jussi has noticed that this is true.

“My quality of life has improved enormously since getting Harry. I live alone, but with Harry I never feel lonely. During the coronavirus period, Harry also helped me stick to a circadian rhythm, which I probably would have had trouble doing otherwise,” says Jussi, walking with his rather regal dog toward the rocks, where they often stand together looking out over the city.

Regal? Harry got his name when Prince Harry of England received a lot of attention in early 2020 when his move to the US with Duchess Meghan was a hot topic. Harry felt like the right name for an American Cocker Spaniel.

“Harry left the British court, but I got Harry the dog,” says Jussi as he pets Harry’s shiny coat.

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A VITAL STOP Per Jostein Simensen trusted his gut instinct and saved the life of a newborn calf.

MARCH 23, 2020. Per Jostein Simensen’s truck was driving along on a rainy night in the archipelago when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He was in Gyl, a bit southwest of Trondheim, and was almost done with his InNight express route. No one stops for a small pile of garbage along the side of the road when you’ve been driving half the night, but for some reason Per Jostein’s foot was suddenly on the brake.

“I’m not sure what caused me to stop and turn back. But my gut instinct told me something was wrong. So I went back and took a closer look at what was lying there in the light from my headlights.”

“From up in my cab, it looked like a small deer that had been run over. But when I got closer, I saw that it was a newborn calf – and it was alive.”

HIS ROUTE BETWEEN Langhus and Kristiansund offers nice roads and some excitement. Among other things, Per Jostein has towed away fallen trees that totally

blocked the roadway, to the cheers of his fellow road users. But this was drama of a completely different nature. He understood that the little one was not doing well on the ice-cold asphalt, and he got a blanket from his truck. The calf did not move when he wrapped the blanket around its wet fur.

“I called the police first, hoping that they could get hold of the nearest farmer. I then went to the first house I could find and knocked on the door. Out came a tired man who did not have any animals of his own, but he knew who owned the cows. I called and let them know I had found the calf.”

The newly awakened farmer thought that the calf had been hit and was dead on the side of the road.

“It wasn’t until I said I could wait with the calf until he got there that he understood it was alive. The mood then immediately improved.”

It took just over half an hour before Per Jostein could be on his way, while the farmer

drove the wet calf home to a warm barn where its mother was waiting. Without help, things would have gone badly for the newborn, who had crawled under the fence and gotten away from its mother in the cold night.

PER JOSTEIN lives in Tynset, where he splits his free time between fishing, outdoor life and American vintage cars (he has a 1984 Chevrolet C10 pickup). He started working as a driver at PostNord in 2015, and drives the regular InNight express route between Langhus and Kristiansund – 1,300 kilometers each day.

Per Jostein is very happy as a driver and is able to make his own decisions, as long as everything is done on time. When sitting in the truck, he talks to friends on the phone and listens to music, the radio or podcasts. Drama is not something he goes looking for.

“But it’s always nice to be able to help when needed, and it feels good when your gut instinct proves to be right.”

GEIR ANDERS RYBAKKEN ØRSLIEN

Per Jostein shared the event on Facebook and got an enormous response.

Shortly thereafter, VG – Norway’s largest newspaper – shared the story with all of Norway.

PHOTO: PRIVATE

Per Jostein Simensen Position at PostNord: Driver in Tynset, Norway.

Closest colleagues: “I share the route with Dainius Dainys. He is incredibly efficient, and washes the inside of the truck every day before I take it over. It’s like getting into a new truck! Torfinn Trondsen is also a good colleague who always creates a good atmosphere. And John Nyås, who heads our department in Tynset. He’s good at keeping track of everything that needs to be done.”

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The Guide

“YOU HAVE TO FALL OFF A HUNDRED TIMES” Camilla Niemann’s life with animals has taught her to never give up.

“I WAS SITTING ON A HORSE’S REAR when it suddenly stopped and reared up. I flew high in the air before landing on the ground.

I had never been thrown like that before, and it hurt. It really hurt. At the same time, it was incredibly embarrassing. It happened in front of all the other girls at the riding camp that summer.”

Camilla Niemann learned to ride long before she got a truck driver’s license and later became a driver at Terminal Taulov near Fredericia, Denmark.

“Why I was sitting on the horse’s rear? We had an exercise where we had to sit facing backwards. The teacher yelled at me to move forward, and I moved. The teacher yelled again, and I moved forward again. Now the teacher yelled really loud and I moved so far forward that I was looking down at the horse’s tail. Then I was thrown. How stupid can you be? The teacher had actually wanted me to move forward in the horse’s direction, not my own.”

IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO COUNT how many

times Camilla has fallen off, been bitten or kicked over the years.

“My riding teacher told me that you’re not a true rider until you’ve fallen off a hundred times – and that I had now come closer to my goal. Everyone falls off. That’s just the way it is. But it’s important to try to get back on again.”

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Over time, the teacher’s words “get back in the saddle” have become a motto that Camilla has used in other contexts. Five years ago, she started feeling pain in her right wrist, and she underwent surgery last winter – but the pain has not gone away completely.

“It has meant that I can no longer ride.

That’s why I had to sell Mani, my wonderful mare, in early 2020. Luckily, I can visit Mani at her new owner’s.”

DESPITE GROWING UP surrounded by asphalt in the middle of Aarhus, Camilla has always loved animals. As a child she dreamed of becoming an zookeeper, and in her teen years she went to an agricultural school. But she’s now spent three years at PostNord – why?

“To me, there is a big difference between animals you have a personal relationship with and animals you eat.”

“There are a number of reasons. It was almost impossible to get an apprenticeship at a zoo, and it costs a lot of money to start a farm.

“I trained as a butcher instead – another way of working with animals, you could say.

I’m really good at cutting out sirloin steaks,” says Camilla with a laugh.

It was during her apprenticeship training as a butcher that the pain in her hand started. That is why she earned a truck driver’s license and applied to work at PostNord.

CAMILLA’S WORKDAY STARTS AT two in the morning and ends at ten o’clock. She then travels through the Østjylland countryside to little Brædstrup, where she lives alone on a farm just outside the city with her two-year-old Labrador Dino. Or almost alone – because her landlord has 900 sows in large breeding buildings behind the farmhouse.

“The sows have 20,000 piglets per year.

But I rarely hear them, and I don’t think about it much. To me, there is a big difference between animals you have a personal relationship with – like dogs and horses – and animals you eat. I love eating meat and will never go vegan. Maybe it’s my past as a butcher coming into play.”

MICHAEL KIRKEBY

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PHOTO: ANDREAS BANG KIRKEGAARD

Camilla Niemann Position at PostNord: Driver and coordinator at Terminal Taulov in Fredericia, Denmark.

Closest colleagues: Ayman Nouh, Ruben Knudsen, Tonny Rasmussen and Ibrahim Haji.

See video and photos Follow us on Instagram #peoplebypostnord

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The Guide

“ALL OF A SUDDEN, IT ATTACKED” PHOTO: N ILS LÖFHOLM

EMMA STRÖMBERG had only been working at PostNord for almost two years when it happened. As a rural postman, she travels narrow roads in the areas outside Eskilstuna, and her job includes delivering both letters and parcels.

“I often have to get out of the truck to be able to deliver all the parcels, and many households on my route have dogs that run up to you to say hello,” says Emma.

One day in June last summer, she pulled up to the driveway of a house where she had been many times before. The family’s two dogs, a Dachshund and a mixed breed, came forward and sniffed at Emma, who had just stepped out of the truck. Suddenly, a third dog appeared – a Jack Russell – barking angrily.

“I froze and just stood right by the door… and then bang, it jumped forward and bit me in the leg.”

Emma ran to the other side of her truck, while the homeowner came out and grabbed the dog. He told her that it belonged to his son’s girlfriend. The man admitted that the dog had bitten before, but that he didn’t think it was very dangerous.

“He said that the dog was old and its teeth weren’t very sharp. I just wanted to get out of there.”

Emma called her manager immediately, who sent her to the medical center. The bite was not too bad. There was a wound, and now she has a scar to remember things by. But the worst thing is what might not be visible.

“I had never been scared of dogs or cats before, but now I get worried when they are running around at my feet. If I come across a dog, I tend to take a detour.”

What happened to the dog that bit you?

“I’m not sure. I know that my managers

Emma Strömberg Position at PostNord: Rural postman in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

Closest colleagues: Christoffer Larsson and Patrik Lindqvist: “We’ve become friends and also hang out in our free time.”

went there and talked to the family, telling them that the dog couldn’t stay. But I’ve seen it since.”

Is there anything you want to say to other dog owners?

“I wish they would keep their dogs leashed, at least when we come. They know about when the postman will show up. I don’t want to go around being afraid of animals, but the incident has left its mark.”

WHEN ANIMALS BECOME A WORK ENVIRONMENT PROBLEM “IN SWEDEN, there are about

postmen in particular? Stefan 100 incidents a year that involve thinks it is because the dog is animals, and about 80 of these guarding its territory. are dog related. However, this “In Sweden, we have mailboxes figure only relates to the at the property edge. If work-related injuries and the postman approachincidents that are reported. es the property, the dog I would say that there is a sees it as an intruder. large number of unreported When I was a postman, I cases when it comes to dogs used to yell ‘SIT’ to all that scare or bite postmen.” barking dogs. Most of This is according to them ended up sitting Stefan Fougt.

Stefan Fougt, Chief Safety out of pure surprise,” Representative at PostNord in says Stefan. He continues: Sweden. The question is why do “Things are different in dogs tend to direct their anger at Denmark. There, the postmen

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usually enter the yards. I know many Danish postmen who keep dog treats in their pockets to appease angry dogs.”

HOWEVER, THE MOST SERIOUS

animal incidents in Sweden in recent years – incidents that led to prolonged sick leave – had nothing to do with dogs. On one occasion, a postman was attacked by an aggressive gull, and fell and hurt his foot as he tried to escape. Another postman collided with a deer while out driving his route.

Have you ever been bitten by a dog?

“No, not really. My most vivid memory is when I was a rural postman and had to deliver a pension to a farm. I honked my horn to get the owner to come out and then started counting the money. When I looked up again, I was staring right at the nose of an Irish Wolfhound that was so big it had to bend down to get in through the window of the Volvo. My pulse was racing to say the least. But it was a really sweet dog.”

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WAIT, WHAT?

TEXT: MALIN DAHLBERG

Why do we make everyday life easier?

PostNord’s purpose is defined as “We make everyday life easier,” but isn’t that obvious? Do we have to define a purpose? PostNord Brand Specialist Sophia Kandell explains.

First off, what exactly does a brand specialist do?

“I work with the brand transfer that is currently taking place in all of the Nordic markets. PostNord faces a challenge in how we are perceived, especially in Sweden and Denmark. My job is to get consumers to love us and choose us to a greater extent.

“It’s a ton of fun to work with such a well-known brand that so many people have an emotional connection to. We want to win back the basic love that exists for PostNord in Sweden and Denmark, and build on the start-up aura that surrounds the company in Finland and Norway.”

A couple of years ago, PostNord defined its purpose as “We make everyday life easier.” Why do we need a purpose?

“Companies have always worked with business concepts, visions and goals, but it is becoming more and more common to define the purpose of your operations – the why. What positive mark does the company want to make on the world? The purpose serves to answer that question.

“This is important not only internally, but externally as well.

Today’s consumers are much more demanding. They want to know why the company acts the way it

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does and demand transparency. It Why we all come to work each day. is not enough to be driven by Once you have defined a strong profit. The company has to purpose, it sounds very strive for something simple and obvious.” greater. You can see that How do you go about brands that are clearly defining a purpose? purpose-driven are “It should touch on also rewarded by all types of employees, becoming successful from production to the and leaders in their field.”

Group Leadership Team.

How can employees at Everyone should be able to Sophia PostNord use the purpose? relate to the purpose and Kandell.

“Regardless of what you put it in their specific work work with at PostNord or what context. This work usually country you’re in, everyone can takes several months and involves help to make everyday life easier many people. An external party is for our customers. It is the least often hired to help the company common denominator that we can with this.” all unite around. The purpose gives How can we keep the purpose us a larger community and a alive in the organization? common focus on the end “I’m fascinated by how our customer. purpose has gained a kind of “I think we can take the purpose natural breeding ground in the with us into our everyday working operations, especially in produclife, whether you work in production. It has struck a chord with those tion or in administration. It is like a who work closest to customers and guiding star.” recipients.

Isn’t this obvious, though?

“In addition, it is important that “If it sounds obvious, then we’ve our leaders continue to talk about done a good job. It is often very the purpose and link it to the difficult to define a clear purpose. changes we’re making and the It is not just about how we can developments we’re implementing. present our organization in better I believe that all people need a why ways, or how we can earn more and benefit from being reminded money. It’s really a matter of that even the small things can have finding the core of what a positive impact on people and you do and why you do it. society.

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Ersin Özkan Position at PostNord: Production Manager at the Segeltorp terminal in Sweden.

Closest colleagues: Lennart Rönnqvist, Eniz Özkan (twin brother), Johnny Larsson, Rolf Kjellberg, Patrik Wikström, Ilker Bircan and Yakup Cakmak.

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Leadership

ERSIN IS There are many tricks for motivating people, but nothing motivates Ersin Özkan as much as a screen full of numbers. This has been proven with one hundred percent certainty.

TEXT: DAN NILSSON PHOTO: CHRISTIAN GUSTAVSSON

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THE RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC IN THE SÖDERMALM DISTRICT of Stockholm was hectic. There were cars

everywhere. Pedestrians just stepped right out into the street. Red lights and one-way streets that felt like a maze.

Ersin Özkan wondered what he had gotten himself into as he steered the large PostNord truck while keeping one eye on the GPS. He was 19 years old and actually trained for a job in the construction industry.

% But when his workday came to an end, he wanted to do it all over again. And when he did it again, he wanted to take on more routes. And once he had learned all the streets in Södermalm, he wanted to learn other areas. Larger areas.

“After a while, it felt really simple,” Ersin remembers.

Seven years later, he sits in a quiet office in Segeltorp, far from the hectic traffic of Stockholm’s streets. Today, 43

“We always strive to ensure that the drivers are safe at work. When things work well, you can do even more.” it is mostly numbers and statistics on the computer that cross his path. And he loves it just as much as the routes in Södermalm.

Especially since the statistics show that the quality of home deliveries has gone from 85 to almost 100 percent at the Segeltorp terminal during his time as production manager.

“I really enjoy being at the office,” says Ersin with a smile.

HIS SMILE IS JUST AS BIG when he heads out onto the production floor to talk to one of his 75 employees. Out there, everyone listens to Ersin because they know that he knows everything about their job. He knows what challenges they face – every day, every hour. Like in Södermalm.

“We always strive to ensure that the drivers are safe at work. When things work well, you can accomplish even more. I’ve pushed several drivers to become supervisors, and it worked out well for them.”

The desire to strive for more and grow is in Ersin’s blood. When he thinks back, he remembers a conversation that all parents have with their children at some point – the standard “what do you want to be when you grow up?” talk. “Choose whatever you want, except the restaurant business” his father said.

Ersin had seen with his own eyes how hard his father had worked during his 20 years in restaurants. All the late nights and long weekends. The noisy environment. The stress.

His uncles also ran restaurants, so it would not have been a complete surprise if Ersin and his twin brother Eniz had chosen the same path. But both Ersin and Eniz listened to their father, and they both eventually came to have their first workday 44

at PostNord in Segeltorp at the same time.

And Ersin is happy about that decision today. Especially since he is not that good at cooking – and he will tell you that himself.

“I prefer to eat my wife’s cooking,” he says and nods while thinking of the aromas of food that fill his apartment in Enskededalen.

He still has many memories from the restaurant floor. But there is something greater that he has taken from the older generations – the desire to work hard, grow, and make something of his life. This driving force was something that brought Ersin’s grandmother and grandfather from Turkey all the way to Sweden to work in the 1970s. The same driving force brought Ersin’s mother and father to Falun, where they opened their own restaurant. It was also there that the twin sons were born 27 years ago, before the family later moved to Jordbro outside of Stockholm, where Ersin and Eniz grew up.

THERE IS SOMETHING IN TURKEY that he doesn’t have at home in Sweden, in addition to the obvious – relatives in the city of Konya, where his family has its roots and where Ersin’s wife is from.

There is something close to Ersin’s heart there.

“Fenerbahce,” he says.

Excuse me?

“F-e-n-e-r-b-a-h-c-e,” Ersin spells out as clearly as he can while leaning over the desk.

IT CAN’T BE ANY CLEARER THAN THAT.

Ersin never misses a match with his favorite team Fenerbahce, which is in the upper half of the Turkish football league. And he follows match statistics as if it were yesterP E O P L E BY P O ST N O R D

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“It’s really nice to work with your twin brother. He’s someone you can talk to about anything. We’re both married and we live in different areas, so the job lets us meet up more. We’ve had many similar jobs and even the same workplaces. My brother is a really hard worker. The two of us are really similar in our free time as well. He is kind, and funny too. There is always a lot of laughter when you’re with him. He’s my twin brother, after all.”

Twin brothers Ersin and Eniz Özkan at the terminal in Segeltorp, Stockholm.

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ENIZ ÖZKAN, SUPERVISOR AT THE SEGELTORP TERMINAL IN STOCKHOLM

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“Everyone takes responsibility. It’s not just about loading and driving,” says Ersin, who follows his drivers digitally when they are out on the roads and during deliveries. He texts them and checks whether they need help finding their way around an area, for example.

day’s delivery precision in Västberga Allé. In everything that can be measured, there is also something to strive for.

And the goal? To move up the list, of course. Because if you have reached one hundred percent, you want to do it again.

“I like numbers. There are a lot of percentages in this job. Yesterday’s quality comes in during the morning, and I follow up on any missing parcels, notices and much more. I have a morning meeting with the first gang, check things out and have discussions.”

Because quality is always important – whether it’s the numbers on the screen in the terminal or buying a toy for his son. In 2018, Segeltorp was ranked low as one of the terminals in Sweden that attracted the most customer complaints. But thanks to a number of measures – including a successful pilot test of a project which aims to motivate employees through stronger leadership control – the numbers have been turned around.

“It’s a matter of valuing all drivers equally.

Since there are so many people who want to grow, I’m happy to tell you how I did it.

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“It is a matter of us valuing all drivers equally.

Since there are so many people who want to grow, I am happy to tell you how I did it.”

That’s the trick. Everyone takes responsibility. It’s not just about loading and driving,” says Ersin, who follows his drivers digitally when they are out on the roads and during deliveries. He texts them and checks whether they need help finding their way around an area, for example.

HOW DOES HE THINK the employees perceive him? As a person who encourages and supports? Or as a picky and maybe even annoying production manager with control issues?

“The most important thing is that they listen to me. I have consciously chosen to not be their friend, because then there could be times when they aren’t sure whether I am speaking to them as a leader or as a friend.

They see me as a leader. I can tell.”

Lennart Rönnqvist, Production Manager at the Segeltorp terminal, hired Ersin and his twin brother Eniz eight years ago.

“Both of these guys have grown a lot. It wasn’t easy to drive in Södermalm, but it was a good education. I would say that Ersin is a good communicator. He also has an ability to predict what will emerge in the future, and looks for future solutions.”

IN THE AFTERNOON, when the trucks flow into the terminal like a blue wave, Ersin is there to meet the drivers and ask how their day went. The desire to correct the previously poor numbers lives on, and praise is important. But it is also important to take all customer feedback seriously.

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“In my eyes, he is clearly a future manager. I was at his brother’s wedding, with about 500 guests, and Ersin immediately took on an organizing role that suits him so well. He was a good recruit!”

LENNART RÖNNQVIST, PRODUCTION MANAGER AT THE SEGELTORP TERMINAL

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THE ABC OF CHANGE

The art of leading yourself

because no one else needs to know. It is sometimes a matter of a misunderstanding between driver and customer. We then reach an agreement on how we can make it work,” says Ersin, who in many cases calls the customer to sort out the problem.

“So far, I have not come across an impossible case. It is always possible to reach an agreement with the customer,” he says.

Ersin also admits that there are challenges in PostNord’s operations. For example, e-commerce has increased enormously in a short amount of time.

“By over 50 percent each month,” he adds and then checks his computer screen to summarize the latest figures.

There is always a figure to pick out, and Ersin knows them all. People and numbers – that’s what his job is all about. Ersin loves both aspects. But even though he loves them, there are still things he wants to do in life.

More things to learn.

WHEN ASKED IF he has any role models, he does not have to think about it very long. He could pick some celebrity, someone with a big public profile.

Maybe a player or coach in Fenerbahce?

“My role models are my managers – Salih Korkmaz and Philip Wik. My goal is to be like them,” he says, adding that his managers have been with him throughout his time at PostNord.

Because that’s exactly how it works. You learn from those who know something. Then Ersin goes on to teach what he knows and become a role model for someone else. Just like when he sat in that truck in Södermalm and decided to learn all the routes, all the streets. From there, you can only go in one direction – toward one hundred percent.

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TAKING RESPONSIBILITY, being service-oriented, helping customers and – above all – delivering. This is obvious to many who work at PostNord. It is not something you do, it is something you are.

But to create an even stronger corporate culture in a world where everything is changing, PostNord has defined criteria that show employees and managers how they can take responsibility for leading themselves.

A concrete example of self-leadership is the Swedish office workers who stepped in and helped with mail delivery during the coronavirus crisis in March.

“It wasn’t anything a manager ordered them to do. They saw a need and took the initiative to help. There are tons of similar examples in all of the Nordic countries. We are already good at this, but we can be even better,” says Angelica Björkbom, Head of HR & Talent Management at PostNord.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE of what sets a self-leader apart is how they approach a problem.

Someone who practices self-leadership is willing to say no, and will also give a concrete suggestion of what can be done instead.

“Here, it is important that we have managers who let employees express their opinion, test new things and be allowed to fail.”

ABC LEADERSHIP provides the

Angelica Björkbom is Head of HR & Talent Management at PostNord.

PHOTO: CARLA LOMAKKA

criteria and is based on the words Accountable, Brave and Committed. You could say that the three ABC words provide the keys to how managers, leaders and employees need to act to make PostNord succeed in its transformation; becoming the best in the Nordics when it comes to parcels and continuing to be the biggest in terms of mail in Sweden and Denmark.

“Accountable refers to all of us doing what we have promised to do and taking responsibility for ensuring that what we do is as good as possible. Brave refers to being open and daring to try new ideas and work methods.

Committed is about all of us being able to inspire and motivate each other, and together creating well-being and a good work environment,” says Angelica.

Why does PostNord need these ABC criteria?

“Our world, customer demands, how we communicate – these are all changing at a furious pace. We need to adjust our production quickly, sometimes at lightning speed like when the coronavirus struck. At such times, we need employees who can pick up on signals and dare to be drivers, without a safety net.”

MALIN DAHLBERG

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SKILLS / MAGNUS EGBERTH

The man who can talk to parcels

Magnus Egberth has parcels on the brain.

And labels. And logos. And...

TEXT: DAN NILSSON PHOTO: FREDDY BILLQVIST

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cels ged par ss “Dama re t he ad d where n off o een t r b s a h y. card lly trick a e r e b ca n re fun the mo ly But all l ou fina when y out!” figure it THEY SAY THAT the devil is in the details. If true, then Magnus Egberth has already asked him to move aside so he can do his job.

Magnus has an eye for details like almost no other.

He can recognize which company sent a parcel without it being written anywhere. The shape of the label, a number or a specific type of box may be all it takes. It is almost impossible to explain. But if he tries, he doesn’t present himself as some superhero or Sherlock Holmes. No, it would be very out of character for Magnus to use such superlatives about himself. It does not take a divine eye to find that little devil, just a very keen memory.

“It all comes down to experience. I’ve been here so long that you could consider it an occupational hazard that I remember such things. Or nerd knowledge...”

T

MAGNUS EGBERTH BEGAN working for Posten 27 years ago as a night employee in parcel sorting. For the past 13 years, he has been part of the unit for damaged and addressless items in Torsvik, outside of Jönköping, Sweden. The unit’s role is to seek out the recipients of parcels that have lost their address information during the course of delivery.

Patrik Lindblad is the manager of the unit. He has his own explanation as to why Magnus is so suitable for this odd job, and it differs slightly from the one Magnus gives: “He has an almost photographic memory. Or... maybe not photographic, but it is an incredible memory nonetheless.”

That is why Patrik and his seven other employees usually go to Magnus when they need help with particularly perplexing mysteries related to business parcels.

“They all have different superpowers,” says Patrik about his employees.

“But what makes Magnus special is that he can figure out where the parcel is going just by looking at the address card. Not all address cards look the same, and he can see differences in their appearance. It may be some lines that do not look like others. He has an incredible eye for detail.”

Magnus himself does not think he has a better memory than anyone else. When we ask him if we could give him a memory test, he laughs.

How good are you at remembering people’s birthdays?

“Yeah, I have a good handle on birthdays. And anniversaries.”

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What about entry codes?

“I have trouble with some. I have a colleague who I have to text and ask for the code every time I go to visit him.”

Hmm, what about something you learned in school, like old kings and their regnal number?

450,000 parcels flow through PostNord Sweden’s terminals each day. Today, 700 of them ended up with Magnus and his colleagues.

“Well, maybe a little...”

What about years? When was the Battle of Lützen?

“1637?”

No, sorry. 1632.

“There, you see,” laughs Magnus.

The results of our unscientific test do not show whether it is numerical memory or image memory – or both – that helps Magnus in his work. But the fact P E O P L E BY P O ST N O R D

Magnus Egberth Position at PostNord: Warehouse Assistant at the unit for damaged and addressless items in Torsvik, south of Jönköping, Sweden.

Closest colleagues: Patrik Lindblad, Patrik Larsson and Christian Thorén.

Tips when sending a parcel: “I usually tell people to not tape on the address card, because then the text usually disappears. If you are returning a parcel, make sure you cover the old address card. There are often cases where we get a parcel with more than one address. It’s easy to sort out, but takes a few extra days for the parcel.”

How do you track a business parcel?

“We take care of everything from parcels that have torn boxes to parcels that have lost their address card or are damaged during transport. Sometimes the sender forgets to put the card on. Larger companies have machines that put the card on, and they can sometimes fail to attach the label.”

If it is not clear which company sent the parcel, Magnus usually starts by looking for a delivery slip. In some cases, the delivery slip will have a customer number and the problem is resolved quickly – which can be a bit boring for someone who loves a challenge.

“But many smaller companies do not have a customer number. Then it can be a lot harder to find them,” says Magnus.

Back to square one then. In that case, Magnus simply has to look for other clues. For e-commerce companies that sell clothing and footwear, there is usually a label right on the garment or on the plastic protecting the product.

“This isn’t always the case, but you can often tell if it’s Ellos that sent it, for example. And some older companies have handwritten receipts in the parcel.

Then it usually says who is getting it.”

Of all the variants, which is the most difficult?

remains that he can remember customer numbers he learned 15 years ago.

“There may also be other things that trigger my memory, like part of a logo that has a special shape,” he says before getting lost in thought while painting a picture of his thought process.

“There can be little yellow squares in the corner...

Someone has, for example, a ‘C’ that has a special look.

“Like I said, it’s the details.”

And details fill the shelves of the unit for damaged and addressless items. On this particular day, 700 addressless parcels have been detected. This is more than on a normal day, but still a small number if you consider the fact that, on average, 450,000 parcels flow through PostNord Sweden’s terminals each day.

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“Damaged parcels where the address card has been torn off can be really tricky. But all the more fun when you finally figure it out!”

What is the main goal in such cases? What should the investigative efforts lead to? Finding a solution to the case? Solving the mystery? The answer does not reveal itself until the magic numbers finally appear on Magnus’ computer screen.

The parcel number.

“That’s what we’re after,” states Magnus and tells us that the parcel number is the key that leads all the way to the recipient’s door.

Mission accomplished.

And that’s what happens in 80 percent of the cases.

Magnus admits that after all these years at the job, it is still just as satisfying each time he solves a case.

“Of course it feels good when we can call the customer and let them know we found their parcel. Fifteen minutes ago, I called a car company in Västerås that had a parcel being shipped all the way to Romania. He was so grateful we had found it. Some may also be annoyed that the parcel disappeared in the first place, but most are grateful and pleased.

“I find my job to be really varied. Okay, there may be parcels all the time... But they’re new parcels. New parcels to sink your teeth into. New challenges every day.”

And new details, of course. But, they are obvious, at least to anyone who pays attention to them.

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PEAK 2020 BRING IT ON! IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR WHEN THE ENTIRE OPERATION IS PUSHED TO ITS LIMITS. IN DENMARK, ALL FOCUS IS ON THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. AND A NORDIC TEAM HAS TAKEN UP THE FIGHT AGAINST PARCEL VOLUMES. TEXT: MALIN DAHLBERG AND MARIE-LOUISE ARNFAST

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PHOTO: KRISTINA SAHLÉN

FOCUS / PEAK 2020

The new normal IN MARCH, everyone was certain that parcel volumes would drop. The Nordic region had been hit by the coronavirus and the economy was faltering. It was only natural that the transport of goods would see a decline. Right?

It was just the opposite.

The parcels flowed in during the spring. On May 4th, a new record was set in Sweden when PostNord received close to 800,000 parcels and value letters on a normal day. All of the Nordic countries saw an enormous increase in the number of mail items and home deliveries.

It is quite simply a new reality that PostNord had to plan for in relation to the peak of 2020.

“It’s always a challenge to make forecasts, but this time there were several factors of uncertainty and changes in consumer behavior. In Denmark, we talk about ‘the new normal,’” explains Ole Laursen , who works with Sales & Operations Planning in the PostNord Group.

IN THE SPRING, Ole, his colleague Martin Redborn and representatives of the countries sat in daily digital “war room meetings” to deal with the pandemic at the Group level. The “war room” concept comes from the military, but is often used to describe meetings in which key people meet to solve a difficult problem. There is no actual war being fought, but the problem being discussed may be so important and major that it feels like a battle. For Ole and his colleagues, the battle right now is about the peak, which spans from Black Friday to mid-January. The team created a long-term contingency plan to be able to handle the growing volumes.

“We’ve been using a new approach in our work since August 2019. What we could see from previous years was that we had high costs and quality that was just not good enough. We also saw an

Ole Laursen and Martin Redborn Job title: Nordic Strategic Infrastructure & Process Managers.

Job: Lead a cross-border planning process, a so-called S&OP, for parcel operations. It involves creating the optimal balance between demand and capacity to reduce unnecessary costs and improve quality for customers and the end consumer.

Closest colleagues: Palle Olsen, Jeannette Hyldig, Kay Espung, Jacob Franke, Mikael Erikson, Magnus Bennich, David Winberg, Christen Asmundsson, Leif Göransson, Jani Ståhlhammar, Anders Ingelmo and Fredrik Thörnblom.

increase in cross-border transports between the Nordic countries. The insight was that we needed Nordic-wide coordination on top of the countries’ own planning. This would give us better oversight of the balance between demand and capacity, and enable us to find ways to collaborate,” Ole explains.

DURING THE peak period of 2019, PostNord was already able to reap the benefits of the group’s cross-border work. Among other things, delivery from a customer, in this case Zalando, was moved from Toftanäs in Sweden to Køge in Denmark. The countries’ own forecasts showed that available

capacity was significantly higher in Denmark, so about 20,000 parcels per day were moved there during the five weeks when demand was at its greatest.

“This is a very concrete result of our work. If we hadn’t seen this opportunity, Toftanäs would have had a backlog each day that would have negatively impacted our customers and caused quality to suffer,” states Ole. In the lead up to the peak of 2020, the group has been working with annual planning and different focus areas, such as Easter and the summer.

They have analyzed lessons learned from the spring’s stress test in the form of a pandemic. But, above all, they looked at what could be improved after last year’s peak period.

“One insight is that we have to maintain close contact with our biggest customers in all of the Nordic countries. We must be data-driven and use the customers’ forecasts, in combination with analyses of historical data – this is crucial for our planning. We also need to expand the time windows for pick ups at the customers and collect parcels perhaps two or three times a day,” says Martin.

WORK ON moving volumes is expanded. In the planning, the terminals are given different color codes – green, yellow, red – based on their available capacity during the period. The new terminal in Langhus, Norway, and the new sorting machines in Åbo, Finland, are also expected to facilitate this year’s peak.

When asked about the long-term goal of the team’s work, the answer is a given – to win the battle of parcels.

“If we are able to make accurate forecasts, plan our resources in a cost-effective and smart way, and deliver to customers on time, then we can win the parcel market from our competitors,” states Martin.

“WE ALSO NEED TO EXPAND THE TIME WINDOWS FOR PICK UPS AT THE CUSTOMERS AND COLLECT PARCELS PERHAPS TWO OR THREE TIMES A DAY.” P E O P L E BY P O ST N O R D

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FOCUS / PEAK 2020

The goal: Satisfied customers at Christmas WITH HIGH PARCEL VOLUMES PostNord is one of the service providers ultimately affects the customer,” says expected in the coming weeks, keeping that receives the most reviews. In Joan. customers satisfied is a huge task for addition to ongoing measurements of everyone working at PostNord. delivery quality, customer value is “THE POSTMAN DIDN’T RING THE Emotions can run high if a Christmas measured once a year by examining the BELL, even though I was home” is a present does not arrive in time for “customer journey” of both corporate common complaint from customers Christmas Eve. That is why PostNord is customers and consumers as well as who received notification about a planning for “the best Christmas ever” measuring the collective parcel that needed to be several months in advance. The experience. In addition, there picked up at the post office. planning covers the entire value chain, are so-called Touchpoint Mikkel Damholm Christensen such as pick up at the customers, the measurements, where you can attest to this. He is a capacity at parcel terminals, extra take the pulse of selected customer service worker at staffing and longer opening hours at customers’ experience in PostNord and is part of a team Customer Service. The goal? To get all concrete situations. that answers questions via parcels delivered on time.

Facebook, Twitter, TrustPilot These are the words of Joan Regitza THE ANNUAL CUSTOMER and email.

Garlov. She is Head of Customer satisfaction results show “There can be many Mikkel Damholm Experience in Denmark, which means progress for the second year Christensen. explanations behind something she monitors customer satisfaction and in a row. Customers are like this. But, it is always easiest works to improve it in cooperation with testifying to higher delivery quality, and for the courier to deliver the package to all of the other units.

PostNord is seeing improved results in the customer’s address directly instead When senior management of its image surveys. of taking it back to the post office,” says PostNord Denmark meet each week, “But there is still a need for improveMikkel. customer satisfaction is one of the most ment because we are not living up to Mikkel tries to give the customer a important items on the agenda. Various the level that customers expect and good experience – even in the case of a measurements are reviewed and possible that our competitors are delivering,” complaint. measures discussed. The customer says Joan.

“It is a matter of showing respect, and experience is absolutely crucial to “We are in a process of transformabeing willing to admit if PostNord has PostNord’s success – that’s why the tion, where we are adapting our made a mistake,” says Mikkel. customer experience also operations to the market and “I do my best to communicate clearly plays a key role in the new to the customers’ high and with a bit of a personal touch. The growth strategy for the parcel expectations. We need to customer wants to feel like the person segment that PostNord deliver what we have sitting at the other end is not just repeat launched in the spring of 2020. contracted with the customer standard responses. If appropriate for “We constantly look at every time, on time and at the the situation, I also try to use a little PostNord from the customright price. This puts great humor. It’s a balancing act, of course. If er's perspective,” Joan says. demands on our employees there is a lot of emotion involved, which “What experience does the and on stability in our is possible in the time leading up to Joan Regitza customer have in terms of systems. Our ambition is to be Christmas, then the customer doesn’t Garlov. delivery options, flexibility, the consumer’s favourite want to be met with a cheeky tone,” he delivery times, service and price? We try to measure everything.”

MANY CUSTOMERS contact PostNord directly, and this gives us an indication of where there is room for improvement.

The same applies to TrustPilot, where

choice – it obliges and demands the utmost from each of us, regardless of whether we work in distribution, sales, customer service or at the terminals.

We have to put ourselves in the customer's shoes when we perform our work and think about how our behavior

says.

The customer service team has noticed an increase in customer satisfaction in recent years. And social media is not just full of complaints about PostNord anymore. There are now comments full of praise as well.

“IF APPROPRIATE FOR THE SITUATION, I ALSO TRY TO USE A LITTLE HUMOR. IT’S A BALANCING ACT, OF COURSE. IF THERE IS A LOT OF EMOTION INVOLVED, THEN THE CUSTOMER DOESN’T WANT TO BE MET WITH A CHEEKY TONE.” 54 54 P E O P L E BY P O ST N O R D

“Of course it makes you feel happy and proud” ONE EMPLOYEE who is frequently praised by customers is André Snitkjaer.

He works as a parcel courier in Lyngby Storcenter north of Copenhagen, where he is in daily contact with many store owners.

“I like my job and am almost always in a good mood,” André says. “Customers notice this and it has a positive impact on our relationship. We greet each other

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with a smile, and sometimes chat for a moment. I am also aware of whether they want the parcels at a specific place or if I can help them by taking a few parcels back to the terminal. It is all about offering good service,” says André.

He says that he was personally saddened by the image that PostNord developed a few years ago. An image he doesn’t consider particularly fair when

looking around among his colleagues and customers.

“The customers I encounter are very satisfied.”

It was also one of them who took the time to send an email to PostNord’s HR department to personally praise André’s efforts.

“Of course it makes you feel happy and proud,” he says.

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OUTSIDE THE BOX / DANIEL BAHNER

With a military gut instinct Daniel Bahner suspected parcel fraud, contacted some police officers on their lunch break, and suddenly found himself in the middle of a surveillance operation. “I felt like a secret agent.”

TEXT: MALIN DAHLBERG PHOTO: FREDDY BILLQVIST

IT WAS A BLEAK Wednesday in January. Daniel Bahner was just about to deliver a parcel in a residential area on the outskirts of Malmö, Sweden when a young guy sauntered forward and claimed to be the one who ordered it. He said the name on the shipping label, but disappeared quickly when Daniel asked for ID. It turned out that the parcel was an attempt to commit fraud.

The next day, Daniel was called by his supervisor.

Two similar fraud parcels were suspected and had to

I

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be returned immediately. Daniel took a detour past the addresses, and just as he suspected a young guy was outside each entrance.

“When you’ve worked for a while, you recognize patterns and can tell when something is not quite right. All the warning signs were there,” says Daniel.

BEFORE HE BEGAN working as a van driver for PostNord three years ago, he completed his military basic training. From this, he got a strong sense of responsibility and the ability to make his own decisions and even trust his gut instinct when something feels wrong. Perhaps it was these qualities that enabled him

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Daniel Bahner Position at PostNord: Distribution driver at Malmö Skåpbil, Sweden.

Closest colleagues: “Martin Larsson, we joke around a lot and always have fun at work, and Daniel Assarson. Daniel recently experienced something similar, but now everyone at the office knows to ask for ID at the slightest suspicion.”

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“

“I’ve heard a lot about this type of crime. It’s the regular people who are affected, and it feels good to stop it as soon as possible.”

to catch yet another suspicious shipment in his van that Friday. By chance, Daniel came across a police patrol on their lunch break. He got out of his van, explained the situation and asked for advice. The officers took his question very seriously.

“They suggested I contact the police unit that deals with fraud.” After that, things went very quickly.

THE POLICE CALLED Daniel and explained that they had an operation planned in that area for later that same day. They wanted him to be there and deliver the parcel as planned. Daniel was given an earpiece “like a secret agent” and was in constant contact with the police at the scene.

“In the hours leading up to things, they had been to the building and talked to all the neighbors, had the entrance under surveillance from an apartment across the street, and planned the whole operation.

“When I made my way to the entrance, it took just 30 seconds before a guy showed up from nowhere. He showed his phone as proof that he ordered the package. I asked for ID, which of course he did not have. Shortly thereafter, three civilian police officers came and arrested him.”

IT ALL WENT so fast that Daniel barely had time to get nervous. He says it felt good to be part of stopping an ongoing attempt to commit fraud.

“I’ve heard a lot about this type of crime. It’s the regular people who are affected, and it feels good to stop it as soon as possible.

“We haven’t had a single fraud parcel in my area since it happened, but I’ve heard of other drivers who have been affected.”

Daniel received a lot of praise from the police after the operation.

“They asked if I ever considered changing careers. But I think I’m needed at PostNord,” he says with a laugh.

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Daniel Bahner listened to his gut instinct and helped stop attempted fraud.

NATURALLY, DANIEL BAHNER has discussed the event in detail at work and encouraged his colleagues to be alert when something feels wrong. Jasmina Music, Production Manager at Malmö Skåpbil, is proud of Daniel’s efforts.

“It makes me very happy to see someone act so brave. It shows how much drive the employee has. It was also good that he went to the police and didn’t put himself in harm’s way.”

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The list SMART NEWS

PostNord at the forefront Innovative projects, smart solutions and environmentally friendly methods. Here are five things that give PostNord’s competitors a run for their money.

TEXT: MALIN DAHLBERG

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PHOTO: KRISTINA SAHLÉN

PostNord delivers behind lock and key In normal cases, corporate customers need to receive and sign for their deliveries. But companies can now receive goods without signing for them and pick them up when it suits them – all thanks to PostNord’s new partnership with the company Qlocx.

The customer equips a container, a storeroom door, a delivery box or the like with a digital lock. PostNord’s driver then gets a one-time digital key. After the delivery has been made, the key can no longer be used and the goods are locked away. The recipient is sent a notice that the goods have been delivered.

The partnership started as a pilot project, but PostNord has now implemented Digital­ LOCK into its operations and is offering the service in all of Sweden.

“This delivery method shows how digitalization is changing the logistics industry,” says Helena Sjöberg, Business Developer at PostNord in Sweden.

The Södermalm area of Stockholm has a great need to improve the air quality.

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Digital locks simplify company deliveries.

Fossil-free in urban environments In February 2020, PostNord Sweden business developer Joakim Persson was tasked with finding a district in the city to use for testing fossil-free deliveries. One of the criteria was that the area had to be an environmental zone, but also have a functioning infrastructure for electric vehicles and renewable fuels. The Södermalm area of Stockholm became the district of choice.

“The district is perfect for several reasons,” Joakim says. “Because it is an island, there is a clear demarcation. At the same time, Joakim Persson. 127,000 people live there. The district has a lot of vehicle traffic and poor air quality, but above all there are filling stations nearby where we can refuel with one hundred percent renewable diesel, HVO100.”

With the help of box trucks running on biofuel, electric vehicles and a new type of cargo bike, PostNord can reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Södermalm by as much as 360 tons per year. The next step of the project is to do the same thing in other districts of Stockholm, and then in other Swedish cities with environmental zones, like Gothenburg and Malmö.

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Biogas on Danish roads To create more sustainable deliveries and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, PostNord in Denmark is testing a new truck, Scania G410, that runs on compressed biogas. The truck is used in places like Køge, where they are studying how many hours it can handle per day, how flexible it is – simply how well it works in practice.

“We are constantly working to find new, climate-friendly solutions, and our test of the G410 is the latest exciting initiative,” says Jan Greve, Scania G410 runs on Development Manager at compressed biogas.

PostNord Denmark.

The truck can be run on both compressed natural gas (CNG) and compressed biogas (CBG). In Denmark, it is mainly biogas that is offered at the 17 filling stations for fossil fuel found in the country.

“The use of biogas is the most economical way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and with Danish-made biogas, carbon dioxide emissions are eliminated completely. The noise level is also much lower than in gas-powered vehicles,” says Anton Freiesleben, Sales Manager at Scania.

More sustainable deliveries in Denmark.

Parcel boxes are taking over Parcel boxes have been in use in Denmark since 2008. The delivery method has also become popular in Finland, where over 50 percent of deliveries are through the use of parcel boxes. PostNord Sweden is now also launching a pilot project with technology based on the same platform as in Denmark. The recipient can open the door of the parcel box by means of Bluetooth and a feature in the PostNord app after confirming their identity with Mobile BankID. Parcel boxes increase accessibility since the recipient can pick up their parcel at any time of day near their home or job. Initially, one hundred parcel boxes will be placed in consumer-friendly locations around Stockholm. The goal is to expand to more locations in the country after the pilot period.

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PHOTO: KRISTINA SAHLÉN

After Denmark and Finland, parcel boxes are now on their way to Sweden.

More fine-tuned deliveries thanks to route optimization In Finland, PostNord has enlisted the help of tech company Urbantz to be able to offer a better experience of “the last mile.” In the pilot project, route optimization is being used to create more precise delivery times.

First, the customer receives notification with the delivery date and a time window of a couple of hours. When the parcel leaves the terminal, a new message is sent to the recipient to give a more precise delivery time. By clicking on the included link, the recipient can also track the delivery in real time on a map. The goal of this new service is, of course, more satisfied customers. It is also to deliver as many shipments as possible on the first attempt and reduce the pressure on Customer Service.

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Route optimization will make delivery times more precise in Finland.

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Travel back in time Follow us on Instagram #peoplebypostnord

THINGS / JOHNNY ADOLFSSON

Time traveler Johnny Adolfsson gets to experience PostNord’s entire history each day. “It was by chance that I started collecting.”

OUTSIDE JOHNNY ADOLFSSON and his wife’s ground floor apartment in Växjö hangs a large mail sign. In the 1930s, it hung outside a post office in Österlen, but now it shares Johnny’s building facade with an old mailbox that has also traveled a few decades in a time machine. If you have any questions about where the mail memorabilia collector-slash-postman in Växjö lives, they disappear as soon as you begin to approach Johnny’s home.

“It was by chance that I started collecting. It felt cool to own a gadget related to my job, so I surfed to Tradera and checked out what was up for auction. Pretty soon I had started my collection,” he states.

Anyone who is interested can expect to stand in front of Johnny’s display cabinet for quite some time, admiring his eighty different models of mail vehicles.

“To me, it’s more than just a model. I always find out the history behind the item, as it was something that was actually used,” explains Johnny.

He started working for Posten at age 18 after getting a tip about the job from a friend. Since then, he has changed roles several times, and has even taken the job with him when he changed cities.

“I really enjoy what I do,” he says. “There is great comradery and the job gives me a lot of freedom. As a 21-year-old, I worked as Sweden’s youngest railway sorter. It was tough. We stood and sorted mail in the mail car, and made sure the mail went out and came in when the train stopped.”

Not entirely unpredictably, Johnny has a dozen models of railway mail cars in his collection, one of which is an exact copy of the one that he worked in.

SARA MARCZAK

Johnny Adolfsson Job: Terminal worker in Växjö, Sweden.

Closest colleagues: “Anders Bertilsson and Niklas Reinholdsson I work most closely with. We work great together. Johan Granath works on the floor like me. He was also a postman previously and we have had the same journey within PostNord.”

ABOUT THE COLLECTION It includes about a hundred items which are all linked to the post office in some way. This includes about 80 models of old Swedish mail vehicles.

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PHOTOS: SARA BOGREN

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Now & Then AIR VS. RAIL

From time constraints In times when the climate is more important than the delivery time, the train is in vogue again. But the old faithful servant also faces new challenges typical of the times.

THEN In 1911, the Dane Robert Svendsen carried out what can be considered the first postal flight in the Nordic region when he took 300 postcards with him in his aircraft from Funen to Jutland.

Since the 1920s, Swedish Posten has used air transport to be able to deliver mail within the time required by law. In Denmark, Norway and Finland, no air transport is needed today.

Thanks to a change in the Swedish Postal Services Act, which now gives postmen two days to deliver a letter, PostNord has been able to eliminate 500 domestic flights in Sweden. To be able to eliminate air transport completely, PostNord would need three days to deliver mail – something currently being investigated.

PostNord’s goal is for transports to be completely fossil-free by 2030. If development by then has moved toward renewable jet fuel, PostNord could use both rail and air to handle their transports.

The reduction in air transport has already generated good results for the environment. The environmental impact from air travel and transport decreased by 51 percent in 2019, and air transport now accounts for 1.6 percent of emissions.

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1928 The first long postal flight from Sweden was made in June 1928 on the route Stockholm-MalmöHamburg-AmsterdamLondon.

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NOW It is often said that the railway laid the foundation for the future when it was built in the 1800s.

200 years later, climate goals have given this old truth new meaning. From a climate perspective, rail is the mode of choice for PostNord’s mail operations in Sweden. In Denmark, road transport is more environmentally friendly.

Today, almost half of all mail volumes travel between the terminals in Sweden by rail.

In Norway, where PostNord does not handle regular mail, about half of the parcel and groupage cargo transports travel between the terminals by rail, particularly for longer distances. For the rest of the Nordics, there is virtually no transport of parcels by rail.

For the Swedish organization, transition to parcel transport by rail would require major investments. Today’s trailers and swap bodies had to be replaced with a new type of load carrier adapted for rail traffic. To maximize transport efficiency, tracks would have to be laid up to the respective parcel terminal.

In terms of climate, rail is superior to air.

But does the timetable meet the future’s requirements for fast deliveries?

PostNord’s rail transport initiative continues, but greater investments are required to be able to take the next step.

Sources: Postmuseum, Nordisk familjebok encyclopedia, Helsingør Museum, Marieholms BYAförening and PostNord. Information on PostNord’s sustainability goals from Sofia Leffler Moberg, head of sustainability at PostNord.

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“A structural question we should ask ourselves is whether all types of products have to arrive equally quickly. Does a mobile phone cover have to get there just as quickly as face masks? Does everything need to go by air, or is it okay if some things take a longer time? At the same time, it is just as important to ensure the plane is full when you send it up in the air.”

Sofia Leffler Moberg, Head of Sustainability at PostNord, discussing complex infrastructure issues of the future.

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ILLUSTRATION: JOHAN HÖRBERG

to environmental goals

ILLUSTRATION: JOHAN HÖRBERG

THE ODDER STORY / THE FALL OF THE POST OFFICE

When Posten closed down Sweden A young trainee stuck his neck out with a crazy idea, and PostNord had all of Sweden against it. But it was worth it.

IN THE 1990s, Swedish Posten was at the forefront. The digital marketplace torget.se was the hottest thing online. PK-banken had more internet users than all the other banks combined, and the company owned its own airline – Falcon Air – with three jumbo jets that stood ready. At some point there, Mathias Olsson stepped in as a trainee at Posten in Eskilstuna. He had recently graduated with a degree in economics from Linköping University and wanted to learn about all the different parts of Posten.

“I did an internship with the postmen, manned the counter as a clerk and gained great understanding about how operations worked.

It is often said that there are two diseases in big companies – one when the higher-ups come up with ideas that don’t work in reality, and the other is the metropolitan perspective. I managed to escape both.”

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Mathias was part of a team tasked with investigating how profitability could be improved. Around 2000, the post offices were already like a little department store that sold computer mice and CDs. “We were probably biggest in the Swedish record market and record mogul Bert Karlsson’s best friend just then,” laughs Mathias. He then adds: “But it was like putting a band-aid on a severed leg.

“The post offices didn’t have the availability and service that e-commerce needed. In the same vein, financial transactions over the counter decreased by about 20 percent per year. It just wasn’t possible to make it work.

“In our surveys, we could see that Swedes went to a post office about 1.8 times a year, while they visited the grocery store 1.8 times a week.”

Something drastic had to be done, and an idea took shape. It was kind of a crazy thought. A bit like deciding to close down Sweden. Posten was

part of the Swedish people’s soul at that time, and Mathias knew that the reaction would be massive. Yet at the same time, the suggestion seemed obvious.

“We had such solid data for it. All of the figures pointed in the same direction. We didn’t even have to try to convince the managers or owners. It was written in bright neon lights. We would have to close down the post offices.”

Posten instead wanted to open partner outlets in connection with stores that people visited frequently. As he said, it seemed obvious.

Sweden did not agree.

The criticism in the media and among the general public could best be described as an “outcry,” but Posten stood its ground.

“We knew that if we didn’t do this, we wouldn’t survive. But it was not fun. We had 5,000 postal clerks at that time. It was a heavy and emotional decision, but it had

to be done.”

According to research, it takes about seven years for a society to accept radical changes, and according to Mathias, that is exactly how long it took for the Swedes.

Almost to the month. Today, PostNord has 1,950 partner outlets in Sweden, with 78 million unique customer interactions per year.

Availability, as calculated in time, has doubled for the average household. No one today can say things were better the way they were before... right?

“I sometimes miss that time period. Being part of something so big, with no manual to work from.

Just a bunch of people with the desire, ambition and ability to think along new lines. It was fantastic.”

MALIN DAHLBERG

Mathias Olsson is today Head of PostNord Retail, which is responsible for the nationwide network of partner outlets in Sweden.

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PostNord Plus is a Swedish personnel foundation within PostNord AB with the mission of creating an attractive leisure activity for PostNord employees, in the areas of holidays and recreation, sports and fitness as well as culture and events.

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